Before he even entered the boss room, Ronan formed a shortsword with conjure weapon. At the current rarity of the skill and with his mana manipulation skills, it was the most suitable weapon he could arm himself with. He had spears and such from the goblins in the tutorial, but they were all fairly shoddy and likely to break after a single strike.

Then he took out the skill-stealing mirror and held it in his other hand. The moment he spotted the boss he was ready to activate it.

Magical sword in hand, he pushed open the door and stepped into Veloxis' lair. As it always was, the Dreamweaver lay at the base of the tree, seemingly fast asleep. Ronan now knew that for the illusion it was. A lie, as most things were when it came to these former scavengers.

He activated the skill-stealing mirror.

Even before he'd entered, the boss likely sensed his presence. Thinking back to the first time he'd encountered it, Ronan felt helpless. It had all been a game to the devious nine-tailed fiend.

While he could wait for the boss to attack, then do his best to hold out for long enough, Ronan knew that was pointless. Giving such a powerful opponent the opportunity to start the fight was just asking to die before he could finish what he set out to do.

The best defence is a great offence.

Everyone knew that. Lining up his sword, and ensuring the mirror was securely gripped in his offhand, Ronan activated unstoppable charge of the juggernaut.

A deafening screech tore through the steel and glass greenhouse. Spinning on his feet, Ronan threw his sword up and prepared to avoid the incoming attack. Veloxis had vanished.

The dirt where the fox had lain moments earlier was scattered, the grass torn out by his rapid assault. The magically conjured blade had struck the tree, but not left a single scratch. In fact, he'd felt the mana draining from the conjuration on impact, weakening it.

As he darted backwards, he released the skill and conjured a fresh blade. He suddenly felt a spiking pain at the base of his skull. The amulet that permanently rested around his neck flared to life, resisting the mental assault.

Even with the added protection of his bound item, Ronan was unable to weather the storm. He staggered to the side, throwing up his shortsword before an ethereal claw ripped air apart to scratch at him. His forearm trembled under the force of the attack. Another conjured sword shattered into lost mana.

Yowling, in the horrible way foxes do, Veloxis appeared in the branches of the tree, staring at as though it were an emperor observing his subjects. Ronan cursed its arrogance.

Under the rippling noise, he felt a force grip his mind. This was no subtle attempt to trick him, but a hammer blow attempting to ravage his consciousness.

For all the rage that Veloxis threw into the attempt, he managed to stay on his feet for a little while longer. With so many advantages stacked to defend his mind, Ronan would have been a failure if he couldn't achieve at least the forty or so seconds of survival he needed to complete his task.

Glancing down at the mirror, he saw it had yet to completely absorb the boss' skill. Feeling the overwhelming strength of the boss once again, he knew he couldn't fail here. He needed to obtain a fraction of that power, so that he could rise up stronger in his next iteration.

Another mental attack struck him. This time, Ronan couldn't resist the power of the boss. He fell to his knees.

Despite the damage, Ronan still drew breath. In his blurred vision, he saw the diminutive fox striding towards him, nine tails swinging in the air above it. He wondered if the monster had held back on purpose, so that it could taunt him, as it had the first time they fought.

Still, for all he hated the fox for how many times it had tormented and slaughtered him, Ronan understood its sentiments. The integration had done a number on the beasts just as much as it had fucked with him and his species. Those foxes which attacked him most often were still animals, only with bigger teeth and claws. They followed their instincts.

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That didn't mean he wouldn't kill them when they attacked him, but he understood it wasn't necessarily their fault. Even Vulparis and Veloxis, for all the cruelty they had shown, were dealing with the new circumstances in their own way. How strange must it have been, for an animal that was wild until a few weeks ago to suddenly gain sapience. And magic!

As he reached the end of his wild tangent, Ronan felt the skill-stealing mirror send him a gentle pulse. It had finished its task.

With the boss looming large in his vision, he still found the strength to stretch his lips into a smug grin. He activated the mirror.

What are you smiling about, human? You think whatever spell you're channeling will be enough to kill me? Your petty tricks might give you the arrogance to slaughter my kin, but you are far from a match for the Dreamweaver, Veloxis' snide remarks rang in his mind as its eyes glared into his very soul.

Skill Stealing Mirror (Epic) has been successfully consumed!

You have obtained the skill [Ghost Claw (Epic)]

ERROR!

The skill [Ghost Claw (Epic)] is incompatible with your genetic composition!

Seeking solutions…

Solution found!

Skill [Ghost Claw (Epic)] has been adjusted!

You have obtained the skill [Ethereal Slash (Epic)]

Ethereal Slash (Epic): Wherever my eyes fall, my blade cuts. For a true master, distance is no obstacle. Transmit a single slash across a distance to strike your foe. From one metre to a hundred, the ethereal slash cuts through all. Greater range requires greater mana input. (Cost: 40 Mana + 10 Mana / metre travelled).

Veloxis swiped at him. The ghostly claw tore through his raised forearm. Warm blood spurted down his chest and towards the fox, who deftly sidestepped the crimson shower. Even as he died, a big grin remained plastered on Ronan's face.

Chrono cost is not payable for further branch path iterations. Branch path will be terminated!

Decoding universal-parallel probability matrix…

Estimating chrono cost of anchor point…

Branch path has been terminated!

Restarting local spacetime…

Branch path analysis [Branch 2, Ronan Steele]

Iterations completed: 6

Estimated chrono cost: Medium

Actual chrono cost: Low-Medium

Cultivation has exceeded a threshold on branch path! Cannot be purged! Chrono cost has been adjusted to Medium-High!

Cultivation has been reset to threshold minimum!

All mastery points gained on branch path have been purged!

All multipliers increased on branch path have been reset!

Please select one of the five skills gained on this branch path to sacrifice to the Temporal Obelisk…

[Lightning Strike]

[Conjure Weapon]

[Accumulating Agility]

[Light Manipulation]

[Ethereal Slash]

Alternatively, you can sacrifice all of your free chronos merit progress to appease the Temporal Obelisk…

Ronan floated in the dark void of death while pondering his options. He'd wondered if the sacrifice of a trait had been a cost unique to his previous branch path, but it seemed as if it would be a recurring theme. In order to activate a branch, he needed to sacrifice a portion of what he gained within it.

That made sense. Give and take. There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world, though he was certainly eating at a massive discount.

As all five of the skills were exceptionally useful to him, with high combat potential and out-of-combat utility, he didn't want to lose a single one. That meant his only real option was to sacrifice his free chronos merit progress.

It hurt. After he'd earned the first free chronos merit through receiving duplicate skills, it had become even harder to earn the progress. That 8% represented about three or four duplicate skills down the drain. Still, he could earn more skills any time he wanted—it just required dying. That was the lesser of two evils.

The Temporal Obelisk accepts your sacrifice. Free chronos merit progress has been reset.

The Temporal Obelisk senses the dawn of a new era…

The Temporal Obelisk is watching…

Ronan found himself back in the ancestral grounds of the Chronos Clan. He had learned much about his new world, and the sector he found himself in each time he completed the tutorial.

He now knew why there didn't seem to be that many people above ground; there was a large community of humans in the sewers. There were also more species living beneath the ground than just humanity. That included more monsters than just foxes, with the addition of the terrorwhiskers.

Unfortunately he didn't have any chronos merits, but he did have a lot of changes to his status to run through. Mineral skeleton, stat fruit consumption, mutations, skills, and more. There was plenty to consider and in this endless white void, Ronan had infinite time to do so.

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