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The waves of Mana were rigid, ostensibly damaging the rocks of the cave, but that wasn't entirely true. On the contrary, the wave was actually smoothening the surface, which created a deep contrast of polished and unrefined rock once a certain distinct threshold was passed.
However, Lucian also noticed sothing even more alarming than this, it had sothing to do with the orientation of the waves.
'Perhaps it's just being on edge, but it feels as if the wave of Mana isn't moving further than my current position. Is this related to my presence or sothing produced by the cave itself?' Although this question was a conundrum because Lucian only beca aware of the wave after moving close enough, it wasn't baseless speculation.
Lucian experinted to confirm his curiosities. First, he tested for changes in the Mana's position by advancing 5 ters closer to undulations, but there was no change. It remained steady, keeping the sa rhythm and endpoint. Then, Lucian moved outside of the periter of the wave but stretched his perception to the limit.
Unexpectedly, no matter how much he pried into the distance, he couldn't sense the presence of the wave. Even though he could see it with his eyes, sensing its composition was impossible.
Thus, Lucian's speculation beca even more deeply embedded in his mind.
'It seems as if this Mana was birthed by sothing residing deep into the cave and isn't a response to my occupancy,' Lucian thought. After a few monts, he continued to advance deeper inside the dark tunnel. This ti, he didn't inspect the wave as closely as he did before.
If it was such a danger, then his instincts wouldn't have advised him to venture deeper. Furthermore, sothing would have happened during the ti he was conducting his tests to warn him.
After all, he had been there for quite so ti and made thorough examinations, repeating the scenario more than once.
Nevertheless, the less invasive the wave, the better it was for Lucian.
Ti passed uneventfully as Lucian made his way through the tunnel. During that ti, Lucian took the ti to familiarize himself with even more intricacies of his ability. By now, he was able to estimate the consumption of his ability per usage.
All it took was the understanding of the theory behind his ability. 'The larger the pores in the material, the more Mana it'll take to saturate its current state. In other words, my ability is just filling in the weaknesses in a designated target. Sadly, my ability also accounts for the level of the target's state.'
Similar to Priscilla, the sturdier the receiver of his ability was, the more taxing it beca to utilize it. Not to ntion, with his current MQ his choices of Reinforcing was limited.
But, if his ability could bypass this limit, then his ability that was thought of as a nuanced triviality would be regarded as a national treasure! To reinforce materials beyond their existing state was an extrely beneficial gift.
Suddenly, both Lucian and his thoughts ca to a halt. There was an unidentified room before him and for unknown reasons, the wave of Mana disappeared abruptly. Moreover, unlike the dark tunnel, the room possessed a source of light.
Lucian advanced cautiously while peeking his head through the doorway. Except for the nurous containers inside, the interior was void of any life. Or rather, the suspected Knolls were nowhere to be found.
'Is no one is manning the room, then where is this li-...what the hell?' Lucian gawked, marveling at the sight before his eyes. The front-most layer of large containers was empty, save for the abundance of blue liquid inside, however, the things inside confounded Lucian.
It was entirely different from his expectations.
Deford and unidentified lifeforms with several tubes connected to their bodies laid suspended in the containers. For a mont, Lucian thought these things were lifeless, but the instant he looked at them, their eyes opened, an erald green sheen firing towards Lucian.
Imdiately, Lucian dodged to the side but the light was surprisingly harmless. In fact, the light was even faintly pleasant, causing Lucian to drop so of his raised defenses.
However, all of their eyes appeared lifeless after the initial display of light.
'What the hell is this place?' Lucian thought, glancing around. To him, this seed like so sort of makeshift laboratory. But, places like these were usually heavily guarded with security personnel. Yet, this place was practically vacant.
It didn't make any sense and even seed extrely out of place. "Could these so-called Knolls really be capable of such sophisticated research?"
Lucian first thought was to retreat, but then he realized he couldn't. It felt as if sothing was beckoning him until it caught his eyean exquisite crimson stone. However, to call it a stone was an injustice. The polished ruby exterior shimred with a tantalizing light, which made Lucian tempted to claim it.
As he stepped closer to the stone, there was a slight reaction from the obscure lifeforms. When he moved, they floated towards the edge of the container. After all, the placent of the stone was in the center of the ring-aligned containers.
Suddenly, as Lucian stood before the stone, a screen appeared before him, but Lucian was partially confused by it.
Item Na: ???
Rarity: ???
Information: An item securely hidden from the eyes of its seekers. Those who hold it are destined to brave grave situations and devastating enemies yet awaken a sight beyond the understanding of many.
Usage: ???
Durability: (Indestructible)
'Uhh, what? Devastating enemies... Yeah, I'd rather not,' Lucian thought, backpedaling cautiously. Regrettably, it seed he had ventured beyond the point of return. The stone vibrated vigorously until finally, it levitated and collided with Lucian's disappearing from sight.
Surprisingly, when the stone collided with him, there was no pain. It was similar to splashing water upon your face to wake yourself up; Lucian only felt a jolt.
anwhile, as soon as the stone disappeared, the containers holding the lifeforms shattered. Once that happened, Lucian was assailed by a surge of familiar energy.
'Isn't this' Lucian's eyes widened, ecstatic by his discovery. 'This is the sa energy from the Fractal Pillar!'
However, this wasn't what made Lucian ecstatic, it was the state of his enemies. Due to unknown reasons, their bodies seed unstable and unable to support themselves.
In other words, once the container shattered, the beings were slumped on the floor, completely defenseless. Since they emitted the sa energy as the Fractal Pillar, that ant they were related to one thingAccumulated Destinies.
According to the Overseer, sources of this type of benefit were hard to co by outside of clearing the floors as directed. Even then, the rewarded destiny was minuscule at best. It was designed this way to locate pri specins from the initial Refinent.
However, in this case, Lucian wasn't polite at all. He flourished his daggers without pause, dashing towards the decrepit lifeforms. The thought of acquiring energy related to the Fractal Pillars excited Lucian.
This could be the prelude to his defining mont!
Na: Destiny Vessels
Health: 1% (Unstable)
With their current state, it was an effortless series of events that took place. A few simple slashes and the lifeforms were history! Furthermore, he was also pleased with the amount of destiny he absorbed.
Alert! Destiny Vessel (???)has been slain. [1.20 Destiny Accumulation received.]
In total, after defeating the Destiny Vessels, Lucian ca across 18 units of destiny. With his prior number of Destinies, he had acquired 21 Destiny Accumulations! After all, his first Refinent hadn't consud any of his destiny due to his unique circumstances.
However, instead of happiness, Lucian felt more at odds than ever. A few things just didn't add up. The containers, the eerie vibe that vanished out of nowhere as well as this stoneit produced the most questions of all. Yet, nothing inside the room was capable of revealing an answer.
Even after turning the area upside down, he didn't co across anything useful. Though, he did revisit the containers and used his empty vials which previously held the recovery elixirs to confiscate a striking amount of liquid.
After stowing the liquid he left this room filled with enigmas and retraced his steps. Yet, little did he know that as soon as he left this place, a tremor took place and this laboratory vanished without a trace.
Soon enough, he found himself exactly where he started, but there was a large difference.
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