SSS Awakening: I Can Create Skills By Will

Chapter 191: The Wind Element

The commander’s eyes followed it.

"...Impressive.",

Arthur chuckled.

"You haven’t seen the best part yet."

The dragon suddenly stopped moving.

Its body compressed.

The flames reshaped again.

In seconds the dragon dissolved into a new form.

A sculpture.

Made entirely of fire.

And the shape it formed was unmistakable.

The commander herself.

A perfect burning statue standing in front of the real one.

Same posture.

Same height.

Even the slight tilt of her head was identical.

The commander blinked once.

Arthur watched her reaction carefully.

Then he laughed.

"Not bad right?"

She stared at the sculpture.

Then back at him.

"...You did that from memory?"

Arthur shrugged.

"Mostly imagination."

The commander walked closer to the fire sculpture.

The detail surprised even her.

It wasn’t just rough shape.

It was accurate.

And the flames didn’t waver even slightly.

Her gaze returned to Arthur.

Now she truly understood how much of a potential he was.

Not just because of raw strength.

But because of his insane control of mana..

The way his abilities connected with each other.

It was abnormal.

She smiled faintly.

"...A skill like that disrupting my mana makes sense now."

Arthur grinned proudly.

"Glad you approve."

A moment later he relaxed his hand.

The flames disappeared.

The sculpture faded with it.

And the heavy pressure of the domain disappeared as well.

The training hall returned to normal.

Arthur stretched his arms slightly.

"Alright."

He looked at her.

"Can I go now?"

She answered immediately.

"Not yet."

Arthur blinked.

"...Seriously?"

She turned and began walking toward the side entrance.

"I’m not sure what trick you planned with the wind core you planned to get today."

Arthur raised a brow.

"What trick?"

She ignored the question.

"So I took precautions."

Arthur frowned slightly.

Precautions?

Just then the hall door opened.

A young silver ranked explorer stepped inside.

He walked straight toward the commander and saluted lightly.

"I brought it."

Arthur watched curiously.

The explorer held out a small pouch.

"The Gale Wolf core from the merchant you mentioned."

He paused briefly before adding.

"And I managed to get another one from a different merchant as well."

Arthur’s eyes widened slightly.

Another one?

The commander took the pouch.

Two wind cores rested inside.

She nodded once.

"Good work."

The explorer bowed slightly before leaving the hall without another word.

Arthur stood there silently.

Still staring at the cores in her hand.

Then he looked back at her slowly.

"...Wait."

His voice carried genuine disbelief.

"You got two?"

The commander didn’t answer immediately. She simply tossed one of them toward him.

Arthur caught it without thinking, his fingers closing around the cool, smooth surface.

"Don’t look so surprised," she said. "You’re not the only one who plans ahead."

Arthur let out a short laugh, shaking his head.

"Guess I got outplayed."

He turned the core over in his palm, studying it closely. Faint streaks of pale green swirled deep inside it, barely visible unless you focused.

"So you already bought it from that merchant..." he muttered.

"And another," she added.

Arthur looked up again.

"...You really didn’t trust me to handle this on my own."

"I don’t trust you not to do something reckless," she corrected calmly.

Arthur opened his mouth, then paused.

"...That’s fair."

He scratched the back of his head, then sighed lightly.

"I wasn’t even planning to sneak around or anything. We already made a deal."

"I know," she said.

That made him pause.

She continued, "This just saves time. And effort."

Arthur looked at the core again, then smiled a little.

"...Alright, I’ll take it."

She crossed her arms.

"You don’t need to worry about payment either. I’ve handled that."

Arthur raised a brow.

"Seriously?"

"The merchant has been paid in full," she said. "And now that he knows you’re connected to me, he’ll cooperate if you need anything else."

Arthur let out a low whistle.

"That’s... convenient."

"Don’t abuse it."

"No promises."

She gave him a look.

Arthur grinned.

"Relax. I’ll behave."

For now, at least.

He took a step back and glanced around the training hall.

Quiet.

Spacious.

Good enough.

"Alright then," he said, rolling his shoulders. "Let’s see if this works."

The commander didn’t move.

"Go on."

Arthur nodded once and lowered himself to the ground.

He crossed his legs, placing the core gently on his palm.

His expression shifted.

The usual playful look faded, replaced by focus.

His breathing slowed.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

Okay... think.

This wasn’t like fire.

Fire came naturally to him now.

It responded quickly.

It listened.

But this was different, Wind...

He glanced at the core again.

I actually didn’t think this part through.

He let out a quiet breath through his nose.

Doesn’t matter.

His system had carried him this far.

And his Manifest Intent wasn’t tied to one element.

It was about intent first.

Everything else followed.

"...Let’s just try."

A faint layer of mana gathered around his hand.

Not explosive or aggressive.

Just enough.

Then slowly...

He increased the pressure.

The core trembled slightly.

Arthur’s eyes sharpened.

"Don’t break too fast..."

He adjusted the output carefully, controlling the force with precision.

Then.. Crack.

The core shattered in his hand.

A soft burst of energy spilled out instantly.

Arthur’s eyes widened slightly.

There it is.

The wind element.

It didn’t flow like fire.

It didn’t stay still either.

It slipped.

Flickering, shifting, trying to disperse in every direction at once.

"Damn..."

Arthur reacted immediately.

His mana surged forward, trying to contain it.

But it wasn’t easy.

The wind element resisted.

Not violently.

Just... freely.

Like it didn’t want to be held.

Arthur clenched his jaw slightly.

"So this is what she meant..."

He remembered the commander’s earlier warning.

Wind wasn’t stable.

Now he understood.

It wasn’t just unstable.

It was stubborn.

His mana tried to wrap around it, but the element slipped through the gaps.

Again.

And again.

Arthur cursed under his breath.

"...Stay still for a second."

The commander watched quietly from a short distance.

Her eyes stayed fixed on him. As she noticed everything.