The light of the Earth Element Awakening drew near, and a transparent, pure-colored Star Core emerged in Lu Lin's consciousness. They linked to each other like magnets. The transparent Star Core was tainted by the golden light, gradually changing to gold. From the emergence of the Awakening Light, to Lu Lin guiding it, and now the connection between the Awakening Light and the Star Core, forming the Star Veins—everything proceeded as perfectly as described in a textbook.
Yet, a sense of disappointment lingered in Lu Lin's heart. It was said that success came merely by Awakening. It was said that he would become a Star Core Warrior as long as he Awakened. It was said that the efforts of Lu Lin's parents on Saturn would be meaningful as long as he Awakened. It was said that Lu Lin's future would be bright as long as he Awakened. However, this situation was completely different from what Lu Lin had anticipated.
The Awakening of the Earth Talent... long ago it was called Earth-based. Later, to make it sound better, people started calling it the Earth Element. In current textbooks and official Federation records, the true academic name for the Earth Talent was still Earth-based. Star Core Warriors who had awakened the Earth Talent mainly pursued the path of an Earth Warrior.
Lu Lin already knew this. Earth Warriors were similar to tanks in games—high-health, high-defense professions that sacrificed speed and offensive power for absolute defense and recovery abilities. To put it bluntly, they were meat shields. After entering the Exotic Battlefield, they also specialized in drawing monster aggro and absorbing damage.
The Earth Warrior path was not the only choice for those who had awakened the Earth Element. There was also the Earth Mage. But that was absolutely beyond Lu Lin's reach. To choose the mage path, one's family must either be extremely wealthy or have a mage of the same attribute to guide them.
Regardless of whether it was an Earth Warrior or an Earth Mage, neither was what Lu Lin wanted. What Lu Lin wanted was to awaken the Gold Element Talent and become a dashing, aggressive swordsman. He felt helpless, but it was too late to change anything now.
In the Consciousness Universe, the golden light from the Awakening Light had completely merged into the Star Core. The linked parts of the two had become one, indivisible and unbreakable. After the light receded, the Awakening Light turned completely white. This was the Star Vein. At the bottom of the Star Vein, there was a barely noticeable streak of green, representing the current level of the Star Vein's refinement. According to the Three Major Laws of Star Core Warrior, when the Awakening Light was used for Refining Star Veins during Awakening, the maximum refinement would not exceed one percent.
With the Refining Star Vein process completed, Lu Lin had nothing else to do in the Consciousness Universe. It was time to exit.
But just then, an eye suddenly appeared in the distant Consciousness Universe. The "eye" was enormous, larger than the biggest star Lu Lin had ever seen in a space documentary. It was impossible to tell what creature this eye belonged to. The sclera, which constituted most of it, was covered in intricate golden patterns. On the pitch-black pupil were ancient, weathered symbols of unknown meaning.
As Lu Lin's consciousness focused on the approaching "eye," a suction force suddenly emanated from the pitch-black pupil, trying to draw his consciousness in. Lu Lin wanted to retreat, but he couldn't move at all.
This is bad! This eye that was larger than a star had "seen" him! It was moving rapidly towards where Lu Lin was.
What in the world is that?! Lu Lin was terrified. In a thousand years, no Star Core Warrior had ever experienced anything like this. An eye had appeared in the Consciousness Universe, and this eye was rushing towards him.
Exit, exit! Lu Lin was desperately trying to exit the Consciousness Universe, but he simply couldn't. The Three Major Laws Teacher Li had taught were utterly useless. Lu Lin was frantic. His consciousness seemed to be frozen by the eye, unable to move or exit. He could only watch helplessly as it rushed toward him.
The eye... it was getting closer, closer and closer.
Lu Lin hated this feeling of being a sitting duck, utterly helpless.
In the Consciousness Universe, Lu Lin had no concept of time. It could have been a brief moment or a very long time. The eye arrived before Lu Lin. Then... the lower part of the eye suddenly made a move Lu Lin could never have anticipated. It... connected with Lu Lin's Star Core.
What?! How could this be?! Lu Lin was shocked to his core.
The sclera, the golden patterns, the black pupil, and the ancient, mysterious symbols within it all plunged into Lu Lin's Star Core. In the end, Lu Lin's Star Core evolved into an… eyeball. The golden color was gone. The sclera was also gone. Even the mysterious and intimidating symbols were gone. All that remained was a bizarre Star Core that had transformed into an eyeball.
The massive "eye" in the Consciousness Universe that had linked to Lu Lin's Star Core vanished. In its place, a ray of Awakening Light appeared, positioning itself alongside the previously formed Earth-Type Star Vessel, both connected to the Eyeball Star Core.
The connection process initiated... and then, success.
A tremendous amount of energy suddenly surged from the Eyeball Star Core, refining the Star Vein that the "eye" had transformed into. The green silk line shot up a visible segment in the blink of an eye. Lu Lin was astonished.
Looking at this refinement progress, isn't the second Star Vein skipping the First Stage and directly reaching the Second Stage of refinement?
Due to the difficulty of Stellar Core Refining, the levels of Star Core Warriors—such as First Level or Second Level—were further divided into stages within each cultivation tier based on the degree of refinement. A refinement degree of 0.01 percent to 9.99 percent was the First Stage. A refinement degree from 10 percent to 19.99 percent was the Second Stage, and so on. According to the Three Major Laws of Star Core Warrior, Awakeners would not exceed one percent in their initial Refining Star Vein process. Only after learning specialized methods of Stellar Core Refining could they significantly enhance their refinement degree.
But now, the refinement degree of Lu Lin's second Star Vein had surpassed the First Stage—no, it had surpassed the Second Stage in the blink of an eye! This was highly unscientific!
After reaching the Second Stage, the refinement degree continued to rise. Compared to the initial leaps, the speed had now slowed considerably. Finally, the green silk line stopped rising only after reaching the refinement level of the Third Stage.
Everything calmed down, as if nothing had happened. Lu Lin let out a sigh of relief, feeling that his "body" could move freely again. He instinctively wanted to exit the Consciousness Universe. However, Lu Lin suddenly hesitated.
It seemed... he had automatically comprehended a skill.
[Perception]
Teacher Li had said that after students successfully Awakened and reported their attributes and refinement degrees, school teachers would guide them to comprehend skills. But now, Lu Lin not only had an inexplicably extra Star Vein but had also comprehended a skill on his own.
If the first Star Vein is Earth-Element, then what is the second Star Vein called... Eye System? If he couldn't understand it, then there was no point in dwelling on it. Even something as bizarre as transmigration could happen to him, so having an extra Star Vein didn't seem that hard to accept. Perhaps this was a benefit of being a Transversal. The facts couldn't be changed, so Lu Lin tried to think positively.
The Star Core is the core of a Star Core Warrior. Star Veins determine how strong a Star Core Warrior is and how far they can go. Now that Lu Lin had two Star Veins, he had double the energy reserves and could comprehend double the skills. Presumably, his opponents on the Exotic Battlefield would also have double the 'fun' when facing him.
Wait a minute... It suddenly occurred to Lu Lin. As an Earth Warrior meant to absorb damage for the team, his main job was to protect his teammates. Attacking wasn't really his role, was it? Sigh. Life was so hard.