David took a deep breath, feeling much better. The exhilarating experience lingered in his mind, but it slowly faded, making him wish to hold onto it forever. However, the sensation dispersed as he stopped reciting Words of Power. The crimson hue shrouding them vanished as the last remnants of the Legacy Skill and the Law of Blood disappeared.
Yet, he still sensed the dense Aether and Origin Essence around him, pushing aside any exhaustion and damage to his Source to keep his body open to it.
I won't miss out on that, he reminded himself, allowing the Essence to settle in his body.
Controlling his body shouldn't have been easy, but David had learned much as his understanding as a Lifeweaver grew—especially about his own body. He willed his body to absorb more Origin Essence within seconds and turned to the battlefield as the sounds of defiant roars and monstrous collisions pulled at his attention.
The battle continued, but neither the remaining Giants nor the prehistoric monsters moved to attack him or the others.
"Are they afraid?" he wondered, noticing sothing amiss with the Giants. They glanced at the corpses of their fallen brethren sprawled before David before turning to the prehistoric monsters, charging them valiantly.
David felt the strengthening effect of the Origin Essence settling in his body resu and attempted to pull so into his Source to nd it. But that did not work as he had hoped, forcing him to watch the battle ahead in silence.
A little bit should be fine, right? He tilted his head, casting [Blessing] and [Restore] through the mark on the Tyrannosaur when the tides of battle shifted again.
"You look like shit. Why are you still helping them even though nobody attacks us?" lach asked from the side.
David shrugged. "The Giants bother more."
He didn't do much to support the prehistoric monsters because his Source screeched desperately, struggling to stay in one piece, but the thought of letting the Giants win bothered him imnsely. They were comparable to the elves, dwarves, and other races that had settled in the System Sanctuaries all over the Earthen Union, but David had a bad feeling about them. If there were multiple Giant Tribes, each with monstrous strength and unique traits, they could storm the Earthen Union and bulldoze Arc if given enough ti to organize themselves and grow in the natural Rift.
Taking control of the Rift Core might solve all their problems. However, David couldn't be certain the portals connecting the prehistoric Rift to the Giant Tribes would be no more once the Dwarven Sanctuary ca to be. Thus, instead of granting the Giants leeway, David would much rather annihilate them and ensure the dwarves would block all further entrances. All they had to do was safeguard the portals to the Giant Tribes if they wouldn't disappear soon.
But he did not interfere much after casting [Blessing] and [Restore] a few tis. There was no need to damage his Source further, especially not when [Restore] and [Healing Light] appeared ineffective on his Source. The only thing that restored his Source was the Blood it produced using Origin Essence and Aether.
David could have stopped the Source from using Origin Essence, but no corpse in his imdiate range had any lifeforce left to drain. Nor was he willing to sacrifice his lifeforce for the process.
He closed his eyes and watched the Source process the Origin Essence to produce more Blood. The final result felt more potent, but that was expected given the quality of resources used. Yet only an insignificant portion of Blood accumulated in the Source. The rest was used to calm the rampaging Source.
Ti passed slowly, and the commotion ahead died at so point. When David opened his eyes again, the battlefield was covered in Giant carcasses. So prehistoric predators looked in their direction, but they turned away and left in defeat. At the sa ti, David felt faint tremors ripple through the ground. They grew more intense until an explosion resounded from behind.
David spun around as Blood surged into his eyes.
"Everyone is still alive," he comnted, and the elf beside him sighed in relief.
But while he could still see everyone's life signals, David sensed a drastic shift in the surroundings. The surrounding Origin Essence was dwindling. It didn't disappear entirely, but the contrast was stark.
David would have loved to fill his entire body with Origin Essence to empower so of his Class Skills later, but the shift turned that into a long, arduous task.
I can do that later… if given the opportunity, he thought, shrugging before turning to Zachariah, who had just returned from the Rift Core. The regressor approached Torb and said sothing David couldn't understand. However, Torb's expression darkened at Zachariah's words, his displeasure evident.
The dwarf's face twisted with anger for a mont as lach—followed by David—approached them.
"…is a great spot," he heard Zachariah say. "No, compared to other Rifts, this is perfect. A Rift Core capable of producing Origin Essence even after the initial modification is worth a lot. And I an a lot, even for transcendent beings. I don't care if you're indebted to Fortress; you had better get a good deal from him! Don't you dare lower your head just because that guy is your Patron God!"
David had never seen Torb turn this red before. The dwarf looked like a cherry tomato—albeit a hairy one—as he grunted, ready to tear Zachariah a new one.
But silver arcs burst from Zachariah as his sharp gaze locked onto Torb. "Make demands, you idiotic dork. Tell Fortress to make you his Pri Champion and tell him that he won't get anything if he makes the Sanctuary and the attached Rift exclusive to dwarves!"
Torb looked displeased, but David didn't see anything wrong with Zachariah's comnt. It sounded reasonable to him. He didn't bother listening any longer—the banter was a waste of ti. Instead, he focused on his Source, the dense Origin Essence surrounding him, and the Earthen Elental roaming the battlefield, collecting items and hauling bodies toward their group.
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"Should we harvest so valuable body parts while they do… whatever they're doing?" lach asked with a smile.
David simply smiled and got to work. At his will, the Obsidian Blade elongated, curving slightly as it transford into a scimitar.
"Your soulbound weapon has grown… in more than one way, it seems," lach comnted, eyeing the blade intently.
David stored the item drops collected by the Earthen Elental, drained the lifeforce from nearby corpses to feed his soulbound weapon, and severed the most valuable body parts.
After so ti, they completed their task and returned to the others with their gathered loot.
"Are you done?" Zachariah asked.
David nodded. "Yes. How about you guys? Can we go back, or do you need more ti?"
"Torb… well, I don't know what he's thinking. He doesn't want to demand anything from Fortress, saying he feels bad after everything his Patron did for him," Zachariah sighed in defeat. "I don't get it. We're not just establishing a settlent; what we're doing with this Rift is much more. If we had chosen a natural 1-Star Rift, we could have used it as the foundation for a Sanctuary. However, I chose this one deliberately to ensure everyone gains as much as possible."
The regressor looked at him while David retrieved the items dropped by the Giants and other prehistoric monsters.
"But does it matter?" David asked. "I an… I'm quite happy with my growth and our gains. I feel like we've co a long way. Whether Torb demands anything special from Fortress isn't really our concern, right? Other than the exclusivity rights to the prehistoric Rift, maybe."
He was certain he would return to the prehistoric Rift for more Origin Essence, but that was the only thing he needed from it.
"I guess…" Zachariah still didn't seem convinced.
"It's his own fault if he refuses to ask for what he deserves. You tried helping him, knowing what awaits us in the future. Let him make the final call," David shrugged, fetching the last of the item drops. "At worst, he 'rely' becos an ordinary Champion. I don't understand how much that differs from being a Pri Champion, but again… let Torb decide."
Zachariah muttered sothing unintelligible. David didn't understand, but instead of arguing, he focused on organizing the item drops.
"There are so nice drops," he noted, picking up a violet stone pulsing with strong life signals. "It's either so type of magical stone with its own life force or a monster egg. My guess is the latter since I couldn't store it in the storage dinsion."
He handed the presud egg to Zachariah. It might have been sothing special, possibly even a prehistoric monster's egg, but he couldn't be bothered.
Raising a baby dinosaur wasn't on his wishlist. Not anymore—not in an apocalyptic world, anyway.
"Then we have several armants—so armor, swords, an incredibly well-crafted longbow, and so weird-ass glowing potions. They look sick, but whatever is inside… it sses with my vision." He shuddered, turning away from the golden potions. "There are also so magical herbs and other stuff that dropped, but I think the Skill Slates are among the most important. We have six of them, and they look more complex than the Tier-0 Skill Slates. Most are probably Tier-1 Slates, while so look like a child was given a black slate and a crayon to play with for a while."
Zachariah snatched the golden potions with one hand while carrying the violet stone—or egg—in his other. But upon hearing about the Skill Slates, he rushed over and exclaid, "You can have my share of the Glamorous Potential potions if you give this." The regressor pointed at one of the scribbled slates, then murmured, "You guys wouldn't know how to use it anyway."
"I don't mind," lach responded. "We only made it this far because of you, anyway."
"Take it."
After so back and forth, all item drops—there were more than expected—were split four ways. Torb wasn't present, but everyone agreed that no item could rival the benefits of becoming the Dwarven God's Champion—or a Pri Champion, if he followed Zachariah's advice.
The regressor made nurous comnts about the armant drops, the golden potions, and the Skill Slates. As a result, various items were forced upon David to store for later. He would have to sell them eventually, probably without Torb's help since the dwarf was no longer in dire need of money. Great…
David didn't ask for much. In fact, he hadn't found anything he liked and would have surrendered all the drops if not for Zachariah and lach insisting he use—or at least try—the Glamorous Potential potion and a Skill Slate called [Mage Armor].
lach was the first to consu one of the Glamorous Potential potions after binding two Skills to his Mana Core. The elf gasped and closed his eyes. He remained still, but David could feel the mana within him raging wildly.
lach didn't move for a while, causing David to worry—until the elf suddenly gasped again.
"So pure!" he exclaid.
Zachariah stared at the elf, intrigued. "Your Mana Core's purity increased?"
lach nodded in response, making Zachariah smile. "Interesting. Very good!"
Was the potion actually useful? David frowned. If his Source or Blood grew even stronger, his Skills would also beco more potent. That sounded quite promising.
He didn't think twice before trying to bind the Mage Armor Skill first.
[You have discovered a Skill Slate]
[Mage Armor – Tier-1]
[Do you wish to use the Skill Slate to acquire 'Mage Armor'?]
David proceeded without hesitation. It was reassuring to see the System not reject the Skill Rune, though he had already suspected it would work.
He paused for a mont, watching as the Skill Slate turned pitch-black while its power flowed into his body. A new Skill Rune ford, yet it changed long before it could settle in his mind space.
As expected, [Mage Armor] mutated. It transford, taking on a crimson sheen, but David didn't wait for the process to conclude.
He had already removed the cork of the Glamorous Potential potion and pressed the cold glass rim against his lips.
David squird as the disgustingly sweet liquid slid down his throat, but the sensation didn't last long. He focused on his Source. However, nothing happened to it. Instead, he felt warm and broke into a cold sweat. A prickly sensation appeared in the back of his eyes.
At first, it didn't hurt—it just felt like ants were crawling through his eyes.
David winced, grunting as the discomfort sharpened into pain. The sensation intensified, making him want to gouge his eyes out until sothing warm stread down his cheeks.
He noticed Zachariah and lach rushing toward him, but David could only scream as the pain overwheld him.
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