Chapter 556: Strong Will

"Aurgh…" Aiden groaned, feeling a numb pain coming from the back of his head. 

Raising his hand, he reached out to grab and rub the side of his forehead, hoping to soothe the uncomfortable sensation just a bit.

"What… was that?" He muttered, slowly pushing himself off the ground. He felt numb, still woozy, and even slightly confused about what had just happened.

"What happened?" He asked out again, muddled about the blackout.

As he forcefully increased his [Primal Absorb] skill to level 4, suddenly he felt a sharp pain from the back of his head and he lost consciousness. He vaguely saw the hazy outline of a figure appearing at the forefront of his mind just before the darkness enveloped his mind. 

"What did I see? What was that figure? Why did I…" He sighed, trying to calm his growing anxiety. Controlling his breathing, following the technique taught to him by Number 3, Aiden gradually began to disperse the fog clouding his mind.

"Enya did I… did that scene…" Aiden sighed once again, taking a bit more time to gather his thoughts before continuing. "Can I know what did I see just before I lost consciousness?" He muttered seemingly into the empty air around him.

In the next instant, the maternal voice of the spiritual guide could be heard ringing inside his mind.

'[I… What you have seen…]' Her voice suddenly faltered. The sudden pause only lasted for a brief few seconds, before she resumed. However, her voice was much calmer, controlled this time now. '[It doesn't matter right now. The system will… You will see it again, once you are ready.]'

Then, before Aiden could come up with a response to continue the topic, Enya continued.

'[Anyway, you should take a look at your notifications, Aiden. Make sure to process the notes and decide if you would like to reach level 5. Although if you would like my advice, you couldn't go wrong with it, the decision is yours ultimately nonetheless.]'

Aiden grumbled at his guide's words. He wanted to know what that scene was before him fainting, however, it seemed that Enya either didn't want to, or just simply couldn't linger on the topic any further. Without any other option, he would have to shelve the topic for later.

"F-fine…" He grumbled in the end, taking a moment to bring up the system's screen in front of him. 

[You have spent 2500 EXP from your available pool of System Points. You have 16200 EXP Points left.]

[Your rank in the skill [Primal Absorb] has increased. The new rank: Level 4.]

[Primal Absorb (Level 4): Absorb the life essence of the defeated enemy. Based on the lifeform, you can acquire its unique skills, and get an increase in one or more of your attributes, or obtain attribute points to spend. You can absorb lifeforms 1 Tier higher than your current skill level. Works in any form. 

The chance of acquiring unique skills and traits related to the absorbed lifeform has increased significantly. Additionally your generic incubation period and forced period have also decreased.]

[A mysterious, new sensation is tingling at the depths of your core, coming from your Primal Essence…]

[The upgrade of one of your core, [Primal Absorb] skill have strengthened your soul. You have gained +5 Spirit.]

[50 Spirit reached, a new milestone achieved! The effect: [Strong Will (Level 1)]

[Strong Will (Level 1) : Your mind is growing more and more powerful. It has grown more resistant to outside effects. Your mind can withstand more pressure.]

Once again, the system's peculiar ability to shock its host did its wonder. Aiden looked ahead of himself with a wondrous, shocked gaze. 

'What in the…' He muttered inwardly, reading the updated description of his main skill. With the upgrade, the chance of acquiring a skill right from the start has increased, albeit the wording was pretty vague, yet the original chance had to be minuscule, as Aiden can't recall ever seeing it happen. Maybe now, with the rank up, he could see it in action finally.

Also, the decreased time required for both the first time forced stay of the new form as well as the time it took to transform was probably a great boon, even if the actual gain was not known currently. Still, if the forced 24 hours have just been turned slightly lower, even if by just a bit, it was a welcome change.

Still, the most perplexing note was the weird, vague message he got after that.

'A mysterious, new sensation is tingling at the depths of your core, coming from your Primal Essence… What does this mean?' Thinking about it for a bit, he asked. 'Enya, do you have anything to add to this one?'

'[If you would like to learn more, you have to invest 5000 of your EXP points into the skill and level it up once again. What I can tell, is that the more powerful your Primal Essence becomes, the closer you get to… yourself. Your true self.]' Enya replied, although her response was anything but clear.

The fact that he gained a reward after reaching 50 Spirit was also another matter that surprised him. Although the new effect he got had, once again a pretty vague description that could be deciphered however one wanted, he was hopeful that it would help him not faint the next time he would be met with a vision like just now.

'Enya, tell me.' After thinking about it for a while, Aiden phrased the question inwardly. Now that he was somewhat calm, he no longer spoke loudly to himself. 'If I spend my points and raise the skill one more time… Will I see the vision once again?'

This was what Aiden wanted to know. Though he still had a lot of points to use, and that even after spending that 5000, he would still have plenty left, he wasn't keen on being too hasty. The upgrades were undeniably incredible, yet there was no immediate, critical need to invest. Well, other than the chance to unveil more of his past…

'[I can't say for certain…]' Enya responded after a bit of silence. '[However, based on the fact that you reached an important threshold with the increase of your Spirit attribute, the system may…]' She stopped her words before she would be punished once again, turning silent instead.

'I see.' Aiden nodded, understanding that this was her limit on the matter. The constraints were binding her, she just couldn't go against this almighty force. 

Thinking about it a bit more, Aiden clenched his fists. Determination shined in his eyes, making up his mind, he exclaimed once again.

'Let's do it, Enya. Spend 5000 of my System Points and level up [Primal Absorb] once again!'

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