Unsealing Emptiness

Ozul kept his eyes at the surroundings, noting down each peculiarity that he would notice.

Surprisingly, they did not encounter any creature the whole day before it was already night time.

Since the vegetation only got thicker as the further they traveled, they had to deal with an even narrower space to rest this time.

Again, more than half the mercenaries climbed up the trees while others stayed on the ground.

They were all planning to spend the night as they did yesterday. But unlike them, Ozul had other plans for his team.

After the mercenaries had all taken their positions, the trio also chose a spot that was a little far from the group.

.....

As the trio gathered around, Ozul said to Raven, “Take out the Cores.”

Raven complied and took out the two Cores that she had stored in her Spatial Ring. Although she did look at Ozul, confused since he did not have the other resources on him right now.

“Don’t we need a Spiritual Ginseng and a lot of Light Deprived Sea Stones?” Raven asked since those two were the essential pieces that they required to complete the process.

The Spiritual Ginseng helped the body absorb the Mana Core, while the Light Deprived Sea Stones played the most significant role.

They were used to absorb the excessive amount of Mana in the Cores. No matter which method they used, their bodies were fragile and would break down if they tried to absorb so much Mana suddenly.

The Light Deprived Sea Stones were unique since they could actually absorb Mana. It was because these Sea Stones did not come into contact with any energy in the hidden caves near the seabed for decades.

However, when Raven looked at Ozul, she could not see any of these items. Moreover, she was aware that he couldn’t use a Spatial Ring either.

Blaze had not heard of the two names, but he could figure out that they were probably the required resources they needed not to die when trying to absorb a Mana Core.

“Normally, yes. But I think we can do this without them,” Ozul nonchalantly replied to Raven. However, his answer made both Raven and Blaze gulp in fear.

“You think...?” Raven asked with a little hesitation. She wouldn’t have doubted him, but it seemed like Ozul himself was not really sure this time.

“Yeah, I think it will work.” Ozul again replied as if it was nothing.

He took the Cores from Raven’s hands and began to look at them intently while Raven and Blaze looked at each other in dismay.

He looked up at them after a while and said, “What are you waiting for, sit down and start concentrating.”

Although Raven and Blaze instantly sat down on the ground, they were still worried about how they would absorb the Mana Cores without exploding into pieces.

“Are you certain that we will be fine with this...?” Blaze asked just for his confirmation.

“No. I said it already. I think it will work, but I am not certain.” Ozul dismissed it again while both Raven and Blaze tried their best not to show their crying expressions.

“Wouldn’t we die if it does not work!?” Raven asked.

“Oh! Hm... Yeah, I think you would die. Well, good luck then,” said Ozul as he had just realized the consequences of it failing.

The traditional method was a complicated process where the person who was trying to absorb the Mana Core would have to eat the Spiritual Ginseng first. It would rejuvenate the body into peak condition where the person would be able to focus all of his attention into absorbing the Mana.

The next part was to hold the Light Deprived Sea Stones in both hands and channel all the excess energy into it.

So whenever the person would feel that they could not handle the Mana, they would channel it all into the stones.

The only downside in this method was that more than 80% of the Mana would be wasted on the stones. And it also couldn’t be absorbed later.

Once the Mana entered the Light Deprived Sea Stones, they would turn into natural Luminous Sea Stones but brighter. Overall, they had no value either.

Even when this method wasted so much Mana and the rumored essence of Dragon’s bloodline, people could only use it since they had no other way.

However, Ozul thought of another way that he may be able to help Raven and Blaze absorb the Mana Core.

He remembered how he did not need to swallow the Cores physically and could just wrap them in Ball of Purity before absorbing the energy.

What if he did just that, but instead of himself, he would help the duo to absorb Mana. Since he could control Ball of Purity however he wanted, he would only let small fractions of it to leak so they could incorporate with it before allowing more.

The only problem here was that Ozul did not know if the Ball of Purity could retain Mana for too long and if he could allow only tiny fractions that would not immediately kill the duo.

As Raven and Blaze both sat cross-legged on the ground, Ozul wrapped the two Cores in Ball of Purity and crushed them. As expected, the glass-like crystal ball shattered into pieces while the Mana was encased in the black matter.

One floated near Raven while the other near Blaze. They were both nervous since they did not understand anything that Ozul was trying to do now.

“Uhm. I remember you also improved while absorbing the Cores, no? Shouldn’t these two be even more beneficial to you?” Raven asked as she was sure that Ozul wouldn’t be harmed anyway since he also absorbed Mana Cores before.

“No. These are useless to me,” Ozul replied, crushing the only hopes for Raven and Blaze’s survival.

When Ozul had observed the Mana Cores from up close, he could faintly sense a purer form of energy, unlike any usual Mana Cores.

However, he was pretty sure that when he absorbed them, his body would automatically convert it all into the usual power boost for him. Although it might be more than a standard Rank-6 Core, it would only be a waste to use them on himself.

“Stop panicking already and focus. Don’t worry. I will try my best,” Ozul tried to reassure them. He did not even think that the result would be their death if his best was not enough.

Since it was not his own body, he couldn’t make the Ball of Purity enter Raven and Blaze without risking that the Mana inside would burst out.

Although Ozul never liked the Ball of Purity entering someone’s body, he wouldn’t hesitate to do so when necessary.

Both Raven and Blaze swallowed the two pitch-black spheres, albeit hesitatingly.

“Okay. Now focus all of your attention on assimilating with whatever thing is allowed together with the Mana.” Ozul instructed as the duo closed their eyes.

Ozul stood behind them, focusing on the two small spheres inside their body.

When he felt that their bodies were relaxed enough, he let a fraction of Mana out of the sphere around their own Mana Core.

“Feel that? Now absorb all of it. And if you can feel the ‘essence’ or something, try to assimilate that with your body instead of the Mana Core.”

Raven and Blaze did precisely how he had instructed and started to absorb all the Mana in their Mana Core.

However, they could not feel the essence that Ozul was talking about. Maybe it was because it was their first time, but they did not worry much about it when their lives were at the line.

When they started to absorb the foreign Mana, it proved to be rather difficult since it was not in raw form.

If they had used the Spiritual Ginseng, then the process would have been a lot easier. If they could not absorb all of it under a certain period, the Mana could get out of control and rage inside their body.

That’s why the Spiritual Ginseng was one of the required items in this process.

However, Blaze and Raven could only rely on themselves to absorb the ticking time bomb before it explodes.

After a while, Ozul jumped back on the tree since he was not needed before they finished absorbing that little fraction of Mana.

The spheres of Ball of Purity, which contained the Mana, were still inside Raven and Blaze. Ozul did not need to take them out or constantly monitor them as long as he was in a suitable range.

Hours began to pass while the duo absorbed the small fraction of Mana. Sweat started forming on their forehead because of the constant struggle between the foreign Mana and their control.

Morning came without the duo realizing it. They were just assimilating the last bits and pieces of the foreign Mana when the mercenaries began to pack their stuff.

“You guys are still absorbing that small fraction of Mana?!” Ozul asked after jumping down the tree.

Right after he said this, Raven opened her eyes and breathed a big sigh of relief.

*Fuuu...*

“Of course! Just a single mistake would have caused our deaths. What did you expect?! Not everyone can just gulp down Mana Cores like they are some candy...” Raven defended herself.

She was aware that no matter what she did, competing with Ozul was impossible.

Only a few minutes later did Blaze also open his eyes, and he slumped down on the ground, breathing heavily. Unlike Raven, Blaze struggled more since his body was not as strong as her.

“Stand up, we are about to leave already.” urged Ozul before walking away.