Divine Tribulation

"Am I right?" Aiden asked.

"Y-You're right!" Ariel said.

Aiden merely smiled. He didn't know how important this ability was. However, just from Ariel's reaction, he could tell that it was definitely something great.

When he tried to sense mana earlier on, he felt another source of power flowing within every single thing in the universe. It flowed through, animate and inanimate objects, living and non-living things and even celestial bodies like the sun.

It was like the binding agent for each thing in the universe. Without it, nothing would have happened. When he sensed it earlier, it was quite weak so he decided to focus on mana instead.

However, when Ariel started to explain essence, he suddenly had a brief enlightenment and he focused on sensing the strange power immediately. It was then that he found it. It was exactly like Ariel described it.

In fact, his previous description of the power being weak was actually stupid and ignorant. It was his senses that were weak. This was because after looking at the power in detail, he realized something. It was immense and even the most powerful thing he had seen in his life!

The energy stored within them felt boundless and unlimited. It was like an unending sea of power constantly flowing. Aiden was so shocked after viewing this phenomenon that he kept inspecting it further.

However, the further he did, the more he realized that the power was truly boundless. When his normal eyes returned he realized that this was only the essence of... his gaming chair!

Yes, his gaming chair. The essence in it felt boundless and eternal! It was as if there was no end to it.

Like a massive ocean, it left Aiden in awe and shock. He never thought something like this could exist in a mere gaming chair.

"Wait, the essence is supposed to be the binding agent right? So why is it so vast?" Aiden asked after a while. Even though he was shocked, he didn't let that overwhelm him for long. Instead, he asked a question that just popped into his mind randomly.

"I don't know..." Ariel answered.

"..." Aiden was speechless. You were the one who introduced essence to me but you have no idea about why it was so vast in a single object.

Aiden became more confused when he heard Ariel's reply. From what he knew, Mana was supposed to be the energy source of all objects. However, from what he just observed, essence seemed to be more abundant than mana.

"So I am supposed to absorb this?" Aiden asked after a while. He decided to forget about this matter for now. However, if the opportunity showed itself in the future, he would definitely pick up the mantle and try to learn why essence was that way.

"Yes"

"But how?" Aiden asked.

"Come here..." Ariel said after a while.

"Okay!" Aiden said as he entered his spirit space yet again. When he entered, he saw Ariel looking at him with a solemn look.

"What?" Aiden asked feeling slightly uncomfortable. The solemn look on her face gave the atmosphere a weird and eerie feeling -as if someone was about to die.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Ariel asked with a serious tone. From the tone alone, one could realize the graveness of the issue.

"Yes!" Aiden answered in a grave tone.

"Sigh..." Ariel sighed and smiled -a smile that could topple nations and destroy kingdoms. "Come here..."

Aiden just did as he was told. Ariel used the same method she used previously to pass a spell to him. Yes, it was a spell this time, not a technique. However, Aiden had a feeling that this spell was part of a technique.

"There you go," Ariel said as she backed away from him. She had a pale look and she looked really tired. It seems like the technique she used had taken a huge toll on her.

"Are you alright?" Aiden asked. Even though he didn't have a deep relationship with Ariel, it still stood that he was responsible for her current situation (even if he didn't know how). And due to that, he didn't want anything bad to befall her.

"Yeah... Learn the spell I sent to you. It is much more taxing to do this since I used my technique to pass you two techniques just today," Ariel explained.

"Em... okay," Aiden said with a slight smile. Then without any warning, he returned back to his body and then tried to recall the technique from his mind.

'DIVINE PLUNDERING TECHNIQUE: ESSENCE PLUNDERING'

Aiden read the title out loud. The title alone gave him chills, and he immediately realized that there was something unusual about the technique.

The technique gave him a very bad feeling. It was as if he would suffer the moment he opened the technique. Even the name of the technique sounded like a technique that was used for plundering the essence. Only if Aiden knew that his thoughts were spot on, he wouldn't even know how to react.

Without knowing anything though, Aiden opened the book and read the first few lines. The moment he did though, his eyes opened in shock and amazement as he projected his consciousness to his spirit space where he saw Ariel watching him.

"What is with this technique?" Aiden asked.

"What is wrong with it?" Ariel asked with a rather indifferent expression as if it didn't really matter if Aiden answered.

"The spell... sigh... do you use that for feeding off my essence?" Aiden asked with a cold look.

The moment he asked this question though, the atmosphere between the two became eerily quiet. It was as if something crazy was about to happen the next moment.

Ariel's expression also turned grave when she heard Aiden's question. She didn't think Aiden would come to ask this kind of question when she gave the spell to him.

If there was anything she was shocked with, then it would be Aiden's comprehension ability. With just a glance, he was able to comprehend and even understand the whole context of the first method of the Divine Plundering technique.

So with an indifferent face, she answered almost as if she didn't care, "Yes"