Chapter 804 Glassvolt
There was a deep trembling hidden in the depths of Sylas' aura, the kind that carried a momentum that belied its silence. Deep, resonate, reverberating.
Each stint crackled like thunder. It felt like there was an armageddon taking place in the depths of Sylas' blood and bones.
The pain that it came with was hard to describe, but maybe that was because the man himself wasn't making much of an attempt to describe it either.
Sylas had entered a state where it didn't seem to matter what kind of pain he was experiencing at all. His Will was too firm, too unshakeable. Even the furious roars of his Demonic Will fell on deaf ears, its attempts to get him to go back, to go and reverse things right this moment, unable to move him.
Instead, that fury only further fueled his Will.
Body Essence Refinement didn't have distinct and easy to distinguish stages like one might see from normal Leveling or even more complex power systems like Comprehensions.
This wasn't just because it was an ancient method either.
As one could tell from the Legendary Path, it too had its own rankings system, from Common, to Bronze, all the way up to Legendary itself.
However, the Body Essence Refinement method was a unique category of method to itself. That was because it combined the effectiveness of two layers into what was almost functionally one…
There was no layer known as "Constitution".
However, the combination of Blood and Bone Essence could form one. Or at the very least, a quasi-form of one.
The complexities of such matters were such that even those with some of the best understanding of anatomy in the world weren't easily able to grasp them. That said… that didn't mean that there was absolutely no ability to tell.
BOOM!
Something within Sylas' body settled down like a heavy boulder falling from the skies. It crashed into the soft land, compressing the earth directly beneath it and blowing out an enormous crater.
In that instant, Sylas' foundation was wiped out. It was something that should have crippled him completely, but instead…
It awakened him to an entirely new world.
Aether trembled around him and suddenly poured into him in an endless tide.
Mature Aether.
Using Mature Aether before improving to Level 1 should have been impossible. Or rather… it was impossible for normal individuals.
There were some geniuses above the E-Grade in Race that were capable of this feat. But for Sylas, a young man of an insignificant F-Grade Race, he should have had no business at all reaching this stage.
And yet, here he was.
Glassvolt Aether raged through his Aether Pathways like roaring dragons, sparks of green and blue lightning dancing within him, one part coming from the influence of Glass and the other from the influence of his Will.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The cascade of explosions within Sylas' body continued. Each time one echoed, all his Aether would seemingly be forcefully expelled from his body, only for a new, larger, stronger set to make their way in.
In the past, Sylas' Aether Pathways weren't even able to take 40 Foundation Ice-Poison Aether into his body. When he had tried to do so, he found that his body was entirely unable to keep up with his Rune Mastery.
If that was the case even with an immature Rune, then how was he doing this with the very same Level 0 body, with an Aether that was dozens of times stronger than that 40 Foundation Ice-Poison Aether could have ever been?
And therein lied the secret of the first stage of Body Essence Refinement success…
Maturity.
This state was represented by the body's ability to use Aether beyond what one's Level should allow. As one's Body Essence Refinement strengthened, this gap would likewise increase.
Sylas was a Level 0 right now, but in exchange for a heart-rending pain, his body could now use Level 5 Aether.
And it wasn't just any Level 5 Aether.
It was 60 Foundation Glassvolt Aether and 70 Foundation Glass Aether.
As for how he had grasped the 60 Foundation Glassvolt Aether so quickly…
—
[Glassvolt (F)]
[The war of earth and sky has been fought for countless millennia. Those that worship the avatars of both are endless, each one leading crusades in their name. But in a distant past, the earth and skies were never such rivals… but rather existed in a resonant hum of comradery and balance]
[+150% Intelligence]
—
The Comprehension pulsed through Sylas' veins, and he could feel the difference pulling on his Aether.
In that moment, his Level 5 Glassvolt Aether became Level 10 in a single bound. Under the passive effects of his new Comprehension, the unruly lightning bowed in obedience.
The effects of his new Quasi Constitution, his Rune Mastery, and his Class coalesced into one.
In that moment, Sylas immediately felt the effects and he understood something he had vaguely understood before, but hadn't truly grasped until this moment…
His Skills had actually been so…
Handicapped.
Just by gaining Level 10 Mature Aether, even the weakest of his Skills had increased in strength by about 50%.
But it seemed that Gene Skills gained an even greater boost than that, doubling in strength.
And yet, even beyond that, his Gene Class Form soared to an almost 200% increase.
It was clear that the higher class the Skill, the more it benefited from stronger Aether.
Normal Skills had the lowest ceiling, and as such, benefited the least.
But Gene Skills and above… they had so much more to grow from.
<Glass Prism Art> had evolved to <Glassvolt Prism Art> after the formation of his Gold Class. Originally, any casual formation of Glass had 1000 Physical. After <Glassvolt Prism Art> formed, that increased by 50% at its base form.
However, now, while still at Fragmented Mastery, it had almost 5000 Physical from a casual formation of Glassvolt.
This power… it was akin to a steamrolling change.
Sylas' eyes snapped open, feeling his improvement slowing. He wouldn't be able to reach the next stage of Body Essence Refinement—not so soon, anyway.
He didn't have the time to waste.
It was time he slay an E-Grade creature.
He brought out that Mancer Scape Key, not hesitating for even a moment before he opened up a new portal.