Overpowered Awakening: I Became Invincible With A Broken Talent-Chapter 193: The Blessing

Amongst Orion’s powers was soul healing. As a result, when Marlon fainted for more than ten minutes, which was highly unusual for someone of his level, he immediately tried to use his soul scan to see if anything was wrong. However, his scan failed completely, indicating that there was no soul present within the body.

There were only two instances where that could happen. One was that the target was dead, and the other, though extremely rare, was that the soul of that person had been snatched away.

And in this case, it was the latter.

"What do you mean his soul had been snatched? That is impossible, even from the core of an SS-rank entity," said Liora as she also scanned Marlon’s body carefully. Physically, he seemed completely normal, with no visible injuries or abnormalities.

Nox was present this time. He watched calmly, though his mind was rather worried, more worried than he has ever been in longtime. Beside him stood Solan.

"Another entity snatched his soul. The core was just a medium," Orion finally responded, his voice calm but serious.

"What is going to happen?" asked Nox, his tone sharper than usual.

"I do not know." Orion shook his head slightly before continuing. "But it is unlikely that it would be able to kill him. Only certain powerful beings, SSS-rank at least, with soul powers like mine, could truly snatch a soul and destroy it afterward. Otherwise, they can only snatch a soul temporarily to communicate and must return it afterward. There is usually a time limit to how long they can keep a soul separated from its body."

He explained in a steady tone, making sure they understood the distinction clearly.

The three Vereenas heaved sighs of relief.

After hearing that Marlon was still alive, Nox stepped away from his side and went to his usual location. He began tossing pebbles randomly while waiting for Marlon to awaken, though this time he glanced back more often than before.

As for the other two, they remained by his side, unwilling to leave even for a moment.

While waiting for him to awaken, they discussed the current state of Arden in low voices.

"He has already become a guardian, and with the abilities in his possession, he could easily stand his ground against a pair of index-3 aurax," Orion analyzed before continuing. "He should be able to continue fighting without collapsing under pressure."

The other two nodded in agreement.

Just as they were about to begin another round of questioning, Marlon’s eyes fluttered open and he awoke.

For a brief second, his vision felt slightly blurred, as if he had been dragged from a distant place. However, the sensation quickly faded.

Luckily, he did not feel weakened. He stood up quickly, testing his balance for a moment before thanking the Vereenas for looking after him.

Orion called him aside afterward.

"Who did you meet?"

Marlon frowned slightly. Orion always seemed to know far too much about what happened around him, whether it concerned his system or even events within his own mind.

If it were another person, he would have long since regarded them as a threat and confronted them directly. But Orion was an ally, a very useful one at that. If he had to guess, the reason Orion paid so much attention to his mind and system could be due to him being the Originless One.

He told him how he met the aurax King and also revealed the parts of their meeting that he could divulge, especially the challenge and, most importantly, the mention of him being the Originless One.

"He claimed you guys could have the answers to my questions, and to be honest, aside from the aurax king, you are the only ones who have mentioned it. I need answers."

Orion paused for a short while, as if weighing his words carefully.

"If the system still has not provided that explanation for you, then it means you have not yet reached the power level required to know. Even if I want to, I cannot tell you," he said calmly.

"Have you ever heard nothing but mechanical beeps when someone is talking to you before? Perhaps during one of those memory fragments, or against certain opponents?" he asked.

Marlon thought carefully.

"None that I can recall of," he responded.

"Then it means no one has ever truly tried to tell you about it," Orion concluded.

"Yes, of course. That is why I am this curious," Marlon replied, frustration creeping into his tone. "I am someone of such importance that the aurax and the Vereenas know about me, yet I do not know about it myself. Is that not confusing?"

"It is," Orion admitted. "But we are not the only ones who know about your purpose yet. The lunaris, for example, had predicted your presence in this planet twenty years ago. As a result, the visit happened. They tried to take over your world so that when you were born, you would immediately fall into their hands and as a result, their entire race, which had lost importance decades ago, would rise to the top once more."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"Nonetheless, their entire approach was foolish and brute. As a result of their actions, the Originless One was not born as predicted but was SENT instead. When they learnt of it, they returned once more. But thanks to your guardian, their race has been wiped out completely."

"The BEEP that brought you here was BEEP."

Orion was about to continue when he noticed the strange look on Marlon’s face. He immediately realized he was delving too deep into the topic and had revealed more than he should have.

"You heard the beep I mentioned earlier?" he asked to confirm.

Marlon nodded slowly.

Orion let out a quiet sigh.

"You should already know enough from what I have said earlier. Right?"

"Not entirely, but I have grasped enough to ponder about," Marlon responded honestly.

He felt slightly dejected that he did not get to hear the entire truth. Orion’s last sentence had been nothing but mechanical beeps, and he could not decipher any of the words that followed.

There were many questions he needed answers for, beginning from what his relationship was with the planet eater and what ultimate purpose he possessed that made the universe rely on him.

Unfortunately, he was left with only one option. He had to get strong enough to be recognized fully by the system as the Originless One. Only then would every answer he sought be provided, just as Orion implied.

He had to manage for now. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"The fight is not over yet," Orion said suddenly, forcing him out of his thoughts.

"There are still monsters rampaging through your world and a few aurax in hiding. They have probably been notified of the deaths of two of their strongest, so they will be very cautious from now on," he continued.

Marlon paused for a moment before nodding.

"Give me a few minutes."

Orion nodded and left him alone.

Marlon opened his character panel.

[ System is still undergoing changes... ]

He accessed his inventory directly instead, since the character panel was still loading.

He brought out the other item that followed the true core he received earlier.

The blessing upgrade card.

The white-colored card appeared in his grasp, looking very plain except for the description that surfaced above it. It was simple — A one-time use item that ascends a blessing to its next rank.

He used it quickly without wasting time.

[ Select a blessing to upgrade: Lifeflow (Sacred-rank), Limitless (Divine-rank), Double (Divine-rank) ]

All of these blessings were unique in their own sense. Lifeflow increased his health regeneration speed. He already possessed several abilities that enhanced his regeneration significantly, and at his current level with one million health capacity and the Deathless skill, increasing this further would not be the most efficient choice.

Limitless meant he would not need breakthrough trials to ascend, allowing him to grow seamlessly. However, if he were honest with himself, he preferred entering breakthrough trials no matter how difficult they were.

It might seem reckless, but all three of his blessings had been obtained through trials. Despite his achievements in Arden, he had never actually received a blessing without facing danger.

Then there was Double. It doubled everything. His rapid growth to his current level was largely due to this blessing.

Without even pondering twice, the best option was obvious.

So he selected it. He accepted the confirmation message, and instantly the blessing was upgraded.

[ Blessing: Fivefold ] (Arcane-rank)

A divine blessing that multiplies all forms of progress by five. Every experience point, reward, item drop, and growth gain is constantly multiplied by five. This also applies to rewards obtained by your clones and pet.

BONUS BLESSING:

Upon certain conditions, Fivefold would be doubled to Tenfold temporarily.