Chapter 161

Evolution of Skill

When I came to my senses, the gods had already completely erased their presence.

And the time that stopped also regained its original speed, allowing it to flow normally.

I was baffled since I couldn’t grasp the situation for a moment, but soon the memories I didn’t experience were pieced together like puzzles.

I couldn’t help but be surprised as I went over it.

‘The god of time?!’

Indeed, when I came face to face with the god of life, it told me about an assumption wherein it must be due to the god of time that the first return from the far future and the countless repetition of life that followed was possible.

It also said that nobody had noticed, but its power was surely within me.

‘But it isn’t just the level of indwelled strength, is it?!’

I couldn’t even imagine that a god’s fragment had settled in my soul.

Furthermore…

‘What in the world was that conversation about!’

A conversation that would make theologians faint was vividly engraved in my memory.

It was because the god of time borrowed my brain and mouth for a while to talk.

I failed to remain conscious when it was controlling my body, but the memories stayed within my mind with the details intact as well.

‘Turning the Mana into divine force?’

The sacred scars left by ‘Igras-Sho’ the other day and the [Orb of Immortality] left by “Rom” weren’t taken away. Rather, they remained intact.

In addition to those… new seals were left behind by the gods.

According to their metaphor, they had dipped their ‘paint’ to dye the world with their colors.

I looked at the back of my hand, and there were four different emblems.

The memory of the gods left in my head explained the meanings.

‘This is the type of a seal that is usually stamped on the forehead of an incarnation.’

Each was a token handed down by different gods, but blood no longer flowed from the holy wound.

The bleeding was intended to reject other gods, but the scars seemed to have retracted such a temper since they’ve reached a conclusion wherein they cooperated with each other.

‘Even if so, seriously? They left four of these marks?!’

In a clockwise direction, There was a properly marked one, which was Igras-sho’s, and beside the insect-bite-like mark on my finger was Rom and Aden.

And the other one wasn’t left by the god of time.

‘It didn’t have enough strength left in it to do such allocation.’

It was someone else than ‘time.’

A shameless deity stealthily laid its cards on the table as soon as the agreement ended when it didn’t even join the conversation.

I looked at his statue.

‘The god of luck.’

Ramang-Schitre.

Even the god that once indirectly came in contact with me by presenting to me the [Random Card of Fate] had left its seal on the back of my hand.

With such marks, all but time, space, and mind of the seven gods had given me the qualification to be their representative. And they gave it to me without enslaving my soul for eternity.

Excluding the god that no longer had enough strength left since it had used too much of its power, the god that had been scattered after being divided, and the god that hadn’t been found yet since it went missing… It could be said that practically all of the seven gods that had enough extra strength left to intervene had stepped up, as explained by the god’s memory.

“Hmm? That’s weird. Why isn’t the ordeal starting?”

I heard the voice of the skeletal Sage, who murmured as if he found it strange.

I turned my head to face him and replied to his query.

“No, the ordeal is over.”

“What?”

There was no way for him to recognize what transpired while the time around us was frozen.

The Sage, who couldn’t understand what I just told him, seemed to confirm something through the authority he received from the system.

After a short while…

“Huh? You’re telling the truth!”

He then cringed as if he sensed a chill.

“By the way, I’ve been feeling such intense sacred power since a while ago. And its source is…”

The Sage’s expression froze in the middle of his sentence.

“!”

His bones clattered in shock as he stretched out his finger to point at the back of my hand.

“T-t-that is-!”

From that point on, I knew that I had to expect situations and reactions like that to continue wherever I went.

I had become a mortal that had received four different kinds of marks that only the gods’ incarnations or sergeants could gain.

With such symbols on my hand, even if I entered any of the four religious organizations that served the gods of my respective marks, I would be offered a seat higher than the position of the pope in there.

‘They’d still do that even though I’m not a proper incarnation.’

“I’m done with what I needed to do here. I’ll get going now.”

I came out of the temple, leaving the speechless Sage behind.

The receptionist devil that was still buried deep in boredom didn’t even bother to look at me.

Ring!

I checked the system message after I had gone outside the building.

QUEST COMPLETE!

– Quest Name: Skill Evolution

– Description: Pass the trials given by three or more gods.

– Reward: You can upgrade your unique skill by summoning the system at any moment!

The moment I read it, I expressed my desire to claim my reward immediately.

“I want to upgrade my unique skill.”

In an instant, my surroundings turned dark.

*

The place where I was summoned was similar to the altar where I first Awakened or where I often received the rewards from dungeons.

– Welcome, user.

In that place, there was a similar entity to the Ministry Spirit, which was in charge of me so far.

A female figure made up of Mana instead of organic matter was right in front of me.

However, I could tell that she was a completely different individual from the one I had met before.

She was definitely unlike the spirit that I conversed with while she was surrounded only by agent that was with me at that moment was floating next to larger and sophisticated shapes and structures made up of Mana.

‘Should I call that a machine made up of Mana? A device, maybe?’

It was an object that was hundreds of times larger than the Ministry Spirit’s body.

– Your name is… Mr. Seo Jin-Wook.

The spirit noticed my gaze and made a strange expression.

However, instead of making a fuss saying, ‘Do you see me?’ like the spirit I met then, she immediately turned her gaze back.

What that meant was clear.

‘I heard from the Ministry Spirit that the fact that I was the successor shouldn’t be kept as a secret. However, the successors don’t have any other choice but to be discovered by the spirit that can see the Mana when one Awakens.’

If so, all reincarnations would’ve failed to achieve their destiny.

But the Ministry Spirit also stated that that wasn’t the case.

‘The Spirit, a component of the system, does not yet have enough data on [The Successor’s Eyes] skill. There might also be another similar skill that’s limited to ‘the ability to see Mana.’

She spoke unenthusiastically, as she would be unable to guess what I was thinking.

– You have completed the quest. In accordance with that, you now have the right to upgrade your unique skill. Take this opportunity to perform your skill.

Staring at the screen, she muttered as if she was reading a script. She didn’t even bother to turn her head to look at me.

She had a much more fatigued expression than the spirit that I had come across a few times.

Did that mean she had been on duty for a longer time?

I wrapped up my thoughts and activated [Mana Drain].

As I did so…

Whooooong!

The huge Mana machine began to rotate with more complicated movements.

When it created a vortex of blue light, the Spirit asked me a question.

As part of the transaction requirements, I will need to retrieve your unique skill temporarily. Do you consent to this with your own free will?

“I consent.”

At that moment, the red Mana flow from my heart was sucked into the machine, leaving a long trail.

– Hmmm?

A sound of interest came up from the Spirit’s expression once again.

– [Mana Drain]? You have a unique skill that is quite rare.

She then returned her expression as it was before.

– Now that you have accepted the deal, we will adjust the performance of this skill so that other Awakened beings can also obtain it in the form of a skill card.

It was just as I was informed ahead of time.

The [Mana Drain] that the hunters would learn through the card would be far less efficient than the original.

The skill card that would be given to the public would be so degraded it would reach the point where a comparison would be meaningless.

– In return, the user who provided the unique skill can be given a different kind of unique skill or have the existing skill function upgraded and returned. Which would you like to choose?

Of course, I didn’t even have to think about that.

“I choose the latter.”

– We allow you to put a proper noun on the skill name on the upgraded skill. Have you got any in mind?

In the same way as [Seed of Mercadius] or [Art’s Sword Dance], it seemed that if I told them of my desired name for it, they would accept it.

The most common path taken was to add a ‘name recognized as the owner’s identity’ to the skill’s name.

In my case, it would be [Seo Jin-Wook’s Mana Drain], right?

But I thought it would be unnecessary.

“I don’t need it.”

– Then, it is going to be returned without any changes made to the skill’s name.

A red storm flooded out of the Mana machine and seeped through me.

– The transaction is complete.

Knowing that there was something suspicious about the spirits, I didn’t dare stay in the space any longer than necessary. Instead, I immediately returned to the dungeon.

And as soon as I got out, I checked the skill information.

“It is indeed exactly as the god of time had predicted.”

The upgraded [Mana Drain] description unfolded before me.

***

A few days after modifying my unique skill, I accepted the Union Headquarters’ invitation to measure my combat capabilities in front of them.

“Welcome, Mr. Seo Jin-wook.”

In the conference room were seven commissioners of the highest-ranking among the other commissioners. There were also drone-like machines that remained on standby to help measure combat power.

Among them, Bachurka was the only one I had ever met.

After exchanging a short greeting, I stood in front of a crystal, following their guidance.

The first step in measuring combat power was to measure active Mana.

Their equipment didn’t use primitive methods like Earth in current times.

Therefore, I didn’t have to overwork myself by pouring out all the Mana in my body.

– Please disable all types of physical defense skills for a while. Adjust the output of the instinctively activated Mana Barrier as well.

I followed as the drone instructed.

It ordered me to disable all defensive skills, but I presumed that [The Susccessor’s Eyes] seemed like it would be of no problem as it only acted on the mind. As if to notify me that my assumption was correct, the measurement proceeded within the blink of an eye.

I no longer had to conjure as much Mana as I could. A golden glow shot out from the crystal and swept through my body, swiftly finishing the entire measurement procedure. It was surprisingly fast and simple.

The drone announced the result.

Perhaps even the beings before me didn’t have a method to measure the potential Mana. It only read out the active Mana.

– The measurement states 570,000 active Mana.

I had absorbed Cores in between the quests, so it increased again.

It was not a precise way to compare Mana’s current amount from Mana capacity. However, the test was conducted under the assumption that I came there with my capacity at its fullest. Hence, it remained as my official record.

“Next, please show us your unique skill.”

The one who stepped up saying so was the supreme commissioner from a species called Adgon.

‘Wasn’t I informed that that’s the opposing party? They’re the ones that insist that there is no need to respond too carefully to the threat Mercadius brings.’

Although Bachurka didn’t tell me all of the details about it, it seemed to be quite a widespread story, given that even Adam, who wasn’t a member of the Union, knew about it.

‘It is highly likely that he’s the one to make a demand to upgrade my unique skill and perform it in front of his face.’

I spoke to the commissioner.

“Can you prepare a Mana core for me?”

Most of them made an expression as if asking why I was requesting such a thing to be presented before me in the conference room.

Only two of them reacted differently from the rest.

“Ah… could it be?!”

Bachurka spoke with admiration, and…

“···”

The Adgon supreme commissioner, who seemed to be showing a dubious glance.

Shhhhhh!

In front of the commissioners, I absorbed the core at once.

Bachurka shouted before I could explain my unique skill further.

“As expected! I see. Recently, there has been a report from one of the member dimensions that a new skill has emerged as a dungeon reward. According to the reports, I heard it’s called [Mana Drain].”

Already?

That was extremely fast. It was discovered much faster than I expected it would be.

“I see now that the reason behind the new ordinary skill’s sudden discovery was that Mr. Seo Jin-wook had made a deal with your unique skill!”

I nodded and agreed.

“That’s right. [Mana Drain] is my unique skill.”

“I heard that the absorption rate of [Mana Drain] released as a normal skill is about 5%… And that it can temporarily expand the active Mana.”

On the instrument panel, the Mana of the core I just absorbed was converted to figures and was boldly marked as my active Mana.

“This is truly amazing. The original, and not the downgraded version, seems to absorb everything without wasting anything! It has a 100% absorption rate!”

I played innocent.

“It was originally ‘up to 100%’ absorbable with random probability, but as the skill was upgraded, it changed to a fixed 100% absorption rate.”

And there were more explanations that only I could see, but I didn’t read them all out in front of them.

[Mana Drain (Rank: SSS, semi-active)- 1st evolution completed]

Skill Effect:

1) By contacting a Core, the stored active Mana and potential Mana can be absorbed. 100% of the Core storage volume can be absorbed for the active Mana, and only up to 50% of the potential Mana can be absorbed.

The potential Mana absorption rate, which initially was only up to 10% at most, had been upgraded as well, reaching up to 50% at the maximum.

I glanced at my potential Mana that they couldn’t measure.

– Active Mana: 573,000 (+42,000)/531,000

– Potential Mana: 210,000

‘If it’s like this, it can’t help but speed up my growth!”

There was also yet another function that I didn’t dare speak about in front of them.

It was a newly created effect through evolution.

2) The absorbed Mana can be converted to a different type of ‘power’ depending on the user’s designation.

‘I will leave this as a hidden card!’

Bachurka spoke to the commissioners with a satisfied smile.

“Everyone, what do you think? Outstanding Mana beyond expectations, and even a peculiar, unique skill… I think we have a good reason to invest in Mr. Seo Jin-Wook.”

As soon as Bachurka finished, the Adgon commissioner, who remained silent, spoke up.

“… However.”

He pointed at the four seals of the gods engraved on the back of my hand.

“That’s a little different from what I heard. Didn’t you say he’s the future incarnation of Igras-Sho? How could such a thing be possible? It’s hard to believe that all of those patterns are real. The prior explanation that gave us concerning the deities… are all of them even true?”

Those were words of nuance that made me realize that he would make sure to pick on me before we could proceed any further with the deal.