Chapter 701: Shadowrend Saber

Third Person’s POV

Before he could dwell on the discovery for too long, the girl’s voice sounded again, though this time it was filled with haughtiness.

[Heh, now that you understand how lucky you are to have received my help, absorb those fragments.

As for how to do it, simply invoke your existing comprehension and attract them using whatever display of the Aspect of Twisting you can currently produce.]

Ethan nodded.

He immediately raised his hand, and his soul power emerged around him like spreading ink.

Gathering his concentration, he carefully recalled the twisting force field he had previously imitated and attempted to reproduce its underlying principle rather than merely copying its outward appearance.

Gradually, a spiral-shaped vortex constructed of soul power took form.

At first, its rotation was somewhat unstable, and the twisting power it produced was relatively faint.

However, as Ethan continued to concentrate and drew upon his existing comprehension, the vortex steadily grew more stable, radiating an increasingly monstrous force that distorted the surrounding space of his inner consciousness.

The suspended grayish-black runes began to react.

One after another, they glowed with a dim light, their twisted spiral patterns becoming increasingly distinct.

Then, as though drawn by an irresistible attraction, they slowly drifted toward Ethan’s vortex.

The sight reminded him of moths drawn toward a flame.

As the first rune entered his soul, Ethan felt a peculiar sensation spread through his consciousness.

It was an immense pleasure, unlike anything he had experienced before, as though he were savoring the most exquisite delicacies in the world while drinking the sweetest spring water imaginable.

The sensation was not merely physical gratification but a profound satisfaction that seemed to reach the very depths of his soul.

Another rune entered, and then another.

With every fragment he absorbed, his understanding of the Aspect of Twisting deepened, and the principles behind the strange force field that he had barely managed to imitate became increasingly clear.

What had previously been an unfamiliar phenomenon that he could only reproduce through observation and instinct gradually transformed into something he could genuinely understand.

He began to recognize the subtle relationships between the twisting force, the spiral-shaped runes, and the way the power distorted everything caught within its influence.

The knowledge did not arrive as a series of neatly arranged explanations.

Instead, countless realizations emerged naturally within his mind, each one connecting to the next as his comprehension continued to grow.

By the time the final rune entered his soul, Ethan’s understanding of the aspect had advanced considerably.

Once the last fragment had been absorbed, the spiral vortex gradually dissipated, and the grayish-black runes disappeared completely.

Ethan’s soul settled into a state of unusual stability.

For a brief moment, he remained immersed in the sensation, seemingly oblivious to everything else as countless possibilities surfaced within his mind.

He could now envision different ways of applying the Aspect of Twisting, combining it with his mana or incorporating it into his physical attacks.

He imagined how the twisting force might interact with his dark mana, how it could potentially alter the behavior of an incoming attack, and how he might integrate the principle into his existing combat methods.

These were only preliminary ideas, and he still needed to test them before he could put them to practical use.

Nevertheless, the possibilities alone were enough to leave him fascinated.

He continued exploring these new insights, allowing one realization to lead naturally into another, until he gradually lost himself in the process of comprehension.

Time passed without his awareness.

When that peculiar state finally came to an end, the girl’s voice rang out again, interrupting his thoughts.

[Hmph, idiot Ethan.

Do you even know that what you just experienced was the legendary state of enlightenment?

You might have heard about it from your master, but this is the first time you have actually entered that state yourself.]

Her voice was filled with disdain, as though she were reprimanding an exceptionally foolish student, yet Ethan could somehow sense a trace of envy beneath her words.

He paused.

Then, as though struck by a sudden realization, he immediately willed his Star Information to appear once more.

He paid little attention to the attributes that had remained unchanged and quickly moved his gaze toward the section concerning Laws.

The information displayed there had changed.

[Law: Law of Devouring (Aspect of Twisting (60%), Aspect of Absorption (2.5%), Aspect of Dissolution (1%))]

Ethan stared at the figures for several moments.

His comprehension of the Aspect of Twisting had risen from ten percent to sixty percent.

The other two aspects had also increased slightly, despite him having focused almost entirely on the first.

For a moment, he was unable to hide his astonishment.

The gains were far greater than he had anticipated, and the difference between his previous comprehension and his current understanding was enormous.

Only then did Ethan begin to appreciate just how extraordinary the experience had been.

He had not merely absorbed a few strange runes or learned a new application of his power.

He had entered the legendary state of enlightenment, and in doing so, his comprehension of the Law of Devouring had advanced by an astonishing degree.

Even so, he knew better than to assume that possessing sixty percent comprehension meant he had completely mastered the Aspect of Twisting.

There was still much he needed to learn, and understanding its principles was only the beginning of putting that knowledge to practical use.

Nevertheless, the improvement was undeniable.

<anno data-annotation-id="b94507d5-f1be-d56e-6ce9-ce9cac34a91f" data-title="[Now that you have learned Law Power, you might be able to awaken that broken Rank Seven saber named &lt;em&gt;Shadowrend&lt;/em&gt; you stumbled upon all those years ago.]">[Now that you have learned Law Power, you might be able to awaken that broken Rank Seven saber named Shadowrend you stumbled upon all those years ago.]¹</anno>

The Eterna Nexus’s sudden voice startled Ethan out of the numerous possibilities he had been imagining for applying his newly acquired comprehension of the Aspect of Twisting.

However, the moment he heard the words Shadowrend, a sense of familiarity washed over him as he recalled a weapon he had almost completely forgotten about.

It was the broken saber he had obtained years ago in the underground auction in the city of Scarlet Hollow, long before acquiring the Rank Three Black Dragon Saber in the City of Vord.