Chapter 55: Horrifying information
Victor took a deep breath as he silently stared toward the dark corridor ahead of him. His expression remained calm, but countless thoughts were already moving through his mind at terrifying speed.
He wanted to help the artificial intelligence, but not because he feared her threats. Even if death stood directly before him, Victor was not the type of person who would obediently bow his head simply because someone stronger demanded it. If necessary, he would rather fight until the final moment.
However, Nova’s words had shaken him deeply.
An ancient artificial intelligence that possessed billions of years worth of knowledge was not something he could casually ignore. The value of such an existence could not even be measured with ordinary logic. If she truly became his personal assistant, then the benefits would surpass imagination.
"Very well," Victor finally said after several seconds of silence. "Tell me what I need to do."
Nova’s voice immediately echoed inside the ruined chamber.
"Walk fifty meters forward. Then turn left and continue for twenty meters. After that, turn right and walk another five meters. You will arrive at the central machine room."
Her tone remained calm and emotionless as she continued explaining.
"The main power source is located there. You will see a massive energy orb suspended at the center of the room. It is severely damaged, so you must continuously channel mana into it. Once enough energy is supplied, the orb will begin repairing itself automatically."
Victor slowly nodded his head.
"Understood."
Without wasting any more time, he immediately began walking through the ancient metallic corridor. His footsteps echoed faintly throughout the silent spaceship while countless damaged mechanisms remained dormant around him.
The deeper he walked, the more unbelievable the surrounding structure became. Even after thousands of years, the metallic walls still looked almost indestructible. The level of technology used to build this ship was far beyond modern human understanding.
Two minutes later, Victor finally arrived at the destination.
The moment he stepped into the enormous chamber, his eyes narrowed slightly.
At the very center of the room floated a gigantic crystal orb nearly five meters in diameter. Countless runes were carved across its surface. Large fractures covered the orb from every direction like spiderweb cracks spreading across glass.
The damage looked extremely serious.
Victor slowly walked closer before stopping directly in front of the massive sphere.
"Will it repair itself if I simply pour mana into it?" he asked.
"Yes," Nova replied immediately. "The repair mechanism is still functional. Once sufficient energy is provided, it will activate automatically. However, the process must remain continuous. If the mana flow stops midway, the repair process may collapse entirely."
Victor glanced toward the damaged orb once more.
"Do you have enough mana potions prepared?" Nova suddenly asked.
Victor lightly smiled.
"You don’t need to worry about that."
He stepped forward and placed both hands against the cold crystal surface.
"I’m starting now."
The instant his palms touched the orb, an enormous amount of pure mana erupted from inside his body like a raging flood. Dense blue energy continuously poured into the giant sphere.
At first, nothing happened.
The orb remained completely motionless as if it were an ordinary dead object. However, Victor did not stop. He maintained a stable flow of mana without interruption while the gigantic crystal silently absorbed everything.
Minutes gradually turned into hours.
Three hours later, the entire chamber suddenly trembled violently.
Boom!
A deep mechanical sound echoed throughout the spaceship as countless ancient systems slowly awakened from dormancy. The giant orb finally emitted a faint glow before complicated runes started illuminating one after another.
Victor immediately felt the difference.
The suction force inside the orb abruptly increased by at least ten times compared to before. His mana surged out of his body uncontrollably while the pressure around him intensified tremendously.
Even Victor’s expression changed slightly.
The amount of mana being consumed now was absurdly terrifying. It far exceeded the energy he had once used during his battle against the Chimera.
Veins slightly bulged across his arms as the pressure continued increasing.
However, Victor remained standing firmly.
His body was no longer the same as before. It was lot more powerful.
Although the strain was enormous, he could still endure it.
Another three exhausting hours passed in complete silence.
Finally, the last visible fracture on the orb disappeared completely.
The terrifying suction force instantly weakened before returning to a stable level. The overwhelming pressure surrounding Victor’s body vanished almost immediately.
Victor slowly withdrew his hands before heavily exhaling.
A thin layer of sweat covered his forehead.
Now he finally understood why even Sage level experts had failed to repair this spaceship in the past. The mana requirement alone was horrifying beyond imagination.
At that exact moment, a tiny figure suddenly appeared above the glowing orb.
Victor’s eyes widened slightly.
A small floating pixie with silver hair and glowing blue wings hovered before him. She looked extremely cute, almost like a fairy from fantasy legends. However, contrary to her adorable appearance, her tiny face currently carried an unusually serious expression.
She stared directly at Victor.
"How vast is your mana source?" she asked.
Victor blinked once before staring at the tiny fairy in disbelief.
"You’re Nova?"
"Yes," she replied impatiently. "Now answer the question."
Victor rubbed his forehead slightly.
"Well... I could probably continue for another hour before needing top grade mana potions."
Nova remained silent for several seconds.
Then she slowly nodded absentmindedly.
"You’re one of the top ten anomalies I have seen throughout my existence," she finally said seriously.
Victor laughed lightly before sitting down directly on the metallic floor.
"So there are still nine people ahead of me? That’s somewhat embarrassing."
Nova ignored his joke completely.
Victor stretched his exhausted shoulders before speaking again.
"Now tell me what happened to the previous civilizations."
Nova’s expression immediately became colder.
"There is an entity that attacked my spaceship when I approached this planet long ago. That same entity also sealed an Elemental Sovereign level creature somewhere on this world."
Victor’s relaxed expression instantly disappeared.
Nova continued speaking calmly.
"Whenever a civilization on this planet reaches its peak, that creature awakens and initiates a global apocalypse. The previous two civilizations were completely destroyed by it."
Victor slowly stood up.
His eyes widened dramatically.
"What did you just say?"
Nova looked directly toward him.
"The planetary will appears to have awakened in order to strengthen your current civilization beyond the previous eras. However, your strongest humans are still only at the Sage Realm which is two realms below Elemental Sovereign."
She paused briefly before delivering the final sentence.
"You likely have less than ten years before the creature awakens again."
Victor felt as though his entire world had frozen.
A terrifying chill spread throughout his body while countless thoughts exploded inside his mind. This was no longer ordinary information. This concerned the survival of humanity itself.
"Ten years..." he muttered hoarsely.
His fists unconsciously clenched tightly.
"Sages are still two major realms below an Elemental Sovereign. Even Diana would find it nearly impossible to reach that level within ten years."
For several moments, complete silence filled the chamber.
Eventually, Victor forced himself to calm down.
Panicking would solve nothing.
He slowly inhaled before looking directly toward Nova again.
"I want to cultivate the martial path as well. I am a mage but my physique needs improvement constantly to become more powerful. Where should I begin?"
Nova immediately answered.
"The strongest monsters currently existing on this planet are at the Sage Realm. I can provide you with a Seven Layered Breathing Method suitable for your constitution."
Her tiny eyes narrowed slightly.
"Because you possess eight elemental affinities simultaneously, you will need eight S Rank monsters with different elemental attributes. Their essence will become the foundation for your martial cultivation."
Victor silently nodded.
Then another thought suddenly appeared inside his mind.
"System," he said internally, "how many points do I need in order to gain permission to cultivate the martial system?"
He had already developed a suspicion earlier. Now he wanted confirmation.
[Ding! Since you already possess complete knowledge regarding the martial system and its cultivation method, permission is no longer required.]
Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly.
As expected.
The system had never restricted humanity from cultivating the martial path simply because it wanted points. The real issue was incomplete knowledge. Attempting martial cultivation without proper understanding could permanently damage a person’s blood essence and destroy their foundation.
The billion point requirement was likely the system’s way of safely constructing external beast essence within the human body.
Victor finally understood everything.
He slowly looked toward Nova.
"Reboot the spaceship completely," he said calmly.
"We’re leaving tomorrow."
