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Chapter 677: Lyon's Inner Core
Chapter 677: Lyon's Inner Core
"Alright."
After glancing up at the sun, the Archer Director took out a small bronze bell from somewhere and tapped it gently with his palm.
"The time is up, everyone stop what you’re doing!"
With the deep, soul-penetrating sound of the bell, the over forty cleaners who were deeply engrossed in the secret arts were jolted out of their concentration. They could no longer maintain the continuous compression of their 'Inner Core' and had to exit their focused state.
As their previous state was broken, the cleaners were surprised to find that the ordinary grain of sand in their hands, although looking the same as before, felt completely different when overlapped with their 'Inner Core,' as if it had become unrecognizable.
"Now, it's time to test your progress."
Frowning, the Archer Director glanced at the grain of sand in Lyon’s hand. Considering Lyon’s outstanding talent in the Quintessence Selection, he hesitated for a moment before gesturing to the cleaner farthest from him.
"Starting with you, everyone, hold your sand tightly, don’t let go, and come to me one by one."
"Okay, got it!"
Hearing the Archer Director’s instructions, the little female cleaner, who was sitting at the back and being pulled by Abigail, quickly stood up and made her way through the crowd to the Archer Director. She handed him the sand in her hand, but the Archer Director didn’t take it, instead waving his hand in the air with a sage-like demeanor.
In the surprised gazes of the cleaners, the tiny grain of sand wobbled slightly, then rapidly expanded, growing from the size of a grain of rice to the size of a baby’s fist, and then...
it disappeared.
"Very good."
Taking the large grain of sand from the female cleaner, the Archer Director rubbed it between his fingers. Feeling the texture, which was significantly different from ordinary sand but still within the realm of sand, a satisfied smile spread across his face.
"Truly worthy of being Barto’s recommendation. Your talent in the secret arts is outstanding. You can continue to come for further training... Next!"
Hearing the Archer Director’s words, Abigail bit her lip and then made her way from the farthest point to the front, handing over the sand in her hand.
After the Archer Director waved his hand, her sand wobbled and expanded to the size of a pea before losing its momentum and stopping.
The shape was maintained well, but the essence wasn’t pure enough.
Picking up the pea-sized grain of sand and rubbing it, the Archer Director noticed it felt slightly soft and shook his head, gently saying to Abigail:
"Although you have some talent, you’re far behind the previous cleaner. Your belief is strong, but it’s not entirely from within yourself, and your compatibility with the Archer Palace is average. You can basically give up on the selection.
Of course, you’ve passed my test, so this isn’t a mandatory exit. If you wish to continue, I won’t stop you, but in my judgment, your achievements in this secret art will be limited. It’s better to give up early."
"I understand, thank you for your advice."
Hearing the Archer Director’s evaluation, Abigail’s eyes showed a hint of regret. She then returned to the back of the crowd and sat down next to the little female cleaner.
Since a fist-sized grain of sand received a higher evaluation than a pea-sized one, it meant that the larger the sand was enhanced, the better.
Seeing the Archer Director’s significantly more amiable attitude compared to the beginning of the lesson, the cleaners relaxed a bit. This continued until the third cleaner, full of anticipation, handed over his sand...
"Your existence is a desecration of the Archer Secret Technique."
Looking at the third cleaner’s hand, where the grain of sand, after revealing its 'essence,' had inflated to the size of a human head, the Archer Director couldn’t help but express his disgust:
"What did I tell you before?
"The prerequisite for learning this Secret Art is to enhance the inherent properties of sand without damaging its structure! Now, tell me, what does the lump in your hand have to do with sand?"
"I..."
"That's enough. I won't say more. After everyone's assessment is complete, remember to find the Crab Director to erase your memories of the Secret Art."
"Huh?"
"What's there to be surprised about? I'm just being cautious, The Archer Director explained with a pained expression, amidst the slightly reluctant gazes of the cleaners, "The essence of Archer Secret Art is very simple—it's about compressing your 'Inner Core' and overlapping it with an Anomaly to enhance the target. But this also means completely exposing yourself and abandoning your self-protection."
"Fortunately, I took extra caution and didn't let you practice on Anomalies right away. Instead, I chose ordinary sand. For you, sand is small enough that even if your Inner Core isn't powerful enough, the impact will be limited."
"If it were an Anomaly with a powerful 'Inner Core,' or even one with self-awareness, the result of your Secret Art could turn you into a monster fused with the Anomaly, or worse, you might become enslaved by it!"
After explaining the dangers of the Anomaly Enhancement Secret Art, the Archer Director picked up the granite and gave it a firm squeeze. The rock wobbled and slightly shrank, its color shifting closer to that of sand, but it could only shrink to the size of a fist before stopping.
"See that? You can't control your 'Inner Core.' The structure of this grain of sand has been completely altered. If you use this Secret Art on a target with a stronger 'Inner Core,' this stone will be your fate!"
The Archer Director tossed the fist-sized sand back to the third cleaner, whose face had turned pale, and waved him away. Then, with an unusually stern expression, he warned:
"Remember this! Later, anyone whose sand is significantly different from the original will not be allowed to leave on their own. Go find the Crab Director to erase today's memories! Don't think I'm being harsh; I'm doing this to prevent you from practicing the Secret Art in private and accidentally harming yourselves. Every few generations, there are cleaners who die because of this. I don't want to see you repeating their mistakes!"
After emphasizing this rule several times, the Archer Director turned to Lyon, who was sitting across from him, and requested, "Your turn... Give me your sand!"
"Um..."
Hearing the Archer Director's request, Lyon hesitated as he felt the restlessness of the sand in his hand. He handed over the sand while quietly cautioning:
"Sir Archer, my sand might be a bit different from theirs. Please be careful."
Be careful?
Upon hearing Lyon's words, the Archer Director looked at him in surprise.
What's there to be careful about with a grain of sand? Even if you perform the Secret Art poorly, it'll just make the sand a bit bigger. Should I, a Director, be worried about getting hit by a grain of sand?
"Fine, hand it over!"
Ignoring Lyon's reminder, the Archer Director reached out with a stern face to examine Lyon's Secret Art.
However, as the Archer Director's hand brushed past, a massive black dog with three heads sprang from Lyon's palm, snapping its jaws around his calf with a loud crack!
(End of Chapter)
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