2 The Divider

A warm surge of energy flowed within him, fighting back the exhaustion, though his tiredness was far from normal. It only rose the more he clung to the power.

It barely took a minute to slay the wolf, yet it almost made him cough up blood. His heart wrenched inside his chest, feeling like a suffocating death. His energy didn't run out, but he simply overdrew too much of it.

How could he have forgotten the cost of overdrawing more power than he could handle? Well, considering how he forgot almost everything, that simple fact felt rather insignificant in the grand scheme of his amnesia. Besides, with his mind deranged and the rush of power, he was a little too excited to care about drawbacks.

Thankfully, it wasn't a complete waste—with the overdraft of power, he was able to open an aperture.

"Hmm, aperture," he said. "I know what they are."

At least he wasn't completely clueless, though he figured he was missing a lot of information about them.

The one aperture he opened was in the middle of his left palm. The dark spiral mark seemed alive now, still stinging slightly with an icy sensation. As he stared at it longer, more information about the aperture came into view via a system notification.

[Opened Aperture: The Palace of Toil Integrated 

Fatelock: Void Prison Realm. 

Integrated ability: Left Hand of Calamity.]

[Left Hand of Calamity:

As an ability stemmed from the Void Prison Realm, it gives the user access to void energy and the capability to manipulate it.

Note: Your spiritual capacity is under 5%. The optimal spiritual capacity required to wield Void energy freely is 50%.]

That wasn't all. He learned a skill as well. 

[Congratulations! You have learned Imbuing.]

[Imbuing: Normal - 1%

Imbuing spiritual energy can magnify the effect of any weapon or tool. The magnification of power is not limited to sharpness, toughness, mass, or magical power.]

Apertures apparently make it easier for a user to wield their power more efficiently. There were twelve in total. The more you unlock, the easier it is to manipulate energy. Needless to say, the easier you can manipulate energy, the more competent you are.

Warden dismissed the system notification and scanned his surroundings.

Where the hell was he? The question came to mind once again. He seemed to be deep in the wilderness, far away from civilization. He wouldn't know for sure, but the surrounding area gave him a good idea of where this place was likely to be.

After searching the woods for a few minutes, he secluded himself in a relatively safe spot under a huge tree. He barely seated himself before restless thoughts wandered into his mind, overwhelming him with the aftershock of the power.

Warden slapped his face to stop his mind from wandering. His body was exhausted. Even wielding the blade efficiently would be tough unless his Physical attribute—which seemed to be Strength—grew exponentially.

Slaying beasts seemed to be one way to do it. Warden would check that out after taking care of some things.

After removing his wet cloak and clothes, he began meditating. Of course, he didn't close his eyes and lose himself in meditation. The threat lurking in the woods was too terrifying to let his guard down.

The leather jerkin would dry up in no time, while the rest of his inner clothing would take hours. Then again, he wasn't in a rush—it would take more than a couple of hours for him to reach optimal condition.

The bite mark on his biceps didn't look as bad as he'd imagined. Thankfully, spiritual energy had the power to disinfect most bodily wounds, and his recovery was slowly healing the wound too. Warden thought it would make things easier if he swirled the energy around the wound. It drew up more blood as an impaling pain accompanied the dark energy's effect.

The power felt terrifying. Just as it could devastate others, he could easily be consumed by its enticing allure. Again, his thoughts wandered to events beyond his control. He shoved aside all unwanted and unwarranted concerns, focusing on the things important to his survival.

He needed to get out of this wilderness and find civilization. But before that, he needed to familiarize himself with the sword and spiritual energy. He felt oddly familiar with them, but his condition didn't seem ideal.

The sun moved through the cloudless sky as Warden recovered quite easily. It didn't even take half an hour. He leapt to his feet to practice swinging the sword. Within half an hour, his body was covered in sweat as he thoroughly practiced—enough to avoid accidentally hurting himself. It happens more often than you'd think, especially with newbies who are unaware or unwilling to give the practice the proper attention it requires.

The practice also familiarized him with his new body's superhuman strength. Satisfied, Warden proceeded to practice [Imbuing]. Darkness formed around the sword's blade as smoky tendrils of dark energy swayed along it. Warden spun on his heels to swing his sword at the trunk of the huge tree.

Obviously, he had no expectation of cutting the huge tree apart— that was literally impossible for an Initiate. However, his power did exceed his expectations. Warden expected the blade to dig at least two inches into the trunk. Instead, he found the sword plunging through, cutting twice as deep as he thought possible.

"Perhaps I underestimated myself too much," Warden whistled, turning his attention to the sword. He'd actually forgotten to check the weapon's specifications with everything going on.

Well, he wouldn't expect some random person to secretly have a legendary blade.

Unsure, Warden narrowed his eyes at the blade, willing the system to bring up information on the weapon. Soon, the disembodied system prompt appeared before his eyes.

[The Divider: Uncommon (Growth: 65%)

 Created out of a broken fate lock, The Divider lost some of its properties. However, it is still a growth item that can reach Unique rank in time. This sword adapts to the wielder's ability, molded by their very soul.

Merits: 

+10% Strength and Spirit

 +40% Reinforcement 

+40% Amplification 

Soulsucker: Absorbs deceased creatures' soul energy to strengthen the blade. PS: The sword is bonded to the user. Its destruction will cause severe soul trauma to the wielder.]

"Wow, certainly didn't expect this." Warden couldn't help but say. "Wait, doesn't that mean this sword was specifically built for me?"

Knowing he wouldn't get answers to any of his questions, he shrugged and dismissed the prompt. He started swinging again, this time channeling power through his opened aperture. Warden plunged [The Divider] into the tree, further amplified by the void energy. Before he realized it, the blade was halfway through the trunk. At this rate, it would collapse any moment.

"Shit!" he cursed, lunging to his right.

A rattling echoed as the gigantic tree collapsed with a thunderous boom, brushing past him by mere inches. Oddly, he felt more excited than terrified. What the hell is wrong with me?

The answer was simple: Power was just too enticing.

Warden's thoughts screeched to a halt as something flew from the wreckage, shooting toward him at tremendous speed.

A giant beetle? His mind barely registered as his arms instinctively swung the blade. The sword sliced through the giant beetle in one full arc. Dark purple blood sprayed through the air as the bisected insect crashed to the ground.

"Well, that was easier than I expected," he mumbled, a warm feeling spreading through him... until most of it was absorbed by his core.

[Copper grade Energy harvested!] 

[+0.4 Strength]

Warden wiped his blade clean on the grass and sheathed it. Suddenly, dozens of giant beetles swarmed his position, buzzing angrily around the collapsed tree.

He drew his sword and braced himself.