“With the World Tree and mana wells set and realm management done, it’s time to see what I can actually do as a awakener.”

  Ciel sat cross-legged in the heart of his Realm, pulling up his status window. The familiar transparent blue pane unfolded before him.

  [Status Window – Ciel Nova]

  Class: Unique – Realm Holder

  Level: 1

  Awakening State: 1st Awakening

  World Power (WP): 100

  Mana Stones: 200 (2x Green Tier Stones)

  Health Points (HP): 825 / 825

  Mana Points (MP): 1420 / 1420

  Stats:

  Strength: 10

  Agility: 10

  Endurance: 14

  Intelligence: 16

  Wisdom: 18

  Luck: 12

  He thought back to the fundamentals drilled into them during System Theory classes thought in school. HP was primarily tied to Endurance and secondarily to Strength. MP stemmed first from Wisdom, then Intelligence. The formulas for first stage awakeners were simple enough: Primary Stat × 25 + Secondary Stat × 10, plus a base of 100. After that, your class modifiers kicked in.

  He gave a low whistle.

  “Most classes barely get a 1.2 modifier and even legendary have about 1.4. Mine’s sitting at 1.5 for HP… and 2.0 for MP? That’s ridiculous.”

  Unique Classes really were on another level.

  “Overpowered doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

  Satisfied, he leaned forward and opened his skill window next.

  [Skills – Ciel Nova]

  Basic Skill

  Domain (Beginner Lv. 1)

  - Creates a 10m domain with the caster at the center. Hostile or marked entities within suffer -1% to all stats.

  - Cost: 1 MP per second.

  Basic Skill

  Shift (Beginner Lv. 1)

  - Allows instant teleportation up to 10 meters.

  - 3 Charges, 10-second cooldown per charge.

  - Mana Cost: 5 MP per meter.

  Normal Skill

  Mana Craft (Beginner Lv. 1)

  - Manipulates ambient mana into basic constructs. Continuous mana drain increases with complexity.

  Extra Skill

  Realm Seize (Beginner Lv. 1)

  - Allows transport of targets into Ciel’s Realm.

  - Consent allows instant transfer without cost.

  - Forced transfer requires target’s Wisdom ≤ 1.1x Ciel’s Wisdom.

  - Mana Cost: 100 per target.

  Unique Skill

  Time Flow (Beginner Lv. 1)

  - Controls time flow inside the Realm.

  - Current Ratio: 1 hour outside = 2 hours inside.

  - Cost: 1 WP per hour beyond 1:1.

  Ciel was in awe of what he just saw, "Unique... I got a unique skill from start, these kind of skills have the power defy the laws of reality every single unique skill holder was a peak level figure."

  Ciel stretched a bit. “Alright… let’s see what this Unique Class is really made of starting from basic skills.” He stepped forward, into the open clearing near the World Tree. The air buzzed faintly, mana richer than yesterday. His Realm responded eagerly to his will.

  First things first. Domain. He focused. Mana shifted within him with practiced ease. A ripple of translucent energy spread outward, like heat waves warping the air.

  [Domain Activated]

  Radius: 10 meters

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Effect: -1% to all stats for hostile or marked entities

  Cost: 1 MP per second

  A faint shimmer marked the boundary. There was no enemy to test it on, but the mana flow told him it worked.

  “A aoe debuff skill while the amount is low it is percent based meaning it will be useful against powerful foes.”

  He canceled it with a thought. The haze vanished instantly.

  Next… Shift. He eyed a spot about ten meters away.

  “Let’s see how clean this is.”

  Mana gathered at his feet. With barely a blink, the world slid sideways—he was standing in the new spot.

  [Shift Used: 10 meters]

  Mana Cost: 50 MP

  Charges Remaining: 2

  Cooldown: 10 seconds per charge

  “No flash, no sound. Just blink. Useful for sneak attacks and dodging inescapable attacks.” Once the cooldown ticked down, he tried it again. Three charges gave him flexibility, and the distance scaled cleanly. Efficient.

  Now… Mana Craft. He stretched out his hand, pulling at the ambient mana drifting like mist. It answered easily, swirling between his fingers. A simple sphere formed—solid, humming faintly. Mana cost: minimal. He pushed further—a crude knife, then a barrier plate. The more complex the form, the heavier the drain.

  [Mana Craft Active]

  Maintenance cost scales with complexity.

  He dispelled them all with a flick of his wrist.

  “Not bad. Not elegant, but functional like having whole all kinds of weapons on you.”

  Finally… Time Flow the so called reality defying skill. He pulled up the interface—a simple slider now. He hovered over the option.

  Activate: 1:2 Ratio.

  [Time Flow: 1:2 Active]

  WP Consumption: 1 per hour

  Nothing changed. No shift in light, no distortion. The wind still blew. The sky remained blue. Inside the Realm, time simply… flowed.

  But something tugged at the edge of his awareness—a subtle, undeniable sense. Like the heartbeat of the world beneath his feet had quickened. Not frantically. Calm. Steady. Twice as fast.

  “It feels normal… but outside, it’s different.”

  He paced slowly, then pulled up the Realm Management window again.

  World Tree Output:

  Original: 25 WP/day

  With Time Flow 1:2: 50 WP/day

  Time Flow Cost:

  1 WP/hour = 24 WP/day

  Net Gain: 50 - 24 = 26 WP/day

  Ciel paused. “Even with this active… I’m still gaining power passively.”

  He checked the Mana Wells.

  Mana Wells Output:

  Original: 150 mana/day

  With Time Flow: 300 mana/day

  The numbers settled. Clear. Undeniable.

  “…That’s broken now i understand it and this is just level 1 of the skill.”

  Ciel let out a slow breath. “With this, I can leave Time Flow running, train here, grind skills, let the Realm develop—and I’ll still come out ahead every single day.”

  It wasn’t just efficient—it was exponential. The longer this continued, the more his Realm would outpace the outside world. Resources. Power. Growth. Even training. A day in here was half a day out there. Skills, stats… everything could advance twice as fast as anyone else.

  He ran a hand through his hair, chuckling under his breath.

  “This isn’t just a skill. This is outright cheating.”

  The realization settled, heavy in his chest. Time Flow wasn’t a mere support skill. It was a foundation, foundation of his future empire.

  Training. Research. Crafting. Recovery. Everything moved faster here.

  And when the World Tree matured further? These numbers would only keep rising.

  Ciel looked toward the pulsing sapling, its glow calm, steady.

  “If I use this right… no one out there will ever catch up.”