Eren looked at the pool of blood Tim had left behind. He then looked at his naked body and observed that some part of blood and meat that belonged to Langdon was still stuck to him when the water-element guy exploded in front of him like a water balloon.
Eren channeled his fire-element mana throughout his body and got rid of all the traces of blood and meat. He also felt that his understanding of the fire element had deepened quite significantly. He believed he had left Tuan behind both in terms of elemental attainment and ranking status despite starting practicing fire-element spells much later than him.
He took out another set of clothes from his storage and wore them. Since they were the same set of clothes Tuan had given him in different shades, he didn't look much different than before the start of the match. The real Tuan had kept things simple by opting for the same style. The butcher also didn't find anything wrong with the real Tuan's perspective on clothes.
Eren resumed his train of thoughts once again while looking at himself through countless reflections from the surrounding. He couldn't help but compare the wrath flame of Sid with the flame he had just consumed.
The state of epiphany I experienced was weird. After digesting Sid's wrath flame, I had an epiphany-like experience, which was related to his memories and life experiences. But this time, I was connected to higher consciousness. Was it due to…?'
Eren half-finished his smoke while having a stray thought like this. Alephee wanted him to remember that there was a Titus competition currently on. And that he needed to hurry. But she kept that prompt on the backburner for now before confirming his suspicions.
'That's right. It has to do with your soul sense. Even an immature soul sense can help you reap more benefits than you could imagine. That's why having a soul sense at the beginning of one's ranking journey is so critical.
You can make soul sense and do your bidding while in a state of epiphany. You can also enter the state of epiphany willingly without any potion or array's help if you know how to use your soul sense.
Only people with soul senses are capable of negotiating with higher consciousness. The fact that you pulled it off while having a partially awakened soul sense is a tremendous feat.'
Eren nodded his head after Alephee confirmed his suspicions. He canceled his Life-Drain ability and felt the mana circuits of his arms changing again while gritting his teeth. But before resuming his normal state, he decided to check his status now that he had broken into the solid stage of the Ace rank.
*******
Name- Eren Elijah Idril (Verified)
Organizations- Edinburgh Army (Nightshade duchy) Lionhearts Adventurers' Academy
Academic Status- Class 2/C
Ranked Status: Not applicable due to on-field assignment
Base Stats:
HP- 14.4 / 14.4
MP- 12.9 / 12.9
STR- 12.5
AGI- 14.9
INT- 10.5
BTP~ 65
BTP Visibility- Private
Ranking Status: E-Rank (Solid Core Ace Stage)
******
Ranking Technique- Rootless (Custom Name)
******
'Hmm. My intelligence score received the biggest boost this time. Probably because I was able to get a summoner class for myself. Malleable constitution, huh?
Maybe I can tweak my stats while keeping the BTP the same in the future. That's if I gain enough control over my bloodline powers and adjust my mana circuits as per my class.'
The butcher thought to himself as he checked his stats once again. The biggest boost he had gotten was in the INT stat, also known as the intelligence stat. Yet, he felt that he would be the most incompetent summoner with an intelligence stat value like that.
He needed more stat points in INT for him to truly tap into the true summoner's potential. But since he had arranged his mana circuits subconsciously and did not have any summoner-class specific ranking technique, he couldn't boost his intelligence stat the way he wanted to.
'Wait a damn minute.'
The butcher came to realize something. This epiphany was him getting approval from the world's mana for using the Life Drain mode. But Life Drain mode was not the only otherworldly mode he had.
Eren had Sin of Wrath mode in which his eyes would turn red. He reckoned that he also had Lust mode, which he hadn't entered yet for some reason even though he could use its ability just fine.
All of those modes, also known as bodily states, felt natural to him. But he also knew that they had an otherworldly source of origin. Thus, whenever he used them, he needed to make sure there were no witnesses or loose ends after using those abilities and modes.
But what if he gets all the Sin series abilities and unlocks every ability? With each ability and its mode, he would have a class to assign that mode to. He would then need to find a way to arrange his mana circuits according to the known class that was part of this world's rules. This would remove the otherworldly aura the modes possessed.
Then he would be able to use Sin series abilities openly without being hunted down by high-ranking entities. With each mode and each class, he would have a different mana signature. Each of those would not be similar to the normal signature he has, and yet they would all indicate that he was completely part of this world's system. So the normal-him wouldn't be linked with either of those identities. Neither would it attract anyone from the big leagues, even if he decides to 'make a splash'.
Eren could never imagine that he'd be able to make use of his Sine Series abilities like this. The prospect of using their modes to unlock new classes for himself. He had to admit that the value of having Sins series abilities had just doubled because of such possibilities.
'If only I could get the rest of the Sins Series marks...
No... No use thinking about the future when my present needs my attention.'
The butcher snapped out of his thoughts and checked the time on his wristband's spectral screen after accessing it. He had received a supplementary feature when he had exited the spatial distortion with Kat earlier in the day. It now sported a countdown timer that had been added at the upper right corner of the spectral screen.
Remaining time: 11 hours.
Thankfully, the countdown didn't stop even after Eren was in the spectral distortion. Otherwise, things would have gotten problematic for him by now.
Only 11 hours were remaining until the Titus tournament was over. The butcher needed to hurry. He grabbed hold of the two wristbands that his victims left behind and couldn't help but flash a cunning smile.
Since Tim and Langdon had died in the spatial distortion, their wristbands were technically his. He didn't shy away from getting them for his use.
