Agony tore through Ashton's body as his organs shifted, and his muscles and bones broke only to rebuild themselves stronger.
His wounds sealed at incredible speed, every cell being replaced with something far more potent.
His body temperature skyrocketed, so intense that the bomb strapped to him began to melt.
Flames erupted all around, surging towards him as they burned everything in their path, forcing the alien to stagger back a few steps.
Eventually, the fire engulfed him, continuously burning away his flesh as it regenerated.
A few agonizing seconds later, his flesh stopped burning and he no longer felt any heat being emitted from the flame.
Instead, Ashton felt as though the fire answered to him. But before he could test that thought, the flames were drawn into his body, sweeping deep within him.
Then the pain throughout his body began to slowly fade away, replaced by overwhelming power as a whisper echoed through his mind.
(Congratulations Flameblade Engineer!)
(You have successfully completed the first Awakening!)
(You have become an Awakened!)
Ashton's eyes widened in disbelief as he heard the whispers.
"Did I hear that right? I have become Awakened?"
From what he remembered from school, undergoing an Awakening transforms a person into an Awakened one.
An Awakened can channel mana, using it to power the extraordinary abilities they've just unlocked.
However, one knew exactly how an awakening was triggered…
Neither did he have an idea about what this system was. So he was completely clueless on this matter.
As he was lost in his own thoughts, the system continued whispering.
(Carrier of the Mark Of Absolute Detected)
(Finding the most compatible Absolute Weapons)
(Manifesting The Absolute Sword)
A chilling silence descended around the place as he felt the presence of intangible energy moving towards him.
He didn't feel its presence before he had Awakened, but now he could sense that this energy was basically all around him, and most of it was gathering in front of him for some reason.
Ashton blinked a couple of times as realization dawned upon him.
"Is that mana?"
It was likely since he had never felt its presence in his life before undergoing an awakening.
Suddenly, the torrent flared with blinding light as it ignited into a torrent of blazing flame, the brilliance forcing him to squeeze his eyes shut.
Ashton frowned as he thought.
"Something isn't right…"
As he observed the torrent of mana spinning drawing in more energy, it exploded with a boom, scattering countless tiny fragments all around him.
Ashton opened his eyes a moment later and froze at what he saw. A long, gleaming silver blade was hovering in the sky, moving towards him.
Ashton grabbed the hilt of the sword. The moment he did so, he felt mana being sucked out of his body at an alarming rate.
"What the hell is happening?"
The sword's appearance changed. A red line spread from the center of the hilt to the blade's edge, tinting the weapon a deep crimson.
Then the system whispered into his ears.
(The first seal has been broken!)
(The Absolute Sword has Awakened!)
The sword finally stopped draining his mana after his reserves were less than half of his original quantity.
He lowered his gaze and stared at the sword for a moment. The blade hummed faintly in his grip, sending a chill through his spine.
Instinctively, Ashton knew this sword was dangerous in ways he didn't yet understand.
So Ashton raised his head and met the alien's still gaze. A grin crept onto his face, sharp yet wary, as he broke the silence.
"Then let's see what this power can do."
Ashton dashed towards the alien, appearing in front of it in a heartbeat. He launched a barrage of sword strikes but the alien dodged every single one.
Ashton tightened his grip around the sword and struck harder. Despite it, the alien moved their body left or right, dodging most of his attacks.
But one of his attacks gazed past the armor, destroying that section, Ashton's eyes widened as he realized this sword could actually breach the alien's tough defenses.
Something he couldn't do if he were unarmed.
The alien seized one of Ashton's shoulders and flung him across the battlefield. He slammed into a wall, the impact rattling his entire body.
He spat out a mouthful of saliva mixed with a little bit of blood on the ground.
To make matters worse, Ashton saw the alien point his palm towards him, and a burst of energy charged towards him.
Seeing this, Ashton uttered a curse.
"Fuck, I need to dodge"
Ashton quickly got up and jumped to his right side. The burst of energy slammed into the wall behind, engulfing it and vaporizing it completely.
Ashton didn't waste a moment, he dashed towards the alien as fast as his body could move and appeared
He swung his sword with all his might. Instead of dodging, the alien raised its hand and an energy shield flared into existence.
His sword crashed into the energy shield, producing a harsh screech like a failing electrical machine.
It punched through the barrier and slammed into the alien's body, the force of the strike hurling it backward.
The alien bounced up and down a few times before coming to a stop. Ashton was prepared to dash towards the alien and deal the final finishing blow.
But before he could, he heard a loud sound that was very similar to the one he had heard on the day the aliens invaded.
Cold sweat dripped from his forehead as he stared at the source of the sound…
At a distance an object around half the size of a small football field was hovering in the sky, heading towards them at an incredible speed.
The colossal object was painted white, metallic, and shaped like a massive triangle, giving it a futuristic appearance.
Worse still, the alien rose to its feet—l and a burst of energy and pressure erupted from it, far surpassing what Ashton had unleashed during his awakening.
Ashton's face paled, his body trembled, and his heart beat violently like trying to escape his chest. Only a few words with a hint of sarcasm escaped his mouth.
"...Well well… why does everything have to go so damn perfectly?"