Chapter 46: Glacial Sword Maiden
Cain placed the first Core into her hand.
"Yes."
Her eyes moved toward the largest sphere.
She immediately recognized it.
"The Ironhide Tyrant Core?"
"Yeah."
"I thought you were keeping this for yourself."
"I was going to, but my Advancement Mission changed that."
Cain placed the other two purified Cores into her opposite hand.
Elara looked at him.
Cain could not form his own Mana Core until he killed the 2nd Echelon zombie.
Her Mana Core was condensing right now. So, this was indeed the best time to use them.
Cain gestured toward her hands.
"Absorb them."
"All three?"
"Yes."
Elara hesitated as one of them had come from the creature Cain nearly destroyed his own body to kill.
He had also originally planned to use it during his own advancement.
Now he had handed it to her without hesitation.
Cain noticed her expression.
"Stop thinking so much."
Elara looked at him.
"I can always get more." He glanced toward the 1st Echelon corpses lying across the road.
"This city clearly isn’t lacking strong zombies."
A faint smile appeared on Elara’s face.
"Thank you."
"You can thank me after you become stronger."
Elara nodded.
A new notification appeared before her.
[Three purified First-Echelon Cores have been detected.]
[The contained energy can be absorbed during Mana Core condensation.]
[Purified Core energy will support the forming Mana Core and improve its stability.]
[Absorb?]
"Yes."
The three Cores began glowing.
The energy inside them entered Elara’s body.
Her eyes immediately opened wider as she felt a heavy current flowed from the Ironhide Tyrant Core first.
Its purified energy moved through her Mana channels and joined the Ice Mana gathering near her chest.
The Ironhide Essence separated from the energy along the way as it spread throughout her body instead.
Warmth mixed strangely with the cold surrounding Elara.
Her skin became tougher. The muscles beneath it tightened as the essence entered them, while her bones gradually grew denser.
Elara clenched her teeth.
Her body trembled beneath the simultaneous changes.
The other two Cores began releasing their energy as well. Their purified power flowed through her channels toward the condensing Mana.
The foreign energy did not change her element. Instead, it gathered around the Ice Mana and supported it while the sphere continued taking shape.
Frost rapidly spread across the wall behind her.
Cain stepped backward.
Nathan moved several steps away as well.
Ron rubbed his arms.
"Why the fuck is it suddenly getting so cold?"
Cain and Nathan ignored him.
Elara could barely hear anything outside her body, since her attention had been drawn entirely inward.
The Ice Mana gathered inside her chest had become an unstable sphere.
Its surface trembled constantly.
Whenever too much Mana entered, the sphere expanded.
Then the force of the advancement compressed it again.
The Glacial Sword Body responded naturally to the transformation. Cold Mana flowed through her expanded channels without harming them.
Her body accepted the increasingly dense Ice energy as if it had always been meant to contain it.
The unstable sphere shrank, its color became deeper.
More Mana entered as the three purified Cores continued supplying additional energy around it, preventing the forming structure from losing its shape.
Elara’s heartbeat echoed inside her ears.
Thump!
The sphere compressed again.
Thump!
Its surface became smoother.
The scattered Ice Mana throughout her body had nearly disappeared.
Everything gathered around that single point.
Then the sphere finally stopped shrinking.
A compact Mana Core formed inside Elara. Pale blue light covered its surface.
The moment the structure became complete, the pressure inside her body suddenly changed.
Mana flowed into the newly formed Core.
A moment later, it emerged again.
Elara’s eyes trembled beneath her closed eyelids.
The energy felt completely different.
The Core immediately began circulating the refined Ice Mana throughout her body. Cold energy entered her muscles and bones.
Her physical strength rose sharply and her senses became clearer.
Even with her eyes closed, Elara could feel the cold Mana spreading through every part of her body with a level of control she had never possessed before.
Then the transformation intensified as the power of advancing to a higher Echelon began reinforcing her entire existence.
The sudden increase caused the frozen pavement beneath her to crack.
Ice spread outward through the new fractures.
Ron immediately stepped farther away.
"Holy shit."
Nathan remained quiet as he had experienced the same transformation.
However, Elara’s advancement had not finished.
The newly formed Mana Core should normally have remained unstable after condensation.
That was what had happened to Nathan.
His Core had formed at the Newly Formed stage and required further refinement before it could become fully stable.
Elara was different as the energy from the three purified Cores continued pouring into the pale blue sphere.
Its surface trembled briefly.
The external energy gathered around it and was slowly refined by the Core itself.
Each circulation made the structure steadier.
The irregular fluctuations gradually disappeared.
Elara could feel that the Mana Core was becoming more stable with every passing second.
Its rotation no longer wavered.
The refined Mana flowing from it became increasingly consistent.
The final traces of energy inside the three external Cores entered her body.
The spheres in her hands began cracking.
One after another, they lost their light and crumbled into gray dust.
The newly formed Mana Core absorbed the remaining energy.
A powerful pulse spread from Elara.
Boom!
Cold Mana erupted across the street.
Frost climbed the nearby vehicles.
The road around her turned white.
Her long hair rose beneath the pressure as pale blue light spread beneath her skin.
Then everything suddenly became quiet.
The Mana Core inside Elara stopped trembling completely.
It rotated steadily within her body, drawing in Mana, refining it, and circulating the denser Ice energy through her channels.
A notification appeared.
[Ice Mana Core successfully formed.]
[The energy of three purified 1st Echelon Cores has been absorbed during condensation.]
[Your Mana Core has reached the Stabilized stage.]
[You have successfully advanced to the First Echelon.]
Elara slowly opened her eyes.
A faint pale blue light shone within her pupils.
The overwhelming cold surrounding her began settling.
She could feel the Ice Mana Core rotating inside her chest with every breath, supplying refined energy throughout her newly transformed body.
She then raised her right hand.
Pale blue Mana flowed toward her fingers.
Crack!
A thin layer of ice instantly covered the pavement beside her.
Elara stared at it, then released her mana.
The ice stopped expanding immediately.
Then she gathered it again. This time, the energy formed even faster.
A joyful smile appeared on her face.
She slowly stood.
The transformation had not merely improved her Mana as her entire body felt stronger.
The sudden doubling of her stats after reaching the 1st Echelon had already placed her far above her previous strength.
On top of that, the Ironhide Essence contained inside the Tyrant Core had been absorbed during the advancement.
A separate notification confirmed that the essence had granted additional Strength and Physique.
She looked toward Cain and thanked him, since her core reached a stabilized stage immediately because of the three cores he had given her.
Cain nodded with a smile, while thinking to himself when the investment rewards would come to him.
Just as he thought about it, a familiar sound suddenly rang inside Cain’s mind.
Ding!
His eyes immediately lit up.
’There it is.’
Several notifications appeared.
[Ding! You have made a significant investment in Elara.]
[Elara’s Ice Mana Core has directly reached the Stabilized stage with the assistance of three purified 1st Echelon Cores.]
[Investment Return obtained: Strength +6, Agility +4, Physique +8, Sense +2.]
A familiar energy entered his body as his stats increased slightly.
The feeling of his strength becoming strong had become less as he grew stronger.
Another notification followed.
[Investment Return obtained: Two 1st Echelon Cores.]
Cain’s eyes lit up as he had never expected that he would obtain 1st Echelon Cores as the rewards.
He thought that when he obtained the bonus stats, these would be his rewards but apparently there were more.
Considering the rewards, he guessed that the bonus stats probably came from the Ironhide Tyrant Core.
Ron noticed his expression.
"What are you smiling about?"
"Nothing."
"That face definitely means something happened."
"Mind your own business."
Ron narrowed his eyes.
Before he could continue questioning him, another sound rang throughout the world.
Ding!
A golden screen appeared before everyone.
[World Announcement: The Third player to have successfully advanced to the 1st Echelon Rank.]
[The name "Glacial Sword Maiden" shall be recorded in the history of this world.]
[The Glacial Sword Maiden has received a Blue Scroll and Blue Orb!]
The announcement appeared before everyone’s eyes.
Elara looked toward the new rewards she had obtained from the World Ranking.
A Blue Scroll and Blue Orb.
Before she could examine them properly, another golden screen appeared.
Everyone became quiet again.
[World Announcement: The Fourth player to have successfully advanced to the 1st Echelon Rank.]
[The name "Thunder Emperor" shall be recorded in the history of this world.]
[The Thunder Emperor has received a Blue Scroll!]
Ron raised his eyebrows.
"That was fast."
Nathan nodded.
"The number of people reaching Level 25 should be increasing quickly."
Cain looked at the announcement without saying anything.
Only a few seconds separated the third and fourth positions.
The competition for the World Ranking was becoming increasingly fierce.
That was only natural. After all, the World Ranking had already become one of the most prestigious symbols of status in this apocalypse.
The rewards alone were enough to tempt countless people, but for many, especially those with strong pride and ambition, the recognition that came with having their name displayed on the ranking was even more valuable.