The Mighty Mage
Chapter 277: Double Breakthrough

Chapter 277: Chapter 277: Double Breakthrough

"Please! I’ll join a support group for reformed parasites!" the other one begged, flailing helplessly.

Gu Jin snorted, clearly unimpressed.

"A support group? Really? That’s your brilliant plan?"

Ignoring their continued pleas, she drained the life force from both of them simultaneously, their bodies crumbling into dust within seconds.

The moment she released them, she was off again, sprinting after the remaining parasites.

They were visibly panicking now, their grotesque forms bumping into each other as they tried to escape.

One of them, a particularly slimy creature with too many eyes, turned and shouted at the others,

"Why are we still running?! We need to fight her!"

The parasite next to him glanced at the dust piles of their fallen comrades and replied in a voice dripping with sarcasm,

"Oh, sure! Why didn’t I think of that sooner? Let’s just fight the necromancer who can turn us into dirt with a touch! Great plan, genius!"

"Shut up!" the slimy one hissed, but it was clear none of them had any intention of stopping.

Gu Jin, meanwhile, was growing increasingly annoyed.

"You’re just making this harder on yourselves, you know! If you’d just stand still, I could get this over with faster!"

One of the parasites, breathing heavily as it glanced back, shouted,

"Who’s insane enough to stand still when someone is trying to kill them?!"

"Well, you should have thought about that before you started devouring people in my city!" Gu Jin retorted, lunging forward and ensnaring three more parasites in her vines.

This time, the parasites didn’t even bother with excuses.

They simply screamed as Gu Jin drained their life force, their bodies collapsing into lifeless heaps at her feet.

She wiped her brow, slightly out of breath but not willing to show any weakness.

"That’s eight... Twelve more to go."

By now, the remaining parasites were completely disorganized, scrambling over each other in their desperation to escape. One of them, a large, hulking brute with four arms, growled,

"We should have stayed in the underground tunnel! the underground tunnel was good! It was safe!"

As they bickered amongst themselves, Gu Jin took advantage of the distraction.

With a swift movement, she sent her vines shooting forward, wrapping around the remaining parasites one by one.

They let out terrified shrieks as they were pulled back toward her.

"Alright, that’s enough," she muttered, catching her breath as she prepared to drain the last of them.

"I’ve had enough of this running nonsense. Let’s wrap this up."

One by one, she pressed her hand to each parasite’s chest, draining their life force in quick succession.

The forest around her was soon littered with piles of dust where the parasites had once stood.

When the last one crumbled away, Gu Jin finally allowed herself to lean against a tree, panting heavily.

She was exhausted.

For the past week, she’d been hunting down and killing parasites, draining their life force to suppress the unstable energy she had absorbed from Lamashtu.

The process was draining, both physically and mentally, but it was the only way she could prevent herself from imploding.

She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm the chaotic storm of energy still swirling inside her.

Absorbing Lamashtu’s life force had made her more powerful, but it was also incredibly dangerous.

Her necromantic powers had grown exponentially, but her body was struggling to keep up with the sheer magnitude of energy she now wielded.

"This is getting ridiculous," she muttered to herself.

"How many more parasites do I have to kill before I can stabilize this mess?"

The familiar voice of her space echoed in her mind.

"Master, you’re doing well. Just a little more, and you’ll be able to absorb Lamashtu’s life forcefully."

Gu Jin snorted.

"A little more? I’ve been at this for seven days! How much more can there possibly be?"

"Patience, Master," the space replied, sounding as calm as ever.

Gu Jin let out a groan and slumped further against the tree.

"I swear, if this doesn’t work, I’m going to find a way to punish you for not warning me about this mess in the first place."

The space wisely remained silent.

Gu Jin took another deep breath, gathering her strength as she prepared to move again.

She could feel the life force she had absorbed from the parasites swirling inside her, helping to suppress the more volatile energy from Lamashtu.

But it wasn’t enough. She needed more—more life force, more control, more power.

"I just need to find a few more parasites," she muttered to herself, pushing away from the tree and cracking her neck.

"And then maybe—maybe—I’ll finally be able to stop feeling like I’m about to explode."

With that, she set off again, her eyes scanning the forest for any signs of movement. The hunt wasn’t over yet.

And unfortunately, neither was her frustration.

After 2 days, when Gu Jin was taking a break, her body suddenly felt warm.

Gu Jin’s heart skipped a beat.

Finally!

God! It was finally happening! She was about to break through!

But...

It was which element?

Suddenly Gu Jin’s left and right eyes started to twitch.

Sh*t!

Not now!

Please!

Gu Jin gritted her teeth.

"Space?"

"Yes, master."

"Is there any information that is left out and you have still not told me?" Gu Jin asked with gritted teeth.

"Uh..let me review it, master..." A few seconds passed and suddenly Space’s slightly excited voice sounded, "Master, you have completely absorbed the life force of Lamashtu."

"I know that." Gu Jin said with a lazy tone, "Tell me if you know something else."

The space was silent for a while before saying,

"Um...master, you are very intelligent...Your body is even more fantastic..."

"Get to the point!" Gu Jin gritted her teeth.

"Actually...your body has convertedthelifeforceintocultiavtionandtransferredtoyourotherelement."

"Eh? Talk slowly. If you don’t...I will throw you out right away." Gu Jin warned.

"Your body has converted the life force into cultivation and transferred to your other element, which has caused a double breakthrough." The space explained in a small voice.

It was scared. Very much.

"What? Double breakthrough?" Gu Jin muttered and the space agreed,

"Yes. Double breakthrough, isn’t it a good opportunity master? You have gained so much! Two breakthroughs!"

Gu Jin frowned.

From a logical point of view, two breakthroughs were indeed good...

Suddenly Gu Jin asked,

"Wait! Which two elements?"

The space went silent.

"Hey! Tell me!" Gu Jin shouted. Her mind was racing, an answer appeared in her mind,

"Is it a dark fire element?"

"Yes..." The space answered in a small voice.

Gu Jin’s face turned dark.

When she first transitioned to the Intermediate Rank of Dark Fire, she thought that the Dark Fire element was easy to cultivate.

However, when she read more about Dark Fire, Gu Jin realized how mistaken she was.

Dark Fire element was a mutated element of Fire and Dark element. Initially, it was easy to cultivate, but the more time passed, Gu Jin realized a problem.

The further the element’s cultivation was... the more hard it was to reach the peak rank.

There was one more fact that scared Gu Jin.

A line to be specific.

’During the breakthrough in further stages, the body of the Dark Fire element awakener would undergo many changes. These changes can result in severe pain. It is advisable to have a Master Rank Healing pill. Otherwise, the awakener would have to go through pain worse than death.’

She neither has the willpower to endure the pain in her body nor has a master-rank healing pill.

Wasn’t she doomed?

"Space," Gu Jin said through gritted teeth, "this is the part where you tell me there’s a way out of this."

The space stayed ominously quiet, its hesitation only making Gu Jin’s nerves worse.

"Well?" Gu Jin demanded, sweat already forming on her forehead as her body grew warmer, her veins pulsing with the fiery life force of the Dark Fire element.

"Master, there’s... no known method to avoid the pain without a healing pill," the space finally admitted, its voice small and apologetic.

"Of course not," Gu Jin groaned, running a hand through her hair in frustration.

Her body was starting to feel heavier, her limbs becoming sluggish as the energy within her began to surge, pushing toward the impending breakthrough.

She knew she didn’t have much time.

"Okay," Gu Jin muttered to herself, pacing in front of the tree she had been resting against.

"Think. There has to be something I can do."

But what?

Her mind raced, desperately trying to come up with some sort of solution.

But every thought she had led back to the same conclusion: the pain was inevitable.

And it was going to be excruciating.

"Great," she muttered, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she stopped pacing and glared at the sky.

"Just great."

Her frustration, however, was quickly replaced by a sudden surge of panic as the heat in her body intensified.