Chapter 85: The Price of Power

Yes, Ethan thought, his will focused like a laser. Optimize it.

The moment he confirmed, the Omnitrix began to operate frantically. He could feel it drawing on the potent vestiges of the Fountain of Youth's energy, injecting that warm, vibrant power directly into the Wind Spirit's DNA template. He could perceive the very code of the form shifting, strengthening, aligning—a fundamental purification. The incredible transformation lasted for nearly half a minute, then suddenly halted.

[DNA optimization progress: 10%.] [Insufficient specialized energy. Process stopped.]

Ethan was speechless. A wave of frustration washed over him. My own psionic energy isn't enough?

The Omnitrix's reply was cold and simple: [Energy type does not meet requirements.]

Tsk! What kind of energy does it need? He fell into deep thought, carefully recalling the sequence of events. The "Optimization Module" had only unlocked after he absorbed the unique power of the Fountain of Youth, which contained not just pure psionic energy, but a rich, tangible life force.

Could it be that the life force itself is the key? The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. There was no other reasonable explanation.

Thinking of this, he broke out of his meditative state and slowly opened his eyes.

"So fast?" his uncle asked, surprised.

"It was easy to absorb," Ethan replied, deciding to probe. "Uncle, do you have any more of that spring water? How much does a drop like that cost? I was thinking I might save up and buy some."

Steven Atherton let out a deep, rumbling laugh. "Ethan, that one single drop is the grand finale at our auction every month. Each time, it fetches a high price of over five hundred million credits."

Five. Hundred. Million.

The astronomical figure landed like a physical blow. Ethan's mind went completely blank. He had been daydreaming of buying a share for Marcus and Seraphina as a thank you. As a result, this one drop… when would he ever be able to save up that much?

Seeing the crestfallen look on his face, Clara gently stroked his head. "Don't be too disappointed, Ethan. For a strong psionicist, making credits is actually very easy, especially at the higher ranks. When you get to university, you will find many ways. Be at ease and focus on your training for now."

Hearing his aunt's comforting words, Ethan pulled himself together. Isn't it just five hundred million? Big deal! I will earn this money back, and more!

A new thought struck him. "Do you have any other things similar to the Fountain of Youth? Things that contain a rich life force aura?"

Clara looked at him with confusion. "Why do you want that, Ethan? Items with a powerful life force aura are extremely rare and are mainly used to heal hidden psionic injuries. Are you hurt?"

Ethan waved his hand vaguely. "It's not for me, exactly. My psionic ability… it uses that kind of energy to become stronger."

Steven lowered his head in thought. "We do have such things in our inventory, but we can't just give them to you. The path of a psionicist, besides opportunity, relies on one's own efforts. If we help you without restraint, it will only make you lazy." He reached into his coat. "I can give you a discount, at most. But getting those things still depends on you." He took out a yellow, bronze-textured card.

"Our company is called Aevum Corporation. This bronze-level card will get you a 9.5% discount there. We can only help you this much. The rest is up to you, son."

Ethan took the bronze card, the metal cool and heavy in his hand. "I understand, Uncle. You and Aunt Clara have already helped me more than enough. The power I need, I will strive for it myself."

Clara stroked his head again with a look of genuine praise. "Such a good boy."

"Alright," Ethan said, standing up. "It's getting late. I should go."

Steven stood as well. "Work hard, Ethan. As our business grows, the people we rely on are not enough. The strong psionicists we hire are, after all, outsiders. When you grow up, your aunt's and my entire business may have to rely on you."

Ethan's spirit reignited, his earlier disappointment replaced by a new fire. "Then I must train hard, and strive to become the biggest pillar of support on your path!"

"Hahahaha! Good boy," Steven laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. "Then you go for it!"

His foundation repaired, a method to optimize his DNA discovered—Ethan was in a great mood. And the good things weren't over yet.

Returning to his apartment, he took out the simple blue ring from his pocket and injected a tiny trace of his psionic energy into it. Instantly, a three-dimensional space, about one cubic meter in size, appeared in his mind's eye, with several items stored neatly inside.

He first focused his will and retrieved a heavy bag. Inside, glittering Aura Cores spilled out. He carefully counted them: fifteen in total. Ten F-rank, four E-rank, and one powerful D-rank. No skill-cores, but he was more than satisfied.

A fortune! he thought, carefully putting them away. Then he focused on the ring again and withdrew a folded piece of paper. On it was a detailed map.

"This is…" He pulled up a high-resolution satellite map of the region on his computer and began to compare it. A marked dot on the paper map corresponded to the exact location of the mountain camp where he had been held. And near several other marked safe zones and cities, there were similar dots.

This map… it marks the locations of all the Evolution Cult's hidden strongholds in the entire region.

His heart began to pound. This was incredible, priceless intelligence. With this map, they could uproot five of the cult's major strongholds. He carefully folded the map and put it away. I'll hold onto this for now.

He continued to inspect the ring's contents and took out a heavy, dark metal wrist guard. What in the world is this?