In the passage of the unknown space, Su Xiao's heart began to accelerate. Generally, when awakening any ability, the experience was not too pleasant, especially considering the high death rate of 29% for awakening his talent. This probability was terrifying.
He had to make a choice. If he chose a mage or tank-like talent, Su Xiao's entire ability system would be transformed, essentially committing slow suicide.
"Thump, thump, thump, thump..."
Su Xiao's heartbeats grew faster and faster, and his rapidly pounding heart seemed like it was about to explode. He fell to the ground with a thud, experiencing pain all over his body. This pain was different from the pain of being injured; it came from the deepest part of his cells.
Facing this kind of pain, the battle-hardened Su Xiao almost fainted. Unfortunately, his hidden attribute, willpower, was quite high, so he didn't lose consciousness. He had to endure the torment of pain.
"Ah!"
Light and shadows flashed before Su Xiao's eyes. He suddenly opened his eyes and yelled loudly. At this moment, he was lying on a bed. He had forcefully awakened from the space of his consciousness, and this pain was incredibly intense and terrifying.
The bedsheets beneath Su Xiao were soaked in sweat. The intense pain blurred his vision. Some kind of power was awakening inside him, and this awakening process placed an enormous burden on his body.
With a thud, Su Xiao fell from the bed to the ground, and his loyal companions, Bubu Wang, Matou Sakura, and Matou Yanne, rushed into the room.
Seeing Su Xiao's condition, Bubu Wang anxiously circled around him, while Matou Sakura cowered in the corner, appearing quite afraid. Matou Yanne, with black smoke emanating from his body, stared at Su Xiao with a fierce expression in his blood-red eyes.
"Roar!"
Matou Yanne let out a furious roar, and Bubu Wang's fur bristled in response. Bubu Wang stood in front of Su Xiao, baring its sharp teeth and extending its claws into the ground. If Matou Yanne made any sudden moves, Bubu Wang would immediately pounce and engage in a life-and-death struggle with Matou Yanne.
In the midst of his excruciating pain, Su Xiao raised his trembling arm and pointed at Matou Yanne.
"Zap."
Crackling sounds echoed as an electric current surged within Matou Yanne. It was the Blue Steel Shadow energy. Matou Yanne collapsed to the ground, convulsing as if being electrocuted. Bubu Wang rushed forward and bit Matou Yanne's neck, dragging him out of the room.
Matou Sakura, huddled in the corner, timidly looked at Su Xiao. She took out a bottle of yogurt and inserted a straw.
"Here... for you to drink."
Su Xiao was in no mood for yogurt at the moment. He seriously doubted that if the pain inside his body continued for much longer, even if his consciousness could endure, his cells would collapse.
One minute passed, but there was no improvement. The deep-seated pain within his cells came and went like waves, sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker.
Bloodshot eyes filled Su Xiao's vision. Just as he felt that his body could no longer endure the pain, a warm current suddenly surged within him. This warm current significantly alleviated the intense pain wherever it passed. It was a faint red energy, not the Blue Steel Shadow energy.
This energy didn't appear out of thin air; it was the result of an ability that Su Xiao had long neglected.
Spiritual Shadow Constitution Lv.MAX (Passive Skill)
Skill Effect 1: Modify the body, distributing the mana stored in the brain throughout the body.
Skill Effect 2: The fusion of mana and the body leads to a remarkable transformation. Mana and life form a harmonious cycle, greatly enhancing life points by 30% of the total mana value.
Note: Current mana value is 2233 points, resulting in a life point increase of 670 points.
Spiritual Shadow Constitution, combined with the talent of permanently increasing mana, was a perfect match. While the talent increased mana, Su Xiao's life points also increased slightly. Life points were closely related to vitality.
These two abilities had unintentionally formed a symbiotic relationship. Therefore, during the awakening of the talent, Spiritual Shadow Constitution exhibited special effects, stabilizing Su Xiao's body.
The intense pain was significantly relieved, and the feeling of being on the brink of death disappeared.
Ten minutes later, a thoroughly sweating Su Xiao sat up. He took out a cigarette, tremblingly lit it, and took a deep drag.
[Talent Awakening Successful. Relevant information can be reviewed by the Hunter.]
"So, having a tough life has its benefits," Su Xiao exhaled a puff of smoke, a smile appearing on his face.
"Bring him in."
Hearing Su Xiao's command, "Second Dog" Bubu Wang happily scampered out and dragged Matou Yanne back into the room.
At this moment, the Berserker, Matou Yanne, continued to twitch uncontrollably, seemingly enduring unimaginable pain.
Earlier, there were signs that he was going berserk. Su Xiao hesitated for a moment, then deactivated the Blue Steel Shadow energy that had been activated within Matou Yanne. In case Matou Yanne had something uncontrollable within him, Su Xiao wanted to have a way to restrain him.
As soon as Su Xiao deactivated the Blue Steel Shadow energy, the Berserker, Matou Yanne, stopped moving, standing perfectly still.
Bubu Wang approached, examined him, and nodded at Su Xiao, indicating that Matou Yanne was still alive.
Leaning against the edge of the bed, Su Xiao opened his personal information list. His gaze swept through the attributes, then he looked at the talent abilities at the bottom.
Soul Devourer
Category: Slaughter Talent (Awakened once)
Level: S (Highest level for the first awakening)
Talent Effect (Passive): After killing a target, permanently absorb 1 to 30 mana points (maximum increase of 15 points) and restore an equal amount of mana and life points (if killing an enemy permanently increases 30 mana points, it will restore 30 mana points and life points).
Note: In each derived world, a maximum of 200 mana points can be absorbed. If the mana absorption limit is reached, Soul Devourer will be fully activated. After killing an enemy, the restoration effect will be increased by 50% (even if 200 mana points have been successfully absorbed, killing an enemy will still restore mana and life points based on the enemy's strength and increase the restoration effect by 50%).
Seeing the attribute after the talent awakening, Su Xiao's trembling hands shook even more severely. He had paid a heavy price to complete the prerequisites for the talent awakening task. Then, he infiltrated the Ryuudou Temple alone, single-handedly flattened it, and finally, awakened his talent despite a 29% chance of death.
All of this had paid off. After awakening, his talent ability had significantly improved, and more importantly, it had resolved the predicament of lacking mana when surrounded by enemies.
What did a lone wolf fear the most? Powerful enemies? Treacherous and dangerous terrain? It turned out that it was none of these.
It was evident when Su Xiao infiltrated the Ryuudou Temple. He had the ability to battle the Orphan of Kos, yet when faced with hundreds of ordinary Grudges, he could only keep his distance.
This was the Achilles' heel of nearly all lone wolves: the fear of overwhelming numbers.
Facing a swarm of enemies, Su Xiao couldn't continuously use the Blue Steel Shadow or Energy Shield. In this way, his combat power would be reduced by at least forty percent.
If he were surrounded for a short period, it would be fine. However, if he were surrounded for an extended period and couldn't break free, he would be doomed.
The talent ability that awakened after was excellent at solving this problem. When facing a swarm of enemies, unless Su Xiao's stamina was depleted, he would never fall. The more enemies he killed, the faster his mana and life points would recover. Eventually, he wouldn't have to worry about getting injured or running out of mana.
