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nIt was a long night, but yet to be finished.

nLiam headed back towards the ravine to test out his new abilities.

nHe memorized the cultivation technique and sat cross-legged, manipulating ‘Ora’ just like it instructed.

nBefore long, dark colored ‘Ora’ gathered around Liam’s abdomen and entered through his core.

nHis entire body felt nourished and invigorated.

nLiam realized he had been fighting with one hand behind his back for the whole time. The core was an extremely important organ, and the quality of ‘Ora’ would improve each time it advanced.

nAfter a whole two hours, he felt like he couldn’t absorb more.

n‘Too much cultivation isn’t good either, since it could strain the core. I’ve just awakened, so it’ll probably increase in time.’

nHeaving a satisfied sigh, Liam stretched out his hand.

nA wisp of darkness grew around his palm, dancing with the wind like a dark flame.

nThere were basically no limits to how much he could control, but his raw element was weak without any form or utilization. Not to mention, it rapidly expended ‘Ora’.

n‘What about my other element?’

nLiam shifted his focus to the other essence inside his core. It wasn’t unstable like with the snake scale, but it stubbornly refused.

n‘Just what is this damn thing?’

nShaking his head, Liam learned the Purgatory Night arts next.

nRogan had made him a pair of blades from a Rank 3 Plague Rat – which was much easier to subdue with his forging technique.

nThe weapons were black, sleek and lethal.

nLiam gripped the blades tightly in his hand, swinging them a couple times before practicing his martial art.

nPurgatory Night consisted of snappy movements and fatal swings, forcing Liam to maximize his speed and strength.

nHis katana and wakizashi cut through the air in a series of swift moves, and Liam started using ‘Ora’ alongside his art.

nA layer of dark smoke covered the edges of Liam’s blade’s, dangerous to everything but him – a person’s element was incapable of harming its user.

nHe could maintain that state for as long as he wished, since it used a minute amount of ‘Ora’… so long as his core isn’t empty, of course.

nPairing that ability with Lethality Mantle made it even deadlier.

nSheathing his blades, Liam shifted his focus to Corroding Touch.

nThere wasn’t a target for him to use it on, but there didn’t need to be.

nActivating the spell, his mental waves turned dark and violent.

nNodding to himself in satisfaction, Liam grinned.

n‘My prowess probably tripled. I can’t imagine what I can do if I get into the higher ranks.’

nBefore long, the Jade in his pocket rang…

nIt was David.

n

/

/

/

nLiam arrived at the guild.

nLloyd, David and Ophis were there already. The two guild members were staring at him with looks of awe and shock.

n“I would give you one of my hugs, but I doubt you’d accept,” Ophis scoffed.

n“I won’t,” Liam replied with a glare, and Lloyd suppressed a laugh.

nDavid began speaking, shushing them both.

n“The Royce family has called a meeting with you, young man,” he said, a joyous smile on his lips. “It’ll take place tomorrow night at their quarters. I won’t ask you of where you’ve been. Your teacher has already explained most of the details.”

nThose ‘details’ were already discussed between Liam and Lloyd beforehand… a tight-knit cover story.

nLiam nodded firmly. One couldn’t deny an invitation from a governing family, but he didn’t plan to.

n“Anything else I should know?”

nDavid shook his head.

n“Just make sure you bring a standard Echorian robe.”

nLiam nodded, and the two guild members left him and Lloyd alone.

n“You sure you’ll be alright?” Lloyd asked worriedly.

n“I’ve planned for this. If it goes well, you won’t be seeing me for a while, old man,” Liam said solemnly.

nLloyd laughed, putting a hand on the boy’s shoulder and squeezing. “You were never meant to stay here, kid.”

n

/

/

/

nLiam instantly headed underground… for three things precisely.

nThere was one more thing Liam kept hidden from his teachers.

nFrom Kirk’s ring, Liam found a strange pill.

nIt was completely white, but was shaped to a blank face with an open mouth. It had no smell whatsoever, even though Liam used his mental waves to assess it.

nBringing the pill to Rudolph’s shop, the man took nearly half an hour to identify it.

n“It’s a Face & Body imitation pill,” Rudolph said with a shocked look. “It can allow the user to change into another’s appearance, as long as they have at least ten drops of blood from said person.”

n“These kinds of pills are banned to sell, and only one family in Ucladd produces them. Where’d you get these?”

nLiam’s response came instantly.

n“A friend gifted them to me,” he said, before taking 700 ‘Ora’ Stones out from his ring and giving it to the shopkeeper. “For your troubles.”

nRudolph was experienced enough to catch the hidden threat.

n‘Why do I feel like he’ll torture me before he kills me?’ Rudolph gulped, nodding in return.

nAs Liam left the store, he grinned ear-to-ear.

n‘My escape is possible!’

nOther than that, he searched for a luxurious clothing store to buy a robe – black was the color he was most comfortable with, and he decided to buy the most expensive one he could find.

nFinally, there was one last stop for Liam to go through, before preparing for his meeting tomorrow. .𝘤𝑜𝑚

nHe arrived at Rogan’s forgery with an eager glimmer in his eyes, which caused the blacksmith to smile in response.

n“You ready?” asked Rogan.

nLiam nodded. He already knew how to form, forge and shape a blade. The only thing he hadn’t done was begin the Primordial Forging method.

nThe blacksmith took out a fresh Rank 1 Albino Snake corpse.

n“Crush the core and absorb the ‘Ora’ within it into your mental sphere.”

nLiam complied.

nAs soon as he did what was instructed, he entered his mental sphere.

nThe magical beast’s ‘Ora’ he absorbed was much more wild and untamed, enveloping his mind with pressure.

nFrom within his sea of consciousness, blobs of his mental energy converged in the middle, growing larger to take the shape of a giant Albino Snake.

nAn angry, angry snake.

n‘Why is it so much bigger?!’

nWith a thunderous hiss, it shot to his mental sphere walls, thrashing it and violently attempting to escape.

nLiam used thicken before the collision, but still felt like a nail hammered the inside of his head.

nInstantly, he manipulated his mental energy to envelop the roaring snake. Covering and seeping into its figure, gradually weakening the beast.

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