[Congratulations Host, you've broken through your previous limits and reached the Warlock Rank Lv.1]
[You've established your first communion with the world.]
[You've chosen 'Mana' to become your first 'Virtue'. Due to your choice, the world deemed you as a potential candidate for the 'Child of Mana' title. The trial will begin shortly, good luck Host.]
[You passed the Trial of Mana.]
[Congratulations to Host, you are now the Child of Mana.]
[Title: Child of Mana]
Massively expands the title-holder's Maximum Mana Capacity.
Increases title-holder's Mana Purity.
Authority over Mana - there is a 30% chance that you can nullify, interrupt or return any Mana-based Attacks.
Elementary Mana Physique - A type of physique that only Children of Mana possesses. Enables the title-holder to refine their Physique using Mana.
[Condition Met: Achieving Warlock Rank.]
[Cursed Book of Infinity grants the Host another power.]
[Right Eye of Purity]
Completely Nullifies all kinds of Negativity targeted at the user.
Can be used 3 times per day.
No mana cost.
[Mortal Reminder unlocks another form!]
Mortal Reminder 5th Form - Rocket Launcher.
Ashton was still coming down from the high of his breakthrough that he barely noticed the numerous System Notifications swimming in his vision.
Obtaining a new level of strength always felt good. Ashton felt that his body was so light, his mind felt refreshed and his thought process was clear.
He was silent as he felt the changes in his body. He could feel the strong pulse of mana in his Mana Circuits, compared to before, it's as if his mana was a river coursing throughout his body, it felt magical.
At the core of his Mana Circuits, his Nexus, or Dantian, feels full yet also bottomless. He had a feeling that his mana supply was nearly limitless but he knew that this is just an exaggeration of his brain due to the high.
His new title: Child of Mana, indeed raised the quality and quantity of Mana he possesses but it's far from being limitless.
The good news is that Ashton's Mana was so dense that all of it turn liquid at this point. Due to the ceaseless refinement of his cultivation and the several boons he received which purified his mana even further, it turned denser and denser until all of it was liquified.
Obviously, this is a piece of good news since usually, this process had to be done once one starts considering breaking through past the Sorcerer Rank, yet Ashton achieved this early.
This meant that for Ashton, going past the Sorcerer Rank isn't just a dream but only a matter of time.
As Ashton finally returned to the present and acknowledged the System's notifications, he was somewhat baffled.
'The gains this time were generous...' He muttered to himself.
His breakthrough, his new title, the new power he got from his magical artifact, and the sub-artifact's new form.
Receiving the [Right Eye of Purity] was something that he was not expecting at all. Reading its effects, Ashton gaped at how ridiculous that sounded.
Nullifying all kinds of Negativity? Moreover, he gets 3 chances per day to do that? Oh, yes please! What's a trump card? This, is a trump card!
Ashton conjured a mirror to look at his reflection and as expected, he could see that his right eye changed. In his iris, there's an ancient character which means Purity embedded in there.
He could feel his connection with it, which instinctively told him how to use it. This might be based on his life of sight, and that's not so bad in his opinion. Plus, it has no mana cost so it's truly a decent thing to have.
The new form of Mortal Reminder was exciting, he already knew that he was going to have some fun using that pretty soon.
Aside from that, Ashton's sensitivity to mana was at an all-time high. His new title on top of the effects of his Providence - Fey Emperor's Grace, dialed his senses up to 20, he thinks.
His perception of the world changed, it's weird but comforting, it's like sensing everything for the first time. There's so much clarity around him, so much so that if someone said that he was blind not too long ago, he'd probably believe them.
Now that he has reached this stage, Ashton had no doubts that he'd be in here for a while.
See, he now has to cultivate the 4th Chapter of the Treasure Glazed; Nine Refinements Sutra.
In the 1st Chapter, he had to refine every single one of his 9 arrays around his Mageroot, a total of 9 times. He did that with patience and some difficulty.
For the 2nd Chapter, he's required to not only fuse those arrays one at a time, but he also has to refine them 9 times after every combination in order breakthrough. He had done that as well.
And the most recent chapter, he had to not only form his Mage Core - as this was the requirement for all Archmages, he had to refine his core a total of 9 times which caused it to not only become as solid as it can get but also has its axis for its revolution.
Now, in the 4th Chapter well...
It requires him to condense 9 Virtues and refine each one a total of 9 times.
It's common knowledge that Mages could only have a single Virtue that they'd follow. Having two or more is a sign that the Mage is capable and a genius. However, there hasn't been a single mage who managed to condense a total of 9 Virtues throughout the history of mankind.
9 Virtues translates to gaining knowledge of 9 Laws. As if learning a single law wasn't time-consuming already, now Ashton was required to have 9? And he's expected to refine each one a total of 9 times?
How absurd is that?
And yet...despite this being so demanding, Ashton would still do it. Why? Cause this is the path to solidify his foundations so that he can achieve his goals.
This is why Ashton thought that he'd be in this stage for quite some time. He shouldn't have any major breakthroughs in a while so he might as well enjoy this kind of high since he won't be experiencing it anytime soon.
Now though, Ashton has already calmed down. He stood up and exited his training chamber. He could hear his joints popping as he move, he stretched for a bit just to loosen them up. When he felt that it was enough, he went out and saw Aria already there waiting for him.
A smile appeared on Ashton's face as he greeted: "Hey, Babe. Did I make you wait?"
"Your breakthrough took three days from start to finish. It wasn't that long but you did make me nervous." Aria replied.
Looking at her, it's obvious that she hasn't slept during these past few days. Her complexion wasn't too bad. She wasn't frightened that much at the thought that Ashton might fail, she was just nervous.
Ashton cooed and gave her a right hug, he burrowed his face in the crook of her neck and said: "My bad, but I'm fine and well, see? I'm here."
"I know. Congratulations." Aria chuckled as she returned the hug. "You're becoming stronger and stronger. In no time, you'd surpass me in terms of strength."
"Isn't that good?" Ashton tilted his head, "The stronger I am, the faster we can go back home."
"Yeah but..."
"But you're afraid that I'll leave you behind, worse I'll replace you with someone else? Is that what you're thinking?"
Aria didn't say a thing because Ashton was right on the nail on that one.
He smiled and cupped her face, he then proceeded to pepper her with kisses until she groaned in annoyance.
Ashton chuckled and said: "Believe me when I say that, that will never happen."
Aria bit her lips as she saw Ashton's direct and sincere gaze piercing through her.
"Whether you're stronger than me or not, I never cared about that. I also never cared whether you're a human or an Immortal Library Spirit. You're enough for me, Aria. If I have to tell you this every single day, I'd do so, just say the word."
Aria would cry but at this point, she could only feel Ashton's unwavering honesty and love for her. Honestly, it's scary but she doesn't mind getting drowned in this.
"We're bound together anyway. You can't escape me." Aria mumbled through his shirt.
Ashton laughed and said: "Yes, that's right. I'll never get rid of you and I'd never do that even if I died. So stop worrying your pretty head over this, yeah?"
"Okay..."
"Come, let's eat. I'm famished." Ashton picked her up like she weighs nothing and Aria allowed him to handle her.
Though she did pull his sleeves for a bit to say: "You don't wanna see the Scythe I made for you first?"
Ashton paused and smiled at her, "We have enough time for that later, Babe. That Scythe won't run away. Let's eat first, I'll take a look later."
Aria didn't refute that. Instead, she smiled and allowed herself to be carried to their private room.
