'Fuck me!'

'Ah… all this thinking is making my head hurt.'

Yet, it was a necessary rumination that would set him on the path of strength. His own strength

Done with all that mental crap, it was time to finally focus on the more practical, way less existential, physical aspect of his Trait.

Now that he knew Aether behaved like a gas… that changed a lot.

Before, Vale had been losing part of his body elsewhere and just transferring the matter to shapeshift, but now… he had another idea.

Vale got up from the throne, then sat down on the floor in a lotus-like position and sealed his eyes shut. Then… he began trying to sense the Aether.

While he had no idea how actually to do it, he knew it was possible because Salome did it all the time, and he already had a vague intuition about it.

Vale straightened his back and took in a deep breath…

As he did, he paid attention to the rush of air being forced into his body. But it wasn't the wind that mattered; it was the Aether. His own Aether that naturally cloaked his body.

For thirty minutes, he had little luck in trying to sense it, but eventually, he felt a tickle in his throat.

A weird, fuzzy feeling that formed and dissipated after each breath.

Vale focused on this feeling, but didn't become consumed by it. He continued his meditation for another hour until that fuzzy feeling turned liquidy, and he felt it as it danced across his body.

Finally, after thirty more minutes, he began to gain the ability to track clumps of Aether as they exited his pores before whirling around and finding their way back inside his body.

Then, he'd follow those clumps as they cycled through his whole body and eventually found a home in his core. Then, he'd start tracking the Aether that the initial clump had pushed out of his Aether Core, and repeat the whole cycle. From running parallel through his veins, escaping from his body, then eventually flowing back to his body with minor runoff.

Vale didn't know how, but he could sense his body was abnormal compared to the others…

After all, Aether was supposed to stay inside the body, and his was constantly leaking and flowing around him. Even all the workers around him, he could faintly sense, had Aether only inside, not outside.

But with his unique constitution came an advantage.

He was constantly being empowered. Hence why his fist didn't shatter when he punched the wall earlier. Plus, if his theory were correct… he could activate his Traits faster.

Now, much more proficient in his sensing, Vale opened his eyes and stood up. Instantly, the Aether around him became harder to sense — no longer focusing on it — but he could tell it was still there.

As for that aforementioned advantage…

To activate a Trait, one has to draw and pool together Aether, something that is usually done subconsciously. But, even with training, there is still a delay in activation, whatever it may be; even Salome's transformations take time — though that delay was very minimal for her — He did too, of course, as he was using the Aether in his body, not outside.

However, because Vale's Aether is constantly leaking and partially already outside of him, if he could learn to control it, then he should be able to activate his Traits faster…

Not to mention, his other possible breakthrough.

Vale had been questioning how Salome could change her body without losing a bit somewhere else. At first, he thought she was distributing it perfectly, but now he understood it.

After witnessing the supposed properties of Aether, he learned that Salome was not just transmogrifying her body, but also her Aether. She was most likely drawing her Aether out of herself, then, once it was outside, she gave it shape.

Intensely focused, Vale, while standing, repeated the process of following a clump as it flowed out from his core and around his body, then pushed another clump out when it got back into the Aether Core.

This second clump, however, Vale had plans for…

The clump did its usual cycle around the body before sneaking out through his armpit. Then, when it slithered right above his hand, Vale imagined giving form to the formless. He imagined the materialization of this Aether and its becoming a part of him.

The Aether, though his, slightly fought his control, but the moment it might escape, Vale focused on his wants…

He wanted this particle to bend to his will, so it would.

The Aether began to drift the other way, then condensed around his nails and, after swirling a little, became tangible.

Once the claws solidified, Vale smiled as he let his focus drop, and yet the transformation remained. It was a little less stable, but it hadn't fallen.

'Ah…'

Vale was excited.

He'd become a little disparaged after realizing just how lost he'd been before, but this advancement brought back all of his joy.

He focused again and began sensing his Aether, and immediately noticed the cause of this solid structure…

The Aether that flowed around him constantly reinforced his design, unlike when he had to will it using Aether within him. Something he'd been subconsciously doing, but it was something he'd been doing nonetheless.

Even more…

If he could learn to move Aether completely at will, he'd be able to draw much more out of him and shape his body to insane degrees!

But for now, he was limited to the Aether that naturally leaked out of him, as well as whatever form he was capable of sustaining with that he drew out.

'I wonder what Salome will say when she sees my progress.'

Vale smiled as he sat, then sprawled out on the floor. Only one thought crossed his mind as his back lay against the rock.

"Larry better finish that forge and then learn how to make a bed…"

'Or perhaps I should gamble…'

His dad was a big gambler! He never won, but he always told Vale never to stop because you only stop the moment before you win it big!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.