Chapter 10: An Offering
Alistair froze, his eyes widening as he watched deep red flames wrap around the dagger in Ronan's hand. The fire wasn't just hot—it moved with calm, controlled intensity. Too calm.
This wasn't ordinary channeling.
This... was perfect.
And he did it in just a few minutes.
Alistair exhaled slowly, still trying to process what he'd just seen. "You actually did it, but... how?" he asked hesitantly, eyes locked on Ronan, who now stood tall, a look of quiet satisfaction on his face.
Ronan gave a relaxed smirk and replied, "I don't know, Mr. Crowne. I just imagined it the way you explained... and it worked. Thanks to you, I have this skill now."
Alistair remained silent. What he'd taught earlier was just the basics—a foundation. Simple theory. But this kid... he didn't just learn it—he mastered it.
"Sometimes... it's just a fluke," he finally said, trying to rationalize. "It takes a long time to really control energy channeling."
"Really?" Ronan deactivated the Starflame on his dagger, then reactivated it. Once. Twice. Three times. The flame flickered on and off smoothly, like he was toying with a lighter.
Ronan was already figuring it out—his system responded to actions as triggers. As long as there was a slight push, the system would recognize the pattern as a skill. Once recognized, it was permanently locked in as his.
For most awakeners, skills emerged randomly, often triggered by extreme situations, hard to repeat or control because they were born from accidents. But for Ronan, any skill triggered through the system could be accessed again. Anytime. Limitlessly.