After 2 days of spectating the true tournament, Rune received a message from Olivia, who he asked some time ago for the available information on the hole tunnel research station.

As it was a bit of a lull time, he opened it and began to read after isolating himself from the external noise.

‘What would I do without this ability… Probably use simple sound dampeners available for cheap in any supermarket.’

[Bone Region Summary, by Olivia Sitri.

The hole tunnel leading to the bone region transition is globally 154 300 kilometers long and is situated in a relatively favorable location, easily accessible by any interested or curious pioneer.

An ultra-fast elevator is under construction and is planned to be achieved before the end of the prospects finding event. This elevator will accelerate to 50 kilometers per second once complete and will stop only at the research station.

Already, tests using monsters have been done, and only very specific monsters have shown permanent sequels from multiple alternative transitions between the mountainous and bone regions.

The first humanoid passages and returns have already been realized, and no sequels are to be registered, diagnostics are still being made, but few if any problems are to be reported.

A few days before the opening of the prospects finding event, a first team of deep descenders has been dispatched to find if the hole has an end.

Additional necessary materials to complete the second part of the elevator are being routed as the event is happening.

That’s it.]

‘Hum, it’s really touching a sensitive point… How many more times will I only think about wanting to go but never actually do it?’

Observing the ongoing 4 fights, Rune admitted that he was divided for the umpteenth time.

‘I don’t want to be on the main stage, I want to be able to stand next to them in silence… And for that, I need to develop my own talent and fighting style.’

Turning his head, he looked at the side profile of Lounae, a true adept of the behemoth path, not only according to her build, but also according to her demeanor, her specialty, her mindset, everything pointed towards the simple but great behemoth path cohesion variant.

‘I won’t compare myself to others, less so compare myself to a prospect and a friend, but being self-centered and ignoring the obvious fact that I’m only an average talent in this area is something I can’t keep telling myself without rational reasoning.’

A feeling of frustration he had been keeping inside him for a moment already started to make its way towards his mind.

‘And there is no such rational reasoning concluding that. My talent isn’t in any behemoth path-related fields, it’s in intent tinkering, I don’t like to be direct, I like slow and steady fights, I like taking my time to explore the region I’m in.’

His thoughts automatically came back to something he had theorized and put on his “to-do” list.

‘That’s why I want a growth mastery, one that is linked to exploration, one that would represent the hazmat suit path by itself, one that would allow me to enter the Eclipse Arcadia…’

He brought up his notes and started to write things down, he was finally having the start of a true lead on what he wanted for his second cohesion specialization.

‘And once I gather everything, my cosmic mist, my second cohesion specialization, and my behemoth build, then that’ll be my true path, once with a focus between combat and leisure…’

At the end of this entry, he wrote the name he would give his own path, one made of 2 specializations, 1 growth mastery, and the general behemoth path build.

‘And I’ll name it… The exploration immortal path, the path that will allow me to visit the entire Endless.’

With a slight grin on his face, Rune made another entry in his personal diary.

[Time: 3rd day of the true tournament. Weather: Happiness. Just decided to change my mindset a little, now, I’ll be pursuing the exploration immortal path. The first step is to finish the first version of each stage of my intent, after that-]

‘What if my growth intent helps me resist my cosmic mist? An exposure-time based growth mastery, the more I’m exposed to something, the more my cohesion learns to resist something?’

Switching back to his growth mastery note, he wrote that insight before continuing the entry.

[-after that, I’ll seriously give a go at creating a growth mastery, maybe Lady Luck and Sir Ether Law will be on my side.]

Standing up, he prepared to leave, in his mind, he could think as if he was tinkering with intent, everything was clear and he didn’t want to stop.

“I’m leaving now, just had an awesome idea and I need a few days to concretize it.”

“Take care, send a message if something happened to the park,” Utopia replied, but he was the only one to do so, the others just waved their hands as they continued to spectate the main tournament’s exciting battles.

Though that changed when Lounae also stood up to leave with him.

Rune didn’t even bother trying to search for a reason, maybe she was too shy to leave without someone doing it first, maybe she found the fights too boring, maybe anything, maybe nothing.

On the way, they each bought a big bowl of carbonara noodles that they ate with gusto before stepping on the highway, returning to the south sector, and then leaving the capital’s expansive boundary.

Within the hour needed to travel back to the Undecided Training Park, Rune organized his immediate schedule and decided that gathering more knowledge about growth masteries was in fact more important than tinkering with his cosmic mist intent and finishing the last two remaining stages.

That’s why upon arriving, he found a table and a chair and got his holographic keyboard out, starting something he thought he would never do again, he was repeating what he did when he decided to get a composite element.

The same guide, a different section, new contact information, a prospective new support team, and a potential new Aleda-level expert to review or help him.

‘Though I already know growth masteries are far from being an easy subject, they’re often compared to reaching beyond due to the stringent conditions required to create one.’

Starting from the introduction, he carefully read every sentence, not hesitating to go back and read again when there was even the slightest confusion or different interpretations possible.

[Growth masteries belong to the category of specialized masteries and are, as their names imply, masteries that aren’t limited by their tier or level and can be created as long as one specialization reaches tier 2.]

The first sentence, Rune still remembered when he read it the first time, there were no ambiguities, no lies, just the pure truth.

A truth that was demonstrated again and again, but like everything… When it’s too beautiful to be true, then there is a problem.

And this problem was also demonstrated again and again.

[To create one, you need to take all the effects used to give birth to secondary specializations and mix them together with a very strong direction that gives no choice as to what the Ether Law can offer you. To make this possible, however, only one technique has been proven to work consistently, this technique is called G-Introspection, and is a step that many will never overcome in their life despite trying.]

‘And this technique just happens to be something I’m not too keen on using, but maybe now that I have a clear plan?’

[G-Introspection, the power to shape your personality and subconscious like it’s gum, shape it or fold it, but stay nearly the same all along, and if you’re adept or lucky enough, then all the effects will combine and give birth to a growth mastery.]

And that was how the introduction ended, leaving Rune guessing for what was truly difficult, or it would have if he hadn’t already browsed through the answer before.

‘Unfortunately, or fortunately, everyone is unique, so there is no guide on how to combine and fuse different effects together…’

It was the critical point this advanced field of study couldn’t resolve. The Ether Law only translated the effects as names, so while people could have similar, even identical, names and effects, in reality, everyone was different.

On a whim, he opened his tier 4 cohesion infusion specialty.

Cohesion: Specialized Cohesion Infusion

Specialized Slotted Mastery (Tier 4)

By carefully infusing health into your energy, you can directly give it the cohesive property only found in it, such manipulation can now be used at a practical level.

You have reached the point where you can perfectly find the most important cohesive property in your health, you can now infuse cohesion-based health in your energy at a ratio of 1 health for 1 infused energy, regardless of quantity.

Cohesion isn’t just a stat, it’s also a part of your being. You’re the only one who can discover more use to it, bend it to your will, and impose what you want this cohesion to be and become.

Current effects: Isolation, Rejection

‘Still isolation and rejection… Why would it have changed? Nonetheless, it looks like a good foundation if I do think so myself, I just need to learn all the rules and I’ll become able to know what to do.’

From its tier 2 counterpart to its now tier 4, his specialization hadn’t changed much if it changed at all. It didn’t gain new abilities, didn’t reinforce the effects, or anything, it just did its specialization’s job better.

All in all, Rune could manipulate his cohesion stat a lot better with cohesion infusion at tier 4 than when it was tier 2.

Really getting into the mood after telling himself that, he stopped daydreaming and focused entirely on the first chapter of the growth masteries section.

He was ready to copy-paste everything that looked relevant.

…

“It means I need to first add a combining effect, something like potential, adaptation, or evolution, and even then I’ll have no certainty whether it’ll fail, and why, maybe it’ll be the isolation effect that just doesn’t want to fuse, or maybe it’ll be the rejection one, sigh…”

Acting like someone who just realized how hard the path’s specialization mastery they wanted was, Rune was releasing the pressure over a drink of infused juice with Lounae who just came back from a session inside the single star dome.

“It’s not just the difference between theory and practice anymore, it’s the difference between dream, theory, and practice! A third camp joined because the situation looked fun!”

5 minutes of ranting later, he quieted down and returned to memorizing his copy-pasted stitched together document.

‘The comparison with a seed is really helpful, I need to restrain what I want as much as possible. A seed is small and weak, but its potential is enormous. It’s a little disturbing that so many examples are for elemental specialization, I don’t need a growth mastery for my cosmic mist damn it!’

Next to the copy-pasted document, he had kept his growth mastery note document open and was highlighting the part that he found didn’t work at all with what he had learned until now.

Like making his growth mastery able to help him deal with damages coming from monsters in any form. That was too ambitious. Just a bit tho.

‘Make sure you don’t already have a secondary specialization, as it’ll not help you, and vice versa, it’ll completely block the formation of a growth mastery based on the specialization you want. Ok, no problem with that.’

‘It’s been proven that mindset can sometimes be fickle, even during a G-Introspection session meant to stabilize this fickleness, so a secondary layer of stabilization can be created if the environment you live in is a representation of what your growth mastery would embody.’

‘In simple and not always relevant examples, a sea environment for water growth mastery, a mountain environment for earth growth mastery… Then I got 2 possibilities, the erosion anomaly or the gravity anomaly, I don’t think my cosmic mist qualifies as an environmental hazard yet.’

On a tangent thought, Rune opened his cosmic mist note document and opened a new section named “How to become a true environmental hazard”.

In it, he brought the possibility of only needing the 5th stage, complete assimilation with nature, but also the possibility of needing secondary specializations in one or multiple effects like disruption, permanence, or perfection.

‘Considering they’re my goals and I can’t go to the Eclipse Arcadia, it’ll be perfect, but I need more refinement on my idea, what else am I missing…’

Continuing to read, he finished his first version of his theoretical growth mastery DNA.

Then he found the form the faculty linked to this field distributed, filled it as precisely as possible, and sent it to the correct contact information.

Not knowing how much time he needed to wait, he decided to get some entertainment for a few hours, he didn’t want to watch the replays or the live of what was happening in the true tournament, he reserved that for later.

With the mass gathering of people at the event, there was no end to the number of funny situations, and after he got fed up with that, he switched to more traditional platforms.

And he got an answer as he was watching a professional cook make a chocolate castle.

[Following your transmission of the appropriate form to the growth masteries research faculty, an appointment had been made at the central sector, ether labs entrance area. Corresponding officer: Zophia Holden, research leader of the growth masteries research faculty.]

When Rune looked at the time of the appointment, he calculated it was starting less than 4 hours from now.

‘What should I think… Second time is a coincidence? Should I become used to being summoned with such a short delay? Certainly looks like it.’

Deciding that he may as well wait there and maybe pay a visit to Aleda, he gathered his barrel of juice and his holographic projector and departed.

…

With his repeated round-trips to the ether labs area, he easily found the entrance area and the receptionists that already knew him.

Despite the ongoing event, the flow of people in this place stayed exactly the same as the one he remembered, and the reason why, everyone knew it.

Everyone “working” here weren’t “employees”, they were just subsidized addicts gathered here to share their advancement in their respective passion.

“I’m here for an appointment with Zophia Holden in 3 hours, if she has a busy schedule then I’ll just go pay a visit to Aleda Calico in the meanwhile.”

Checking through her lenses and screens, the receptionist, an average human, found him and let him access the ether labs area, “I’ll send her a message, if she decides to bring the appointment forward you’ll receive a message.”

And just like that, Rune decided to pay a visit to Aleda.

…

But she wasn’t here, not even Star Head remained behind.

Only assistants with whom he had a purely professional relationship, so he settled back to wait at the entrance area, where he received a message 1 hour before the appointed time informing him that Zophia was coming so he should prepare.

‘I’m already there…’

5 minutes later, a dignified human woman wearing high heels, a close-fitting black shirt and pants with long brown hair stood before him, the first impression he got of her wasn’t that of a research leader at all, but more that of a model.

“Mr. Tudor, considering how detailed your form was, I can only hope I have to deal with someone serious,” she didn’t add more than that as her greetings, she wasn’t even properly smiling.

“Hello, and while I still don’t know if you’re the Ms. Holden I must meet, my presence here says a lot more than a simple form can.”

“I am Ms. Holden, let’s go,” not informing him of anything, she just departed and left unsaid the fact that following her wasn’t exactly a request.

Not emitting objection, Rune followed behind her.

Arriving at the growth masteries research faculty 3 minutes later, they entered and as an observer, he could only admit that this faculty was a lot more shabby than the one he was used to.

There were no perception blockers, nearly no assistants, and it was completely silent apart from the sound Rune himself produced.

After he observed that, he adapted to the new norm and made a bit of cosmic mist appear at his feet to become completely silent.

‘I’m an expert at that, just ask me and I can tell you 50 restaurants with unique rules!’

When Zophia stopped to open a door, she waved him in like he was a guest and followed behind him, closing the door once again behind her.

It was really like she didn’t care about his presence as she passed by and took 2 mats from a pile in the corner, unrolled them, sat cross-legged on one, and once again waved at him, this time indicating him to sit facing her.

‘Well… It’s not my first time being alone with a beauty in a room, but the context this time…’

“Mr. Tudor, the reason for this appointment is due to you sending a complete form concerning a potential growth mastery. Due to your high credibility noted in your available file here in the ether labs, I expedited the process and that’s why you’re here so fast.”

“Mmh,” Rune nodded while grunting.

“In the form you filled, I concluded a strong understanding of the growth masteries field, so I’m here more as a helper than a reviewer. I can only offer a bit of guidance, but it should save you a few months of work, after that, there’ll be no reason to see each other unless it’s to report your success in gaining a growth mastery.”

“Ok.”

Nodding to herself, Zophia finally sent something he could understand.

[Direct Exchange Link Request received from Zophia Holden. Accept? Refuse? Dismiss?]