Although the cliff was as high as a 17th-floor skyscraper, Pliero and Lumia seemed to understand clearly what Sidius meant, and they hurriedly descended the cliff.
Sidius gathered his last remaining strength to stand up and pick up one of the greatest gains from this raid— the D-ranked demonic beast core, which could increase his rank up to a small realm. But that was not the most important; the real treasure was the 'Dungeon Key'!
[You have obtained the Dungeon Key for Fiery Mist.]
With that in his hands, he now had his own dungeon, and acquired dungeon meant income. He can't help but think about the course of event that will unfold soon.
'The 'Fiery Mist' Dungeon which was free for 10 years, would surely become popular after the news got out that it was already cleared.
'Powerful clans would probably try to find out who cleared the infamous Fiery Mist, and given its difficulty despite being an F-ranked dungeon, they would most likely send their new talents here to train or improve their combat skills and teamwork.
'I hit a jackpot!' Sidius exclaimed in joy.
Meanwhile, the other two members of the raid, Pliero and Lumia, finally reached where he was. They looked exhausted as much as Sidius.
"Boss, you're amazing!" Pliero said, running towards Sidus.
Sidius just nodded and glanced at the other member, Lumia, with tired eyes. Leaning his head to stare at her, she trembled upon seeing his gaze, but Sidius just smiled. He found the girl kind of naive and cute.
"Lumia, do you know those two people you associated with earlier?" Sidius asked, seemingly curious about her reasons.
Lumia, who heard his voice, trembled and had difficulty opening her mouth, but she managed to respond by shaking her head side to side.
"Relax, I'm not gonna devour you," Sidius persuaded. "Listen here lady, those two people were evil; they will not hesitate to use others for their own benefit. So be careful of the people you follow," he added, narrowing his eyes as he stared directly at her.
But eventually, his expression turned to his normal playfulness, and he turned his head to Pliero.
"Collect the loot, Mirzam," he chuckled, patting Pliero on his shoulder along his way to walk beside an empty space, intending to cultivate and restore his strength.
Sitting in a lotus position, Sidius absorbed the rich yang energy from the Fiery Mist. Energy was different from mana; while mana was stored in the middle dantian, energy was stored in the lower dantian, directly linked to the life force of a living being, and the yang energy was one of those energies.
'I'm just trying if it will work, but I was right. I'm like those prodigies who can practice different powers at the same time,' he mused as he continuously absorbed the yang energy from the surroundings. He felt its warmth form a vortex in his lower dantian.
After a while, a series of system's notification materialized before him.
[Ding! You have absorbed enough yang energy, further awakening your physique...]
[Your Sun's Devourer Physique was now half-awakened!]
[Ding! Vitality Unlocked!]
[You can now see your lifespan in the status panel!]
[Ding! Aura Power sufficient to be displayed on the status panel!
Hearing this, Sidius was filled with delight. Unlocking vitality for chosens was a privilege reserved for those who had formed their mana core or aurous core.
Given his previous pathetic growth talent, living past 100 years had seemed like an unattainable dream.
But now, with his half-awakened Sun's Devourer Physique, the prospect of living for a thousand years or more was within his grasp.
Not only that, he now had two power lingering inside his body.
'It is due to my physique? It's quite useful than my pet system,' he playfully remarked, teasing the system before taking out the advanced D rank demonic beast core and placing it inside his mouth.
[Advanced D rank demonic beast bore detected. Initiating mana physique purification. 72%... Successful.]
[Initiating mana physique absorbtion. 48%...]
As Sidius absorbed the purified mana through his physique, he became familiar with the warm sensation coursing through him. However, this time, the process seemed to be taking longer and more difficult than his previous attempt.
Along with this surge of power came a sense of strain, as if his physical form was being pushed to its utmost limits.
Sidius gritted his teeth, refusing to yield to the pain. He knew that breaking through to a higher realm was no easy task, even with his godly physique.
'Is this what it feels like to break through to a big realm? I can feel my insides ripping apart, yet healing at the same time.'
Moments later, the absorption process finally concluded, Sidius can feel the surge of power from within him.
His body seemed to radiate with power, and he could sense the potential of his newly awakened vitality coursing through him.
'I did it,' he whispered, a mixture of awe and pride in his voice.
'Normal chosens need at least nine D rank spirit beast cores in order to rank up from F rank to E rank. However, talented chosens need less depending on their talent.'
'I've been cultivating for three years only to rank up to a small realm. But now, I've broken through to a higher realm.'
Opening his eyes, Sidius checked his status, seeing the tangible proof of his growth before him.
========Status========
Name: Sidius Ashcroft | Age: 17/77
Constitution: Nine Sun's Devourer Physique ??? (Half-Awakened)
Rank: E- | Growth Limit: N/A
Trait: (Strategist)
Class: Mage (Tier 1)
Title: N/A
Strength: 1.2 | Agility: 1.2 | Stamina: 1.1 | Aura Power: 1.0 | Mana Power: 1.3 | Dexterity: 1.0
Luck: 3.1 | Intelligence: 4.8 | Charm: 2.5
=====================
Offensive:
> N/A
Defensive:
> N/A
Movement:
> [Tam step (Tier1) - increase movement speed and make one camouflage in the shadow.]
> [Inspect (S)] - Bound skill granted by system. Examines the basic stats, basic attributes and innate attributes of another chosen or object. Improved version of skill [Scan].
> [Outburst] - Grants an increase of power in exchange of user's sanity.
=====================
"What!?"