Ex-Rank Awakening: My Attacks Make Me Stronger - Chapter 331

Chapter 331: EX 331. Black Star Art
Leon didn’t want to stop at B-rank. He couldn’t. But to even reach it, to begin that phase—he had to do what the emperor had once done: create a core.

Just like the one he’d made for Elizabeth.

****

Leon’s eyes stayed fixed on Elizabeth’s sleeping form, his thoughts drifting back, to the human settlement in the trial world.

‘That time… I just acted on instinct.’

He remembered it clearly. Elizabeth had suddenly awakened, her body radiating power far beyond what she could handle.

Her veins had glowed, energy thrashing wildly inside her, threatening to tear her apart. There hadn’t been time to think, only react.

Driven purely by instinct, Leon had used his Primordial Dragon Art, channeling his own essence into her body and forging three cores within her.

He hadn’t known what he was doing back then, only that he had to save her.

But now, after everything he’d learned, he finally understood.

What he had created back then… wasn’t just a temporary fix. It was a dormant core.

Leon exhaled slowly.

“I don’t have that kind of burst of energy this time,” he muttered. “But I’ve got two things that’ll work just as well, maybe better. The experience of creating the core… and my Extreme Art.”

In the art system Julius Arman created, forming a core was an automatic process, it happened naturally when one achieved enlightenment and stepped into Rank 5.

But Leon wasn’t planning to follow the emperor’s method fully.

He was going to split the process.

He’d create the core himself, then let enlightenment handle the rest, elevating his existence while carrying only half the burden.

It was risky, maybe reckless, but it made sense. By building the foundation on his own, he could reduce the depth of enlightenment needed to rank up.

Normally, the enlightenment required for someone like him, whose stats far exceeded normal limits, would’ve been immense. But if he handled part of it himself, he could ease that load.

‘So that’s the plan,’ Leon thought, his eyes narrowing.

‘When the spark hits…. I’ll build the core and use it to rise.’

Now, all that was left was to find that spark—the moment of perfect clarity that would ignite his enlightenment.

****

In the heart of the Imperial Training Grounds, the afternoon sun burned faintly behind layers of crimson cloud.

The air was dense with spiritual weight, like the world itself held its breath. Before the training field’s obsidian walls, Lieutenant Lancelot stood with his hands clasped behind his back, the golden plates of his armor humming faintly with energy.

Across from him,

Adrian Peer waited, he was focused and steady, with every inch of his body coiled with anticipation.

“The Black Star Art,” Lancelot began, his voice measured and clear, “is not merely an art of destruction or defense. It is an exalted art—a creation that elevates one’s very existence, taking a professional all the way to the pinnacle of power.”

Adrian’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Rank Nine,” he said quietly.

Lancelot smiled.

“Exactly.”

He turned toward the training field, the faint hum of mana in the air deepening around him.

“But because of that, learning it is no easy feat. To master even its foundation requires perfect control over your aura, body, and will.”

He turned his gaze on Adrian, his expression softening just slightly.

“Still… I did promise to teach you. So before we begin, I’ll show you what it’s capable of.”

Adrian frowned.

“But I’ve already seen it, Lieutenant—the art you used in in Harlots Paradise.”

A low chuckle escaped Lancelot.

“What you saw was not its full power.”

Adrian’s breath hitched, his confidence faltering for the first time.

“I’ve achieved seven forms of the Black Star Art,” Lancelot said calmly, shifting his stance. His golden hair gleamed as a faint black radiance bled from his body.

“Let me show you the first—Absorption.”

Dark aura rippled around him, deep and fluid like a living shadow.

It expanded outward in silent waves before igniting with a faint shimmer of violet sparks. Lancelot raised his palm toward Adrian, and in the next instant, a violent suction force erupted.

Adrian dug his feet into the ground, his muscles tightening as his body began sliding forward against his will.

The pressure was suffocating, as if the air itself was being devoured.

Then, just as suddenly it ended. The black light faded, leaving only the faint scent of scorched stone.

“The First Form,” Lancelot said, lowering his hand, “allows one to absorb the force of an attack and redirect it—or consume it entirely. It’s a form of defense… similar to tanking, but without suffering damage.”

Adrian was still catching his breath when Lancelot’s aura flared again showing the other forms.

“The Second Form—Black Barrier.”

A solid shell of condensed darkness formed around him, shimmering like glass yet dense as iron.

“The Third Form—Shooting Star.”

He vanished, reappearing several meters away in a burst of dark streaks that ripped the ground apart.

“The Fourth—Big Bang.”

A pulse of compressed essence exploded outward, leaving a crater where he’d stood.

“And the Fifth Form… Black Star Requiem.” His tone darkened.

“This is the same art I used to put a hole through Leon.”

The air quivered with silence. Adrian’s eyes flickered with awe and a trace of unease.

“And as for the Sixth Form—” Lancelot suddenly froze mid-sentence.

His expression tightened, the veins at his temple pulsing as his gaze shot toward the Imperial Palace in the distance.

“What in the name of the Emperor…” he muttered, eyes narrowing as a violent tremor rippled through the air.

The ground beneath them vibrated faintly.

Adrian looked around, confused.

“Lieutenant—what happened?”

Lancelot didn’t answer immediately. His focus sharpened, his senses stretching out until the faint lines of energy converging in the direction of the palace became clear.

His pupils constricted.

“Isn’t this… too monstrous?” he breathed.

Adrian felt his pulse quicken.

That tone, he’d only heard it once before, it was a tone used when Leon does something crazy.

A wry smile tugged at his lips as he muttered under his breath, half in awe and half in exasperation,

“What do you have in store for us this time, Captain?”