CHAPTER 92

After parting ways with his friends, Ethan went straight home. The moment he walked through the door, he saw two ornate jade boxes placed on the living room table, their surfaces cool and polished. He immediately knew what they were. With a sense of anticipation, he opened them. Inside lay the natural treasures for repairing his "damaged" foundation, the compensation that Mayor Thorne and General Valerius had promised him.

The first box contained a "Foundation Root," a gnarled, dark brown root that looked ancient and felt surprisingly heavy. It pulsed with a steady, grounding energy. Ethan knew this was a rare Aura plant specially used for consolidating and repairing a psionicist's core foundation. If one's foundation was stable, it could make it incredibly resilient. If it was damaged, it could perform vital repairs. It was a plant born specifically for maintaining a psionicist's core. The second box held a "Ten-Year Aura Ginseng," an ordinary-looking ginseng root that had been mutated by absorbing ambient Aura for a decade. It contained a rich, potent life force that could not only repair a foundation but also treat deep, hidden psionic injuries.

Ethan carefully examined the two treasures, feeling very satisfied. The Aura Ginseng might not be as potent as the Foundation Root for pure foundation repair, but its healing properties made it equally valuable. He had just obtained two extremely precious items, the kind that were incredibly scarce and hard to come by on the open market. He carefully placed the Aura plants back into their boxes and then gently stored them in his new storage ring.

He found his father in the living room. “Dad, I’m going to go train first.”

Simon smiled and nodded in encouragement. “Okay, son, train well. Strive to break through your rank as soon as possible. Go for it.”

“You bet!” Ethan replied with full confidence, before disappearing into his room.

After closing the door, Ethan couldn't wait. He took out the Ten-Year Aura Ginseng. He hopefully placed the gnarled root on his Omnitrix, but the watch showed no reaction at all, its dark screen remaining inert.

He couldn't help but frown. Could it be that I actually have to eat it for the energy to count? He lowered his head and looked at the Aura Ginseng in his hand, a distinct hesitation in his eyes. I hear this thing is supposed to be very bitter! He couldn’t help but swallow a mouthful of saliva, his mind flashing back to bitter herbal medicines from his childhood.

A fierce internal struggle, a full twenty seconds of intense ideological battle, raged within him. On one hand, potential power. on the other, certain bitterness. He finally made up his mind. Clenching his fist, he silently cheered himself on, took a deep breath, and with a loud crunch, bit into the Aura Ginseng.

The crisp sound echoed in the quiet room. Huh? Ethan opened his eyes in surprise. There was no bitter taste at all. Instead, a fresh and surprisingly sweet flavor, like a crisp apple mixed with honey, spread across his tongue. This can’t be called Aura Ginseng, it’s a delicious snack!

Overjoyed and without the slightest hesitation, he quickly ate the rest of it. Just as the last piece went down, the Omnitrix on his wrist suddenly began to glow with a faint, yellow light—not dazzling, but exuding a warm, life-giving aura. As the light pulsed, the watch began to purposefully absorb the unique energy from the Aura Ginseng he had just consumed.

A cold, mechanical voice sounded directly in his consciousness.

[Standardized Life-Origin Energy Detected. Now optimizing available DNA sample. Excess energy detected. Now converting to host foundation reinforcement.]

As the message faded, the Omnitrix began to operate slowly. An invisible, warm energy wave emanated from the watch, drilling directly into Ethan's body and suffusing his psionic foundation. The energy didn't cause any direct increase in his rank but was instead continuously consolidating and strengthening his foundation, making it even more solid and resilient than it had been after the initial repair.

Although his rank hadn't increased, Ethan felt a profound difference. His foundation was much more solid. If before he could have broken through two watershed levels before his foundation became unstable, now he felt he could continuously break through three without issue. Furthermore, this had another incredible benefit: it would greatly reduce the chance of catastrophic failure if he ever needed to overdraw his psionic energy in a desperate situation.

He was even tempted to take out the Foundation Root and eat it as well, but he stopped himself. The Foundation Root didn’t have that unique life force. What if the Omnitrix didn't recognize its energy for optimization? Helpless, he could only put it away for another time.

After a little while, the Omnitrix finally completed its process.

[Optimization progress for sample 'Florauna': 15%.]

“Only fifteen percent?” Ethan pondered. “The Fountain of Youth drop raised it by ten percent, which means this whole Ten-Year Aura Ginseng only provided another five percent.” He decided to try transforming again, wanting to see if there were any other changes. With a flash of green light, he successfully transformed. “Wind Spirit!”

He flew in front of the mirror in his room and carefully observed his new image. He was surprised to find that his form, which was originally composed of pure, translucent green wind elements, now had intricate, shimmering golden patterns tracing along its wings. These golden patterns not only made him look more charming and ethereal but also added a mysterious, powerful aura to his form.

Looking at himself in the mirror, he fell into deep thought. “The Omnitrix is supposed to select the most optimal DNA of a species. But now that it's my psionic ability, the rules have changed. The Wind Spirit's DNA was a direct copy from Sylph, but now it can be optimized. This means that when the optimization reaches one hundred percent, my Wind Spirit form will evolve into the strongest and most optimal possible existence of that species. Then what should I call myself? The Wind Spirit King?”

He temporarily threw these questions to the back of his mind and focused on his current physical condition. He was pleasantly surprised to find that his control over the wind element had been enhanced. He could control it more freely, exert greater power. Before, he needed to flap his wings to summon the wind. Now, he just needed to think, and he could summon a breeze, though its power was not yet very strong.

He transformed back. Looks like this DNA optimization can’t be rushed. For now, I should focus on my own training.

Ethan took out an Aura Gathering Pill from his storage ring, planning to test its effect. “After taking this, the speed of absorbing Aura will be doubled for twelve hours. Then… can I also add some other supplementary things on top of that?”