The Devouring Knight-Chapter 371 - 370: Galaxies Within

Suddenly, a small green ball of light appeared out of nowhere, floating in the darkness. It cast a soft glow, illuminating the space just enough for Lumberling to see.

'What's this?' His curiosity piqued.

As he reached out, a strange connection pulsed through him from the little orb. Then, as if responding to his touch, dozens of other lights began to appear.

Green, yellow, orange, red, blue, violet, lights of every color flickered and danced. Some were tiny, like sparks, while others were much larger. Their brightness varied too, some soft and gentle, others almost blinding.

Almost instantly, the lights gathered into five distinct groups. One group had only two lights, while the others held a dozen or more.

Then, the lights in each group began to spin, forming tiny galaxies, each orb orbiting like a star around an invisible center.

From every single light, and from the five galaxies as a whole, Lumberling felt a deep connection from each one.

'These galaxies… are these all the paths I walk?' he wondered.

One galaxy shimmered with magic, another looked barren and lifeless, while the others glowed with vibrant energy. The largest galaxy, with dozens of colorful orbs spinning inside it, pulsed the strongest. He instinctively knew, that was his Knight path.

Then he reached out to touch one of the lights. The moment his fingers brushed it, his body trembled and his mind buzzed.

'This… this is my Sprint skill!' he realized, eyes widening as understanding hit him. 'So… these balls of light are all my skills!'

He quickly counted them and frowned. Something didn't add up, the number of lights didn't match the total number of his skills. Three were missing, the three that had already reached the True Knight Stage.

'Strange.'

His gaze then fell on the center of the galaxy. A small sprout with three leaves floated there. From each leaf, he felt a strong connection to Spearheart Doctrine, Shadow Glide, and Flowing Edge. Even the galaxies themselves seemed linked to the sprout, as if they were feeding energy into it.

'So this is where they are,' he realized. The sprout felt alive, special in a way that made his heart beat faster.

An idea sparked in his mind. 'What if I put one of these lights into the sprout myself?'

He hesitated only for a moment, then reached out. From his Knight Galaxy, he selected a small brown orb and instantly felt the Stone Shield Lv.0 skill inside it.

Carefully, he guided the orb into the sprout. Immediately, the leaves seemed to swell with energy, nourished as if by a living force.

The small ball of light slowly dimmed, merging with the sprout. Lumberling felt something strange, memories and fragments of the skill seemed to fade, slipping from his mind and body as the power integrated into the sprout.

Then, a system message appeared in front of him.

(Active Skill: Beginner Stone Shield Lv.0 has been absorbed. Skill has ceased to exist.)

"Huh… what does that mean?" Lumberling muttered. He quickly checked his status window and froze, Beginner Stone Shield, which should have been there, had vanished.

"What the…" He narrowed his eyes at the small sprout, feeling a growing warmth from it.

Suddenly, the sprout pulsed, like his own heart beating. It grew slightly, so small a casual glance wouldn't notice, but Lumberling felt the change.

Another line of text appeared in front of him.

(Power +100)

(Stone Shield successfully absorbed into Spearheart Doctrine Skill)

Low-Level Spearheart Doctrine Lv.8 → Lv.9 | Power +366)

He glanced at his window again and noticed something different, a new line of text had appeared.

…

Devourer's Seed

Born from the fusion of Divine Blessing: Qi Adaptation and your unique trait as a Devourer, a special sprout has taken root within your heart. This seed absorbs and integrates all forms of essence, converting them into permanent growth. Every path, trait, and ability you obtain is drawn into this seed and unified into a single source of power.

(Exclusive Skill: Celestial Convergence)

…

When he opened his eyes again, he was back in his room. He placed a hand over his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart.

'Devourer's Seed… so it can use my skills to grow and strengthen other abilities. Will it become a giant tree once it fully grows?' he wondered, a small smile forming on his lips. 'This is exactly what I needed. Now I can actually make use of my other skills.'

He closed his eyes again and returned to that dark space, surrounded by the small galaxies and the sprout of the Seed.

'I wonder if I can strengthen other skills besides the three on the sprout.' The sprout's leaves currently held only the three skills that had reached the True Knight Level.

He visualized his intent, sending a command to the Seed to strengthen his Beginner Circle of Eternity Lv.0 using his other active skill, Beginner Dominion Strike Lv.0.

Nothing happened. The Seed didn't respond.

Lumberling frowned. 'So a skill has to reach Low Level first before I can use another skill to strengthen it?'

He clicked his tongue, a hint of disappointment on his face. Still, he didn't complain too much, after all, the Seed's current function was already more than useful.

He paused, staring at the glowing balls of light, thinking carefully.

Beginner Vortex Thrust Lv.0 (1/1000)

Beginner Executioner's Gale Lv.0 (1/1000)

Beginner Dominion Strike Lv.0 (1/1000)

Beginner Stonewall Guard Lv.0 (1/1000)

He picked four of his active skills and made his decision.

'Devour them,' he commanded silently.

One by one, the four small orbs of light drifted toward the Seed. As before, the lights slowly faded, nourishing the sprout.

He felt it again, memories and fragments slipped from his mind, merging into the sprout as their power integrated

(Power +400)

(Vortex Thrust successfully absorbed into Spearheart Doctrine Skill)

(Stonewall Guard successfully absorbed into Shadow Glide Skill)

(Executioner's Gale and Dominion Strike successfully absorbed into Flowing Edge Skill)

Low-Level Shadow Glide Lv.1 → Lv.2 | Power +260

Low-Level Flowing Edge Lv.1 → Lv.2 | Power +260

The Spearheart Doctrine didn't level up this time, but Lumberling felt its experience points steadily increase. The four absorbed skills hadn't truly vanished, it was more like their essence had merged with his existing powers, strengthening them from within. Most of their essence had been absorbed, leaving only faint traces behind. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

'What other skills should I absorb next?' he thought, weighing his options. After a moment, he decided it was best to stop for now, letting the Seed settle and integrate what it had just gained.