MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith

As this question continued to linger in his mind, the young man gave it a bit more thought.

At first, when he had just gained a base level of understanding towards Shadow Energy, Valyr did not really find anything noteworthy about it.

If anything, the knowledge he had gained at that time allowed him to better utilize Shadow Energy, giving him the ability to achieve more with Shadow Energy while using less of it in the process.

Though, as his understanding of the concept began to deepen even further, the young man began to notice some commonalities between the two.

At times, it would be the way the information contained within the segment was structured. At others, it would be how Shadow Energy was laid out in a way similar to the scripture he and his other self was practicing.

However, all those doubts and speculations eventually came to a close the moment he had grasped a third of the information within the smallest segment about Shadow Energy.

Although the amount of information he needed to truly certain about the matter was far more than what he had obtained thus far, he had at least confirmed with his current knowledge that there was a similarity between the two.

'Is it coincidental… or is it intentionally designed to be this way?' asked Valyr to himself, the gears in his mind turning as his understanding of Shadow Energy continued to deepen by the second.

Focusing his attention towards the new bits of information he had just received, the young man soon returned his train of thought towards his earlier question.

'As a whole, Shadow Energy is a type of energy that embodies the concept of destruction.'

'In a way, one could say that there is no similarity between Shadow Energy and mana,' thought the young man to himself. 'After all, the one pursues the pinnacle of destruction down its path, while the other only amplifies what it does best the further one gets.'

'…Which is its ability to be used anywhere.'

'However, the fact that mana could be used anywhere might be the reason why there is a similarity between the two.' Reaching this point, the young man scratched the back of his head.

'But that doesn't explain why it feels like the 81 Phases Mana Reformation Scripture seems like a good fit for a type of energy that pursues destruction.'

Falling silent after that, the young man closed his eyes for a bit as he went over all of the information he had gathered on Shadow Energy thus far.

Then, feeling like he'd gotten a good grasp of what he'd obtained, he shifted his attention towards the 81 Phases Mana Reformation Scripture and went through all of the information Ataraxia shared with him on the matter.

When he thought about looking through the scripture at first, he felt like this action of his wouldn't really yield anything.

After all, there were only similarities between the two. If there was a connection between them from the start, then the young man would've already gotten an inkling of it with how far he'd gotten.

Yet, there was no sign of that whatsoever.

But, as he continued to go through the scripture, specifically through the scripture's first nine levels, the young man felt something.

'It seems… there really is more to it?' he muttered, unsure whether the feeling he felt just now was real or not.

Though, as he looked over the first nine levels of the scripture once more, he got that same feeling yet again.

And again.

And again.

…And again.

'…So, there really is more to it,' thought the young man to himself, feeling like he had just opened a new can of worms to explore at that moment.

However, rather than feel more pressure because of it, Valyr instead felt a sense of anticipation and excitement towards the discovery.

After all, if there was a way for him to integrate the 81 Phases Mana Reformation Scripture into Shadow Energy, then wouldn't that mean he'd be able to upgrade his Void Energy to Abyssal Energy in the future?

Spurred on by this thought, the young man dispelled most of the thoughts lingering in his mind as he returned his attention towards the large structure in front of him.

Taking in a deep breath to calm himself, he then began to approach its smallest segment with the greatest amount of attention he could bear, only to be met with an insane amount of information flowing through his mind not long after.

Whoosh!

However, after having spent an entire month adapting to the uncomfortable sensation brought about by his actions, the amount of information coursing through his mind at the moment was already something he could tolerate with no problems.

With that, Valyr kept on deepening his understanding over Shadow Energy, aiming to at least comprehend the entirety of what was contained within the smallest segment in the meantime.

Then, from there, he would attempt looking through both sides again in the hopes that he would see something finally change.

'If I still only get a rough feeling like I did just now once I get to that point…'

'Then that just means I have to deepen my understanding even further.'

…

"…How long has it been since you sent him to the Void Core?"

Feeling the aura surrounding Valyr become stronger by the second, a solemn look appeared on Florentine's face as she turned to look at Xervei.

"Around 10 minutes or so," replied the latter, his expression calm as he continued to watch the young man in front of him.

Though, not even a few seconds later, he let out a faint sigh that was then followed up by a self-deprecating chuckle.

"At times like these, only now do you realize that there are some people who are just born for something," said the man, giving Florentine a brief glance.

"You think he's made to comprehend the Void Core?" Florentine raised his eyebrow in return.

"Not really." Xervei shook his head as he clarified himself. "Considering how long it took him to finally return to the Shadow Plane, he doesn't put it in his eyes at all."

"Yet, I can already tell that, within these past 10 minutes, his connection with the Shadowsource and the Void Core has reached the first layer."

"So quickly?" The woman's eyes widened at those words. "And how long did it take you to get to that point again?"

"…Hundreds of times longer than him," said Xervei as he let out yet another sigh. "Would it really pain you not to bring it up at least once?"

"As a Saintess, it feels like I should remind you of it every once in a while," replied Florentine with a giggle. "But tell me honestly, Xervei. Do you think he'll ever walk the same path She did?"

"I don't know if he will, but he'd at least know what it is by the time he reaches the third layer," answered the former after giving it a bit of thought. "In a way, it's considered the most important inheritance of the Shadow Plane."

"As long as another person treks Her path, then the Shadow Plane would be able to—?!"

Rumble…

"…"

"…"

"…So soon?"