Spirit's Ascension-Chapter 37—Consequences

Cole writhed in pain on the ground. His bulging veins pulsate harder.

Like their previous enemy, dark miasma-like energy began radiating from Cole’s being.

The plants all around him withered and died, leaving nothing behind.

"Am I becoming like that man? Why? How?" Cole wondered.

"The pain is so intense, my body will burst open at this rate."

He lay there stuck to the ground as the pressure kept building up. Then, Cole did the only thing he could think of doing.

He began chanting the World Absorbing Mantra as hard as he could.

This resulted in a large vortex of Life energy forming around him and vitality slightly returning to his body.

The large flux of Life energy and the dark miasma-like energy began a tug of war in Cole.

Each of them fighting for dominance inside him. The scale seemed to be tipping towards the Life energy though.

This was only due to the ability of the world Absorbing Mantra to absorb the purest form of life energy.

Pure Life energy, being the source of power for all things, is almost always stronger than every other energy source.

As the war raged on, Cole’s face began regaining an inkling of calmness.

His bulging veins were slowly subsiding in size, and the dark energy radiating from him was slowly reducing.

After a while more, Cole was finally able to think rationally again. He had been able to successfully overpower the dark miasma and prevent it from completely taking over his body.

He wasn’t able to get rid of it completely, though; the outmatched energy suddenly coalesced and rushed to a part of his body just beside his heart.

Out of worry, Cole activated the Eyes of Scrutiny and checked himself.

The Eyes of Scrutiny saw the coalesced energy quietly floating in place.

He also noticed something further: the energy seemed to have a mysterious connection to something else far away.

This filled Cole with a feeling of dread, as he failed to determine what that would bring him in the future.

"How did this energy even get into my body?" Cole questioned.

"Could it have been during the explosion?"

"Those guys are really targeting me."

Cole felt a bomb ticking above his head; the mysterious energy in his body and the mysterious connection were more than enough.

Adding to the fact that the man they previously fought seemed to have a partner that was stronger than he was.

Cole didn’t forget about Doctor Thomas’s men too that were hot on his tail.

"hum," Cole let out a large sigh to release the burden he was currently feeling on him.

"I am still a dormant-level Spiriter for heaven’s sake; I shouldn’t be facing this much pressure," He shouted frustratedly.

"To survive all that is ahead of me, I really need to get stronger fast."

"The easiest way to increase my current strength right now is to record a new ability because I have no idea what I need to comprehend." He continued.

Cole stood up while dusting his clothes, the danger of the dark energy successfully suppressed for now.

****Not Far Away****

Simone, while holding onto what appeared to be a student limb that was still actively dripping blood, sharply turned towards a direction.

"It is you, uhhh, I will be coming for you," He muttered.

"I must; the dark crystal chose you, so something must be really special about you." He continued.

He proceeded to look down at the limb that he was currently holding and then dismissively discarded it.

He turned to a flicker and rushed in another direction.

In the scene he just left behind, a limbless student could be seen leaning on a tree with a blank gaze. He was dead.

****Cole’s Location*****

"Now that I have decided to record a new ability, what ability should it be?" Cole wondered.

His face seemed to have aged a few months faster in such a short while due to his intense worry and pressure.

He decided to continue his journey in the same direction he was previously heading.

With the chaos in him temporarily suppressed, he had an extra bit of time to actually face his placement test.

The test was actually important to Cole, as it was his only way to get more resources, which he badly needs for his growth.

Cole noticed something when he was about to head out, though.

He noticed the awfully quiet state of the Empty Codex, which was unusual.

It had been violently shaking throughout his stay in the forest and even before that, but now it had gone completely quiet.

Since he had returned to the academy, Cole hadn’t actually summoned the Innate Spirit out— For the fear of it being seen by others.

This time, to prevent his negligence from affecting him again, he decided to summon it and check its actual condition.

He climbed high into a tree and found a secluded spot before sitting in a lotus position.

Following the instructions he was previously taught, Cole summoned the Codex out into the environment.

The familiar Rune covered golden book appeared in the air just beside him.

The moment it appeared, another fleeting change occurred again.

The change appeared to be from the forest itself. Cole felt a higher gaze land upon him.

Accompanying the gaze was some overwhelming pressure, but before he could get into the feeling and truly understand what was going on. It vanished.

It vanished without a trace, leaving just Cole and the Empty Codex alone in their position.

Unconsciously, Cole scanned his environment vigilantly, trying to find anything special or different, but he was disappointed.

There was nothing around him, nor were there any more changes.

Compared to his list of immediate dangers, Cole hurriedly shoved the experience to the back of his mind and continued what he was previously about to do.

He checked through the Empty Codex but failed to find any problem with it.

He only noticed the fully replaced new page in the book. Now the page number has officially returned to three.

Examining the new page, Cole noticed something different about it—It was much thinner and weaker than the other stages.

"Does page destruction result in weaker pages?" He asked.

"If yes, then I must lose any more pages," He concluded.

After he had finished his examination of the Codex and not found anything particularly wrong, he decided to continue his journey.

Cole rose up and was about to jump to another tree when he heard it.

"Roooaarrr," Cole heard from behind him. o

"Not again," he thought as he hurriedly turned around.

Behind him was a pair of glowing beast eyes that seemed ready to devour him.