As Marlon was in a bit of a hurry to level up and start his second breakthrough trial, he did not waste time trying to strike a conversation with Maddox.

Maddox also had somewhere to be at that moment, since he was one of the newly employed combat instructors. He simply delivered the items from his inventory to Marlon and then left without staying any longer than needed.

Nonetheless, there was no trace of animosity between them throughout the short exchange.

The original Marlon neither disliked nor liked his older brother. Their only real connection was the fact that they were born from the same parents. Aside from that, they had always been neutral toward each other.

"Maddox is a chill guy…" was all he could say after the brief meeting.

"Anyway, that's the least of my concern right now," he muttered as he quickly pushed the thought aside.

"Inventory."

[ INVENTORY (7/7) ]

x99 C-grade monster cores

x50 High-grade aether crystals

x50 High-grade exp orbs

x44 F-grade monster cores

x25 skill books

x5 mid-grade aether crystals

x4 mid-grade healing potions

A small smile appeared on his face as he scanned through his inventory.

One hundred high-grade items like aether crystals and exp orbs were not only expensive but rare to the point that most people would need strong connections just to acquire a few.

Even during the competition, he had only been able to obtain mid-grade ones. That alone showed how difficult high-grade versions were to get.

Thankfully, the original body's messy relationship with his parents had worked in his favor and allowed him to receive them.

As for the skill books and monster cores that filled most of the space, he made up his mind to sell them when he found some free time.

Now that those things were out of the way…

He brought out the aether crystals.

In his previous breakthrough trial, he had run out of aether points several times, and it almost cost him his life. So this time, he intended to increase his aether points as much as he could.

Sitting in a meditative position, he placed two high-grade crystals in front of him.

This time, he was going to attempt a feat that hunters at his level usually couldn't achieve — absorbing more than one aether crystal at once.

It had never crossed his mind before because he rarely had enough crystals to try something like that. But now, with fifty high-grade ones and even some mid-grade crystals, he decided to take the faster route.

Maintaining steady breathing, he shut his eyes and focused completely on the absorption process.

He expected the usual uncomfortable pressure that came with taking in two streams of aether at once—the same backlash others often complained about.

But instead—

He felt a warm and pleasant sensation, even more comfortable than when absorbing a single crystal.

"Maybe I'm one of those once-in-a-lifetime geniuses they call the children of aether…" he chuckled lightly.

"I should add one more," he murmured and picked up another crystal.

Low-grade aether crystals mainly refilled used aether and only increased max capacity by fifty. Mid-grade crystals doubled that, granting a hundred points. High-grade crystals were far more potent, giving five hundred points, hence their rarity and difficulty to purchase.

With just the two in his hands, his 900 aether points would shoot straight into the two-thousand range.

Also, once someone reached a thousand aether points, they gained one point in regeneration, and every two thousand points after that doubled the regeneration rate.

"I can't wait…"

Holding the three crystals, he shut his eyes and returned to meditation.

Again, the same warm sensation filled him.

"Interesting."

Trying to make full use of his time, he took out two more crystals.

He could only hold two at once, so he placed the remaining three on his lap.

He didn't possess the telepathic ability that made crystals float around him so he did the best with what he had.

But to his surprise, he managed to begin absorbing all five crystals.

But when he tried adding one more, he couldn't re-enter the state of absorption, so he quietly accepted that his limit for now was five.

And he continued absorbing with the five.

[ You've absorbed x1 high-grade aether crystal… +500 Aether Points ]

[ Aether Points: 900 -----> 1400 ]

[ You've reached a threshold. Aether Regen doubled… Current Regen: 2 AP/min ]

Marlon ignored the notification and focused deeper. Since he was still inexperienced at absorbing multiple crystals at once, he couldn't take them all in at an equal pace. Some absorbed quickly while others lagged behind.

Even so, it saved him far more time than absorbing them one by one.

After almost two hours, he finished absorbing the remaining ones.

[ You've absorbed x1 high-grade aether crystal… +500 Aether Points ]

[ Aether Points: 1900 ----> 2400 ]

…

…

[ You've absorbed x1 high-grade aether crystal… +500 Aether Points ]

[ Aether Points: 2900 ----> 3400 ]

[ You've reached a threshold. Aether Regen doubled… Current Regen: 4 AP/min ]

As the notifications appeared, a refreshing wave spread through his entire body. It was several times more soothing than anything he had ever felt.. it was almost addicting.

He glanced at the window. Evening was approaching. The sun's glow had already begun to fade.

But since he planned to take his trial at night, he wasn't bothered.

He grabbed another five high-grade crystals and resumed absorbing.

This time, the process felt smoother and even more relaxing.

Within an hour, he was done.

[ You've absorbed x1 high-grade aether crystal… +500 Aether Points ]

[ Aether Points: 5400 ----> 5900 ]

[ Aether Regen: 8 AP/min ]

"I think increasing aether regen also boosts absorption rate," he noted with a quiet smile. "Even better… At this pace, absorbing all fifty won't take long."

Without hesitation, he pulled out another set of five.

Thirty minutes later, he finished.

[ Aether Points: 8400 ]

[ Aether Regen: 16 ]

He began another round…

This time, he was so focused that he didn't notice the presence of someone entering his room.

Only when the familiar notification flashed did he finally open his eyes.

[ Aether Points: 10,900 ]

[ Aether Regen: 32 ]

"Huh…"

It was already night. The lights in his room were now shining at full brightness, revealing the face of the person seated inside.

The moment he saw her, a frown instantly crossed his face.

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