Ashton stared at his Magical Artifact...
The Book of Infinity was levitating in front of him, it was open and its pages were constantly unfurling due to an invisible force and its pages were seemingly endless.
It shone with a deep dark golden coating, it had an ancient air into it as if it had existed since immemorial times...
From his connection with it, the book was seemingly screaming 'Freedom!'. He could feel some kind of jubilance and excitement from it which was rather strange.
Well, the curse did lock this book up for quite some time, it'd be understandable for it to feel this way. Though what was strange, is the fact that it could feel something...Ashton didn't know that was possible.
Could the Book of Infinity possess some kind of intelligence?
It might be a good idea for him to investigate that later.
Nonetheless, since the curse is completely gone, Ashton is now free from it. He's free from the Curse of Mediocrity — which prevented him from learning High-Order Offensive Spells. He's no longer restricted in his magical studies.
He can achieve his dream of summoning a freaking meteor!! Awesome!
But sadly, now's not the time for that. He doesn't even know even the basic Fireball Spell, so he's nowhere near the level of Meteor Summoning...
With the Book of Infinity unsealed, Ashton no longer has to be afraid of the curse's backlash in his future advancements. He now has more freedom to explore and find out which Magical Path truly suits him.
White Magic is something that he learned and coincidentally Mastered somewhat, due to his unique circumstances. In short, it was the only thing available to him before. But now, that's no longer the case, and that makes Ashton truly happy...
Because beneath his battle-hardened visage, and past the mask he wore whenever he brings out the White-Cloaked Reaper alter-ego, Ashton is a scholar who genuinely wanted to pursue his magical studies.
Without the burden of the curse, Ashton felt light-hearted and carefree. He didn't even mind that the invaders outside were currently frantically searching for even the smallest sign of his presence.
He felt content like this. But then again, just as he mentioned previously...he had been in this place for far too long.
It's about time for him to return home. But before that, he had other matters to take care of first.
"...is today 'that' day?" Aria asked while staring at Ashton who was gearing up.
"Yep," Ashton replied, gingerly holstering his guns at his belt and placing the scythe on his back. "It's time to leave this blasted place behind. I'll pick up the Dragon Vein first, then we're off."
"Would it be dangerous for you to absorb the Dragon Vein in your body?"
"Hilda said that it might be painful but not entirely dangerous." Ashton recalled, "She said that my physique, despite me being a mage, is top-notch. Hosting the Dragon Vein temporarily shouldn't be too much of a burden for me."
"Be careful alright? I know that you've become strong enough to go anywhere in this world but please, pay attention to your safety." Aria reminded him.
Ashton smiled at her and said: "Yes, Ma'am. I'll take care of myself, I promise."
At this point, it doesn't matter how strong Ashton gets, Aria would always be worried for him. It isn't necessarily a bad thing and Ashton didn't hate it either.
He actually feels touched that she cares this much. It's sweet.
Once Ashton double-checked his attire and made sure he got everything ready. He nodded to himself and told Aria:
"Well, I'm off. See you later. Love you"
"Mn. Love you too."
Ashton then disappeared from the Grand Library and reappeared outside of the Chaotic Warzone.
Currently, it's deserted. Still corrupted, but nobody's fighting right now. They're on break and Ashton timed his exit with that.
He's not out here to carry out yet another killing spree. If he was, then he'd exit when they're in the middle of their ritual, not now.
Ashton's out here to receive the Dragon Vein since that's the only thing that's holding him up here.
Releasing a pulse of mana, his senses penetrated the ground he walks upon. Going about 3 kilometers deep. It wasn't hard for him to locate where the Dragon Vein was as it immediately appeared in his mind's eye.
He walked until he was practically standing on top of it. Then, without any hesitations, he used the unique ability of the Cloak of Apparitions to phase through the ground like a ghost.
With the current rarity of the cloak. He can use Apparate a total of 100 times. He can also use it multiple times in a row, making his descent rather easy and most importantly, quiet.
There was a naturally formed pocket dimension where the Dragon Vein was. Still, despite its natural isolation, Ashton could still see traces of corruption leaking inside. In fact, the corruption seeps even deeper underground due to whatever ritual the angels and demons used in this place.
Phasing within the pocket dimension, Ashton turned corporeal and didn't feel any repulsion. He already went down here before so he already knew about this.
Within the pocket dimension where the Dragon Vein was, Ashton could now see the thing he had to take.
The Dragon Vein, in truth, looked just like the roots of a massive tree. Thick, winding network of veins that stretches as far as the eye can see. Each vein was at thick as a normal women's waist.
Due to the corruption, the network of veins looked utterly dead, decaying even.
It's dry and blackened by the heresy of the invaders.
p
Not like this...
She also said that those who commune with the Dragon Vein will receive its blessing. They will become the favored Children of Heavens and Fate itself. Destined to pioneers or leaders of the future generation of Humans.
Such a thing was something that the Celestials and Hypogeans didn't want to see, which is why they made it a mission to suppress the Dragon Vein and violate it with their corruption.
Without it, Humanity's providence will remain stagnant. They will never improve and will never grow strong enough to match them.
This, on top of them, actively plundering the Destiny, Luck, and Fate of Humanity and the Blue Planet, they're practically dooming this world and its citizens.
It is such a sinister plot. One that needs to be stopped, no matter what the cost.
Well, Ashton's here to do just that.
Clasping his palms in front of him, Ashton sang a sincere prayer from the bottom of his heart while simultaneously circulating his mana.
"By my name, as a Great Warlock and the Child of Mana, I call upon the Virtue of Purity to make its presence known and eliminate the blasphemy rooted in front of me."
"Miraculous Light of Purification!"
Ashton pushed his palms forward and released a blinding flash of white radiance.
The light which came from him immediately filled the entire pocket dimension. Wherever the light touches, all sorts of impurities sizzled and disappeared.
The Aether Purity Heart drummed on his chest, resonating with his heartfelt prayer. It released waves upon waves of power that thrummed on Ashton's meridians and flowed out of his body.
Ashton looks utterly divine at this moment. Without a doubt, he was the True Pure One, unblemished and untouched by any form of corruption.
The light he released penetrated the network of veins in front of him. The traces of corruption that seeped into the very roots of the Dragon Vein dissipated like snow under summer's heat when exposed to the Miraculous Light of Purification.
But Ashton didn't stop there...
Halfway through the cleansing of corruption, Ashton uttered yet another heartfelt prayer.
"Life, I call upon thee." Ashton's archaic voice echoed within the pocket dimension. "Grant me your aid! By my name as a Great Warlock and Child of Mana...Life Return!"
Life Return, a High-Order Healing Magic. It doesn't necessarily fall under the White Magic tree but it's close. It's basically a Ressurection Spell. It has limitations of course but as long as the caster's capable, those can almost be ignored.
The Spell: Life Return, in conjunction with the Virtue of Life, will restore the Dragon Vein's vitality. With its vitality restored, the Dragon Vein will start acting against the corruption itself, making the healing process faster.
Ashton was casting two High-Order channeling Spells at the same time. Even though he's an experienced mage, this is still rather difficult to do, nevertheless, he's holding on.
Thankfully though, his efforts weren't wasted. He could feel the Dragon Vein's vitality being restored at a pace visible to the naked eye. It's returning to its former glory which is rather gratifying.
This process lasted for an entire hour. Meaning that Ashton was dual-channeling High-Order Spells that entire time without any pause.
Such a feat might not even be easily replicated by Sorcerers yet Ashton did it as a mere Warlock.
With his mana reserves at halved and his entire body aching, Ashton came down and rested for a bit. In front of him, the restored Dragon Vein was releasing faint draconic roars and awe-inspiring glory.
But even with the Dragon Vein resuscitated, Ashton knows that it isn't over yet.
"The moment I start absorbing this thing is the moment that everyone above me will be alarmed. I have to make preparations."
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