Chapter 62: An Unexpected Breakthrough

For many reasons, the system thought the little girl would throw a tantrum, but it never considered the major reason would be this.

"Why were my levels erased? Return them to how they were."

[Then you would be left with only your bare core.]

"I don’t care. I can rebuild my body, can’t I?"

[Well, that would take a lot of time!]

"How long?"

[A month...]

"That’s it? And for that ridiculous reason, you sold me out to the stinky old man?"

"Girl, what is with that utter disgust in your voice? You should be glad I even bothered to become your physical anchor," the Shadow complained, deeply offended as the target of her verbal assault suddenly shifted to him.

"Shut up."

[Shut up.]

Summer and the system spoke at the exact same time, making the Shadow sigh in defeat. He never thought there would come a day when the legendary Shadow of Ancient Chaos would be bullied so effortlessly by a couple of females.

He almost wanted to cry.

[Girl, even though your level was erased, your overall combat strength remains exactly the same...]

"Huh?" Summer instantly stopped the curse word that was forming on her lips.

[Let me display your new status screen so you can understand.]

[Summer’s Status]

Name: Summer

Bloodline: Chaotic Corruption

Rank: Initiate (20%)

Corruption Core:

Evolution: Elite (12/1000 Elites)

Trait: Undead Body, Shadow Mirage

Class Skill: Elite Puppeteer

Skills: Gravity Compression

Mana Core:

Evolution: Ordinary (0/10 Ferals)

Elements: None

[Your level merely turned into a percentage progress bar. That is all. Once it reaches 100%, you will naturally break through to the Apprentice rank.]

"So nothing actually changed..."

[Everything changed for your internal foundation, but nothing changed for your raw power.]

"You could have just led with that. I was scared for absolutely no reason," Summer complained, crossing her arms within the pod.

[You didn’t give me a chance to explain.]

"Sorry..." Summer knew she was in the wrong here. She was a good, reasonable child deep down, so she decided to apologize first.

[It’s fine.]

"Except for my new bloodline, what did this stinky old man actually give me?" Summer asked, squinting her eyes as she didn’t see any immediate physical benefits after he became her physical anchor.

The Shadow became instantly agitated upon hearing the clear disdain in Summer’s voice. "Girl, the mana core itself is already a priceless gift for someone of your undead nature!"

"The system gave me my core and it doesn’t constantly boast about it."

"My core is completely different!"

"Looks the exact same to me..." Summer shrugged dismissively.

"You—"

[Haha. Little girl, he is actually right. His core is special. For ordinary mana-blessed beings, they have to search high and low for an external elemental core just to learn a single element. But for you... you can freely choose any element you want. Let’s try it right now...]

Summer’s eyes brightened immediately. "How do I try it?"

[Just think about an element...]

Summer’s mind traveled back to that strange woman, Salma. The thick, oppressive energy that always surrounded her combat stance... that was an elemental property.

The moment Summer visualized that dark, familiar energy, her consciousness plunged downward, pulling her back into her colorful spiritual sea.

Instantly, all the vibrant colors vanished. Nothing was left in the void except for herself and the towering form of the Shadow.

"Little girl, where did you pull this specific element from?" the Shadow’s voice was tinged with genuine surprise. "Someone in this mortal world is actually using bloodline shadow mana? How very interesting."

"Bloodline shadow?"

"Yes. Not only did they learn the shadow element directly from their bloodline inheritance, but they even chose a property that perfectly matched both their innate element and their bloodline traits..."

Summer didn’t understand a single word of his explanation, her brows furrowing deeply in confusion. Sensing her blank expression, the Shadow let out a heavy sigh.

"To put it simply, that person managed to project their own unique bloodline characteristics directly as an elemental property."

"Oh..." Summer mouthed, finally getting the general idea.

"A great choice, little girl. This way, you can also project your own bloodline—" The Shadow’s voice abruptly paused as he caught the deeply disgusted expression forming on Summer’s face. "Little girl, what is with that expression?"

"Will I project the element as a chicken?"

The Shadow became utterly speechless. "What do you mean by chicken? It is Ancient Chaos, okay? And you have a brand new bloodline now, remember? The projection will be based on that new bloodline."

"Oh..."

Without wasting any more time, Summer formally chose the shadow element.

Element 1: Shadow.

Property 1: Not chosen.

"Now you have to choose the specific property. To do that, look deep into your new bloodline."

Summer did as the Shadow instructed. The moment she focused her mental gaze inward, a massive pair of pitch-black wings materialized right in her line of sight.

The rest of that form remained blurred and undefined, but those enormous wings stood out clearly, radiating an aura that seemed to swallow every speck of light surrounding them.

Property: Chaotic Wings.

The moment Summer selected the Chaotic Wings property, the spiritual sea vanished completely.

A sudden, dizzying pull yanked her consciousness upward, and she found herself plunging right back into the dark container floating in thick, viscous liquid.

But this time, the fluid inside the pod was no longer stagnant. It began to hum, vibrating violently around her body.

Before Summer could even register what was happening, her new mana core flared with intense, dark energy.

Crack!

A visible fracture tore straight through the solid barrier surrounding her. Black light poured out from her back as her new property reacted directly to her physical body.

The next moment, her form projected straight outward with explosive force. The hard shell of the container shattered into hundreds of flying fragments as Summer breached the surface, breaking completely free from the cramped space.

As the thick fluid drained away and the blinding light faded, Summer looked down, only to freeze in utter shock.

The container she had been trapped in was a massive, pitch-black egg covered in glowing, crimson runes.

The shattered shell lay scattered across the stone floor below, still oozing with a dense mixture of corruption mana fluid.

"I came out of an egg?" Summer muttered, her mouth agape in absolute bewilderment.

Before she could process the absurd reality of hatching like a bird, a strong, rhythmic weight tugged at her shoulders. She glanced behind her, and her eyes widened into huge circles.

Extending from her upper back was an enormous pair of pitch-black, feathery wings. They spanned easily over three meters wide, radiating a subtle, light-devouring mist that made the air around them ripple.

With a single, instinctual twitch of her shoulder muscles, the massive wings beat against the air.

Fwhoosh!

A powerful gust of wind blew through the chamber, and Summer’s feet instantly lifted off the ground. She shot straight up into the high ceiling of the cavern, hovering effortlessly mid-air.

The sensation of weightlessness washed over her entire body, smooth and entirely natural.

"Woaaaah..." Summer gasped, her eyes shining with pure, unadulterated wonder.

She flapped the black wings again, zooming in a wide loop across the vast underground chamber. The speed was incredible, far faster than any movement skill she had used before.

Every sweep of her wings left a faint trail of liquid shadow in the air, swallowing the ambient light of the room and painting the darkness in her own energy.

"Look at this, stinky old man! Look!" Summer yelled out in sheer excitement, doing a quick barrel roll near the high stone ceiling. "I am actually flying!"

[Careful, little girl! Don’t crash into the wall on your very first flight,] the system warned, though its female tone was soft and laced with genuine warmth.

"Hmph! As if the Heir of Ancient Chaos would lose control over a simple pair of wings," the Shadow snorted loudly in her mind, though he couldn’t entirely hide the smug pride in his voice. "Though I must admit... the bloodline projection turned out surprisingly well."

Summer didn’t care about their comments. She flapped her wings again, soaring higher and diving low near the ruined eggshell before hovering steadily above the ground.