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The waves of Mana were rigid, ostensibly damaging the rocks of the cave, but that wasn't entirely true. On the contrary, the wave was actually smoothening the surface, which created a deep contrast of polished and unrefined rock once a certain distinct threshold was passed.
However, Lucian also noticed something even more alarming than this, it had something to do with the orientation of the waves.
'Perhaps it's just me being on edge, but it feels as if the wave of Mana isn't moving further than my current position. Is this related to my presence or something produced by the cave itself?' Although this question was a conundrum because Lucian only became aware of the wave after moving close enough, it wasn't baseless speculation.
Lucian experimented to confirm his curiosities. First, he tested for changes in the Mana's position by advancing 5 meters closer to undulations, but there was no change. It remained steady, keeping the same rhythm and endpoint. Then, Lucian moved outside of the perimeter of the wave but stretched his perception to the limit.
Unexpectedly, no matter how much he pried into the distance, he couldn't sense the presence of the wave. Even though he could see it with his eyes, sensing its composition was impossible.
Thus, Lucian's speculation became even more deeply embedded in his mind.
'It seems as if this Mana was birthed by something residing deep into the cave and isn't a response to my occupancy,' Lucian thought. After a few moments, he continued to advance deeper inside the dark tunnel. This time, he didn't inspect the wave as closely as he did before.
If it was such a danger, then his instincts wouldn't have advised him to venture deeper. Furthermore, something would have happened during the time he was conducting his tests to warn him.
After all, he had been there for quite some time and made thorough examinations, repeating the scenario more than once.
Nevertheless, the less invasive the wave, the better it was for Lucian.
Time passed uneventfully as Lucian made his way through the tunnel. During that time, Lucian took the time to familiarize himself with even more intricacies of his ability. By now, he was able to estimate the consumption of his ability per usage.
All it took was the understanding of the theory behind his ability. 'The larger the pores in the material, the more Mana it'll take to saturate its current state. In other words, my ability is just filling in the weaknesses in a designated target. Sadly, my ability also accounts for the level of the target's state.'
Similar to Priscilla, the sturdier the receiver of his ability was, the more taxing it became to utilize it. Not to mention, with his current MQ his choices of Reinforcing was limited.
But, if his ability could bypass this limit, then his ability that was thought of as a nuanced triviality would be regarded as a national treasure! To reinforce materials beyond their existing state was an extremely beneficial gift.
Suddenly, both Lucian and his thoughts came to a halt. There was an unidentified room before him and for unknown reasons, the wave of Mana disappeared abruptly. Moreover, unlike the dark tunnel, the room possessed a source of light.
Lucian advanced cautiously while peeking his head through the doorway. Except for the numerous containers inside, the interior was void of any life. Or rather, the suspected Knolls were nowhere to be found.
'Is no one is manning the room, then where is this li-...what the hell?' Lucian gawked, marveling at the sight before his eyes. The front-most layer of large containers was empty, save for the abundance of blue liquid inside, however, the things inside confounded Lucian.
It was entirely different from his expectations.
Deformed and unidentified lifeforms with several tubes connected to their bodies laid suspended in the containers. For a moment, Lucian thought these things were lifeless, but the instant he looked at them, their eyes opened, an emerald green sheen firing towards Lucian.
Immediately, Lucian dodged to the side but the light was surprisingly harmless. In fact, the light was even faintly pleasant, causing Lucian to drop some of his raised defenses.
However, all of their eyes appeared lifeless after the initial display of light.
'What the hell is this place?' Lucian thought, glancing around. To him, this seemed like some sort of makeshift laboratory. But, places like these were usually heavily guarded with security personnel. Yet, this place was practically vacant.
It didn't make any sense and even seemed extremely out of place. "Could these so-called Knolls really be capable of such sophisticated research?"
Lucian first thought was to retreat, but then he realized he couldn't. It felt as if something was beckoning him until it caught his eye—an exquisite crimson stone. However, to call it a stone was an injustice. The polished ruby exterior shimmered with a tantalizing light, which made Lucian tempted to claim it.
As he stepped closer to the stone, there was a slight reaction from the obscure lifeforms. When he moved, they floated towards the edge of the container. After all, the placement of the stone was in the center of the ring-aligned containers.
Suddenly, as Lucian stood before the stone, a screen appeared before him, but Lucian was partially confused by it.
「Item Name: ???
Rarity: ???
Information: An item securely hidden from the eyes of its seekers. Those who hold it are destined to brave grave situations and devastating enemies yet awaken a sight beyond the understanding of many.
Usage: ???
Durability: ∞ (Indestructible)」
'Uhh, what? Devastating enemies... Yeah, I'd rather not,' Lucian thought, backpedaling cautiously. Regrettably, it seemed he had ventured beyond the point of return. The stone vibrated vigorously until finally, it levitated and collided with Lucian's disappearing from sight.
Surprisingly, when the stone collided with him, there was no pain. It was similar to splashing water upon your face to wake yourself up; Lucian only felt a jolt.
Meanwhile, as soon as the stone disappeared, the containers holding the lifeforms shattered. Once that happened, Lucian was assailed by a surge of familiar energy.
'Isn't this…' Lucian's eyes widened, ecstatic by his discovery. 'This is the same energy from the Fractal Pillar!'
However, this wasn't what made Lucian ecstatic, it was the state of his enemies. Due to unknown reasons, their bodies seemed unstable and unable to support themselves.
In other words, once the container shattered, the beings were slumped on the floor, completely defenseless. Since they emitted the same energy as the Fractal Pillar, that meant they were related to one thing—Accumulated Destinies.
According to the Overseer, sources of this type of benefit were hard to come by outside of clearing the floors as directed. Even then, the rewarded destiny was minuscule at best. It was designed this way to locate prime specimens from the initial Refinement.
However, in this case, Lucian wasn't polite at all. He flourished his daggers without pause, dashing towards the decrepit lifeforms. The thought of acquiring energy related to the Fractal Pillars excited Lucian.
This could be the prelude to his defining moment!
「Name: Destiny Vessels
Health: 1% (Unstable)」
With their current state, it was an effortless series of events that took place. A few simple slashes and the lifeforms were history! Furthermore, he was also pleased with the amount of destiny he absorbed.
〈Alert! Destiny Vessel (???)has been slain. [1.20 Destiny Accumulation received.]〉
In total, after defeating the Destiny Vessels, Lucian came across 18 units of destiny. With his prior number of Destinies, he had acquired 21 Destiny Accumulations! After all, his first Refinement hadn't consumed any of his destiny due to his unique circumstances.
However, instead of happiness, Lucian felt more at odds than ever. A few things just didn't add up. The containers, the eerie vibe that vanished out of nowhere as well as this stone—it produced the most questions of all. Yet, nothing inside the room was capable of revealing an answer.
Even after turning the area upside down, he didn't come across anything useful. Though, he did revisit the containers and used his empty vials which previously held the recovery elixirs to confiscate a striking amount of liquid.
After stowing the liquid he left this room filled with enigmas and retraced his steps. Yet, little did he know that as soon as he left this place, a tremor took place and this laboratory vanished without a trace.
Soon enough, he found himself exactly where he started, but there was a large difference.