"Where's the money… what was his name again?" Kyle asked the Mid Metal Elemental he was currently holding into the Deepwind.
The Metal Elemental tried to rearrange itself, but Kyle just kept shoving the metal into the Deepwind.
After a couple of seconds, the Core couldn't keep up with the regeneration anymore and just stopped producing more metal.
Eventually, Kyle just dumped the Core into the Deepwind.
It was kind of fascinating to watch as stuff "dissolved" in the stream of Deepwind.
However, everything eventually got boring, and Kyle flew away from the stream again.
'I mean, Deepwind is definitely quite powerful, but it's not yet time to look at it. This thing is probably on the level of Skysand and Winterfire. I can look at it when I have the entire Law of Wind.'
'One thing at a time. First, I need to finish the metals.'
'Guess I gotta look at metals again. I'm still missing the Fragments for the Rank B and Rank A Metal Materials.'Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn novelFirｅ.net
Kyle scratched the back of his head before sighing. 'But it's soooo haaaard! They're so unnecessarily complicated!'
'Should I just advance to strengthen my Aspects?'
Kyle weighed his options.
His Momentum was already insanely powerful, and finding any more True Battles wasn't easy.
He had used up all the threat the Peak Metal Elementals could bring him.
If the two birds became Peak Monsters and fought him at the same time, he could increase his Momentum a bit more.
'But I like the birds. I don't wanna fight or kill them.'
'Maybe some Peak Monsters that perfectly counter me would be cool, but where the fuck do I find them? Also, these kinds of Monsters are often under some kind of protection due to their value.'
'Well, there are also really powerful soldiers, like that Major General. I could go to the frontlines.'
Yet, as Kyle thought more about going to the frontlines, he grimaced.
'Nah, mate. Fuck that. If one of the enemy Transcendents thinks it's worth the trade, they will sacrifice some of their Karma just to get rid of me.'
'Also, I can't just randomly attack an Advisor. They will just scream for help instead of fighting me. At that point, our own Transcendents will be my enemies.'
'I'm suicidal, but not THAT suicidal.'
Kyle realized that there was no easy way to increase his Momentum anymore.
'You know, I'm actually really thankful that the Chief and Theodor told me not to advance too soon.'
'Logically, my Momentum should be about as powerful as it gets for someone in the Third Realm. I even think that the Chief's Momentum is weaker.'
'Well, I guess there's no point in staying in the Initial Third Realm. Might as well advance.'
Kyle went back to the Inheritance Crypt, which was dangling from the walls in a way that would give work-safety organizations a heart attack.
Kyle's Soul Space was filled with all the expensive stuff.
His equipment, his liquid funds, and Rank A Materials.
All his less valuable stuff, like all the Rank B Materials, was in the Inheritance Crypt.
Kyle grabbed all the Rank B Materials and split them into different types.
'Not sure if that's all the Rank B Materials that exist, but I'm pretty sure I got something of almost every kind.'
'Might as well kill two birds with one stone.'
Kyle sat down and prepared his setup for comprehending metals.
A pot to melt and even boil the materials, where he could put one of his hands in.
A cannon that kept shooting balls of the material at him.
A seat made of the material.
And lastly…
Kyle ate a ball of the Rank B Material as he was being burned and shot.
Eating the materials helped in understanding them, and it also increased his Ether.
After just a couple of hours, Kyle realized that understanding the materials wasn't even that hard.
'Wow, the grey speck really makes a difference. This is actually easier than I expected.'
After just a couple of days, Kyle advanced and became an Early Expert.
'Whelp, that's it. No way back now,' Kyle thought. 'The next time my Momentum increases is when I survive against the Nature God I will fight… or I'll just die.'
'Might as well go all the way.'
'No point in prolonging the inevitable.'
Kyle threw caution to the wind and just kept wildly consuming materials while focusing on comprehending the materials.
After a month, he became a Mid Expert.
'Well, that took longer than expected. I guess there's a reason why normal people need Ether Crystals to advance in the Third Realm despite having so much more Ether in the form of Ether Gems.'
One Ether Crystal had about a hundred times more Ether than an Ether Gem.
Yet, one needed thousands of Ether Gems to somewhat replace one Ether Crystal when it came to advancing.
'Rank B Materials are cool, but their Ether density is not that great. That's why I have to eat such a huge amount of them.'
Kyle kept eating more Rank B Materials, but his Ether didn't even increase. He could literally eat all the Rank B Materials in the entire world, and he wouldn't become a Late Expert.
'But that's actually quite useful,' he thought. 'I can still observe how the materials split. I'm still digesting them. It's just that they are low in calories.'
About six months after Kyle started comprehending the Rank B Materials, the birds left.
They had essentially dug as far as they could, and they didn't find fitting opponents anymore.
One had to remember that the birds were after powerful meat, not metals.
Beating the shit out of the third Metal Elemental was just as valuable as beating the shit out of the hundredth.
They needed Late and Peak Monsters, and those were generally not this deep underground.
Kyle said his goodbyes to the birds.
He had no idea where the birds planned to go next, but that also didn't matter.
They were not related.
Two months after the birds left, Kyle finally finished.
He had comprehended the Rank B Metal Material Fragment.
A Fragment that Kyle saw as just as powerful and useful as the Fragment of Wind Movement.
After comprehending the Fragment, Kyle looked at the huge amount of Rank A Materials he got.
'Nowhere near done.'
'This is gonna take a couple of years.'
'Yeah, well, time waits for no one!'
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