Chapter 83: Worldheart Awareness!
Jazz had somehow found a steel plate and balanced it over the fire. The moment the sliced lion meat hit the surface, fat burst and crackled, filling the stadium with its rich smell.
"Bring the seasoning over!"
Soldiers crowded around the fires, tearing into meat and laughing over one another.
Voidbeasts hunted in the wilderness really did taste better than anything served in the Antares Command cafeteria.
Low growls still drifted out of the darkness from time to time, but nothing came close.
The scent hanging in the air was more than a temptation to the beasts hiding among the ruins.
It was a warning.
Kyo held a lion leg roasted golden brown and ripped off a mouthful. Grease shone around his lips.
"Damn, that is good."
The words came out muffled.
Across the fire, light shifted over Joren’s face.
"Eat your fill."
He set down his bowl and wiped his mouth, gaze passing through the flames toward the deeper reaches of the dead city.
The darkness there felt heavier.
More oppressive.
That was where the three true rulers of the Fallen Zone had made their lairs.
"You will need the strength later."
A pale blue screen flickered across his vision.
[Host: Joren]
[Current Bloodstars: 14500]
The number drew a slight smile from him.
That first sweep had paid extremely well.
His fingers tapped against his knee as he considered where to spend it.
Fourteen thousand Bloodstars could push [Primordial Astral Force] forward by a considerable margin. He could also use them to strengthen his Mental Force.
Neither option felt worth the cost right now.
What mattered most in the depths of the Fallen Zone?
Information.
Knowing what was coming before it struck.
The Beast Tide they had just slaughtered had been satisfying, but Joren knew it was only a taste of what lived in these ruins.
The real threats had yet to show themselves.
Three peak Rank Five beast kings were still waiting somewhere ahead.
Even with his current body, an ambush from one of them would be troublesome.
"System, spend 10000 Bloodstars to evolve the blue Talent [Spider Sense]."
[Ding! Confirmed. Deducting 10000 Bloodstars.]
[Talent evolution in progress.]
Buzz.
A current of piercing coolness poured through the crown of Joren’s head and ran down his spine.
Then it burst apart.
Countless threads of faint electricity entered every nerve ending in his body.
Before, his perception had resembled a net spread across a single plane.
Now the world opened around him in full.
Above.
Below.
Behind every wall and beneath the ground.
His Mental Force became countless invisible tendrils, spreading in every direction without regard for steel, stone, or earth.
Five hundred meters.
One thousand.
Two thousand.
Three thousand.
A full three kilometers.
[Ding! Evolution successful.]
[Blue Talent Spider Sense has evolved into purple Talent Worldheart Awareness.]
[Talent: Worldheart Awareness]
[Grade: Purple]
[Description: Your perception is no longer confined to the five senses of the Mortal body. It has touched the edge of the greater way. The heart of the world is your heart, and the rhythm of all things lies within your grasp.]
[Omniscient Field: Gain complete panoramic perception within a radius of 3000 meters. Obstacles cannot block your sight. You can sense the strength and movement of energy within living beings.]
[Danger Foresight: Your sixth sense has evolved into precognition. When a fatal threat approaches, you will witness the coming scene three seconds in advance.]
Joren opened his eyes.
A thread of pale gold flashed through the depths of his pupils.
Three seconds of foresight.
Between experts, even a tenth of a second could decide who lived.
Three full seconds was absurd.
His head tilted toward a half collapsed office building southwest of the camp.
Then toward the sewers in the northwest.
Several creatures were hiding within his Omniscient Field, watching from the dark.
Survivors from the earlier slaughter.
Most carried the energy of peak Rank Three. One mutated beast had even touched the threshold of Rank Four.
They were clever.
They knew a direct attack would fail, so they planned to wait until deep night, when the soldiers of Antares Command had grown tired.
A reasonable plan.
"Too bad."
Joren flicked one finger against his knee.
Within his sea of consciousness, four psionic blades as thin as strands of hair shot outward under the power of his newly enhanced Mental Force.
In the underground parking structure to the southwest, a mutated hyena crouched beneath a concrete beam.
Its body was as large as a calf and covered in swollen growths. Foul saliva hung from its jaws as it watched the distant fires.
It was one of the most vicious ambush hunters in this part of the ruins.
Then something cool brushed across its neck.
So light it felt like wind.
The world began to turn.
For one brief moment, the hyena saw its own headless body still crouched in the shadows while blood struck the ceiling like a fountain.
Is that mine?
The thought ended there.
Puff.
Puff.
Puff.
Across the entire three kilometer radius, seven high rank Voidbeasts died at almost the same moment.
None managed a cry.
Their brains were reduced to pulp.
This was what happened when [Worldheart Awareness] was paired with the abilities of a Psionic Master.
Complete vision of the battlefield.
Invisible attacks launched from beyond sight.
This was not a contest of strength.
It was an attack from another dimension.
[Ding! Peak Rank Three Mutated Hyena killed. Bloodstars obtained: 200.]
[Ding! Rank Three Voidbeast Shadow Demon Spider killed. Bloodstars obtained: 200.]
[Ding! Rank Three Burrowstone Dragon killed. Bloodstars obtained: 200.]
The pleasant notifications came one after another.
More Bloodstars entered his account.
This was hardly survival in the wilderness.
It was money scattered across the ground.
"System, put every remaining Bloodstar into [Primordial Astral Force]."
The points had barely entered his account before Joren spent them all.
His Talent had evolved.
His cultivation could not be allowed to fall behind.
Thousands of Bloodstars became pure energy and poured through his limbs.
Boom!
A dormant volcano seemed to awaken inside him.
A pale golden film appeared over his skin.
Protective force.
The energy that had once flowed like vapor became thick as water, surging through his channels like liquid gold.
Its nature was changing.
Middle stage Rank Four.
It was only one minor stage, yet under a top cultivation method like [Primordial Astral Force], the density and explosive power of Joren’s protective force nearly doubled.
A violent pressure burst outward from him.
[Primordial Astral Force: 13370 of 30000]
Whoosh.
The campfires bent beneath the invisible wave and nearly went out.
Alar’s hand jerked.
The freshly grilled skewer he had been holding fell into the dirt.
Every soldier felt something heavy settle across the chest, as though an ancient beast had opened its eyes beside them.
Kyo turned sharply toward Joren, who was still seated on the hood of the vehicle.
Again?
He had advanced again?
That was not even the worst part.
Scattered Voidbeast presences had still lingered around the ruins moments ago.
Now they were fleeing.
Some stumbled over one another in their desperation to escape.
Within five kilometers, not a single Voidbeast remained.
Even insects avoided the area.
Kyo swallowed.
His throat had gone dry.
"This brat..."
"He breaks through while eating?"
"Does science mean nothing anymore?"