I Stack Elements to Conquer All Worlds Chapter 3: The First Element

Ethan stared at the Synthesis panel.

The small Elentless Sprite wandered around the spring below, completely unaware that its future was about to change.

Selected Unit: Elentless Sprite [Common]

Available Elents:

Fire

Water

Earth

Air

Cost: 10 SP

Success Rate: 80%

Ethan remained silent for several monts.

The ability looked simple.

Almost too simple.

Yet he knew better.

An Elental World without elents was weak.

An Elental World with actual elental creatures was sothing entirely different.

The question was simple.

Which elent should he choose first?

Fire was destructive.

Earth sounded durable.

Air offered mobility.

Water seed balanced.

After thinking for a while, he made his decision.

Water.

The spring was the center of his world.

Every sprite naturally gathered around it.

If any elent was connected to this place, water seed the most likely.

Ethan selected the option.

The panel changed.

Selected Unit: Elentless Sprite [Common]

Target Elent: Water

Cost: 10 SP

Success Rate: 80%

Confirm?

His heartbeat quickened.

This was his first use of the mysterious tab.

He pressed confirm.

At once, the selected sprite froze.

The other sprites looked toward it curiously.

Blue light erged from the spring.

Tiny streams of water rose into the air and surrounded the sprite.

The little creature slowly floated upward.

Ethan watched without blinking.

The blue light grew brighter.

And brighter.

Then suddenly collapsed inward.

The sprite dropped back onto the ground.

For a mont, nothing happened.

Then it stood up.

The translucent body was gone.

Its form had beco pale blue.

Thin streams of water circled around its arms.

A notification appeared.

Synthesis Successful.

Water Sprite Created.

Ethan's eyes widened.

It worked.

It had actually worked.

He imdiately opened his interface.

System Points: 90 SP

Units: 99

Elentless Sprite ×98 [Common]

Water Sprite ×1 [Common]

The little Water Sprite looked around.

Then it looked upward.

Directly at Ethan.

Its eyes seed brighter than before.

More aware.

More alive.

The other sprites rushed over.

So touched the floating streams of water.

Others stared curiously.

The Water Sprite proudly raised its arms.

Ethan couldn't help smiling.

For the first ti since awakening, his civilization possessed a true elental creature.

But he wasn't finished.

He selected another Elentless Sprite.

This ti he chose Fire.

Red light erupted around the target.

Monts later, a second notification appeared.

Synthesis Successful.

Fire Sprite Created.

The new sprite imdiately began running around the spring.

Tiny sparks occasionally appeared around its body.

Its personality seed far more energetic than the Water Sprite's.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Ethan spent the next several minutes observing them.

Then he created an Earth Sprite.

Success.

After that ca an Air Sprite.

Success.

Four successful syntheses in a row.

His civilization now possessed four different elental sprites.

The Water Sprite sat quietly beside the spring.

The Fire Sprite chased other sprites around the forest.

The Earth Sprite preferred remaining still near the water.

The Air Sprite had already climbed halfway up a tree.

Each elent seed to influence behavior.

Ethan stored the observation away.

Then his eyes landed on the remaining System Points.

60 SP.

Enough for several more attempts.

His gaze shifted toward another Elentless Sprite.

This ti, he selected Water again.

Blue light erged.

The sprite floated upward.

The process began exactly like before.

Then everything changed.

The light suddenly shattered.

The sprite fell from the air.

A weak cry escaped it.

The little creature hit the ground and stopped moving.

The surrounding sprites imdiately rushed toward it.

Ethan's smile vanished.

A notification appeared.

Synthesis Failed.

Target Survived.

Future Success Rate Increased.

He quickly inspected the injured sprite.

Selected Unit: Elentless Sprite [Common]

Available Elents:

Fire

Water

Earth

Air

Cost: 100 SP

Success Rate: 90%

Ethan froze.

The cost had increased.

Dramatically.

Ten SP had beco one hundred.

At the sa ti, the success rate had risen from eighty percent to ninety percent.

The rules were becoming clearer.

Every sprite possessed its own synthesis history.

Failure increased future chances.

But the cost permanently advanced to the next tier.

The injured sprite slowly sat up.

Fortunately, it was alive.

The nearby Water Sprite approached and gently touched it.

A faint blue glow appeared.

The injured sprite visibly relaxed.

Ethan blinked.

Had the Water Sprite just helped it recover?

He wasn't certain.

But it was worth rembering.

The sun gradually set over the forest.

The little civilization gathered around the spring.

The injured sprite rested beside the Water Sprite.

The Fire Sprite finally stopped running.

The Air Sprite climbed down from its tree.

The Earth Sprite hadn't moved much at all.

Ethan looked over his world.

Ninety-nine sprites.

Four elental variants.

A mysterious Synthesis tab.

And only one day had passed.

Outside, he was rely a B Rank student with an apparently weak Elental World.

Inside this world, however, sothing entirely different was beginning.

Sothing nobody else could see.

Sothing that might one day change everything.