The Over-Break System

“Holy crap…no way, is that an Epic Rank, Tier-3 Fusion Affinity Enlightenment Skill book?” Gabby asked in awe.

“Yep, and it’s for the Temperature Affinity; once I learn this, I will be able to freely adjust not only the metal temperature as I forge but also the surrounding temps, allowing me to create the perfect environment to optimize the items I make while smithing.”

Benny’s eyes sparkled with an excited glint as he turned the book back around and cradled it to his chest. A few seconds later, his eyes glazed over, and he returned to his enlightened state as he learned the knowledge stored within the book.

Brance and Gabby stared at him for a few minutes before growing bored and reclining on their couches.

“Brancie, do you know what Big Bro Cyn and Selly are up to?” Gabby asked while leaning her head on Brance’s shoulder.

“Sel is finishing up her Sub-Class skill books, and I just wrapped up leveling my Tamer Class,” Stepping out of the training room and hearing Gabby’s question, Cynrik answered before his brother could as he walked toward the kitchen to get some coffee.

Even if it was already 11 pm, time didn’t have much meaning to Cynrik, who was always up late anyway, thanks to his trauma-induced insomnia, so having a cup of coffee at this time of night only sufficed to help his brain stay focused.

[Oh, look, it’s my idiot brother, who seems to only ever get stronger by nearly dying.] As Cynrik walked by the living room on his way to the kitchen, Brance snorted in response to his entrance and harassed him.

[To be fair, if you understood the drawbacks of having a visible [Mark of the Tamer], you would have hidden it as well. I didn’t want to carve it on any of my organs since I could potentially get injured in the future, so the safest place to place it was on my Codex, which is practically indestructible so long as there is Mana stored inside.] Cynrik retorted as he rolled his eyes, fixed himself a cup of coffee, and headed back to the living room.

When he made it to the couches, Cynrik’s eyes locked onto Benny with [Mana Sight], and seeing the swirl of orangish-red and blue Mana Particles; he raised an eyebrow while taking a sip of his drink.

“It seems I’ve missed something quite interesting; care to fill me in?” Cynrik asked while noticing that the two particle types seemed to be swirling around each other, resembling a DNA helix.

“Yeah, while you were in the training room doing some insane crap to your Codex, Benny obtained a Fire Affinity by using an Affinity Gem and opened his platinum reward box.”

“Inside was an Epic rank enlightenment book for the Temperature Affinity. According to what he told us earlier, it will benefit him when it comes time to start making things with his Sub-Class.”

Picking up another uncut Opal, Brance explained what was going on, making Cynrik nod as he continued sipping his coffee and watching Benny.

“I see…did you actually look at the Fire particles he’s channeling, though?” Pointing at the swarm of color around Benny with his wrist, Cynrik brought Brance’s attention toward the strange Fire particles.

Upon further inspection, the Mana particles surrounding Benny seemed closer to orange than red, unlike Cynrik’s, which leaned more toward the darker red than orange.

“Eh? What do you mean, it looks the same to me?” Narrowing his eyes and trying to differentiate the difference at a glance, Brance didn’t see anything off about the Fire Mana being channeled by Benny.

“Sigh, little brother, are you sure you aren’t color blind? The Particles Benny is channeling are clearly orangish-red, while mine are reddish-orange.” To give Brance a more straightforward example, Cynrik waved his hand, drew in a cluster of his usual Fire Mana particles, and moved them closer to the one Benny was drawing in, giving Brance a proper comparison between the two different particles.

“Um, guys, have you already forgotten I can’t see Mana like you two?” Feeling left out, Gabby spoke with a downcast glance.

Revealing a strained smile, Brance consoled Gabby by patting her head several times before standing up and looking closer at the two particles.

Sure enough, after staring hard at the two similar Fire Particle clusters, Brance perceived a slight hue difference between the Fire Benny was channeling and the Fire Cynrik always used.

To put it in simpler terms, it was like the Fire Benny used was softer, gentler, and meant for creation, whereas Cynrik’s were dangerously unchained and threatening, wanting nothing more than to destroy.

It perfectly represented how Fire could be used for warmth or light vs. burning down a whole forest.

Spotting the realization in Brance’s eyes, Cynrik casually waved his hand and released his control over the ambient Mana particles, then took another sip of his coffee.

“As I said, it’s different; although I don’t know how big the difference is, and I don’t see why or how it was possible, this opens an entirely new door to how we should view Mana as a whole.”

“Suppose there are different variants of individual particles. In that case, we should have seen them a long time ago, yet we haven’t, which can only mean it potentially has to do with the will of the Affinity user reflecting in the Mana itself.”

Shrugging his shoulders and gulping down the last bit of his drink, Cynrik placed the empty coffee mug on the table closest to Brance and picked up one of his uncut opal stones.

After glancing at the contrasting ratio between cut and uncut gems, he quickly realized his brother was struggling with working on his new craft.

“Oi, Brancie, carve this; let me see where you are struggling.” Even if Cynrik didn’t know much about gem-cutting, he was still learned enough in crafting that he figured he would be able to help out, if even a little bit.

Nodding and taking the uncut opal from his brother, Brance scooped up his hammer and chisel and started chipping away at the small rough gem.

About two minutes later, Brance landed a strike, and the gem suddenly pulverized into dust. In frustration, he puffed out a Mana-filled gust of Wind particles and sent the dust fragments into the vents as he had been doing the whole time.

“Tsk, I figured it would be something like that.” Nodding his head twice, Cynrik leaned over and thumped Brance on the top of the head.

“Listen up, Dingus, why the hell are you using so much force? GLIDE the chisel along the stone. There is a process to what you are trying to do, and instead of having a predesigned shape you want to achieve, you are just smacking away at the stone in whatever way looks satisfactory to you.” Leaning over and picking up two of the already cut Opals, Cynrik held them side by side and showed them to Gabby.

“Now, rabbit, tell me, what is wrong with this picture?”

Gabby’s eyes darted from the opal in Cynrik’s left hand to the one on the right several times until she picked up on what he was trying to demonstrate.

“They are completely differently shaped?” She asked instead of stating since she wasn’t totally sure of her answer.

“Correct, the opal on the left has twelve sides, while the one on the right only has nine. Sure it’s nice to have different cuts and shapes, but for practical purposes and training….” Pausing his statement, Cynrik tossed both gems to Gabby, who excitedly caught them before admiring their luster and shine.

“You must have a solid picture in your head and replicate the shape repeatedly. In this way, you not only efficiently cut one gem after another, but you also can get a handle on what it feels like when you make a good cut versus a lousy cut.”

“Coming from someone who doesn’t even have the right skill set to execute a perfectly cut gem, I don’t think you have the expertise to lecture me, Cyn,” Brance replied with dead eyes.

Cynrik had always been like this, adding his advice even when he had no experience or clue of how difficult the task could be.

“Oh really,” Smirking cockily, Cynrik whipped out his left hand, snatched the tools from Brance’s hands, and used Affinitiless Mana to draw in an uncut opal.

Then with a flashy flourish and some well-timed strikes in specific positions on the coin-sized stone, Cynrik struck it eight times and blew a puff of air on the rock to clear the dust.

-You have successfully Cut an Uncut Common Opal.-

-You have unlocked the hidden stat, Gem Cutting.-

-Current Gem Cutting Level: 0.-

-Current Gem Cutting Proficiency XP. 0/100.-

-You have earned 10 Gem Cutting Proficiency XP.-

Smiling due to the notifications, Cynrik gloatingly tossed the perfectly cut gem to Brance, who caught it with a stunned expression on his face.

“How in the fuck?” He asked with glazed-over eyes and an open mouth.

“900 DEX, and I constantly work with tools during my Engineering crafting, also, did you already forget I was the one who molded everyone’s Spatial artifacts.” Rolling his eyes and crossing his arms after dropping the chisel and hammer onto the coffee table, Cynrik tried to keep his arrogance in check as he spoke.

“WOAH! BIG BRO CYN, YOU HAVE 900 DEXTERITY NOW???” Gabby practically screeched as she learned just how high Cynrik’s stats had grown after the Obelisk.

“Un, I had some windfalls and got quite a few stat points during and after the Obelisk climb. But that isn’t the main reason I was able to cut that gem so easily. A specific image was in my head, so I determined where to strike the gem in order to achieve the desired shape.”

“And your DEX stat is hundreds of points higher than mine.” Rolling his eyes, Brance picked up one of the uncut opals and tried it Cynrik’s way, and to his dismay, the results were exactly what he didn’t want them to be.

-You have successfully Cut an Uncut Common Opal.-

-You have earned 10 Gem Cutting Proficiency XP.-

-Current Gem Cutting Proficiency XP. 80/100.-

“Tsk, bullshit, I’ve spent HOW many hours now trying to cut gems, and you waltz in and correct me with a few lame words, and I can suddenly do things correctly.” Trying his best to chalk it up to luck, Brance repeated the process on another gem.

-You have successfully Cut an Uncut Common Opal.-

-You have earned 10 Gem Cutting Proficiency XP.-

-Current Gem Cutting Proficiency XP. 90/100.-

“UGH! DAMN IT ALL TO HELL! GET OUT OF HERE CYNRIK SHOO SHOO!” In his anger, Brance tossed the cut gems at Cynrik’s head, but he quickly caught them while snickering at his younger brother’s expense.

Wearing a cheeky grin, he tossed the gems to Gabby, who excitedly caught them and admired the shiny stones before he turned and ran off down the hall. As he entered his bedroom, Cynrik looked over his shoulder and spoke before closing the door.

“By the way, I’m putting my birbs in the Incubators; they should be hatched within an hour, so let Benny know when he wakes up; I don’t want you guys missing it.”

With that said, Cynrik closed the door and found Selene fast asleep with a lewd smile on her face on his bed.

“Tsk, this girl, she finished her enlightenment and went to bed.” Clicking his tongue, Cynrik ignored her and walked over to the two tall devices on the opposite side of the room. It was finally time to hatch his eggs.