Julian lay still for a few seconds, the roar of blood in his ears slowly fading.
Absorption…
His fingers curled against the ground, still tingling from the mana feedback. That second activation hadn't just disrupted the turtle, it had given him a glimpse into what this skill was really capable of.
He hadn't killed anything. He hadn't consumed a corpse. He had simply touched a mana-rich surface. Residue. Traces of an elemental spell. That alone had granted him a temporary affinity.
And then, he'd touched a living, raging beast. Not just touched, connected. The system had let him draw from it. Even if just for fifteen seconds.
"This isn't just about stealing from the dead," he thought.
"It's about taking whatever I can get my hands on."
Spells. Beasts. Even the environment. If it's leaking mana… I can claim it.
A slow, disbelieving grin spread across his face.
"This isn't just unique. This is broken."
