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As Shin stood with his fighting posture, a layer of blazing mana appeared on the surface of his body while flowing upwards. It also flowed through his sword, covering it with a blazing layer that continuously moved on its blade before dissipating in the air.
The temperature around him started to rise as the blazing mana continued to flow. The ground underneath his feet started to show some signs of melting due to the fiery aura that he was releasing.
'Elemental Skill (Solar Reaper): Blessing of the Sun'
This was one of the skills that he had gotten from Solus after he formed a contract with her. It was a buff skill that gave him the ability to increase his affinity to the Fire Element and also gain better control over Fire Elemental Mana.
This elemental skill also enhanced all the fire-related attacks that he had upon activation, boosting his offensive power to a much higher degree.
And since this skill was being used under the state of Reality Manifestation, the effects that it had reached better heights.
After this, Shin slightly twisted his waist while pulling the sword back and raising it over his shoulder. He also widened his stance by spreading his feet out – one was pointing forward while the other was behind to support his balance.
He wanted to enter the battle state that he learned just recently where he was in a constant state of enlightenment during the battle, but he just discovered that it was much harder to do than he originally thought.
Using that technique inside the game was much harder than entering the Reality Manifestation alongside his advanced martial arts skills and mentalism techniques.
With that thought, he could only go to a natural way of doing things.
He guided the flow of mana within his body according to the flame breathing technique that he had practiced these past few days while also combining it with the Celestial Vermillion Bird Method of the Four Symbol Scripture.
Once he did, the mana within him seemed to have boiled while flowing through his meridians. What followed was the sharp increase of temperature within the cave as if it was turning into the mouth of a volcano.
'Elemental Skill (Solar Reaper): Decent of the Primordial Sun'
He was using this second elemental skill that he got from Solus as a model for the advanced mentalism technique that he had from the real world.
With his current real, this technique was impossible to execute with his current realm in the outside world, but it was a different case within the game.
He could achieve what he could not in the outside world as long as he had the perfect model for those advanced techniques and skills here inside the game.
With the help of Reality Manifestation, he would be able to achieve the expected result if not better.
Bang!
The air around Shin failed to withstand the increasing temperature and suddenly exploded as the blazing mana covering his body suddenly intensified a miniature sun behind him.
Then, when the accumulation of power reached its peak, Shin suddenly charged forward by stomping his foot on the ground and sent himself flying toward the storm made of thick dust and flying rocks of different sizes.
Bang!
He transformed into a blazing stream that pierced through the storm ahead melting everything in his path.
Swoosh!
As he continued advancing forward, the strength of the storm intensified. There were also rock boulders of larger sizes to greet him, trying to stop his advance.
But while they were approaching, most of them were being melted by the intense heat surrounding Shin before finally exploding after failing to withstand such temperature in the end.
They all turned into molten lava that spread out, seemingly creating a path for Shin instead.
Shriek!
A deafening cry of a bird could be heard as he broke through the final blockade of the storm and appeared a few meters away from the Ironhead Chimpanzee.
The monster seemed to be a little surprised at his appearance before an enraged expression quickly washed over its face.
It opened its mouth and roared, gathering the remaining strength that it had to form a compressed earthen mana in front of its mouth.
It was summoning its final card for this final stand.
Bang!
A golden beam suddenly shot out from its mouth and headed toward Shin, who was already about to reach it.
Shiek!
At the same time, the blazing mana surrounding Shin seemed to have gathered before forming an illusionary image of a fiery bird around him.
It opened its beak wide, releasing yet another cry as Shin swung the blazing sword down, leaving a trail of beautiful arc of flame on its path.
'Four Symbol Scripture: Celestial Vermillion Bird Method – Pheonix Purgatory'
As Shin slashed down with his sword, the incoming beam sent by the Ironhead Chimpanzee was suddenly cleaved in halves. It then created a path for him to continue advancing forward.
With a flap of his obsidian wings, he charged ahead and swung the blazing sword in a horizontal manner, leaving a trail of flame behind.
Swoosh!
From the spectator's point of view, the huge bird that was enveloping Shin's body seemed to have devoured the monster. This scene lasted for a moment before a blazing light passed through the neck of the overlord before severing the huge head from its shoulders.
It rolled a couple of times before landing with a soft thud in the distance.
Ta-ta!
As Shin landed, the image of the huge blazing bird receded before turning into a blanket of flame that faded away.
After that, Shin quickly exited the state of Reality Manifestation and Elemental Spirit Possession almost simultaneously.
He then stabbed the [Yamato] on the ground using it to support his body and prevent himself from falling. His breathing also became slightly labored due to fatigue.
By far, this was the most exhausting state that he was in after using both states simultaneously. He felt that a long time had already passed even though the battle only lasted for a few minutes.
He must admit that the tricks that Professor Henry had mentioned earlier and the teachings that he got from the books that he had read really increased his proficiency at using his elemental powers under the state of Reality Manifestation. And using the element that he had already awakened in the real world gave him more freedom during the battle.
However, it was also as exhausting as hell. It drained both his stamina and willpower to an unimaginable degree.
He did not have to worry too much about those two since his body inside the game had an infinite amount of mana while the willpower provided by his bloodline was almost inexhaustible.
The problem was it put a great toll on his mind, which resulted in his over-exhaustion. If he insisted on staying in those states for an extended period of time, he would most likely die of exhaustion rather than getting killed by his opponents.
Moreover, there was also another special state that he hadn't used yet. If he also added it to the mix, then he could already imagine how great the toll that he had to bear when using all three of them at once.
"I guess I still have a long to go. I need to practice a little more and explore my bloodline a little further," he muttered to himself.
He knew that the key to this was to understand the full extent of his bloodline that could give him such powerful willpower. As long as he had a strong mind, then he would be able to withstand the burden of using the three battle states together.
After organizing his thoughts and evaluating his performance a little, he started tidying up the whole place. He naturally did not forget that this place was a mine where a huge Mana Crystal Vein was located, so he understood very well how important the place was.
At the same time, he also had to gather the materials from the body of the two overlord monsters, particularly their most important part. The arms of the Steelfist Ape and the head of the Ironhead Chimpanzee.
He was not sure why, but he felt that he would be up for a surprise once he gathered these materials alongside the hind of the Stoneback Gorilla.
After dissecting the bodies of the two monsters and gathering all the useful materials, he proceeded to collect all the items and equipment that were dropped by the people on the Black Market.
As for the trio of Arlott, Illumi, and Izumi, he had already forgotten about their existence since he fully trust his three elemental spirits, particularly Blackie. As for the nutjob and narcissist, Grimrace and Vladimir respectively, Shin knew that those two would either torture or kill their opponents within an instant.
Once he was sure that he did not miss anything, he unsummoned the three elemental spirits before summoning Astaroth.
Then he took out the three huge Beast Cores that he had gotten from the three overlords alongside the others that they had gotten from the other monsters in their previous hunts.
The difference between the cores was very distinct as the auras that they were releasing were very different from each other, particularly the ones from the three overlord-rank monsters that were releasing the brightest glow.
Shin observed the Beast Cores for a few moments before turning to Astaroth, who was currently kneeling near him. He could tell that this hybrid elemental spirit was currently suppressing its excitement.
"Go on. It is your reward for all the hard work," he said, gesturing to the elemental spirit to take the cores.
"This unworthy servant will humbly accept your grace, my lord!" responded Astaroth as he lowered his head further in his kneeling position.
Shin could not help but shudder at the words that the elemental spirit had uttered. He still could not get used to these words.
After that, Astaroth stood up and walked toward the pile of cores before taking the three largest ones. Then he retreated and bowed at Shin once again.
Seeing that, Shin could not help but slightly knit his brow before asking. "Is that all? All of these are yours. You can take all of them alongside those three."
In response, Astaroth shook his head. "This is more than enough for me, my lord. Anything more than these will not be helpful to my growth."
"The power of earth containing these three cores is already too abundant for me to absorb. It will take a lot of time for me to absorb everything by normal means. But with the help of this place, I can at least absorb them with a greater speed and digest everything immediately after."
He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "It may take some of the energies from the Mana Crystal Vein, but it will be negligible to its overall amount."
"This servant wants to ask permission from my lord," he added as he kneeled once again.
Shin was stunned for a moment before chuckling. He then nodded his head and said. "Go! It is us who find it to begin with, so it will not hurt to secure a few of them before handling the whole mine to our comrades."
After that, he kept the rest of the cores while thinking how much he would sell them to the Hand of Midas alongside the high-quality materials that he just gathered. He would surely be able to fetch a good price from it. He could also use it as another bargaining chip when negotiating with Shiella later.
Alongside this huge mine of Mana Crystal, Shin felt that it was already guaranteed to secure the upper hand in this upcoming deal.
These thoughts put him in a good mood before he went to the side to rest.
As for Astaroth, the elemental spirit was already heading to the center of the cave, walking toward the portion of the Mana Crystal Vein.
It was already impressive for the hybrid elemental spirit to suppress its urges up until now. It was clear that it was very excited about this upgrade.
He then sat cross-legged before entering a meditation state.
At the same time, the three Beast Cores floated around him before revolving in a steady phase. They released the energies that they contained before being absorbed by Astaroth, making him grow stronger and more powerful.
From the distance, Shin could already feel how powerful this elemental spirit would become based on the aura that it was releasing.
From what he could guess, it shouldn't be much inferior to both Hanzo and Solus. It surpassed the rest by a great margin with just a single promotion quest.
Not long after, his eyes were quickly bombarded by a series of notifications informing him about the great success of his quest and the successful promotion of Astaroth.
He was about to check them when he received another set of notifications. But this time, it was a message from Harmony, informing him about their successful capture of the entire territory.
They had won the war by a great margin thanks to his intel. The Chief Tailor of the Hand of Midas thanked him for everything.
He chuckled a little before casually replying before proceeding to rest. He had to recover as soon as possible before he continued with the rest of his business.
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