1319 Great Mother's Gift
The Great Mother saw no harm in extending a helping hand to Eren, recognizing it as an opportunity to cultivate trust between them.
Aware of Eren's current limitations and his inability to offer immediate assistance, she understood that patience was necessary. She would have to allow Eren the time to grow before expecting any reciprocation from him.
For the Great Mother, discovering someone like Eren in the vast world of Anfang was a momentous achievement. It presented her with a remarkable chance to establish an initial connection and nurture a cooperative bond. With this prospect in mind, she nodded, acknowledging the significance of their encounter before speaking up in a hurried tone.
"Alright. Consider this a demonstration of my trust in you," the goddess declared, her voice carrying an air of authority. With a snap of her fingers, the surrounding Nature mana surged and coalesced into a massive sphere before her.
This time, she summoned C-Rank mana, infusing abstract elemental attainments related to Nature within the condensed ball of pure mana. Eren marveled at the goddess's command over the mana, realizing that if he possessed such control and elemental attainments, he could pose a threat even to Sage Rankers while still being in the Expert rank.
In a matter of moments, an impressive volume of mana had condensed into the levitating sphere, becoming visible to the eye. The sphere, now pulsating with vibrant green hues, possessed a diameter of approximately one meter. It emitted mana pulses that gave the impression of a living, beating heart, creating an intimidating aura.
The goddess gestured with her hand, propelling the ball of Nature mana toward Eren. She spoke calmly, a subtle smile gracing her lips as she said, "Here. Consider this my gift, Eren. You should know how to utilize it."
Initially unsure of what to do with the ball of pure Nature mana, Eren extended his Soul Sense and sensed a familiar energy emanating from it. "It's as if she has compressed vast amounts of Nature mana into this sphere, creating a miniature cosmic star. And now, it undergoes fusion, transforming Nature mana into Life Force," Eren realized, gaining some insight into the Great Mother's divinity and her ability to bring the deceased bear back to life.
Through his studies on souls and necromancy, he understood that Nova the Ironskin bear's resurrection was made possible because its death had occurred recently and within the sacred ground dedicated to the Great Mother. The sacred ground acted as an isolated zone, allowing the bear's soul to remain anchored to the world of the living.
The goddess had then employed her powers to revive the bear, restoring its mortal vessel before facilitating the rehabilitation of its soul. However, Eren now grasped that a considerable amount of pure and condensed Life Force would be necessary to achieve the success of the Lazarus Project—much more than what the goddess had used to resurrect the bear.
Confirming Eren's suspicions, the goddess smiled, "That's right. Nature mana and what you call Life Force share a profound connection. As the deity of nurturing, Life Force falls within my domain. This is why many of my children learn to manipulate Life Force through their Abilities after receiving my blessing."
Both Eren and the goddess glanced in Galen's direction as she mentioned this. Eren finally comprehended why Galen was willing to tap into his Life Force so extensively during their duel. It seemed that the Amazonians possessed techniques to swiftly restore the Life Force without compromising Galen's potential as an Evoker. Understanding the goddess's intentions, Eren remarked, "So, that's how it is," as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.
Life Drain!
In the next moment, Eren invoked his demonic Ability, Life Drain. He sought to absorb the potent Life Force contained within the ball of Nature mana. Intimidated by the sheer amount of Life Force, he hesitated a bit at first, as he had never absorbed such a vast quantity before.
Life Drain had primarily been used to draw a small amount of Life Force from his opponents, never on the scale of thousands of Rankers combined. Uncertain of the potential effects on himself, Eren finally concluded that he should try absorbing this mini-star-like ball of mana.
If it really looked like he couldn't absorb such a potent energy, Eren could halt the Life Drain at any moment. Resolute in his decision, he approached the mana sphere, plunging his fingers deep into its radiant core, making contact for the first time.
As Eren touched the sphere, its green light intensified, transforming akin to a true green star. The luminous glow enveloped him completely, concealing his form within its radiant embrace. Observing with intrigue, the goddess witnessed Eren commence the absorption of the potent Life Force she had provided.
She had included the elemental attainments related to Nature mana, fully aware of Eren's capability to assimilate them. However, she hoped he would swiftly complete the absorption, as maintaining her Domain had become increasingly challenging, even after expending a considerable amount of faith energy.
Eren managed to utter words of disbelief, "This... this is unbelievable," before his consciousness was ensnared by an illusion. It transported him to a secluded existence, far removed from civilization's touch. Eren quickly discerned that this illusion represented the elemental attainments linked to Nature mana.
As the Great Mother was the bestower and facilitator of these elemental attainments, he retained his consciousness within the illusory realm. The illusory world allowed Eren to absorb diverse and surreal experiences easily. He lived the lives of various beings simultaneously—from a tiny butterfly to a colossal dragon, and numerous humanoid forms.
All were manifestations of Nature and life, part of the domain governed by the Great Mother. Though barely half a minute had passed, Eren felt as if he had experienced numerous lifetimes within the immersive illusion, effectively assimilating the elemental attainments associated with Nature mana.
The Elder Ichor bloodline aided him, facilitating swift assimilation of these experiences and making foreign elemental attainments his own. Eren's ranking status also started changing under the effects of the goddess' gift.
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