Chapter 427: Devourer Core

If an ordinary Awakened was to handle this Erosion Body, it would be even more difficult given the inherent constraints.

Soon, three Floating Airships smoothly landed on a flat area within Goose Peak Castle.

Once the cabin doors opened, the awaiting medical team immediately approached.

They swiftly transferred Leonard, who remained unconscious but was temporarily stable, to the fortress’s internal medical center for deeper treatment.

Ella followed close beside the stretcher, her face pale, giving Duke and Vivian a complex look before leaving, filled with gratitude and perhaps a trace of indescribable emotion.

Duke and Vivian were guided by a Wizard dressed in a black robe to the commander’s office located on the tower’s mid-level.

Catherine, the squad leader, was already waiting in the office; she stood before the large floor-to-ceiling windows, back toward the door, gazing at the seemingly chaotic but actually orderly fortress outside.

At the sound of knocking, she turned around, her gaze calm yet scrutinizing as she looked at the slightly weary but composed Duke and Vivian.

"Have a seat." She pointed to two chairs in the office and sat back behind the wide desk herself.

Without much small talk, the interrogation began directly.

Catherine’s questions were precise and efficient, focusing on the formation process of the space anomaly, internal environment, time flow anomalies, the specific form and abilities of the Erosion Body, and lastly, how it was ultimately annihilated.

Duke and Vivian supplemented each other, detailing the entire process as thoroughly as possible.

Duke also specifically emphasized the importance of the Annihilation Holy Nail and Blazing Sun Judgment, expressing his sorrow over the loss of the Annihilation Holy Nail.

At this, Catherine raised an eyebrow, naturally understanding Duke’s intention in lamenting the matter.

She would report these details thoroughly, though whether or not compensation is possible remains uncertain.

After the interrogation concluded, Duke retrieved from his Space Ring the black crystal about the size of a thumbnail obtained post-Erosion Body annihilation, placing it on Catherine’s desk.

"Lady Catherine, this is the only thing left behind after the Erosion Body was eliminated." Duke said, "I can sense it contains an extremely pure yet unknown attribute energy, but I cannot identify what it is."

The crystal lay quietly on the table, its surface smooth and color deep, seemingly absorbing all surrounding light, emitting a faint yet undeniable energy pulse.

Catherine’s gaze was instantly drawn to it; she leaned slightly forward, her eyes becoming intensely focused and sharp.

Rather than immediately touching it, she retrieved a pair of glasses inscribed with complex runes from the drawer, donned them, and began a meticulous examination while taking out several small scanning instruments to analyze the crystal.

A brief silence fell over the office, interrupted only by the faint hum of the instruments.

After a while, Catherine set down the black crystal and said, "You’re quite lucky, this is a Devourer Core."

"What is a Devourer Core?" Duke inquired.

Catherine explained, "A Devourer Core is an extremely rare and important resource from the Devourer Plane, sometimes produced after the death of Awakened or an Erosion Body..."

After hearing Catherine’s explanation, Duke understood; the Devourer Core is a unique product of this Plane, a distinct resource.

The Devourer Core itself can be regarded as an advanced Energy Crystal Stone, containing extremely pure and massive energy, usable as an Energy Crystal Stone.

Generally, a Level 2 Devourer Core can be considered as a Level 3 Energy Crystal Stone, with its rank higher by one level.

However, to simply use the Devourer Core as an Energy Crystal Stone would be excessively wasteful.

The greatest function of the Devourer Core is its ability to enhance life essence and soul essence, with soul essence being the most crucial aspect.

Life essence, in other words, is essentially the length of one’s lifespan.

The Devourer Core can directly increase a person’s lifespan, though it has a certain limit tied to the user’s current Life Level.

For instance, a Level 1 Mage has a lifespan of five hundred years, thus using a Devourer Core could at most add another one to two hundred years but cannot continue increasing.

This is because the Devourer Core can enhance life essence but cannot elevate life levels.

No matter how much life essence increases, it remains constrained by life levels, eventually having no further effect.

The higher an individual’s Life Level, the more Devourer Cores they can consume.

Despite its upper limit, the Devourer Core’s ability to increase lifespan is already remarkably potent.

Even within the vast Endless Plane, items that can increase lifespan are exceptionally rare.

Among such items, the Devourer Core still provides a substantial increase in lifespan.

Yet, this is only one capability of the Devourer Core; more importantly, it can enhance soul essence.

Life essence often manifests as the lifespan of the physical body, whereas soul essence at times represents the lifespan of the soul.

In the past, many Wizards with fading lifespans chose to transform into Necromancers to continue existing in a Spiritual Body form.

This is because the soul lifespan typically far exceeds the strength of the physical body, though the Spiritual Body state comes with many limitations, practically posing numerous challenges.

The aim of enhancing soul essence isn’t to extend soul lifespan, as the soul lifespan is already sufficiently long.

Even a Level 1 Necromancer can easily live over a thousand years.

The death of Necromancers generally isn’t due to an exhausted soul lifespan but rather various external accidental circumstances.

The purpose of enhancing soul essence is actually to prepare for advancing to higher Life Levels in the future.

During Duke’s Wizard Apprentice phase of advancement and his transition from a Wizard Apprentice to a Level 1 Mage, he never faced any limitations related to soul essence.

Because his Life Level is too low, his current power advancement isn’t anywhere near reaching the point where soul essence becomes a limit.

Only at higher levels will such issues come into play.

This does not mean Duke should only start preparing when reaching that stage; preparing early is naturally better, though most do not have these conditions.

Though Devourer Cores are rare even within the Devourer Plane, if one can conquer this Plane, the number of obtainable cores can still be considerable.

More importantly, Wizards can entirely treat this place as a training ground, specializing in the production of Devourer Cores.

It’s just that the method to guarantee core production remains unclear, requiring further research.

Before that, it’s essential to first fully conquer this Plane before discussing anything else.