CHAPTER 171: STATUS.

(A/N Big thanks to everyone for the Power stones and Golden tickets, they mean a lot. As usual, please don’t hesitate to comment or drop a review. ENJOY)

(Don’t forget to join my discord. https://discord.gg/gwRQnjbQDK)

Power stones people, Gimme it.

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Orion leaned back in his chair, staring up at the dimming sky.

A party.

A breakthrough.

A rumored event.

A strange new girl everyone was suddenly obsessed with.

And a spark he desperately needed.

He drew in a slow breath.

He stood.

Looked out over the academy grounds—

And whispered:

"...Status."

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The night air was cool against his skin as Orion stared over the academy grounds, the lights of the Magnums shimmering faintly like scattered stars. Jessica’s teleportation imprint had already faded from the air, leaving the balcony quiet again.

Quiet enough for him to finally say it.

"Status."

The familiar ripple passed through him like a curtain of cold mist.

The translucent panel materialized before his eyes.

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STATUS

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NAME: Orion Chronos

AGE: 10

GENDER: MALE

RACE: HUMAN

ATTRIBUTES:

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STRENGTH: 100 - 372

AGILITY: 114 - 441

ENDURANCE: 143 - 618

VITALITY: 423 - 1782

INTELLIGENCE:384 - 1334

MANA: 384 - 1310

CHARM: 115 - 200

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RANK: (PEAK) APPRENTICE RANK

TALENT: MYTHICAL

BLOODLINE: ???

AFFINITY: SPACE, TIME

ABILITIES:

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Innate Skills:

*Temporal Distortion (Peak proficiency)

-The ability to alter the space around you. You can break, mend, and control the fabric of space. Depends on your proficiency.

*The Seer (Peak proficiency)

-The ability to view glimpses of the present, past, and future with varying locations. It can be through visions or dreams. Depends on your proficiency.

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Acquired skills:

*Eye of truth and façade (Peak proficiency)

The ability to access the information of another party with a single glance in the form of a status screen and alter your perceived strength from others. Heavily depends on proficiency.

*Reflection

The ability to dive into one’s memories, recalling every single detail with unnatural clarity. (Requires no mana)

*Protocol (Mid proficiency) - (High proficiency)

The Mental and Physical protocols of this world are yours to see; do with them what you will.

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Trained skills:

*Kairos step (Peak proficiency)

Acts at the perfect moment, improving dodges and counterattacks.

*Aether Step (Peak proficiency)

Short-range teleportation (≤ 10 meters).

*Nova Spark (Peak proficiency)

Compress a marble-sized pocket of distorted space, then release it in a small, concentrated burst.

*Nova Bloom (Peak proficiency)

Collapse a larger sphere of warped space and trigger a massive, radiant detonation.

*Temporal Locus (Mid proficiency)

A temporal-detection technique that reads the "present-time signature" of targets within range.

Instead of sensing mana or spatial displacement, the user perceives the continuous thread of a being’s temporal presence—allowing detection even if the target exists across multiple dimensions or distorts spatial readings.

Accuracy and range depend on proficiency and concentration.

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*UNKNOWN

Random (???)

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(A/N: Lemme hear your thoughts.)

The panel dissolved slowly, leaving Orion alone with his thoughts.

Four years.

Four years of nonstop pushing, refining, absorbing, perfecting — and all his skills were finally sitting comfortably at peak form. All except Protocol, which had been stubbornly glued to Mid for years before finally nudging into High a few months back.

The improvement had been... noticeable. Subtle, but sharp. His awareness of structure, sequence, subconscious cues — everything felt clearer, smoother, more natural.

But he needed a true fight to test it’s limits and he hadn’t had that in years.

Nobody in the academy could truly push him now. Not A1, not even the specialized training simulations.

"That’s part of the problem," Orion murmured.

No pressure meant no spark.

Temporal Locus was another headache. It had grown only once since the day he awakened it — and that was over a year ago. For a skill tied to time itself, its growth curve was glacial.

And then... the most frustrating tab.

UNKNOWN — Random (???)

It had appeared after he broke down Thaddeus’ Spatial Veil and completed the system quest.

And no matter how many times he called the system, asked for a definition, pinged it during training, or even tried intentional triggers...

Nothing.

Not a hint.

Not a clue.

It just sat there — mocking him.

Another mystery.

Another delay.

Another pile added to his frustrations.

Orion rubbed his eyes with both hands.

Maybe Jessica was right.

Maybe he did need a break.

A party wouldn’t kill him. Probably. The worst thing that could happen was him regretting it... which wasn’t new.

He exhaled.

Maybe he should go.

His eyes flicked to the bracelet clock.

8:20 PM.

Plenty of time.

He pushed himself up, stretched once, and stepped back inside.

He entered the bathroom, splashing water on his face until the remnants of stress and calculations washed away. After brushing and freshening up, he dried off and walked to his wardrobe.

He wasn’t planning to show up like some barbarian.

He pulled out a relaxed but stylish outfit — a fitted black long-sleeve shirt with silver threading at the hems, paired with dark trousers tailored perfectly to his height. Comfortable. Presentable. Not flashy.

Then came the hair.

Orion stepped in front of the mirror and raised a hand.

Silver strands floated.

With a precise twist of mana, he guided the flow around his head — advanced spatial manipulation layering in delicate patterns until his hair fell in a clean, styled sweep that made him look effortlessly composed.

Not too much.

Not too little.

Just enough for a crowded party full of hormonal teenagers.

He sighed.

Now for the real problem.

He couldn’t walk in alone.

Caelum wasn’t going.

Most of the boys had probably found dates.

Selene and Seris had also somehow found dates — suspiciously fast.

He wasn’t planning on barging into a stranger’s birthday party alone like some lost noble.

He checked the time again.

8:58 PM.

Perfect.

The best time to arrive at a party was slightly after it started. (A/N : I’m guessing, not exactly a party person.)

9:30 would be prime.

Now he only needed one thing.

A companion.

A date, maybe.

It didn’t have to mean anything.

It only had to look presentable.

He exhaled slowly.

"...Right. Let’s get this over with."

He tapped his bracelet.

Seris picked up instantly.

"What’s up?" she chirped smugly. "Finally decided?"

Orion closed his eyes.

Here we go.

"You were saying something earlier about me needing a date..."