Chapter 26 – Experimentation (Part 4)
From that moment on, Zane's training truly began. He wasted no time, diving headfirst into channeling his Core Energy again, determined to grow more familiar with it. He understood instinctively that the more he manipulated this strange energy, the more it would respond to him—and the faster he could command it like an extension of his own will.
Seated cross-legged on the floor, he shut his eyes and took a long, slow breath, letting his mind fall into a state of focus. Every distracting thought fell away until only the presence of the energy inside him remained—slithering through his veins like a sentient river of power. It flowed through every limb and muscle, wrapping itself around each cell like a warm, invisible thread. Every full circuit it made through his body left him feeling incrementally stronger, a subtle but definite improvement.
Time passed quietly. The room remained still, bathed in soft shadows, while Zane was engulfed in a faint glow of purple energy. The aura surrounding him undulated gently, rippling like calm water disturbed by the breeze.
He lost track of the minutes. Then the hours.
One hour.
Two.
Three.
By then, his Core Energy moved with much more intent, less clumsy than it had been at the start. Zane himself wasn't even consciously directing it anymore—his body had begun to act on instinct, refining the process with each repetition. The energy no longer felt foreign. It felt natural. A part of him.
His early attempts had been riddled with inefficiencies—energy bleeding out from every direction, escaping like sand through open fingers. But that waste gradually diminished. Every loop of energy around his body brought a new understanding. A deeper connection.
By the end of the third hour, the circulation was noticeably faster. More precise. The energy surged with a livelier pulse, more responsive to his commands. His body, bathed in that soft, electric violet light, buzzed faintly with life.
'What's happening?' Zane frowned, feeling something shift. The Core Energy had suddenly come alive, as if sensing something ahead—an unseen breakthrough just within reach. Without his prompting, it rushed through his body, eager and vibrant, with growing momentum.
Then came the notification.
[You have gained +1 point in all stats.]
His eyes shot open. "Oh!"
For a second, he just stared at the message in awe. "All my stats… increased?" he muttered, disbelief clinging to every word. "Wait—so channeling energy boosts my physical stats, too?"
The realization hit him like a thunderclap. He'd been so focused on learning control, on becoming familiar with this power, that he hadn't even considered this side effect. But now that he thought about it, it made sense. During the exercise, he could feel the energy infiltrating his muscles, reinforcing his tendons, even washing through his bones and organs. It wasn't just floating around him—it was infusing him.
"This might be even more effective than physical training," he whispered, wonder lacing his voice.
Emboldened, Zane closed his eyes once more and resumed. The energy was different now—more plentiful, more vibrant. The difference was minuscule, barely perceptible, but it was there. He could feel it.
'A single stat point... Even that much changes the volume I can circulate.'
Time passed. The hours blurred together. And with every passing second, Zane could feel the transformation. His body didn't just accept the Core Energy anymore—it craved it. Like a sponge desperate to soak up every drop of power.
He didn't know if it was normal to feel this way, this hunger for growth, this addiction to self-improvement. But one thing was clear in his mind.
"I need this…" he murmured, exhaling deeply as he surrendered to the flow.
By the fourth hour, his control had improved by 3%. The fifth brought him to 6%. By the sixth hour, he had crossed the 10% threshold. The results were undeniable, and the pace of improvement was unlike anything he had imagined.
Then, at the seventh hour, his energy flared violently, lighting up his aura once again.
[You have gained +1 point in all stats.]
He opened his eyes, chest heaving slightly as a smile spread across his lips.
"Fuuuh…" He let out a long breath. "Another stat increase... This is incredible. Definitely better than ordinary training. And so much faster…"
He leaned back slightly, trying to wrap his head around the acceleration of his growth. According to everything he'd read and heard, Dimensional Knights were infamous for their slow progress. Gaining power was supposed to be an agonizingly long process, often taking decades of intense training and real combat against monsters to see real improvement.
But here he was—seven hours in—and he'd already grown stronger in ways most Knights only dreamed of. Two full stat points gained. Over 10% increase in control. And his body? It felt different. Stronger. More alive.
'There's no way this is normal. The system must be accelerating everything,' he thought, frowning. 'I'm not sure if that's healthy... but it's definitely effective.'
Still, he wasn't going to complain. It was working—and that was all that mattered.
"I think that's enough circulation training for today," he said at last, glancing at the time. Midnight had already crept in. His room was bathed in the dim yellow light of the ceiling bulb. Shadows clung to the corners. The only sounds were the hum of the fan and the faint rustle of a large sack next to his bed.
A sack filled with potatoes.
Beside him, his notebook lay open, its pages covered in scribbled notes and messy diagrams. A long list of ideas, experiments, and wild theories filled the margins.
'By dawn, I want to figure out at least a few basic applications for my Core Stigma,' Zane thought. 'I'm not expecting to master it in a single night, but I should be able to learn how to use it faster. In battle, I won't have time to close my eyes and leisurely float through the DNA World. It needs to be instant.'
He sighed and reached into the sack.
"My apologies, bag of potatoes. You're about to suffer for the greater good."
The first potato came out, round and innocent. It wouldn't be for long.
For the next few hours, Zane immersed himself in experimentation. Potato after potato, he explored every possibility he could think of. He shattered stars. Moved them. Tried (and failed) to reconnect them. Tried altering their structure or nudging their patterns into new shapes.
Most attempts ended in complete failure.
No matter how many times he tried, he realized there were only two reliable outcomes so far: he could break a star, or he could move it. Beyond that, his control was far too limited. The stars seemed to refuse all other attempts, which quickly frustrated Zane.
And three hours later… he was down to his last potato.
Zane stared at it with an empty look, then slowly raised his eyes to scan the battlefield of ruined vegetables that surrounded him. Goo, mush, chunks, and one abnormally large potato—everything imaginable. The floor was a nightmare, and the smell wasn't any better.
"This is… This is so bad," he muttered, lips curled in a grimace.
He looked at his hands, the goo clinging between his fingers, and then back at the last remaining potato. The sense of failure was beginning to creep in.
'Maybe my Core Stigma just isn't evolved enough yet, he thought. Or maybe I'm doing something wrong. Either way, I really don't have much control over it.'
The contrast hit him hard. After his earlier success with energy circulation, he had expected the rest of his progress to come just as quickly. But now? Reality had snapped him back into place.
DNA manipulation was not easy.
To change something at its very essence—to rework the stars that made up its existence—was an entirely different level of mastery. He wasn't ready for that. Not yet.
Still, even in defeat, he found a spark of clarity.
"I have… I have to practice more."