Chapter 9 [Talent S-018-All-knowing Eye]

Su Lun made up his mind and calmly walked toward the altar.

Hesitation was never part of his character.

From the time he planned to follow the route, he had already devised a plan.

To come to such an interesting fantasy world and still be timid, that would truly be dull.

....

Su Lun stood on the altar, stepping on the intricately engraved runes beneath him, observing carefully.

He had seen Baldy use a kind of "Alchemy Formation" before. That guy had conjured a suit of metal scales using just a hexagram formation.

Clearly, however, the formation inscribed on this altar was much more complicated.

"Blood drenches the Ouroboros, the formation activates…"

Following the cues in his retinal display, he tore off the simple bandage on his palm. Then, squeezing gently, his wound ripped open, and blood flowed between his fingers, dripping onto the Ouroboros engraving of the magic formation.

The blood soaked the Ouroboros, and the redness automatically spread outward.

The stone-carved snake gradually turned bright red, shining like a ruby.

In an instant, all the runes on the altar lit up, a brilliant golden light flaring, nearly blinding him.

"The formation is operating normally..."

Su Lun muttered to himself, a hint of pleasure in his voice.

This was a good sign.

If the formation could operate, it also meant that the decoding method from "Isaac's Alchemy Manuscript" had a high chance of being correct. After all, probably no one would create such a complex prank.

The formation lit up, and next came the "sacrifice" phase.

According to the information in his retinas, all alchemy in this world adhered to the "principle of equivalent exchange." To obtain such abilities, an equal price must be paid.

What he had to offer now was one of his own eyeballs.

"Sigh..."

Su Lun slowly exhaled, slowly raised his right hand, and dug toward his own left eye, mockingly thinking to himself, "Indeed, the body really gets excited by such pain. Even when digging out one's own eye…"

Digging out an eye might seem gruesome to others, but it was nothing unfamiliar to Su Lun.

In his first year at the juvenile detention center, when he had an episode, he had done this to a bully who tormented him. After that, his fellow inmates began calling him "Madman."

Later, having studied "Human Anatomy" extensively in the juvenile center, he had learned how to accurately kill, injure, or hit...

Fear stems from the unknown, and Su Lun was well aware of what he would face by digging out his eye, so he was relatively calm.

He acted without hesitation, with a cold indifference as if he was not the one suffering the pain.

....

Piercing pain, heart-penetrating agony...

And the fear brought on by the blindness in one eye.

Blood dripped from his eye socket, falling onto the altar.

The excruciating pain made Su Lun's forehead break out in a cold sweat, turning his face alarmingly white.

After panting heavily a few times, he took the bloody object and placed it in the left basket of the "balance" stone carving.

In that moment, as if a specific condition had been activated, the central balance of the altar suddenly burst forth with a dazzling red light, engulfing the eyeball. At that moment, the stone sculpture bearing the "ꧧ" symbol also wrapped in a layer of spiritual light; a strand of green essence, like a little snake, silently infused into Su Lun's bleeding left eye...

This was an extremely complex alchemical transmutation ritual.

This ancient and magnificently specified altar, in this moment, seemed to connect different times and spaces under the mediation. An ancient and majestic aura descended upon this secret chamber.

Su Lun was unaware, but his limited perception also allowed him to touch upon some of the mysteries of this magical alchemy. It was as if he was traversing an endless starry sky, then casually plucking a brilliant star from it and merging it into his body.

The process went smoother than anticipated, with no incidents that could be deemed unexpected.

Su Lun didn't know what had happened; his vision was a blur of red.

Soon, he became quite aware of the pain in his eye fading away, and the light in his left eye slowly returning.

"It worked…"

Su Lun roughly guessed what had happened and let out a deep sigh of relief.

The tingling sensation was an indication of muscle tissue regenerating, happening unbelievably fast.

The whole process lasted about three minutes, and then the red light of the magic formation on the altar finally faded completely.

And in the moment the red light dispersed, the statue with the "ꧧ" symbol also "cracked" open with a fissure.

Su Lun's left eye slowly focused, clear and dazzling, radiant like a newborn baby. Upon closer inspection, within the golden pupil, there was also a silver "moon." With a flash, the moonlight vanished deep into the pupil.

This was a very fascinating experience; the scene in front of him was still the same old altar, yet it now seemed like a strange "new world." Every object was incredibly clear, as if he was looking at a high-definition photograph without any filters, the minutest details visible. Even the densely packed, spiderweb-like cracks on the statues were discernible.

....

"So... what extraordinary ability have I awakened? Could it be [Enhanced Vision]?"

Confirming the ritual was complete, Su Lun looked around, then lowered his head to examine his own body.

His appearance seemed unchanged, except that his vision had improved significantly, his sight crystal clear even in dim light.

If that were all, he felt it was far inferior to Baldy's [Reinforced Skeleton]…

But just as Su Lun was internally complaining, a strange feeling emerged.

He meticulously examined his body, and after a searching glance as if trying to see through fog, strange text actually emerged in his eyes.

Su Lun (Fike Regadi)

Dark Spiritual Power: 233/1130

Charm: 9

Strength: 6

Agility: 6

Constitution: 5

Perception: 4

Skill: 8

Spiritual Power: 26

Talent: "Talent S-018-All-knowing Eye"

Skills: "Haigem Breathing Method", "Basic Firearm Mastery", "Advanced Combat Basics"

Overall Combat Evaluation: Remarkably average

At this point, it was as if time had paused for a moment.

Su Lun exclaimed in surprise, "A statistic panel?"

When he saw this string of data appear on his retina, he vaguely felt as if he was playing a game again.

But when he saw the "Talent S-018-All-knowing Eye" on the panel, he suddenly realized.

"So, this supernatural talent awakened by the sacrificial ritual is this ability? It doesn't seem very impressive..."

Su Lun muttered to himself, understanding why the sacrifice required was his own eyeball.

So this "directed awakening" meant an eye for an eye.

Su Lun's thoughts were quick to jump, and he didn't dwell on things he couldn't change, instead starting to criticize the evaluations on the panel.

Could my combat skills, competent enough to tackle ten on Earth, really just be an "Advanced Basics"?

That's hardly important...

And that archery technique, honed after depleting most of his savings at the shooting range, amounted to just "Basic Mastery"?

What would "Advanced Mastery" in shooting look like? Could bullets actually bend around corners?

Moreover!

An overall evaluation of remarkably average?

"Heh... compared to Baldy, it really is just remarkably average."

Su Lun scoffed at himself internally, propping his chin.

Looking at this evaluation, he also roughly understood the hierarchy of combat power in this world.

And that oddly named "Haigem Breathing Method" must be a "passive skill" the original body had learned.

Su Lun had previously felt a strange energy flowing inside his body, his breathing also naturally following a specific rhythm, almost like a "muscle memory" kind of thing that was instinctive.

And the Dark Spiritual Power must be something similar to the "internal family Qigong" from his past life.

But he looked at his attribute panel again and showed a hint of confusion. Most of the attributes were explainable, but the "26 points" in spiritual power was particularly striking.

Su Lun pondered, chin in hand, but before he could reflect further...

At that moment, something unexpected happened!

Just then, the altar, whose light had already dissipated, suddenly lit up again.

This time, it wasn't a golden light but a cold, misty glow shrouding it. It was like opening a gateway to hell, and he felt a chilling aura emanating from his soul.

"What's going on, has the alchemy formation activated again?!"

Su Lun was greatly puzzled, as the information on his retina hadn't recorded such a bizarre occurrence during the ritual process.

But he did not react, because this scene was very similar to when he had first awakened.

After the magical formation's light flashed, the last cloak-clad statue with a "☽" symbol lit up with a glow, and a faint black light seeped out from the statue.

This transformation process was much faster than before.

"Didn't my talent already awaken? Why is it happening again? I didn't make any sacrifices..."

Su Lun watched the familiar process, baffled.

At the same time, he felt as if something invisible was being drawn out of his body, inexplicably feeling much lighter.

It wasn't long before the octagram's light faded, and that statue cracked as well.

Now, of the five statues, none remained intact.

Su Lun clearly felt that the mysterious and reverential feeling previously emitted by these statues had suddenly vanished, turning into five ordinary stone sculptures.

....

Su Lun looked at the panel again, wanting to know what had happened to his body.

Then, he directly noticed another item had appeared in the talent section—"Talent S-004-Reaper."