Chapter 117: Solar Origin Body — Origin-rank Talent
Cain’s expression became thoughtful.
He had not forgotten the Yellow Scroll he had promised Ron.
At the time, Cain possessed far fewer resources, and the promise had partly been made to convince Ron to cooperate with his plan. What exactly he would give him afterward was something Cain intended to decide once they survived the Zombie King.
However, his current situation was different.
He had enough valuable resources and it just so happened that he didn’t have the Yellow Scroll. That was why he intended to give him a better reward than he had promised now.
Ron could be irritating enough to make Cain want to hit him several times a day, but that had nothing to do with how much he trusted him.
They had known each other since they were babies. Whenever something genuinely serious happened, Ron had always been there for him, and Cain had done the same in return.
When the apocalypse descended, Ron had been the first person Cain thought about finding inside the dormitory.
Among everyone currently traveling with him, Ron was the person Cain trusted the most, someone he could confidently leave at his back without ever worrying about betrayal or being abandoned when things became dangerous.
Naturally, that trust went both ways.
And if something ever happened to Cain, he trusted Ron to take care of his family once they reached their hometown as their families had always been extremely close.
That kind of trust was worth far more than a Yellow Scroll.
Cain was still thinking when the System finally responded.
[Ding! You have invested a Red Scroll in Sonya.]
[Ding! Sonya has obtained Nine Suns Divine Body, a Divine-rank Talent.]
[Ding! Investment Return obtained: Nine Suns Divine Body, Divine-rank Talent.]
Cain’s eyes narrowed slightly when he saw the return.
Instead of receiving his Red Scroll back, the System had given him the same Talent Sonya had just awakened.
[Ding! Sonya’s Favorability toward you has increased significantly.]
[Ding! Sonya is overwhelmed with joy after obtaining a Divine-rank Talent she never imagined she could possess and feels immense gratitude toward the Host.]
[Ding! Additional Investment Return obtained: Sense +20.]
[Ding! Exceptional Investment Evaluation achieved.]
[Ding! One Reward Ascension Authority has been obtained.]
[Choose one reward obtained from this investment and increase its rank.]
Warm energy entered Cain’s body.
His perception sharpened considerably as the twenty additional senses settled into him.
However, most of his attention remained on the primary Investment Return.
Nine Suns Divine Body.
He had obtained the same Divine-rank Talent Sonya had just awakened.
That was not what Cain had expected.
He had hoped the System would return another Red Scroll. If that happened, he could use the Reward Ascension Authority on the Scroll itself and discover what rank existed above the Red color.
Instead, the System had directly given him the talent Sonya had awakened.
Cain sighed inwardly.
’Whatever. It’s still a Divine-rank Talent.’
Complaining about receiving something of that level for free would be ridiculous.
More importantly, he could immediately upgrade it.
Cain looked back toward the intersection.
Sonya’s awakening had already attracted several of the strongest fighters in their group. If upgrading a Divine-rank Talent caused an even greater phenomenon, doing it here would only draw more attention and create questions he had no intention of answering.
Cain turned toward Ron.
"Let’s go."
Ron’s eyebrows twitched.
"Where to?"
"Somewhere farther away."
Cain did not explain further and began heading north.
Ron followed despite his confusion.
They moved quickly through the ruined streets, leaving the group behind.
Several ordinary zombies appeared along the way, but Ron killed them without slowing their pace.
After traveling roughly a kilometer, Cain finally stopped in a quieter section of the city.
Several damaged commercial buildings lined the road, and abandoned vehicles remained scattered across the pavement.
Cain closed his eyes.
With his newly increased sense, he carefully examined the surroundings.
After he sensed that nothing dangerous was nearby, Cain opened his eyes and looked at Ron.
"Stand guard for a moment."
Ron looked at him curiously but nodded.
"Alright."
He moved several meters away and turned his attention toward the surrounding streets.
Cain did not waste another second.
The Nine Suns Divine Body had not yet fused with him. The Divine-rank Talent remained as an Investment Return under the System, waiting to be applied.
And Cain had no intention of accepting the lower-ranked version when he possessed a Reward Ascension Authority.
He immediately gave the command in his mind.
’System, upgrade Nine Suns Divine Body.’
[Ding! Nine Suns Divine Body has been selected.]
[Ding! Reward Ascension Authority activated.]
Cain expected the evolved Talent’s information to appear first, but the change began immediately instead.
His expression stiffened as he felt an overwhelming heat suddenly erupted from somewhere deep within his body.
BOOM!
A violent pressure wave exploded outward.
Ron spun around at once and immediately retreated as scorching air swept across the street.
The pavement beneath Cain’s feet began cracking while the surrounding temperature rose at an alarming speed.
Inside his body, something was being formed for the first time.
The Divine-rank Talent had never established its nine internal Suns within him. Instead, as the upgraded power fused with his body, an immense amount of golden-white Solar energy gathered directly toward a single location.
The concentration became increasingly terrifying.
Solar energy compressed deeper and deeper until a tiny blazing source began taking shape within Cain.
He could immediately tell that it was not another Mana Core.
His Ruin Mana Core remained completely intact, continuing to rotate normally within his body.
This was something separate from it.
Something created by the newly evolved Talent itself.
A Solar Origin.
The instant it formed, Cain’s Mana surged.
His already enormous reserve began expanding at a terrifying rate as highly concentrated Solar energy flooded throughout his body.
Outside, brilliant golden-white light erupted above him.
Ron’s eyes widened.
A massive solar silhouette appeared over Cain.
There was only one Sun.
Yet compared to the nine smaller silhouettes that had hovered above Sonya during her awakening, its presence was on a completely different level.
The enormous sphere burned with golden-white flames as it hovered above the street, illuminating the surrounding buildings with an intense radiance.
Heat rolled outward continuously.
Paint covering the nearest abandoned vehicles began blistering, while weeds growing through cracks in the pavement rapidly dried before blackening.
Ron immediately moved farther away.
Even with his current strength as a 1st Echelon Awakener, standing close to Cain had already become extremely uncomfortable.
Cain barely noticed anything as his attention remained completely focused on the transformation occurring within his body.
The newly formed Solar Origin had begun operating naturally.
Fire Mana flowed into it.
What emerged afterward was completely different as it was hotter and far denser, yet despite the enormous increase in destructive power, Cain found the energy surprisingly stable and easy to control.
Its name appeared naturally within his mind.
Origin Solar Flame.
Only then did the System notifications finally appear.
[Ding! Nine Suns Divine Body has evolved.]
[Ding! You have obtained the Solar Origin Body.]
Cain immediately focused on the information.
[Solar Origin Body — Origin-rank Talent]
[Transforms the user’s body into a living source of Solar energy, forming a Solar Origin capable of continuously generating and refining highly purified Solar Mana.]
[Mana +500%. Magic +500%.]