Chapter 65: Ether Resonance State, Attribute Surge
As Lance’s chest rose and fell with a strange rhythm, the once-calm, ambient energy in the air seemed to be drawn in by a powerful force.
HSSSS... HUFF...
With each heavy breath, Ether Elements invisible to the naked eye were forcibly drawn into his lungs and immediately ignited by the unique rhythm.
A searing wave of heat instantly erupted from his chest, surging wildly through his blood vessels to every corner of his body.
Faint, hair-thin flickers of light appeared just beneath Lance’s skin, darting about at incredible speeds like tiny fish.
This was because it was his first time channeling the energy; the burning Ether was still too faint to coalesce into the intricate Magic Power patterns that should have appeared on his skin.
Lance let out a breath.
He opened his mouth slightly, and a plume of stale air emerged.
The moment the air left his mouth, it formed a distinct, straight plume of steam.
Even Necros, standing several meters away, could clearly feel the temperature of the air around Lance rise significantly in just a few short breaths.
Witnessing the scene before him, the veteran leader—a man who had seen and weathered great storms—could only stare, his expression frozen in disbelief.
’How is this possible?’
As a veteran Professional, he knew his Perception Power couldn’t be wrong.
Before Lance had opened the manual, the kid’s lungs had been a blank slate, with no trace of ever having been flushed with Ether.
This meant Lance was, without a doubt, a complete novice who had never encountered any kind of Breathing Technique before.
In this world, mastering a Breathing Combat Technique had never been an easy path.
Even the Transcendents who would later become renowned across the continent, and even the few living Legendary figures Necros personally knew, had all struggled. When first learning a Breathing Technique, every single one of them had to push their bodies to the absolute limit of exhaustion, just to be able to barely grasp and ignite the ambient Ether Elements.
Some had even needed months to complete this first step.
’But to activate it instantly from a standstill, with absolutely no foundation?’
’That completely defied the common logic of the Professional system.’
A flicker of memory crossed Necros’s eyes as fragments of a long-forgotten past surfaced in his mind.
’In all of history... has there really never been anyone like this?’
’No, there was one.’
The long annals of human history did indeed record one such monstrously talented individual.
It was during the era of the second-generation Hero, when humanity sounded the horn for a counteroffensive against the mythological races.
And Valerian, posthumously revered as the "Third Hunter King," was just such an individual who shattered all convention.
According to the historical records, Valerian, in full view of a crowd, learned an advanced Breathing Technique with a single glance and activated it in the same instant.
That moment was immortalized in song by the Minstrels of the age and has been passed down to this day, becoming a legend for countless younger generations to look up to.
But Valerian earned the glorious title of "Hunter King" for an even greater reason: he accomplished the monumental feat of slaying a dragon single-handedly.
He hadn’t hunted an ordinary Sub-dragon Beast, but the Ancient Lava Black Dragon, Calgaros, the "Abyss Fire Calamity," who had taken part in the war that destroyed the Ancient Goblin Empire.
That Evil Dragon had caused the infamous "Molten Sea Incident," boiling the largest inland lake in the Kingdom and causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands.
Although Valerian ultimately took the Dragon Head, the battle left him with incurable wounds, and he died shortly after his return.
To this day, a massive statue of the Hero still stands in the city on the shore of that lake, and it has become the Empire’s most famous tourist destination.
"Could it be... I’ve really encountered a monster on par with Valerian?"
Necros muttered to himself, his gaze on Lance filled with a mixture of utter disbelief and budding anticipation.
Meanwhile, Lance was completely unaware of the profound shock he had just delivered to the old man.
He was completely engrossed in the cataclysmic transformation occurring within his body.
As the Breathing Technique circulated, he felt his blood boil. Every cell in his body seemed to rejoice, greedily devouring the activated Energy.
The feeling...
It was like he was running a hundred-meter dash, every single second.
His heart hammered like a drum, his lungs burned, and his stamina was draining at a terrifying rate.
Even though he wasn’t moving, his body was under a strain equivalent to a high-intensity anaerobic burst.
At the same time, the familiar, pale blue screen flashed frantically across his vision.
[Dragon Hunting Breathing Combat Technique successfully activated]
[Entering Ether Resonance State (Tier One)]
[Your Power +4.2, agility +3.6, Perception +3]
[Warning: Your Constitution Attribute is under severe strain. A temporary decrease is projected...]
[Talent "Hevagmir’s Boiling" has been triggered. Nullifying abnormal status... Constitution decrease has been negated.]
[Current Stamina Drain Rate: +1000%]
Lance’s eye twitched as he stared at the bright red number.
’One thousand percent!’
’Ten times the normal rate of consumption!’
For comparison, the Ordinary Breathing Techniques available on the market typically only increased stamina consumption by a factor of two or three when active.
Even at that rate, most Professionals of the same tier couldn’t sustain it for long in a fight.
This Dragon Hunting Breathing Combat Technique, on the other hand, was a monster that guzzled stamina like it was water.
Activating it while at rest might have been manageable; a normal person could probably handle it.
But in the middle of a high-intensity battle, the body’s natural exertion combined with this tenfold additional drain would result in a truly astronomical rate of stamina loss.
Any ordinary person would likely go into shock from exhaustion within seconds, possibly even suffering from cardiac arrest.
’No wonder this thing was left to gather dust in the warehouse.’
Lance thought, secretly dumbfounded.
’This isn’t meant for normal people to practice at all. It’s a suicide manual.’
’It must be meant for geniuses who have a specific, related Talent.’
But when his gaze fell on the increased Attribute Values, his astonishment instantly turned to elation.
’Power +4.2, agility +3.6.’
’What did that even mean?’
’His current basic Power Attribute was 6.’
’With this 4.2 boost, it would instantly soar to 10.2.’
’This allowed him to shatter the limits of a mortal, even surpassing the 10-point ceiling known as the "Attribute Lock"!’
’Even though it was only temporary, this terrifying Burst Power gave him the ability to instantly crush opponents of the same level, and even challenge those of a higher one.’
’These were the fangs he had been dreaming of.’
"How are you feeling right now?"
Necros watched him, his expression indescribably complex—as if he were looking at a monster, but also at a rough, uncut gem.
Hearing the old man’s concerned question, Lance didn’t answer right away.
He first closed his eyes, feeling the molten current surging through his body, before slowly opening his mouth.
WHOOSH...
A plume of scalding white vapor shot from between his lips, leaving a visible trail in the air.
"It feels like I swallowed a piece of red-hot charcoal."