SSS-Grade Acceleration Talent made me Fastest Lord of Apocalypse-Chapter 27: Not enough

After leaving the matter of the assassin to Devrok, Damien silently made his way to the second floor.

The echo of his boots against the marbled floor faded behind him as the panic downstairs began to settle. The heavy tension that had gripped the Harrier household slowly dissolved, giving way to a stillness that felt almost unnatural.

Inside his dimly lit room, Damien sat cross-legged atop a meditation cushion. The thick curtains muted the light from the crescent moon outside, bathing the room in a soft bluish hue. In his hand, he held a small black crystal no larger than a coin, its surface gleaming with an eerie, glassy luster. A faint coldness seeped into his palm as he held it, the surface oddly smooth, almost slick, like water trapped in solid form.

He stared at it, and a familiar interface flickered faintly before his eyes.

[Darkness Crystal; Crystallized form of extremely pure dark energy, generally used by cultivators to supplement their spells.]

Damien narrowed his eyes, and the memory of the assassin stepping out from the shadows replayed in his mind like a phantom. That silent movement, the unnatural merging with darkness... it hadn't been a technique born of talent alone.

"So it was this crystal that allowed him to perform that trick..." Damien muttered.

The crystal remained quiet in his palm, pulsing ever so faintly with a soft blue light. He turned it over, examined it for anything else, but found nothing of use. With a sigh, he placed it on the floor beside him. It clinked softly against the stone and lay still.

Damien exhaled slowly and leaned back slightly. His thoughts scattered, returning to everything that had transpired since his arrival in this world—Blue Hammer Kingdom, Blood Fang Gang, the Forbidden Breath Cult, and now a nameless assassin. Enemies lurking in every shadow, some watching, others already making their move.

The weight pressed on him, heavy and relentless. Even with his strength, it felt like standing on a frozen lake while cracks spiderwebbed beneath him. He needed more power. And fast.

He straightened his spine and closed his eyes, diving inward.

Within the sanctum of his spiritual space, two marbles rotated gently—one a silvery swirl, the other a darker hue, like molten obsidian. Together, they drew mana from the surrounding atmosphere. Like threads of fog being reeled in, mana drifted down into a one-square-meter pool glowing faintly with grayish light.

From the pool, the mana was absorbed into Damien's body by some unknown mechanism. He could feel it coursing through him—tingling through his arms, soaking into muscle and marrow. A subtle warmth spread as his bones creaked softly under the strain, slowly being reshaped, hardened.

Bit by bit, the nourishment of mana worked its magic.

His bones... they were changing.

"Iron Bones at First Rank. Silver at Second. Gold at Third," Damien whispered to himself, recalling the old teachings.

This foundational path—the Body Refining Stage—was split into Levels of Refinement. The first ten percent of transformation marked Stage One. A full hundred percent would mean standing at the peak of the Rank.

But above these physical transformations lay the mysterious Channel Forging Realm. His predecessor had barely scratched its surface. Even in ancient records, only a handful from Mesarith City had touched that realm.

Forget the Channel Forging Realm—reaching Silver Rank was a dream for most.

The pain of refinement... it was no simple ache. It was like having his bones ground beneath a hammer with each breath, like they were being carved anew by invisible blades.

He took a sharp breath. Even with the mana's numbing effect, it hurt. Badly.

That's why cultivators used pills and rare treasures—to dull this agony, to remove bottlenecks.

But Damien had neither...for the time being.

He opened his eyes, breath shallow.

This progress... it was too slow.

"Ten percent in a year?" he murmured, his brows furrowed. "Unacceptable."

Then his heart skipped a beat.

Thump... Thump...

A thought, a wild one, flared up in his mind.

"Can I accelerate this too?"

He already knew the answer.

Without delay, Damien activated the acceleration marble with a thought.

Wrrring...

The air trembled subtly around him as the marble stirred, like a beast yawning after a long slumber. A soft, silvery hum reverberated within his spiritual field. The mana now gleamed more brightly as the marble infused it with its essence.

He felt it immediately.

The pain intensified—but so did the effect.

He grit his teeth, sweat beginning to bead across his brow. His body quivered. The sharp ache in his bones doubled—but he bore it. Endured it.

[Acceleration Refinement +10%]

Damien glanced at the message but didn't stop. It wasn't enough.

"Faster," he ordered.

The hum of the marble deepened. It vibrated like a tuning fork struck hard. The flow of mana thickened, condensed—like hot syrup being poured through every pore of his being.

[Acceleration Refinement +20%]

"Still not enough," Damien hissed, eyes still shut tight.

"Faster."

A sharp zing resounded in his consciousness. The marble shuddered under the strain, its energy growing erratic.

Mana was now being devoured faster than it was drawn in. The pool, which had been glowing gently just minutes ago, now rippled violently before draining in real time.

The marble was greedy—starved.

Just when the final droplet of mana within the pool was about to vanish, something unexpected happened.

Crack...

The Darkness Crystal on the floor began to tremble. Black veins spread across its surface, and without warning—

BOOM!

It burst.

A dark fog surged out like smoke from a ruptured dam. The air turned cold, and Damien's skin prickled as the black energy was sucked directly into the spiritual pool. The fog churned like a storm, disappearing the moment it entered the pool.

And the acceleration marble drank it all.

Damien gasped as new strength surged through him, the pain in his bones escalating from sharp to unbearable. It felt as if molten iron was being poured into his marrow.

But he didn't stop.

He welcomed the pain. Welcomed the progress.

[Acceleration Exp +19]

[Acceleration Exp +10]

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[Acceleration Exp +14]

Message after message ticked across his vision, but Damien ignored them all. His entire body trembled, sweat pouring from his skin like rain, soaking through his robes.

His breath came in short, harsh bursts. Every muscle screamed in protest, every nerve burned. His hands clenched into fists, nails digging into his palms, drawing blood.

And still he persisted.

The process continued for nearly three agonizing hours.

Only when the last wisp of black fog from the shattered Darkness Crystal was finally consumed did the glow of the pool die down.

The acceleration marble dimmed, the silvery hum fading to silence.

With a low, ragged exhale, Damien opened his eyes.

His robes were soaked. His skin pale. But his eyes... they blazed with quiet intensity.

Progress had been made.

And it was only the beginning.