Skill crystals were usually found in core parts of dungeons—guarded by a powerful monster. Exactly how a skill crystal forms, no one knows. Often, the alchemists would quibble for hours about this topic. However, its secrets were still shrouded in mystery.

Nel fervently gazed at the crystal and caressed its smooth edges. It was the ticket to his rise. He quickly locked his doors and closed the blinds of the windows. After that, he went to his bedroom and sat on his bed cross-legged. Holding the crystal in his hands, he took a long breath before channeling his mana into it.

Zapp!!

A feeling akin to getting electrocuted surged through Nel’s hands. Then, a calming energy entered from the crystal to his body. It traveled through his hands and directly went to his navel. Information on the ability appeared on Nel’s head.

The process to use a [Skill Crysatl] was very simple. A hunter just had to channel his/her mana into it—the crystal will do the rest. After the skill was learned, details on how to use it, and what it does will automatically appear inside their head.

The same thing happened with Nel, as well. A brief description of the ability and how to use them appeared inside his mind. Suddenly, Nel’s face paled. The details in his head were different from what he was expecting.

Something was not right! Nel opened his eyes in panic. The skill’s effects were not what the seller said. It wasn’t the [Wave Manipulation] they promised. Sure there was a wave in the skill’s name, but its effects were different from the one the seller said.

The name that appeared in his head was [Mana Wave]. It was an advanced form of mana control and manipulation technique. It didn’t have any other abilities. It also has a secondary effect. To Nel, however, it was practically useless.

Nel’s control over his mana was already astounding. He was already able to use it to empower himself and his weapons. In fact, it was so advanced that sometimes he would even be able to perceive mana in the air. Here, the ‘control’ aspect of skill became redundant.

Second, Nel does not possess any explosive skills. As such, the second effect of the skill becomes unnecessary. The ‘wave’ in the skill’s name wasn’t for show. The user can fold the mana and store it inside their body. These folded mana particles -known as waves- can later be used to empower a skill.

Conclusion!? The skill was entirely useless to him.

“AHH!!!” Nel could no longer suppress the stifling feeling in his heart. He screamed at the top of his lungs. In his rage, he threw the crystal to the wall. Next to become intimate with the wall was the vase on the table next to his bed. Nel was angry and frustrated.

He took a gamble with his fate on the line—he failed. What made it worse was he got duped. Because he was desperate, he made a rookie mistake in trusting an unknown third party. Buying and selling of Skill crystals were strictly governed by government-controlled agencies. It was also secure.

“Ahh!! Shit!!” Nel cursed again, kicking a chair and flinging it to the wall.

Boom! Crack!

Broken pieces of wood filled the room, and dust scattered everywhere. A piece of the wall also fell off, revealing a dent in the paint. His unstable emotions messed up his mana control, causing a blue aura to leak out of his body. Everything inside his small house was thrown into disarray.

Nel continued to rage for a while. Good thing he was living on the topmost floor and the floor just below was empty. Or else, with the scale of commotion he was creating, it would have attracted a crowd already.

Several hours later, amidst the destroyed remains of his things, Nel sat solemnly. His two cheeks were stained with tear lines—proof that he was crying at some point. His hands lay on his side, limp and powerless. A gloomy aura enveloped him.

Nel truly felt defeated at this time. To change his destiny, he took a high-risk gamble. Unfortunately, he lost big time. His precious [Skill-slot] was gone, and now he was in a huge debt. Every hunter, after they awakened, can use a [skill crystal] only once in their lifetime. As such, they treat this opportunity very importantly. Because, once it was lost, there was no turning back.

Nel didn’t have a skill even though he awakened to mana. Normally, people like him would not tread the path of a hunter. They would either join the military or other services for [Mana awakned] individuals. But, Nel persisted. He wanted to be a successful person who was free of responsibilities.

“That’s right, those motherfu**rs!!” Nel stood up and searched for his handphone in the mess he had created. He found it trapped underneath a few broken pieces of furniture and his discarded clothes. Nel found the number of the organization he bought the crystal from and gave them a call.

It didn’t connect.

“Shit!!” Nel angrily threw his handphone to the wall. He knew what this meant. He had been intentionally duped. Buying and selling of Skill Crystals were administered by the government. Dealing with them outside a GeneLab was punishable by law. They took advantage of this fact, knowing he couldn't go to appraise it, and sold him a fake product.

XXX

Several hours later, Nel woke up from a fatigue-induced nap. He listlessly stared at the clock—both the hour and minute hands were pointing at number two. It was two-fourteen in the morning. Well, technically still the middle of the night.

After exploding, he felt emotionally tired and slept in the middle of the mess.

Nel rubbed his eyes, feeling a bit refreshed. He was no longer unstable and filled with anger. After getting refreshed in the bathroom, he came back and sat on the couch, ignoring the messy house. Not a single wooden furniture was intact, and a few of his collections were also broken to pieces. The walls had big and small holes from his random punching and throwing.

Basically, it looked like the house had survived a disaster.

‘It’ll cost a fortune to replace all of them,’ He mused as he did a rough headcount of the stuff he had broken in his rage. The things that needed immediate replacement were his wooden furniture. Not a single one of them survived his rage. Some had even turned to fine sawdust because of his berserk mana.

‘Speaking of mana,’ Nel narrowed his eyes and circulated his mana from his navel. Suddenly, he noticed it had become a lot easier to circulate his mana than before. To give an analogy; previously, if manipulating mana was like lifting something with his feet, then now, it was like lifting with his hands.

Nel allowed the mana to flow to his finger. A blue glow enveloped his digit.

“It had become robust too, nearly becoming solid,” Nel mumbled under his breath. He also noticed the color of his mana had become a darker shade of blue. “How curious,” he exclaimed.

His instinct told him his mana had become stronger than before. And it was just the “control” aspect of the skill. Nel quickly went to test the “Wave” aspect as well.

Imaging the process of clothes folding, he manipulated the mana around his finger. Suddenly, the color of energy around his index finger became a lot darker. Then, it retreated under his skin and went back to his navel on its own.

An image flashed in Nel’s left eye.

[Wave: 1]

[Effect Buff: 5%]