Luna appeared before Lucius. Without hesitation, she reached into her spatial ring and and retrieved numerous corpses.
She laid them carefully on the ground in front of Lucius. She then kneeled before Lucius and presented the corpses.
"These are for you, Master. All of them are the corpses from the calamity. There were also some strong corpses."
Lucius examined the corpse. He kneeled beside them. He placed his hand on one of the bodies and felt its former power as a 5-Star tamer.
He stood up and smirked. "These corpses will do nicely. Their energy will convert into a generous amount of hacking points."
Lucius turned to Luna and put out his hand. "Luna, hand me the brain that you took from him."
Luna nodded and retrieved the sealed container from her spatial ring. She gave it to Lucius. "Here it is, just as you requested."
Lucius took the container. He studied it briefly before opening it. He stared at the brain within and smirked. "Let's see if this works."
He turned to the system. "Hack this brain. Extract and transfer all its memories to me. Can it be done?"
---
[Hack Initiation: Memory Transfer]
[Target: Disembodied Brain]
[Effect: Extract and Transmit All Memories to User]
[Cost Required: 1,000 Hack Points]
[Execute Evolution?]
[YES] [NO]
---
Lucius's eyes flicked over the system prompt. "So it's possible, huh. The cost is quite higher than I expected, but still, it's manageable to me." Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire
He selected [YES] without hesitation. The brain inside the container began to dissolve, its form breaking down into a shimmering mist that the system absorbed.
As the process began, Lucius staggered. A sharp pain shot through his head, and he fell to one knee, his hand gripping his temple.
Luna and Liora, who had stood aside and silently observed him, immediately went to his side. They were concerned about their sole Master.
Liora kneeled beside Lucius. He didn't dare touch his master yet, but still she asked out of concern. "Master, are you alright?"
Luna also kneeled at the other side of Lucius. She also didn't want to disturb Lucius, but still she was concerned. "What's happening to you, Master?"
After seeing Lucius didn't answer, both of them were about to help Lucius. Suddenly Lucius raised his trembling hand, signaling them to stay back.
His other hand pressed firmly against his temple, his fingers digging into his skin as he fought through the pain. "Don't interfere. Let me finish this by myself."
His body trembled as waves of memories surged through his mind.
Flashes of images, voices, and sensations overwhelmed his senses—a flood of information that wasn't his own.
The pressure built, and the pain was almost unbearable, but he endured, refusing to yield.
After what felt like an eternity, the process ended. Lucius opened his eyes, the faint glow of the system fading as he stood slowly.
He looked at both Luna and Liora. He then turned his attention back to the corpses and the empty, sealed container and smirked.
"It's done. I have obtained his memories, but they contain more than I expected."
Luna was curious about the memories that Lucius had obtained. Luna stepped closer to Lucius. "Master, what did you learn from the memories?"
Lucius leaned on his chair and smirked. He tapped his fingers against the armrest. "More than I expected. The people you fought, Luna, weren't from the empire."
Luna raised her eyebrow and folded her arms. "Not from the empire? Then who are they?"
Lucius rose from his chair. He paced slowly and smirked. "They were just a nameless group, but not aimless. Their ambition is simple: world domination."
Lucius turned to Luna. "You can call them evil if you like it, though it's really just a matter of perspective."
Liora, who leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, snorted. "Evil or not, they didn't seem too impressive. The ones Luna fought were pathetic."
Lucius smirked and waved her dismissively. "You are right, but they were just pawns. Henchmen. Tools sent to fetch something they probably don't even understand."
Luna's frown deepened as she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "What were they after, then? What's so important that they're sending fools like that to fight for it?"
Lucius turned to face her and smirked. "Legendary materials. The details are vague, but these materials could be the key to something much bigger. That's what they're after."
Liora straightened, cracking her knuckles. "And they sent weaklings to collect them? Sounds like they're desperate—or stupid."
Lucius looked at Liora and shrugged. "Perhaps both, but here's the interesting part: one of those legendary materials... is here, in this academy."
Luna was surprised and instinctively stepped forward and looked at Lucius in the eyes. "Here? Are you certain, Master?"
Lucius nodded slowly and smirked. "Positive. And that's why we won't interfere with them yet. Let them do the hard work of finding it. When the time is right, we'll take it for ourselves."
Liora smirked and her eyes shone. "Sounds like a plan. Let them run around like headless chickens while we reap the rewards."
Lucius gestured toward the window. "Exactly. Their existence doesn't matter to us. Their lives don't matter. They're free to waste their time."
Lucius clenched his fist and turned to Liora and Luna. "But when they found what they got, it's time for us to deal with them and take what we deserved."
Luna's smirk returned. "I like it. Let them struggle, let them bleed, and when they're finished, we'll step in and take everything they've worked for."
Liora let out a low laugh. "That's the difference between us and them. They blindly follow orders, hoping for slivers of power. We take what we want."
Lucius unhurriedly sat back down. "Precisely. Power belongs to those who seize it, not to those who beg for it."
Lucius looked up and waved his hand dismissively. "Let them chase their dreams of world dominance. In the end, they're just another obstacle—or an opportunity."
The three exchanged a glance. They didn't care about the nameless group, their goals, or the lives of those they used.
As long as the chaos served their own purposes, Lucius, Luna, and Liora were content to watch the world burn.