Chapter 135 Altar
After Vincent entered the Decadence Soul Temple, he saw an altar made of black stone inside. On its two sides were two large stone slabs made of dark purple stone.
There were no texts or inscriptions on it at all. However, Vincent could tell that they were unordinary.
Anyway, Vincent already received instructions on what to do… Silverio gave him another small stone that is supposedly an item that would connect him to the Mind Training Ground. Since this stone can only be used for a limited amount of time, they have decided to just give it as a gift not needing to be returned.
He then found a seat like the other two. He sat on the floor with his legs crossed and held the stone in between his hands like he was about to meditate.
However, he was doing something else.
"Appraise..."
[ Damaged Memory Connection Stone ]
[ Quality: Rare
Number of Enhancements: 0/10
Durability: 5/50
Number of Usages Available: 1/6
Mind Clarity ( Disabled ): A passive ability that helps the user clear their mind and defend against mental attacks.
Description: A heavily damaged stone connected to a specific Memory Stone. After usage, the item will be shattered and damage the soul of the user. The passive ability can't be used until the item is repaired.
Remarks: Usage number will increase by 1 in every successful enhancement. ]
'So that's how it is, huh…' Vincent finally understood their intention.
"Are you sure you wanted to give this to me?" He asked the two one last time.
"Yes! That's yours! We already have ours. We won't renege on our promise. Anyway, that item is quite useless outside this building so our clan wouldn't think too much of it even if you tell them that you just pick it up somewhere on the road." Silverio replied.
Vincent nodded as it was indeed noted in the description that the small stone is only connected to a specific Memory Stone. It means that it has no other uses just like what he said.
Nevertheless, he couldn't help but sigh.
They actually wanted to pull a prank on him. They obviously do not have an intention to kill him but only to suffer a bit. Even if he got injured by the two and was known by the Clan, they wouldn't receive punishment at all. Even if they will, it will just probably be a light punishment like staying in their room for a day or something.
Furthermore, they know that he is a Soul Cultivator so even if his soul was damaged, they believe that he would still be able to repair it after some time.
He couldn't help but be thankful for his Appraisal Ability.
"Vincent… Are you nervous? You can try and connect to the stone now… Time flows very slowly in that place and you can use that place to train. Hurry up."
Tyrell excitedly urged him up but Vincent only gave a mysterious smile and continued with his plan. They weren't pulling a harmless prank on him so he made sure to remember this incident.
'Enhance!'
[ Enhancement Successful! ]
[ Damaged Memory Connection Stone +1 ]
Vincent sneered as he confirmed that the number of users increased by 1 as well. Obviously, he wouldn't stop here as he continued enhancing until he reached a failure.
[ Enhancement Successful! ]
[ Enhancement Successful! ]
[ Enhancement Successful! ]
…
[ Enhancement Successful! ]
[ Enhancement Failure! ]
[ Damaged Memory Connection Stone +9 ]
Since Vincent's Item Enhancement Skill has already reached level 9, he was now barely encountering failure during +6 and above.
However, reaching +10 will always not be easy. He has to give up on that for now.
Furthermore, as its name implies, it is still a damaged one. Although it will no longer shatter after using it once it is still very fragile at the moment and accidents can happen.
Because of that, Vincent decided to use his other skill to ensure that their prank won't work on him.
'Ascend…'
[ Ascension Failure. ]
[ Ascension Failure. ]
[ Ascension Successful. ]
Vincent had almost broken into laughter after seeing that the ascension succeeded after three tries…
He was about to appraise the item but he suddenly received a series of notifications!
[ Item Ascension Skill Level has increased by 1. ]
[ You have increased the level of your Ascension Skill for the first time. ]
[ You have received 1 Transcendence Card and 1 Orichalcum Ore ]
Vincent's eyes went wide after seeing this reward. He didn't expect that increasing the level of his Ascension Skill for the first time would give him such a reward.
Furthermore, it is the clue for the third stage of his Awakening System!
That's right! This is definitely a clue that he received from the system.
'Ahh… Now that I think about it, this is the pattern of the system…'
Vincent finally recalled that when his only skill was just the Item Enhancement Skill from the system, he received a single Ascension Card after leveling the skill for the very first time!
Then after the Item Enhancement Skill level reached 9, he received the Item Ascension Skill.
Now, it happened again.
He leveled up the Item Ascension Skill for the first time so he received the Transcendence Card. It means that if he leveled his Ascension Skill to 9, he would most likely learn the Transcendence Skill!
That is certainly not a coincidence.
His hands trembled as he ignored Silverio who wanted him to activate the stone immediately. He first used the appraise skill on the card. Anyway, they can't see what he was doing.
[ Transcendence Card ]
[ Description: A one-time use card that helps any targeted item to receive skill and guaranteed new attribute.
Remarks: Only Pseudo-Legendary and the above item can receive a new Skill. Only a 1-Time Item Random Skill can ignore the rank of an item. ]
'Incredible!' Vincent couldn't help but suck a breath of cold air after reading this. He finally had a good outlook on his system.
Item Enhancement Skill increases the existing attributes and durability.
Item Ascension Skill increases the rank and overall quality of the item. It also had a small chance of getting new attributes in the process which is why his Silver Ruin Dagger and other items have new attributes now.
Item Transcendence Skill, on the other hand, would grant the item a new ability and guaranteed a new attribute in the process!
As for the restrictions, that only pseudo-legendary and above can accept the transcendence, he wasn't worried about that at all.
Vincent also couldn't but smile after recalling the 1-Time Item Random Skill that he used before which allowed his previously Unique-Rank Soul-Forged Ironbark Cane to get the Ensnare Skill.
It was a pity that he no longer receive such an overpowered card but this Transcendence Card is surely something he would look forward to.
'Alright… It should be about time…'
After calming his breath and confirming that the Memory Connection Stone in his hands is no longer 'damaged' after a successful ascension, Vincent finally decided to check what benefits he could get inside the black stone or the altar
He closed his eyes and poured his Pseudo Celestial Energy into the stone and soon, his consciousness entered the altar as Silverio and Tyrell expected.
"He entered!" Silverio shouted in delight as soon as he saw Vincent's energy fluctuation become dormant. This signifies that he already triggered the small stone's connection.
"Hehe! Let's wait and see what kind of reaction he'll make." Tyrell laugh seeing that their plan was successful.
"Wait… Shouldn't we leave, what if he started attacking us?"
"Are you afraid? He hasn't even learned Tier 2 Mana Arts! He'll also be injured!"
"T-that's true… But this is still the temple…" Silverio replied with a frown. He still wanted to respect this place and not make it a real battleground.
Tyrell paused for a moment but he still shook his head. He is determined to humiliate Vincent today as he explained the situation to Silverio.
Apparently, Tyrell wanted Lesley to marry his friend. Furthermore, he promised his friend that he'll help him at all costs but in exchange, he will receive special potions to further his success in developing his Tier 4 Mana Arts.
"We can't let this ignorant countryside man get close to Lesley… Do you want your eyes to stay like that?! We have to accept we don't have great talent. We need outside help. I hate these lackluster grey eyes! I need to complete my Mystic Eye!" Tyrell said filled with conviction.
Even though he wasn't the oldest here, he was more intelligent than Silverio.
Anyway, their eyes were actually grey because they are developing Tier 4 Mana Arts! That's right, the Zemin Clan doesn't only possess the extremely difficult Darkness Eye of Yulia but they also have other Mystic Eyes that only those with pure bloodline can try and practice!
***
While the two were arguing about their method to humiliate Vincent, the latter already found himself in a difficult situation.
He was invited here as he was told that it could temper his soul. Something that would surely benefit him as an Aura Knight.
After all, there is a limit on the method that his grandfather had given him.
However, as soon as he connected to the stone, he saw the familiar image of the female goddess that he has been using for his Visualization Method to empower his soul!
He thought that nothing would go wrong but the seductive blonde goddess, who is barely wearing her white robe, moved and attacked his eyes.