[Ding! Basic Bonewalker absorbed the skull of Rank Two Star Gazer.]
[Ding! You have learned the basics of Sword Mastery.]
[Ding! …]
.
.
Lukas watched the Bonewalker assimilate over a dozen skulls without a change in expression. Most of these skulls belonged to young and weak awakeners like him. As the Bonewalker assimilated the last skull, Lukas expression darkened, and he couldn't stop himself from muttering under his breath,
"Could it be my theory is wrong? Absorbing the talents of others is not possible…"
That's right. After he realized he could learn the skills of the fallen, a terrifying thought had popped into his head. If he could learn skills, what was stopping him from learning the talents of others? But now, as the situation progressed, he seemed to have been thinking too much.
All he got from the past five assimilations were basic skills like sword fighting and basic archery.
He couldn't help but feel disappointed.
Just as he was thinking, his gaze landed on Nimo's corpse lying on the ground.
Nimo's eyeballs seemed to bulge out of their sockets in pure shock. Even in his last moments, he didn't realize what had happened. Or maybe it was the shock from the fact that the prey he had been playing with had actually attacked him.
Without saying a word, Lukas started searching him. This Nimo guy looked rich. There was bound to be something valuable on him.
After patting around, he soon found two items tucked under Nimo's clothing: a shabby-looking cloth bag and a slightly thin book with a leather cover.
A sense of excitement took over Lukas' body. With how closely Nimo had kept these items to himself, probably intending to carry them to his grave, they were bound to be precious.
First, he opened the bag, and just as he expected, it was filled with star crystals.
A mad smile appeared on Lukas' face.
"Money… I got money."
In excitement, he counted the crystals one by one.
There were a total of fifty star crystals in the small bag.
A big fortune for someone like Lukas, but for Nimo, this was probably nothing.
He seemed to be gravely ill. Probably burned all his savings to find a cure…
Lukas thought, and looking at Nimo's shriveled body, it made sense.
Then he shifted his focus to the leather book in his hand. Flipping its pages open, unfamiliar yet strangely familiar symbols greeted him. He was sure he had never read something like this in his life, yet he was able to perfectly understand them.
Star Breathing Technique…
The hand holding the book shook.
Badum! Badum!
Lukas' heart beat like a war drum. With sheer willpower, he suppressed the urge to scream.
Jackpot. I hit the jackpot.
Lukas' excitement was understandable. Although humanity's knowledge in the star energy technique field was not as advanced as the star monsters', after years of hard work they had finally found ways to imitate the monsters and absorb star energy to strengthen their bodies and follow the path of Star Warriors.
Star Breathing Technique, as the name suggested, allowed awakeners to absorb star energy from the vast stars floating above in the void. Each of these star energies was the result of thousands upon thousands of years of accumulation, and as such, they were incredibly precious, often selling for above ten thousand star crystals apiece. Moreover, there was no guarantee that you would be able to get your hands on them even with money.
To pursue such techniques, one needed not only money but influence as well.
After all, there were countless awakeners, but supply was limited. Moreover, most of the techniques that came to the market were low-grade Ember Star Breathing Techniques, using which star energy could only be absorbed during the night, and even then, the speed was extremely slow.
Even so, awakeners were willing to go to any length to obtain such techniques.
"I've struck it rich this time."
Lukas jumped up in excitement. Just some time ago, he had been regretting his decision to come out, but now that he had obtained this reward, his emotions completely reversed.
Just as his excitement threatened to overwhelm him, he took a deep breath to calm himself down.
"No. I absolutely must not let this windfall get to my head. It was just one lucky break. Taking risks blindly is unnecessary."
Only after repeating these words three times did his excitement die down.
However, he was not done yet. There was at least one more thing to do.
"Hey, Bonewalker, bring that knife over here."
Lukas commanded with a cold look in his eyes, pointing at the sharp knife hidden in the back pocket of the large bag.
He had noticed the knife quite some time ago, but the chaotic situation hadn't allowed him to use it.
Basic Bonewalker looked at Lukas dumbly, its hollow gaze seemingly staring at empty air. It was only when Lukas repeated his words again that the skeleton slowly moved toward the bag, took the knife out, and handed it to him.
Lukas' eyes narrowed to slits as he examined the knife's sharp edge. There were still faint marks of dried blood present on the blade, probably one of Nimo's past victims.
Then his focus once again shifted to Nimo's corpse on the ground.
Thinking about what he was about to do, his hand holding the knife shook.
The next moment, he gritted his teeth and muttered in a solemn tone, as if trying to convince himself,
"This is not the same world. You are not the same man."
But saying it was one thing. Following through with action was another.
He used to mock main characters in novels who were overly dramatic, but now that he was in their shoes, things weren't that simple.
With all these thoughts running through his mind, he simply closed his eyes and—
Stabbed.
Puchi!
Like a hot knife through butter, the blade slit Nimo's throat, blood instantly flowing outward.
Without another look, Lukas stood up and commanded,
"Assimilate."
Bonewalker showed no hesitation this time. Its movements were far faster compared to when Lukas had asked it to pick up the knife earlier.
[Ding! Basic Bonewalker assimilated the skull of Rank 4 Star Gazer.]
[Ding! You have learned the talent—]