Lucen stepped off the tram.
The city greeted him with its usual charm: flickering street lights, half-dead vending machines, and the comforting scent of fried grease, cold rain, and whatever that sour thing was growing near the drainpipe.
His building sat crooked at the end of the block like it had leaned one time during a windstorm and never recovered.
He pushed through the front door.
It stuck halfway.
He shoved harder. It squealed and gave in with the sound of wet cardboard tearing.
Same hallway. Same broken tile. Someone had dropped a can of something red and sticky near the stairwell. It looked like paint. He hoped it was paint.
Mrs. Higa wasn't sweeping this time.
He climbed the stairs and made it to the third floor without tripping once. That felt like an achievement.
His key stuck in the lock like it was judging him.
He twisted harder.
The door opened into a one-room apartment that hadn't changed in five years.
The light buzzed.
The radiator hissed like it was offended by the cold.
Lucen dropped his bag on the chair and kicked his boots off without ceremony.
Then stood in the middle of the room and exhaled.
Silence.
Finally.
He walked to the sink, rinsed his hands, opened the cabinet, and grabbed the last cup of instant noodles.
Same brand. Same warning label.
Spice Claw – Not Legally Recognized as Food in Three Provinces
He filled it halfway with water.
The microwave blinked uncertainly when he hit the button.
Lucen leaned against the counter while it cooked.
He pulled up the system again.
[Lucen Ivara – Level 2]
Strength: 6
Dexterity: 9
Endurance: 7
Intelligence: 12
Control: 10
Focus: 12
Perception: 8
Luck: 4
Mana: 51
Recovery: 1.2/sec
Spells: 2
[Unstable Kinetic Point]
[Gravitic Snap]
Spell Slots: 3
Stat Points Available: 5
He stared at the points.
Thought about where to dump them.
'Strength? Tempting. If I trip again I might die from embarrassment, not injury.'
He hovered over Control.
Didn't click.
Then over Perception.
Still didn't click.
'Maybe I should wait. Build spell number three first. Then adjust.'
The microwave dinged with a low, uncertain tone like it didn't believe it actually did its job.
Lucen pulled the cup out. It was too hot and immediately burned his fingers.
He set it down on the desk, grabbed his notepad, and sat cross-legged on the floor with his back against the bed.
The system opened automatically.
The spell forge appeared in the air.
[Design Slot #0003 – Active]
[Dynamic Loop Split – ENABLED]
[Warning: No predefined glyph templates]
Lucen stared at the blank grid.
The forge shimmered faintly.
He tapped the pen against his leg.
'Alright. Third spell. Something useful. Something with range. Something that doesn't scream "designed by a nervous student with no backup plan."'
He drew a line.
Then a loop.
Paused.
Erased it.
Started again.
His fingers moved slowly.
A new pattern began to take shape.
Two glyph bases.
Same anchor.
Different branches.
He hadn't thought through what they did yet.
Just wanted to see if the system would allow it.
It did.
The lines pulsed as he added the second route.
Then the forge lit up with soft text.
[Loop Detected – Split Path Valid]
Path A: Directional Force
Path B: Impact Seal – Internal Pressure Hold
Lucen's heart jumped.
'That's real. It's actually letting me do it.'
He sat up straighter.
One glyph string. Two effects. Based on impact type.
If he tagged something mid-air? It launched.
If he tagged something grounded? It sealed pressure in.
He grinned.
'Okay. Now we're cooking.'
He leaned forward.
Noodles forgotten.
Pen tapping faster.
This wasn't theory anymore.
It was design.
The grid floated in front of him.
Thin white lines, a soft pulse at the edges, and a branching logic split that looked way too smart for a level two idiot eating cold noodles.
Lucen sat cross-legged on the floor, his back against the bed, chopsticks in one hand, pen in the other.
He hadn't touched the noodles in five minutes.
The spell was better.
[Loop Detected – Valid Trigger Structure]
[Estimated Mana Cost: 8]
[Complexity Rating: Medium]
[Stability: 53%]
[Mana: 51 / 51]
He smirked.
'Back to full. Either my system's cheating, or I'm about to have a really productive afternoon.'
He leaned forward and cleaned up the last loop in the structure.
Two effects. One trigger.
A direct impact spell with split logic. If it hit something moving, it would knock. If the target was still? It'd compress pressure inside and release it with a snap.
He tapped the name field.
Then typed the name in.
Tension Mark
The grid pulsed once and sank into the archive.
[Spell Saved – Slot #0003]
[Tension Mark – Ready]
[Trigger: Contact Impact]
[Branch: Directional vs. Internal Release]
Lucen set his notebook down.
Looked around the room.
The chair was still there.
Foldable. Slightly crooked. One leg bent like it owed someone money.
He stood and crossed to the far wall.
Turned around.
Stared at it.
'This feels like a trap I set for myself.'
He raised his hand. Triggered the spell.
A faint glyph shimmered into place over his palm. Compact. Tighter than his last ones. A web of pressure nodes threaded around the center like it was holding something in.
He aimed.
Fired.
The spell slapped into the center of the chair with a dull metallic whump.
At first, nothing happened.
Then the seat creaked.
The bent leg shivered.
And the entire thing launched backwards, hit the wall, and folded in on itself like it had just remembered it wasn't built for violence.
Lucen stood still.
Stared at it.
Then broke into a grin.
"That… was awesome."
He crossed the room and crouched next to the remains.
The frame was warped. Seat partially folded. No burn marks. Just a concentrated crush point where the spell had compressed and released from inside.
'So the seal path kicked in. Must've counted it as a grounded object. I built an imploding pressure bomb and tested it on furniture.'
He opened the system again.
[Mana: 51 / 51]
[Spells: 3 Active]
[Unstable Kinetic Point]
[Gravitic Snap]
[Tension Mark]
No cost.
No cooldown.
Back at full already due to his recovery.
Lucen tapped the archive tab.
His custom spells floated in clean boxes, no tutorial notes, no warning labels. Just raw mechanics and one system line that always stood out.
[No external synchronization required]
He sat back against the wall and picked up his pen.
Scrawled a few quick notes on the floorz.
Tension Mark – good control. Solid damage if contact holds. Potential for traps? Could rig a delay if I find the timing thread.
He dropped the pen in the cup next to him and exhaled.
The hum of the radiator filled the silence.
Outside, traffic started up again. The night shift was rolling in. The walls creaked once as the temperature dropped.
Lucen looked at the chair.
Then back at the spell forge.
He smirked.
'Next one's going airborne.'