Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 522 Preliminary Test
Simplifying complexity, returning to basics, integrating existing power systems, and creating something of their own – this is what Lucia has always been doing.

However, every existing power system in the world has been honed over hundreds or even thousands of years. For example, the Eternal Sword Art originated from the sword art of the three great dynasties and the ancient sword art of the Star Moon Era; the Radiant Stone Magic originated from Origin Magic; and the Golden Prayer also referenced the runic principles of the Ancient Dragon Prayer and the Fire Prayer.
Since the golden age, many outstanding individuals have worked tirelessly in their respective fields. Today's technology has not only not been lost compared to that of the ancients, but has become even more advanced, showing a trend of surpassing its predecessors.

Therefore, to transcend the existing technical framework, innovate, and create a complete set of combat techniques best suited to oneself, it is definitely not something that can be achieved by simply sitting in seclusion in the memory battlefield.

He reflected on his countless improvements along the way, and realized that the fastest progress was not from solitary study in isolation, but from battles and fights—especially life-or-death struggles against formidable enemies.

Samuel, the traitor to Godskin when he first started out; the dragon battle in northern Dikas; the magical duel with Yog in the final of the Magic Tournament; Estelle, the evil god at the end of the War of Shattered Stars; and Karelius today are all included.

"Giants are enormous and incredibly resilient; most conventional methods are ineffective against them. I've recently come up with some new ideas, but they still need to be tested in real combat."

Katpera glanced at him, reached out and smoothed the black silk covering her eyes, concealing her gaze, while her expression remained as calm and nonchalant as ever.

“Well, although Chareleus was just a fake with power but no substance, Hethenes’ power is indeed extraordinary. If He truly entrusted all his legacy to Chareleus, even if the latter’s understanding is far from sufficient, he could still create a king-level powerhouse just by piling up runes. Your ideas may not be reliable. Don’t wait until the moment of life and death to find that you can’t use them. Why don’t you speak them out now, and I can give you some pointers.”

Apart from a few paths opened up by merchants traveling between the north and south, most of the Sacred Tree Forest was densely forested and difficult to traverse. The two of them wanted to avoid being noticed by all sides when they went south, so they naturally took the most difficult route through the primeval forest.

Lucia had been two steps ahead of Katpela on this mountain path, using his waist knife to clear a path through the branches in the forest. Upon hearing this, he glanced at Katpela for the first time.

She takes it for granted to glance at people a few times, but when she was looked at, she stiffened her neck and said with displeasure, "Just say what I tell you to say. Why are you looking at me? Are you afraid that I will steal your lowly tricks?"

Lucia shook her head, turned around and continued walking, saying, "I'm just wondering, you like to look around so much, and you can clearly see it all, so why do you still cover it with that black silk?"

Although he didn't turn around, Lucia clearly felt a sudden surge of murderous intent behind him, making the surrounding wind and snow seem gentle and mild in comparison.

But he didn't seem to care at all and continued walking at a steady pace.

Sure enough, within seconds, Carterpera turned off the engine and coldly rebuked, "Anyone else who dared to ask that would be dead."

"understood."

"You—" Katepera took a deep breath, her chest heaving so violently it almost woke the little fox, and said angrily, "Are you going to tell me or not?"

Lucia had intended to discuss serious matters, but he had only asked a question because he noticed the Queen of Death kept glancing at him. For some reason, he felt that Katpela's attitude towards him had become much closer than before.

Although the two are currently aligned, it's not surprising that they're getting closer, but her intentions clearly go beyond that, and her actions seem a bit too eager.
All of this is because Shirley is connected to her mother, and Katpera also has a deep connection with her mother that she is unaware of.

But now was certainly not the time to dwell on such trivial matters. He stopped and waited for Katepera to come to his side. He then opened one palm and slowly clenched it. At first, Katepera didn't understand what he meant and thought he was making some kind of gesture. But when her eyes, hidden behind the black silk, fell on his palm, her eyebrows, as blue as distant mountains, suddenly rose.

click-

Lucia released his hand, and countless fine black cracks in the air danced like dragons and snakes for a moment before disappearing into nothingness. After the crisp sound disappeared, the low rumble of waves could still be heard within a radius of ten steps until it subsided after several breaths.

Ordinary people might not be able to see the clues, but with her eyes, she could naturally understand that this seemingly ordinary grip had shattered the natural divine power and magic power within a palm's range!
In reality, this palm strike crushed the spatial structure within an inch, and the crisp sound and the black mark that followed were the cracks left after the space collapsed!
Then, the space slowly and naturally repaired itself, and the disintegrated natural divine power and natural magic returned to their pure rune form. When they flowed back to fill the crack, they made a sound like waves.

Simply shattering space is not difficult. Most of the space at the boundary is woven from rune energy. The two primal forces that exist in the world, namely natural magic and natural divine power, are actually two manifestations of rune, and at the same time, they support the mortal space as two major pillars.

Once a violent energy reaction occurs in the space, or a powerful divine spell or magic, or a fierce clash occurs and the two pillars are damaged in a short period of time, it will cause the instantaneous collapse of the local space. The gap caused by the collapse will then be healed by the natural energy return from other areas.

Although this process is impressive, it is still within the realm of ordinary strength, and any two high-level heroes could produce such a result.

But just now, Katpela saw it very clearly: Lucia not only did not use any spells to help push it, but his movements were also extremely slow, which did not meet the conventional conditions for causing space to shatter!
Obviously, only one answer remains, even if that answer sounds incredibly absurd—

He overwhelmed the natural forces of the local area with his physical strength in that instant, and shattered the space within a palm with pure brute force.

In other words, within this small space, he actually overwhelmed the world that created all living beings with the power of a mere mortal!
How can it be?

Lucia exhaled a scorching breath, the faint bloodshot veins around his icy blue pupils disappeared, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead. He said, "Can this move overpower the current Giant King?"

Katpera stared at his palm for a long time, then suddenly grabbed his arm and said angrily, "You burned your source power again?"

Lucia had never seen her so furious before. Startled, she didn't dare struggle and quickly explained, "No, I wouldn't dare burn that thing every day. This is a clever way of exerting force that I figured out."

Katpera held onto his arm tightly, staring into his eyes with suspicion for a long time, while carefully sensing the flow of power within him. Only when she was sure he wasn't lying did she gradually calm down.

She snorted coldly, shook off his arm, and said, "The debt for saving you last time hasn't been settled yet. If you dare to recklessly burn your own life force and kill yourself again, I won't save you a second time. I'll have to smash up Sky City to pay off the debt, so you'd better explain yourself clearly!"

Lucia noticed the worry that she hadn't completely concealed, and his heart skipped a beat. He took a deep breath, gathered his thoughts, and asked, "Have you heard of the Unified Theory?"

(End of this chapter)