Chaos Heir

Chapter 1368: Fifth-level warrior

By the time Liiza had awakened, Khan had already gone through the change in perspective countless times.

That had done wonders for Khan’s attunement with mana. After all, the white-azure energy was the trigger for those enlightened states, meaning he had absorbed it multiple times, witnessing a steep increase in his training speed in each instance.

Still, Khan’s attunement with mana wasn’t the only aspect that had benefited from that process. Sure, his cells had also grown stronger, but that was only a natural consequence of his improvement.

Instead, the other affected aspect involved Khan’s knowledge. Absorbing the white-azure mana was akin to torture for his mind, but tiny pieces of enlightenment always ended up fusing with it.

Those pieces of knowledge were infinitesimally minute compared to the entirety of the enlightenment they belonged to. Yet, their gradual, constant accumulation acted as grains of sand that slowly built a desert, expanding Khan’s overall foundation.

It also helped that the retained knowledge wasn’t random. The mana didn’t decide what ended up fusing with Khan’s brain. He did, or rather, his subconscious resonated with pieces of that profound wisdom, turning them into permanent memories that didn’t disappear.

As for how Khan’s subconscious decided what could stay and what had to disappear, that boiled down to his preexisting knowledge. Only the pieces of enlightenment that Khan had already partially grasped could remain, expanding his understanding of specific topics.

One of such topics was on the mana itself. Khan’s knowledge wasn’t as deep as Liiza’s, but he was no newbie to the field, especially when it came to his element.

The mana wasn’t mere miraculous energy. It carried distinct traits, wills, and desires. It could even create life, earning the classification of alive.

Khan’s chaos was only one aspect of that broader field, but that specific element shared many of its fundamental traits. As the Nak had said, chaos was the origin of everything, especially diversity, placing no theoretical limits to what it could accomplish.

Khan had already started experimenting with those theoretically limitless applications, but the years spent focusing on sheer power and destruction narrowed his creativity.

The white-azure energy changed that, expanding Khan’s mindset, adding clearer ideas to what he could and should pursue. The diversity trait was indeed interesting, but Khan mostly internalized the alive part. Anything could be born from chaos, even life itself.

Truth be told, Khan had already explored those traits without realizing how deep they could be. Some of his spells raged and acted on their own, basically behaving like simple-minded living beings.

The Cloud spell was the best example of that. Khan had merely viewed it as a reflection of his most unreasonable sides in the past. Instead, it was a clue into what his chaos could truly do if he really wished for that.

Simplicity was the main benefit behind the Niqols’ runes. Khan could summon more powerful techniques immediately without experiencing any significant amount of mental pressure.

That opened the path for multiple, simultaneous instances of the same technique. Just like Khan had done with the now eye-shaped spell, he could do the same with the new [Blood Vortex], only needing to release more energy.

That should have also brought more mental pressure. Except, it didn’t since Khan didn’t only rely on the theory behind Niqols’ runes. Life could be born from his chaos, so he could give birth to specific spells that didn’t need his direct control.

Nine more stylized snake heads appeared next to the first, creating an array of ten that released individual suction forces.

However, that individuality didn’t stop there. The snake heads weren’t even still anymore. They moved, their mouths tilting, closing, and spreading to search for better locations where they could maximize their energy absorption.

Khan didn’t give the order for that. He wasn’t even sure how he would go about it. Yet, the snake heads did it anyway, abiding by the purpose of their existence, which was to devour as much energy as possible and send it to Khan.

Of course, considering that simplistic and more than primordial behavior like proper life was a stretch. Still, it was also a great starting point that could be explored further, especially after the [Blood Vortex] absorbed more knowledge, a process that had grown even faster now.

The snake heads arranged themselves around Khan and Liiza, even detaching themselves from him to reach more distant areas. The previous iterations of the [Blood Vortex] wanted a physical connection, but that wasn’t necessary anymore.

More of the azure planet broke down into energy that the snake heads devoured, sending that fuel directly inside Khan’s body. Even with the absence of the white-azure mana, his cells became overwhelmed by the amount of nutrients they had to absorb.

That trend worsened since the additional snake heads also affected the spinning sphere. More and more white-azure strands left the item, even reaching Khan simultaneously. His changes in perspective happened all the time now, but the torture was easier to endure with the cold figure clinging to his neck.

At least, that went for the mental aspect. Due to the vast amount of additional energy entering Khan’s body, even his incredible flesh seemed on the verge of bursting, unable to store any more of that raw power.

Still, Khan’s flesh didn’t burst. It hurt, and his insides seemed to stretch wide, but nothing broke. The absorbed energy surpassed his supposed limits, but his body made room for more, bloating in quite the hideous way.

Khan was too lost in what the white-azure strands of energy caused in his brain to notice the change, but Liiza saw everything.

Khan had never been close to fat, but that changed on the spot. His belly expanded as if it were a frog’s vocal sac, making as much room as his body needed to store that additional energy while his cells dealt with its absorption.

Liiza had to admit that the monstrous feature left her perplexed, but the bloat suddenly vanished, restoring Khan’s perfect abs while dealing with all the stored energy.

That additional, abrupt change should have perplexed Liiza even more. Except, it couldn’t since she knew what had happened. Khan’s attunement had crossed ninety points, making him a fifth-level warrior and bringing his physical abilities to the next level.