Chapter 40: First in Human History, Moon Knight Realm
For a long moment, Cole continued to stare blankly, slowly gathering all the clues. A scene was created in his mind, like scattered pieces of a puzzle finally fitting together.
Everything clicked: the shattered barrier, the searing damage on his body, the arms surrounding him.
At the crucial moment, Jessica had helped him, not realizing it was the lightning that he needed to recover.
She had taken the overwhelming measure of the heavens’ wrath, giving his body the moment to adapt.
Cole stood quietly, replaying the scene again and again. He could never imagine himself sacrificing his life for others. If he was in the same situation as hers, Cole was sure he would do the exact opposite. It might sound cowardly and unmanly, but this is what he was.
Just like him, both Jessica and Ethan were not in any condition to move. Like two pieces of cold corpses, the two siblings lay on the ground unmoving.
Compared to them, his state was a thousand times better. While the lightning had destroyed them, for him, with the help of the Storm Eater bloodline, it became something that strengthened him from within.
[Name — Cole Saint]
[Bloodline — Thunder Worm Leviathan | Fusion Progress — 100%]
[Realm - Moon Knight Rank 1]
[Authority — VIP]
[Strength — 10]
[Spirit — 10]
[Mana — 10]
[Agility — 10]
[Health — 10]
Perfect fusion... Cole let out a shocked exhale, watching the status window flaring in front of him.
Wasn’t perfect impossible? After the shock, Cole asked the question inwardly.
The original had theorized the difference between humans and abyssal beasts was too much. Although, using the CRISPR method, humans could fuse with the abyssal beast bloodline, they would never experience perfect fusion. The bloodline would always remain in a chaotic state. To make sure that it didn’t go out of control, the original had created the Blood Calming Potion.
But now, going completely against the original prediction, Cole had managed to achieve perfect fusion.
It took another breath of time for him to completely accept that he had not just survived, but had also succeeded.
If the fusion is successful, does that mean...?
When his train of thought reached this point, Cole couldn’t help but turn slightly excited.
The mana storage organ unique to all the other races in this world—the dantian. Does that mean I have succeeded in breaking the curse, becoming the first human in history to have a dantian?
Cole’s entire figure was shaking as he tried to comprehend the changes happening within his body.
Unlike the other races and species in this world, humans could not absorb mana from the surroundings for their own use. Instead, they would have to extract mana from magical nutrients and mana stones, turn them into mana potions, before using them.
If the fusion had succeeded, then Cole would have become the first human in history to have a dantian and could start absorbing the mana from the surroundings.
He would no longer always need to carry mana potions with him.
This I would have to confirm with the A.I. chip immediately... Cole muttered in excitement.
He didn’t have the wizard’s divine vision for inner examination, so he could only rely on the A.I. chip that was fused with him at the cellular level.
With his voice shaking, Cole uttered the question one by one.
"A.I. chip, please confirm one detail for me... Have I succeeded in forming the dantian?"
Cole tried his best to suppress the excitement, but still, it was clear to all how excited he was.
[Processing...! Yes, indeed! If the host is referring to the special organ native to the people of this world... then indeed you have succeeded.]
[T-30 minutes before the successful fusion, the host heart underwent a transformation, going from a mortal organ that was only capable of circulating blood through the body. It had now become a special palace that can both store mana and circulate it throughout the body.]
Although he had already guessed as much, when the A.I. chip confirmed it for him, Cole almost jumped up in joy like a little girl, his motions going completely out of control.
He felt a sense of joy and happiness that mere words could not describe.
It took quite some time before his excitement finally died down and his thoughts returned to a calm state.
Not only have I succeeded in the fusion of bloodline, but the fusion had also pushed my realm to the next level, the Moon Knight Realm.
The path of physical refining was divided into several realms. The first three realms were as follows:
The Nascent Trainee Realm, where one refined their body to get rid of all the impurities, the Nascent Training Realm.
Then came the Moon Knight Realm, and finally the Sun Knight Realm. The path of wizardry was also the same.
In just a matter of days, Cole had grown from being a mere mortal who could not even defend himself to being a force that could not be easily reckoned with.
With all these thoughts in mind, he moved to the large piece of ruined rock in the distance. The terrifying storm before had almost completely transformed the region of the Lightning Domain. Pools of molten lava could be seen everywhere. The Lightning Domain was always barren, but the few plants that managed to grow only through sheer will were long turned into nothing more than pieces of charcoal. Large mountains that once stood tall were turned into broken pieces of rubble.
The rock that Cole found himself against was almost ten feet tall. Because of catching lightning strikes, it had become even more thick and strong than before.
Cole’s head was completely empty as he stared at the piece of rock. Then, without any fancy movement or posture, he simply swung his fist and struck the rock squarely.
Fist and the blackened surface of the rock met.
"...."
Nothing happened!
Cole’s face remained unfazed, simply watching the spot where he had struck.
Just then, spiderweb-like cracks started spreading in every direction. Soon the entire rock was covered in cracks...
BOOM!
The next moment, the entire rock exploded into powder.
Cole fanned the dust away from his face and looked at the scene of gravel and stone flying in every direction.
To think I had actually attained the Moon Knight level, where each of my casual attacks can generate one ton of force.