Chapter 293: Breakthrough to Aspirant Supernal

Kai continued absorbing mana ore after mana ore.

His mind was focused on his body, diluting any external distractions—that would hinder his progress. A Supernal must have a clear mind and be highly focused while progressing their rank, as one mistake might be fatal.

An hour passed in silence.

It was broken only by the soft clink of mana ores being taken from the box and the steady and purposeful rhythm of Kai’s breathing. He continued absorbing the mana ores without rest in between, letting the raw mana flood his body and settle into his blood vessels.

By the end of that first hour, he felt it.

A sharp, unmistakable shift in the structure of his blood vessels.

Kai’s lips curled up a little as he realized the adventitia layer, the outermost layer of his blood vessels, had begun to develop. It was a strange sensation, as though his veins had grown a new, fabricated skin.

A skin that was stronger and denser, more capable of holding the power inside his blood.

His heart pumped faster, and the mana flowing with it surged in response.

It rose in power until the difference became undeniable.

A Supernal at the Aspirant rank was characterized by his blood vessels that had transformed into Awakened Blood Vessels. And that was Kai’s goal. Despite the blood of a Patron God running inside Supernals, their bodies were still mortal, still fragile.

Naturally, there were limits to how much of a Patron God’s power could flow through them.

Limits to how much power could flow through human flesh before the body breaks.

In order to achieve that—the Intima, Media, and Adventitia layers of the blood vessels needed to be stronger. Achieving that would mean the first step past those limits, allowing a Supernal to channel more of his Patron’s power, to contain what would otherwise destroy him.

Kai could feel his blood racing now, faster and hotter than before.

More power that was hidden within his blood began to emerge as his blood vessels grew even stronger. He could feel the Goddess’ presence growing stronger. A subtle pulse of dark mana rolled out from him and spread across the floor like liquid shadow before it faded.

Swoosh—!

He had reached Grade-3 Awakened Supernal.

His adventitia layer was now developed.

But he didn’t stop there.

Kai’s aim was higher—he wanted to reach the Aspirant Supernal rank.

So, he needed to push even further than this—and transform his blood vessels into Awakened Blood Vessels. He would not rest until he reached it. As long as there are still mana ores, he’d keep going.

Two more hours passed.

It took a long time, not because the absorption was slow, but because he had to let his body adapt to the significant and rapid increase in strength. He allowed his body to let each wave of power settle before taking the next.

One hundred and fifty mana ores deep.

Kai’s blood vessels had already darkened into strings of shadow beneath the skin.

But even then, they were still greedy for more mana.

Still refusing to complete their transformation.

Kai’s hands moved automatically like they had a mind of their own. Mana ore after mana ore, absorb, and then repeat. The rhythm became mechanical, almost hypnotic—and by now even his rate of absorption climbed as his body became used to the flood.

Rapidly, the room grew heavier with the weight of his power.

And still, he didn’t stop.

By the sixth hour, as midnight approached, he felt bloated. Full to the point of pain, as his blood vessels were already swollen, and they were also already visible now through his skin—lines of shimmering darkness beneath the surface, swollen and pulsating.

His body was reaching its limit, but he could feel that he was close.

Close to the breaking point.

Kai’s fingers closed around another mana ore, and he absorbed the mana from it.

Just then, the moment he did that, a sharp—electric pain lanced through his spine. His blood vessels convulsed violently once, then twice, and then the dark mana that had already sheathed them like a second skin suddenly condensed, tightening into a thin protective layer that fully wrapped every vein and artery like the shadow of his Primordial Locks.

For a moment, everything went still.

But soon that thin protective layer seeped into the blood vessels, and the dam broke.

Swoosh—!

A burst of dark mana erupted from Kai’s body—slamming against the walls of the room and forcing the window open with a violent crash. The mana rushed out, carrying the shockwave into the night.

Kai gasped as his eyes shot open.

His chest heaved up and down, and slowly, he looked down at himself.

"Did I break through?"

Dark mana had coated his entire body like a second skin, pulsing faintly with every beat of his heart. And when he closed his eyes again to feel his blood vessels—he realized that they were now already twice the size.

A thin layer of darkness coated the inner wall, and it siphoned more power from his bloodline.

Kai sat there for a second, breathing hard, trembling from the effort—and stared at his own hands. The power thrumming beneath his skin was greater now. It was easy to tell that he was at least twice as strong now.

He had done it.

"Aspirant Supernal..." He mumbled silently. "So, this is how it felt."

...

[Status]

Name: Kai #####

Rank: Grade 0 Aspirant

Bloodline: First Son of the Primordial Night

Primordial Lock: 2 (3%)

Legacy Skill: Deep Slumber (Advanced)

Legacy Imprint(s): Nigh-Phantom, Dark Discharge, Black Starfall

Incomplete Ending: -

Complete Ending: Perfect Slash, Stone, Reckless Ruin, Retribution

Path: -

Ending Fragment: -

Usable Exp: 32,500

Quest: Enter the Second Daughter’s Domain

...

[Physical Stats]

Strength: 65 → 135

Speed: 70 → 149

Dexterity: 109 → 188

Constitution: 95 → 129

Mana: 400 → 499

...

Kai immediately checked his status window.

It shimmered into view before his eyes, and for a moment, he simply stared, allowing the new changes to settle in his mind. His chest rose and fell with quiet anticipation. Everyone would want to check their status window after a breakthrough, and Kai was no exception.

He first settled on the main status window, and it hadn’t changed much.

Just that he was now a Grade-0 Aspirant Supernal.

Other than that—there were not many changes as his usable exp remained locked away. He was stuck on retaining his current ties, unable to add more simply due to the fact that existing on the second floor of the House of Night would require him to be an Aspirant Supernal first.

If he wanted to learn the names of Nightborns on the second floor, he needed to do that.

So, he was stuck.

Right now, the ties he had forged within the House of Night connected him to Noxian, Perion, and Kaelmorath. Out of the three Nightborns, there was one that was going to be left behind as he grew stronger.

Perion.

Back when he entered the second floor, he couldn’t feel Perion’s connection anymore.

Perion’s dominion simply didn’t exist on the second floor, which meant he was the weakest.

And the thought of it gnawed at Kai, as Perion had been the first Nightborn he’d found through deliberate effort, not stumbled into like Noxian. He didn’t want Perion to be left behind. Maybe I can make him stronger somehow. Yes... I must have the power to do that.

Recalling his authority within the House of Night, Kai reckoned he could do that.

Perhaps he could help Perion establish a foothold on the second floor.

He would ask Noxian, or even the Goddess, when he had the time.

But that was a matter for later.

Kai’s gaze shifted to the Legacy Skill section, and his eyes narrowed. The Deep Slumber had changed, too. It was no longer the basic version he had inherited when his bloodline awakened for the first time; it had been upgraded to the advanced version.

He remembered the lessons from Professor Hera’s lectures.

A Supernal’s Legacy skill grew alongside them.

At the beginning, a Supernal could only wield the weakest manifestation of their Patron God’s signature power. But as they climbed higher, as their rank and strength increased, the power would slowly revert to its original form.

Revert to its true form.

Naturally, the Deep Slumber was also following that path.

It was becoming something more potent and refined.

He looked around the empty room; the bare walls and cold wooden floor offered no target to test it on. A sigh escaped his lips—he would need to wait to try out the new Deep Slumber, as the second floor was empty, save for the box and himself.

And he had no desire to practice on the walls and create holes in them.

Later, then.

Eventually, his eyes drifted downward to the physical stats—the part he anticipated the most.

And that was where the change from becoming an Aspirant Supernal truly revealed itself.

Every single number had surged. Most of them had doubled, which was staggering in its own right. But the true significance lay in what this increase meant. From the lecturers, Kai already learned that physical stats were not linear.

The gap between someone with ten strength points and twenty was vastly different—from the gap between one hundred and one hundred and ten. The difference was still ten points in both cases, but the weight of those points grew with every threshold crossed.

That was why his mana stat had only risen a little even though the First Son of the Primordial Night’s bloodline was a mana-focused bloodline. The higher a single stat climbed—the more each point mattered.

There were also significant increase thresholds.

The jump from nine to ten was greater than from eight to nine.

But the largest leaps came at the fifty-point intervals. Forty-nine to fifty and ninety-nine to one hundred. Those were the moments when the body underwent a fundamental shift. And now, both his speed and mana stats were teetering on the edge of that threshold.

Forty-nine and ninety-nine, respectively.

One more point in each, and he would cross over.

Kai exhaled slowly; the numbers still glowing in his vision. He had grown stronger. Now, he could start learning names from the second floor of the House of Night again. Perhaps—even his authority within the House of Night had grown with this breakthrough.

"I’ll focus on Markus first, and then I’ll try completing the quest."

Just then, his eyes widened.

A thought came to mind as Kai immediately rose and rushed to one of the doors.

He barged into a spare bedroom and then went to the bathroom.

Being able to harness more power from the bloodline meant growth in characteristics, too. He wanted to see whether the changes on him were obvious. And when he looked into the mirror, he gasped at the person staring back.

"You’ve got to be kidding me..."