Rebirth Of The Second Strongest

[Name: Jayde Bane]

[Race: Human]

[Talent: Darkness Wielder (EE)]

[Lineage: Darkness God (Legendary)]

[Physical: First Circle]

[Mental: Third Circle]

[Comprehension:]

[Shadow (7%)]

[Item]

[First Page of Primal Darkness Chronicles]

---

Looking at his stats, Jayde could see that he had finally increased his lineage to legendary. Even in his previous life, he only had silver, not to mention his comprehension. In his previous life, he never had one, so acquiring one now and seeing how it boosted his talent, advancing it to the E class, he understood why he was always number two.

Back then, three years into the sequence, who knew how many comprehensions number one must have had and how high they were? Jayde was only now understanding how much he had been missing out on.

Looking at his comprehension percentage, it increased when the shadow blessed him. Even though it seemed small, he could feel the changes. He could feel the presence of the shadows and their reverence towards him. If seven percent yielded this much change, what about twenty or fifty? Suddenly, Jayde felt a sense of anticipation towards the future.

Directing his attention towards the notification before him, which read:

[Exit dungeon Y/N]

He quickly pressed yes. His aunt must already be worried sick about him. It was better not to delay. He couldn't wait for the remaining nine; who knew when they would finish? A portal wrapped into existence as ether in the surroundings formed a swirling mass of energy, creating a blue swirling portal. Jayde quickly stepped into it.

---

The portal in the hall flashed as Jayde stepped out of it. A servant who was stationed in the hall quickly ran out to inform Elior of Jayde's return.

Upon hearing that her nephew was back, Jayde's aunt quickly followed Elior to welcome him.

Entering the hall, her eyes went moist when she saw how tattered he looked. She knew he must have gone through various dangers in the dungeon.

Seeing his aunt, Jayde smiled and consoled her, telling her that he was alright. After a few minutes of assuring her he was fine, she finally left. Before she left, though, Jayde inspected her.

[Name: Jessy Bane]

[Talent: Soul-Mancer (FFF+)]

[Lineage: Darkness God (Gold)]

[Physical: First Circle]

[Mental: Second Circle]

It seemed his aunt was more talented than he had expected. Finally, only he and Elior were left alone.

"Have you gotten any information on the movement of those outside?" Jayde asked.

"Yes, the private organizations and families have managed to stabilize their regions. Only the government and the legacies are still in chaos because of how large their areas of control are," Elior replied.

Listening to Elior's reply, Jayde knew he had to make a choice now, before both the government and legacy stabilized and took notice of him. His choices were to either continue his growth and faction development in secret until the third phase or join now in the struggle for global supremacy.

"Have you taken note of everyone's talent and its class?" Jayde inquired.

Elior responded by handing him a list. It was the list of everyone in his faction, their talents, and their lineages. Jayde nodded, appreciating Elior's resourcefulness. Going through the list, there were two names that caught his eye. Their talents, though not combat-related, were very special.

[Name: Anya Bell]

[Talent: Territory Blessing]

[Lineage: Fortune Deity (Gold)]

[Name: Jowell Scone]

[Talent: Territory Scout]

[Lineage: Seer (Silver)]

---

The reason these two caught his eye was because they were precisely what he needed now. One could boost the concentration of ether in the surroundings while the other could detect invaders the moment someone trespassed the island.

"I am going to go into seclusion. When I'm back, I'll decide our next move," Jayde informed Elior.

Elior bowed and replied, "By the time you're back, everyone should have already mastered their talents."

Jayde nodded as he waved his arms, dismissing the butler.

Finally, he was alone in the room. He walked to his drawer and reached in to bring out a book. It was tattered, torn, and ancient—surely the book had seen better days.

Though it was faint, the front page read *Primal Chaos Pattern.* This was a book that helped him in his previous life. He was an archaeologist when the sequence took place, and this book was one of his discoveries right before the sequence.

After the sequence, he deciphered the book, which was where his knowledge in inscriptions and rune crafting came from. He also got a cultivation art from this book. Back then, he was puzzled. How could an ancient book of the Mayans have detailed techniques on such otherworldly concepts? Had they undergone the sequence too? He had wondered, though he never gained an answer until his death.

Even though there were questions about the book's origin, he couldn't deny its usefulness. The two stats, Physical and Mental, could only be increased by two known methods: cultivation or absorbing beast cores.

Back then, he cultivated the primal chaos art he deciphered from this book, which was one of the reasons he was so strong. With this technique, he was nine times stronger physically than even number one, the strongest human.

He quickly took the book and settled on the bed, starting to meditate. Following the directions of the cultivation method, he absorbed ether particles in the atmosphere. Using his mental intent, he directed the ether, using them to inscribe a complicated circle on his bones. The universal method the sequence uses to rank physical and mental circles involves cultivating or absorbing beast cores to use acquired ether to inscribe a circular energy pattern. If cultivating the mental, it's inscribed in the sea of consciousness. If physical, it can be inscribed on any part of the body.

Advancing with beast cores, the system automates the inscription process. By cultivating, you use your mental intent to manually direct the ether, performing the inscription. While stressful, it has advantages. Using various cultivation patterns, one can increase the efficiency of a circle, powering the body several times over.

The primal chaos cultivation method increases the efficiency of a circle nine times. So far, Jayde only knows of the planar realm after circles. Nine circles form one plane. In Jayde's previous life, he was at the second plane both physically and mentally. But with the primal chaos method, he was stronger than even those in the sixth plane.

After six hours, the circle was completed. Exhausted, Jayde's intent receded back into his consciousness as the baptism followed. Ether flowed through the circle as it shone faintly, revealing its silhouette from his skin. Ether used the circular energy pattern as a node, funneling energy through his body, enhancing and reinforcing it. Now it was up to Jayde how to direct them.

If one thought inscribing the circle and receiving the baptism was all there was to cultivation, one was sorely mistaken. The true process starts after. After receiving the baptism, one had to exercise the body, pushing it to its limits, to display better effectiveness and strength. Advancing randomly without exercising was no different from a man eating daily without burning calories, which may be detrimental to one's growth and strength.

After experiencing the baptism of ether, Jayde quickly went to a corner in the room where there were bars and various gym equipment. Performing advanced calisthenics, due to his talent allowing him to wield various weapons and seamlessly transition between them, he always sought a more flexible and balanced body.

He continued this routine for three days, sleeping only two hours daily. His training didn't only consist of increasing his physical circle but also his mental circles. Mental cultivation also needed mental exercises, rendering him weak most of the time, thus his two-hour daily sleep. One might think two hours is too small, but considering this: based on his calculations, a human in the first circle was estimated to be nine times stronger than a heavyweight champion and faster than an Olympic athlete. This applied not only to strength and speed but also to recovery and regeneration; they healed nine times faster than a regular human. The same was true for the mind. And in the first phase of the sequence, the system bestowed random amounts of circles based on constitution. Seeing this, one can understand why he needed so little sleep.

Finally, on the third day, he was interrupted, bringing his cultivation to a halt. Elior brought an emergency message. It seemed there was an invader on the island.