CHAPTER 63: INFINITE PATHWAYS (BONUS)

"Supreme Records?" Aurelian hummed in thought. Suppose it was about time he monitored his growth and checked how far off he was from achieving 100 base attributes across all stats.

As the words slipped out of his mouth, a chime rang out in the depths of his skull, followed by his eyes lighting with a faint ethereal glow as a blue notification screen popped up in front of him.

Supreme Records

Name: Aurelian Draegor

Title: The @£#&’* of Lust

Class: The Classless One

Talents: [Mid S-rank — Embers of Illusory Spectral Death, C-rank Iron Skin]

Level 26: (0/50,000 Dungeon Points)

Rank: E

Attributes:

Strength: 74

Agility: 63

Endurance: 62

Constitution: 68

Charisma: 5

Intelligence: 81

Willpower: 7

Toughness: 6

Mana: 100/100

Luck: Null

Unallocated Attribute Points: 0

Supreme Records:

First Record: Talent Replication (Weekly Slots: 3/4)

Second Record: Talent Merging (Weekly Slots: 3/4)

The Supreme Records will evolve as the @£#&’* of Lust grows in power. More records will awaken once your mortal vessel grows strong enough to house them.

***

"Not bad, not bad at all." Aurelian nodded, his eyes glued to the screen as he scanned for any noticeable changes—and there were quite a few.

He was pleasantly surprised to find that his weekly talent replication and merging slots had increased. Although it was only by one, that was already great progress.

If this trend continued, it would mean he’d gain additional slots every time he advanced a rank. That was a huge step toward breaking the limits of his potential.

Then there was the additional mana attribute. The range was a bit smaller than anticipated, but he expected it to grow as he continued leveling up.

Now all that was left was to test it out firsthand. He could already sense it in the air, but bending it to his will was another matter altogether. After all, this wasn’t an innate skill that came with memories of how to use it.

Decision made, he plopped to the ground, sitting in a lotus position. He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes and splitting his focus between his inner self and the world around him.

Seconds passed as he slowly attuned himself, then reached out to sense the mana, trying to guide it inside his body.

The first few attempts didn’t go well. It was like trying to trap air with his bare palms.

Still, he continued. He was relentless once he set his mind on something. Seconds ticked into minutes as his closed eyes twitched, his breath ragged after another failure. Yet just as he was about to try again, a thought clicked in the back of his mind.

His Metaphysical Vision. It allowed him to see beyond the physical into the metaphysical, and possibly alter it. Did it work the same with mana? Could it fast-track this process?

Unable to shake the thought, he issued the mental command. Activate Metaphysical Vision!

In response, the faint ethereal light glowing deep in his eyes burst into radiant brilliance, the crimson and abyssal hues swirling like a vortex.

And as his vision cleared, an otherworldly view unfolded. The world became intensely clearer. Streams of tiny motes of light spread around him, and now that he wasn’t in the middle of battle, he could fully appreciate their beauty.

"Now all I need to do is find out which ones are mana." He breathed, reaching out again. As he did, a smile cracked across his lips. Multiple blue motes of light circled around him, bathing him in their glow.

"Bingo." Aurelian smirked, then shifted his focus inward, only to widen his eyes.

Just like with the beasts, glowing threads spread across his frame. But instead of shining gold, they flared with resplendent darkness. More mystifying were the spheres, no, black holes, three in total. Two were fully formed, the third smaller, covered in intricate runes.

Guess I really am different. Or... is this normal for humans? He’d have to test it out later, but he had a feeling these were tied to his Supreme Records. Two were already awake. The third was forming. It seemed possible, but for now, it remained a theory.

"I need to figure this out faster." Aurelian groaned, anchoring himself back to reality. He could already feel a portion of his stamina draining.

"If the mana particles are blue, then the passageways should be blue too, right?" He traced the intricate pathways inside his body until his eyes landed on a shimmering blue channel.

Bracing himself, he smirked. What are the odds I’m right? Inhaling sharply, he sucked the streams of mana into his body. With a pathway to guide them, things noticeably eased.

"Here goes nothing." He whispered, guiding the motes inside. His eyes widened as he felt his body strengthen. A blue sheen lit his skin. Raw strength bubbled within him. Everything was going perfectly, until it wasn’t.

The calm particles suddenly shifted, turning wild and unruly. They raged inside him, uncontrollable.

Before he could rein them in, a sickening sound tore through his body. Flesh burst apart, his skin exploding and scattering bits of him across the ground.

"Aw, fuck!" Aurelian cursed. "Of course it couldn’t be that easy!" He groaned, writhing in pain.

He quickly assessed the damage. Nothing serious beyond superficial wounds. Lucky, if he’d drawn in more, it would’ve been fatal.

What did I do wrong? He breathed, shutting his eyes and suppressing the agony. With his primordial will of lust, warm vitality rushed in, slowly knitting the wounds closed. As it worked, his mind wandered. The desire burned within him, and a faint light enveloped him. An ancient aura stirred. Without realizing it, he began to chant.

"The mana is life. It encapsulates the universe. It forms in an eternal loop of infinity, birthing serenity. The mana guides the universe, the universe the mana. From it flows the grand ancestral purity."

Then, boom! A storm of particles surged around him, creating a vortex of pure mana that bathed him at its center. His eyes snapped open, a knowing light blazing within them.

"I see. So that’s how it is. I’ve been doing it wrong this whole time. Mana is incompatible with flesh. I need to create pathways of mana neurons. But who’s to say I can’t still merge it with flesh?"

Memories unknown to him flashed in his mind. Some he discarded. Others he kept, laying the groundwork for his theory.

As they surged, a primordial presence stirred within him. Long-lost fragments awakened, latching onto his body and bathing him in godly light. A notification blinked before his eyes.

***

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for awakening part of the @£#&’* of Lust’s memories. Retrieving the Infinite Mana Pathways! Merging in 3, 2, 1!]

[Error! Host is too weak to contain the Infinite Mana Pathways! Mortal vessel collapsing! Merging already initiated.]

[Warning! The Dungeon has evolved to E-rank! Dungeon will collapse in 24 hours if not cleared!]

Multiple notifications flared before his eyes. Aurelian snapped out of his trance, terror gripping him.

"What the fuck have I done?!"