Source Energy Binding

When the phrase "Source Energy Binding" was spoken, Asher noticed Totonis's fingers visibly tremble. The lieutenant then forced a smile, perhaps out of nervousness, as his eyeshadow seemed to smudge. Totonis gave Asher a push and said, "Darling, I think you should go check out your room. Let me know if there's anything you're not satisfied with or need. Your room is over there."

He pointed toward the last room on the left at the end of the training area. Asher said nothing, picked up Rampage, and headed to the room. He knew that the conversation Totonis was about to have wasn't meant for his ears. This meant that Source Energy Binding was not a simple matter.

As Asher approached the door, a beam of light scanned his pupils. With a 'click', the electronic lock disengaged, and the door silently slid open to the right. Entering the 30-square-meter room, Asher was at a loss for words—if this was supposed to be a bedroom, it was extravagantly oversized. Just this room alone was larger than the metal hut he had lived in as a child, not to mention the room's comprehensive facilities—it was practically a small home.

The entrance featured a wooden-floored foyer with privacy-protecting crystal light partitions. At the end of the foyer was a separate bathroom suite, with soft lighting revealing walls built with pristine white tiles, a patterned stone countertop, decorative potted plants in the corner, golden faucets, and a complete set of bath accessories—all emphasizing the "quality" Totonis often mentioned.

Turning from the partition into the inner chamber, two stone steps led up to an area about 20 centimeters higher than the foyer. The same wooden flooring continued, and the ceiling was decorated with a false ceiling technique, hiding the main and auxiliary lights behind frosted glass, casting bright yet non-glaring light throughout the room.

Directly opposite the entrance was a wall-sized glass window offering a view of other regions of Babylon from within the room. Through the glass, a semi-circular balcony with a small but exquisite table and chair set could be seen.

In the corner to the right of the inner chamber was a set of sofas for receiving guests, next to a beautiful liquor cabinet. Extending forward from the cabinet was a television wall which, in its usual state, was just a silver-gray wall but could project any television channel through voice control.

A bed large enough for three people was placed opposite the television wall, already made with a tasseled comforter and soft pillows. On either side of the bed were dark gold nightstands, each adorned with a unique lamp and a small green potted plant.

Asher threw himself onto the bed, and as the automatic door slowly closed, he faintly heard a muffled shout from Totonis outside, sounding like a dispute with Hudson. When the door fully closed, all was silent.

Totonis was visibly agitated, tugging at his golden wig, almost shrieking, "Major, could you be mistaken, that's just a child! A child! Who would impose Source Energy Binding on a child? It's preposterous."

No wonder the lieutenant was upset. Source Energy Binding was typically used only on dangerous criminals who had committed heinous crimes, especially those who were powerful but, for various reasons, could not be killed. Such prisoners, once bound, would be exiled to remote and distant star regions, never to return, eventually dying alone in some corner of the universe.

In the over four hundred years since the Federation's establishment, Source Energy Binding had never been applied to a child, let alone one from the surface.

"I may be old, but I'm not muddled," Hudson tapped his head, "I know the difference between Source Energy Binding and not. This is indeed strange, and you should investigate this child's identity and who used Source Energy Binding on him. His potential was good, but with the binding, he can forget about constructing even a single genetic circuit. And, he's got three layers of binding!"

"Three layers!" Totonis jumped up, "Only a madman would use three layers of binding on a child!"

"How should I know? All I can say is that whoever did this might have been afraid of the child's potential," Hudson rolled his eyes, reverting to his drunken demeanor, "Anyway, whether I mentor him or not doesn't matter now. No matter what, he's going to die."

"Or maybe you could replace him?" Totonis leaned forward on the table, his eyes blazing as if they were about to shoot fire, "Major Hudson, you should know that the Death Arena has never allowed for the replacement of contestants. Now, no matter what, please fulfill your duty. Even if my darling Asher is to die at the hands of another brat, please guide him diligently until then."

Hudson looked at him strangely, "Since when do you care about a surface brat?"

"Because Ronan told me he jumped into this hell willingly," Totonis showed a rare serious expression, "Just for that courage alone, he deserves my respect."

"Courage? Sounds more like a fool to me. Who would jump into hell willingly?" Hudson shrugged, "Alright, since you insist, let him stay. But this matter, do you want to report it..."

"Not for now," Totonis shook his head, "You know as well as I do that anything related to Source Energy Binding is troublesome, and I don't like trouble. If he can't survive, let the secret disappear with him. If he does, let someone else worry about the mess."

Hudson shook the empty bottle, "You're quite the clever one."

"Of course, so please take good care of my Asher. I'll come to check on him later," Totonis waved and sashayed away.

Hudson grabbed another bottle of unopened liquor, pondering, "I've got work to do, can't get drunk again."

"...Just half a bottle then."

Ten minutes later, Asher returned to the main hall. Hudson was belching, his breath thick with the scent of strong alcohol. Asher even thought that if he threw a match into the old man's mouth right now, it might ignite his stomach.

Hudson beckoned, "Asher, that's your name, right? Come, let me have a look at your precious weapon."

Asher handed over Rampage, and the old drunk swept his hand across the table, knocking everything to the floor with a crash. A cleaning robot in the corner quickly cleared away the debris and returned to its original spot. Now Asher understood why, despite Hudson's drunkenness, the hall remained so clean.

"Ah, a magic weapon, even if it's only Tier-One," Hudson glanced at Asher and said, "Quite impressive to get your hands on something like this on the surface. I'd bet the other brats don't have such weapons. Did Ronan give it to you? He's quite generous, but with your little Source Energy, don't even think about wielding it. Let me see, maybe I can adjust the cubic sequence, lower the energy consumption. The power will drop by about half, but at least you'll be able to use it..."

The old drunk mumbled to himself as he hopped down, swaying a bit, and told Asher, "Wait here for me, I need some tools. Good thing I brought those treasures with me..."

After rummaging in his room, Hudson returned with a toolbox filled with tools Asher couldn't name. Using these, Hudson began to dismantle Rampage, causing Asher great anxiety.

Under Hudson's hands, Asher watched as Rampage was disassembled into several parts. Finally, Hudson extracted a matchbox-sized component from the base of the blade. It resembled an integrated circuit, but the circuitry was much more intricate and complex than any motherboard. Some of the pathways even formed a certain pattern, with small, round crystals about ten millimeters in diameter embedded along some lines.

Seeing Asher's keen interest in the object in his hands, Hudson chuckled, "First time seeing it, huh? This is a cubic sequence, the heart of a magic weapon. Different sequence combinations can endow a weapon with different powers. What you have is just the most basic energy sharpness. But even so, you still can't afford its energy consumption..."

"But you can change it," Asher interjected.

Hudson, somewhat theatrically, said, "Of course, before you stands one of the greatest cubic sequence designers. Modifying the energy consumption a bit is as easy as blinking an eye for me. If you're interested, come find me after the Death Arena, and I'll teach you about this knowledge. Of course, you'll need the talent for it."

Asher immediately agreed. Ronan had said that magic weapons were an essential part of the Federation's military strength. Learning about cubic sequences from Hudson would be invaluable, whether for enhancing his own power or other uses.

Of course, that was after the Death Arena.

Watching Hudson fiddle with various tools on the cubic sequence, Asher couldn't help but ask, "Major, what is Source Energy Binding?"

Hudson paused in his work, then continued, explaining, "You can think of it as a lock—a lock that has shut the door to Source Energy, and it's a damn lock with a password!"

The principle of Source Energy Binding is to use a combination of different Source Energy attributes applied to the target's body, inhibiting and eventually depleting their Source Energy. It is typically applied to the heart, one of the most vital organs, as Source Energy travels through the body's blood vessels, which are connected to the heart.

For example, Asher, after refining nine Source Energy vortices, would need to converge all vortices to the heart to construct the first genetic circuit. However, with Source Energy Binding acting on the heart, the vortices would be inhibited upon entering, making circuit construction difficult.

And the more powerful the individual, the greater the impact of Source Energy Binding!