100X Returns System: I Dominate the Age of Gods - Chapter 357. Aether Seed
“Oh. This is the real deal after all,” Orion said with a chuckle in the back of his mind, sounding amused by William’s reaction.
Will swallowed before asking cautiously, “Can I touch it?” Looking at the huge waves of energy it had generated, William had been skeptical of whether it was dangerous or not.
For a moment, Orion seemed confused by the question. “Huh? Yes, you can,” he replied, realizing William had somehow assumed otherwise.
William nodded without another word. He carefully reached into the box and picked up the small white object resting inside.
Calling it a seed barely felt accurate. It did not resemble any ordinary plant seed he had ever seen. The thing looked more like a polished bead formed from layers of pale white sediment, as though milk-colored stone had been compressed over countless years into a smooth, dense fragment.
He turned it slowly between his fingers, studying every angle with complete focus. Under the sunlight, the surface reflected a faint translucent sheen.
Tiny streaks of cloudy white ran through its center; it looked like a decorative item one would like to keep at home.
Its texture was cool to the touch; beneath the surface, there was also a subtle graininess that gave it a mineral feel.
William narrowed his eyes while observing it, expecting something extraordinary to happen simply from holding it.
“Orion, will you finally show me its effects?”
“Fine.”
⁜————————⁜
AETHER SEED
Description: A Fragment of Aether Nucleus.
Effects: Can propagate and conduct all forms of energy from the Aether Energy Tree. Connects the host to the Aether Nucleus.
Status: Restricted — Only allows access to the following energies:
• Mana Energy
• Spiritual Energy
⁜————————⁜
William stared at the information screen while holding the seed in his palm.
“System… are you saying this thing is going to act as my energy core?”
[You could describe it that way,] Orion answered. [A proper explanation would require context regarding its origin, and the information restrictions at the 8th Layer prevent me from revealing that.]
William clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“This stupid information layer system is always getting in the way.”
Even so, he continued staring at the seed with obvious curiosity. Questions piled up rapidly in his mind. He already doubted how much Orion would actually answer, but that did not stop him from trying.
“What exactly is an Aether Nucleus?”
[A concentrated body of Aether energy.]
“And what is Aether energy?”
[A type of energy.]
William’s eye twitched slightly.
“Where is it located? What does it do? Anything useful I can get to know?”
[No.]
William released a long sigh. Orion was clearly restricting information on purpose, but there was no point complaining about it again. Instead, he tried approaching the matter from another angle.
“Then what’s an Energy Tree?”
[Just as races possess evolutionary trees, energies possess their own branching systems. Since spiritual energy and mana are both branches within the Aether energy tree, you may consider them sister energies originating from the same evolutionary branch.]
William fell silent after hearing that explanation.
His thoughts slowly drifted as he pieced together everything he had learned so far. Several theories naturally began forming in his head.
Maybe the so-called Aether Nucleus was some massive reservoir of energy. A central source. Something fundamental enough that entire energy systems originated from it. After all, things did not simply exist without purpose, especially not mysterious objects hidden behind layers of restricted information.
Eventually, William looked back down at the seed.
“How do I consume it?”
[Swallow it.]
William blinked in surprise. “Oh.”
A hesitant expression immediately appeared on his face.
Historically speaking, swallowing mysterious things had never ended particularly well for him.
Unfortunately, there was not much room for hesitation anymore. After taking a slow breath, he tossed the seed into his mouth and swallowed it in one motion.
[Ding!! Aether Seed has been consumed.]
[Ding!! Absolute Adaptation activating…]
William instantly tensed.
“Here it comes…”
He clenched both fists tightly while forcing his breathing to slow.
Every muscle in his body prepared itself for the familiar agony that usually accompanied any major change involving the adaptation of talent.
He expected burning pain, shattered nerves, torn muscles, or at the very least some horrifying sensation ripping through his insides.
Several seconds passed, yet nothing happened.
William blinked in confusion. Then another notification appeared.
[Ding!! Aether Seed has been integrated successfully.]
[Ding!! Spiritual Energy Core is being expelled.]
“Huh…”
Before he could even process the message, a violent wave of nausea struck him.
William immediately grabbed his chest and doubled over.
His stomach twisted painfully as he coughed hard several times before his body suddenly convulsed. A disgusting mass of bloody, gooey substance shot out of his mouth and splattered onto the ground.
“What the hell…”
He gagged violently again.
“Blegh…”
[Your spiritual core became redundant after the integration of the Aether Core,] Orion explained calmly.]
[Therefore, it was expelled.]
[Ding!! Host has successfully connected to the Aether Nucleus.]
William steadied himself while breathing heavily. Surprisingly, there had been almost no pain during the process, but that honestly made the experience worse somehow.
Vomiting out his own energy core was horrifying in an entirely different way.
He immediately grabbed water from the inventory and rinsed his mouth repeatedly, trying desperately to erase the disgusting sensation lingering in his throat.
“It literally felt like I just shat through my mouth.”
[Well] Orion replied lazily, [when do you not?]
William’s face darkened.
“That’s still better than acting like a bitch all the time.”
Ignoring Orion’s offended silence, William wiped his mouth one final time before focusing on the far more important matter.
“What exactly happens now that I’m connected to the Aether Nucleus?”
[You will be capable of drawing energy directly from it.]
William’s expression changed instantly.
His ears practically perked up. He slowly straightened his posture and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
“And this nucleus… It’s huge, right?”
[Yes.]
“Like… ridiculously huge?”
[Yes.]
“Millions of times larger than normal energy sources?”
[Yes.]
William’s heartbeat gradually sped up.
“And it regenerates faster than I can consume energy?”
[Yes.]
Then William asked the question with sparkling eyes and growing excitement bubbling visibly across his face.
“So does that mean I have infinite energy now?”
Orion sounded exhausted already.
[Theoretically, yes, but….]
“YES!!!”
William never allowed Orion to finish what he wanted to say.
The moment the answer left Orion’s mouth, William shot upward into the sky like a launched missile.
“I can finally spam God-Rank spells!” he shouted excitedly while bursting into loud laughter. “Hahahaha!”
High above, he stretched both hands outward while staring into the vast expanse of the infinite domain surrounding him. Excitement flooded every inch of his body.
Then, suddenly, his expression froze.
[Oi… wait a minute.]
“What is it?? spout it out, I need to spam some black holes!!” William asked excitedly.
[You can only spam till your body vessel allows]
“Is that all?” William asked with a smile.
“Did you forget? I have infinite solar regeneration?” William asked with a smirk on his face.
[tsk, go ahead]
A dangerous grin slowly spread across his face anyway.
“Hehe…”
Without the slightest intention of stopping himself, William raised both hands toward the sky and then, with growing madness in his voice, he shouted.
“Black Hole” x 10
