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Within Crescent Moon Land, as the last of the memory fragments was absorbed into Luke, the storm enveloping him gradually shrank, until it vanished completely without leaving the faintest trace.
"Absorbed every last memory fragment, and not a hint of discomfort." Watching it all unfold, a complicated expression rose on Celestine's exquisite face. That had been enough energy to rupture several Immortal Realm bodies, after all.
And yet Luke was nothing more than a Leader Realm Card Master. He'd absorbed it the moment he decided to, without so much as a flicker of an adverse reaction, and there hadn't even been any increase to his level. Wasn't that getting a little ridiculous?
Where in the world did all that energy you swallowed actually go? Then again, given the anomaly that had just occurred, Celestine supposed absorbing the memory fragments hardly counted as anything remarkable by comparison.
"Genuinely special enough." In the end, Celestine couldn't help rubbing at her brow. The changes in front of her had, time and again, exceeded her imagination. "Still, that's exactly what makes it worth anticipating. Just how far are you capable of growing?"
As she finished, a highly distinctive pattern surfaced at the center of Celestine's brow, and within the emerald eyes she'd fixed on Luke, threads of light flickered, bright and dim, on and off.
「 World Rule absorption successful. Congratulations, host. You have obtained the Crescent Moon Blessing: Zero Hour Stray. 」
「 Linked to Ancient Tree Sprite Celestine's memory Spirit Core. Congratulations, host. You have obtained the Special Blessing: Spirit-Value Aegis. 」
"This is the Crescent Moon Blessing? And what's that special blessing?" The changes from absorbing the memory fragments clearly extended well beyond unlocking the Second Authority's hidden effect, and receiving fresh system prompts again left Luke briefly stunned.
He'd assumed all the memory fragments had been absorbed and converted purely to unlock the Second Authority's hidden effect, and that the Crescent Moon Blessing had gone down the drain. He hadn't expected to end up obtaining the Crescent Moon Blessing after all, with an additional special blessing on top.
I really am a luck-god. Does this count as three blessings landing at once? Holding that thought, Luke examined his own attributes again, and sure enough, two new skills had appeared on his panel.
「 Crescent Moon Blessing, Zero Hour Stray: The holder's spiritual power, mana, and all other states fully recover at zero hour. At the same time, all states on the body are cleansed and refreshed. 」
"That name carries some serious déjà vu." Reading the Crescent Moon Blessing he'd obtained, Luke smacked his lips. It reminded him of a skill held by a certain anime character. Those Crescent Moon Blessings I just drew, surely they aren't linked to various anime dimensions, are they?
"Still, it's different from the Zero Hour Stray I remember, and this Crescent Moon Blessing actually suits me better." Pulling his thoughts back, Luke was fairly satisfied with the Zero Hour Stray he'd obtained.
It didn't raise his strength immediately, but the simple fact that his spiritual power and mana fully recovered at midnight was enough to earn his serious regard.
The spiritual power the First Authority demanded was genuinely terrifying. Even as his level kept rising, and even with the Moon Spirit Ring's recovery effect, spiritual power remained a deep pit for Luke. Now, with Zero Hour Stray's full recovery, the awkward situation of his spiritual power draining too fast was eased to a meaningful degree.
The same went for mana. In a prolonged battle, even with mana crystals as a backup energy reserve, there would always come a point where they ran dry, and Zero Hour Stray's refresh counted as a solid Plan B.
Beyond that, all his other states would be refreshed as well. Those were fine effects too, more than capable of mattering at certain moments.
At the thought, a peculiar expression flickered across Luke's face. Because it occurred to him: if all his states were refreshed, then when he replenished mana to a card spirit, would the relevant timing reset on its own as well?
If so, Luke felt the operability of this Crescent Moon Blessing was considerable.
Strictly speaking, Zero Hour Stray was a skill that bound him and his card spirits more tightly together across multiple fronts.
"Right, there's still that special skill." Having finished reviewing the Zero Hour Stray description, Luke hadn't forgotten the other special blessing, Spirit-Value Aegis. By the information the system had relayed, this special blessing seemed connected to Celestine, the tree-spirit of the Ancient Spirit Tree.
Luke was, in fact, rather mindful of Celestine. Her true strength might well be even more terrifying than he'd imagined.
At that thought, Luke's attention settled on the second blessing. And once he saw its description, even he was momentarily left staring.