Chapter 190: Source Material Term [Foreigner]

Chapter 190: Chapter 190: Source Material Term [Foreigner]

The Source Melting Furnace forcibly combines a Professional’s personal Traits, the Traits from their Breathing Combat Technique, and the Traits bestowed by the Profession itself.

In the end, this great furnace synthesizes and refines a special Source Energy unique to the individual.

This resulting Energy can be imbued onto weapons or the body, providing entirely unique special bonuses in future combat.

The principle is the same as the corrosive Source Material with a strong Poison Attribute that was on Buck’s blade.

And it is precisely because there are so many personal variables involved in the fusion that it’s nearly impossible to find two Professionals in the world with the exact same Source Energy.

As this brand new Source Material was generated, Rein, who was standing guard nearby, watched with wide-eyed astonishment.

He could clearly see the air above Lance’s broad back visibly distorting from the intense heat as a vast amount of Ether Energy began to rapidly converge, ultimately forming a colossal, phantom-like image of energy.

It was a Crimson Giant Dragon, its form long and powerful.

Rings of silver-white flame, a signature of the Pale Guard, coiled around the sharp claws on the Giant Dragon’s four limbs.

Its crimson scales were also covered in mysterious silver runes, giving it an air of supreme nobility and majesty.

It coiled its tail, encircling Lance within.

The pressure of its Dragon’s Might spread through the loft, as tangible as a physical force.

Lance could even hear every beat of his own heart, each one seemingly accompanied by a deep, powerful dragon’s roar.

[Source Material Descriptor "Crimson Dragon" generation complete... Generating Second Source Material Descriptor...]

Rein stared at the scene before him, his jaw nearly hitting the floor in shock.

He knew exactly what the manifestation of a Source Material phantom meant.

Source Material was the sum of a person’s personality, life experience, obsessions, fate, and all other external factors. It would generate a unique descriptor.

A Senior Adventurer could gauge a young Professional’s future potential simply by observing the phantom that appeared when they claimed their Profession.

According to records he had read in the confidential archives of the Black Iron Command Bureau, nearly all Dragon Species Source Materials represented the highest tier of potential in the world.

Even for those ancient Dragon Descendant Races with profound heritage, the geniuses among them usually only awakened Source Materials of the Sub-dragon or Earth Dragon Species—those with fleshy wings.

Yet the phantom appearing behind Lance, despite the strange color of its flames, was without a doubt the genuine article—a True Dragon Species.

’So this commoner boy, Lance, whom I’ve watched grow up since he was a kid...’

’...actually has the terrifying potential to become a Legendary Powerhouse in the future?’

Rein couldn’t help but give a wry smile. The whole situation felt so absurd, like something straight out of the third-rate heroic epics sung by Minstrels in a tavern.

「Meanwhile.」

Lance, his eyes still closed, sensed an unusual stirring.

He sensed that the generation of his Source Material hadn’t ended with the appearance of the Crimson Dragon.

Although the power from the Red Dragon Incarnation had already fully settled into the Melting Furnace in his heart, something from the deepest part of his soul—his true consciousness from a distant Earth—was stirring.

It was slowly taking shape, drawn out by some mysterious force.

Lance felt his consciousness being forcibly pulled from his body by an immense, irresistible force.

From a bird’s-eye view, he saw many scenes from his past life.

He saw his own birth on a cold hospital bed, carrying a heavy backpack to school, and then toiling away in the city for a meager salary.

It was his short and mediocre life as an Ordinary person.

The final scene played, showing the moment he died instantly in an accident.

But the vision didn’t end with his death.

He saw a cemetery under a dreary, constant rain.

He saw his family from his past life standing at his funeral, covering their faces as they wept in anguish.

He saw the gray that had appeared in his parents’ hair at their temples.

For some reason, a sorrow beyond words suddenly welled up from the bottom of Lance’s heart.

It was a past he could never sever, a home he could never return to.

A faint yet pure light suddenly ignited within his sorrow.

This special Source Material, born from his soul, didn’t merge into the Melting Furnace in his heart like the Red Dragon’s had.

Instead, it leaped up and forced its way into the depths of Lance’s mind.

Lance instantly understood the name of this Source Material.

[Foreigner]

This was the last testament to his past self.

The moment this Source Material infused his mind, the Source Melting Furnace—which had been restless and agitated from the forced fusion—completely stabilized.

[Special Source Material Descriptor acquired... World’s gift received... Please select a Skill to solidify.]

The system prompts during the Profession initiation came too fast to process.

Lance had no time to examine the specific benefits from his two Source Materials; he had to move on to the next step immediately.

He used Telekinesis to directly select [Thunder Sting Reflex] for solidification.

Immediately after, it felt as if the Skill was being extracted from his muscle memory by some unknown force.

Then, it was slowly etched into the beating Source Melting Furnace within his heart.

[Skill Solidification complete... Commencing Profession panel construction...]

The moment the panel’s final prompt appeared, Lance was overcome by a violent wave of dizziness, and his consciousness plunged into lightless darkness.

This feeling of spiritual weightlessness was very similar to what he’d experienced during the Fate Grafting.

’Does this mean that during this Profession initiation, I’m going to see some hidden secrets from the past again?’

The scene that followed gradually came into focus.

Lance saw what appeared to be the top of a massive tower in a bustling city. A man and a woman were standing there, enjoying the breeze.

The woman, her face indistinct, sat casually on the edge of the tower’s railing.

The man stood beside her, his body angled slightly, as if ready to protect her from falling.

"Atlas, have you already inscribed your Profession into the Star Realm?"

"The Sage just sent a message, telling us to find a suitable opportunity to record our Professions so they can be passed down. It has something to do with the future course of fate."

The woman’s voice was light and cheerful, with a sweet quality to it.

The man named Atlas stood quietly in the evening breeze, silent for a long time.

After a moment, he finally replied in a low voice, "I finished inscribing it a long time ago."

"Huh?"

The woman was clearly taken aback by Atlas’s words.

She then hopped off the railing, grabbed his shoulders with both hands, and started shaking him vigorously.

"Why didn’t you tell me sooner!"

"That way, I could have inscribed my Profession information with yours! Otherwise, how will future generations know that our two Professions are the most compatible combination!"

Atlas reached out to steady her, a helpless look on his face as he explained gently,

"I’ve already inscribed my Profession information within the Gate of the Land of Death."

"That place is forbidden to the living. No one alive can enter it."