Rise Of The Limitless One

----

〈Each one of these specimens will require 200 Accumulated Destinies.〉

At first, Lucian was appalled by this number, because the highest sum he received in one sitting thus far was 8. Though the entire number totaled to over 40, that was still only one-fifth of the destinies required to heal just one of his siblings.

Not to mention, Lucian also wondered if gathering that many destinies would take longer than amassing the credits. On top of that, was it even worth it to attempt gathering 400 destinies? How many floors would that take?

Eventually, Lucian also thought of something else. 'Isn't this number on par with an Elite Refinement?'

Suddenly, Lucian turned towards Doctor Arc, "How is an individual healed from the Astral Corrosion Sickness? What's the exact process?" 

The question wasn't random. A thought that formed in Lucian's mind after focusing on the number of destinies the stone required to accomplish this feat spurred it on. Surely, if the stone required this many details, then the process wasn't a simple one.

"Hm? Simply put, the Guardian Corps will extract the abnormal mana from their body before containing it, effectively returning them to a normal person," Doctor Arc answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

"A normal person as in one who is unawakened?" Lucian questioned further.

"Correct."

"I see," Lucian muttered. Immediately, Lucian's favor towards this plan dropped incredibly. Paying 100 million credits just for the Guardian Corps to extract the mana was absurd. Furthermore, it seemed extremely odd to him.

What would happen with the energy after it was extracted?

Thus, Lucian turned to the stone for more information after learning of the nonsensical simplicity of Doctor Arc's explanation. Contrary to what Doctor Arc revealed, the stone was undoubtedly the better choice by what it revealed.

〈The destinies won't go to waste, nor will the energy be extracted. We are simply adding the necessary destiny to jumpstart their rightful state.〉

'In other words, my siblings were in truth Elite Guardians?' Lucian questioned.

〈Not necessarily. The current intensity of the temporal Mana simply requires this much destiny to counteract. Their potential remains hidden the veil of that Mana.〉

After learning of this, Lucian didn't ask any further questions. Instead, he looked at Cyrus, before nodding towards Doctor Arc. "You can seal them back up. I understand what I need to do."

Then, Lucian turned towards Cyrus, who seemed unusually pale, "Why does it look like you haven't been taking care of yourself?"

"I guess you can say I haven't," Cyrus said with a wry chuckle. His abusive regiment was far from what one would describe as taking care of himself. But, as he felt this was something he needed to do, Cyrus couldn't complain. In fact, due to his overzealous training, he unearthed more about his ability.

"Well, just know that you don't need to shoulder the burden alone. I can assist you as well," Lucian answered. 

After receiving the news of Lucian's disease, Cyrus felt hopeless. Especially so when he heard the approximate number of days Lucian had left. So, just the fact Lucian was here now caused Cyrus to give him a bear hug filled with joy.

"I trust you," Cyrus nodded. 

"Good. Instead of you going at it with a training android, how about we have a little spar?" Lucian offered, which caused Cyrus's eyes to widen. He could only wonder what method Lucian used to heal himself. Unlike Doctor Arc, Cyrus wasn't aware of the cures for Lucian's former disease.

He wanted to refuse at first, but the confidence he felt from Lucian forced the doubt in his mind to dissipate. If Lucian offered to have a spar, then he could undoubtedly defend him.

"Okay," Cyrus agreed before placing his palm against the capsule. He then turned Doctor Arc, "Replace the glass please."

"That goes without saying. The replacement is already on its way. You two go head to the training room," Doctor Arc said. There was a tinge of excitement in his eyes as he became giddy. He couldn't wait to see how much the monolith had strengthened Lucian!

Afterward, both Lucian and Cyrus headed to the training room. Along the way, Lucian revealed some of his experiences, all except two. The stone, which warned him to keep its existence secret. Not in fear of Cyrus revealing his secret, but the possibility of Seekers' arrival.

Though the stone didn't reveal their relevance, it did alert Lucian of their threat. 

On the other hand, the last piece of information Lucian didn't speak of was the betrayal he experienced in his first group. He knew of Cyrus's temper and didn't wish for him to endanger himself by threatening a force he just couldn't contend against.

Nearly every individual in his first party held deep ties to the Guardian Corps. There was no telling what the resulting situation would be.

Once inside the training room, Lucian and Cyrus stood before each other.

"Are you ready?" Cyrus asked. 

"Yes. But, I'll warn you now. I am in a weakened state," Lucian said while being as transparent as possible. Though, just because he was weakened didn't mean he would necessarily be at a disadvantage in this exchange.

"I'll keep that in mind," Cyrus nodded before revealing a serious expression. One thing about Cyrus was that once he engaged in battle, he became extremely focused, courtesy of the passive his ability gave him.

In the next second, he dashed towards Lucian at an astonishing speed, even causing Lucian's surprise.

'Oh? Just above my original speed,' Lucian estimated. But, because he was used to this type of attack, Lucian understood that distance meant everything.

The first thing Lucian did was take a step back while raising his guard with a stance similar to the one adopted in kickboxing. After all, his melee mastery influenced most of his movements.

Whoosh!

Lucian threw a sharp punch from an awkward position. He didn't use the side that generated the most power, but instead attacked with the hand typically used for a faint.

However, Cyrus's sharp senses allowed him to slap the strike away before retaliating with a similar punch. Although he didn't possess the masteries Lucian did, the endless amount of spars with the training android enabled Cyrus to hone his combat awareness.

Bang!

Lucian caught the punch, leading him to inhale sharply. His palm throbbed with a stinging pain after receiving the strike. Obviously, the weakened state left him more vulnerable than he expected.

'Yeah, let's not receive any more of those attacks,' Lucian thought before sharpening his gaze on Cyrus.

"Heh. Did that hurt?" Cyrus chuckled softly before rushing in, unleashing a flurry of punches.

Since he understood their current disparity in strength, Lucian relied on his advantage. He used his Hypervigilance to read the paths of Cyrus's attacks a moment before he made them.

As a result, not a single one of Cyrus's following strikes connected.

'Hoh? Cyrus is moving faster than Lucian, yet it seems like Lucian is always one step ahead,' Doctor Arc muttered with his face pressed against the glass screen. The excitement in his eyes grew more apparent the longer he watched the fight.

"My turn," Lucian smirked.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Lucian unleashed a whirlwind of kicks in a nonstop torrent that capitalized on every opening in Cyrus's defense. And, whenever Cyrus tried to retaliate, Lucian spun and performed a sudden aerial kick, forcing him back into a passive position.

Thus, Cyrus inevitably took a couple of steps back. But, then Cyrus's expression became increasingly savage.

"Let's step this up a notch!" Cyrus exclaimed, but because he was activating his ability, it sounded more like a howling snarl. Gradually, his arms filled with silver fur as his hands enlarged into claws, whereas his legs adopted the appearance of a large wolf's legs.

"With pleasure," Lucian nodded. Except, he didn't use any ability aside from Hypervigilance. Though he wanted to, using Amplification left him in pain after exhausting the three usages of Limit Release.

Apparently, the healing of the lounge was only superficial. The thorough damage was still present and remained until the weakened period elapsed.

Fortunately, Lucian wasn't in a predicament that required its usages. As an SS Rank Ability, Hypervigilance was far stronger than Lucian gave it credit for. His eyes blazed with a mystical aura.

Although Cyrus's partial transformation increased both his speed and power, it meant nothing if the target was untouchable!

Cyrus rushed while simultaneously executing a lightning-quick horizontal slash. Yet, his attack only cut a few strands of Lucian's hair as he dodged, before planting his hands on the ground.

Bang!

Lucian landed a powerful kick on Cyrus's jaw, causing him to stumble and groan.

This was a first. Though Lucian's strikes were much weaker, he was suffering a gruesome loss!