Chapter 99
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Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Night of Praise (1)
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Boom-!
Three circles collided.
A massive explosion erupted around Lloyd’s heart.
[Mana Heart Skill Option ①: Shock Nullification activates.]
[Your Mana Heart can neutralize the impact of Blasting on its own, even without the circles’ protection. Thus, you take no damage from the Blasting.]
Clank, click!
The Mana Heart hardened.
It absorbed the Blasting’s shock. Dispelled it. Suffered no damage.
As a result, the Blasting’s force surged entirely outward.
Kwaaaa!
It raced unimpeded through blood vessels, lymph, and muscle tissue.
It surged forth following Lloyd’s will.
Kicking off from the heart to the pectoralis major and minor.
Some branched to the trapezius and latissimus dorsi.
Converging and splitting as it passed the rotator cuff.
It struck the deltoids, brachialis, and triceps brachii.
Piercing wrist arteries and countless ligaments and joints.
Finally, it exploded through the knife in Lloyd’s hand.
Boom-!
A colossal pillar of triple Blasting shot diagonally upward.
A violent flame born from pure mana collision.
It incinerated everything in its path.
Melted it. Vaporized it.
The lounge wardrobe, walls, and ceiling beyond were no exceptions.
Of course, the virulent poison energy thrashing to escape the circles’ rotation was the same.
‘Got it!’
Lloyd’s eyes gleamed as he unleashed the Blasting through his knife.
He sensed success.
He had deliberately activated Circle Shift to slow the circles’ rotation.
In that process, he clearly felt it.
The moment the circles’ rotation weakened, the virulent poison tried to leap out like a beast from the iron bars of rotational force.
That was when all three circles collided.
Before the poison could escape.
The massive collision that even devoured the poison.
The explosive outburst that followed.
The poison couldn’t withstand the flow.
Swept away relentlessly like a hyena caught in rapids.
It flailed, struggled to break free, but to no avail.
The triple Blasting’s momentum was far too overwhelming.
And finally, it burst outward.
Through the knife.
Carried on the Blasting’s explosion.
Exposed to intense force in midair.
Sizzle!
Much of the Blasting’s expelled force dissipated as thermal energy.
The immense heat scorched and seared the poison components.
The protein structures forming the toxicity warped.
Polymer bonds snapped and broke.
Denatured. Discolored.
Unable to endure the heat.
Finally, fully carbonized.
Splatter……
The virulent poison components vanished in the ferocious heat.
Yet the triple Blasting’s momentum showed no sign of waning.
No, it surged even more violently.
It punched a two-meter hole through the lounge ceiling.
Blasted through walls and structures above without mercy.
And finally pierced the banquet hall roof, shooting into the night sky.
Kwaaaaa-!
A mana pillar visible from anywhere in the capital soared seventy meters high.
As capital citizens gaped in shock at the sight, the Blasting pillar subsided.
“……Cough! Ack! Hack!”
Triple Blasting truly took an enormous toll on the body.
Even if the heart took no shock, that wasn’t the end of it.
‘Ugh, feels like my whole body’s been smashed.’
His entire musculature throbbed as if pummeled by hammers.
Though momentary, it seemed due to channeling inhuman power through a human body.
Moreover, the Mana Heart was completely drained.
It felt like suffering extreme flu and hangover simultaneously.
His legs gave out naturally.
He flopped onto his butt.
‘This is no joke.’
It hadn’t been this bad when using triple Blasting for the suspension bridge foundation work.
This time, he’d staked his life and poured everything in.
The difference was greater than expected.
But Lloyd didn’t pass out from the pain.
He actually wanted to faint comfortably.
Yet the reason he didn’t collapse.
Was thanks to the vigorous messages popping up before his eyes.
Ding-dong.
[You survived after ingesting a large amount of the lethal poison Lunatica.]
[In this process, you successfully expelled the toxic components in an impressive manner.]
[This special experience grants unique traits to two of your skills.]
‘Unique traits? Don’t tell me…… skill-exclusive options?’
Exhausted and slumped, Lloyd.
But with jackpot notifications floating before him.
He didn’t want to miss them and faint.
Even if he did, he’d probably wake up curious.
His eyes darted busily.
[A new exclusive option has unlocked for the Mana Heart skill.]
[Skill Exclusive Option ②: Immunity to All Poisons - You survived unharmed despite exposure to the potent synthetic poison ‘Lunatica.’ This experience grants your Mana Heart permanent poison resistance. This option provides strong resistance to all existing poisons.]
[A new exclusive option has unlocked for the Asrahan Heart Method skill.]
[Skill Exclusive Option ⑤: Rapid Charge - Accelerates mana recovery in extreme mana depletion states. Upon activation, your possessed circles rotate beyond limits, absorbing large amounts of mana from random nearby targets for 5 minutes. (Limit: Usable once per day.)]
‘Well, well? Heh heh.’
A smile spread across Lloyd’s lips as he read the option descriptions.
An unexpected, windfall harvest.
‘All I did was thrash around desperately to survive.’
Just that.
No matter how he struggled, the poison components wouldn’t expel.
Even spinning the circles every which way.
He’d considered using the Asrahan Heart Method’s latent power burst option.
‘But if that failed too, there’d be no coming back. Exhaustion would prevent using the Asrahan Heart Method. The circles’ rotational force would fully cease.’
Then the poison would break free from the rotation.
He’d die defenseless.
So he’d made his decision.
Blasting was the answer.
He’d poured everything into that belief.
And now, he’d gained two unforeseen options.
‘Immunity to All Poisons. No more worrying about assassination by poison from now on. Perfect. And Rapid Charge. This must be from draining my mana empty with triple Blasting and still not fainting.’
Lloyd’s gaze meticulously scanned the Rapid Charge option description.
‘Absorbs mana randomly from surroundings.’
Mana absorption.
The core and foundation of the Asrahan Heart Method.
Yet this new Rapid Charge option seemed to extremize that basic core performance.
‘Let’s test it.’
His mana was perfectly depleted right now.
Even standing was arduous.
No, any relaxation would knock him out right there.
The perfect situation to test Rapid Charge.
‘Do it.’
He opened the skill window.
Selected option activation.
Ding-dong.
[Asrahan Heart Method Skill Option ⑤: Rapid Charge activates.]
[Absorbing large amounts of mana from random nearby targets.]
That’s when it began.
Whirrrrr……
The three circles, quiet after the triple Blasting collision, roared to life.
Like a fan stored in a shed all winter, finally switched on.
At first, they stuttered and strained to spin.
Then rotation smoothed out.
Accelerated.
Intensified.
Exceeded limits.
From breeze to gust, skipping gale to typhoon.
Whirrrrr-!
The three circles howled as they spun, becoming a literal vortex.
Simultaneously, powerful mana suction formed around Lloyd.
Like a black hole, it began devouring all surrounding mana.
Grind!
Tables shook without a touch.
Trace mana embedded in the mahogany wood was absorbed.
The table’s wood crumbled to dust.
Other objects fared the same.
Roses on the table withered instantly.
A cockroach crawling behind the vanity dried up dead on the spot.
Even the marble floor lost its luster gradually.
Amid it, humans were no exception.
“What…… What are you doing right now.”
King Alicia cried out in alarm.
She too had slumped to the floor like Lloyd.
Fully poisoned by the virulent toxin, barely freed.
Her condition was naturally abysmal.
In that state, she’d witnessed Lloyd’s triple Blasting erupt before her eyes.
A shocking sight she’d never seen in her life.
Unimaginable.
Unleashing such tremendous power through pure mana outburst, not magic.
She’d never even conceived it possible.
‘I never imagined such a thing could be possible.’
Yet it happened right before her.
And not by a Swordmaster, but Lloyd.
The strongest power from pure mana should be aura alone.
Yet the explosion Lloyd demonstrated reduced such aura to mere child’s play—overwhelmingly so.
Shock.
Her ingrained, conventional wisdom shattered to pieces.
But the shock and astonishment weren’t over yet.
“My mana…… Urgh!”
Mana was draining from her body in real time.
Being absorbed by Lloyd, slumped five steps away!
King Alicia hurriedly awakened her Mana Heart.
“Urgh!”
Thud! Thump!
She forced her weary Mana Heart into motion.
Otherwise, she’d lose so much mana she’d shrivel to a mummy.
Thump-! Boom!
Her heart pounded heavily.
Internal mana circulated harmoniously.
The Swordmaster secret to inexhaustible stamina in any battle—mana circulation unique to Swordmasters.
‘Even so…… the mana being stolen is slightly more. Urk.’
Fortunately, not lethal.
But enough to make her guts churn.
Alicia couldn’t even open her mouth, focused on maintaining circulation.
She desperately tried to replenish the mana Lloyd stole, even a little.
That effort greatly aided Lloyd.
Whirrrrr-!
Immense mana absorbed in real time.
He was currently a mana black hole.
In a trance, devouring mana from everything around.
Especially sucking the most from King Alicia.
‘Hoo.’
Breaths in and out.
Between them, instinctively seeking the purest, refined mana. Craving it. Stealing, absorbing as his own.
That source was King Alicia’s mana.
Mana from a Swordmaster, no less.
Power refined through utmost mana circulation.
Vastly superior in density, purity—every aspect—to ambient natural mana.
The difference was astronomical.
If natural mana was ordinary atomic matter, the Swordmaster King Alicia’s refined mana was neutron degenerate matter compressed under extreme pressure.
The Empire State Building.
Compressed to neutron star density, it’d shrink to a grain of rice.
Such was the mana Lloyd absorbed from the King.
Miraculous density and purity beyond natural mana.
That high-quality mana filled Lloyd’s empty Mana Heart.
No, overfilled it. Tore it.
Forcibly expanded capacity.
Evolved his Mana Heart in real time.
Ding-dong. Ding-dong.
Countless messages floated before trance-bound Lloyd.
Mana Heart skill EXP skyrocketed.
Explosively accumulating.
Levels rose ceaselessly.
Endless notifications announced it.
As such, King Alicia’s face paled further, mana siphoned from her.
‘Urgh, I never knew such a thing was possible…….’
Truly unaware.
Felt like common sense uprooted entirely.
But she couldn’t question it now.
Couldn’t even approach Lloyd.
Closer meant more mana stolen.
She tried distancing herself, even slightly.
But couldn’t.
Even shifting one centimeter was grueling.
All she could do was serve as a power bank filling Lloyd’s Mana Heart.
‘This is insane!’
She struggled to protect her mana.
Writhing to lose less.
But futile.
As Lloyd’s Mana Heart leveled, absorption intensified.
The more the Mana Heart tore and expanded forcibly, the more mana it could hold.
Thus, the King losing mana relentlessly, Lloyd taking without mercy.
Their unfair tug-of-war continued.
If the King were merely an Expert rank, she’d have been drained dry to a mummy long ago.
Fortunately, she was a Swordmaster.
Instead of mummifying, she resisted with endless mana circulation.
Thanks to that, Lloyd’s absorption continued unbroken.
The Rapid Charge option, meant for slight natural mana absorption to recover stamina.
Thanks to the powerless Swordmaster King nearby, it exceeded purpose, fueling explosive growth.
Lloyd’s Mana Heart kept filling, surpassing limits, tearing wider.
Levels soared endlessly.
From level 2 to 3.
4 to 5.
Blasted past 10 in moments.
Finally reached level 11.
A feat taking others years, achieved in mere 5 minutes.
[Skill rank up!]
[Mana Heart skill rank has risen to [Sword Expert Lower Grade].]