Chapter 1025 Multi-tasking
Rex observed through his Awakened's eyes and saw that the Life Essence was handled and turned into cursed energy at a rapid pace by his own cursed source. He could see the task being done automatically and ended in mere seconds.
Its product was an immense amount of cursed energy.
Even though Rex had already up his expectations, this was still going beyond.
He reckoned that the cursed energy acquired from the Life Essence absorbed from the mutated tiger equated to the results of him relentlessly hunting cursed creatures in the Humming Damned Forest for two or possibly three days straight.
Naturally, as Calidora said, knowing his own curse is the best way to become stronger.
At this pace, the Jar of Malice is incomparable to this.
Seeing that he managed to absorb his first Life Essence, Calidora landed beside him.
"How was it?" She asked with a confident smile.
Upon hearing this, Rex couldn't help to admit that coming here to be with Calidora is the best possible choice he could've made. Without her, reaching his goals would be more hazardous or even quite impossible.
"Now I know how your cursed epiphany could reach that high so fast" Rex replied with a sigh.
Had he known about this earlier, he could've been as strong as Calidora.
Despite the success, there was still a long way to go for him to reach the ninth epiphany, the target that he had already set, so there's no time to waste, "Until when do I have to lower the target's guard first as opposed to forcefully absorbing their Life Essence directly?"
"Until you are ready. Don't get ahead of yourself" Calidora replied warningly.
Albeit his eagerness, he decided to heed her warning.
Following that, Rex and Calidora scoured the entire forest, hunting for Life Essence.
Since it doesn't matter where the Life Essence came from, Rex should be able to receive help from others. But Calidora was an exception as the two of them were linked, and if she hunted in order to help Rex amass Life Essence, it wouldn't work.
The Eternal Curse could sense if it came from another bearer of its power.
Due to that, she couldn't help much aside from teaching Rex the way to be more efficient.
Roar!
Growl!
One by one, Rex aimed for the strongest mutated animals inside the forest.
Fully immersed in his hunt and also trying out the tips that Calidora was giving him, the time moved faster, and it didn't take long before the night came. Insects buzzing and humming in the background were akin to music as the night got darker.
Thud!
Holding a muscular mutated bull in his hand, Rex lets go and drops it to the ground.
It was already drained to skin and bones.
Savoring the revitalizing taste of his cursed energy being increased and fill the empty space of his cursed source, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had been going at it for hours, and the cursed energy he amassed was insane.
Even then, there was no happiness on his face.
Glancing at Calidora, who had a playful smile on her lips, he could only cross his arms.
"I guess you're going to lose the bet" She chimed in triumphant.
Just earlier, Calidora showed that there were levels to absorbing Life Essence. She displayed that the Drain Touch spell would only allow Life Essence absorption depending on the user's mastery over it.
For instance, Rex could only absorb 20% of the total Life Essence the target has.
On the other hand, the other 80% was absorbed back by nature.
Despite the cursed energy he gained was a lot, it was nowhere near the spell's full potential.
Calidora was able to absorb 50%, and knowing that, Rex made a bet with her that he would be able to reach her mastery before the day was over. But turns out, even until this moment, he only reached 30%.
In the last hour, the percentage didn't increase at all.
No matter how much he tries, it wouldn't budge, so he's most likely going to lose.
"Don't worry slowpoke, you're going to get to my level some day" Giggling sweetly, seeing the competitive side of Rex for the first time, she approached and tapped his shoulder in a playful encouragement.
But Rex could only click his tongue in displeasure, not expecting to lose.
Had the System been active, I'd easily beat her.
Just as he was about to continue his hunt, Calidora stopped him and asked, "I think you're going to need to increase your epiphany first. I bet your cursed source is full, so you have to make up your mind which path you choose right now"
"I already chose a path and I'm already at the sixth epiphany" Rex replied nonchalantly.
Upon hearing this, Calidora was stunned.
She looked at Rex in utter confusion, "When did you break through to the sixth epiphany? I didn't see you meditate at all—Wait, don't tell me that you are able to meditate while hunting at the same time?!"
In response, Rex could only give her a meaningful smirk.
Out of everything, his control of energy and mastery of meditation is top-notch.
He may even go as far as saying that he is unrivaled.
Calidora couldn't hide her surprise anymore as this was something that she never thought was possible, '30% of mastery over the Drain Touch skill is already above me, I need about three days to reach that level of mastery. But, on top of that, he was also able to do this. I really want him, he's going to be mine!'
A flicker in her eyes could be seen as she gazed at Rex sternly.
It was a stare of unflinching desire.
"So, what path did you decide to choose?" Calidora eventually asked curiously.
Upon hearing this, Rex averted his gaze away, "Nope, not a chance, Calidora"
"Aw—Come on, are you really going to hide your path from your master?" She retorted lightly, using words that would elicit a reaction from Rex. But even then, he doesn't seem to budge and is clearly firm in not telling her the path he chose.
However, when she was about to pursue further, the two turned their heads to the side.
Sitting on a tree branch near them was a shadowy figure.
Even though the figure was completely covered in the darkness of the night, both of them didn't seem to be worried as they recognized this figure instantly, "Whatcha doing here? I hope I'm not interrupting something"
"Mavenna, why don't you go away and leave us alone" Calidora barked back in annoyance.
It was not a regular thing that she got to spend time with Rex.
"Where have you been, Mavenna? I thought you were going to go back to your home already. I don't see a reason for you to stick around" Rex chimed in. His deal with her was to help her get away from the Executor, and he did exactly that.
But she chose to stick around instead of going back.
Upon hearing this, Mavenna leaned against the tree trunk and shrugged, "I was going to the other side because there were no animals with teeming Life Essence for me to devour in this territory. And as for my response to yo—"
Just before she could finish, Rex raised his hand, signaling for her to stop.
"Wait a minute... Are you saying that you devour Life Essence?" He asked questioningly.
Mavenna nodded her head.
She was confused by the oblivious expression that Rex and Calidora were wearing right now, "Succubus in general devours Life Essence, what are the two of you acting surprised for? It's common knowledge, and there's no way you two don't know about that"
Listening to her rant, Rex and Calidora exchanged glances and smiled wryly.
How in the world did I forget about her?
Due to the problems and pressure that were filling his mind, he forgot to consider that there was a Succubus amongst them. Mavenna, a Rosadonna Succubus, should have better skills to take Life Essence from other living beings.
Realizing this could only make Rex rub his forehead with a heavy sigh.
In the end, he raised his gaze to look at Mavenna.
Upon gaining that gaze from Rex, a foreboding sensation could be felt crawling up her spine as there was a hidden purpose behind his gaze, "What—What are you looking at me like that for? I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"
"No, but you're going to if you refuse to help me right now" Rex replied with a smile.
He would be venting his frustration by making Mavenna work extra hard to gather as much Life Essence as she could for him. Even though it was not her fault and was mainly his, she was going to be the black goat, and she could feel it already.
...
Meanwhile, the Silverstar Castle.
It was completely silence inside the castle except for the occasional presence of extremely diligent workers fulfilling their duties to maintain the castle's cleanliness. In the background, the light banter of vigilant guards echoed as they stood watch at every entry point into the castle.
Since Kyran's condition was still uncertain, Gelmar had taken the initiative to do this.
He figured that he would do anything to maintain the castle while the others were away.
Aside from that, a few muffled grunting sounds could be heard.
Giana was currently following these sounds and headed to its source. She soon found that it was coming from the training hall with its door slightly open, directing her to one conclusion, she already knew who was inside.
Intruding into the training hall, her eyes could see a topless figure at the center of the arena.
"How long has he been training for—I think 2 days straight?" Giana muttered.
Standing at the heart of the arena with a heavy steel hammer in his hands, drenched in the sweat of hard work was none other than Ryze. He was not slacking around and was heavily training so that he could contribute more.
Rex told him that if he wanted to help, then he would need to grow up.
He was not a kid anymore.
Despite that his mind was nothing but a kid, he had the body of a Heavenly Dragonman.
Possessing this blessing, he decided that he would not waste it.
"Ryze, it's time for you to take a rest," A shout suddenly came from the side, it was Giana who was standing near the entrance. She was the one who helped him create a very hard regiment, altered to match his Heavenly Dragonman body. "A couple of hours is enough if you want your training to be optimal"
Splash!
Upon hearing this, Ryze straightens his body and puts the hammer down on the ground.
Its heavy weight splashed the sandy ground of the arena when it landed.
Wiping the dripping sweat across his forehead, Ryze gave Giana a nod as he decided to do as she said and rest. Averting his gaze away as Giana walked out, he then looked at his own hand and summoned his deep red fire.
"Now, I think I could use 60% of my power without hurting myself" He mused inwardly.
Despite his constitution, the fire he possessed was still hostile.
Ryze would need to tame it first before he could fully utilize his fire, and nobody knows about this but himself. He understands that if he masters his fire, his potential will skyrocket, and he might be able to become a key player and contribute more.
A moment later.
Deciding to rest, Ryze headed to his own bed chamber to take a shower and freshen up.
But it was then he sensed something beneath the ground.
Looking at the ground ten meters in front of him, his eyebrows knitted together when he saw a figure emerging. Akin to a ghost, this figure seemed to levitate out of the ground and gaze at Ryze with her unsettling eyes.
Even though he hadn't seen her face-to-face, he recognized this cursed woman.
"You must be the Witch of Chaos inside the underground chamber," Ryze squinted his eyes.
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