Chapter 351: Eternal Bond [2]

His other special, shared ability also evolved. Previously, it was called Soul-Binding Symbiosis, and now it was called Eternal Bond. Perhaps it represented the depth of their connection now: the fact that they were no longer people bound by circumstances, but two souls that had chosen each other for eternity.

’I really like it. Both the name and its effects.’

First, its existing passive effects were strengthened, and there were a few additions. Ethea’s chronic pain would completely disappear when they were together, their mana/mental power regeneration would triple, and the same went for their cultivation speed. Their overall strength, speed, defense, and more also increased threefold. On top of that, they could now sense each other’s location and condition at all times, and transfer mana and mental power with each other at will.

Synchronicity had also changed. It no longer had to trigger by chance. They could now activate it once per day, entering a state of perfect alignment for a short period. During that time, their cultivation speed, regeneration, and learning speed all increased dramatically. Soren couldn’t help but chuckle when he read that part. They finally had a way to use the effect that had been sitting dormant for so long.

As for Symbiotic Equilibrium, it had strengthened significantly. They could now access each other’s abilities at will, without needing to transfer them back and forth. The limitation was that it only worked on lower-rank abilities for now. Fundamental and high-ranking abilities, like Soren’s constitution or Core Refinement, and Ethea’s curse and abilities, still couldn’t be shared. But everything else was fair game.

Then came the first new addition, the one that made Soren pause for a long moment.

It was a shared mental space. A private realm that existed only for the two of them, constructed from their combined consciousness. They could meet there whenever they wanted, no matter how far apart they were in the physical world. Time inside moved differently. Two days in the realm equaled just one in reality. They could talk freely, share memories, or simply spend time together without anyone else knowing.

They could also train there.

Soren’s eyes lit up at that part because they could spar, practice techniques, and learn from each other without risking physical injury or exhausting their bodies. It was a place where they could grow stronger together, away from the dangers of the real world.

’...This is amazing.’

He couldn’t wait to try it.

’And the last effect is... Eternal Vow.’

Soren fell silent as he recalled the contents and capabilities of the effect.

’...I think... It’s better not to tell Ethea about this...’

He shook his head and moved on to the next return.

Advanced Appraisal had evolved into Eyes of Truth, and this one came with a massive upgrade. He no longer had to activate it repeatedly. One use was enough. Once he appraised someone, the status window would remain open and update in real time, reflecting any changes in their condition, abilities, or mental state as they happened. The only limitation was that it lasted for a single day before expiring. Still, that was a massive improvement over what he had before.

Beyond that, as the new name suggested, he could now see the truth, though he wasn’t sure exactly how that worked yet. The information about it had been vague, mentioning something about piercing through deception and revealing hidden things. So, he would have to test it himself before reaching a conclusion.

He glanced down at Ethea, who was still asleep against his chest.

’...Should I try it on her first?’

He hesitated for a moment, then activated the ability.

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Name: Ethea Everly

Status: Stable (Recovering / Critical)

[Age: 21]

[Rank: 7th Circle [Crippled / Regressed]]

[Mental Cultivation: Stellar Soul Weaver Sutra — Stage 2: Soul Tempered Core Stage]

[Current Mana Level: 0 (Sealed)]

[Current Mental Power: 86547 / 150000]

[Core condition: 70% destroyed...]

[Mana pathways: 40% functional...]

[Physical Condition:]

- Paralysis

- Chronic Pain (Level 0/10)

- ...

[Authority Status: Frost Sovereign - Sealed/Dormant]

[Affliction Detected:]

[Curse: Eclipse’s Corrosion - Grade: Eighth Circle]

[Details: ???]

[Effect: ???]

[Origin: ???]

[Estimated Survival Without Treatment: 10 months]

[Abilities: Unshackled Soul (S-Rank), Sovereign Swordsmanship (SS-Rank), ? (SSS-Rank), Absolute Zero (Sealed)]

[Affinities: Ice (Grade EX), ▇▇▇▇▇ , Darkness (?)]

[Hidden Talent / Traits: Stellar Soul, Heart of Winter, Unyielding Will, Sovereign’s Bloodline, Fated One, Perfect Recall]

[Mental State: Sleeping, Happy]

[Investment Value: MYTHIC]

[Potential: Immeasurable]

════════════════

’W-Whoa!’ Soren’s eyes widened as he read through the numbers.

Just yesterday, her core condition had been at 77% destroyed and her mana pathways at 31% functional. Today, the core was at 70% and the pathways at 40%. That was a massive jump. Under normal circumstances, which included her eating medicine, magic meals, and elixirs, it would have taken about a month to see this much improvement.

He fell silent, staring at the numbers as his mind raced. The integration shouldn’t have affected her, right? So why had her condition improved so suddenly?

’...Could it be... because of Eternal Bond?’

Since it was a shared ability, it affected them both, so it would make sense if she recovered this much. Furthermore, her mental power had increased significantly as well, jumping from approximately sixty-five thousand to over eighty-five thousand, which was another big leap. The chronic pain was at level zero, as he had expected. But then something else caught his eye.

’Absolute Zero... that must be the domain ability she talked about. And... Huh? Her ice affinity is... EX grade?’

He paused, blinking a few times to check if he was seeing right. He had seen S-rank, SS-rank, even SSS-rank affinities before. But EX? He had never encountered that grade. What did it even mean?

’...I need to look into this later and tell Ethea about it...’ His thoughts trailed off as he saw her third affinity being revealed as darkness with a question mark. ’...About everything.’

’...Oh!’ His eyes lit up as he finally saw her hidden talents and traits listed at the bottom of the window. He could only see the names for now, not the descriptions, but even the names gave him an idea of what they might be. ’However...’