"Huff!" Grey took a deep breath. He felt a sharp pain in his head, as if his brain was about to split open.
"Yeah, I'm not overlocking my body past the absolute limit again," Grey muttered, clutching his head.
The throbbing pain came as a side effect of going overboard with his newly awakened Nexus Overlock Technique.
This technique was no longer just about controlling his body and forcing out adrenaline. No—it no longer relied on adrenaline at all. Instead, it drew on something far stronger: Nexus Energy.
The Nexus Overlock Technique followed the same golden ratio principle as Nexus Energy itself, overlocking his entire body several times over. With energy constantly circulating within him, he wouldn't be depleted from using it. As long as it remained within the limit, there were no side effects.
The technique created a precise pattern, following golden ratio principles, forming an internal circuit that spread throughout his body.
This circuit not only overlocked his body but also acted as a shock absorber and stabilizer. By doing so, it allowed him to unleash even greater power without suffering fatal backlash—preventing his heart from bursting under strain or his neurons from burning out while utilizing heightened reflexes and reaction speed.
"That means I effectively have the power of someone close to the 3rd level of the first rank," Grey grinned through the lingering pain. "Doesn't that mean once I fully undergo metamorphosis, I'll be able to fight toe-to-toe with a full-fledged 3rd level 1st rank?"
The first metamorphosis was unlike the ones that would follow. It marked the transition from a mortal body to something beyond human limits. The process took days to complete, with the evolver growing stronger by the hour.
In Grey's case, his metamorphosis would be even more terrifying. His sister Alissa's first metamorphosis had already shaken their family—she had slept encased in ice the entire time, while Richard had worried himself sick every single day.
But Grey's was different. He wielded a power greater than hers. No one, not even Grey himself, could predict what his metamorphosis would bring.
"I wonder how I'd fare without overlocking," Grey thought. He truly had no idea how strong his base form was now.
He wasn't as strong as a third level yet, that much was clear. At best, his strength hovered somewhere in the realm of a second level. Still, once he fully completed metamorphosis, his power would undoubtedly rise again.
"And this is just my base strength, without even fully establishing an evolutionary path," Grey muttered, almost speechless.
The might of Nexus Energy was already laid bare before him. Even without a defined evolutionary path, it completely outclassed every other evolver in his class.
And once he forged a true power system based on Nexus Energy, the doors to higher realms would open wide.
This was only the beginning.
"I also instantly awakened Sword Energy and Sword Control the moment Nexus Energy formed," Grey mumbled as the two blades of the subordinates once again became coated in purple energy and floated neatly behind him.
"I can currently control two swords with Sword Control. Once I get stronger, I should be able to command even more," Grey assessed.
Sword Energy and Sword Control were extremely versatile. It was similar to telekinesis, but instead of using mental force, it relied on Sword Energy to sense and manipulate blades with precision.
Additionally, Grey gained new insights into energy itself while awakening Inner Energy.
"Attributes… so Spiritual Energy was just a special attribute."
Through this, he realized that Sword Energy counted as a sub-attribute. It followed the same basic energy pattern as its source, but with slight alterations that made it far more lethal than ordinary energy.
Spiritual Energy and Cosmic Energy also possessed distinct attributes. Spiritual Energy was deeply connected to the soul—what immortal cultivators often referred to as the path of inner alchemy. Cosmic Energy, on the other hand, carried the vast, boundless attribute of the cosmos, allowing it to be harnessed by anyone.
At their core, these energies were the same, yet the attributes they carried shaped them into completely different forces.
"And since I possess the source from which all these energies are derived, I can perfectly mimic them. That means no one will ever notice that I have Nexus Energy. To their eyes, it will only look like Spiritual Energy." Grey smiled faintly. He had no desire for the world to learn that he held the key to the strongest energy in existence. Even he couldn't predict what kind of disaster would follow if that secret were exposed.
There was a reason why the heavens had hidden Nexus Energy in the first place. They had ensured no one could ever discover it. Only someone like him, with True Origin Sight, could perceive its patterns and piece them together.
"Would the heavens strike this entire planet down if I revealed my true evolutionary path?" Grey mused speechlessly. The thought wasn't impossible.
Of course, he had no intention of doing that. Instead, he planned to create a lesser, incomplete version of his evolutionary path—one that didn't rely on Nexus Energy. He already had a few ideas, but he would only finalize them once he finished the first chapter of his true path.
"Of course, it won't be easy from here." Grey shook his head.
Creating an evolutionary path was far harder than he had imagined. There were countless details to consider, and a single misstep could cripple his future, cutting him off from transcendence altogether.
"On Blue Star, there have been countless evolutionary paths, yet most fail to even reach the threshold of the Second Rank. I'll need to research thoroughly before laying the foundation for my own, or I'd be dooming myself before I even begin."
"I should head back home. I'm still in the middle of metamorphosis, so I need as much sleep as I can get."
The pain in his head had lessened, though it wasn't gone completely. He believed it would ease after drinking a healing potion. At the same time, a wave of drowsiness pulled at him—his Nexus Energy, now in a passive state, was quietly pushing itself deeper into his body, driving countless micro-adjustments that would continue throughout his metamorphosis.
"But before that, I need to check out this corrupted field." Grey's gaze shifted to the ever-expanding globe of distorted energy forming to his right.
It was still new, which meant there shouldn't be too many corrupted monsters inside—or at least not any powerful ones.
"Creating a corrupted field, huh?" Grey's eyes glimmered with a mysterious light.