Endless Debt Chapter 1006 - 89: Siphon

The secret war is an indelible scar since the establishment of the Order Bureau. This war has sparked too many subsequent conflicts, the birth of wandering paths, the entrenchment of the Tyrant, shifts in the situation, and even the birth of Aimou.

All of this stems from the echoes of the secret war that have persisted to this day, and now these lingering echoes will trigger a new series of events, a negotiation from the King’s Secret Sword, and the pursuit of Xilin’s body.

Previously, Bologue had only thought that his own power was an advanced Alchemy Matrix developed at great cost by the King’s Secret Sword, but with the Shadow King’s explanation, everything changed.

His power originated from the astronauts; indeed, the Alchemy Matrix was forged by King Solomon. To deliver this power into his hands, the astronauts had been plotting for so long, even discarding Xilin as a pawn to achieve such an effect.

Once Xilin’s body is returned to the King’s Secret Sword, it would undoubtedly mean sharing back this formidable power.

Bologue was unsure of what consequences this might bring, but he clearly knew that rather than speculating what might happen, it was better to nip it all in the bud.

Xilin’s body absolutely cannot be returned to the King’s Secret Sword.

"Try it a few more times; there’s no need to rush," Yas contemplated, "Who knows, you might master all of the Ethereal Techniques to the level of the Extreme Realm."

Bologue modestly said, "You overestimate me."

"It’s not overestimation; it’s a fact. This is your advantage as an Undead, the advantage of time," Yas explained, "Many of the Undead are like this, their Alchemy Matrices may be outdated, but by leveraging their time advantage, their mastery of the Ethereal Techniques is fearsomely refined."

Yas paused, "And quite a few Undead have created new Ethereal Techniques over the long timespan."

"New Ethereal Techniques?" Bologue said in surprise.

"Ultimately, the Ethereal Techniques are just techniques, and no one knows how many more we still haven’t developed," Yas said with a hint of envy, "We are merely mortals, constrained by lifespan, while the Undead can devote vast amounts of time to researching such things."

"While mastering all existing Ethereal Techniques, they are also attempting to create new powers."

Inside, Bologue was stirred and continued, "Perhaps Serey left too deep an impression on me... or rather, all the Undead in the Undying Club left too deep an impression."

"Under the influence of these people, I subconsciously feel that the Undead are this group of beings who have lived for countless ages, their spirits utterly numb, caring about nothing except finding ways to entertain themselves every day."

"That’s not entirely true," Yas explained, "The people in the Undying Club were each legends in their own time; it’s just that they got tired."

Yas emphasized, "You should realize that no matter how absurd an Undead might seem, they themselves are a scholar."

"Scholars?" Bologue struggled to associate Serey with scholarly knowledge.

"Historically, some Ethereal Techniques were created by the Undead," Yas continued, "And then there are some techniques, too difficult to learn, that have not yet been officially classified as Ethereal Techniques and are still being perfected."

"Just like an academic subject, just like the Alchemy Matrix itself, as our research progresses, more and more capabilities will be developed?"

As Bologue spoke, he perceived the ether around him; its flow was so clear, like clear water passing through the body.

He suddenly thought that mastering the Ethereal Techniques should also relate to the concentration of ether.

The Ethereal Techniques are akin to a skill, like a skill in playing with water. In past times, the ether concentration was too low, the entire world’s ether was like a shallow basin of clear water, no matter how good you were at swimming, it was hard to perform in a basin. But now, as the ether concentration continuously rises, the whole world resembles an ocean of ether, providing a foundation for the techniques to flourish.

"Techniques that are still being completed? What are they?" Bologue asked curiously.

"There are many; this kind of thing needs continuous trial and error to slowly complete to perfection, just like establishing a new school of swordsmanship," Yas recalled, "One technique I remember is temporarily called ’Siphon’."

"I just have a rough understanding of its nature and haven’t invested time in learning it because I’m quite busy with work, and I have no time to help them complete this technique... When I retire, I plan on becoming a teacher, focusing on researching these things; perhaps I can even develop a few techniques and name them myself."

Talking about retirement life, Yas’s eyes filled with the beauty of peace, as peaceful days are precious for field staff.

"Let me think, that technique is specifically for dealing with ether depletion. When falling into ether depletion, a Condenser’s combat power will significantly weaken, and the Alchemy Matrix will come to a standstill due to a lack of ether."

Yas explained to Bologue, "To resolve this issue, a few years ago, people began to research how to enable a Condenser to quickly replenish ether during battle."

"Hmm... That is indeed a crucial aspect. Even when injecting Mang Silver Soul during battle, it takes some time to digest," Bologue said.

Yas said, "Ethereal Siphon."

"After some time of research, a technique named Ethereal Siphon was proposed.

The Condenser issues a command to the surrounding area’s ether, gathering it on a large scale and channeling it into their own Alchemy Matrix, thus quickly replenishing ether."

Bologue raised his eyebrows slightly; this reminded him of his Protection·Soul Sucking and Essence Stealing, but the difference was that the Devil’s protection drew ether from others, weakening the enemy while strengthening himself.

The Ethereal Siphon that Yas described would extract ether from the surroundings to replenish oneself.

"In simple terms, it accelerates the process of absorbing surrounding ether with the Alchemy Matrix, achieving a siphon-like effect," Yas said.

The Condenser consistently absorbs ether from the outside, supplementing it into their own Alchemy Matrix, keeping the ether within always in a full state, and this is the ethereal amount stored by the Condenser. In activating Secret Energy or controlling ether, only a small amount of their own ether is used as consumption, resonating with the external ether to some extent and distorting reality.

The consumption is minimal, but as the intensity of the battle escalates, the Condenser’s own ether will eventually deplete. At that point, besides using external substances like Mang Silver Soul to replenish their ether, they are left to recover slowly over time from the surrounding ether.

Bologue realized the importance of this Ethereal Technique for Condensers. "For a Condenser, it’s virtually a power to continue fighting."

"Yes, but it also has a significant drawback. This technique for rapidly replenishing ether is limited by the environment. If the surrounding ether is thin, not much ether can be restored, and such a rough absorption will damage the Alchemy Matrix."

Yas explained, "It’s like a small water pipe, and you suddenly try to pour all the water from the entire pool into it, which would only cause the pipe to burst. The Alchemy Matrix is the same; a large amount of ether rushing through the Alchemy Matrix in a short time is not much different from breaching the Rectangular Soul Critical and directly attacking the Alchemy Matrix."

"It indeed gives the Condenser the power to continue fighting, but it also burdens the Condenser with injury. Unless in an absolute emergency, this Ethereal Technique has no necessity for use," Yas said, "Similarly, because of its fatal flaw, it is still under completion and has not been made public."

"I suppose someone will eventually figure out such a power," Bologue said.

"I think so too, but the efficiency of an individual is nothing compared to the research efficiency of an entire department."

Yas patted Bologue on the shoulder, "I have things to do; I’ll head out first. As for these techniques, don’t stress too much—you have all the time in the world."

"But circumstances won’t wait for me," Bologue said helplessly, "They roll forward like wheels, and while I might escape, what about the others?"

Yas fell silent, having experienced similar situations, emotions far more torn and painful than Bologue’s. While Church was merely unconscious, uncertain whether he would wake up, Yas’s friends remained forever in the past.

"Then seize the opportunity," Yas said, "Don’t let yourself have regrets, recalling a moment in the past and blaming yourself for not doing better."

Yas left, leaving Bologue alone again in the practice room.

Bologue took a deep breath, clenched his fists, adjusting his control over the ether, launching an attack on the standing stone pillars, the constantly resounding sound of shattering.

With the high-frequency of his strikes, each explosion became increasingly slight, until it infinitely approached how Yas had demonstrated, and the stone pillars before Bologue changed as well.

Another blurred figure replaced the pillars, the figure of Morrison.

Bologue growled, no longer trying to control his own ether, but unleashing it all.

The earth trembled; the standing stone pillars toppled one after another.

When the dust settled, Bologue sat on a cracked boulder, his gaze lowered.