Villain: Ultimate Mutation System in the Alternate World

Chapter 234: Clusters 3

'Damn it,' he muttered under his breath, frustration clear in his voice as he saw all his hard work go to waste just like that.

But that wasn't his main concern right now.

His current energy capacity was clearly lacking, and he needed to find a way to bridge the gap.

The problem was that the math wasn't adding up.

No matter how much he calculated, there was no way he could fill the final orb for several reasons.

First, his energy could not regenerate while he used it, forcing him to rely on his current capacity.

Second, stopping the energy flow would destabilize the delicate balance of the entire process.

'Think, think,' he began, pondering deeply. He was a genius, so he should leverage his ability to think outside the box.

Recalling all his experiences in this world—how he utilized his energy, powers, and abilities—there had to be insights hidden within his past experiences that he might have overlooked due to the aid of the system.

He was well aware of becoming overly dependent on the system, which might have obscured clues on how to overcome this challenge. If he thought hard enough, there must be a way forward.

'There's always a solution,' he thought to himself, his mind racing for answers.

Then, a eureka moment struck him. He remembered how the demon he had tricked before used her power to make the air heavy by scattering her energy and embedding it in the purple mist.

It was not an aura; the molecules in the air had literally and physically increased in mass due to her own power and intervention.

If he could imitate that and find a way to scatter his own energy first, keeping it suspended for some time, he could then reabsorb it back.

This new external source would mitigate his current energy deficiency.

'Alright, this can work,' he muttered determinedly.

He focused, attempting to emulate the demon's technique of scattering energy.

Concentrating intensely, he managed to disperse a small portion of his energy into the surrounding air.

For a fleeting moment, he felt a slight hope as the energy hung in the air.

However, just as quickly as he dispersed it, the energy dissipated, leaving him frustrated and confused.

"I need to try harder" he mumbled.

This wasn't like releasing his aura; he needed the energy to remain suspended even without active control.

It was akin to separating something intangible from his body and hoping it would remain stable enough to be useful.

But the nature of energy itself lacked enough physical characteristics to exist without active control and sustenance.

He tried again, this time focusing harder. Dispersing a larger amount of energy, but again, it vanished almost instantly.

Time passed as Reign persisted, attempting different methods to make it work somehow.

Each attempt lasted mere seconds before the energy slipped from his grasp. It was like trying to hold onto air—almost impossible.

Minutes turned into hours as he practiced nonstop.

He felt that if he perfected this, he would gain more than just completing the evolution.

It would be new knowledge and ideas that would allowed him to utilize his energy more effectively.

Slowly, he began to grasp the logic of controlling dispersed energy. He experimented with different concentrations, amounts of dispersion, and methods of containment.

After numerous failures and near-give-ups, he finally achieved a breakthrough.

He dispersed a certain amount of energy and managed to kept it suspended in the air for several minutes.

Then, he carefully reabsorbed the energy back into his body. A wave of relief washed over him as he felt his reserves replenished .

"I did it," he exclaimed, a wide smile creeping onto his face.

But his work was far from over.

Perfecting this technique would require more practice and refinement. He continued his rigorous training, gradually increasing the duration and stability.

Days passed. he faced some setbacks and frustrations, but with each failure, he learned valuable lessons.

Slowly but surely, the whole process became much more streamlined after he made adjustments from all the failed attempts.

One day, after what seemed like a very long time of practice, he successfully dispersed a substantial amount of energy and maintained it for 30 minutes.

Then, he calmly reabsorbed the energy back, feeling the familiar surge of strength returning to him. There was some wasted power or leakage, but it was within his margin of error.

[System: Congratulations, Host, for creating a new original skill. Please name it.]

Reign pondered for a moment, considering the essence of the skill he had developed.

After a brief reflection, he decided to name it "Ethereal Suspension." This name captured the essence of manipulating energy in a suspended state.

When the system registered the skill, Reign activated it again. This time, it had become much easier.

'That took a lot of time. I can't believe it requires this much effort just to master a skill of this caliber. Good thing I have the system, or it would take me years,' he sighed.

Now, he viewed beings who grew through hard work more favorably.

Well, he would still kill and eat them, but hey, at least this time, he would acknowledge their effort first. It was a step up from being seen solely as a convenient food source.

Maybe he'd even give them some pep talk before killing them and digging in—small gestures mattered, right?

Now fully prepared, he shifted his focus to the 199th orb.

First, he scattered his power around him until it coalesced into multiple red orbs resembling fireflies, then controlled them to hover near his body.

Next, using the remaining 15 minutes to fill up his reserves, he meticulously prepared for the second phase.

The veins reconnected to the 199th orb, and he started using his internal energy first. When he had 80% remaining, he began reabsorbing the dispersed energy from the air to replenish his reserves, ensuring a seamless process without any pauses.

And just as he had hoped, the connection remained stable this time, and he had enough energy to completely fill the 199th cluster.

'Closer, closer,' he thought, watching intently as the orb slowly fill up .

When it reached its maximum capacity, a sudden vibration echoed not just from the last orb, but from every one of them.

The entire sequence of 199 clusters completed, and the flow of energy stabilized.

Reign waited intently to see what would happen next as he watched the clusters hum and vibrate with power like parts of a complex engine design.

It looked stunningly beautiful, and he could sense a deep resonance with all the clusters.

However—With a disorienting jolt, he found himself being forcibly ejected from this place.

The transition was abrupt, leaving him momentarily bewildered as he struggled to regain his bearings.

'I'm back?'

His vision cleared, and he found himself back in the desolate land filled with black miasma.

He tried to move his body and realized that he still looked like an ore deposit. Confused, he had thought he had completed the entire process successfully, so what was happening?

As if in response to his question, his body began to heat up again, the metallic rock glowing intensely like red-hot metal.