Chapter 594: Lightning Core
After scanning through the hall of mirrors with focused eyes and a patient heart, Max finally stopped before one that stirred sothing deep within him. The mirror was frad by intricate arcs of silver and cobalt, and the surface rippled faintly like water struck by unseen thunder.
Tiny sparks danced along the edges of the fra, crackling softly, humming in rhythm with the lightning running through his veins.
As he stepped closer, the mirror pulsed with energy that resonated with his lightning concept, matching the thrum of his own aura with uncanny precision.
Without hesitation, Max reached out and touched the glass.
The mont his fingertips brushed the surface, the mirror shimred and rippled as if it were no longer solid—then it lted away, revealing a glowing path that extended into the space beyond. He stepped through, the world shifting around him like folding paper.
Once inside, he found himself in another enclosed chamber, smaller than the last one, but no less strange. The air was charged with static, thick with the scent of ozone and energy, and tiny bolts of lightning snaked across the walls, vanishing before they could strike anything.
At the center of the room stood a table—almost identical to the one in the fla chamber—but this ti the air around it crackled with a visible blue energy field.
A translucent forcefield shimred like a do around the table, faint sparks bouncing along its surface, creating low hissing sounds as though warning any intruder to stay away.
Upon the table, inside the forcefield, sat another box—plain and square, yet emitting a faint electric glow through the seams as if it barely contained the power within.
Max’s gaze sharpened.
‘Another treasure… but like before, the forcefield won’t let just take it.’
Max’s gaze swept across the room again, searching for the trigger or chanism that would initiate the test. And there it was—set into the wall to the left of the forcefield, a large, circular disc of dark tal etched with runes shaped like thunderbolts.
At its center was a single depression, crackling faintly with electricity. Without a word, Max stepped forward and pressed his palm against it.
The room responded instantly.
The floor around the table lit up with interlocking rings of lightning patterns, and from the ceiling descended countless thin threads of blue lightning, forming a do of crackling current.
The walls themselves seed to shimr and fade, replaced by an illusion—or perhaps a manifestation—of a vast storm cloud above an open plain. The scent of rain filled the air, and a heavy pressure pressed down on his shoulders.
A voice bood in his mind.
“To claim the Lightning Core, one must beco the lightning. For six hours, withstand and channel all forms of natural and conceptual lightning. Fail, and be consud.”
Before Max could fully absorb the words, the test began.
A deafening crack rang out as a bolt of lightning the thickness of his leg shot down from the ceiling, aiming straight for his chest. He raised his palm and blocked the lightning with hand. The bolt crashed into it and dispersed, but he felt the shock rattle through his bones.
Then ca the rain—only it wasn’t water. Each droplet was a condensed bead of electricity, and as it struck the floor, it burst into sparks.
Max activated his Three Dinsional Body, his awareness expanding and tracking every strand of lightning that aid for his limbs, neck, spine.
‘I can’t dodge them so I won’t.’ Max thought instantly activating his Dragon Scales Transformation. With that, all the droplets dropping on him had no effect whatsoever.
Hour after hour, he stood in the center of the storm. But it wasn’t easy. The bolt of lightnings and rain kept coming at him continuously without stopping.
He alternated between offense and defense, not just dodging lightning but absorbing it into his own body. He allowed bolts to course through him, circulating them via his inner channels, pushing his endurance to the edge.
Using his Concept of Lightning, he began to understand the rhythm of the storm, the hidden pulse of its fury. There was a pattern, a breath, and with each passing mont he adjusted to its flow.
In the fourth hour, the storm changed. The lightning shifted in color—from brilliant blue to violet and then white. Max realized this was no longer re elental lightning; it had beco strong, imbued with destruction at the law level.
But even then his Dragon Scales Transformation had no effect. The bolt of lightning couldn’t pierce his defense.
By the fifth hour, the storm tried to deceive him. The bolts beca erratic, disappearing at the last mont and reappearing behind his back. But he handled them all. His Three Dinsional Body could sense all the lightning around him.
At the sixth hour mark, the final bolt ca.
It was ten tis larger than the others and fell in complete silence. Max gritted his teeth, lifted both his hands into the air, and condensed all of his Concept of Lightning into one final move: Heaven’s Thunder Palm of ‘Ten Hands of Lightning God.’
A massive hand of lightning surged from his body and caught the bolt mid-air. The two forces struggled, twisting and roaring, and finally, Max crushed it with a loud crack that echoed through the chamber.
Everything stilled.
The room returned to normal, and the forcefield around the table vanished with a gentle flicker.
Max exhaled slowly, a long breath of exhaustion and relief as the effects of his Dragon Scales Transformation faded away. The faint golden glow that had coated his skin dimd until it vanished entirely, and the scaly texture receded, revealing his normal flesh.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, he took slow steps forward, arriving before the table that had been encased behind the forcefield all this ti. The box resting upon it was plain in design, yet he could already feel a faint thrum of power seeping out from within.
With a breath of anticipation, Max opened the box. The mont the lid ca off, a brilliant orb revealed itself—glowing softly, a storm of blue lightning swirling within its translucent surface like a living thundercloud.
“What is this?” Max wondered as he checked its status.
—
[Lightning Core: Heart of the Azure Storm]
— Rank: [Legendary Rank]
— Description: [It can be used to comprehend level 2 Concept of Lightning.]
—
Max’s pupils shrank as he read the words. For a mont, his breath caught in his throat. “I can comprehend a level 2 Concept of Lightning with this Lightning Core?” he whispered in disbelief, his voice barely audible.
Then, as the realization settled in, a grin broke across his face. “Amazing…” he muttered, awe and exhilaration lacing his tone. It had always been in the back of his mind—when and how he would ascend his Concepts to the second level, that elusive peak nobody had ever reached in the Lower Domain. And now, right here in front of him, was the key.
The opportunity had co, and it had co so unexpectedly he almost laughed. Clutching the orb gently as if holding a star in his hands, Max could feel the energy humming through his fingers, raw and unrefined—waiting to be tad. “You’re mine,” he said with a smile, before placing the core carefully into his storage. “One step closer to the top.”
Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give more motivation!
User Comments
0 comments from readers