The Invincible Full-Moon System Chapter 1891: Core of Lightning

Rex pushed open a gate and entered the zenith of the tower.

He halted at the threshold, taken aback by the sight that greeted him.

Before him unfolded a capacious, circular chamber imbued with a profound stillness. Its expansive area was adorned with ethereal brown stone, intricately laced with veins of quiet gold. While no discernible light source was visible within the cavity, the room was nonetheless brightly illuminated. The light emanated from below, gentle and deliberate, accentuating gilded carvings and the edges of towering pillars.

The floor, polished to a mirror-like sheen, reflected Rex’s image with perfect clarity.

An undeniable aura permeated the air.

It felt ancient, exuding the atmosphere of a deep, venerable chamber.

Despite the absence of any wind, a distinct chill permeated the interior. The chamber was devoid of furniture, yet it felt remarkably full.

"Meditating in this place would be divine," Rex mused internally as he stepped into the chamber. Each footfall produced an echo, yet they seemed to dissipate quickly, as if the air itself were heavy. "Now that I look at it, this place might have been constructed precisely for such a purpose."

Rex activated the System to scan the chamber.

He was eager to ascertain if this location possessed any extraordinary properties.

His intuition proved correct.

...

<Hall Anvil of Ages>

Rank: Transcendent

Description: A meditation chamber that has been refined over centuries and is blessed by the Weaver of Time. Constructed from a highly energy-resistant material, it ensures nothing can escape. This material also possesses a unique characteristic: it breaks down any energy that interacts with it, facilitating superior mastery training across all energy forms.

...

Rex regarded the notification with a furrowed brow.

"Transcendent?" He focused on the rank designation, attempting to recall if he had ever encountered an item of this caliber. "I've never seen this rank before. Is transcendent positioned above divine rank?"

<Yes.>

"Huh..." He surveyed his surroundings with renewed interest. "This is the God Realm. It's only natural that access to higher-ranked items would be available here."

At the chamber's core, Rex discovered a meditation platform encircled by gently flowing water, forming a flawless hexagon. The water was crystalline and impossibly pure; its soft murmuring possessed a tranquility capable of calming the most tumultuous spirit.

It provided an ideal ambient soundscape that fostered serenity.

"Might as well..."

Rex settled into a cross-legged position on the platform, his gaze sweeping across the entire chamber.

He sensed he could remain here for an extended period without discomfort.

Intrigued by the power behind a transcendent-ranked item, Rex closed his eyes and entered a meditative state. Recalling the description, he understood the chamber's ability to break down energy would aid in its mastery.

He intended to put this to the test.

His existing mastery over his energy was already impeccable.

It would be fascinating to observe what benefits this chamber offered someone of his caliber.

Blitz—!

Black lightning erupted across Rex’s entire body, initially crackling softly before escalating into a violent display. It lashed outward, extending progressively further from its source. Sensing it still fell short of the chamber walls, Rex channeled more power into the tempest, causing it to intensify.

And the instant it impacted the wall, an astonishing phenomenon occurred.

Clang—!

Rex’s brows drew together in a frown as the black lightning fragmented into multiple distinct layers upon contact.

Through his Awakened senses, he could perceive each layer distinctly. At the deepest level was a core, which he controlled directly. Above this lay a protective layer, incredibly dense. And enveloping it all was the outermost layer, composed of the element's volatile crackles.

Intrigued, Rex repeated the process several times.

Each time his black lightning shattered, he imprinted the sensation deeply into his awareness.

Approximately half an hour elapsed before his senses had fully assimilated the experience.

"I never realized my element possessed such distinct layers," Rex opened his eyes, observing the lightning that now danced upon his fingertips. "Ever since the Mortal Realm began its decline, following the sealing of the Supernatural races, a significant amount of knowledge was lost. I recall Flunra, when he was still Arnulf, expressing disdain for Humanity's assimilation with a Spirit up to the sixth rank.

"I also remember the immense power and purity of the Fifthborn’s element," Rex reflected.

Based solely on his existing knowledge, it was evident that Humanity had forgotten a great deal.

In truth, every Awakened being navigated a path illuminated by fragments of Ancient Human wisdom, remnants of a grander whole painstakingly reassembled over generations. Rex had long suspected this, but only now did its profound significance truly weigh upon him.

His elemental capabilities were not exceptional.

When measured against other Elementalists, his were merely adequate, even sub-par.

Rex had not perceived this deficiency due to his innate physical might as a werewolf.

His adversaries were primarily subdued by his sheer strength, rather than the finesse of his elemental prowess.

At least, this had been the case for opponents encountered outside the confines of the Mortal Realm.

"But I can’t possibly break down everything and start over," Rex rubbed his chin, recalling the sensation he felt as he repeatedly struck the chamber walls with his black lightning. "There are three layers, but I can only control the core. I can only control the other two layers indirectly by putting more or less mana into the core.

"Can I do something about it?" Rex closed his eyes again.

Now that his senses can vaguely catch the three layers, he wants to take a closer look at each one.

See how each one operated.

And to do that, he would need to create a big splash, so he stood up.

"Symbol of Lightning..." Rex chanted, and a zig-zag black symbol appeared on his shoulder. He put more mana into it, and the symbol grew, covering his entire arm. Arcane mana swelled inside him, and he channeled it into his right arm before thrusting his hand forward. "Great Spell, Sharp Lightning!"

Blitz—!

A lightning strike the size of a person bursts from his hand, firing straight at the wall ahead.

It cuts through the air chaotically.

And when the impact detonated, black lightning splintered outward—forking through the chamber like the branches of a great, dark tree. It struck the walls and rebounded, a storm of ricocheting bright light that painted the room in stuttering, violent flashes.

Rex stood at the center; the entire spectacle reflected in the gleaming surface of his crimson eyes.

He activated the Extreme State skill and also the Weaver of Madness to draw out his adrenaline.

It allowed him to perceive the world at a slower pace.

And through the crawl of slow motion, he tracked the first black lightning strike as it cratered into the wall. The violent, scattering sparks, which were the outer layer, broke apart on impact and died, fading like mist in sunlight.

He then turned to another lightning strike, but focused on the second layer.

Its dense body held for longer than the outer layer, but it, too, began to wane—the arcane mana inside it was broken down thread by thread as the core pulled it inward and consumed it whole. The only one that remained after the impact was the core, and it demanded more mana to maintain itself.

Rex blinked, and the world returned to its normal speed.

Now, there was clarity in his eyes.

Based on his observations, the core part of the black lightning was the source of the other two parts.

Unaware of the other two layers, he had simply fed the core his arcane mana, and it had split the energy evenly—producing a balanced attack that expressed the spell uniformly. But the element itself has more to show than that.

It didn’t have to always be that way.

From the looks of it, with enough mastery, Rex could dictate the core split as he wanted.

"In theory, I could make the core focus entirely on a single layer. That would produce a different effect—something other than the balanced output." He thought aloud, already moving toward the nearest pillar. "But first, I need to see what my current state looks like."

Rex did the same attack, but this time, he aimed at the pillar.

Blitz—!

Crack—!

He rolled his shoulders back and nodded at the sight of the two-meter-deep hole carved into the massive pillar. This would be his baseline—the impact he’s going to use as a comparison. As the pillar repaired itself unnaturally without any use of energy, Rex began charging another attack.

For a moment, he lifted his hand and closed his eyes.

Slowly, he sensed the core that made up the black lightning and suppressed it.

He pulled the arcane mana that the core automatically exerted back and then slowly pushed it out again.

Instead of splitting the arcane mana evenly between the two layers, he decided to allocate everything solely to the second layer. Since the second layer was the closest to the core, he decided to try to allocate to it rather than the outer layer.

At first, everything went well, and the dense layer formed as it normally would.

But the moment it surpassed a threshold, the black lightning went rampant.

Rex tried to control it, but he couldn’t stop the discharge.

Boom—!

From the smoke, Rex was blasted out and screeched across the ground.

He remained on his two feet and managed to catch himself before slamming into the wall.

But as he was about to try standing up, a violent cough wracked his body—blood spilled from his lips. He looked down, stunned. Thumb-sized holes peppered his torso. They were not shallow either. The black lightning had punched deep, burrowing nearly halfway through his flesh.

It was solely thanks to his reactive instinct that he avoided fatal damage from that discharge.

Rex clicked his tongue in displeasure.

"It’s like learning the Brutal Impulse again," He muttered, recalling the countless times his arm suffered an implosion until he finally mastered the Direct Moon Ability. "Am I being too hasty? Let’s try slowing down the process."

Unconcerned by the perils of his experiment, Rex pressed on with his task.

He deliberately slowed the absorption process, allowing the second layer to achieve stability before introducing more energy.

However, the endeavor proved more challenging than anticipated.

Five failures occurred in under ten minutes. His body had effectively become a crucible, and without his extraordinary regenerative capabilities, the process would have been excruciatingly protracted, demanding weeks of recovery between each attempt, perhaps even longer.

Instead, he mended and persisted.

Furthermore, his proficiency with the lightning element had surpassed normal bounds.

Rex was only capable of conducting this precise experiment because it necessitates flawless control.

A single misstep would invariably result in a discharge, demanding absolute precision.

It was only then that the realization dawned upon him: his elemental affinity had been elevated to 'avidity'.

Davina and Lilliana were instrumental in achieving this advancement.

On his one-hundredth attempt, Rex clasped his wrist with his other hand, his gaze fixed intently on the swirling lightning.

Within it, he could sense the impending completion of the second layer. He had assimilated approximately six-tenths of the arcane mana requisite for the Sharp Lightning spell. Proceeding further would inevitably trigger another discharge, rendering the attempt futile.

Consequently, Rex ceased, releasing the remaining arcane mana.

His focus shifted back to the colossal pillar, and with a potent grunt, he propelled his hand forward.

Blitz—!

Rex's eyes widened in astonishment.

He observed the torrent of black lightning erupting from his palm, its size at least doubled.

Moreover, the backlash from unleashing Sharp Lightning was considerably more intense. The strain traveled up his arm, causing his muscles to convulse. As the black lightning impacted the massive pillar, it did not cause an explosion.

Instead, it bored through as if propelled by a projectile, emerging from the opposite side with a deafening crash.

Rex stood frozen.

It took him a moment to break free from his daze and circle the immense pillar to inspect the aftermath.

On the wall opposite the chamber, he discovered a significant indentation that was already beginning to mend. Behind the pillar, a perfectly round hole, matching the diameter of his black lightning, marked the point of exit. It was then that he inhaled sharply, gasping, "Did it really become this much stronger...?"