I stood over the corpses of the fallen undead, the air around me heavy with mana.
It was everywhere.
Not flowing—pressing. Saturated. Alive.
A thought crossed my mind.
Can I fuse with the mana itself?
Before doubt could slow me down, I activated my golden finger and reached out. Mana surged violently, spiraling toward me like a vortex. The pressure slammed into my body all at once, far more than I was ready for.
The system screamed.
Mana overload.
Pain tore through my skull. My vision fractured, my legs gave out, and I collapsed into the snow.
Everything went black.
I woke up… changed.
Power hummed beneath my skin, quiet and constant, like it had always been there and I'd only just noticed it. Even breathing felt different.
Stronger.
I swallowed and summoned my status.
My eyes locked onto a single line.
Mana: ∞
Infinite.
I stared at it for a long time.
Whatever I'd done—whatever line I'd crossed—it hadn't just knocked me unconscious.
It had rewritten something fundamental.
With infinite magic power… did I even need the system anymore?
Levels didn't seem to matter now. Stats felt irrelevant. All that mattered was learning how to use this power.
And whether it would consume me before I mastered it.
I raised my hand and focused, channeling mana to the tip of my finger. My intent was simple.
A ray of piercing magic—pure mana. No elements.
The power bent instantly to my will and fired from my fingertip. The beam ripped through the forest in a straight line, punching clean holes through ten trees before finally dissipating.
I stared at the destruction, heart pounding.
"Holy shit…"
I laughed softly, half stunned.
I was overpowered.
And for the first time since arriving in this world, that realization didn't feel comforting.
It felt dangerous.
Another thought surfaced.
Could I use magic as a substitute for fusion?
I grabbed a stick from the ground and focused, pouring mana into it—no system, no activation prompt. Just intent.
A magic staff.
The power flowed effortlessly, shaping itself around my will.
When it was over, I could only stare.
In my hands was a flawless staff, pure white and nearly five feet long. It radiated quiet, contained power, warm beneath my fingers—as if it had always been meant to exist.
I was speechless.
This wasn't fusion.
This was creation