"Wow! Truly amazing!! That was an absurd improvement! You were right! It was worth it. With this, I'm one step closer to my goal… but it was still sad to lose the book I worked so hard to get! Well, these things happen, right? Never mind, I should focus on engraving the new abilities now! What were they again?"
"See? Didn't I tell you it would be good for you? As for the book… I'm better than any book, kid! Don't worry. Ah, yes… the words. Okay, the ones you need to engrave are: 'biomancy' and 'alchemy'. Once you've done that, I'll explain how to use them—but for that, you'll need a safe place to carry out the process."
"That came at just the right time. I was already wondering what a 'biomancer' was. I know alchemy, hehe. Is it like someone who manipulates a concept? Like a necromancer or something like that?"
"That's basically it! Look, a biomancer manipulates aspects related to living things. It's a more futuristic concept, so that's probably why you've never heard of it. You could say it doesn't exist around here—although some powerful individuals do use abilities related to it. But now we need to hurry. My old base is still a bit far. There, you'll be able to engrave the words safely… and maybe there are still some intact cores that survived the cruel passage of time!"
Both of them agreed and pressed forward. The path was twisted, but unlike before, no beast as strong as the monkey king showed up. Only weak monsters crossed their way, and they were all swiftly slain. Langdon and Ewan absorbed the mana from every creature they defeated. After a few hours walking through the forest, Langdon asked to stop.
They had arrived at a clearing where a massive red stone stood, glowing under the sunlight with a strong crimson shine.
"See that big stone? If you look closely, there are numbers etched into it—from one to ten. Press the ones I tell you, in the right order. Be careful not to mess up, because if you do, you'll have to wait a full day to try again. The numbers are: 08, 29, 19, 58. Got that? If you need me to repeat it, just ask."
"Got it, got it. '08, 29, 19, 58', right? Let's do this!"
Langdon took his time finding the numbers—understandable, considering how many years had passed. The stone's surface had eroded naturally over time. Eventually, he found and pressed all the numbers in sequence.
Success.
Behind the stone, the ground rumbled. Vruuum! — a door opened, revealing stairs descending into darkness.
The two began their descent. On the third step, Ewan exclaimed:
"It worked! We're in! Hey kid, clap your hands!"
Langdon obeyed. The walls vibrated softly. Tchzz! A line of blue light ran across ancient symbols. One by one, dormant crystals lit up, illuminating the vast hidden base. It was ancient… and magical.
After going down further, they arrived at a kind of throne room. Between old columns, a gleaming throne stood.
"Whoa, even a throne? You were really pompous and important, huh? Hahaha."
Langdon joked. Both chuckled lightly. Ewan then gestured for them to approach the throne. Behind it, a corridor led them into a large warehouse. Many items were broken, and signs showed that others had been taken. It looked like some panic had struck the place—workers had likely taken what they could during the chaos.
Ewan sighed.
"Ah… my subordinates… I don't blame them. They probably waited for me for months. When they realized I wasn't coming back, they panicked and took some things. Well… at least they left something behind. That's good."
"Damn, man… I'm really sorry. But hey, once you get your body back, you'll be able to get revenge on those bastards who screwed you over and left you like this!"
"Thanks for saying that! Hey Langdon, you're right. Those bastards are probably still alive. At the level we were back then, someone could easily live for hundreds of years. Now I've got a goal too. I will have my revenge! Now hurry up—on the left shelf, there are some level 2 and 3 cores. They probably didn't take them because they were useless at their level."
Langdon picked up the cores one by one, absorbing their mana and cultivating. After a few hours, he reached the early stage of level two.
"It's really addicting—advancing each stage and seeing the stardust grow, haha. Right, I didn't have time to inspect it earlier, but now I see a tiny grain floating in my core. Weird. Anyway, enough distractions—time to engrave the words."
Langdon then engraved "biomancy," nearly exhausting all of his stardust to form the golden script inside his white core. When he awoke, a good amount of time had passed. He engraved the second word: "alchemy." It drained less mana, and this time, he woke up faster.
Eager to test his new powers, he thought, "Biomancy," and from his darkened hand, a misshapen, greenish lump of flesh and dried blood formed. But it quickly destabilized and collapsed to the floor.
"Damn it… what did I do wrong? Did Ewan trick me? This ability seems awful."
"Calm down, impatient one. That's not how it works. If you don't follow the process properly, you'll just keep producing weird ground meat out of nowhere. Think step by step! First, imagine a beating heart—it doesn't have to be perfect or human, just functional. Then, picture veins spreading from it like roots. From the veins, cartilage and flesh. And finally, the cartilage hardening into bone."
Following the instructions, another living mass emerged from his hand—this time, much more detailed. It actually resembled part of a real body. Langdon was amazed by the sight. Greedily, he tested his limits, focusing stardust into the flesh. A giant, misshapen arm grew from it.
With a swing, he smashed it into the ground. The floor cracked from the impact, and the shelves trembled, toppling a few items.
"HAHAHA! You've got spirit, kid! I like that! But you haven't seen anything yet. This can get way more incredible than you think. Now… let's test your other ability, hehe."
"Okay, just tell me how to use it!"