Chapter 360: Forming the Connective Cluster

Kai sat down in the middle of the small chamber, cross-legged, both eyes closed.

Slowly, he pulled his senses inward, detaching from the world around him.

Every single distraction—the cold air, the distant echo of mana from Dorian and Bryan, even the weight of the rock above—all faded into a muted hum. He focused solely on his internal body. Nothing else.

His senses were then locked on the main Primordial Lock.

It sat at his core like a dormant pit of darkness.

In order for him to create the first proper Connective Cluster that would be linked directly to his mind, he needed to abolish the crude, makeshift roots he had grown during his desperate moments when losing wasn’t an option.

They were clumsy things, grown in haste, and they would only get in the way.

Normally, the process would be hazardous and brutal.

From what he read in the manual, a wrong move meant months of correction.

First, one would need to destroy the flawed Connective Cluster, which would undoubtedly cause immense internal damage that would need time to heal. Additionally, the body would become more sensitive because of that, even if the abolishment went perfectly.

And only then would the Supernal be able to make the second attempt.

But creating a replacement would then be significantly harder because of the sensitive body.

It was a procedure that demanded absolute focus, control, and pain tolerance.

Due to that, Kai assumed that most of the Supernals who had made their Connective Clusters would leave them as they were even though they were flawed. The risk was simply too much for them.

But Kai wasn’t worried.

Unlike the others who needed to rely on themselves to abolish the flawed Connective Cluster, he had his main Primordial Lock. It wanted nothing more than to devour everything that got too close to it.

It was a greedy, bottomless thing.

Back when he was creating his second Primordial Lock, he’d had to constantly mind the main Primordial Lock, ensuring it didn’t consume the mana that was supposed to be for the second Primordial Lock.

Most of the time, it was a hassle.

Right now, however, the main Primordial Lock was a convenience.

Since it recognized him as its master, it wouldn’t actively try to harm him from within.

It would devour things cleanly while minding his body.

Kai exhaled slowly through his mouth, letting out the air from deep inside his lungs. Then he drew in a sharp, sudden breath through his nose and riled the main Primordial Lock, signaling for it to wake up.

And the reaction was immediate.

Like a beast awakening from slumber, the main Primordial Lock stirred—unleashing an ooze of thick, viscous darkness. It spread outward, a slow-moving tide of shadow that crawled like a mole through his internal pathways toward the roots branching onto his right arm.

A bead of cold sweat trickled down the side of Kai’s face.

He could feel the darkness touching the roots—a sensation like ice water poured over nerves.

For a moment, the mana inside the roots resisted, trying to hold their shape.

But the main Primordial Lock was all-consuming, and it pulled them without mercy.

It was akin to watching light being drawn into a black hole—the roots didn’t tear or snap; they simply unravelled, stretched—and lost their shapes before vanishing into the ravenous maw of the main Primordial Lock.

And the sensation was quite strange and new.

It didn’t hurt, but it felt strangely uncomfortable, like his senses lost the ability to sense a part of him. From start to finish, it took barely a minute. The roots were completely gone—and the pathways were now clean.

Kai opened his eyes and immediately covered his mouth.

He coughed out a mouthful of blood—the coppery taste flooded his senses.

Even though the process had been seamless, there was still a drawback. The sudden extraction had left its mark. His entire right arm felt numb, heavy, refusing to listen to his mind. But Kai wasn’t worried at all.

Just a few seconds later, he had already regained feeling in his right arm again.

Once it passed, he took a deep breath and wiped the blood from his lips.

Now it was time for him to start creating the real and proper Connective Cluster.

Kai grabbed the first level-two mana ore and closed his eyes again.

As soon as he began to absorb the mana contained within it, the difference was staggering.

Normally, the moment he touched a level-one mana ore, the mana inside would significantly deplete in mere seconds, drained by his ravenous reserves. His appetite grew along with his rank and raw power.

But now, even after more than ten seconds of continuous absorption, it hadn’t run out.

Its purity was astounding.

Coupled with his extremely high mana absorption efficiency—Kai realized he had more than enough to forge all the Connective Clusters. He thought he would at least be able to make two Connective Clusters, but he was wrong.

He could make all of them with time.

First, he suppressed his main Primordial Lock, forcing the greedy black to close shut.

So that it wouldn’t devour the mana he was absorbing.

Only then did he make the first step—constructing the main path.

Kai shaped the raw mana he absorbed into a needle-small tube. A microscopic, hollow conduit for mana to travel through. His brow furrowed, and a bead of sweat slid down his temple—as this process required absolute concentration.

A single mistake would cost dearly.

Outside the needle-small tube, he layered an outer protective shell.

Slowly, inch by agonizing inch, he guided the structure upward from his core, weaving it bit by bit until it reached his brainstem. The moment the tube connected to his brain, a profound shockwave of clarity washed over him.

It felt like waking up after the deepest, most restorative sleep of his life.

The fog that normally clouded his mind evaporated, replaced by a razor-sharp awareness.

And with it, the main path was fully constructed.

It had taken him over fifteen minutes of painstaking care to build—and also ten level-two mana ores but the foundation was finally laid. Even now, when it was still far from complete, it was already better than the crude roots that he made.

Next came the mana hairs.

As the name suggested, these were microscopic filaments that coated the outer layer of the main path.

Instead of manually shaping them one by one, Kai simply let the mana spread outward, and the mana hairs formed on their own—as if his body contained an invisible blueprint. A dormant map of precisely where the energy needed to go.

Unlike the main path that was tasked with supplying mana to the recipient body part, this was different.

Mana hairs were essential to reinforce his flesh that was far from all Connective Clusters.

Kai watched silently as they branched out toward his shoulders, chest, and internal organs.

It took a bit longer to form these mana hairs.

Once they were done, Kai began the final step—creating the mana roots.

Mana roots are thicker and more substantial than the mana hairs. They were meant to connect to his skeleton, to strengthen the very bedrock of his body. Additionally, the mana roots must be separated evenly across the main path.

Needed to be spread evenly across his bones.

Because his bones were far harder than normal, drilling the mana roots into them took longer than expected. It was a gruelling process, grinding the dense calcium with raw force until the roots could touch the core.

As he continued this process, three hours passed in a silent blur.

Kai opened his eyes and blinked a few times.

His vision adjusted to the dim light of the small chamber before his mind finally returned.

According to the Body and Mana Synchrony Manual, the Connective Cluster tied to his brain would increase his mind’s processing speed—and his perception of the world. Both would be really useful during a battle.

Of course, he wanted to test it.

Kai called one steel pellet from the case to his hand and flicked it toward the wall.

As soon as it left his hand, he focused on it.

A smile crept onto his lips.

He realized that the steel pellet was moving slower in his eyes. Not crawling—but noticeably slower than its normal bullet speed. He could see the minute rotations of the metal, and also the subtle distortion in the air.

Now, his brain was processing the visual information at a rate it never had before.

Kai called the steel pellet again after it crashed into the rock wall, and then looked around.

He was surrounded by a dozen level two mana ores.

It was about how much he expected to absorb after knowing how dense the mana within the level two mana ore was. "According to the manual, the next step would be feeding the newly formed Connective Cluster to complete it. But I could skip it and form the others first."

For a moment, Kai contemplated what to do.

Eventually, he settled on completing the first Connective Cluster first.

No need to be greedy.

Once one was fully completed, then he could begin to create the others.

Just like that, the night deepened and bled into midnight.

Inside the hidden chamber of Ixos, Kai was entirely lost to the world. The hours dissolved into a rhythmic, gruelling cadence of creating the connective Clusters. He worked meticulously in order to avoid mistakes.

In the neighbouring chamber, the atmosphere was equally heavy, though far more frantic.

Bryan was pushing desperately toward the Aspirant Supernal rank.

Considering the literal mountain of level-one mana ores behind him, there was no excuse for failure. If his bloodline was strong enough to reach the threshold, then he would cross it. Not too far away, Dorian sat and watched with hawk-like intensity.

He observed as Bryan drained one mana ore after the other.

Each blue ore grew dim in Bryan’s hands.

And in return, his blood vessels grew stronger and stronger.

Dorian’s hands rested on his knees, his own mana humming in anticipation. He knew his role. The moment Bryan was ready to make the final, perilous breakthrough—Dorian would step in, channeling the mana-transfer technique to ensure the breakthrough would be a success.

Dozens of miles away, inside a training chamber within the main academy building, the same desperate race was unfolding. Abigail sat cross-legged on a bed of warm, heated sand—eyes closed.

She breathed in deep, steady rhythms, absorbing the mana ores she had been gifted.

Slowly, she steadily inched her way toward the Aspirant Supernal rank.

Unlike Bryan, she was already really close to a breakthrough, and she reckoned tonight would be the night she reached it. But as she kept stimulating her blood vessels, she was disturbed by the sound of knocking at the door.