The energy that escaped from the Jackal's Sparrow was slowly being magnetized to my body and when the energy entered my body I could feel it move throughout the entirety of me.
The energy which entered my body from all different places coursed inside me before I started to slowly move all the tiny blue bits of energy into one place within my body.
My heart. I must move all the energy from the monsters I defeat into my heart or my entire body would reek of impurities which could hinder my growth or most likely cause me to die.
I concentrated all will power into the lethargic act of moving the energy into my body and then circulating all the energy towards my heart at an even slower pace.
First, the energy from the Jackal's Sparrow was almost completely in my body, excluding the energy that had seeped away due to my inexperience and lack of power, I had absorbed all the energy from it.
Next, I focused on my hands as I started moving all the energy from there towards my heart at such a pace that even a snail could go quicker.
But after around 15 minutes I finally moved all the energy from my hands to my heart.
The arms are next, still in my sitting position which I was meditating in to absorb the energy I moved onto absorbing the energy from my arms next.
Although the arms were closer to the heart which would make you think it'd be easier to do but that would be wrong because the arms tended to hold a lot more energy than the hands making it a longer process to move it all.
The sun which was just below the sea when I had entered was now barely above it after I finished circulating the energy from my arms to my heart.
'That took around 30 minutes.'
"I'll continue later on. I have to find a place to rest, first."
Looking around the fat mountain top I spotted in the faraway distance a cave opening.
"Lets head over there."
*****
Now at the cave opening I looked in a prepared for any looming dangers in the dimly light cave.
Warily entering the cave I called forth my shadow demon to walk in front of me.
The 2-D shadow behind me materialized in front of me as it's regular 3-D self.
Looking at my shadow demon from head to toes I discovered that it had completely healed from it's injuries with the Jackal's Sparrow and was ready to fight any foe.
[Shadow Demon
Evolution:High-ranked (limited to Medium-rank)
Assimilation: Infant (2%)
Health:99%
Abilities: None
Physical Features: Sharp claws, Bladed hand, tough skin.
Potential: Sentience, Supreme-rank(Evolution), Superior-rank (Assimilation) ]
Venturing deeper into the cave, me and my shadow entered the darkness of the cave.
The caves rock walls allowed almost no sound to escapes as you could hear the droplets of water as they hit the solid ground.
Drip
Paying no mind to the sound I was more encapsulated by my shadow demon, after all this was the first time I had seen one, but even with that knowledge mine felt like it was a little different.
I heard about what other people's shadow demons looked like and how they all had abilities when they started off but mine had no ability.
When others described their shadow demons they would mention it mostly having two of three main color but mine was just pitch black, no it was complete darkness as it allowed no light in nor out of it's clutches.
Then the sound of a monster gnawing at it's food could be heard as it lightly echoed throughout the cave network.
The monsters meal was abruptly stopped as a dark shadow loomed over it from behind.
Even though the cave was dimly lit the monster could tell something was standing behind it as the darkness around it concentrated.
Spinning around on it's hind legs the monster with one horn on it's head attempted to ram into the unknown figure looming behind it.
Expecting this reaction my shadow demon side stepped the ramming monster causing it to run into the wall a little ways away.
After hitting the wall I ran towards the monster with a knife in hand.
Still trying to regain itself from the turmoil after it ran into a wall, the beast could not react to my attack in time and was cut down.
[Horned Goblin defeated by Azriel Viala.]
[Quickly assimilate the energy from the Horned Goblin into your body before it escapes.]
Pushing my back against the wall of the cave I used it as support to sit down.
Commanding my shadow demon to watch over me I got into the meditating position and prepared myself to absorb the energy remaining energy from the Jackal's Sparrow into my heart and absorb the energy from the Goblin into my heart.
'The faster I complete this the faster I can go back and take back what the world has taken from me.'
「 Yes,yes, that's the spirit. 」
The voice of the system went through one ear and out the other as I circulated the energy from the defeated enemies into my heart.
With a sluggish pace I moved the energy from my hands to my heart, then the energy from my arms to my hearts, next I moved the energy from my feet to my heart as well as the energy in my legs to my heart.
Lastly there was only my head and my chest left to go before all the energy I had gotten from defeating enemies was assimilated into my body.
'Lets start with the easier of the two, my chest. As the place closest to my heart, my chest naturally attracts the most energy as the heart is where all the energy is trying to enter but is stopped by my flesh and bone.'
That is the reason you have to circulate it manually because your veins aren't used to energy at first but that will change later on.
'The chest is the second hardest part of the body to circulate energy because most, if not all, the energy is there making it the most concentrated meaning if you make a big mistake when circulating the energy there you will probably die.'
Steeling my will and resolve I completely zoned in as I visualized the energy in my chest moving ever so slightly towards my heart.
*****
The last bit of energy inside my chest remained as I left only a sliver of the rest only inches away from my heart, this energy would come in handy later.
I had already been in this meditating position for the past two and a half hours and I wasn't even done yet.
'The home stretch, the head. The head is the most dangerous and the last part for me when circulating my energy, if I made one mistake it could lead to the energy overflowing my brain. '
'Yes, the brain. This time the mana must be put into your brain rather than your head. I only needed to do this once so I had decided I'd get it done early and do it now.'
'The brain is more fragile to energy and less accepting of it than the heart causing minor through hell-like pain throughout one's body when circulating energy into it. This pain has overwhelmed many and those who are overwhelmed by it well...lets just say they don't live to see another day.'
If you thought that the other parts of the body were as hard as crossing an ocean then circulating the energy in the head was as hard as crossing 10 oceans.
Before I started I started circulating the energy I got into a more comfortable position which completely disregarded the calm and peaceful meditating position.
'All the guide books specifically said to disregard the meditating position for a more comfortable one because the pain will feel almost unbearable, and that if it didn't then you'd be one of the lucky few.'
'Although this position was slower,albeit by only a few minutes, it was still more safe as when the pain kicks in it's over.'
*****
Sitting in the new position for the past hour the energy was finally about to enter my brain and the pain would too.
"AH!!!"
The pain was unbearable and gut wrenching causing my screams of agony to echo through the cave.
But only 5 minutes after the pain came it disappeared and left my head clear of and energy.
That.. hurt.
'Normally the pain would only last around a minute or two but since I decided to add some of the energy from my chest into the mix with the energy in my head it took a little longer that expected.'
'Would I ever do that again, no.'
[All energy has been assimilated into the host body]
[Energy until the heart awakens (64%).]
[The brain has awaken.]
[The brain has started to adapt the body to allow more energy circulation.]
"Great!"
My happiness was short lived.
Opening my eyes I saw a horrendous view in front of me
Just how many did my Shadow Demon kill whilst I was circulating my energy.
Standing atop a mountain of corpses about one fourth the height of the four meter tall cave was my Shadow Demon.
[Shadow Demon
Evolution: Medium-rank(Damaged)
Assimilation: Infant(10%)
Health: 98%
Physical Features: Sharp claws, Bladed Hand, Tough skin
Potential: Sentience, Supreme-rank(Evolution), Superior(Assimilation).]