[Notice: Origin Essence detected nearby.]
'Origin Essence?'
Aurelian looked at the shimmering pearl in his hand and began to ponder. 'Is this pearl what's causing the signal? There's only one way to find out.'
He focused his Aether, guiding a thin thread of energy into the sphere. He tried to analyze its nature, probing the smooth surface to see how it reacted to his power.
'There's something definitely strange about this pearl, no doubt,' he thought, his eyes narrowing as the light from the pearl intensified. 'But I just can't put my thoughts around it.'
He turned the object over, watching the way the colors shifted like oil on water. 'It looks like an ordinary pearl on the surface, but after analyzing its nature with Aether, I can definitely tell it contains something strange within it.'
[Ding!]
The system chimed again, and a wall of text scrolled rapidly across the blue interface.
[Origin: The Sea Dragon Pearl. This artifact dates back to the Primordial times, when Pontus, the personification of the sea, wished to have stars within the depths. Envying Uranus for having the stars within the sky, Pontus formed what are now called pearls. Within the vast expanse of the oceans, these pearls serve as stars within the sea, with the Sea Dragon Pearl serving as the First Star—the origin of all others.]
'Stars within the sea…' he thought. 'If this artifact truly dated back to the Primordial era, then an overwhelming amount of power should be linked to it.'
Then....
[Ding!]
[Do you wish to absorb its Origin Essence?]
[Yes / No]
'I can absorb its essence.'
'If absorbing it means I can gain whatever power lies behind it, then I don't see why not.'
Aurelian focused on the [Yes] option.
The pearl in his hand suddenly became searingly hot. Eudora, still clinging to his leg, wore a confused expression as she watched the pearl begin to dissolve into liquid. The liquid didn't stay in his hand; it traveled up his arm, sinking through his skin and racing toward his heart.
[Absorbing Origin Essence...]
Aurelian felt a cold, tidal wave of power crash through his sea of consciousness. It felt as though the weight of the entire Aegean Sea was being compressed into his soul. His vision whited out for a second as the system processed everything.
[Ding!]
[One Origin Fragment obtained!]
[Origin Fragment:]
[Description: A condensed energy essence capable of upgrading the
[Source Requirement: Origin Fragments can only be obtained from Primordial Artifacts—relics that date back to the Primordial Age.]
[Effect:
• Absorbing a single Origin Fragment grants +8,000 EXP.]
'8,000?' Aurelian's eyes widened.
[Ding!]
[Level UP!]
[Level UP!]
[Level UP!]
[Level UP!]
[Level UP!]
[Level UP!]
[Level UP!]
[Level UP!]
[You have reached Level 15!!]
Then, the final notification appeared in bright, pulsing red text.
[Ding!]
[Class Skill
Aurelian stared at the screen. Level 15. He had skipped the level 10 requirement entirely. He could feel a new sensation in his hands—a void-like hunger that seemed to wait for his command to pull the essence out of anything he touched.
With that, Eudora tilted her head to the side. She watched Aurelian closely, her cute eyes blinking in confusion. To her, he looked like a statue, his gaze fixed on a patch of empty air just inches from his nose.
"Big Daddy Knox? Why are you staring at the wind?" she asked, reaching up to poke his arm. "Is there a bug? I can tell Chubby to eat it if it's bothering you!"
Aurelian didn't respond immediately. He was still mentally scrolling through the flood of notifications. Below his level, the number of attribute points he had just gained was staggering. Reaching Level 15 in a single burst had granted him forty attribute points. It was enough to fundamentally rewrite his physical and magical capabilities.
"Helloooo?" Eudora waved her small hand in front of his face. She started to pout, her cheeks puffing out. "You're acting like the old man now. He stares at the deep trenches for days without saying a word. It's super boring!"
Aurelian finally blinked, the translucent blue panel vanishing from his sight as he dismissed the system. He looked down at her. To her, he had simply been daydreaming, but the aura radiating from him now was significantly heavier than it had been a few minutes ago. Even the sea serpent, Chubby, seemed to sink a little deeper into the water, sensing the sudden spike in Aurelian's power.
"I'm just thinking about the pearl you gave me," Aurelian said.
"Oh! Those!" Eudora giggled, her mood swinging back to excitement instantly. "If you want them all, just take it! But it will be difficult. Do you want Chubby to carry it to your house? He's very strong, even if he's a bit slow in the head."
"Are you saying there are more pearls like this?" Aurelian asked. What he really wanted to know was simple. If more of these exact pearls existed, then he would find them. And if he could find them, he would absorb their Origin Essence without hesitation.
Eudora shook her head lightly. "No, silly. There isn't another one exactly like that. That's why the old man called it the 'First among Many.' He said the others were born from it. But I never found anything interesting about it, other that it's shining."
"Figures," Aurelian muttered. With that, if he wanted more Origin Essence, he would have to find other Primordial artifacts, just as the system had described.
**********
A/N : Haven't gotten a single power Stone from anyone, if your enjoying the story, I will appreciate some power stones and a review will be okay