Inside the wooden shack, Hikaru took a moment to catch his breath.

Hikaru thought as he rested: 'If I want to live comfortably in Erudite, I cannot continue to be weak. I need to strengthen myself so I can overpower these run-of-the-mill soldiers, especially since I am on the run. I must initiate the next phase of my transformation – it can no longer be delayed.’

Learning from the previous transformation, Hikaru decided to take off his clothes, as the first phase of transformation made him sweat excessively and caused him to throw up blood.

After Hikaru was ready, he infused his soul core with his sacred essence, initiating the next phase of transformation. Shortly thereafter, he felt intense aches coursing through his body, silently enduring the agony for what seemed like an eternity.

After an hour of intense pain, Hikaru finally emerged with a newfound power. He noticed black substance oozing from the pores of his skin, so he made his way to the riverbank and submerged himself in the cool refreshing water to cleanse away the residue of his body impurity. He then returned to the shack, put on his clothes, and began meditating to check his new stats.

Name : Kaya Hikaru Cell Regen Rate : Moderate Age : 18 years Lifespan : 395 / 400 years Race : Human Lord Sub-race : Bamborean Soul Space : 20 Vose Sacred Essence : 0.2 / 10.2 Vose Chi : 100k / 100k Chi Regen : 16.67 chi/minute Mana : 140k / 140k Mana Regen : 3.89 mana/second

Attributes:

Str: 44 (16); Def: 35 (16); Int: 104 (24); Wits: 61 (24)

Affinities:

Fire: 58 (20); Water: 20 (20); Earth: 20 (20); Wind: 20 (20)

Resistances:

Heat: 3%; Cold: 3%; Electricity: 3%; Poison: 9%.

Traits & Talents & Imprints: Amun-Ra Elemental Sovereign Bloodline (trait)

Existential Essence composition: 9.8 Vose (0.8 Vose of Incomplete Skill Anima)

Fire Sovereign (Innate Skill/L1-L2): Phoenix Spiritual Booster (passive/L1), Phoenix Wings (active/L1)

* Fiery Breath (active/L2): This innate ability enables the user to spew a torrent of intense flames from their mouth (Cost: 500 mana).

* Blazing Assault (active/L2): This Phoenix Wings exclusive technique enables the user to conjure ten explosive feathery projectiles from their wings (Req: Phoenix Wings activated; Cost: 3k mana).

Fire Sovereign (Innate Skill/L3-L4/locked): at least 200 points of fire affinity.

Neutral Magic (Solo Skill/L1-L2): Mana Control (active/L1), Magnifying Glass (active/L1), Mana Modulation (active/L2), Kudu Shrimp's Vision Mimicry (active/L2)

Body Arts (Solo Skill/L1): Body Fortification (active/L1)

Leg Arts (Solo Skill/L1): Leg Chi (active/L1)

Fire Magic (Solo Skill/L1): Fireball (active/L1)

Status Effects: Irregular Soul

* Extremely Severe Bloodline Regression: User experiences an extremely severe reduction in their body’s base attributes, elemental affinities, and bloodline power. User needs to inject Sacred Essences into their soul core to cure this ailment (Cost: 20 Vose of Sacred Essence).

From the stats displayed, it is evident that Hikaru's second transformation altered his initial Catastrophic Bloodline Regression to Extremely Severe Bloodline Regression. The alleviation of his bloodline regression resulted in Hikaru ascendant from a regular human to a human lord. Due to his status as a human lord, Hikaru's overall stats were enhanced, including his lifespan, energy attributes, base attributes, and resistances, which in turn increases his current attributes.

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As Hikaru scrutinized his own stats, a plan formed in his mind: ‘Even with Cathunter soldiers on my tail, I'm certain I can outmatch them in a long-range battle using my fireball spell.’

The Fireball spell has a two-star complexity. After Hikaru's intelligence attribute exceeded one hundred points, he could cast this spell in a fraction of a second, taking just a bit longer than using an innate ability.

As Hikaru continued scrutinizing his own stats, he focused on the Extremely Severe Bloodline Regression status effect and pondered: ‘I need 20 Vose of Sacred Essence to further upgrade my body, but considering the size of my soul, it seems unattainable. My entire soul space is only capable of containing 20 Vose of Sacred Essence, so even if I were to seek the help of a spiritual guru to switch out all the skill anima in my body, there would inevitably be some incomplete skill anima remaining. This makes it impossible for me to accumulate 20 Vose of Sacred Essence as a whole.’

Hikaru shifted his focus to the two newfound innate abilities granted by the Fire Sovereign skill: 'Time to put these two new abilities to the test.'

Hikaru went to the riverbank and aimed at the sizable rock nestled amidst the flowing waters.

[Fiery Breath]

*Fwoosh* a stream of fire gushed out of Hikaru's mouth and scorched the rock.

Hikaru thought to himself: 'This [Fiery Breath] is more powerful than fireball spell, but unfortunately, it's only effective as short to medium range attacks.'

Hikaru then tried the next innate ability. He first activated [Phoenix Wings] and flew ten meters above the ground, aiming at the same rock which was about thirty meters away from him.

[Blazing Assault]

*Fssshhh –BoBoBoBoBoom* ten fiery feathers streaked through the air, exploding upon impact with the rock and its surroundings. The rock shattered into fragments, sending water cascading down in the aftermath of the fiery explosion.

Hikaru smiled as he observed the impact of the explosion: ‘Although this ability requires [Phoenix Wings] to be activated and consumes much more mana, it can be used over longer distances with higher destructive power. Well, let's make this move my trump card.’

Hikaru descended to the ground and deactivated [Phoenix Wings]. He then checked his pocket and looked at his Bailey citizenship card.

Hikaru pondered in his mind: ‘Fortunately, I always carry my Bailey citizenship card wherever I go. Since there is no centralized system in Erudite, as long as I'm not a wanted fugitive with a high bounty, I should be able to make it back to Bailey with this card. Hmmm... On second thought, it still seems too risky. I need to gather more information first. If General Fujimoto had become a fugitive in Bailey, perhaps heading to another kingdom would be a safer option.'

While Hikaru was pondering his next move, he heard his stomach rumbling. He was reminded that he only ate a bit of food while being imprison.

Hikaru, feeling hungry, thought to himself: 'Let's focus on hunting first. Perhaps I should look for a Genesis tree where I can hunt and replenish my sacred essence simultaneously. With my Phoenix Spiritual Booster, staying in Goodland is all I need to do to replenish my Sacred Essence.'

Hikaru reactivated [Phoenix Wings] and flew around the surrounding area in search of a Genesis tree. However, before he could locate one, his attention was drawn to a distressing cry from a girl fleeing from a group of beasts called skippers.

A Skipper is a beast with a skunk-like appearance that stands upright at a height of about two feet. It possesses sharp sickles on its arms, which it uses in battle, and is known for both its keen accuracy and high speed.

Without hesitation, Hikaru sprang into action to rescue the distressed girl, seizing the opportunity to test his skills in a real combat scenario and satisfy his hunger. With swift precision, he unleashed [Blazing Assault], swiftly dispatching five of the skippers and sending the rest fleeing in fear. As he landed gracefully, he found himself face-to-face with the girl he had just saved, gratitude shimmering in her eyes after his timely intervention.

With a gracious bow despite her injuries from the skippers’ attacks, Lucretia introduced herself, her voice filled with relief: “Thank you so much for saving me! I’m Lucretia Fonte. I can’t express how grateful I am that you came to my rescue.”

Hikaru looked back to the injured figure of Lucretia, wondering for a moment: 'Who is this bloody, disheveled Frostfolk girl? If I leave her here she will probably die of blood loss!? Darn it, I am really hungry right now!'

In the Orb Universe, human are divided into three sub-races. The first sub-race is Bamborean, to which most members of the Kaya clan belong, including Hikaru. Bamboreans have almond-shaped eyes, straight dark hair, and exhibit skin tones ranging from porcelain white to light tan. Their ancestors originated from jungle or forest areas, giving them higher poison resistance compared to other human sub-races of the same variant.

The second one is Suncian. They typically have curly hair and brown skin. Suncian ancestors originated from a desert environment, where they developed tanned or dark skin to protect against the harsh sun, giving them higher fire resistance compared to other human sub-races of the same variant.

The third one is Frostfolk. They typically have pale skin, light-colored hair, light-colored eyes, and a high nose bridge. Frostfolk ancestors originated from a snowy environment, where their pale skin protects them against the cold climate, giving them higher cold resistance compared to other human sub-races of the same variant.

Hikaru responded to Lucretia with a hint of concern in his voice: “Your injury looks serious. Can you manage to stay here alone?”

Lucretia, growing paler by the minute, responded weakly: "If you wouldn't mind, could you take me back to Windmore City, kind savior?"

Hikaru thought to himself, determined: ‘No turning back now. If I'm going to save someone, I'll see it through to the end!’

Hikaru than carried Lucretia in princess carry and replied: “Okay, can you direct the way from the air?”

Lucretia nodded, then inquired: "By the way, may I know the name of my savior?”

Hikaru then responded: "You can call me Loki." Hikaru purposely gave Lucretia the nickname Masaki had given him, knowing that the Elvira military had his file, so he used a fake name to stay safe.

Lucretia thought to herself: 'Loki, like Loki, the deity of mischief... what a weird name.'