Hoards of flame bugs illuminated the otherwise dim environment of the cave.

Although its name is a flame bug, it does not emanate fire from its body; instead,

It looks more like a firefly, with storage compartments on its back that seem to entrap orange-coloured fluids within.

Apparently, these flame bugs use this stored liquid to melt stones, creating hollow tube-like pathways to make storage units for food.

This is done by excreting these orange fluids from a gland present on spinchers. When they make contact with stone, they exhale this fluid, igniting it and creating fire.

Currently, they are engaged in the same activity.

One bug, in particular, diligently worked until it exhausted its supply of orange fluids, then happily moved away to rest.

There is a cooldown period during which the glands cease excretion for a certain time.

As that bug settled on a stone to rest, suddenly a humanoid hand swept in, kidnapping the poor insect.

The same sequence repeated a couple of times.

After collecting enough, the humanoid figure moved outside, pleased with his harvest.

The moment the light of day fell on his face, black marks of explosions became visible.

It was Kiesh.

Previously, when Kiesh tried to collect these bugs, he didn't know they could self-explode upon being touched.

Kiesh thought it was due to their pride, they refused to surrender and admit defeat.

But it was only after the third try that he learned the real reason. Apparently, these flame bugs possess a bloodline-specific ability that allows them to excrete every drop of flame fluids when facing danger, resulting in small explosions that enable them to escape.

Some of them blasted in front of Kiesh face, leaving behind black half-burnt flame fluids that tainted his face.

Thankfully, the explosions were not strong, so he was not seriously injured.

Nevertheless, after one or two tries, he grasped the hang of it and understood the workings of the glands, as well as the time range where they are inactive and cannot generate fire and fluids.

So he devised a plan to capture these flame bugs when they were inactive and placed them in a leaf bag he made.

The bag contained a total of 10 of them.

Of course, there was a time limit of 10 minutes before these flame bugs started exploding, so he ran and immediately opened the mission pop-up.

Selected the gift option and sent the bug to the receiver.

[3-star Missions completed]

[Rewards are issued]

< Skill Book Gained >

< Basic skill Fire Wisp >

< 51 Merit points gained>

With that, he emerged completely from the cave with a skill book in hand.

He was excited to learn it as quickly as possible, so he immediately summoned the skill book.

This time, the skill book had a red-colored cover with a fire wisp symbol on it surrounded by dark crimson lines.

Kiesh was familiar with the process of embedding a skill in the soul, so he immediately wished for the book to open up.

The scarlet-colored skill book started to transform into red glittering particles, starting from one corner and moving towards the center, then spreading to the other corners. 

These particles traveled towards him, and upon reaching his body, they were absorbed within.

A warm sensation spread in his chest.

Feeling this Kiesh prepared himself for the incoming pain.

The sound of a heartbeat echoed.

Followed by the pain of an ant bite.

But Kiesh wasn't prepared for what followed…

A Tinnitus Sound resonated in his ear like someone was ringing a bell without an interval, 

The pitch continued to increase.

He fell on his limbs with both arms on the ground, his vision turning blurry and his mouth becoming dry. He immediately needed water to drink as he felt a needle-stabbing dryness in his mouth.

Trying to understand what was happening, he wondered about the possible reasons for the situation.

Was there someone who attacked him? Was it a sneak attack, or perhaps the effect of the flame bug contact? Could it be the doing of the Thief Monkey?

He didn't have to guess for long, as a pop-up from Maya's spell emerged, informing him about the real reason.

[Congratulations on learning the basic spell Flame Wisp]

[Warning: Cultivation level is too low.]

[Soul is unable to bear the strain of two skills at once.]

And then everything turned dark. It was like he drifted into a dream realm without sleeping, which was, of course, empty.

Every skill is the culmination of runic symbols embedded in the cultivator's soul.

The soul of a cultivator in the Spiritual stage can safely handle a strain of two Basic level runes, meaning they can learn two basic skills.

In other cases, they can only manage a single advanced skill.

This limitation is due to soul strength. Each cultivator's soul possesses a certain strength, which determines their ability to bear the strain of runic symbols associated with specific skills.

A cultivator in the Spiritual stage has the soul strength to withstand two basic level skills. In extreme cases, they can manage one advanced skill and one basic skill, albeit with temporary side effects.

Soul strength continues to increase as individuals progress through cultivation stages, allowing them to learn additional skills.

There was a whole lesson that Master Paras had to give on skills and abilities, but before Kiesh had a chance to attend any classes, he was exiled for seclusion.

So here he was, suffering from success and a lack of information..