Basil had consumed eight pills of Morning Dew, which was a crazy amount of Catalyst one could down in a span of 10 hours. It was not the matter of how many the body could take, but how much the body could process.
While one's biological aspect played a great role in this matter, one's competence played an even bigger role. Without one's extraordinary control over Mana, one would not be able to properly distribute the Nature Mana that the body had processed, which would only make it go to waste.
Despite the amount of Nature Mana that he had managed to process, unfortunately, Basil's Energy hadn't recovered yet. His heart was still doing its best to pump Mana into his blood, meanwhile his Qi Core was merely a quarter filled.
Basil wasn't disappointed however; he knew recovering the energy he had exhausted would be hard due to the amount of damage he had inflicted on his body. He also had a quite sufficient amount of time, so he was cool about it.
[I am honestly surprised none of your veins burst. The toll of using "Vacant Vessel" and "One With Nature" is extremely damaging to your body after all. I am glad that you have survived, but I won't let you do it next time.]
"I know. Let us just hope that I am not going to find myself facing the entire Kingdom in the near future."
[Just don't mess around too much. I know that you want to make yourself as detached as possible from the Kingdom, but you still have to behave like a citizen that loves his Kingdom for them to not be suspicious of you.]
Nodding his head at Asia's advice, he shook Iliana's shoulder lightly to wake her up before doing the same to Ione.
Both of them opened their eyes at the same time. They spent a couple of seconds to completely regain their consciousness before lifting their head off Basil's shoulder.
None of them felt any kink in their muscles that made them uncomfortable since they properly circulated Mana throughout their body when they were sleeping, so none of them felt the need to stretch.
"Good morning," they said in unison.
Basil merely nodded his head and stood up. He got out of the tent with the two women, and was immediately greeted by Deacon.
Deacon, for some reason, had insisted to sleep outside the night before. Basil immediately let him, which was why he could immediately greet Basil when the moment he came out.
"How was the night, Master? Did you have fun?!" Deacon asked excitedly.
Frowning lightly, Basil said, "What kind of fun are you talking about? Don't you know that your Master has received an injury that has almost cost his life? I have been busy recuperating the entire night."
At that response, Deacon wished he could cough like humans, so he could suddenly change the topic without sounding too awkward. He eventually decided to act innocent, and give Basil his puppy eyes as he wiggled his tail.
"I heard these people are talking about you having fun the entire night." Of course, he was also cunning enough to look for a scapegoat.
Glenn, who was coincidentally passing by when Deacon said that, couldn't help getting a dark face as soon as Basil's gaze landed on him. He felt extremely wronged at the way Deacon made it sound like he was the one who had spread the rumour.
"Good morning, Head Commander Basil, and Vice Commander Iliana," he greeted, then looked at Ione awkwardly as he didn't know what her name was. "Ah, Good morning, Head Commander's mistress..."
Realization about what he had just said dawned on him not long after. His eyes widened in horror as his face was drained of any colour.
Ione even blinked at his audacity, meanwhile Iliana gazed at him as if she was going to knock some sanity into his head. The gaze further appalled him, and he didn't know how to explain himself.
"You shouldn't have drunk too much, Glenn. Rejoicing over one's glory is fine, but enjoying it too much will only lead us to demise." Basil waved his hand in dismissal. "You may leave."
Looking at Basil with grateful eyes, Glenn's eyes teared up due to how touched he was. "Commander... You have saved me. Not only from death, but also a worse fate than death. This debt—"
"Just leave," Basil interrupted Glenn's muttering.
"Understood!"
Shaking his head faintly, Basil walked out of the camp with Iliana, Ione, and Deacon in tow in the next moment. He was going to recuperate privately in the collapsed Dungeon that he had used to come to BA-32.
The reason why he wanted to do that wasn't because he wanted to be left alone, but because he didn't want everyone in the camp to know how different his power worked.
The only reason why he allowed the three to follow him was because they were people he trusted. He was sure they wouldn't question many things when they saw how bizarre his recuperation was.
"This place... A Dungeon?" Ione said as she looked around the collapsed Dungeon. Humming to herself, she muttered, "Many of our allies are trapped inside here up to this day. Those bastards even call them Kinslayers!"
Iliana turned her head to Ione at the statement. Despite being a Pacifer who was born in the village, she didn't stay there long enough, so she hadn't heard anything about the truth behind the term Kinslayer.
A talk immediately ensued between the two, and Basil let them have their time of discussion. He didn't comment even once to show his awareness about it, but Iliana was sure he already knew about what she was hearing from Ione long ago.
Ten minutes into the walk to the Dungeon, Basil stopped in his tracks, prompting the others to do the same. He tapped his foot on the ground once, and the wall in front of them split apart in the next moment.
There was a room behind the wall that was spacious enough to host a banquet of nine people. The room was well lit, unlike most other rooms in a Dungeon, because of the Mana Crystals on the ceiling.
"Wow. They are going to be enough to power a Middle Grade Array for a month," Ione remarked. She was amazed by how many Mana Crystals she could see on the ceiling.
"So, this is what a Mana Gathering Array does to an ordinary crystal after a thousand years... Should I also make a Mana Gathering Array as an investment?" Iliana mused, baffling and simultaneously amusing Ione.
Thud!
By the time they realized it, Basil had entered the room and sat himself in the corner. They immediately followed suit, and the door was closed in the next moment.
Quirking an eyebrow, Basil said, "I have to remind you that I will only get out of this place tomorrow. If you cannot stand silence or staying in an enclosed space for a long time, it is better for you to leave."
"We are here to train too. Don't worry, we won't bother you," Iliana said.
"Very well." He nodded his head. "If by any chance, Master Lawson contacts me through my Transmission Talisman, I want either the two of you to reply it in my stead. Just tell him to wait for me."
"As simple as that?" Iliana quirked her eyebrow.
"I don't like spending my effort too much on making excuses." Taking out a small black ring, he gave it to Iliana. "It has enough food to keep you alive for two weeks. Eat well while I am out."
Ceasing the conversation, Basil took three pills of Morning Dew, gulped them all at once, and closed his eyes. The two women had seen the same thing the night before, so none of them were surprised.
Boom!
When they saw the amount of Mana swirling around him in the next moment however, unlike Deacon, who had seen it many times, the two women widened their eyes in bafflement.
He hadn't even materialized his Magic Circles, but the amount of Mana he could attract was so astounding, it even outstripped the amount of Mana any normal Fifth Circle Mage's Magic Circles could attract.
"He is... Rapidly absorbing it."
The rate of absorption even further astounded them. Basil absorbed the Mana into his body as if a sponge absorbing water.
They could also note how quick he processed the Mana by his increasing pressure, which finally made them understand why he wanted to recuperate privately. Everyone would lose their mind if they witnessed it.
Unlike the others, of course, the scene in front of them motivated the two to push themselves harder. Sitting down, they immediately started Carving their next Magic Circle.
As they did so, the luster of the Mana Crystals gradually turned dimmer. Time went by, and another day passed in the blink of an eye.
...
Southern Sea Region.
Buzz!
On the other side of Braxtein Kingdom—on its southernmost side, the Spell that Scylla had cast the day before had finally began to take effect. Every one of them could feel it, and they couldn't help getting giddy.
The pillar of white light coming out of Charybdis' mouth was slowly disappearing. Meanwhile, on various parts of Braxtein Kingdom, Charybdis appeared in the lakes, rivers, and seas that were big enough to host it.
Countless of Aquatic Demons overwhelmed the Southern Sea, ready to enter Charybdis as soon as the light disappeared. Like the others, they couldn't hold their excitement to evoke chaos in the world.
"Remember, my soldiers, this is a feast! The Obelisk is no longer our home, because we will make this place us. Don't hold yourself back! Kill as many as you can—don't die without killing anyone!" Goap shouted.
"UWOOOOGGGHHHHH!"
The army's shout sounded like a symphony to him. He was very optimistic that he would be able to allow Demons to roam the world freely once again.
Wooong!
The light that Charybdis had been shooting to the sky disappeared not long after. The Aquatic Demons almost couldn't resist jumping into her mouth, but they held themselves well enough to wait for Goap's order.
"Fill the world with their cry—charge!"
All of them immediately jumped into Charybdis' mouth as soon as they received the order. In the next moment, they found themselves in the seas, lakes, and rivers near the inhabited areas of Braxtein Kingdom.
When Charybdis pulsated, the water level suddenly rapidly dropped. The water returned in the form of a tsunami a few seconds after, and thus the nightmare began.