Chapter 554: Stacking Conqueror Candidate Title, Reforging The Body |
[Extreme Needle Dancer → Extreme Needle Dancer (3)]
[Extreme Ironbound → Extreme Ironbound (3)]
[Extreme Veilbreaker → Extreme Veilbreaker (3)]
[Extreme Unshaken → Extreme Unshaken (3)]
[Perfectionist → Perfectionist (5)]
[Grandmaster Monster Hunter → Grandmaster Monster Hunter (2)]
[Perfect Resonance → Perfect Resonance (3)]
[Symphony of Self → Symphony of Self (3)]
[Conqueror Candidate → Conqueror Candidate (3)]
Isaac’s eyes widened slightly. He had expected the stat-related Titles to stack because those were shared among his wives, but he had not expected the later Titles to stack as well.
Perfect Resonance was the Title he had earned after reaching one thousand in every stat during Initiate Rank. Symphony of Self was the Title he had received after reaching two thousand in every stat during Adept Rank.
Both Titles had been immensely important to his growth. They strengthened his physiques tremendously and allowed him to maintain perfect control over his body despite the absurd amount of power he contained.
Isaac often compared himself to a walking nuclear reactor. The amount of energy within him was so immense that a brief lapse in control over his mana or strength could devastate everything within several hundred meters. Those Titles had helped him control his power, and use it efficiently.
And now those Titles had stacked.
Not once.
Twice.
The changes began immediately.
Mana surged through his body in powerful waves as every cell rapidly devoured the surrounding energy. His cells expanded under the force of the mana flooding into them before being compressed again. Then they consumed even more mana and expanded once more, and repeated the process at an extremely fast pace, several times every second.
His mana veins were being forged anew. At the same time, the gaseous mana inside his Mana Core was rapidly condensing into a liquid state. Golden waves erupted from his body as the transformation continued.
Isaac knew he was undergoing some sort of evolution. Strangely, there was no pain involved. Instead, the sensation felt soothing, as though he were floating naked in a cool lake during a hot summer day.
Then he noticed something else.
Conqueror Candidate had stacked as well. Isaac did not know what that meant, but considering everything else happening to him, he could tell it was important. More than that, he had a feeling things were about to become dangerous.
Without wasting another second, Isaac unfurled his wings and shot out through the window. He flew away from the mansion and climbed into the sky above the estate.
He had barely cleared the area when the golden light surrounding him intensified dramatically. A cocoon of light formed around his body, growing brighter and brighter with each passing moment. Soon, it looked as though a second sun had appeared in the sky.
The heat radiating from it distorted the air. Trees below began to dry under the intense temperature. The light was so bright that it was difficult to look at directly.
Inside the Cradle, everyone immediately noticed the disturbance. The returning maids, Alice, Emily, her summons, Selene, and everyone else turned toward the sky, trying to understand what was happening.
What they saw was something none of them would ever forget.
The second sun continued to shine brighter. Then it began drawing light from the surrounding area. As more and more light was pulled toward it, the surroundings gradually darkened until it looked as though only two suns remained in the world.
The surface of the cocoon started boiling. Cracks soon appeared across its exterior and rapidly spread from one side to the other.
Alice’s expression changed immediately.
"Everyone take cover!" she shouted.
Everyone in the Cradle except Selene was a veteran. The moment Alice shouted, defensive abilities activated throughout the estate. Barriers appeared, protective skills were deployed, and preparations were made in an instant.
Alice herself rushed toward Selene. She moved so quickly that she smashed through a wall rather than waste time going around it.
The cocoon shattered.
A gigantic explosion erupted across the sky. Golden energy exploded outward in every direction, engulfing the heavens above the estate. Trees touched by the blast immediately caught fire as powerful shockwaves rolled through the area.
Dust billowed upward and obscured the sky. Within the dust and lingering light, everyone could see a faint silhouette.
At first glance, it looked like a dragon. Then they realized it was something else entirely. The creature possessed six wings, three tails, and jagged horns that resembled those of a devil.
It was enormous.
Even the Crimson Sky Wyrm looked small compared to it.
For a brief moment, everyone stared in stunned silence. Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the silhouette vanished.
As the dust slowly cleared, a different sight came into view.
Isaac was falling from the sky.
He looked barely conscious.
"Isaac!" Alice and Emily shouted at the same time.
Emily immediately launched herself into the air while Alice remained below to protect Selene from the lingering mana shockwaves. Neither of them knew what had happened, but both were clearly worried.
Emily caught him before he could hit the ground and carefully brought him down.
"Emily...?" Isaac asked as he blinked.
Each time he blinked, his eyes changed color. One moment they were gold, then red, then blue, before returning to normal. It looked as though he had forgotten how to control his bloodlines.
In reality, his bloodlines had become stronger. His body was simply relearning how to control them.
"I... I am okay. Don’t worry. What about everyone else? Are they okay? I didn’t think there would be such a big commotion," Isaac said while trying to smile, but failing due to exhaustion.
"Everyone is okay. But what happened?" Emily replied.
"I... got stronger?" Isaac said as he clenched and unclenched his fists.
He felt stronger. Much stronger. If he had to compare it, the difference between his current self and his previous self felt like the difference between his morning self and his completely Unawakened self.
Power rumbled throughout his body. He was confident that if he fought the Third Priest now, he would be able to hold his ground.
’The stat Titles shouldn’t have given such a large boost.’
’It must have come from Perfect Resonance, Symphony of Self, and Conqueror Candidate.’
A smile slowly spread across his face. With this much strength, he felt far more confident in his ability to protect his family. Seeing that smile, Emily finally relaxed.
Then Isaac looked around.
"Oh."
Half of the mansion was gone.
Isaac stared at the missing section in silence for a few moments. The damage stretched across an entire side of the building, and it was obvious that the explosion from earlier had been responsible.
A moment later, Alice flew over while carrying Selene. After arriving beside them, she followed Isaac’s gaze and quickly realized what he was looking at.
"Don’t worry about it. Phoebe told me they can rebuild it easily. She said that right before I came over here," Alice said. Then she looked him over from head to toe before asking, "So what happened?"
"I got stronger," Isaac replied with a grin.
Alice visibly relaxed after hearing that answer. She knew something similar had happened when Isaac advanced from Initiate Rank to Adept Rank. That breakthrough had caused a gigantic destruction as well, so seeing another absurd event surrounding him was not entirely surprising.
"What exactly changed? Did you reach the next rank already?" Alice asked.
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