Chapter 561: Double Evolution [PART 1]
Northern was motionless, his eyes dilated as the panel relentlessly poured out its information.
'Just how many of them did I kill?'
All of them. With such an inventive and overwhelming use of Black Lance, he had decimated all the monsters. The entire flood was destroyed, with not a single one managing to slip out alive.
Not even the Maelstrom that pillared in their center.
And that was why talent fragments wouldn't stop spilling forth.
Ryan landed in front of him with a pale face.
"What was that? How? What power is that? I thought your talent allows you to tame monsters and summon them, and you just happen to be an incredible fighter."
Northern raised a brow in confusion. He then exhaled and smiled, touching Ryan's shoulders.
"An incredible fighter is the one thing I am not. But I do think I am getting better," he uttered.
Northern turned away from Ryan and looked around.
"Now, just how do we get away from this trap..."
Ryan allowed a slight frown to touch his brows.
"Get away from what trap?"
"Oh, you've not noticed it-" Northern suddenly stopped, his eyes expanding.
Ryan noticed his frame shaking from behind and asked, "Are you fine? You're trembling."
Northern raised a hand to silence him, staggering forward, a little bent over like his stomach was in pain.
He was gritting his teeth and holding it, his eyes glaring down.
'What? Crap, I wasn't expecting this. Did I gain so many fragments?!'
[You have gained over 4,000 fragments]
[You have gained a total of 9,688 talent fragments]
[Your soul capacity is 4,000]
[Your soul will be progressing to the next rank]
[You have 3 unused Talent slots]
[Unused talent slots are priced at 1,000 talent fragments per slot]
[You will gain 3,000 talent fragments upon evolution]
[Upon evolution, you will be left with 9,340 talent fragments]
[Your soul capacity at next rank is 5,000 talent fragments]
[Your soul will be progressing to the next rank]
Northern's eyes widened.
'What is this? What is going on? What is this insane boost?'
He was expecting many talents, but he wasn't expecting to rise two soul ranks in a single
moment.
'Damn! This is going to be tough.'
He managed to turn around to Ryan and looked at him, his eyes hinting at pain.
"What is suddenly wrong with you?"
"Something I didn't expect to happen happened, so I'll be tapping out for a bit." He forced a smile, but it was pale and short-lived.
"Revant."
A black and blue flame ignited behind Northern, and a replica of him appeared. The difference, however, was that his face was warmer, his hair was black, and the gaze in his eyes was not as deep as Northern's.
However, the resemblance could still be noticed.
"He will protect me... I suspect that the rift is being separated by the guardian. I don't know what is happening, but we are in a different compartment than the others are," Northern rushed his speech.
The more he spoke, the more he could feel his shape lashing out, and it made a searing sting run across his muscles and bones like goosebumps.
"I don't know what is happening. I have sent my summons after Shin, but I don't think they've been able to reach him. So, I think you will have to find a way somehow."
His gaze had become weak, barely hanging on by a weak flame.
"Whatever is the case... don't die..." Northern collapsed to the ground.
Ryan, shocked, ran towards him to catch him, but Revant had done that already, his pitch- black eyes glaring at Ryan.
"Don't tell me you want to touch my master with such tainted hands."
'Tainted?' Ryan looked at his hands.
He didn't say anything as the tall, black-haired Northern glared at him with disgust in his
eyes.
"What is happening to him?" Ryan asked, ignoring the look.
"He is about to go through a long, excruciating change."
"Is his soul progressing?"
"That is what you mortals call it."
Ryan frowned, deeply confused. "But how? He didn't even absorb any soul cores."
Revant looked at him with disgust again. "Trying to understand my master is insolence."
He leaped back and landed away from the blood. Then he gently placed unconscious Northern down and watched with his hands behind his back.
Ryan watched for a couple of seconds with a slight frown etched upon his brows before he decided to fly away with his freezing wings-in search of what might be going wrong with the rift.
Meanwhile, as Northern fell unconscious, the first thing he saw was a vast and eternal
darkness.
However, he could instantly recognize what it was.
He had experienced this Void before; in fact, he felt more connected to it than that first time.
The darkness lingered. He didn't know what was happening; the darkness was still and
unmoving, inactive.
He was about to progress through two ranks in one go. He had expected that it was going to be excruciating and painful.
However, it just felt numb. And that left him with a sense of foreboding, like something very, very bad was about to happen to him.
Because progressing through Maverick and Transient rank at the same time and becoming a
Sage cannot happen so easily.
With how his former evolutions had been, it was only right that he experienced something
that was incomparable.
But the darkness was still inactive, and he was just there.
[Congratulations]
[Your soul has evolved to a Maverick Rank]
[You have become a Savant]
[You have 6,340 talent fragments left]
[You have unused Talent slots]
[You have gained 3,000 talent fragments]
[You have 9,340 talent fragments]
[Your soul capacity is 5,000]
[Your soul is evolving]
Northern was expecting it, so seeing it he wasn't so freaked out.
However, he still couldn't get rid of that feeling in his gut.
Not to say that he felt immaterial-he couldn't make out his hands, legs, or anywhere.
The stillness continued; everything, the soul evolution to a Transient rank was going
smoothly.
Then Northern felt something. As he focused on it, the darkness seemed to part to reveal it.
An almost whitish ball of energy swirled amidst the Void. It looked like a planet with a ring of
light around it.
Northern didn't know why, but he could instantly tell what that was.
'Chaos,' his thoughts echoed.
'Chaos is growing along with my soul. I hope that's not ba-'
A torrent of pain fell on him like mighty lightning ruthlessly shredding apart a tree.