Chapter 160: cultivation
"Nothing... Let’s do it."
And he tossed all the berries into his mouth at once.
Munch, munch...
Gulp...
The moment those berries went down his throat, Lucian suddenly felt an intense, burning heat in his chest...
Clutching his chest tightly with his hand, he curled up in pain... suddenly, black mana flared wildly from his entire body...
"AaaaaAaaAaa...."
"What is this pain... shit, shit, shit... how do I even overcome this... ughhhh... Fuck... I’m really going to die at this rate..."
Holon panicked too...
"M-Master! What is happening?! Hold on, please, I-I’ll do something! Let me find a way!" he yelled, flying around in an absolute frenzy.
Looking around frantically, Holon’s eyes locked onto the sleeping Aria... he was just about to turn and dash toward her when Lucian, even while curled up in agony, grabbed him.
"M-Master, what are you doing..."
"H-Holon, wait... damn it..."
"Mistress Aria is the only one here who can help—"
Before he could even finish his sentence, clenching his teeth, his entire face dripping with sweat and contorted in pain, Lucian slowly tried to straighten himself up...
"H-Hold on... I can overcome this..."
Cough, cough...
He released his grip on Holon...
"Master..."
Holon could only watch in stunned silence as Lucian—blood and saliva dripping, his determined mind gripping onto control with everything he had — straightened himself up...
And sat down in a meditation position, calming the chaotic energy flow raging inside him...
Several minutes passed, and the black energy flaring wildly around Lucian started to settle down...
And slowly, gradually, it became completely steady — like the calm flame of a candle.
Almost an hour went by. Holon hovered nearby, watching, his head started nodding off to sleep...
Ding...
[Great, you actually pulled it off, you punk. Take your reward...
Mana Stage Breakthrough: Flow Stage -> True Stage
Mana Capacity Now: 200,000
Gained: 30000+ FP
Gained: 5000+ CB
Physical Strength: S -> S+
Magical Aptitude: S+ -> SS
Golden Skill Stone: +1
Dark Skills Upgraded:
Voice of Authority: Lvl 1 -> Lvl 3
Aura of Dread: Lvl 1 -> Lvl 3
Ebon Exhale: Lvl 1 -> Lvl 3
Gained Mana Perk: 5x Recovery (Your mana will now recover at 5x speed.)
The effect of the sleeping potion has been nullified...
Shop Upgrade: Lvl 1 -> Lvl 2
New skills available in the store.
New items available in the shop.
Wish to view?]
Slowly he opened his eyes...
The first thing that hit him was a smell of fresh, maybe ancient damp wood.
I see... Everything is so clear now. Sniff sniff...
He stood up and walked over to the ship’s railing.
Holon jolted awake and fumbled around.
"Master... I am awake! I am totally—"
Sheeee haahhhhh... sheeee hahhhhhh...
By focusing just a little, he could now hear the sound of Aria’s breathing crystal clear...
And his vision... even from a distance in the dark of night, he could clearly see exactly how an ant was struggling on a small plant near the bed’s leg...
He sneered... manically.
"Haha..."
Holon’s sleepy eyes followed Lucian as he moved around.
Has he gone crazy?
The very next moment,Lucian stepped through his portal and appeared beside Aria’s bed. His eyes were fixed entirely on her heaving chest, and the way he was staring, something was definitely cooking in his mind.
"System, what’s my current mana?"
Mana: 50000
"So for now, I can eat almost 70 berries to fill up my capacity?"
[Yes, you can eat them, but I wouldn’t suggest more than 70 berries. Your body won’t be able to handle even a single berry more than 70 at once...]
"Good to know. So if I’m understanding this right, this Mana Perk will recover mana at 5x speed, right? Which means I won’t need missions anymore if I want to gain mana, right?"
[Correct. Your body is at the True Stage now. You no longer need mana missions; anymore. Your mana will recover naturally. In 24 hours, you normally get 1,000 — with the 5x speed perk, you’ll get 5,000 mana... so you probably won’t even need the berries that much except in case of emergency.]
Hearing this, a wide grin stretched across Lucian’s face.
"Okay, let’s do this."
A small portal opened beside him.
Reaching his hand inside, he pulled out two handfuls of necroberries, spread them on the empty space of the bed near Aria’s legs, and counted out exactly seventy berries...
Holon floated closer, looking back and forth in surprise between Lucian and the berries; he immediately understood his master’s intentions.
Crossing his arms and shaking his head, he raised his objection.
"Nope, no, no, no, Master! Absolutely not! Eating this many berries won’t be good at all!"
Munch munch... Lucian, deadpan and ignoring him completely, was already eating. With each gulp, light flashes rippled across his body...
Holon threw his tiny hands up in exasperation.
"Of course you’re not listening! Why do I even bother? Keep stuffing your face, Boss, though don’t blame me when you pop like a balloon!"
"He became so chatty in just a few days... he took another 10 berries.
I wonder if Sera’s, Elira’s, and Aria’s stats have grown along with mine as well."
Almost five minutes later, the last swallow—
Ding!
[Mana reached a peak limit of 190,000. Heaviness side effect may occur.]
Lucian paused for a moment after the system notification. He didn’t move immediately and stayed in place as his body adjusted to the sudden mana surge. Holon kept watching him carefully, yet he didn’t respond. After a short silence, he focused back on the situation in front of him while bringing both hands to his head and tried to steady his dizzy head...
"Master! I told you eating all of that at once was a bad idea! Are you okay? Should I wake up Mistress? Answer me, should I wake her? Should I?"
Annoyed, Lucian gave him a single command while pointing his finger.
"Go inside..."
"Huh... what do you mean, go inside?"
Holon’s eyes followed the direction where he was pointing it was straight at Aria’s cleavage...
