Chapter 223
Chapter 223
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 223
Chapter Title: Evolution
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The Sloth Clan.
They were a clan that utterly ignored anything beyond what captured their interest—a clan that, in some ways, most resembled the Dragon God Sepiro.
Among dragons, rumors that Sepiro hailed from the "Sloth Clan" circulated so frequently that their similarities were undeniable.
Sepiro's origins were shrouded in secrecy, but thanks to these whispers, no dragon dared casually criticize or provoke the indolent Sloth Clan.
After all, they showed no interest in their own authority, in currying favor with Sepiro, or in external affairs.
With no chance of conflict, there was simply no reason to care.
...But.
Even the Sloth Clan had their moments of action.
They were a clan endlessly diligent when it came to the objects of their fascination and desire.
"Is that true?"
"A being capable of 'transferring' it... really exists?"
"We can finally achieve nuclear fission, a concept that only existed in theory...?"
"Oh! If only we could complete the Prime God!"
Their eyes lit up.
Dragons roused from their nests in the blink of an eye.
Nuclear fission and the completion of the Prime God had long captivated many in the Sloth Clan.
But they had failed.
They hadn't come close to transcending the Giant Gods to reach the Prime God.
Disappointed, they had crawled back into their nests for a long slumber.
"So many spirit stones!"
"Top-grade and even special-grade ones!"
"C-Could this be scales and bones from an Ancient Dragon?"
"Minimize your mana output! High-grade spirit stones are sensitive to external mana contamination!"
"We'll have to craft the body ourselves."
"But is 'nuclear fission' really possible?"
The Sloth Clan's dragons were buzzing with excitement the moment they arrived in the land of Valhalla.
A dizzying array of materials.
More than enough—overflowing, even—for forging a Giant God.
And that wasn't all.
The human beside Ataraxia and Drakan could truly enable "transfer."
He could pass a completed mana core to another dragon.
'That's a human?'
'Unless it stands above the Abyss's rules...'
They wondered briefly but soon set the doubt aside.
It didn't matter now.
What mattered was whether they could perfect the theory—whether nuclear fission was achievable.
Their theory, their hypothesis, was simple.
-Create as many "mana pouches" inside the core as the desired number of splits.
-The one capable of "transfer" separates the mana pouches and hands them to another.
-The moment they are recognized as belonging to another, each pouch establishes itself as an independent mana core.
-When transferred back to the original owner, the mana cores remain split.
The process was straightforward.
Crafting the mana pouches required immense precision, but with their help, it wasn't impossible.
All it took was the transfer.
But theory and reality were worlds apart.
"Why isn't it working?"
"The theory is perfect..."
"Transfer alone isn't enough for fission, it seems."
Day three.
Countless attempts with mana crystals, all failures.
They couldn't reach fission by their theories or reasoning.
Yet through it all, Park Chan-woo learned much.
Insights into mana perception, advanced knowledge on cores and fission.
'It's like I almost grasp it.'
Something tantalizingly close, yet elusive.
He felt he knew what was missing, but not quite.
"I'll try it myself."
One thing was certain: too many cooks spoil the broth.
The dragons' knowledge was brilliant, but their differing views led them astray.
He'd learn what he could, but prevent them from derailing.
"Without our help?"
"You'll tackle what stumps even draconic wisdom alone?"
The dragons scoffed.
Ataraxia glared, but it had little effect on the Sloth dragons.
Park Chan-woo moved.
The Heart of Despair.
He gripped the repository infused with Arcana's mana in both hands.
Closing his eyes, he slowly began synchronizing with Arcana's heart.
There had once been a debate like this.
"Why do the mightiest beings store their power in fragments?"
Dragons in their hearts, qilins in their horns, demons in their wings and domains.
All legendary powerful races dispersed and stored their power.
"Because it's too vast?"
"If it must be split to be contained, doesn't that mean they can't handle it themselves? Can we call that true transcendence?"
"No need to overthink—it’s just efficiency."
"Splitting power is efficient?"
"Each dispersed segment likely runs independent processes. Like organs in a body, each with their role."
"Independent roles? Then we still don't know what those 'roles' are."
"...!"
A fascinating topic among the Magic Tower's mages.
Two camps clashed sharply: they split power because they couldn't contain it whole, or the mighty subdivided for refined control.
Over time, opinion leaned toward the latter.
But it wasn't easily accepted.
If true, humanity didn't even know why subdivision was necessary.
Too weak to need such fragmentation in the first place!
...Wasn't that too pathetic?
'We were ignorant fools.'
Park Chan-woo understood now.
He finally glimpsed a fraction of the truth.
Reality was harsher still.
Mana had stages.
Awakening – Flow – Cohesion – Resonance – Creation – Domination – Transcendence – Divinity – Genesis – Apocalypse.
Ten stages of completion.
Humanity hadn't even known these "stages of mana" existed.
They'd only begun embracing mana mere decades ago.
Meanwhile, the Twelve Races, dragons included, sensed and wielded mana from birth—even without the Abyss's erosion.
The starting line, their history of mana enlightenment, was incomparable.
'Nuclear fission. Splitting one core into many. Drakan said transfer was key to success, but he was wrong.'
The fission process dragged on for three days.
Executing Drakan and the dragons' theory to the letter—total failure.
He had a rough idea why.
'Why the mighty disperse their power. They themselves enlightened their mana and split their cores.'
Dispersing power.
Dragons made it simplest to explain.
Not growing new hearts, but splitting one into many.
'Sepiro reached 9th-stage Genesis. Yet he had 12 hearts. From Transcendence onward, perhaps hearts doubled per stage.'
The transcendent Lil had said: up to stage 3 was foundational, to 6 was advanced, beyond was transcendence.
If each stage added "power reservoirs," from transcendence, hearts increasing by twos made sense.
Of course, this introduced a slight inconsistency with Lil's words.
—Sepiro's husk sat at my level of "Transcendence," but its true body had reached 9th-stage "Genesis."
Division body.
The husk on the Dragon God Temple throne already possessed 12 hearts.
If merely transcendence, it should have had 10.
Meaning the Sepiro Lil knew differed vastly from the current one.
Its true transcendent dragon body had even more.
13. Maybe 14, already touching "Apocalypse."
After all, it was a mad monster that could erase humanity with a word.
...In any case.
'If hearts split according to mana's stages...'
Faint smoke began taking shape.
Disconnected knowledge linked at last.
'Multiple split hearts merge back into one upon death.'
Wasn't this why the Twelve Races left traces even in death?
The merged whole could be perceived as "something entirely different."
Heart of Despair.
Then this too must be Arcana's split hearts fused into one.
A heart that had already undergone fission once.
'Splitting a fused heart once more.'
He was dying to know.
Curiosity bordering on madness.
Because he himself hadn't achieved it yet.
Currently, he had awakened to 5th-stage "Creation."
Yet he hadn't dispersed his mana for storage.
By his reasoning, his mana reservoirs—"cores"—should number five, per stage.
'...My enlightenment was only half-complete.'
What Lil taught him was merely partial.
True enlightenment would need no further guidance or contingencies.
To surpass advanced realms into transcendence, "fission" was essential.
Yet mysteries remained.
Dragons in hearts, qilins in horns, demons in wings and domains.
'Then for humans?'
If each race stored split mana differently, humans must have something analogous.
Humanity's unique potential.
The trait standing out against other races.
'The System.'
Park Chan-woo realized.
No other race relied on the System like humans.
Species touched by the Abyss could use it, but not with humanity's granular detail.
Why some called it humanity's blessing.
Awakened could check everything within it.
But its convenience stifled deeper probing.
No one considered it might hide more.
Park Chan-woo was convinced.
Something uniquely human lurked within the System and status window.
'...Limit Level Breakthrough Quest!'
It was how humans grew stronger.
Breaking limits every 10 levels to advance.
Never questioning why.
Dismissing it as the System's grace for the frail.
Other races grew without such quests.
Starting at 1, to 10, 20, 30... fissioning.
Limit breakthroughs every 10 levels enabled the next split.
But this was "half-baked" fission.
Blind progression without true understanding.
Why 99 was the limit? Ignorance led to walls.
'...Levels are humanity's sole way to surpass limits and fission.'
Obvious, yet revelatory.
And simultaneously.
His level rose.
The Limit Level Breakthrough quest itself was gone.
But a weightier issue remained.
All "fissions" wrought tangible change—hearts, horns, wings.
What tangible shift did level fission bring?
Park Chan-woo instinctively enacted his enlightenment.
Your body "fissions" and "evolves" alongside the "Mana Core of Despair"!