Chapter 41: Searching
Badum! Badum!
The newly formed dantian beat like a war drum, sending waves of surging mana through the veins to rapidly circulate through the body.
Maybe it was his excitement, or maybe the dantian was pushing mana through the veins at a very fast speed, but Cole felt a wave of pain as mana tore through his veins.
This is bad...
He immediately sat down cross-legged, trying to regain his calm state.
It was only after a few breaths of time that his mind calmed down and the pain disappeared. It was only then that he let out a sigh of relief.
"According to the original theory, the pain is completely normal. I might have succeeded in turning my heart into a dantian because of the successful fusion, but the rest of the body is still the same. The veins and arteries present in the human body aren’t meant to carry mana. They were built for more docile things, blood and oxygen. To fully take advantage of the dantian, I would have to refine the body further, placing special emphasis on the veins..."
Cole thought while going over the new information.
Cultivating at the Moon Knight Realm was slightly different from the Nascent Trainee Realm. Instead of refining the body as a whole, physical-path warriors focused on their bones, turning the soft and brittle bones made out of calcium into something as tough as iron.
Thinking up to this point, Cole’s eyes twinkled with solemn light.
Not only will I manage to refine my bones, but also widen the veins, turning them from narrow passageways into wide channels.
Some might say, why not focus on veins while ignoring the bones completely?
At that thought, Cole immediately shook his head.
Mana was heavier than blood. While flowing through the veins, it was bound to put pressure on the bones. A few times it might not do anything, but over time its effects were bound to be devastating.
After assessing his strength, Cole still wasn’t satisfied. He still didn’t have a good idea how his strength compared against his previous self.
Thinking of something, he said in a low voice,
"A.I. chip, run a simulation of my current self fighting against my past self. How much is the difference?"
[Processing request...! Request failed.]
[The command exceeds the A.I. chip’s ability to execute 1.5 million simulations. Please upgrade the chip’s abilities.]
Hmm, interesting...
Seeing the message floating in front of his eyes, Cole’s eyes automatically narrowed to slits.
This matter greatly surprised him. He had already known the A.I. chip’s calculative abilities weren’t infinite, but still, the chip had managed to simulate the fusion of the Lightning Worm and Storm Eater bloodline, yet it could not compare his strength?
Cole had the urge to shake his head.
He wanted to continue investigating, but at this time he heard Jessica groan in pain.
Cole looked in her direction and immediately frowned. A layer of thin brown dust-like substance had started growing on her feet.
Her disease is acting up again...!
After another look, he surveyed his surroundings again, finally stopping upon the remains of their earlier ride, now in ruins.
Most of the chariot was destroyed, but there were pieces which were heavily filled with runes, still intact.
Hmm, let’s search through the wreckage. I might find something useful.
Cole moved with hope, digging through the ruins one by one. The strength boost that he received after the successful fusion came in handy quite a bit. He was easily able to throw the iron plates, weighing more than a ton, to the side to help clear the wreckage.
The destruction was too much.
Most of the supplies were incinerated.
After searching for several minutes, he finally found a spot that gave him hope.
The chariot floorboard.
Damn, this shit is heavy...
Cole groaned as he tried to move the barely intact steel plate, weighing over a dozen tons. Smoke was coming out of his body as he exerted tremendous force. Under that force, the spot where he grabbed the plate was bent to an unnatural angle.
Cole gritted his teeth and managed to slide the plate to the side, revealing a sealed box.
Just as he was about to open the box, Cole hesitated as some thoughts popped into his head.
What if there is no healing potion inside the box? Should he abandon the siblings and leave alone...?
At that thought, Cole’s face showed no reaction. With unblinking eyes, he simply opened the box, revealing the contents inside.
A high-grade healing potion...!
Cole’s face stiffened.
It was better than the potion that Ethan gave him before.
After a brief pause, he shook his head, turning his head to look at the pair of Summers siblings.
It seems even the world wants you to live for some time. Then who am I to say no to such things...?
Cole believed there was a pattern to some things.
In the violent storm that had vaporized mountains, a fragile bottle of healing potion survived.
With all those thoughts in mind, he didn’t waste any time, quickly uncorking the potion and dropping it bit by bit first into Jessica’s mouth, then putting half the contents in Ethan’s mouth.
Maybe she was already active, but Cole noticed Jessica’s eyes spring open first. Immediately upon waking up, her eyes turned to Cole sitting nearby.
The first sentence that came out of the girl’s mouth left him speechless.
"You are alive...?"
Instead of worrying about her own well-being, she was asking if he was okay or not.
At that thought, instead of feeling touched, Cole had the urge to roll his eyes.
Lady, is there something wrong with your head?
Of course I am alive, or could it be you are talking to the ghost of mine?
However, though these thoughts were going through his head, he didn’t say those words. Instead, he simply smiled.
"So are you."
His response maybe confused her or simply caught her off guard, but the next moment Jessica simply stared blankly into the air. The scene from during the storm started to play in her head: the apocalyptic lightning storm, the barrier disintegrating into nothing, and her last-ditch effort to save him.
With all these thoughts in mind, Jessica’s gaze moved to scan Cole’s body up and down.
Just one look, and her eyes narrowed to slits.
Nothing except minor scratches, Cole looked completely unharmed.
How...?
Then she examined her own body. It was burned all over. At several places, even bones were visible. The earthy texture on her feet also didn’t escape her notice.
By the end of it, Jessica’s face turned icy once more.
Even such a violent storm couldn’t get rid of this disease... or maybe it really was the curse, just as everyone said.
At that thought, her eyes turned slightly frosty.
No, my mother could not be cursed.