Returning to the sterile silence of his lab, Muyeong locked the door, the world of the academy and its inhabitants shut out once more. The mask of "Jin Park" dissolved, leaving the cold, analytical predator in its place.
He stood in the center of the room, his eyes closed, and focused on the two new acquisitions humming within his soul. It was always a strange, disorienting experience. The knowledge, the very essence of the abilities, was already perfectly integrated, as if he had possessed it his entire life.
He focused first on the talent: Mana Disruptor.
It was a passive ability, meaning it was already subtly working. He extended his senses, not his sight or hearing, but this new, conceptual sense that the talent provided. The air, which once felt like a placid sea of ambient mana, was now a complex web of flowing currents and eddies. He could perceive the stable, rhythmic thrum of the Spire's own power grid running through the walls. He could feel the faint, chaotic mana signature of a low-grade monster ingredient still sitting on his counter.
This was the first layer of the talent: perception. He could now see the flow of mana around him.
He walked over to the training dummy and activated it. Its chest began to glow with the familiar red light of its simulated mana core. Before, he had only seen the light. Now, with Mana Disruptor, he could perceive the energy itself—a crude, simple loop flowing from the core, into the dummy's limbs to power them, and back again. It was like looking at the wiring diagram of a simple machine.
And if I can see the wiring, he thought, a cold curiosity stirring within him, can I cut it?
He reached out, not with his hand, but with his will, focusing his new talent on the simple loop of energy in the dummy's arm. He didn't try to destroy it. He just... pushed. Gently. He introduced a subtle interference, a dissonant note in the dummy's simple song.
The effect was immediate. The dummy's arm, which had been raising for a practice swing, stuttered and twitched. The red light in its joints flickered erratically. He had successfully interfered with its power supply from a distance, without casting a single spell.
He pushed harder, focusing more of his intent. The dummy's arm went completely limp, the red light dying out entirely. He had severed its connection to the core.
A slow, dangerous smile spread across his face. This was a power far more insidious than a fireball or a sword strike. It was the ability to unmake an opponent's attack before it ever began. A mage chanting a complex spell? He could subtly disrupt the mana formation, causing the spell to collapse. A warrior empowering his weapon with mana? He could sever the flow, leaving him with a simple piece of steel.
It was a perfect weapon for a ghost.
Next, he examined the skill: Mana Drain. This was an active skill, requiring his conscious effort. The description stated it needed physical contact to initiate. He walked over and placed his hand on the dummy's chest, directly over its simulated core.
[Activating Skill: Mana Drain (Rare) - Lv. 1]
He felt a strange, magnetic pull. A thin, almost invisible tendril of red energy flowed from the dummy's core, through his hand, and into his own body. It wasn't a violent rush, but a steady, siphoning stream. His own mana pool, which was slightly depleted from his earlier experiments, began to slowly refill.
[You have absorbed a small amount of energy. Mana has been restored.]
[Skill: Mana Drain (Rare) has gained a small amount of experience.]
He kept the connection active for a full minute until the dummy's core was completely dark, its stored energy transferred to him. The skill was slow and required contact, making it difficult to use in the heat of battle. But for a non-combat situation... or against a disabled opponent... it was a tool for recovery and attrition.
He now possessed a complete set of abilities for a new kind of warfare. He could use Mana Disruptor to weaken and disable an opponent from a distance, then, once they were incapacitated, use Mana Drain to replenish his own energy.
A thought, cold and opportunistic, struck him. The consultations... The other Prime Division students who came to him for help. They trusted him, letting him get close to analyze their problems. They were walking batteries. While "collaborating" on their issues, he could be subtly siphoning their mana, using their power to fuel his own training and creations. The ethical implications of such an act never even crossed his mind. It was simply the most efficient use of a resource.
The final piece of the puzzle clicked into place. His path to power was now terrifyingly clear.
Growth: Use his Chef job, amplified by System Weaver and Ingredient Enhancement, to create masterpiece dishes from high-grade materials, allowing him to level up at a monstrous rate in total safety.
Manipulation: Use his reputation and Perfect Persona to build relationships, gathering information and creating opportunities.
Subterfuge: Use Mana Disruptor and Mana Drain to secretly weaken his rivals, sabotage his enemies, and refuel his own energy reserves.
Theft: And every thirty days, use Divine Copy to steal the single best ability he can find, adding another layer to his ever-growing, unorthodox arsenal.
He was no longer just a chef. He was an alchemist, a theorist, an infiltrator, and a thief. He looked at his own hands, one now covered by the Glove of Silence, the other an instrument of his will. He was forging himself into a being the world had no category for, a monster hiding in plain sight.