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Step one complete. Time for step two.

One after another, Ike tapped the puppets. He went down the line from the first set he\'d tapped, keeping the tree monsters in mind. It wasn\'t possible to catch all the black gunk in his few containers, so he let it spill out on the floor. When it ran close to the line of fire, it evaporated into a dark cloud of mana.

Ike tossed a single blade of whitefeather grass into the black gunk closest to him. It dissolved in an instant. The mana clouding up from the gunk grew clearer and cleaner. The clarity expanded outward from the spot he\'d dropped the leaf of grass. The entire cloud of mana became transparent and easier to absorb. Ike breathed it in, drawing it deep into his core.

In a few seconds, he\'d recharged his mana stores. Ike continued drawing the mana in. He sunk into his inner space, focusing on the shape of the largest Lightning Clad skill he\'d successfully created so far. He added the shape of the proto-Lightning Clad (Torso) skill alongside the successful Lighnting Clad skill. Even in its proto-form, the torso skill had so many more supports than the thigh skill. Compared to the thigh skill, he\'d have to spend twice the mana per the space the skill took up on his body. On top of that, the torso version covered his torso—an area twice as big as either thigh. He grimaced. That\'s going to take so much mana to create.

Good thing I\'ve got a ton of mana to burn!

He drew up the torso skill again, mapping it to his body. Instantly, the skill started to collapse. Drawing in more mana, he forcibly propped the skill up. It trembled, barely holding on. The barest, thinnest lines of lightning swirled around his body. A few more seconds. Just a little longer!

The skill held on for another breath, then collapsed. Ike checked his skills, but already knew he wouldn\'t see it there. That wasn\'t the true form of Lightning Clad (Torso). Those sad strands of lightning don\'t count as a true Clad. There\'s still something wrong with the base form of the skill.

He drew the skill across his body again and threw his mana into it. This time, he didn\'t try to keep the skill going. Instead, he paid close attention to where the skill grew thin, and where it shattered. Where the mana branched off the main flow and grew thinner, it was far more likely to shatter. He thickened the flows. The skill stabilized. As it stabilized, the lightning around his body grew thicker and denser, until it finally matched the density of the other Lightning Clad skills.

Ike let out a breath. Structurally, the skill seemed fine, now. All he had to do was focus on holding it for longer, and it ought to show up on his skill list before long.

He put activating the torso skill on autopilot and turned his attention to the only part of him not yet Lightning Clad: his head.

Ike tentatively circulated mana into his head, feeling its flow. His head was the most complex of all the regions of his body so far, in terms of mana flows. His torso had the most mana flows, but they were relatively straightforward. When it came to his head, the mana flows were delicate. Not only that, but they whirled all around. Delicate and unpredictable. Compared to the other regions of his body, his head was also more critical. If he severely wounded his head, it was game over. Salamander Healing couldn\'t heal a wound that instantly killed him.

Not that any of the Lightning Clad skills have injured me yet. But it\'s something I need to be more careful of now than ever.

He considered using the form of one of his other Lightning Clad skills to create the head version, but quickly dismissed the idea. It was okay if he made a mistake or two with his arm or torso. He couldn\'t afford the same for his head. Instead, he turned his gaze down to Lightning Dash. The original skill, from which all the other Lightning-based skills flowed. From his feet, to his head.

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Looking at the Lightning Dash skill now, it was so obvious how its shape formed the flow of its mana. The swirly construct that created the electricity. The straight lines piping mana to the core constructs.

I don\'t want this skill to flow through the center of my head, the way it flows through the center of all my limbs. I want it to flow around my head. Create a… a helm. He considered the skill again, then waved his hand, replicating it. Ike attached the two skills at a right angle, then waved his hand again, replicating the right-angle join. Rotating that angle around, he joined the two corners together into a square. At the top, he pinched the tops together into a sharp point, then shaped it into more of a dome with his hands. After all, the skill is called \'clad,\' not body. As long as it\'s around me, it meets the skill\'s name.

Rather than immediately put the skill outline on his head, he held it in his mental space first. Pouring mana into it, he followed his usual process of trial and error. When it exploded, he shored up the weakest places. When it burst apart, he wove the pieces closer together. Over and over. Adding new flows. Merging the existing ones. It shattered over and over, but Ike simply drew in more mana and started again. I refuse to give up. I\'m going to make this skill, no matter what!

The more times he reformed it, the more solid it became. As he shored up all the breaks, the skill no longer shattered so easily. It held its form, but the mana still didn\'t flow smoothly. Ike leaned in, examining the details of the mana flows. He unkinked the right edges and widened the primary flows. Pruned out unnecessary edges and lines. More mana. More smoothly. Molding and merging the edges until it became one solid thing, not four items pressed together.

The shape clicked together. A helm floated in his mind\'s eye, stable, flickering with lightning. Ike materialized it and formed it over his head. At the same time, he activated all his Clad skills.

[Name: Ike | Age: 15 | Status: Nm | Rank: 1 [Abyss Dweller]]

Skills: Common: 5 | Bronze 2 | Silver 2 | Gold 1 | Rare 2 | … | Unique: 9

Common: All-Around Runner Lvl 7 | Razor Handling Lvl 9 | Spear Handling Lvl 4 | Axe Handling Lvl 4 | Sword Handling Lvl 8 | Bow Handling Lvl 1 | Primitive Crafting Lvl 7

Bronze: Sensory Enhancement Lvl 7 | Mana Manipulation Lvl 4

Silver: Flurry of Kicks Lvl 2 | Chlorophyll Lvl 1

Gold: Shockwave Punch Lvl 1

Rare: Salamander Healing Lvl 9 | River-Splitting Sword Lvl 5

Unique: Lightning Dash Lvl 9 | Lightning Grasp Lvl 6 | Lightning Clad (Forearm) Lvl 5 | Lightning Clad (Calf) Lvl 5 | Lightning Clad (Thigh) Lvl 3 | Lightning Clad (Bicep) Lvl 3 | Lightning Clad (Torso) Lvl 1 | Lightning Clad (Helm) Lvl 1 | Lightning Caller Lvl 2

Purple lightning flickered over his entire body. All the skills began shining, brighter than they ever had before. They wrapped around him. Melded together. Energy swirled around him, the skills activating on their own, calling one another to greater heights. Mana drained out of him. He breathed it in constantly, feeding the skill. Even doused in mana as he was, he lost mana with every passing breath. The skill required an enormous expenditure of mana. More than anything he\'d experienced yet. More than Lightning Caller or his strongest activation of any other skill.

The skill grew stronger and stronger. The purple light grew blindingly bright. The skills lifted off his body. Purple lightning swirled around him as they melded.

Overhead, stormclouds grew. Ike glanced upward, gritting his teeth. If this skill didn\'t condense soon, he\'d start leveling up Lightning Caller whether he liked it or not.

As if in response, the skill emitted a bright light, brighter than anything so far. It expanded hugely, then snapped into place, closing in around his body. A thin layer of lightning crackled over his entire body. He lifted his hands, turning them over to feel the lightning play over him. Compared to the usual skills, it felt smooth. All one. As if he\'d returned it to his natural state.

He pulled up his skills list again, curious. The Clad skills weren\'t all level 9. Did they merge anyways?

[Name: Ike | Age: 15 | Status: Nm | Rank: 1 [Abyss Dweller]]

Skills: Common: 5 | Bronze 2 | Silver 2 | Gold 1 | Rare 2 | … | Unique: 4

Common: All-Around Runner Lvl 7 | Razor Handling Lvl 9 | Spear Handling Lvl 4 | Axe Handling Lvl 4 | Sword Handling Lvl 8 | Bow Handling Lvl 1 | Primitive Crafting Lvl 7

Bronze: Sensory Enhancement Lvl 7 | Mana Manipulation Lvl 4

Silver: Flurry of Kicks Lvl 2 | Chlorophyll Lvl 1

Gold: Shockwave Punch Lvl 1

Rare: Salamander Healing Lvl 9 | River-Splitting Sword Lvl 5

Unique: Lightning Dash Lvl 9 | Lightning Grasp Lvl 6 | Lightning Clad Lvl 1 | Lightning Caller Lvl 2

Ike laughed aloud. He punched the sky, excited. A bolt of lightning shot off from his fist and crackled upward. Startled, he lowered his fist, examining his hand. Is that a new side effect from Lightning Clad? I\'ll have to play with it more.

It was curious how his Lightning Clad had merged without hitting level 9, but his running skills hadn\'t merged until they hit level 9. Is it only a prerequisite for Common skills? Is it because the Lightning Clads were originally one skill, that I had to break into pieces to learn? Is it because it\'s a Unique skill? Did I learn an inferior version of Lightning Clad?

He clapped, and thunder rolled from his palms. He grinned. It doesn\'t feel inferior.

More mana swirled around him. Ike took a deep breath. Now that he\'d merged the Clads into one Clad, he only had one goal remaining:

Time to Rank up!