Meanwhile, back inside the Start Room, time quietly flowed by.
Roughly six hours later, Kael slowly opened his eyes.
The instant he did, a powerful wave of Earth Energy erupted from his body.
The surrounding mana rippled violently.
Fortunately, Kael reacted almost immediately, reining the energy back under control before it could spread any further.
A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
"This place really is perfect for cultivation."
The difference between cultivating inside the Tower and cultivating in the outside world was simply too great.
The mana density here was on an entirely different level.
During these six hours alone, he had successfully cultivated over five hundred cells into embryonic planets.
Had he been cultivating back in his apartment, he estimated he would’ve managed only a few dozen at best.
Probably not even thirty.
The gap was simply ridiculous.
Standing up, Kael stretched his body.
A series of satisfying cracks echoed from his joints as his stiff muscles finally relaxed.
His legs felt slightly numb after remaining motionless for so long.
Even his back protested a little.
He couldn’t help but think about all those cultivation novels he had read in the past, where all those old monsters could supposedly remain in secluded cultivation for hundreds or even thousands of years without moving an inch.
"Those guys must have nerves made of divine metal..."
Kael muttered to himself with a chuckle.
"I can barely sit still for six hours."
Shaking the random thought away, he shifted his attention elsewhere.
Instead of drawing Earth Energy into his body to strengthen himself, he guided it outward.
A faint brown mist slowly gathered above his palm.
Although mostly transparent, a subtle earthy tint lingered within it.
The energy pulsed with astonishing power.
Kael carefully observed it.
"So this is pure Earth Energy..."
Almost immediately, an idea surfaced in his mind.
Wind Mages.
One of their most basic offensive techniques was Wind Bullet.
A compressed projectile of wind fired at incredible speed.
If wind could be compressed...
Then why couldn’t Earth Energy?
Without hesitation, Kael began experimenting.
His concentration intensified as he compressed the floating Earth Energy.
The energy gradually shrank.
Smaller.
Denser.
More compact.
Then—
The energy suddenly became unstable.
Kael’s expression changed.
He immediately released control.
Boom!
A violent explosion erupted before him.
The resulting shockwave blasted straight into his face, sending his hair flying wildly.
The entire Starting Room trembled slightly.
Kael stood there for a moment.
Then he scratched his cheek.
"...Guess that experiment was a blast."
The words had barely left his mouth before he froze.
Silence.
He slowly looked around the room.
Thankfully...
Aiona wasn’t anywhere nearby.
She hadn’t heard that absolutely terrible joke.
Kael let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"Good."
"My dignity survives another day."
His gaze returned toward the aftermath of the explosion.
"Well..."
"I was trying to invent a bullet."
"I accidentally made a grenade instead."
He nodded to himself.
"Progress."
A second later, he sighed.
"Alright..."
"Enough with the bad jokes."
"Back to work."
He replayed the previous attempt inside his head.
After carefully analyzing every step, realization gradually dawned upon him.
The problem wasn’t the compression itself.
It was maintaining control during compression.
The denser the Earth Energy became, the more violently it resisted being compressed.
It was like trying to compress an extremely powerful spring.
The further it was pushed inward, the greater the force trying to rebound outward.
The instant his concentration slipped, even for the smallest fraction of a second, the energy snapped back violently.
Unlike a normal spring, however...
Earth Energy didn’t simply return to its original form.
It exploded.
Its unstable energy burst outward in every direction.
"So that’s the issue..."
Kael rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
The unstable version certainly wasn’t useless.
With enough refinement, it could probably become an explosive technique of its own.
But it was still too unstable.
Too unpredictable.
That was something to study another day.
For now...
He still wanted his bullet.
Taking a deep breath, Kael tried again.
Failure.
Boom!
Another explosion.
He tried once more.
Failure.
Boom!
Again.
Boom!
Again.
Boom!
Soon, the once peaceful Start Room began sounding more like a military testing ground.
Explosion after explosion echoed throughout the tiny room.
Kael briefly glanced toward Aiona’s tiny house.
"...Hope it’s soundproof."
Since she still hadn’t come outside to complain, he simply convinced himself that it probably was.
Then he continued experimenting.
Around fifteen minutes later...
Success.
A condensed sphere of Earth Energy floated above his palm.
Kael’s eyes brightened.
"I did it."
Well...
Sort of.
The projectile was perfectly stable.
Unfortunately...
It was round.
More like a marble than a bullet.
Round projectiles sacrificed penetration.
Still, it was enough for a first attempt.
Kael guided the condensed sphere toward the tip of his finger.
Then he raised his hand like a pistol.
Now came the difficult part.
Launching it.
The solution turned out to be surprisingly simple.
He condensed another burst of Earth Energy behind the sphere on the tip of his finger before violently releasing it.
The second burst acted almost like the hammer of a firearm.
It struck the condensed sphere from behind.
Bang!
The projectile shot forward.
A loud impact echoed as it smashed into the wall of the Starting Room.
Naturally, the Tower’s walls remained completely unharmed.
Even so, Kael could clearly feel the destructive force behind the attack.
If this projectile struck an ordinary Awakener...
It would be devastating.
Even an S-Rank Hunter would likely suffer serious injuries if caught off guard.
A clean hit to a vital point could very well prove fatal.
Kael crossed his arms.
"Not bad."
"Let’s call it..."
He thought for a moment.
"Meteor Bullet."
He blinked.
"...Yeah."
"That name definitely needs work."
Still, the name stayed.
The technique itself clearly had potential.
Its greatest strength lay in surprise.
The projectile traveled extremely fast.
Unfortunately...
Not fast enough.
Against truly powerful opponents, the attack could still be seen.
Dodged.
Or intercepted.
There was another problem.
Charging the attack took too long.
Almost five seconds to condense the Earth Energy.
Another second to launch it.
Six seconds.
That might sound insignificant.
But Kael knew better.
High-level battles were decided in fractions of a second.
Those six seconds were more than enough for an opponent to kill him several times over.
Using the technique in its current state against a powerful enemy would simply be suicidal.
"It needs to be faster."
"And sharper."
Immediately, Kael resumed experimenting.
This time, his goal wasn’t simply reducing the size.
He needed better control.
Greater compression speed.
And most importantly...
He needed to shape the projectile into an actual bullet.
"...For better penetration."
He nodded seriously.
"It definitely isn’t because bullets look cooler."
Thirty more minutes quietly passed.
Finally...
Success.
Floating above his fingertip was a perfectly formed Earth Energy bullet.
Its streamlined shape looked far deadlier than the previous sphere.
Even better, Kael had managed to reduce the charging time by nearly half.
It still can’t be activated instantly, but it’s a major improvement.
Holding out his finger once again, he fired.
Bang!
The bullet streaked across the room before crashing into the wall.
The impact was noticeably stronger than before.
Kael couldn’t help grinning.
"That’s..."
"...Actually really cool."
A cough escaped him almost immediately.
"The power definitely increased."
He paused.
"...A little."
Maybe...
But an increase was still an increase.
Satisfied with today’s results, Kael resisted the urge to continue experimenting.
There were countless other possibilities for Earth Energy.
Shields.
Weapons.
Armor.
Explosive attacks.
The ideas just kept coming.
But those could wait.
He had already spent enough time inside the Tower.
There were still things waiting for him in the outside world.
With a single thought, Kael disappeared from the Start Room.
Moments later, he reappeared inside his bedroom.
His phone rested on the bedside cabinet.
Picking it up, he checked the time.
7:34 A.M.
Lyra was probably awake by now.
Just as Kael was about to head outside, a familiar sensation echoed through his mind.
His connection with Varek.
Kael’s expression became thoughtful.
Through their mental link, Varek was requesting permission to open a portal.
It seemed he had discovered something inside the Instance.
Something important enough that he wanted Kael to see immediately.
Kael was about to respond.
Knock. Knock.
A knock sounded from the bedroom door.
"Kael?"
Lyra’s voice followed.
"You awake?"
Kael glanced toward the door before mentally replying to Varek.
"I’ll deal with this later."
The mental connection quieted.
Turning toward the door, Kael answered.
"Yeah."
"I’ll be out soon."
"Okay."
He heard Lyra’s footsteps gradually moving away.
Only after the sound completely disappeared did Kael head toward the bathroom.
A quick shower later, he changed into a fresh set of clothes before leaving his room.
The aroma of breakfast immediately greeted him.
From the kitchen came the soft sounds of cookware and utensils moving about.
Lyra was already preparing the morning meal.
# #
[AN_ Hey everyone, author here. Sorry guys, but I can only post one Chapter today. I had to sort out some urgent bank issues, so this is all I could manage. Releases will be back to normal tomorrow. Thanks for all the support, love you all.]