Victor’s heartbeat seemed to pause. For a moment, the only thing he could hear was a loud ringing sensation cutting off everything else from existence.
SSS?!
Since the system activated, this was the first SSS Rank!
It was a whole rank even above Cecilia!
[Target was born with the extremely rare "Astral Resonance Physique."]
[As the current profession awakening system of this world cannot identify this physique, target has been unable to complete a normal profession awakening.]
[Through years of research, target’s mother discovered the anomaly and attempted to independently reconstruct the awakening ritual for the ancient profession "Astral Spirit Envoy."]
[Research was interrupted before completion.]
[Current awakening formation lacks a critical medium: Pure Astral Energy.]
[If the missing medium is supplied, target may complete her Destiny Leap ahead of schedule.]
[Potential Evaluation will rise from D to SSS.]
’Missing medium?’
In his thoughts, the very system screen he had been waiting for all this while finally unfolded before him.
[Special Investment Opportunity generated.]
[Target: Leah Vane.]
[Investment Content: Complete Astral Spirit Profession Awakening.]
[Degree of Destiny Alteration: Extremely High.]
[Minimum Estimated Return Multiplier: 1000×.]
One thousand times!
Victor’s heartbeat accelerated, the sound so loud that even Cecilia, standing beside him, could hear the faint throbbing.
’He gets excited a lot,’ she thought to herself and then shifted her gaze forward, as if wanting to see what was making him so excited.
Meanwhile, Victor seemed to be in a completely different world of his own, the excitement on his face growing more obvious with each passing moment.
Cecilia had only undergone a partial change to her destined death, yet it triggered a 520× return. But Leah was jumping directly from D to SSS.
One thousand times was merely the minimum. But there was only one problem.
Where was he supposed to find Pure Astral Energy?
"System, I don’t have anything like that."
[Host possesses high purity attributeless mana.]
’What?’
Victor was confused at first, then immediately understood.
Mana Devour!
Yes, Mana Devour to the rescue once again!
It could break other forms of mana down into ownerless energy.
But...
[Ordinary attributeless mana cannot substitute for Astral Energy.]
As expected.
[However, Host possesses the growth type talent "Mana Devour."]
[Host may attempt to devour the remnants of seven failed Astral fragments within the awakening formation and reconstruct them.]
Victor’s eyes lit up again. So the seven extinguished mana crystals were not completely empty.
[Estimated extractable Pure Astral Energy: 63 to 81 units.]
[Required to complete awakening: 70 units.]
If his luck was slightly poor, it would not be enough. He had been on a lucky streak since he woke up in this world, however, now there was this ominous feeling in his heart that he was about to suffer his first bout of bad luck.
Meanwhile, Leah had already placed the eighth mana crystal into the center of the formation.
Buzz!
Every magical line across the laboratory floor instantly lit up, casting shadows across the walls.
"Not good." Cecilia’s expression abruptly darkened. "She activated it!"
Boom!
A massive surge of mana converged from every direction.
Leah threw her head back as her black hair rose without wind and pale silver patterns began appearing across her body.
At first glance, it was extraordinarily beautiful, a picturesque view.
But what Victor saw was completely different.
Seven key nodes within the magic formation were collapsing simultaneously, while the already fragile mana core inside Leah’s body was beginning to develop countless tiny cracks.
[Warning!]
[Target’s Destiny Node officially activated!]
[Estimated Mana Core Collapse: 96 seconds.]
Okay, that’s it! Victor quickly rushed forward, not daring to waste any more seconds.
"Stop!"
Leah abruptly opened her eyes. When she saw Victor charging in, her eyes widened in shock.
"Young Master Victor?"
"Shut down the formation!"
"I can’t!" Leah’s face was pale, yet she barely hesitated. "Once the awakening begins, it can’t be forcibly stopped!"
"What happens if it is?"
"I don’t know."
"Then shut up."
Victor stepped directly into the magic formation.
Cecilia’s pupils contracted sharply when she saw this, her expressionless face finally changing.
"Victor!"
Boom!
Terrifying mana pressure instantly crashed down on him. All seven discarded mana crystals trembled almost simultaneously, and threads of extremely faint silver energy, entirely different from ordinary mana, began emerging from within them.
Victor raised his right hand, his eyes burning with fierce determination.
[Mana Devour!]
Buzz!
Invisible suction erupted almost immediately!
Crack!
The first mana crystal shattered directly, and the faint strand of silver energy remaining inside was forcibly extracted, entering Victor’s palm.
As if there was a chain reaction, the second mana crystal shattered immediately after the first, followed by the third.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
[Unknown higher dimensional energy detected.]
[Analyzing.]
[Analysis complete.]
[Astral Energy.]
[Purify?]
"Purify!"
Boom!
The silver energy entering Victor’s body was instantly wrapped by [Mana Devour]. Unlike Abyssal corruption, this power possessed no corrosive properties, yet it was extraordinarily heavy.
The instant even a single strand entered his body, Victor felt as though his consciousness had suddenly been pulled toward an infinitely distant place, with countless stars flashing through the depths of his mind.
But the next second, every phenomenon was forcibly suppressed by his devouring talent.
[Pure Astral Energy acquired: 11.]
’Still not enough.’ Victor gritted his teeth, his red eyes becoming bloodshot. ’Continue!’
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
One after another, the remaining mana crystals surrounding the awakening formation shattered as a deluge of system text covered Victor’s entire retina, blinding everything else in his periphery.
[+9.]
[+12.]
[+10.]
Adding the earlier fragments from the previously consumed mana crystal...
[Current Pure Astral Energy: 67.]
Three short!
The look on Victor’s face immediately became ugly. He needed at least seventy, and he had drawn close to the minimum range.
Meanwhile, the system countdown had already changed to:
[Mana Core Collapse: 34 seconds.]
Leah’s body began trembling violently, and blood flowed from her nose. Before both Victor and Cecilia, her face was visibly growing paler.
"No..." She gritted her teeth. "Just a little more..."
She could clearly feel it as well. The awakening ritual was missing something, but she had absolutely no idea what it was.
Cecilia was already standing outside the formation.
"I can forcibly interrupt it!" she said.
"Don’t!" Victor immediately shouted. "She’ll die!"
"She won’t."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Victor stared at the sixty seven units of Astral Energy on his panel.
’Three... Only three more.’
Where could he find them?
At that moment, his gaze suddenly landed on the worn notebook in the center of the magic formation.
’Wait.’
Leah’s mother had studied this profession for so many years. If she had never personally encountered Astral Energy, how could she possibly construct a formation that was seventy one percent complete?
Which meant there had to be more here!
"Scan!"
[Investment Scan Remaining Uses: 1.]
Dark red ripples instantly spread outward, and the entire laboratory rapidly became transparent in Victor’s vision.
His vision pierced straight through the surrounding walls, passed over the various magical devices scattered throughout the laboratory, and continued downward through the floor, revealing the densely interconnected pipes buried beneath it, along with numerous shattered mana crystal fragments still faintly radiating residual energy.
Finally, an extremely faint golden point appeared behind the wall on the left side of the laboratory.
[Special Resource detected.]
[Sealed Star Marrow Crystal.]
Found it!
Victor did not even explain. He drew his sword, and Crimson Flame Fang left its sheath instantly.
Cecilia’s brows furrowed slightly.
"What are you doing?"
Boom!
Victor slashed directly at the wall!
Fire erupted, and large pieces of stone exploded outward. The hidden compartment behind the wall was forcibly split open, causing a palm sized black metal box to fall from inside.
With quick reflexes, Victor caught it and opened it.
Inside, a silver crystal no larger than a fingernail rested quietly.
[Star Marrow Crystal]
[Condition: Low Purity]
[Extractable Astral Energy: 24 units.]
[Mana Core Collapse: 17 seconds.]
"Devour!"
Crack!
The silver crystal shattered instantly, and a large amount of Astral Energy surged into Victor through his palm.
[Purification complete.]
[Pure Astral Energy +19.]
[Current Total: 86.]
The next second, a new system notification unfolded directly before him.
[Special Investment Conditions met.]
[Invest 70 units of Pure Astral Energy into Leah Vane?]
...
Few more Power Stones to go!! Don’t Forgot to vote ! Three more Chapters are coming up!