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3 A.M.
77131 Essence harvested.
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*Growling*
"Shut up or I will burn you alive!"
Lee shouted out as he was recuperating. His suspended consciousness was now able to walk. He sat cross-legged on the floor and glared at the apparition kept inside the prison seal. The prison seal was similar to a glass cube. The transparent, yet unbreakable glass like substance had foreign scripts inscribed on it. The unintelligible letters in the unknown language were slowly vibrating from where they stood. The dark reddish amorphous figure had a menacing and threatening atmosphere around it.
But the inside was not as transparent as visible from the outside. The interiors were decorated with spikes made out of Light-Splitter fragments and tormented the apparition eternally. The darkness inside obstructed the visibility of the ghost, and multiplied the horror suffered by it. More fierce growlings and high pitch screams were produced from the inside and Lee witnessed how the fragments periodically pierced the ghost, while scraping away its devilish energy.
"Are you awake?"
Lee heard a voice from behind and turned his head. D was sitting upright on the couch and had a mocking smile plastered on his face.
"Shouldn't you be crying for help?"
D stood up and walked to Lee as he said these words. Lee scoffed at him and stared at the prison seal.
"So this is the thing, eh?"
D turned to glance at the seal formation. He extended his right arm to it, and clenched the fist. As D brought his clenched fist towards his shoulder, the cube rose from the floor for about an inch and floated towards them. The ghost was annoyed by the motion as it got continuously scraped by the fragments.
"So only the one who casted the formation can use it, right?"
Lee supported his torso on his knees and stood up straight. D nodded in response, and a sinister smile appeared on the consciousness' face. Without wasting a second, Lee grabbed onto D's fist and began to shake violently. The cube followed the trajectory of the fist and cry of agony rose from the inside of the seal.
Lee enjoyed the fun activity for a few seconds and let go of the fist.
"Did you get anything from this apparition?" (Lee)
"I found out that this is the soul of the necromancer who casted both the Soul Bone Seal and the 7th grade torment spell. The person used the mortal body as a sacrifice for the ritual and then bounded own soul to guard the setup. I think the person who created this was trying to experiment a poison jar apparatus." (D)
"The necromancer wanted to create a hybrid soul by absorbing or assimilating the other souls inside the scythe. But as a sentient being, the soul had a limit. He might have tried to push the limits in vain. And naturally, the anger and frustration of the failure was released on the trapped souls. They were tormented for a long time. The necromancer thus was waiting eagerly for someone powerful enough to break the barrier so that he can take over the body with a critical strike." (Lee)
"Precisely. And the apparition was almost successful in it. If not for Gauthama, I and you would have been that hideous figure's meal." (D)
"Anything else you found out?" (Lee)
"The desire to cast such a troublesome and disastrous spell was stemmed from anger and vengeance. The reason is not known, but we might be able to find out if we communicate with it." (D)
"Can the corrupted Mana be nullified by Light affinity?" (Lee)
"Light is the polar opposite of darkness, but it would be helpless in treating vengeance and resentment." (D)
"Then Life and Nature affinities stacked with Spotless might be enough." (Lee)
"The Mana usage might skyrocket to unbelievable heights, but it is worth the shot." (D)
A translucent sphere of Mana began to materialise in Lee's palm. The circulating stands of Nature and Life affinities gave a faint milky complexion. The sphere began to develop and Lee reformed it into a thick and long ribbon form. The long tubular offwhite coloured thing suspended in the air, and Lee gave a nod to D.
As his palm expanded and distanced the finger from each other, a hole of an inch radius appeared on the glass surface. The apparition roared wildly as the hole let in light. Instantly, Lee directed the long tubular Mana construct into the hole and filled the inside of the cube completely. The moment the corrupted soul touched the Life imbued Mana, it started to scream and writhe in agony.
*SCREAMS*
Lee and D had to distance themselves from the cube, because of the unbearable noise. The moment the Mana construct completely entered inside the cube, the hole was closed and the screams vanished. Lee and D witnessed the corrupted soul violently reacting with the Life affinity imbued Mana. The Nature element actively pacified the explosive outcomes from the apparition and channeled it into the Mana for nullification. Like a rat trapped inside a flooded cage, the ghost fought against the scorching effect of Mana.
"The Mana will do its job for a while. You will have to come in here regularly and repeat the process. I need some time to restore my health too."
D spoke and walked back to the couch and laid down on it. A wave of relaxation swept on his face as he became one with the couch.
"How much Essence do I have?"
Lee sat facing the prison seal, and asked loud to D. Sovereign understood the question, but was lazy to answer, so he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers with a blank expression. At once, a panel came in front of Lee.
"So all affinities are at Greater grade, excellent."
Lee skipped his attributes and went straight to the affinity panel. His joy was countered by the vast amount of points he needed to amass in order to reach the Absolute grade. As he noticed the Rookie level of Mana mastery, a few terminologies were remembered and Lee turned his head to D.
"D, explain the Mana mastery and related things in detail."
D was annoyed and he turned to the other side of the couch, and ignored Lee's question. But after a second, he raised his left forearm and snapped his fingers. A faint mumbling of annoyance was audible from him.
What appeared in front of Lee was not a panel, but a 2 inches thick book with a solid hardcover. It was 30 centimetres long and 5 inches wide. The hardbind was sewn to the pages. Lee picked up the book and confirmed that the book is heavier than what it seems to be. He opened the hardcover and the italic words that welcomed him skyrocketed his curiosity.
"Encyclopaedia To Greatness."