Within the next generations, men with significant magical potential could become extinct.
But males weren't just rare—were provided strategic capabilities that couldn't be replicated:
Essence Amplification: When bonded to powerful females, males somehow enhanced their magical development by 200-400%
Stabilization Effects: Large-scale magical workings required male presence to prevent dimensional instability.
Bloodline Preservation: Only male magical genetics could pass certain rare abilities to offspring.
Cross-Empire Diplomacy: Male marriages were the only bonds considered truly neutral in inter-empire politics.
I'm not just a convenient husband. I'm a strategic weapon that could shift the balance of power between entire empires.
Imperial Marriage Politics operated on scales I hadn't comprehended:
The Ice Queen's offer of Princess Glaciana plus territorial concessions wasn't generous—it was desperate. Valeria Empire was facing Essence depletion in their core territories. They needed magical amplification just to maintain their current power level.
The Desert Empire's solar crystal offer represented their entire strategic reserves. Sultan Zahara was betting her empire's future that my enhancement abilities could unlock new cultivation techniques.
This world like that. That simple!
Every marriage proposal isn't about love or even alliance. It's about future survival. Not just me but every significant male! It's just that, I was too much!
Empress Aurelia's Position was the most fascinating. According to the restricted documents, she had systematically acquired seven powerful males over the past three centuries. Not as trophies—as living strategic assets.
Each male had been bonded to specific powerful women under her control, creating an enhancement network that amplified her entire power structure. She didn't collect beautiful men out of preference.
She collects strategic weapons that multiply the effectiveness of her entire empire.
And now she wanted to evaluate the most powerful male and individual ever recorded.
Meeting with her wasn't about marriage. It's about whether she can afford to let me remain independent.
As I closed the last tome, the full scope of my situation became clear. I wasn't just some overpowered protagonist stumbling through a harem fantasy.
I'm a potential empire-killer or maker being evaluated by someone who's spent centuries perfecting the art of controlling such beings.
The academy recall, the mysterious tower discoveries, the "Transcendence Track"—it was all connected. Someone had found a way to breach another Forbidden Tower, and the knowledge inside was significant enough to require accelerating the development of every powerful young individual across six empires.
They're not preparing us for education. They're preparing us for something that requires transcendent-level power to survive.
And sitting at the center of it all was a 76,000 EXP reserve that could instantly catapult me to Master tier or beyond—if I was willing to trigger every monitoring system on the continent.
The temptation is incredible. With that much stored experience, I could walk into her meeting as a potential equal rather than a potential asset.
But patience. Strategic patience. Let them underestimate me while I gather information. Impulse will only lead to my demise.
After all, the best predators are the ones their prey never see coming.
Soon I would meet the woman who controlled the fate of an entire empire.
And she had no idea what she was really dealing with.
Back in my room after the library session, I locked the door and activated the privacy wards. Meeting with Empress Aurelia loomed like a storm cloud, and Mother's... lesson had made one thing crystal clear.
I'm not strong enough. Not yet.
She dominated me completely because the power gap was insurmountable. I can't let that happen again with someone who might not have my best interests at heart.
The 76,000 stored EXP was tempting, but using it would trigger monitoring systems across the continent. However, there was another way to gain power—one that wouldn't register on imperial detection arrays.
Time to see what 10,450 Incubus Points can buy me. This is like having cheat codes and finally deciding to use them.
I opened the System shop, grinning like a kid in a candy store.
[INCUBUS SYSTEM SHOP
Current Balance: 10,450 IP
[CHARACTER STATUS
Health Points: 120/120
Mana Pool: 180/180
STAT ENHANCEMENTS - 10 Points for 100 IP
Strength: 15/100
Charm: 25/100
Stamina: 20/100
Agility: 18/100
Magical Perception: 22/100
Mana Pool: 32/100]
Look at those pathetic numbers. I'm basically a Level 1 noob in designer clothes. Time to fix that.
"Alright, System. Let's start with some levels. I want to see what this mana core formation everyone talks about feels like."
"Advance to Level 2."
[LEVEL ADVANCEMENT: 1 → 2 Cost: 1,000 IP
Remaining Balance: 9,450 IP!
[LEVEL 2 ACHIEVED]
[Health Points: 120 → 220
MANA CORE FORMATION INITIATED]
The moment the level increase hit, agony beyond anything I'd ever experienced tore through my very essence. It felt like my soul was being ripped apart and rebuilt from the ground up, every spiritual fiber screaming as something fundamental restructured itself inside me.
FUCK! This is like being turned inside out by a cosmic blender!
I collapsed to my knees, clutching my chest as waves of pain radiated outward from my spiritual center. The process wasn't just uncomfortable—it was excruciating, like having surgery performed on my soul without anesthesia.
My mana, which had previously flowed freely through my magical veins, began violently condensing into a single point near my heart. I could feel each strand of energy being compressed, crystallized, forced into patterns that shouldn't exist.
The pain is incredible. Like someone's forging a star inside my chest.
Minutes passed—or maybe hours, time became meaningless under the assault of spiritual transformation. My body convulsed as the formation process continued, raw magical energy arcing across my skin in visible displays of power.
Then I felt it—Mother's presence suddenly blazing like a supernova as she approached my room. Her magical signature was unlike anything I could have imagined: simultaneously a brilliant star and an endless abyss, radiating power that felt ancient beyond comprehension.
She's coming. She felt the core formation from across the manor.
My door burst open and Mother strode in, her violet eyes immediately assessing the situation. Without hesitation, she began weaving complex isolation barriers around the entire room.
"Mana core formation," she murmured, her voice carrying both pride and concern. "And from the intensity... this is no ordinary awakening. Just like it's supposed to be."
Even through the agony, I can see her expression. She's... proud. Like she's been waiting for this moment.
Layer upon layer of protective wards flowed from her hands, sealing my room from the outside world. The barriers were so complex, so perfectly crafted, that they made the manor's existing protections look like children's drawings.
'She's isolating the entire space. The mana fluctuations must be visible from miles away.'
The core formation reached its crescendo, and I screamed as something vast and impossible crystallized into existence within my spiritual body. This wasn't just any mana core—I could feel its nature even through the overwhelming pain.
[MANA CORE FORMATION COMPLETE]
[Core Type: PRIMORDIAL]
[Core Grade: INACCESSIBLE INFORMATION]]
[Mana Pool: 180 → 380 (Base + Primordial Enhancement)]
Primordial. Even the System won't tell me what that means.
The agony finally subsided, leaving me gasping on the floor while Mother watched with a smile that held centuries of satisfaction.
"A Primordial core," she whispered, and there was something like reverence in her voice. "My beautiful boy, do you have any idea what you've just become?"
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A/N: We're back, babe!