23 Book 3 Chapter 19

Nine ascenders lost their lives. They were humanity's strongest, and yet they had been powerless under Hector's ability. All their training and equipment, useless. And Hector was just one of twenty. Nineteen still lived, their abilities unknown.

Amara strode up to Jason and Shenlong, no longer fatigued from overusing her mana. "So where's the loot?"

Shenlong pointed at the sky. "Hector died over there."

Zhen Hu stepped forward. "I'll get it."

"I'll come too." Roy exclaimed as he raised his hand.

As Roy and Zhen Hu ran off, Jason finally put Aros' inheritance away. He glanced in the distance with anticipation. Although the sword was greatly weakened, he was actually ecstatic. Even though he reached the requirements to use it, it was just the bare minimum. Using it for just a few seconds consumed thousands of health, but now that it was in a sealed state, he could use it without limit.

The bad news was that Aros could no longer give him skills and guidance. Fortunately, the sword could evolve. What Jason was really looking forward to was the sword's soul. When would it reappear?

Carly approached Jason. "I can't believe you attacked that Architect person."

"Me neither." Jason shook his head as he reprimanded himself inwardly.

Shenlong stuck his spear in the ground and leaned against it. "Gods, architect, and that master guy…"

"Crazy stuff, huh?" Peter clicked his tongue as he recalled the brief fight.

Shenlong trembled, his eyes blazing with fire. "I never knew someone could become so strong. Did you see how much energy they had? Their strength?" Shenlong looked down at his shaking hand. "I held them in disdain when they referred to themselves as gods… but now? I want it."

Olivia felt wary when she saw the look in Shenlong's eyes. The fanatical pursuit of strength.

"Um." Carly clenched her white staff. "Amara, your god is Amrita, right? I saw her use four elements, so how come you only use fire?"

Everyone looked at Amara, suddenly realizing something strange. Champions should possess their god's abilities, so why did Amara only use fire? Did Amrita not pass down her skills?

"Oh, that's simple." Amara summoned a ball of fire. "Fire is the best, so why should I use anything else?"

Jason blinked. This was news to him. Even when fighting Baal, Amara never used any other element. He asked for clarification. "So you can use earth, wind, and water skills?"

"Pretty much." Amara shrugged nonchalantly. "All of their skill levels are beginner 1."

"You haven't even touched them?" Peter was horrified. Amara beat him during their duel using only a fraction of her potential? Fire was purely offensive, while wind, earth, and water should provide versatility.

"Forty?" Jason broke out in a cold sweat. It was no wonder Amara was able to single handedly take out a sixth of Hector's health. All her focus was on fire skills, making her a glass cannon.

"Heeeey!" A shout came from afar. Zhen Hu and Roy ran back with expressions of disbelief and joy.

Everyone gathered around, hoping whatever dropped was worth the death of their comrades. Roy jumped to a stop in front of Jason with his arms behind his back. "You won't believe what dropped!"

"Elixirs?" Cheslov guessed.

"No, well yes a few, but that's not what I'm talking about." Roy flushed red from excitement.

Peter asked next. "Divine equipment?"

Roy rolled his eyes. "You wish!"

Olivia suddenly appeared behind Roy and grabbed what he was hiding.

"Oh my god!" Olivia gasped in shock as she raised two rainbow colored crystals. "Evolution crystals, and two of them no less.��

"Evolution crystals!" The sight of the most sought after item besides divine equipment caused an uproar. While not as valuable as divine equipment, it wasn't that far off. To think a single boss dropped two.

Jason felt that such a reward was only expected. A mutant raid boss was terrifying. If not for his foreknowledge, they would never have killed Hector without sacrificing hundreds.

After everyone calmed down, Shenlong turned to his oldest disciple. "The quantum energy core?"

Zhen Hu nodded and took out a transparent egg shaped object that glowed with light. The core looked like it held an ocean of silver lightning and shook with every flash. As soon as the core appeared, a beautiful display of visual phenomena surrounded Zhen Hu. Alas, nobody could appreciate the sight because the mana in their bodies spun out of control.

Everyone collapsed to the ground, except for Jason, Amara, Shenlong and Roy. Shenlong's absolute control over his body allowed him to stand on his feet like the champions.

Only after a moment did Zhen Hu put away the core. "Let's go get the m-serum."

As they left, they rescued the enslaved humans and brought them back to the sanctuary, earning them a decent amount of reputation. Only Shenlong and Peter followed Jason to Cable's lab while the rest waited on the bottom floor. Upon arriving, Jason handed Cable the core. "Is this it?"

"Yes, this is a bonafide quantum energy core. Give me an hour." Cable grew solemn as he took the core and got to work.

An hour later, Cable handed Jason a syringe containing glowing silver liquid. "To whoever takes this, I highly recommend you find a safe location. You'll be unconscious for about a day."

Jason turned to face Shenlong and Peter. If either of them were missing, they would never have acquired the m-serum. Peter and Shenlong's guild were indispensable, as well as Dubaku, Amara, and Ebba. Each of them desired the m-serum, yet they only had one to share.

Just as Jason was about to open his mouth, Shenlong raised a hand. "I know what you want to say."

Peter nodded. "Don't worry about us. You can have the first m-serum."

Jason didn't know what he should do. "What about the others?"

"Amara, Dubaku, and Ebba agreed as well. They will wait." Shenlong answered.

Jason felt guilty, but even more so, gratitude. "Fine. I'll use all my power to help acquire the rest."

Full of anticipation, Jason directly teleported to the community floor and locked his home. Now nobody was able to disturb him. Expecting pain, he held his breath and pierced the syringe into his arm. If even a rare-grade serum knocked him out, then what about an m-serum?

Surprisingly, and much to his relief, what he felt wasn't pain, but bliss. He casually looked down only to find his arm melting. Horrified that death was imminent, he chugged his strongest healing potion, but it was useless. As seconds passed, the pleasure he felt traveled through his shoulder and spread to the rest of his body. The contradiction between bliss and his melting body left him screaming in terror, until finally, he fell unconscious.

News of Hector's death spread rapidly. Information about his loot was classified, but nobody complained. The fact that ascenders defeated a mutant - a monster capable of growth - was exhilarating and bolstered their pride to new heights. Peter even fanned the flames to reinforce his guild's prestige.

As ascenders celebrated, Jason was undergoing what Aros and the other gods would consider a miracle. Every cell that made up Jason's body dissolved into nothingness, leaving only the m-serum behind.

Although the anchor for his soul was destroyed, the m-serum prevented natural law from taking effect. Instead, it carried out one of the universe's most revered techniques: it bound Jason's soul to a new object. While it was true that many powerful beings could do the same, they always made mistakes.

A soul was a delicate thing. Deep understanding of universal law and countless rare ingredients were required to rebind the soul, and if there were any complications during the process, only trouble followed. Reduced lifespan and mental instability were considered satisfactory results. Compared to the complete and utter destruction of the soul, what was wrong with a little madness?

However, as inconceivable as it was, the m-serum bound itself to Jason's soul so naturally not even the universe could do better.

Not long after, the pool of liquid began to ripple. It converged together, slowly forming the shape of a human. Countless hours later, a bare Jason slept on the ground like a sleeping prince. Next to him lay Tank curled in his arm. Their appearance was unchanged, yet infinite possibilities now existed within them.

"Mm." Jason opened his eyes, feeling more invigorated than ever. He looked down at his body in confusion, only to jump to his feet in realization. "I'm alive!"

Now that the fear of death had passed, the m-serum was all he could think about. He quickly inspected his status and frowned. "Hey, hey, nothing changed! Is this a scam or what?"

Only after checking everything did he find a new skill. As he read the simple description, he couldn't help but gasp.

Amalgamation of Existence

Absorb from your experiences and grow from your actions.

Most skills can now level based on your understanding. Stats can now increase based on your actions. No limit.

Jason's heart beat so fast he felt lightheaded, all due to the potential of the skill. This wasn't an overpowered attack, defence, or buff skill. No. This was a godlike support skill with no equal. For example, what if Shenlong had this skill when he entered the tower? With his deep understanding of the spear, any related skill would practically jump entire grades.

As for Jason, how many decades did he spend fulfilling the role of a tank on the battlefield? Five? Six? He understood many skills on a fundamental level, even ones he hadn't acquired yet.

Just that alone made Jason's new skill one of the best, and yet that wasn't all it. Although he couldn't estimate how many stats his actions would give, more stats was always a good thing. And then there was the icing on the cake: no limit. That basically meant as long as Jason lived, he would always grow. Always evolve. From now on, his potential was infinite.

A high pitched squeak came from behind. Jason turned and saw Tank yawn as she wobbled over to him. Noticing her silver eyes, he picked Tank up. "You changed too, huh?"

When Tank bobbed her head up and down, Jason inspected her status, finding the exact same skill. "Hmm. I guess we're more connected than I thought."

Setting Tank down, he quickly got dressed and checked his communication necklace. It was now of higher quality and allowed voicemails and texting. After not checking it for a day, numerous messages filled his inbox. Roy, Olivia, Cheslov… everybody asked if he was okay. How could he make them wait any longer? He immediately called for a meeting.