[MATCH STARTING IN: 10...]
The countdown hovered in the center of Kael's vision, counting down the seconds before violence became permissible. Across the sands, The_Red_Lizard was bouncing on the balls of his feet, his tail thrashing with eager, nervous energy.
Kael didn't bounce.
He didn't stretch.
He stood perfectly still inside his golden shell, his mind drifting away from the impending duel and back to a lecture that had fundamentally changed his understanding of this world.
That conversation with Seraphina had opened a door in Kael's mind. It was the moment he finally understood the path he had been forced to walk.
It started with the basics.
The very building blocks of power.
For the longest time, Kael had been confused by his Archive interface. In every game he had ever played back on Earth and every transmigration story with a system he read, there was always a blue bar.
Mana: something/something.
