Chapter 56
Ezra was looking out of the carriage moving ahead, his eyes narrowing as he realized the horses were traveling at nearly fifty meters per second.
At that moment, Lucas had already left the city, with the Black Op competition just around the corner. His reason for entering was not the title itself, but the rapid increase in rank it offered. If he performed well enough and reached the Mana Core stage, he could advance to a nine-star rank.
With his current growth rate, reaching the Moon Class would take at least a year. That was where he planned to stop. He did not want too many eyes on him, only enough to allow him to do whatever he wished. He also had Austin beside him to conceal his talent, though that was not the only reason. Most importantly, becoming a Black Op might draw the attention of his old master, who had not replied to his messages.
Lucas needed advice on cloning. He wanted to know how to grow a new body from a single cell and then control its aging process so it would quickly, but safely, reach the same age as the person it was cloned from.
Another reason was to build a vast network. If he reached a high rank, he intended to use it to create his own intelligence network across the world, even if it took years.
Information was always the key to winning anything. He also wanted it for the money it provided. At five-star rank, the pay was five million per month, with mission rewards ten times that amount. At six-star rank, it increased to ten million per month. Even if the money alone was enough, it was still worth doing, especially with the rapid growth. Once he reached nine-star rank, he would earn thirty million every month and Two hundred million per mission, which was a massive amount for him at this stage.
Seeing Lucas smile, Ezra said, "Why are we taking a carriage in the first place? We can run faster ourselves. Also, who's paying for this travel? You know these horses are expensive, right?"
Lucas nodded. "Yeah, I know. I'm paying for it. And I wish I wasn't."
Ezra chuckled. "I tried them once just to reach a place thirty kilometers away. It cost fifty million."
"Yeah, that sounds right. I'm paying seventy million just to reach the Dark Forest," Lucas replied. At the moment, he was practically broke.
The rune-drawing materials alone had cost around two hundred million. The cloning resources for the month cost another one hundred million. He had spent thirty-two million creating the new Cyan Fluid, and another ten million to refill the Blue Fluid for his mother.
In just the first month of the year, Lucas had spent roughly four hundred and twelve million Auron, leaving him with barely forty million, which was reserved for Mia and Tracy.
Tracy had chosen the safest method to grow her Mana Core talent. After Lucas awakened his eyes, he discovered that his Mana Core had no limit. As long as he understood how to grow it, it would continue endlessly. He created this method because he wanted to understand why his Mana Core had no cap.
It grew almost every day, granting him near-infinite growth. The stronger he became, the faster it grew. After studying it carefully, he successfully established this method.
They were heading to the Dark Forest to build a laboratory. Lucas planned to find a summoning beast there and use the unsafe method to increase both Aris's and Ezra's Mana Core talent.
As for their physical limits, that would take time. Lucas needed to understand their pathways before he could break them. Ezra had been born with the third pathways, so it would not work on him for now, but Lucas was still studying it. If he ever broke into the fourth pathway or beyond, he might be able to open Ezra's as well.
The reason Lucas trusted them with his secrets was a new spell he had created.
[Soul Spell: Soul-Bound Contract]
Based on his understanding of the soul and Mana Contract spells, Lucas created a spell that bound souls instead of Mana Cores. If the contract was broken, the backlash would be severe, leading to death and complete erasure.
This was his first step toward understanding the soul and strengthening the spell further in the future. It prevented betrayal or the leaking of information about him. Preserving one's own life was not considered betrayal, nor was holding a different opinion. Only attempting to kill Lucas or knowingly interfering with his plans counted as betrayal. The remaining clauses were designed to remove loopholes, ensuring that even those unfamiliar with such contracts would feel secure.
The contract was a fusion of runes and mana.
They were using the carriage because Aris would slow them down otherwise. Lucas wanted everything finished today so that tomorrow, or even tonight, they could focus entirely on Mana Core development.
With his increasing Mana, Lucas had reached the peak of the Silver Stage. He could now maintain that form for fifteen minutes without using its additional abilities. If he did use them, he could last five minutes, which was already impressive.
Ezra, on the other hand, was excited. If Lucas's plan worked, he could finally break through the Silver Stage. His foundation had long been ready, but no matter how hard he tried, he always failed due to the limitations of his Mana Core talent.
Even if it was dangerous, Ezra wanted a way to reach a higher Mana Core stage, which would greatly enhance his spells and Keno techniques. Even if Lucas had never existed, Ezra would have appeared in the final acts of the novel, shocking the world with his power. He would eventually find the tribe Lucas once mentioned and learn Ki, further strengthening his spells and allowing him to rival Saint-Class beings.
By opening his fifth gate of Keno secret art, he once fought the Leader of the Abyssal Moon head-on. Their clash became legendary, but Ezra ultimately lost. In that state, Ezra was stronger than even the Sky King Arthur and the previous king, Solas. Even the sub-leaders could not compare, yet he still fell to the Abyssal Moon's leader.
The leader did not even fight seriously. He merely enjoyed himself until Ezra died. Opening the fifth gate meant certain death, as the body could not withstand the pressure.
Even so, Ezra's reason for fighting was simple. He wanted to face someone who could endure that form. The Leader of the Abyssal Moon praised him, something he had only done for three people in the entire novel: Ronan the woman lover, the Dark Swordsman, and Ezra himself.
He never praised the main characters, as they defeated him using power borrowed from the Great Sage after death. It was power simply given to them. Lucas, however, aimed to become one of the few people the leader would genuinely acknowledge.
The man was legendary.
His goal was to use all the mana and life force in the world to ascend to Sagehood, becoming an existence equal to or surpassing the Great Sage himself.
Even so, among everyone in the story, Lucas respected him the most.