Chapter 54: Comprehending Formations, One-Star Formation Master (2)
And now, there was her brother.
Before, she could at least read him—see his soul, sense his level with a glance. But after he walked out of his room this morning, everything had changed. She couldn’t sense his power level at all, nor could she see even a flicker of his soul. It was as if he had become a void—there, yet unreachable.
Two unknown variables had suddenly appeared in her life. Evan and Grey. And now Evan was asking for Grey’s number. There was no way it was a coincidence. Ever since Evan met Grey, his behavior during training had been strange—restless, shocked, then relieved, even thoughtful. None of it made sense.
"I’ll find what you both are up to," Alissa thought silently, a new resolve settling in her heart as she gently patted Mimi’s head.
Grey glanced at Mimi, who showed no intention of leaving Alissa’s arms anytime soon, and said, "I’ll be going to my room. Take care of Mimi."
Alissa nodded.
...
Back in Grey’s room, he quickly freshened up and immediately began studying the formation techniques and manuals he had bought.
He started with the one titled "Basics of Formation." With his high comprehension ability, it didn’t take him long to grasp it completely.
[Your Comprehension Defies the Heavens! By reading Basics of Formation, you’ve gained insight into Formations.]
"A way to invoke the hidden workings of the heavens," Grey nodded to himself. Things were much clearer to him now.
His Golden Ratio Cosmic Energy Conversion Diagram was similar—it too invoked the power of the heavens to enable energy conversion and manifestation.
"Aren’t I technically already a One-Star Formation Master?" Grey mused.
According to the manual, to become a One-Star Formation Master, one only needed to comprehend and successfully activate a single One-Star formation technique. In essence, his Cosmic Conversion Diagram was already a One-Star Formation. That meant he technically qualified as one.
"I should go apply for the One-Star Formation Master Evaluation soon," Grey nodded thoughtfully. With that certification, he could take on commissions and earn money.
In this age, money was an absolute necessity, and he honestly couldn’t get enough of it. Once he reached Second Rank, his expenses would skyrocket even further.
Then, Grey shifted his focus to the several One-Star Formation techniques he had purchased: Five Elemental Array, Crimson Fang Array, Blinding Petal Array, and Mirror Shield Circles.
The Five Elemental Array was widely used either to comprehend the five elements or as an offensive array against espers and elemental technique users.
It could amplify elemental attacks if the user was the one who invoked it—or neutralize them if cast against an enemy. It was highly effective against espers and immortals who relied on elemental spells.
Next was the Crimson Fang Array—a practical combat formation designed purely for offense. It allowed the user to condense all their energy into a single, devastating piercing strike. The array was drawn using one’s own energy, and the resulting attack could be amplified fivefold.
The Blinding Petal Array was a trap formation. Once activated, it blinded the enemy while unleashing countless wind blades that tore their bodies apart. With sufficient energy infusion, it could even take down a peak First-Rank evolver. Of course, for a Level One First-Rank like him, that kind of energy infusion could take a whole year.
Still, it was an extremely versatile array.
Finally, the Mirror Shield Circle—a defensive formation capable of reflecting energy attacks back at the opponent, amplified tenfold, though only once per activation.
The downside was its high energy consumption—it required immense energy just to inscribe a single circle.
But Grey didn’t mind. Something like that could be a lifesaver in a moment of life and death. Having one ready would always come in handy.
With that, he began comprehending each of the techniques one by one.
[Your Comprehension Defies the Heavens! By reading Five Elemental Array
, you’ve comprehended the Flawless Elemental Array.][Your Comprehension Defies the Heavens! By reading Crimson Fang Array, you’ve comprehended the Crimson Fang Surge Array.]
[Your Comprehension Defies the Heavens! By reading Blinding Petal Array, you’ve comprehended the Radiant Petal Storm Array.]
[Your Comprehension Defies the Heavens! By reading Mirror Circle Array, you’ve comprehended the Flawless Mirror Circle Array.]
As expected, his cheat didn’t disappoint him. By the time he finished reading each manual, he had managed to comprehend all four arrays—and even better, they had evolved into perfected versions of themselves.
The Flawless Elemental Array became easier to draw and required less energy.
The Crimson Fang Array evolved into Crimson Fang Surge Array, which could now unleash multiple piercing strikes while consuming the same amount of energy as before.
The Blinding Petal Array transformed into the Radiant Petal Storm, which not only blinded enemies but also stunned them while trapping them in a storm of slicing wind blades.
And finally, the Flawless Mirror Circle—although it required twice as much energy to use—it could now reflect attacks amplified fifteenfold.
Even without enough energy infused, he could still reflect the attack at twice the power. That alone made it an absolute steal.
They were still technically One-Star formations, but each was now in its most perfect form.
"Incredible," Grey grinned. "With this, I won’t have to worry about getting ambushed like before by those Tiger Claw Gang members. I can easily escape—or even fight back. These arrays drastically improve my combat capabilities!"
Now that he was a Level One First-Rank Evolver, he had no idea just how strong he had truly become. But one thing was certain—his combat power had already surpassed the Level Three threshold.
"I completely forgot to check my actual combat strength because I was too distracted by Eterna," Grey muttered with a sigh.
As if hearing her name, Eterna appeared in the corner of his vision. Thanks to the Cognitive Anchor, his mind was essentially a virtual computer, allowing Eterna to appear and disappear at will.
Of course, she couldn’t harm him—his Mind Link Interface ensured absolute security for its user.
After all, it was originally a technique used for hacking.