112: Enhancement Ritual (4k)

Emilia tilted her face up slightly, the soft light tracing Locke Galahad's handsome profile. A ripple of emotion stirred in her heart, and a faint blush colored her cheeks. "My Lord... do you feel that the feedback from the control stick of this vehicle seems... clearer than last Time? The handling feels slightly different..."

"Oh?" Locke Galahad opened his eyes, leaning back against the chair in a relaxed posture. His gaze swept over the spot she indicated, and a smile of inquiry tugged at the corner of his lips. "Tell me specifically, how is it different?"

Emilia lightly bit her lower lip, pondering for a moment. "Hmm... the resistance during operation is more distinct, and the stability... also seems to have improved."

"Is that so?" Locke Galahad tapped his nose bridge with his knuckles, his tone carrying a hint of deeper meaning. "Then... how is the overall driving experience? Is it smooth?"

Emilia's eyes shimmered, and she nodded affirmatively in response. "My Lord, this is beyond doubt. Its response and coordination... are perfect. Emilia is certain that it would be difficult to find a 'vehicle' that could rival it."

"Your evaluation is always so pleasing." Locke Galahad chuckled with a touch of indulgence, his fingertips lightly tapping her forehead.

Time slipped away quietly, and the low hum of the engine gradually stabilized and concentrated, signaling that the energy was fully charged and ready.

Sensing that the call of the contract resonance had reached its optimal state, the smile on Locke Galahad's lips deepened, and he signaled to Emilia.

"Alright, Emilia, get up. The Time for the ritual to deepen the 'Star Slave Contract' has arrived."

Emilia took a deep breath, suppressing the palpitations in her heart, and stood up from in front of Locke Galahad with a solemn demeanor. Locke Galahad took the opportunity to gently support her arm, his fingertips immediately tapping twice on the cold bronze conference tabletop, producing a clear and rhythmic sound.

Emilia's gaze met his, and she understood instantly. With a near-sacred focus, she lightly knelt in the center of the wide tabletop.

"My Lord... performing the contract sublimation here... is it... perhaps slightly lacking in solemnity?" Her voice carried a hint of cautious hesitation.

"The place of ritual is where the heart directs it." Locke Galahad stepped forward, an invisible aura naturally enveloping her. His gaze was deep and focused, containing the radiance of the power of the contract. "This place is open and quiet, isolated from distractions, making it the ideal place to connect our wills and transmit the power of starlight."

Emilia inhaled deeply, her hands folded over her knees in a posture of utmost submissiveness. Looking up at Locke Galahad, her eyes burned with pure awe and loyalty. The ancient patterns of the 'Star Slave Contract' hummed and shone deep within her soul, yearning for a deeper level of energy resonance with her master.

Her cheeks flushed from the surging energy fluctuations, and Emilia firmly met Locke Galahad's gaze, whispering like an oath. "My Lord... Emilia... my soul is open, awaiting the arrival of your Extraordinary Factor!"

"Good... very good..." Locke Galahad's voice was slightly deepened by the surging energy within his body, carrying a solemn promise. "My first Star Slave, you... are indeed the being most capable of bearing this connection."

The deepening of the Star Slave Contract required the souls of both parties to resonate and intertwine at an extremely close distance. Even as a Transcendent, Locke Galahad could not cross space to directly strengthen that soul brand. The connection at this moment was irreplaceable.

"Then, Emilia..." Locke Galahad slowly raised his hand, palm downward. Invisible energy began to gather and flow at his fingertips, his voice like a low chime. "Receive this power of starlight..."

"...Show the resilience and capacity of your soul."

The moment the words fell, Locke Galahad hesitated no longer and activated the ancient secret ritual to amplify the 'Star Slave Contract'. In an instant, invisible extraordinary energy containing the mighty power of the stars, like a trickling stream and yet a vast river, built a brilliant bridge of energy between the two, tightly connecting the two ends of the contract.

Several hours later, Locke Galahad injected some extraordinary energy into the contract mark on Emilia's waist, and the ritual was declared finished.

Locke Galahad straightened his clothes, pushed open the conference room door with a spring-like ease, and walked out. Before leaving, he did not forget to look back and add a reminder: "Emilia, remember to clean up the conference room, and then go get some rest early."

After saying this, he strode away, leaving only Emilia in the conference room, who was still in a comatose state due to the skill effect of 'Nibelungen'.

"Farewell, my Lord. You... rest assured, leave everything else to me. I will definitely clean this place up just as it was."

Emilia propped herself up on the table with both hands, turning her head with some difficulty to look at Locke Galahad. At this moment, her eyes were rolled back, and her body was still trembling slightly due to the contract ritual; it was unclear whether she was in pain or enjoying it.

The corners of her mouth were pulled all the way up, and crystal-clear droplets hung from her lips, falling into the air. Her face wore an extremely infatuated and pleasant smile. Overall, it should be that she was enjoying it very much.

After going out, Locke Galahad considerately closed the door, avoiding anyone seeing the spring scenery inside the conference room. He glanced at the puppet corpse lying on the ground, and without hesitation, walked towards Serena's room.

At this Time, the sky outside the castle was already turning slightly white like a fish belly. Walking on the path, Locke Galahad took out the nameless booklet on controlling the Extraordinary Factor that he had not been able to read earlier because of Emilia's interruption, and started reading it again.

"Let me see how I can actually achieve the external attachment of the Extraordinary Factor." Opening the booklet, a strong smell of ink rushed to his nose. Locke Galahad sniffed it lightly and also smelled a faint scent of blood, though it was hard to say if it was because of the cover or the ink.

However, he did not pay much attention to these minor details. After opening it, his attention was drawn to the neat handwritten English on it. "So that's how it is; it really is quite ingenious."

Walking and reading, he absorbed the knowledge inside very quickly and understood it very quickly as well. In just a short Time, he followed the method in the booklet and used a weak amount of mental strength to condense a small portion of the Extraordinary Factor, attaching it to the tips of his fingers.

Moreover, because the amount of Extraordinary Factor mobilized this Time was small, the problem from before did not appear for a long Time. After a long while, the Extraordinary Factor was still attached to his fingertips and had not retreated back into his body.

"Not bad, not bad. That old geezer, Old Man Time, truly didn't deceive me. It turns out one really can manipulate the Extraordinary Factor with a weak amount of mental strength..."

"Then I will take advantage of this Time to practice more and see if I can completely master this technique before going to hunt down Marcus."

Only then did he have the feeling that he was associated with mysterious creatures. Previously, when he couldn't mobilize the Extraordinary Factor to condense on his body surface, Locke Galahad just felt that he was a human with slightly better physical fitness than an ordinary person, and could not be called a Transcendent at all.

"Old Man Time, you really helped me out a lot."

The booklet was not thick, and the content was not very much, but it highlighted one key point: how to use a small amount of mental strength to leverage the vast Extraordinary Factor, so as to achieve a level that would not differ too much from an ordinary Sequence 9 when using the Extraordinary Factor.

The first thing was to start manipulating the smallest amount of Extraordinary Factor, and then gradually increase the amount of Extraordinary Factor after becoming familiar with it. When finally reaching the point of being able to completely manipulate the Extraordinary Factor as if it were an extension of one's own arm, this technique could be considered perfectly mastered.

It looked simple, and it was not complicated to practice, because there were many handwritten annotations in the booklet, so Locke Galahad found it very easy to understand.

He walked and practiced, and the more he practiced, the happier he felt, and the smile on his face became brighter. Locke Galahad watched the increasing amount of Extraordinary Factor on his fingertips, and he was also delighted in his heart. "This feeling of being able to control one's own Extraordinary Factor is really nice."

Because he could clearly feel that he was getting stronger. This was just as described in the booklet: every Time he practiced, the amount of Extraordinary Factor he could manipulate next Time would increase a little. Although this increased amount was like the difference between a lake and a cup of water compared to his total amount of Extraordinary Factor, he firmly believed in one principle: many a little makes a mickle, and quantitative changes will always lead to qualitative changes one day. As long as he persisted in practicing, he would always be able to reach the point of perfect control. By then, presumably, his combat power and defense would both rise to another level.

Meanwhile, Serena, who had been waiting for a long Time, could not help but toss and turn in her room. "Why has Locke Galahad been out for so long and hasn't come back yet? What kind of matter needs to be discussed for so long..." "Could he have forgotten his promise to me?"

The Time of waiting is always agonizing; anyone who has experienced it would not want to experience that feeling again. Serena's mood was a bit anxious and also a bit expectant. Lying on the bed, with nothing to do, she twitched her nose and sniffed her arm again. "How come it seems like I've become smelly again?" Actually, there was no smell at all.

"This won't do, this won't do. If Locke Galahad smells it later, what should I do?" "I still have to take another bath!" Thinking of this, she immediately climbed up, her face flushed red, and wrapped in her pajamas, she rushed into the bathroom again. There was no help for it; this was her first Time, and she was determined to show her best side to Locke Galahad.

Although she had actually only just come out of the bath a few minutes ago and there was really no smell on her, and she might even have a faint fragrance, she still rushed into the bathroom again without hesitation, not for anything else, just because she wanted to wash. She just wanted to show her best side to Locke Galahad.

As the bathroom door closed, the hazy steam once again covered Serena's graceful body; through the glass, one could only see that curvaceous figure. Unfortunately, Locke Galahad did not have the opportunity to appreciate such a beautiful scene of a beauty bathing on the spot. At this moment, he was still on his way upstairs. Due to being distracted by practicing the technique of controlling the Extraordinary Factor, he walked this distance very slowly.

Of course, the results were also very significant. By the Time he spent ten-plus minutes walking to the door of Serena's room, the Extraordinary Factor that could originally only cover the size of a fingernail could now cover as much as a small finger joint. This progress was undoubtedly significant.

It was just that Old Man Time was not there; otherwise, he would definitely have been broken by Locke Galahad's exaggerated speed of progress. Although this technique did not look difficult, its essence was very difficult. It was just that Locke Galahad did not know if it was because he had lived two lives that his comprehension ability was relatively strong, which was why he felt it was very easy when learning it.

Wanting to use mental strength to precisely control the Extraordinary Factor is inherently very difficult, especially for people whose mental strength is already weak, making it even more difficult.

This technique is actually only considered when reaching a higher sequence, when Transcendents have nowhere else to advance. It was just that when Old Man Time heard that Locke Galahad wanted to learn it, he taught it to him, with the purpose of wanting to use this to polish his temperament and dampen his sharp edge.

One must know that like Marcus, who only roughly exerted the efficacy of the Extraordinary Factor, the technique that Locke Galahad now mastered was a method that could exert the full potential of the Extraordinary Factor. Once the amount of Extraordinary Factor he could control increased, his confrontation with Marcus would be a one-sided slaughter.

Stopping at the door, Locke Galahad withdrew the Extraordinary Factor back into his body. "Wait until I finish the important business before continuing to practice." Although cultivation allowed no delay, since there was important business to attend to later, Locke Galahad put away the desire to continue practicing. He knew in his heart when to do what.

After withdrawing the Extraordinary Factor into his body, he immediately pushed open the door and walked directly into Serena's room, then looked around and said, "Hey, my Serena, I'm back, sorry to keep you waiting."

Locke Galahad had a smile on his face, searching everywhere in the room for the figure in his heart. He looked around the sofa, the bed, and the window, but she was nowhere to be found. Just when he was a bit confused, the bathroom door was suddenly opened.

A curvaceous, glowing white figure walked out of the bathroom. The other person was tilting her head, holding a towel, and wiping her wet hair. This was Serena, who had just finished bathing again, had just come out of the bathroom, and hadn't even had Time to put on clothes.

"Ah!" Seeing Locke Galahad appear in front of her, she was stunned immediately. Even the action of wiping her hair stopped, and the towel even fell directly to the floor. She opened her mouth, staring at Locke Galahad somewhat blankly: "You... why don't you knock on the door when you come in?"

"Uh..." Locke Galahad was also stunned, his wide eyes not daring to blink for a moment. Looking at the curvaceous Serena in front of him, he also lost his focus instantly, forgetting even to speak. Although he had previously discussed the ritual of life with Erica and Emilia, seeing Serena now, he still uncontrollably swallowed his saliva.

Serena frowned slightly, looking at Locke Galahad somewhat puzzled: "I'm asking you, why aren't you saying anything?"

"I! Gulp, gulp..." Locke Galahad couldn't take his eyes off her at all, and at this moment, he had no heart to reply. Seeing his straight, unblinking gaze shooting over, Serena finally realized that she seemed to be wearing nothing, and then immediately let out a scream.

"Ah!" Her hands wanted to cover both the top and the bottom, and the scene suddenly became somewhat chaotic.

"Don't look, you're not allowed to look." Locke Galahad just watched her like that, and then walked over slowly. Serena's face was immediately covered with a rosy glow, and she immediately wanted to turn around and retreat back to the bathroom, but how could Locke Galahad let her get her wish?

"Serena, where are you going?" Just as she turned around, Locke Galahad reached out with lightning speed and grabbed Serena's hand. At the same Time, a wicked smile played on the corners of his lips, and he unreservedly looked Serena up and down.

"You... turn around, I'm not ready yet." Serena lowered her head, very shy, and even her voice was very small. Listening to it in his ears, it felt as if feathers were tickling his heart, making him somewhat unable to stop.

"Then what if I just don't turn around and insist on looking, what are you going to do?" While speaking, he exerted force and very easily straightened Serena's body, which wanted to dodge. His eyes then kept wandering over Serena's curvaceous body.

Facing his gaze that seemed to want to eat her up, Serena lowered her head, as if she wished she could bury her head into her chest, completely unable to look Locke Galahad in the eye. After struggling for a long while, she stammered and begged Locke Galahad: "Locke... shall we... shall we go to the bed?"