Chapter 559: A set-up
After hearing the drawbacks tied to [Life Absorption], Leo naturally felt a wave of apprehension about learning such a move.
"Do not worry. Unless you use the absorbed life essence to enhance yourself in some way, it will simply remain stored within your body, inert and harmless, gradually dissipating over time while adding to your lifespan.
There is no danger in merely knowing the technique. However, the temptation to use it for a quick breakthrough will only grow once it rests inside you, for in moments of weakness, you may find yourself unable to resist calling upon it," the Second Elder reassured, snapping his fingers to signal for the first subject to be brought in.
*Snap*
*Clink*
*Clink*
Leo recognized the sound of chains, as under the Second Elder’s instructions, a frail prisoner was led into the room.
The man’s eyes were hollow, his ribs pressing sharply against his skin as though he had been denied a proper meal for months.
He looked too weak to stand, his hands and ankles bruised raw where the metal had rubbed for weeks on end.
Each step forward that the poor guy took, seemed to drain what little life he still had, until eventually, he collapsed in a heap from the effort of walking alone.
"*Huff* *Huff*, Please... end this suffering. The hunger... I cannot bear it any longer," the man pleaded, his voice trembling as the Second Elder stepped forward and raised his right palm.
"Be free now," the elder murmured, activating the [Life Absorption] technique as the silver lines of his tattoo began to glow faintly.
Leo watched the scene unfold as though time itself had slowed.
Mana coursed through the intricate marks upon the elder’s back, flowing first through the silver channels to awaken the spell.
The moment it was cast, a gray, mist-like essence was drawn from the prisoner’s mouth, eyes, and ears, streaming into the Second Elder’s palm.
*Thud*
Soon, the man’s body gave a final shudder before collapsing lifelessly to the floor.
*Glow*
As the essence entered the elder’s body, the black lines of the tattoo flared to life, holding and distributing the strange, otherworldly fog until it spread evenly across the entire surface of the mark, safely stored and contained like a treasure waiting to be claimed.
"That’s all there is to it. That’s all you need to learn." The Second Elder said, as he looked at Leo with an almost sinister, inhumane smile.
"The only thing you need to learn about this spell is how to channel it correctly, which shouldn’t be too difficult for a warrior of your stature.
The rest, as you see, is automatic." The Second Elder explained, as Leo clenched his fists in anger.
He knew it wasn’t wise to rebel here....
To let his intentions to overthrow the Council be laid bare.
And hence, he grit his teeth and bided his time, as he paid attention on how to activate the technique, should the need ever arise for him to use it.
As thankfully, in just under six hours, he managed to learn how to cast the move to [Perfect] mastery, making the Second Elder feel satisfied about his tutelage.
"Are you sure you don’t want to absorb the Life-Essence of a few prisoners present here?
They are criminals who are going to die of starvation regardless of whether you kill them now or not.
In a way, they are the only lives you can claim guilt free." The Second Elder offered, as Leo scoffed and shook his head in denial.
"No thank you, I’m not a very noble individual, I think I’ll sleep well even if I steal the life essence of someone who perhaps did not deserve to die.
That isn’t my concern.
My problem is with the move dampening my future growth should I use it, as that is the one area I’m absolutely not ready to compromise on...." Leo said, as he rejected the Elders offer to kill a few criminals.
"Take a moment to reconsider my offer, Shadow Dragon, although I don’t know what’s keeping you from breaking through to the Transcendent Tier, I’m sure that by absorbing life essence you can achieve that breakthrough in under 2 months." The Second Elder suggested, as Leo once again decisively refused the bait.
"You’re a good teacher, Second Elder, you taught me one of the Cult’s Twelve forbidden techniques in under a day.
I think we are done here....
I’ll forever remember the gratitude you showed me today." Leo said with a genuine sounding tone, which was in truth fake.
"Very well then, if you have already made up your mind about it, then I won’t keep you here any longer.
Please report to the Fourth Elder tomorrow morning on Planet Saraf, for the next phase of your training." The Second Elder said, as he too spoke in a genuine sounding voice that was in truth fake.
Secretly, the Second Elder had hoped that Leo would prove to be a weak-willed individual who would come to rely on absorbing life essence to grow stronger, as that would guarantee he never rose beyond the Monarch Tier at best, ensuring he could never outgrow the Cult’s power structure, giving the Elders Council the ultimate leverage to control him.
If the Dragon ever dared to step out of line, this would serve as their blackmail card, a weapon to sway the masses into believing that the Dragon was not the noble figure they imagined, but a tainted figure who had fed on the lives of others to advance.
This Death God’s brand upon his body, combined with any record of him using life essence to strengthen himself, would weave a convincing narrative that painted him as a ruthless, power-hungry opportunist with no moral restraint.
Yet, in truth, it mattered little to the Second Elder whether Leo actually chose to use the technique or not.
Now that the brand had been seared into his skin, the Elder knew he could always twist the story to suit his needs, for in the end, the truth itself was irrelevant— what mattered was the tale the masses were made to believe.