Chapter 281: Critical State of Crystals (3)

‘As long as I channel my excess mana into it every day, at my current recovery rate, I can fill this progress bar and complete the ascension in two or three days at most, even without potions.’

‘Alright, it’s just a slow grind. Not too difficult…’

But with a great battle imminent, every single point of Energy Value could mean the difference between life and death. It was better to conserve his mana for now.

Lin Fan decisively cast the tempting option of “ascension” to the back of his mind. Although he couldn’t achieve a fundamental transformation right away, stacking all his core crystals to the 100% critical state would still provide a boost to his combat power that was not to be underestimated.

‘Synthesize! Synthesize them all!’

Within his consciousness, Lin Fan became a ruthless synthesis machine. The crystals he had looted and the ones he already possessed fused in a frenzy under his command.

The number of common crystals in his inventory rapidly decreased. When it was all over, his Stealth, Hardening, Activation, Swiftness, and Strength crystals had all reached the 100% critical state. Even his very first Sharpness Crystal had been stacked to the critical state.

Unfortunately, either his base Armor Crystal was too weak or they were just too rare, as he only managed to synthesize it to 80% of Legendary quality.

As for the Impact Crystal…

Lin Fan had one spare left, while the other two were embedded in his spear and greatsword.

‘Which weapon should get it?’ Lin Fan mused for a moment before deciding to put it away for now. If necessary, he would synthesize it into the greatsword.

The spear was for clearing out mobs and fighting humanoids; its current Impact enchantment was enough to blast a person to bits. But that pig… That was a heavy-vehicle-level monster. To break through its defense, he had to use a heavy weapon!

He let out a long breath.

With a flicker of his will, he equipped the perfected crystals that had entered the critical state onto himself, one by one, feeling the power within them.

He was gradually beginning to feel how the power the crystals bestowed upon his body was completely different from that of potions.

Each equipped crystal would consume his energy over time or based on its effect, but the returns were substantial.

Lin Fan calmed his mind, carefully perceiving the incredibly clear paths the energy took now that the crystals had reached their critical state:

The Stealth Crystal was a “curtain” that spread outward;

The Strength Crystal was an “electric current” flowing through every muscle fiber;

The Hardening Crystal caused energy to concentrate on the skin’s surface, hardening the skin cells. But unlike the Armor Crystal, which acted externally, the Hardening Crystal acted internally;

The Swiftness Crystal was more like turning on an air conditioner in his brain, bringing instant, absolute calm and clarity.

Lin Fan was shaken. Once the crystals’ channels were fully opened, he was no longer just “using” the power; he was beginning to “understand” it. The way the energy flowed, its operational logic, was now laid bare in his consciousness like a high-definition anatomical chart.

The outside world seemed to respond to the clarity within him.

Gradually, the rain stopped.

The sound of raindrops hitting the car’s body faded away. The light shining through the windshield grew brighter, no longer the gray gloom of an overcast day.

“Brother Lin, the rain stopped.”

Cheng Qi had been huddled in the driver’s seat, not daring to make a sound. It wasn’t until he saw the rain stop and the sky brighten that he tentatively peeked his head over to look at the back seat.

After that flash of light had faded, Lin Fan had closed his eyes, looking like an old monk in deep meditation, and Cheng Qi hadn’t dared to disturb him.

In Cheng Qi’s perception, Lin Fan’s aura over the past few minutes had shifted like a kaleidoscope.

One moment, he was like a ferocious beast lying dormant in the darkness, ready to pounce and devour someone at any second; the suffocating pressure was overwhelming. The next, he had suddenly become as gentle as jade, radiating a vibrant life force like a hot spring.

But in the blink of an eye, that feeling changed again. At this moment, although Lin Fan was clearly just sitting there holding Ye Qingniao, in the corner of Cheng Qi’s vision, he seemed to be detaching from the world itself.

It was an extreme sort of faintness. It felt as if Cheng Qi moved just a little farther away, or even blinked, the man would dissolve into the air like morning mist and vanish without a trace.

“Brother Lin?” Cheng Qi couldn’t help but call out again, afraid that this living, breathing person before him would actually vanish just like that.