-951- More effort

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The thunderous sound echoed within the octagonal pillar-shaped barrier.

It was the commotion caused by the continuous descent of thunder.

It was the impact caused by the displaced atmosphere.

Countless thunderbolts descended from the densely black cloud layer, even reaching the ground.

The impact caused by the displaced atmosphere, like a typhoon, swept through the entire barrier. Inside the octagonal structure, it felt as if facing the apocalypse, terrifying beyond imagination.

Rozen bathed in it, facing the fierce winds and watching the thunder. All the magical power in his body, amplified tenfold, flowed through his hands and fingers in magical lines, all infused into Hokuto's body.

Hokuto continued to grow amidst the lightning and the pouring rain. His size effortlessly surpassed a kilometer, and his sharp dragon claws transformed from three to five toes.

Before long, Hokuto's size crossed two thousand meters and kept growing until it reached three thousand meters without stopping.

Finally, at the point of growing to three thousand three hundred meters, Hokuto's growth finally came to a halt.

"Roar!"

The enormous divine dragon, now three thousand three hundred meters long, roared towards the sky in the midst of the storm.

The dragon aura on his body had expanded to an astonishing level, causing the atmosphere to wail.

"Phew..."

Rozen withdrew the magic lines, deactivated the Crimson Wing Formation, and let out a breath. Watching Hokuto roar in the storm, excitement gleamed in his eyes.

"Strategic-level peak..."

This was Hokuto's current power.

After nearly a decade of accumulation and this breakthrough, Hokuto had grown to the point of surpassing the limits of a thousand years.

Now, Hokuto was no longer the young dragon he once was but a fully grown divine dragon, stepping into the realm of divine beasts as the highest-level familiar, a peak strategic-level.

If it were the current Hokuto, he could undoubtedly defeat the Mad King in another battle.

Among beings of the same level, the power of dragons far exceeded that of other life forms; this was an undeniable fact.

"Roar!"

Hokuto, now completely transformed into an adult, roared loudly.

His roar stopped the hurricane with one sound, the downpour with two sounds, the lightning and thunder disappeared with three sounds, even the clouds in the sky dissipated. The sacred dragon then freely roamed in the high sky.

This was the true dragon, a celestial creature that manipulated the weather at will.

Descending slowly from the high sky, Hokuto arrived in front of Rozen.

In his eyes, the innocence of the past had disappeared, replaced by endless majesty.

However, within that endless majesty, two emotions lingered.

One was gratitude.

The other was loyalty.

The colossal dragon, three thousand three hundred meters long, lowered its head and rubbed against Rozen, who had now become so small that even a single toe might overshadow him.

"Congratulations, Hokuto."

Rozen reached out, touched Hokuto's snout, and revealed a sincere smile.

After all, it was a familiar he had nurtured with his own hands. The sense of achievement was definitely greater than when he successfully summoned Attila.

Rozen's forces now had a powerful ally.

If it were the current Hokuto...

"Even compared to the Primogenitors' Beast Vassals, it wouldn't fall short, maybe even stronger."

Rozen had this confidence.

With the current Hokuto, saying it couldn't rival disasters would be a joke.

However, Rozen didn't have the confidence that having Hokuto alone could defeat the Primogenitors.

After all, the Primogenitors had Beast Vassals numbering in the double digits, while Rozen only had Hokuto.

"I still need to strive."

Rozen patted Hokuto's snout and felt a wave of fatigue in his body.

It was due to the consumption of blood caused by using Crimson Wing Formation.

Even though Rozen hadn't used it for long, with his excellent magical power, if it increased tenfold, the consumption would naturally be much higher than others. Plus, on top of that, there was a hundredfold amplification...

"Unfortunately, if I could fully understand 'Infinite Chain Reaction,' perhaps I could eliminate the burden completely."

Rozen sighed.

Io's research on 'Infinite Chain Reaction' was a mechanism that wouldn't burden the body, allowing infinite amplification of magical power. Otherwise, it wouldn't be called 'Infinite Chain Reaction.'

According to Io's research, the so-called 'Infinite Chain Reaction' could ignore the law of energy conservation, generate magical power from nothing, and then infinitely expand magical power.

It was a power that even Io could only use without completely understanding its principles, still being in a half-understood state.

Perhaps, it was similar to the 'Gram' that Charl used. It was a secret art related to the truth of the universe.

Humans currently couldn't reach the truth of the universe, so whether it was the 'Gram' or 'Infinite Chain Reaction,' they were just applications of the truth of the universe.

The difference lay in creating something out of nothing, transforming something into nothing, generating infinite power, or eliminating infinite power. All were extremely profound.

According to this principle, if Rozen applied 'Infinite Chain Reaction' to 'Crimson Wing Formation,' allowing 'Crimson Wing Formation' to amplify even more, then all the amplified magical power should be power generated from nothing, not causing further consumption for Rozen.

Naturally, once the consumption didn't escalate, the limit caused by the intense transformation of blood should disappear, achieving a theoretically true infinite amplification.

Of course, theory was still theory, and even if magical power amplification itself was infinite, humans couldn't endure infinite magical power.

Just like Evangeline, who also had 'Infinite Chain Reaction' but had limits. It wasn't that 'Infinite Chain Reaction' couldn't continue to amplify magical power; it was just that the body couldn't withstand greater power.

Therefore, in the end, 'Crimson Wing Formation' would still have limits. It was just the limit that Rozen could endure, not the limit of 'Crimson Wing Formation' itself.

However, even with limits, the integration of 'Infinite Chain Reaction' should not cause more severe consumption.

Like Evangeline, who, after incorporating 'Infinite Chain Reaction,' received amplified magical power without losing blood or paying any additional price.

This is the terrifying aspect of 'Infinite Chain Reaction,' directly related to the truth of the universe, capable of breaking the law of energy conservation and generating magic from nothing.

If Rozen could fully utilize 'Infinite Chain Reaction,' not only could he potentially increase blood consumption, but he might also eliminate the consumption of 'Crimson Wing Formation' itself, ultimately reaching the realm of using 'Crimson Wing Formation' at will.

Moreover, it wouldn't be limited to just tenfold or hundredfold amplification; it could be even greater, as long as Rozen could endure it, allowing the use of magical power infinitely.

Combined with techniques like 'Mind's Eye,' which already allows perfect manipulation of magic, Rozen, after reaching the divine realm, would be capable of withstanding incredibly powerful magical power—a terrifying thought.

But Rozen ultimately couldn't achieve it.

No way.

"The principle of incorporating 'Infinite Chain Reaction' into 'Crimson Wing Formation' is like walking a tightrope in the high sky. One wrong step leads to exploding. It's already not easy to increase its amplification factor, let alone fully utilize 'Infinite Chain Reaction.' How could that be easy?"

Rozen sighed.

Not only Rozen but even Io hadn't completely understood the principles of 'Infinite Chain Reaction.' Otherwise, it wouldn't face difficulties and could only use it on 'Absolute Royal Authority.'

In other words, whether it was Rozen or Io, they were still exploring the secrets of 'Infinite Chain Reaction.'

Therefore, Rozen needed to study the world of demons and academia, aiming to draw parallels, enhance knowledge, and ultimately comprehend the truth of 'Infinite Chain Reaction.'

As mentioned before, a mage is not a warrior but a scholar.

Now, Rozen exemplified this point perfectly.

"Still need more effort."

Rozen felt a slight fatigue in his body and continued to reflect.

"Come back, Hokuto."

Rozen spoke towards the colossal being in front of him.

Hokuto rubbed against Rozen reluctantly, then turned into light particles and disappeared.

Naturally, as Rozen's contracted familiar, Hokuto didn't truly disappear. It just took on a spiritual form, continuing to protect Rozen.

"Let's go back."

With an expression of returning with a full load, Rozen, with a turn of his figure, disappeared from the spot.