My chest heaved haphazardly as my right knee buckled causing me to stumble forward into a kneel. As I tried to catch my breath I called forth my individuality, noticing that there was additional text.
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Limestone Armor Defeated
+10 exp
Slight Martial Insight Acquired
+10 exp
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Name: Niko Godspell Level: 0
Race: Fledgling(can evolve) Fatigue: 30.0
Title: N/A
Aspect: N/A
HP: 170.5/300.0
EXP: 65.0/100.0
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Demonic Energy: 20.0/50.0
Essence: 0.0/0.0
Soul Sea: 100.0/0.0
-
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The first thing I noticed was that the inheritance, at the very least, had information about the armor creature's name. The slight martial insight must have been gained from using demonic energy to empower my body and sword for the first time in combat. After catching my breath, I jumped to my feet in horror because I forgot the room was filled with 19 more of these powerful creatures. My eyes quickly darted around the castle hallway which was still a spectacular view even with the front left portion crumbling apart. The remaining Limestone armors remained as they were, as consummate statutes undaunted by time. I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief and reprimanded myself for not being more aware of my surroundings in the heat of the moment. Noticing my fatigue has increased and that I have less than half of my demonic energy from just one fight made me wonder how long it would take to make it to the spiral staircase.
Turning my attention to the Limestone Armor that was now indented within the castle wall, I noticed minute dancing white lights that seemed to flutter in and out of existence around its caved-in torso. As I tried to focus on them the systematic voice resounded in my ears once more, "Essence Detected". My eyes widened as I tried to get a closer look at the barely noticeable sparks. Upon closer inspection, the lights appeared to be tiny orbs that oscillated between monochromatic shades of black and white. Inside the orbs floated listless specs shimmering in a myriad of colors beyond anything I could imagine. All of a sudden the ephemeral sign I've grown accustomed popped up to display the words, "Consume Essence ?"
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Essence detected within Limestone Armor corpse.
Consume Essence?
YES NO
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"Yes!", I shouted in my mind. The dancing lights froze in space for a moment before shooting directly toward my torso. Closing my eyes for a moment it felt like my body rushed with adrenaline, causing some of the stress I was feeling to trickle away. When I opened my eyes the once vibrant Limestone Armor that was fused to the wall slowly began to turn to dust before falling to the ground like a pile of ash.
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+10.0 Essence
+ 0.10 Mastery
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I walked back to the entrance of the castle and sat down focusing on my dantian to recover some fatigue and demonic energy whilst beckoning my individuality to reveal everything it currently displays. I wanted to be at full strength before moving on to the next Limestone Armor and had to see what sort of effects Essence might have.
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Name: Niko Godspell Level: 0
Race: Fledgling(Can Evolve) Fatigue: 29.0
Title: N/A
Aspect: N/A
HP: 215.0/300.0^
EXP: 65.0/100.0^
———————————————————————-
Demonic Energy: 21.0/50.0^
Essence: 0.0/0.0^
Soul Sea 100.0^
-
———————————————————————
Strength: 10.0^ Vitality: 15.0^
Agility: 10.0^ Intelligence: 6.0^
Sense: 8.0^
———————————————————————Remaining Points: 0
Remaining Essence Points: 10.0
———————————————————————
[PASSIVE]
Aurora's Inheritance LV: 1 (Mastery 0.1/100.0)
-Essence of Limestone Armor 10.0/100.0
Ancestral Physique LV: 1
Demonic Sight LV: 1
[ACTIVE]
Demon's Rage LV: 1
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"Now that I have consumed some essence can you explain what I can do with it?" I called out to ember as nicely as possible. A small snort could be heard before ember spoke.
"As stated before, Essence can be considered the purest form of energy. As you can see from what has happened to the Limestone Armor, it directly correlates with one's life force or soul, thus providing a multitude of benefits. At the moment you can use the Essence to bolster typically all attributes displayed within your individuality, except forcefully increasing the levels of skills. I highly recommend using your current supply of Essence to provide sustenance to your now dormant Essence core. It has been forcefully formed through the inheritance process but is currently just an empty husk without energy. The Limestone Armor must have been considerably strong to contain such a substantial amount of Essence. It would be wise to use what it has provided as the foundation of your core."
I thought for a moment about what Ember said and had to admit it had a point. I forgot that the Essence core was formed during the process because I didn't notice it before when focusing on my dantian. I willed the Essence in my individuality to fortify my essence core.
———————————————————————-
-10.0 Essence Points
+10.0 Essence
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A pleasantly warm sensation began to permeate the region above my stomach and below the rib cage. I brought my attention to that region of my body and could feel a spherical energy source quite similar to the dantian. I tried to recall the moment I first oversaturated my dantian and tried to replicate that effect with the Essence in my core. After quite some time has passed I stood up feeling reinvigorated. For some reason, I didn't have that exquisite moment of insight like I did when expanding my dantian. To be sure of any changes I called forth my individuality again.
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Name: Niko Godspell Level: 0
Race: Fledgling(Can Evolve) Fatigue: 0.0
Title: N/A
Aspect: N/A
HP: 300.0/300.0
EXP: 65.0/100.0
———————————————————————-
Demonic Energy: 50.0/50.0
Essence: 10.0/10.0
Soul Sea 100.0
-
———————————————————————
Strength: 10.0^ Vitality: 15.0^
Agility: 10.0^ Intelligence: 6.0^
Sense: 8.0^
————————————————
Remaining Points: 0
Remaining Essence Points: 0
———————————————————————
To my disappointment, my Essence did not increase from 10. Ember's tone this time oozed sarcasm, "It is quite admirable that you don't possess even 1% of mastery and yet you're trying to over-saturate your Essence core. Unfortunately, if it was that easy there would be numerous powerful existential beings roaming all over the realm. The Essence core grants you the blessing of containing Essence within your body and can regenerate the quantity that is dispelled, but will never increase its capacity from mere self-production as demonic energy will." I couldn't help but sigh but things were typically never easy. There was one final thing to check before dealing with the next Limestone Armor.
"Ember... what about the Essence of Limestone Armor section ?"