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Chapter 16 - Chapter 16: Vision and Vigilance

Kael woke early and spent a quiet moment reviewing his interface. He had gained three new stat points from his recent progress and decided it was time to use them.

He allocated two points to Strength, raising it from 30 to 32. There was no noticeable change—not yet. But the third point, he placed in Endurance, bringing it to a clean 25.

He felt the improvement, subtle but there. His body felt steadier, his stamina just a touch more reliable. Another threshold reached.

The peaceful rhythm of Wrenvale was broken by the sound of bells—high, frantic chimes that echoed from the village watchtower. Kael stood near the well, sharpening a branch with a stone, when the first alarm rang.

Villagers began shouting.

"Something's coming from the forest!"

Kael dropped the branch, heart already pounding as he opened his interface.

A red glow pulsed in the corner of his vision.

[Emergency Quest Issued]

Defend Wrenvale from the approaching threat.

Reward: 2 Levels

He activated Omni-Vision.

And for the first time, the world rushed in with terrifying clarity.

The approaching threat was a blur of shapes and sound beyond the treeline—low, hunched creatures moving fast through brush. But it was what he saw around him that made Kael pause.

Every person had a faint aura—magic woven through skin, breath, and motion. The villagers had barely any, flickering threads like candle smoke. The beasts? The beasts burned brighter.

He had to focus.

But focus wasn't enough. Not anymore. If he wanted to survive—if he wanted to protect these people—he had to understand what Omni-Vision was showing him.

He crouched low, closing his eyes for a moment.

What are these lines?

Why do some shimmer and some don't?

What does it mean when the threads converge near the chest or coil around the head?

He took a deep breath.

Opened his eyes.

And everything shifted.

The threads weren't just random—they were flows. Of thought. Of breath. Of energy. Motion had a structure. Emotion had a current. Magic had a direction.

He saw the same pattern in the trees. In the rocks. In the beasts approaching—lines of aggression, muscle tension, magical build-up. He saw them forming into strikes before they happened.

His mind sharpened.

[Omni-Vision: Beginner Stage Unlocked]

Kael grinned.

Then he ran.

The first beast burst from the trees—a gray, four-legged creature with a body like a sickly bear and the teeth of a jagged eel. Kael didn't wait. He focused on a falling stone behind the beast, looped its motion in the air above its skull, and sent it accelerating straight down.

Crack.

The beast collapsed mid-charge.

Another broke through the brush. Kael reached out with Minor Teleport—saw its mouth open mid-snarl—and blinked a handful of dirt into the back of its throat.

It gagged, stumbled.

A spear from one of the braver villagers took it in the side.

Kael didn't stop moving.

He teleported small stones ahead of each creature's footfalls, causing stumbles. Disrupted the magic in one charging monster's limbs, sending it tumbling into a tree. Omni-Vision gave him the edge—because now he knew what he was seeing.

It was not chaos. It was a map.

And he could read it.

When the last of the creatures fled into the woods, dragging injured bodies behind them, the villagers stared in silence. Then cheers erupted.

Kael breathed deep.

[Emergency Quest Complete]

+2 Levels Earned

He had defended Wrenvale.

But more importantly—he had begun to understand

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