Chapter 40

Chapter 40

In the wake of his success, Ron, a brilliant scientist reborn with an unwavering obsession for immortality, found himself astride a robust steed as he left the Zither Moon Town behind. The youth accompanying him was none other than Bosain, whom Ron had successfully coerced into carrying out his orders.

With a calculating glint in his eye, Ron instructed Bosain to journey in the opposite direction of the treacherous Abyssal Bone Forest, ensuring they didn't stop until they were two months' travel away.

As he watched Bosain disappear into the horizon, a chilling smile played on Ron's lips. He contemplated the option of eliminating them both, for the Lilytell Family posed no significant threat to him. However, Ron knew that such an act would impede his larger plans. Thus, he chose a different course of action.

In addition to plundering the valuable treasures such as Magic Crystals, Artifacts, and Magical Beast contracts, Ron had Bosain clandestinely replicate his advanced Meditation techniques. Afterward, he had Bosain journey as far as possible from their current location.

When the inevitable search party from the Lilytell Family discovered Bosain, he would recount how he had unintentionally offended a "Shabby Beggar," leaving the Magus Family with a superficial wound and the treasure as compensation.

The curse Ron had applied was highly effective against weaker adversaries, but it had one glaring flaw – it could be dispelled when the victim reached the rank of an official Magus. To circumvent this, Ron had Bosain consume a specially crafted potion. While it would remain dormant during his time as an acolyte, once Bosain broke through to an official Magus, his vitality would burn tenfold faster, rendering him a lifeless husk before ascending to true Magushood.

***

Stepping into a fortified chamber, Ron's gaze fell upon Jayden, who was deep in meditation. In his quest for immortality, Ron had equipped Jayden with a Rank 1 defensive spell, courtesy of the A.I. Chip, derived from the lower-ranked spells. He had also supplied Jayden with Grine Water to facilitate his ascent to the official Magus rank and provided potions to enhance his Spiritual Force, a necessary requirement.

"Given our shared origins on the Chernobyl Islands, I shall assist you in your journey to becoming an official Magus," Ron declared, his eyes cold and calculating. "Consider it an honor to be of use to me."

Ron's plan involved upgrading his Fallen Star Pendant, using Bosain's Magical Artifact, and sacrificing Jayden in the process. Now a Rank 1 Warlock, Ron found the pendant's power insufficient for his needs.

***

"Eyes are the windows to the soul, and by focusing your gaze through the Kemoyin's Pupil, you will rediscover yourself – Norco Curadu Sfar!"

Seated in his meticulously repaired basement, Ron began the meditation process of Kemoyin's Pupil. As he closed his eyes, he felt as though he were peering into the amber-like vertical pupils.

A profound darkness with fiery undertones enveloped his body, and a black and red mist emanated from within. This mist coiled and converged, taking the shape of a small snake, which soon settled as a mask on Ron's face. The mask absorbed dark energy particles and, after a brief period, shattered into black gas, infusing itself into Ron through his seven orifices.

"AI Chip, analyze my current data," Ron ordered silently.

[Beep! Ron. Rank 1 Warlock. Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Saint Knight Strength: 11.3, Agility: 10.7, Vitality: 13.1, Spiritual Force: 37.2, Magic Power: 37 (magic power is in sync with spiritual force). Status: Healthy. Host completed a level of high-grade meditation technique. Spiritual force increased by 0.005. Elemental essence conversion: Darkness. Progress: 1%]

While the process didn't yield staggering results, Ron was content with the steady progress. He had laid a solid foundation for future advancements and believed that eliminating the impurities in his body, thanks to the expulsion of the 'Sentient Force,' would significantly accelerate his growth.

"Every meditation session brings a definite increase in spiritual force; not a bad start," Ron mused, nodding with satisfaction. Yet, he understood that increasing the spiritual force would become increasingly challenging, especially for official Magi, as their acolyte meditation techniques became obsolete. Many would be forced to rely on rare external resources for growth.

Ron also pondered the arduous journey ahead. Advancing to rank 2 Magus required meeting strict criteria, including elemental essence conversion. Only those with high-grade meditation techniques had a chance to maintain their progress, and even then, advancing was a formidable challenge.

For most, the bottleneck they encountered due to elemental essence conversion proved insurmountable. Ron, however, had a cache of Darkness energy crystals and Bloodline crystals at his disposal, affording him an advantage.

"Lucky for me, I have an abundance of crystallized Darkness energy particles and Bloodline crystals to expedite my progress," Ron noted, as he retrieved some of these resources.