Bone Refinement Stage Breakthrough

After half a minute of maneuvering through the massive Royal Castle, the two Counts exited its large front gates. They then sauntered toward a more private location—which led them to a shadowy alleyway in the northern part of the Royal City. In the distance sat the overhanging Royal Castle—one that appeared massive no matter where one was in the thousand-mile-long city.

"This is good enough," said Count Thorne, finding the area acceptable to discuss what he was about to reveal. "You know the importance of 'That' in our plans, don't you? And you're also aware of the extent we're willing to go to in order to acquire it, are you not?"

Count Roderick nodded, the action causing his excessive amount of jewelry to jingle. "I'm, of course, in the know on that matter. But what does that have to do with Falazar's eldest?"

"You see," Count Thorne said, his voice instinctively lowering. "What most people know about THAT is that it's in the hands of Count Falazar. But what most don't know is that it's passed down through blood hierarchy. As I'm sure you're aware, this means that what we seek will eventually be passed down to whoever is the eldest of the Falazars."

"I knew all this already," Count Roderick said, rolling his eyes. "Hurry up and get to the point."

Count Thorne shook his head slightly at his fellow Count's impatience. "The death of Knox Falazar," he said, pausing dramatically, "was not an accident. It was intentional."

"!!!!"

"You're saying that you…"

"Yes," Count Thorne confirmed. "Count Buford and I worked together with the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect to kill Knox Falazar while he was asleep. Moreover, we used one of the deadliest poisons in the Elemental Nations to do it."

"For you to go to such lengths," Count Roderick muttered, a bit taken aback by the viciousness of someone he thought he knew well, "this means you already had someone in mind to replace Knox Falazar as the eldest heir?"

"Yes," replied Count Thorne, feeling a tinge of regret over the failure of their foolproof plan. "We wanted to make Alden Falazar—the second eldest son—the new heir. That way, once Count Falazar eventually left for the border war with the Fire Kingdom, he'd temporarily pass on THAT item to his eldest—Alden Falazar. We would have then betrayed that idiotic child and stolen the item for ourselves. With it in our possession, we would have acquired the necessary leverage to gain the King's assistance in keeping Count Falazar off our backs."

"This plan…" Count Roderick muttered, deep in thought. "It actually could have worked!"

"Yes," Count Thorne admitted, experiencing even greater regret. "It would have worked."

"But unfortunately," he continued, "that Knox Falazar kid became an enigma. Not only did he not die, but he also became a non-cripple. One way or another, our plan backfired."

"...Tis unfortunate…"

"Unfortunate indeed…"

Both Counts sighed heavily before staring at one another and exchanging a knowing look.

"Say, old friend," Count Roderick said with an evil smirk. "If I were to provide funds of my own to your little alliance with the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect, would we be able to purchase something that will finish the job for good? An air-based poison of sorts?"

Count Thorne reciprocated the maliciousness with a smirk of his own. "Yes, I believe that with your immense wealth, the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect will be far more inclined to give us the crown jewel of their sect—the Faceless Poison."

"Good," said Count Roderick, turning around and heading for the alleyway's exit. "Then let's make sure this cripple dies for good this time."

"Let's."

With that, the secret conversation of the two Counts concluded. New, better-revised plans were put into motion.

The gears that would assuredly throw the entire country into chaos began to churn faster than ever.

Yet, in the comfort of his own home, a young man oblivious to it all had sweat pouring down his face.

"The Bone Refinement Realm!" I roared. "Achieved!"

OOOM!

The airflow in the room spiraled out of control, with arcs of wind shooting in every direction around my meditating body. A light glow materialized above all my bones before settling down, just as it had done with my flesh and skin after my previous breakthroughs.

54 Inner Array Nodes.

That was how many I had lit up within my skin, flesh, and bones. To put into words what I felt after achieving this—it was as if I was slowly but surely becoming something magically artificial. Something that detached me from my humanity.

"How thrilling," I said with a wide, aching grin. "If this continues, then I'm sure I'll experience something that'll feel truly otherworldly!"

*Ding!*

Adding to my joy was the ringing of system notifications.

[You have broken through to Stage 3 of the Body Refinement Realm—the Bone Refinement Stage!]

[Strength increased by 30 Points!]

[Agility increased by 30 Points!]

[Endurance increased by 30 Points!]

[Intelligence increased by 15 Points!]

[Mind increased by 15 Points!]

[Energy increased by 50 Points!] - (Due to Technique Manual)

[Affinity increased by 0 Points…]

[Perception increased by 30 Points!]