Skill Roots- Sun Halo and Moon Horn!

There wasn't much to do today after training with the Young Miss for so long. I don't know why but it seems I've been assigned to less tasks after I'd made a bet with the House Master.

Well... To me, that's not really that important right now. What's important is to figure out why the hell I suddenly turned stupid when talking to the Young Miss! What in the actual F- Shh, no swears...

What in the ACTUAL HELL happened to me?! I am unable to accept that the fool confessing to a young girl he just met moments ago was me! Just kill me already! I'm so damn embarrassed!!! That wasn't me!!! Someone tell me that wasn't me!!! (Cries)

Calm down, calm down.... Getting emotional won't benefit me in any way. I have to calm my mind and think about what happened logically... There has to be something I missed. A clue I didn't notice...

What happened...?

No, perhaps I should focus on the here and now to get better results. Do I still feel lingering affection for Sylphy despite having just met moments ago? Am I still that weirdo who confessed so openly?

I closed my eyes and was unable to picture the Young Miss' personal maid as anything less than an absolutely stunning and beautiful flower, which caused me to feel suspicious...

My tastes haven't changed... yet I still find the Young Miss' personal maid to be beautiful? That can't be right, I can feel something... Not in my heart, but a strand of energy inside my brain...

My reflexes swiftly acted upon noticing the foreign magical energy lodged inside my head and electrocuted it by conjuring the purest Lightning Aura I could muster... That was just terrifying...!

The headache I've been feeling for a long time vanished along with the foreign feelings I had.

I'm sure there's no way I would been able expel the foreign energy planted inside my head if it weren't for the fact that I was extremely familiar with my own bodily anatomy. After all, my Combat Body Universal Art actually had the ability to increase my own understanding of my physique through interacting with my body using my Mana Flame.

How am I supposed to keep calm now that I know that someone was stealthy enough to plant a shard of magical energy inside my brain!? Who the hell did this and what in the world are they after!?

Damn, I shouldn't have acted up and studied the foreign energy a little bit longer. Now there's no longer even a shred of evidence to prove I had previously been controlled by someone...!

What should I do? Why would someone try to get me and the Young Miss' personal maid together? Who has so much in-depth knowledge regarding human anatomy that they would be able to take advantage of the my brain through intricately pressuring certain points and altering mental signals?

And let's not forget the most important questions about what happened to me: Who implanted their Mana inside my brain? How could someone do that without me even noticing their shadow? Why is it my memories are fragmented in some ways?

I don't even know WHEN the foreign energy entered my brain, let alone how... One thing I know for certain is the fact I need to get stronger! If I had been stronger than I when it happened, something like this would have never occurred...!

I looked around the room as usual and made sure no one was spying before setting up some alarms I had prepared using my makeshift magical abilities. The experiences of my past life came to play here.

I only used some simple tripwire traps created through a combination of different attributed magics inside and outside my room, but that was enough to help me make sure that even someone like Anna wouldn't be able to sneak around unnoticed.

I took a few bells from my drawer before placing them in a few hard-to-see locations, then I released a sapphire-like Water Aura and wrapped together the fingers of both my hands slowly around the bells.

A transparent line of water was made through the combination of the electromagnetic energy I created through my Lightning Aura and the conductive water I made. Then my Spell manifested outwards.

The strings connected to the corridor in a very disorderly fashion, but their transparency made it so no one would be able to detect them without being on guard beforehand. I then sew the other sides of the strings through the bells I placed before connecting them underneath my bed.

Now that the makeshift alarms have been set, I can finally look at my 'stash'.

My hands grabbed a box I had hidden within a compartment under my bed.

A thud sound could be heard as I placed the heavy box that was as big as some kind of treasure chest in front of me. The design of the 'chest' looked more like a briefcase since I have made it myself.

Once I opened the box, the thick smell of gunpowder entered my nose. My expression was still the same as I already got used to this smell in my past life as a soldier of the battlefield. That and the smell of blood.

Within the box were tubes and puzzle-like components of what I've been working on ever since I decided to become stronger. These were prototype firearms I created through the countless rounds of experimentation using various theories of magic usage. All of them tailor fit to suit my tastes.

My heart was in disarray after I'd found out that someone manipulated me into making a stupid action in front of Sylphy and the Young Miss, but now I felt a lot calmer as I preformed maintenance on these weapons I hid. A strange serenity enveloped me as I held onto a gun and loaded its magazine.

Hah... since when had I become so energetic? I feel like a youth again... No, saying that would mean I haven't been acting like a youth all these years. It was probably this mindset made me careless...

No one could understand the safety and tranquility I felt from merely touching my makeshift Pistol. It's almost like I become a totally different person once my hands got on any kind of modern firearm...

I need more strength!

If I want to get even stronger than I am now, then I must try to create a Skill Root right as of this moment! There is no other option than that unless I want to become a puppet to whoever controlled me!

I don't know if I'll be able to create a Skill Root using a complex technique like my Combat Body Universal Art, therefore I need to take things slowly... one step at a time... and make sure to not make mistakes.

The first thing I should ask myself is one certain question: 'Why did I even create such a complicated body technique in the first place?'

The answer for that is simple: 'Because it's a technique with many uses. A versatile body magic!'

My style of thinking of and applying magic is somewhat different from those around me. This is probably due to the fact that my mind had already 'matured' in a rational world like Earth, a place where science is used to explain everything and religion is used to pacify the heart.

This can be considered an advantage or disadvantage depending on how I look at it. Since although I'm able to mix and match various magic qualities easily, I'm unable to reproduce things that others my age should be able to do, like controlling Earth Ether exquisitely like Jack Steelwell.

Although Jack lost to me in our formal duel, I knew clearly that I wouldn't have been able to reproduce his Earth Attribute abilities even if I was to have the same Rank of Magical Talent as him. My mind would have only been able to think of grabbing the Earth Attribute under me and throwing it.

Now that I think about it, I should make sure my Skill Root is able to create a Support Type ability since that is the probably the biggest reason the House Master is pressuring me...

I'm sure of this assumption because of the fact that the Duke even bothered to advised me to create a Skill Root even though I could've focused on creating my own personal techniques instead.

If he wanted me to become stronger battle wise, he could have told me to focus on the Aura Sharpening technique that the Sword God once used despite my lack of talent in training it. There wasn't a need for him to advise me to form a Skill Root!

My mind returned to reality as I glanced at the Pistol I created through the manipulation of both Fire and Earth Ether. A look of reluctance appeared on my face as I thought about how I'd lose the ability to use Magic Circles once I created a Skill Root.

A person who formed a Skill Root would always permanently lose one grade of their Magical Talent without exception. This is due to how the magical energy used to create Skill Roots is permanently consumed from their Mana Flame.

Now that I think about it... I have a unique Mana Flame, don't I? My heart trembled as I closed my eyes to focus on the Sun and Moon Mana that within my Mana Flame. The duality of light and shadow that has been engraved into my soul!

I once again saw the golden hued white flame enveloping a concentrated azure hued black flame of Mana within my body, but this time there seemed to be something else floating within the area of my Mana Flame. A five-coloured jewel that seemed like it was an amalgamation of five attributes.

That jewel must represent my Combat Body technique! It the only technique I've been thinking of trying to merge with my Mana Flame for some time now, I furrowed my brows in contemplation as I reached my hand out to grab the five-coloured jewel.

Now that I get a good look at it, the new body technique I made IS a bit messy. The foundation used to activate it is all over the place considering how the technique was made hastily...

To increase the quality of it would need me to change the technique's foundation into the purest form of Sun Mana instead of multiple Elemental Affinities. This is what the Young Miss advised while she was giving her own opinion on Skill Roots before I left in shock towards my own actions.

I agreed with her opinion, but saying it was a lot easier than doing it since changing the foundation would mean that I'd have to create the technique from scratch. The five Affinities I integrated into it couldn't easily be replaced by the Sun Attribute after all... Although Sun Mana had its own special quality of being able to take any form the user could imagine, it wasn't without its flaws.

After all, there wouldn't be a need for even the likes of ancient Druids of the forgotten past to mimic other attributes if the Sun Attribute was as flawless the Royalty portrayed. Why not focus on Sun Ether?

I squeezed the five-coloured jewel in my hand and manipulated the energy within me to change the foundation of my body technique since I had no other choice, but the result was failure. The jewel I held wasn't able to reform into a Skill Root at all!

If this goes on, I might never be able to create a Skill Root. My eyes couldn't help but shift to my Mana Flame as I once again contemplated on how to change my Combat Body Universal Art.

After seeing how the golden hued white flame and azure hued black flame were harmoniously existing even though they were contrasting, a spark of inspiration hit me! I moved my fingers around the jewel once again and tried to 'harmonise' my Elemental Affinities just like my Mana Flame.

A sudden phenomenon was triggered by my reckless actions as I was able to feel my Mana Flame going out of control. I didn't know what would happen if I created a foundation of both Sun Mana and Moon Mana but risks are always accompanied by rewards.

The five-coloured jewel in my hand shined with chaotic colours before breaking apart.

I opened my eyes as intense waves of shock shook my heart. My body felt as if it was going through an earthshaking transformation that would change it to its very core! The cycle I created inside me that connected different Affinities within my physique hastened its circulation until it evolved into a form that was entirely different than before.

The Ether, Sun Mana, Moon Mana and Kinetic Energy all merged together and transformed into two separate existences that were unlike the Mana Flame I once had burning in my chest. They were like two pearls that gave off a feeling of divinity.

[Skill Root- Halo of the Sun God!]

[Skill Root- Horn of the Moon God!]

Over my right hand hovered a halo of solidified Sun Ether whilst my left hand mutated and grew a horn of the purest Moon Mana. I even found that the core of my Universal Art had transformed into five thumb-sized spheres hovering over that halo...

I willed the mutation on my left hand to return back to its original form and allowed the 'horn' growing from beside my index finger to gradually retract back into my hand. Even the pitch black energy covering my hand vanished along with my new Skill Root.

Then I threw the gun in my right hand to my left before putting the prototype back into the box I made to store it. I studied the 'halo' and the five different colour 'marbles' that were created out of the Sun Mana from my Mana Flame.

[Skill Variant- Spacial Radiance]

The halo hovering over my right hand moved before my fingers. It's shape changed into a sphere of strange energy that was the size of a hand. I could feel space itself bending to my will due to my 'Skill'.

Once that happened, the hilt of a resplendent sword formed through the centre of the fist-sized sphere of energy and rested itself in my palm. There wasn't even a hint of surprise in my eyes as I found that my body intuitively understood what was happening.

[Variant Extension- Sunshine Sword!]

I pulled on the hilt and unsheathed a sword made of Sun Mana! It's resplendent light shone brightly!