Damon’s vision flickered. A loud ringing drowned out every other sound. But he controlled the flow with painful precision.
CRACK.
"Nine."
The moment it opened, a wave of shadow essence slammed into him, harder than before, as if the lake sensed how close he was to completion and was trying to drag him those last few steps over the edge.
Damon snarled and held his ground. Then he moved on to the final meridian. The tenth. The last. The one closest to the crown of his skull. The one with the highest fatality rate in the game, because one wrong surge of energy here didn’t just rupture a nerve. It crushed the brain itself.
Damon exhaled, steadying every thought in his mind. His heart slowed. His mana gathered at the base of his spine.
"Let’s finish this," he murmured. Slow. Precise. Controlled. The meridian shook violently, like a trapped serpent trying to break out of his skull. Damon did not stop. He reached deeper. Pushed harder. Widened the flow. Forced the conduit open even as his vision dimmed and pressure threatened to implode his mind. And then...
BOOM!
The tenth meridian burst open like a lightning bolt streaking through his brain.
A flood of mana and shadow essence blasted upward into his skull, filling every part of his mind with blinding intensity. Damon’s entire body vibrated. Blood burst from his nose and ears. His fingertips went numb. But he didn’t die.
He was still breathing and very much conscious. He was somehow holding on. The lake started churning violently. Damon wiped the blood from his lips and swayed, but he immediately prepared to back away.
"That’s all you’re getting from me."
He pushed himself to his feet, legs trembling, and took a step back. Tendrils of shadow surged everywhere, wanting to devour him, but it was too late. He was already out of their grasp, and raw power surged inside him. Despite his body being currently unstable at the moment, his abilities had already leveled up.
The new him could easily withstand the heightened pressure. Now, it was time to gather a few more treasures and get the hell out of here. However, it was right at this moment that a black blur bounded towards him, or rather towards the pool of death.
The First was here again!
Both the kitten and the spark reacted at the same time to stop the black blur. Contrary to what Damon thought was going to happen, the two actually paid attention to him and were alertly guarding him despite playing their own game on the side.

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