CHAPTER 334: FREE POWER UP

The crisp night air of the private training grounds felt familiar and calming. Under the blanket of stars, with the silent, imposing walls of the castle around me, it was the perfect place for some questionable decisions.

I’d already laid out my... snacks for the night on a flat stone beside me.

On the left was the pulsating, shadowy fruit, the one Virion’s gifted me to elevate my Darkness affinity. On the right was the small multifaceted crystal, the World-Keeper’s present.

And sitting proudly between them, like the main course of a very strange meal, was the stubborn, arrogant egg.

The plan was simple.

First, the fruit. Getting my Darkness affinity to an intermediate grade was a clear power-up.

If I could then get the crystal to choose Darkness as well, it might push it all the way to a major grade. That was a leap in power I couldn’t ignore. As for the egg...

Well, the egg will survive today if it passes the test.

I was experimenting to see whether the energy from the other two items would stir something inside it. Maybe we’d finally get more than a clear response this time. And if another world-shaking phenomenon occurred... well, that’s what I had Seren for.

I glanced at the spectral wisp floating serenely nearby. "You know the drill, friend. Keep watch. If things get... glowy, make sure we stay invisible."

{Understood, friend. You can count on me.}

Seren let out a soft, chiming sound of understanding, his form shimmering as he prepared to weave his illusions around us, shielding any strange energies from prying eyes.

Of course, ’she’ is an exception, I chuckled inwardly. Lady Nisha was a primordial being after all.

But for everyone else, we’d be ghosts.

Alright, it is time for a power-up now.

Taking a deep breath, I picked up the dark fruit. It felt unnaturally cool in my hand, like holding a piece of solidified shadow. I opened my mouth wide and, with a decisive motion, threw the fruit into the back of my throat and swallowed hard.

It didn’t taste bad, as Virion had warned. It didn’t taste like anything at all. It simply dissolved into a wave of profound, liquid cold that spread through my chest and then outwards, sinking into my bones and spirit.

A shiver wracked my body, not of chill, but of pure, potent darkness settling into the very core of my being. A weird shifting sensation bloomed in my core, as if the very architecture of my spirit was being gently but firmly rearranged. It wasn’t painful, but deeply strange.

The feeling lasted for several long minutes.

"Huff..."

Finally, the sensation ebbed, leaving behind a new, steady hum of power within me. The world looked sharper through a lens of deepened shadows.

"Let’s test it," I murmured, holding out my palm.

To my surprise, a sphere of perfect blackness coalesced above my hand with an almost eager swiftness, far easier than it had been before during the training and practice.

"Good," I smiled. But I didn’t let the sphere dissipate. Instead, I held it, maintaining the flow of energy, curious about how long I would keep it stable.

Almost exactly three minutes later, the ball of darkness gave a final, soft pulse and silently imploded into nothingness.

I nodded, making a mental note of the progress.

{Did anything happen?} I asked Seren, who had been watching with wide, luminous eyes.

The wisp shook his head gently. {It wasn’t that much. You were just... surrounded in a cocoon of darkness for a while. That’s all. It didn’t react as well.}

{So it really had a flashy visual effect, huh... And thanks, please keep watching.}

My gaze then fell upon the multifaceted crystal. I picked it up, its surface cool and impossibly smooth.

But do I really have to eat it? I pondered, turning it over in my fingers. Can’t I just absorb its power externally?

The crystal offered no answers, nor did the system. I shook my head at my own hesitation. What is this? I’m used to drinking poison and fighting ancient horrors. This is just a fancy rock.

With a resolve born of countless worse decisions, I tossed the crystal into my mouth.

I expected to have to swallow it whole, but the moment it hit my tongue, it dissolved into a cascade of pure, cool light that flowed down my throat like liquid starlight.

Hmm...

Surprisingly, there was no taste or smell, only a sensation of incredible power flooding into my system.

For a moment, there was only the cool, soothing flow of energy. Then, it happened.

A spark ignited deep within my gut.

It was a tiny, insignificant flicker at first, but it grew with terrifying speed, exploding into an inferno. It was a visceral, cellular heat, as if my blood had been replaced with molten lead.

"Guh-!"

"Guh-!"

A choked gasp escaped my lips as my entire body seized up.

"Urgh-!" I gritted my teeth as hot agony spread through my whole being.

The cool starlight sensation vanished, replaced by ravaging fire screaming through my meridians. My skin flushed blotchy red, steam rising from my pores. Every vein burned, every muscle fiber tightened like overcooked meat.

I crumpled to my knees, a strangled cry tearing from my throat. The world narrowed to contain the sun trying to birth itself in my chest. The heat reached a blinding, unbearable peak that threatened to shatter my mind.

Then something else stirred deep within me.

A wave of profound glacial cold uncoiled from my core - my Ice affinity awakening. A vicious hiss echoed inside my body as absolute zero clashed against star-forged heat. The searing burn now fought against a deep, bone-shattering freeze. Rivers of lava and liquid nitrogen warred in my veins.

’Urg.. N-No!’ My eyes flew wide open. I knew exactly what was happening.

A clash of affinities.

The crystal had chosen Fire, and my dominant Ice affinity was fighting back against the invasion of its opposite. Two supreme forces were trying to annihilate each other with my body as their battlefield.

Urgh, I had forgotten about this possibility. I must have been too excited to get a free power-up, and now, I was paying the price.

If I didn’t find balance soon, there wouldn’t be enough left of me to regret this decision.

’Shoot.’