Chapter 12
After taking some of the blood and cell tissue from his enemy, Lucas handed the body over to the mission center.
In return, he was rewarded with the mission payment and the bounty on the target's head—an impressive 2,150,000 Auron.
With that kind of money, he could finally purchase a proper weapon.
The bounty was even higher because the body belonged to someone from the Hidden City of Water being part of the Mist clans, known for their rare Ice affinity and a strong connection to the Water element.
While people could create variations of elements, such as combining Wind and Water to form Ice, there were significant limitations to doing so.
First, creating an element this way made it extremely weak, requiring generations of cultivation to strengthen it.
Over time, the element would integrate into a bloodline, becoming more potent with each new descendant.
However, the real challenge was the near impossibility of merging two basic elements to form a new one.
Only a few clans in history had managed it, most of them possessing abilities so unique it seemed as though they had been ingrained in their bloodline since the dawn of time.
Take Lucas's Mana Eyes, for example.
They first appeared during the age of the Arcane King, a figure who possessed the legendary Arcane Eyes.
This was also when other powerful ocular abilities, such as the Clover Eyes, Lotus Eyes, and the Six Worldly Eyes, made their debut.
The Arcane Eyes were something almost mythical, their existence barely documented.
Only ancient scrolls mentioned them, describing their golden glow.
Lucas had found no other records detailing their abilities, but now, with the money he had earned, he could invest in equipment to further his research—especially in cloning.
He had already begun experimenting, modifying the spell once used by the Arcane King in an attempt to achieve divinity.
The king, however, had failed and instead became something monstrous—something no longer himself.
Before losing his sanity, he recorded the spell and passed it down through the generations.
Even with all his intelligence, Lucas still couldn't decipher what was written.
For now, his progress in modifying it was nonexistent.
Sighing, he set his research aside and focused on other matters.
Since he had defeated a Star 5 elite, the mission center informed him that he was eligible for promotion if only he could break through to the next Mana Core stage.
However, exhaustion weighed on him.
He knew he could advance at any time but decided to put it off until he had rested.
Returning home, he immediately checked on his mother, who was submerged in the improved blue healing fluid something without side effects, only benefits.
Yet despite his efforts, she still showed no signs of waking up.
Frustration welled up in him. He had even moved her into the main lab, though it wasn't well hidden.
This made him consider learning more about Runes to create protective barriers or even moving the lab far from the city.
For now, he left things as they were.
Even if someone found the lab, there wasn't much to see—just a large stone and his mother's healing process.
Oh right, the stone.
Lucas stood before it, touching it.
What was he doing, you ask?
Well, remember when I mentioned that an entire clan sacrificed their eyes and life force to create the Giant Mana Eye?
This was it.
The Great Sage had tried to stop Lucas from awakening his Mana Eyes, though Lucas still didn't know why.
As a result of their clash, the Giant Mana Eye had turned to stone.
Now, Lucas was attempting to reawaken its power—slowly but surely.
By channeling his Ocular Power into it, he hoped to pull it from its dormant state.
He hadn't expected what happened next.
The moment his power flowed into it, the Giant Mana Eye glowed with a brilliant blue radiance.
Then, something incredible occurred.
The connection between him and the Giant Mana Eye strengthened.
It was as if he was becoming a part of it, his own eyes merging with its essence.
Knowledge deep, ancient knowledge poured into his mind.
Secrets of his Mana Eyes that had once been incomprehensible were now clear.
And among these revelations, the most powerful abilities stood out:
Astral Mode: A power so great that no words could fully describe it.
Energy Control: A unique ability that granted him not only unparalleled control over mana but over all forms of energy.
A Path to Evolving His Mana Eyes into Arcane Eyes. And the final revelation perhaps the most shocking of all: the ability to absorb other eyes to create what was known as Primordial Eyes, the original form from which all other ocular abilities had split.
Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the light of the Giant Mana Eye faded.
Lucas stood there, shock and disbelief written across his face.
"That never happened before… And where did this information come from?"
As far as he knew, no one in his clan had ever uncovered this knowledge.
The only thing they had was the method for creating the Giant Mana Eye—passed down from the Arcane King.
This revelation explained a lot.
His clan had always possessed a deep interest in the Arcane King because their eyes originated from him.
Just as the Clover Eyes descended from the Six Worldly Eyes.
Just as the Pure Eyes descended from the Lotus Eyes.
But none of them could stand before the Arcane Eyes.
"Did the Giant Mana Eye absorb this knowledge from the Great Sage?" Lucas wondered.
In truth, the Great Sage had been hiding in a realm beyond the laws of the universe—a place that held the lost knowledge of the Forgotten Era.
It was a realm where the souls of the dead found rest, tricking the universe into believing he had perished while still allowing him to influence the living world.
However, the Sage had to be careful.
The more he interfered, the stronger the universe's laws would become, increasing the risk of being discovered.
In the past, the Great Sage had helped the protagonist defeat the Abyssal Moon Organization.
But in the next generation—during the era of the protagonist's child—the Sage betrayed him.
He had only ever used the protagonist as a means to escape.
His plan nearly succeeded, but he hadn't accounted for the protagonist's son, who inherited the very elements the Sage had gifted his father.
In the end, it was this son who defeated him.
What a cruel twist of fate.
Lucas chuckled.
But he had no intention of letting history repeat itself.
Before the Sage could use him as a pawn, Lucas would ensure he extracted every bit of knowledge from him first.