The Empyreal Gem Master

In the midst of despair, a startling chance bloomed!

Crimson lightning crashed down with heavy consequences, and no sooner had this occurred, immeasurable cold spread out as waves of glacial ice erupted out to cover everything.

They were centered around the Flame Hound on one side whose Ability Gems were dim and the Lightning Sparrow that was under the same effect, a dazzling crimson skull flashing menacingly above their heads.

The eruption of ice centered around them and even extended backwards for tens of meters to cover the Beasts of Corruption there- its temperature being utterly disastrous as it rapidly ate up any trace of life force!

No sooner had these glacial masses enveloped major portions of the expanding battlefield…

BOOOM

They exploded out as they saw frozen pieces of limbs of dozens of Beasts everywhere.

The body of the Four-Link Flame Hound had huge gashes leaking frozen crimson blood as it whimpered fearfully, while the wings of the Lightning Sparrow were broken unnaturally as it dropped from the skies!

Their life force had dropped to extremely low levels as their Ability Gems were not even responding to them.

And just when they thought it was over…

WUU!

Their bodies became encased in ice again.

A repeated effect of a Support Gem from the Ice King Gem Recipe.

They were frozen for a second time as when these smaller glacial masses exploded once again…

Shattered ice cracked and fell as alongside it, the skull of the Flame Hound was split open with its eyes being entirely dim.

The Lightning Sparrow had its body dismembered into multiple blocks of frozen ice as the only thing radiant on its body…were the four Gems on its dimly broken Sockets and a radiant Ascendant Life Gem that was contained in an ice block that had a part of its chest!

…!

It was a horrifying scene.

All of it occurred in the span of a single second as nobody could even react.

In the second that followed, tendrils of crimson lightning flashed on the radiant Gems on the dismembered body parts of the Flame Hound and Lightning Sparrow, along with their bright Ascendant Life Gems that made up the brunt of their achievements before they perished.

Moments later, their eight Gems and two Ascendant Life Gems turned into streaks of red lighting that sank into the chest of the man responsible.

No. Not a man.

The monster responsible for all this!

Branch Leader Neiman looked towards him with fury and a trace of fear as he could only see his dark eyes that held billowing waves of anger.

Who was this? A Tier 5 Ascendant Gem Master? Something even more dreadful?

Feeling the budding fear in his heart, Neiman roared out.

"Send everyone out! Everyone and more!"

HUUM!

In the midst of his fear, he called out heavily.

And far behind them, the already expanded Breach of the Den of Corruption let out an incandescent light before blazing auras of Tier 4 Beasts of Corruption began to surge out one after another. Your journey continues on freewebnovel

The gaze of Branch Leader Neiman was twisted as he felt the deaths of his two Tier 4 Beasts, but his figure controlled the Golden Flame Lion to instantly jump backwards as he had to make as much distance from this monster who covered his head entirely!

Yet…

His connected senses with the Golden Flame Lion blared with danger as a Golden shield of flames rose above, instantly forming into a wall that blocked a massive crimson spear of flames held by none other than Branch Leader Julius.

While others were shocked, he had made a move right away as his combat senses were unbeatable- nearly skewering Branch Leader Neiman.

This…was the power of a Tier 4 Ascendant Gem Master!

In the distance, an Arctic Wolf howled as it came to defend its master.

It was an absolutely startling turn of events that nobody expected!

—

Alexander felt everything with his senses as the Enneagram on his chest spun like an engine.

Inside of him, the monotone voice rose up as he communicated with it simultaneously.

[One Ascendant Life Gem is being used to elevate the level of your Vigor and Energeia.]

[One Ascendant Life Gem is being used to increase the rate of extraction of the Corrupted Lightning King Gem Recipe.]

…!

His body, even though it had just utilized a great deal of Energeia, felt profoundly filled with power as waves of life force surged within him!

He sensed the multiple incoming auras of Tier 4 Beasts from the Den of Corruption.

He sensed the breath and power of his father above an enemy Gem Master from the Galanis Bloodline.

He sensed the eight Gems he had placed in the isolated storage space and their details as his eyes became locked onto the enemy Gem Master with rage and fervor- even more so on the dazzling Gem on his chest!

’Minions, huh?’

With rage and ideas budding in his mind, he turned into a streak of lightning that once more went to bombard Branch Leader Neiman, a wave of ice and frost already blooming on the Golden Flame Lion he sat on as Alexander no longer even saw this being as one who was still alive.

It was only someone he had to kill- someone who would die in the next second with surety!

BOOM!

As ice froze below him and fiery brilliance sought to break through from above, Branch Leader Neiman lost all color as crimson lightning smashed into him while he didn’t have an ounce of defenses.

He…was a Gem Master who relied on his Minions.

His own defenses and power were negligible as his Gems purely supported his Minions!

So when he took another piercing crimson lightning head on…the result was utterly disastrous for him.

And horrifically, after the lightning struck him once, it pulled back before chaining on him again, and again, and again!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

It was heavy.

It was brutal.

By the time it was done, even the gaze of Branch Leader Julius floating on tendrils of red flames above changed to become stern as where Neiman used to be…were only four dazzling Gems.

His musculature and bones were scorched, burned, and utterly broken away, the only sign of him ever being alive being a black scorch mark above the roaring Golden Flame Lion trying to break out of a prison of ice!

But the current reality was one that caused all nearby sentient beings to be gobsmacked as…

A Tier 4 Ascendant Gem Master was dead!

Where he used to be, crimson lightning transformed into the veiled figure of a young man who grasped the central Ability Gem that Branch Leader Neiman had into his hands.

His chest, which was spinning rapidly, came to a stop on the Sockets where bright gems used to be…only emptiness could be seen as if they were ground to nothingness.

[The Gem Recipe designated as Corrupted Lightning King and all the Gems within its makeup have been recorded in the Ability Gem Database.]

…!

A fantastical message.

The Enneagram on his chest shone ever brighter in his eyes as in the face of schemes and coming monsters, he needed more power.

And what grander power was there than increasing the number of Gems he socketed?

While reading over its details, he grasped the [Minion Manipulation Ability Gem] in his hand and threw it towards his glorious chest!