35 Failure

A year went by in a flash, and the summoning event from the Goddess has long reached its first anniversary long ago. But certainly, the Goddess wouldn't want to celebrate an event that left her spooked.

Such revelations perturbed her, like everything: regarding the devil inside Lucas, how he could not receive a blessing, and then there was the Title Michael received and the other students who awakened a satisfying amount of class titles.

Therefore, one could only wonder what she was feeling right now.

But at this moment, Lucas didn't give a shit about her, nor did he have the time to care for her. After all, he was facing a major problem… it was so huge and heavy that he was almost turning insane.

He couldn't form a core!

That's right, it has been a year or less since he kept trying to form a core, but when he arrived at the last step, in which the consequence was so dire he was experiencing extreme torment, the accumulated Aether Evil Element was suddenly gone.

Lucas couldn't describe what happened, but if he was not wrong, the sudden disappearance of the Aether Evil Element invaded his body when the Archdevil performed something must be the cause. But he didn't know where or how and was even unaware of what!

He didn't know where to point the blame for how he couldn't form a core. To the Archdevil? It even appeared he was also confused about it.

"It must be the chain he was talking about."

Lucas couldn't forget the single question of the Archdevil, and it might be the source of his problem.

What was the chain he was talking about? Belt? Maybe he didn't know what a belt was and instead mistaken it for a chain.

He wore a belt, of course, to tighten the slacks to his waist.

But the Archdevil completely went to his private parts, not the belt, so it might not be what the Devil was referring to.

Lucas was now extremely curious about the chain he was talking about and was then reminded of the Devil's existence.

"Since he could live inside my body, stating he was sharing a physical body for now, is that the same case for the chain?

No, a chain should not be sentient, so it doesn't have a soul. Where could the chain he was talking about be placed inside my body?"

Lucas was itching to know for an answer, but he felt a huge wall blocking him from acquiring the answer or maybe the revelation. After realizing he couldn't get an answer, he switched his attention to another reason that might be the cause he couldn't form a core.

He already studied all possible causes for not forming a core in the book, but not once stated about the sudden disappearance of the Aether Evil Element.

If Lucas was to describe, the Aether Evil Element was like the fire that came from a matchstick, and then when he wanted to pass it to a candlelight before the latter could even influence and get burned with fire, someone extinguished it by blowing air from their mouth.

It was that almost similar feeling, which had not been stated from all the context he read in the paper, which appeared made by the skin of a living being.

Therefore, Lucas was on the brink of insanity and even had the urge to surrender since he kept facing failure, who knows how many times, and from the start, there was no progress at all!

There was even a time he forgot about updating the day he spent since he didn't want to leave the teleportation magic array. When he felt his birthday had come, which he was now seventeen, he celebrated with himself.

Lucas might appear insane by it, but he was actually still not.

But with no progress in creating a core, it would not be long before he would.

Lucas puffed with exasperation and breathed out words:

"I think I should give up on forming a core right now until I find the actual cause and fix it. It will be futile if I keep wasting my time…

Wait, what other needs for me to invest my time aside from meditating and studying? I simply have much time at all! That's why I keep repeating the same process with no silhouette of success."

The reason Lucas still kept performing on creating the core was that he believed that whenever the Archdevil visited and performed the same again as before, he would discover the cause.

But it appeared he didn't.

In a year, Archdevil only visited him twice and would always leave a terrorizing message that it wouldn't be long before it was Lucas' turn.

What turns exactly?

But if Lucas was to speculate, it would be related to something about dissecting or something that would result in his death.

There would be no way he would accept his death easily. At least, he decided he would still put up a fight and find whatever chance he had to escape.

Aside from the problem of not creating the core, Lucas was also irritated when the teleportation magic array showed no sign of being contacted with another activating teleportation magic array.

It means in the span of a year: there was not a single time that someone on the other side attempted to call a devil.

Really? Wasn't devils a powerful existence that could be enslaved through summoning, so why no one tried to summon them?

It was why Lucas kept forming a core since it gathered Aether's Evil Element inside his body, having a higher chance to mistake him as a devil.

Lucas was extremely patient, patient enough that it was almost running dry. A year has passed with no sign of progression. If it was any other with low patience, they would long turn deranged.

But who said Lucas built differently? He was almost about to turn himself in the mental hospital as a patient.

Lucas suddenly chuckled and shook his head with thoughts completely unknown. He didn't know what he was laughing at, but he felt the urge to do so.

Wasn't someone always advised to laugh about whatever problem he faced, despite how broken a person was, even if he was betrayed, cheated, humiliated, and even when the world turned its back on him?

That's exactly what Lucas was doing right now.

"Ah, whatever. There will always be a rainbow after the storm, right?"

Recalling his optimistic words from before, it made him chuckle again.

It was then…

The teleportation magic array lit up…