Simon tried to control the mana; however, the more conscious that he got of his magic, the more mana it took to cast.
That said, it was not like he was not seeing any progress. He could feel that he had a better grasp of his mana now and the fireballs that he cast, were starting to show a fixed size and shape.
If he continued to practice at this pace, it wouldn't take him too long before his magic control also improved. After another couple hours of intense training, Simon flopped down on the ground, breathing heavily.
Casting novice tier magic continuously, drained his mana and also strained him mentally. To cast any magic, one needs focus. As such, he was more mentally exhausted than physically.
Simon swiped his hand and a couple of orbs releasing beautiful blue light, appeared out of his space ring. These blue orbs are called the Mana Orbs which when consumed, restores the mana inside one's body.
They grow at the bottom of the pond of serenity inside those shiny clams and were quite a handy item. Since they were better than most mana restoring elixirs in his shop, Simon kept quite a few of them in his [Inventory] all the time.
Simon quickly gulped down these marble sized mana orbs and slowly recovered his mana. Once he felt his mana restore to a certain point, he propped himself up and started training once again.
Though this time, he didn't jump into the training that Irene set for him, but instead he did his own special training. He was on the verge of understanding a new power that might just become his new trump card.
Simon opened the [Main Menu] and clicked on a particular option.
Time passed by and soon Simon ran out of mana. Whenever that happened he would gulp down a few Mana Orbs and rest for some time before delving into his special training.
With the upcoming auction, he felt a stronger sense of urgency to make himself stronger. The magic control training was good and all, but it still needed time. Plus even if he managed to grasp the magic control, it would just be a single step forward.
There are various other basics that he needed to grasp before he could see any results. That is to say, the magic training will not have an immediate effect on his strength but that 'option' can.
That is why, Simon wanted to understand all the mysteries relating to the option and grasp its power as soon as possible.
Days passed by and soon it was the day of the auction. Many things changed during this time, one of those changes would be the chains around the gate hovering on the ceiling of his Main Floor.
The chains binding it had now disappeared; however, the door of the gate was still closed. It would only open when the auction starts and that was at midnight.
The other changes would be the confidence level of Simon which for some reason had skyrocketed. He looked more relaxed and laidback even while knowing that once he passed through the gate and went to the other end, he would be face to face once again with the highest echelons of the demon world.
Another thing of note was the attitude of his subordinates which became more enthusiastic the more closer the day of the auction came. Since he was yet to declare which two subordinates he was going to bring with him, all of his subordinates were pestering him to pick them.
Main Hall, White Palace…
Simon was deliberating something while looking at his Main Menu, when Irene from the side spoke.
"Have you decided on which two subordinates you are going to bring?".
When she asked that question, all the eyes present in the main hall immediately turned towards him. All their eyes were saying one thing… 'Pick me'.
Feeling all those gazes on him, Simon frowned his brows. This was a difficult decision since all of them showed their willingness to go. No matter who he picked, the others would get disheartened.
That is why, he had been hesitating to declare who he was going to bring with him. However, now that the auction was just around the corner, he couldn't put it back any more.
Simon was just about to nod his head and say that he had decided, when suddenly a fierce tremor hit the Main Floor.
The tea cups on the table spilled and the chandeliers on the ceiling swayed intensely.
What was going on? The tremor went on for quite a while causing a commotion among the people of the main floor.
"It came from the floors above" Irene commented looking up.
It was as she said, the epicentre of that tremor was not the Mian floor, but from the upper floors. The main floor simply shook because of the spreading shockwaves.
'This magnitude of quake, did some adventurer use the Floor Buster?' it was only natural that Simon would think of that possibility. However, the answer seemed to be far from his expectation.
While all his subordinates wore various expressions of confusion, the twins however seemed surprised, their eyes wide open.
"Master"…
"Master"…
"They woke up, they passed!!"…
"It's as the brother said"
Theodore and Maybell immediately huddled around and said excitedly.
"What do you mean? Who woke up?" Simon asked calming the twins down.
"Those demihumans, they passed the Trail of the Shadows. All of them" Theodore explained with wide eyes while Maybell nodded her head repeatedly.
"No way… they really became a Vecna… all of them?" even Simon was surprised. Being the creator of the twins, he knew very well what that word represented.
Vecna, the name itself symbolised strength. It wouldn't have been strange for all the six demihumans to die in the trial of the shadows. However, they not only came back alive, but all six of them also passed the trial and obtained the power of Vecna without a single one dying.
This feat was beyond impressive, especially given the fact that a Vecna appearing was one in tens or even hundreds of thousands. And here his subordinates had created not only one, but six of them in their first try and without a single failure.
If the shockwave that hit their dungeon was due to their awakening, it all made sense now.
Simon composed himself and along with his subordinates, he teleported to the [Training Floor] where the underground Prison was.
The moment they entered the place, a strong scent of blood assaulted their nose.
"Ugh… This place reeks of blood" Alice pinched her nose and commented.
The underground prison whose original colour should have been the colour of soil, was now dyed a deep red with blood fog covering the place.
As Simon and the others walked deeper towards the underground prison, they saw the place was in a mess. All the prison cells were destroyed, ground cracked and the bedrock above them had disappeared, allowing the light from the phosphorescence crystal from the ceiling above to illuminate the place.
At the centre of this destruction stood six demihumans who had changed quite a bit after being bestowed the power of Vecna.
Their skin looked smooth, all their injuries were gone and they have recovered back their lost body parts and previous appearance. However, the biggest change was not their appearance, but the aura they released.
The six demihumans who were previously covered in an air of gloom and despair when Simon found them, were now releasing a fierce, indomitable aura. They regained their soul and spirit once again which had now strengthened marginally after the transformation.
The other changes around the demihumans would be their glaring blood red eyes and sharp fangs that were hidden within their mouth.
The six of them were kneeling on one knee and bowing their head towards Simon and the others perceiving their presence beforehand.
"We great the Great Ancestors and the Master of the Dungeon," the demihumans said in unison.
Simon looked towards Theodore and Maybell and only after seeing them nod, did he acknowledge them. He brought out a couple of robes from his space ring and threw them towards the demihumans.
"Wear them" It must be mentioned that the rag tag clothes these demihumans were wearing, got disintegrated from that explosion. As such, they were completely naked.
The six demihumans did as they were told and wore the robes given to them.
"Let me ask you, who do you all serve?" Simon questioned.
"Master Theodore"…
"Miss Maybell"…
The demihumans each replied their own answer.
Satisfied by their response Simon nodded their heads and looked at the ancient mark on their necks. Those weird patterns were from the bite marks of Theodore and Maybell and were proof that these demihumans have been turned into their kindreds.
That's right, the six demihumans have now become a vampire, and not only some ordinary vampires but a True Vampire, also known as Vecna.
Ranking very high in the hierarchy of the vampires, the True Vampires were just a rank below the Antediluvian Ancestors and possess fearful abilities. They were also the direct subordinates of the Antediluvian Ancestors.
It was already beyond miracle that all six of the demihumans managed to become a Vecna when even one would have been an impossibility.
No wonder the twins bestowed them the power of a Vecna instead of an elder. Looking at the demihumans, it seemed that they were in perfect control of their powers. As such, Simon had nothing to worry about.
Also Since the blood running inside their body was from the twins, they were completely loyal to them.