The time for silent cultivation was over. The Spirit Reshaping was the final hurdle before I broke into E-Rank officially and gained the necessary high-level data access. The event had to be executed during the Academy's Security Purge Cycle—a narrow, seven-minute window every Sunday night when the monitoring systems were intentionally offline for maintenance.
I had prepared meticulously, mapping the exact energy grid required. The plan was audacious, relying entirely on the precision and immense output of my Arcane Catalyst and Lich Essence.
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I slipped out of my cramped quarters at exactly 02:00 hours. The Academy was silent, save for the hum of the auxiliary power grid. I moved with perfect efficiency, utilizing the small, unmonitored access tunnels I had mapped using the data granted by Unit 77.
My destination was the subterranean Spirit Training Annex, where the Academy's Permanent Training Spirits were stored in dimensional pockets. I moved past the secured doors, bypassing the mechanical locks with a simple, localized Kinetic Pulse that subtly vibrated the tumblers into alignment—a technique appearing as a mere mechanical fault on the logs.
I reached the holding chamber for The Void Hound (Rank C). The spirit was secured within a powerful Dimensional Cube—a containment system designed to neutralize chaotic essence.
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At precisely 02:03:00, the main power grid flickered, and the Security Purge Cycle began. I had exactly seven minutes.
I shattered the Dimensional Cube not with force, but with frequency. I used my Hyper-Focus to calculate the containment field's resonant frequency and channeled a perfectly tuned, low-amplitude Plasma Wave into the locks. The cube simply dissolved, releasing the powerful, chaotic energy of The Void Hound.
The Void Hound, an entity of pure dark chaos and combat prowess, materialized, immediately sensing my immense hidden power despite my suppressed façade. It snarled, recognizing me not as a hunter, but as a potential host—or a threat.
I did not give it time to react. I initiated the Forced Symbiotic Reshaping.
The Surge (The Bait): I flooded the chamber with raw, chaotic energy from my Lich Essence. This immense, unregulated power surge was completely localized within the containment chamber's thick walls. The Void Hound, recognizing a power it could absorb, immediately lunged for the energy source.
The Constraint (The Trap): The moment the Void Hound began to absorb the energy, I activated the Void Alchemist. I didn't stop the flow; I purified it mid-transfer. The chaotic essence the Hound was attempting to absorb was instantaneously converted into pure, neutral mana. This shock caused the Hound's internal essence structure to momentarily destabilize.
The Transfer (The Control): I seized the moment of instability. I used my Epic Gauntlet to force the entirety of the Void Hound's Rank C essence—its experience, strength, and symbiotic potential—out of its dissolving body and slammed it into my Blue Trash Grass spirit.
The change was instantaneous and violent. The dull, pathetic blue flicker of the Trash Grass spirit convulsed as it absorbed the immense, violent energy of the Void Hound. The energy fusion triggered a Rank C spiritual explosion, momentarily shaking the surrounding sub-levels.
The Void Hound essence was too complex for the simple Trash Grass to copy entirely. It instead triggered a Calculated Evolutionary Response.
When the light subsided, the Blue Trash Grass was gone. In its place stood a shimmering, deep black spirit that resembled a sleek, fast predator—a Shadow Stalker Lynx (Rank D, Ascended).
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The entire event took exactly four minutes and twelve seconds.
I looked at the Shadow Stalker Lynx—a common but powerful spirit known for its stealth and speed. It was perfect. It was a clear, logical step up from an F-Rank, justifying my impending E-Rank promotion, but common enough not to be considered an immediate threat to the Legendaries.
The chamber was a mess, but my system had absorbed all the necessary residual energy. I quickly retreated, leaving the inert, empty shell of the Void Hound's original body to dissipate.
At 02:10:00, the Security Purge Cycle ended. The lights in the Academy flickered back to life, and the monitoring systems booted up. All they registered was a seven-minute period of scheduled maintenance and system noise in the Annex—and a powerful, Rank D spirit mysteriously registering to Dax Jackal during his absence.
The Clan would assume I found a rare, hidden Spirit Core during one of my "cleaning" missions, or that my sheer grinding somehow paid off with a burst of luck. They would attribute the sudden leap in power to external chance, not internal control.
My internal climb was complete. I had a public, viable combat spirit and a newly reinforced Mythic-grade core. The E-Rank classification, and access to the Level 3 Data, was now inevitable. The time for silent scheming was over; the time for direct, calculated information warfare had begun.