Chapter 27: Cultivating.
A faint smirk curled at his lips as he walked towards the table where he had kept the pouch containing all those cores of C-Tier dire wolves and the C-Tier Boss.
He picked up the pouch, opened its mouth, and pulled all the cores out through it. He sat on the ground, crossed his legs as he looked at the cores of dire wolves.
"Okay, let’s start circulating the mana through the normal ones first, then I can go for the boss’s core."
He closed his eyes; his breathing became steady as he began taking long, deep breaths at first, then they gradually turned into short, deliberate ones.
His meridians opened, and mana started pumping through his heart; it travelled through the sockets in his body via the veins. Faint traces of the mana left through his skin, making its way to the cores.
At first, it gently swirled around the cores as if it was sensing if this material was worth and safe to consume. When it finally made sure of it, it hugged the core firmly. The blue mana radiating through the core was devoured whole by his crimson mana.
Both the mana mixed nicely as it soon made its way back inside Ethan’s body the same way it left through it. The mana travelled through the veins once again, reaching all the way to the heart.
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◇ MANA CONSUMPTION & AFFINITY ◇
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[Consumption Analysis]
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[Mana Core]
└ Normal Mana Core
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[Consumption Status]
└ Successful
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[Core Status]
└ Fully Consumed
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[Remaining Mana]
└ 0%
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[Mana Assimilation]
└ Complete
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[Foreign Mana]
└ Completely Assimilated
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[Affinity Analysis]
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[Mana Affinity]
└ E-Rank → C-Rank
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[Current Affinity]
└ C-Rank
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[Cause]
└ Complete Consumption & Assimilation of Mana Cores
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[Remarks]
└ The host’s mana is now significantly more compatible with higher-grade Mana Cores.
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Soon, the same process began with the other cores as well. However, with each successive core, his mana affinity increased at a gradually slower rate than it had with the first one.
The cores had started to turn grey, their mana depleted entirely as Ethan sucked them dry. One by one, each of them crumbled into atoms, vanishing into thin air.
Then came the turn of the Boss’s core. Ethan pulled it out of the pouch and kept it in front of him. The core was huge, way bigger than the size of those normal cores.
He didn’t waste any time and took his position once again as he began channeling his mana through his meridians. Soon, the mana within the core began to merge with Ethan’s own mana. At first, absorbing it proved difficult, as the core seemed to draw Ethan’s mana toward itself instead.
But Ethan refused to pull away. His concentration deepened, his breathing becoming slower and calmer as he maintained absolute focus. Little by little, the resistance weakened.
Finally, the mana within the core dissolved completely into his own. The moment the fusion was complete, the absorbed mana surged back inside his body.
The time seemed to pass by; hours slipped by in the blink of an eye. Finally, the core had dissolved into thin air.
Ethan opened his eyes as he noticed a translucent screen which was floating in front of him, on which multiple entries were written:
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◇ AETHERBLADE ASCENSION ART ◇
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[Current Stage]
└ First Layer — Beginner
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[Core Status]
└ Mana Core Stability: 18% → 41%
└ Mana Core Capacity: 3000 / 3000 → 4870 / 4870
└ Mana Purity: 9% → 27%
└ Core Compression : 3% → 9%
└ Mana Circulation: 21% → 43%
└ Core Integrity: Stable
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[Sword Foundation]
└ Sword Intent: Dormant
└ Blade Affinity: Dormant
└ Sword Qi: Unawakened
└ Technique Mastery : 0% → 20%
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[Affinity Status]
└ Mana Affinity: E-Rank → C-Rank
└ Aether Compatibility: E-Rank → C-Rank
└ Mana Assimilation: Normal → Enhanced
└ Ascension Compatibility: Low → Moderate
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[Physical State]
└ Body Tempering: Beginner
└ Meridian Condition: Open
└ Stamina Recovery: Normal → Enhanced
└ Mental Focus: 78% → 84%
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[Cultivation Progress]
└ Progress to Layer II: 6% → 94%
└ Estimated Breakthrough: Incomplete
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[Remarks]
• All Mana Cores have been completely consumed.
• The Boss Mana Core has been successfully assimilated.
• Mana Capacity has increased significantly.
• Mana Purity has undergone qualitative refinement.
• Mana Affinity has advanced from E-Rank to C-Rank.
• Aether Compatibility has increased accordingly.
• The First Layer foundation has undergone significant stabilization.
• Sword Intent remains dormant.
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’Progress to second layer increased from six percent to ninety-four?! Isn’t that absurdly fast? And what the fuck do you mean that my mental focus increased by a significant level? All of this is so absurd...’
He hadn’t recovered from the shock from before yet when he read other entries. His eyes seemed to widen even more. He didn’t expect his mana affinity to reach the rank of a C-Rank adventurer.
His mouth opened, then closed back again. He grabbed his head gently, but then roughly squeezed his hair until it started to hurt. "Ouch!!"
"What the hell? Consuming all cores which belonged to the dungeon made me push that much? Is that even possible?! I did expect that I’d reach slightly higher in mana affinity, but to this extent?"
But then he realised one thing. "Wait... only my mana affinity has increased; I still have to train my senses, my strength, and endurance."
A sigh left his mouth as he pushed himself back up. "It feels like I’m walking on broken glass because one by one, all kinds of problems are coming at me."
He rubbed his eyes, gently patted the eyelids, and muttered under his breath. "I should start doing the chores; it’s already one in the afternoon."
Without easing up any time, he went to the kitchen and started the day by doing the dishes. After cleaning them, he went to the laundry room and washed all the clothes.
Right away, he made his way back inside the kitchen, grabbed some vegetables and sliced some of them, and diced the others. Then, grabbed the dusting cloth and dusted the entire house.
After an hour, the entire house looked as though it had been completely renewed, with not a single speck of dust, dirt, or anything else visible anywhere. Even the pleasant aroma of the freshly prepared food had filled the air, and he knew that it was finally time to wake both of his wives.
He walked inside their bedroom; he noticed that both of them were still sleeping. Isolde was still facing towards the direction where he was sleeping, and Athena was sleeping on her back as her face was positioned at the front.
A faint smile appeared on his face; it wasn’t his usual smile, which he gave to the world. But it was something that reflected that he was oddly satisfied with the life he was living.