Ocean Master

Phew!

Sebastian heaved a deep sigh of relief.

Even at this moment, he could feel his hands and feet shaking as the pressure of the previous situation that he found himself in and the fact that he was able to survive unscathed finally settled in.

The past few minutes were really of him walking at the edge of a sharp blade, any risky venture and he could be easily split into two by the sharp edge.

The risks were huge, and so were the benefits if he succeeded.

His body felt so tense at this moment that though he already heaved a sigh of relief, he could still feel his shaking body.

This was Sebastian's most thrilling and dangerous encounter in both his lives! All he could describe it with was dangerous and weirdly satisfying.

The scene between him and the Doppelganger and Invisibility Sea King that just ended seemed like a perfect scenario of dominance, but Sebastian knew that this was not the case.

This time, his life was really placed on the line.

The perfect explanation for all this started from the moment that he took his first swim inside this inheritance ground that was rigged from the beginning.

As soon as Sebastian stepped inside the inheritance ground, he received an ominous system notification that spooked the sh*t out of him.

The fact that the Doppelganger and Invisibility Sea King may still be alive, and he may have come under the radar of this extremely dangerous predator meant so much to Sebastian that he almost fainted in fear.

He was spooked!

It took a lot from him to exert the appropriate amount of effort to engage in such a meticulous award-winning acting sprint so as not to alarm the watching Sea King. He referenced all of his idol actors and actresses to make this so smooth.

The pressure of entering an inheritance ground and the dangers that it presented alone was already terrifyingly strong, adding the fact that he had to stay on guard against the watching predator strained Sebastian to the limit.

This was when he started executing the daring counter-observation plan that the Sage residing in his head proposed. 

The living Sea King not only succeeded in alarming his system, but it also succeeded in waking up the slumbering Sage that was in his mind.

As the Sage already explained some time ago, only a fraction of its power resided in the Ocean Domination System and Sebastian had to ration its use.

According to the Sage, for Sebastian to survive this ordeal, he had to listen to and do according to all his orders with no margin for error.

The fragment of the Sage that lived in his mind did not have full confidence of dealing the killer blow to the Sea King even in its weakened state, but he still had the confidence of winning if Sebastian obeyed his commands to the letter.

The Great Carcarot Gorgoneon was deserving of his status as an old monster, his power and his expansive skill set reflected this.

What really did the Sea King in was its desperation to find the perfect vessel.

This was the only reason why Sebastian was able to maintain his acting while not alerting the Sea King, benefiting massively due to the Sea King's arrangement, and at the end cornering it while the Sea King followed like a marionette.

Sage 54 banked the success of his plan on intimidation!

This was an absolutely ridiculous notion that Sebastian was unwilling to follow with originally, but left with no choice, he went on with it.

In the end, the results widely exceeded his expectations.

The base of the plan was to play to the Sea King's arrangements, behave like the perfect fool to be exploited, and corner the Sea King in its own game. When the soul of the Sea King was finally located, its fate was sealed.

Sebastian first revealed everything, all the knowledge, the fact that he knew that the inheritance was a farce, and the fact that he even manipulated the Sea King to show Carcarot Gorgoneon that he was far more abnormal than it expected.

Though the Sea King never acted it, Sebastian guessed that the Sea King was heavily affected by the fact that such a weaker predator outwitted it.

This was when Sebastian's blending in of his special advantage became relevant. All the talk of a special advantage and the tangible evidence before the Sea King succeeded in painting the most mysterious effect for his system.

Not only his system, most especially the entity that resided in his head.

This was why, when the Sage finally emerged, the effect was so substantial.

In normal circumstances, the effects would have never been so substantial, but the mere mention of the term 'sage' sang a different tune to the Sea King.

Sebastian didn't know, but Carcarot seemed to have heard of a Sage once. The Sea King associating the Sage with the now repetitive mention of the Myth Realm again left Sebastian thinking.

Pairing all these advantages with the dominating and oppressive will that the Sage exuded, the Sea King gave up resisting.

This was why when the Sage finally attacked, the Sea King died so smoothly.

Sebastian didn't survive due to the Sage's present absolute strength, he survived due to the Sage's meticulous and wise arrangements, perfect guidance on how to execute them, and the Sage's final performance.

The Sea King stood no chance!

Now, the Doppelganger and Invisibility Sea King was dead and its most important treasures were left for Sebastian to take.

He was the only one in this cave, Sebastian felt surreal and shocked. The fact that a predator at the absolute peak of this world died so easily and helplessly left him questioning life.

From the beginning to the end, he was simply a bystander, he never put in a hand of help, the Sage 54 that resided in his head took care of it all.

For the first time since his transmigration, Sebastian finally knew how powerful the existence that was residing in his head was.

He finally knew how much of an advantage he had over other predators with his system, it was the most terrifying cheat ever!

Also, his outlook on the random term 'Myth Realm' changed. 

Sebastian vowed to actively look for clues, and if he could not, he vowed to at least look for knowledge about this strange realm that the Sage's main body probably resided in after the affairs of this inheritance were over.

Perhaps, this would answer a lot of his unanswered questions.

All these were for another time though, at this moment, the priority to Sebastian was to benefit as much as possible.

Like a dream, he fulfilled his goal, emerging as the ultimate inheritor, now he got to enjoy all the major benefits that this brought.

In this cave, Sebastian only needed a major sweep of his sound detector to get what he wanted, all the benefits stored in this hall.

22 Mana Cores, 5 Endurance Cores, 5 Strength Cores, 2 Longevity Cores, and 2 Luck Cores. This was a massive gain that Sebastian never anticipated, expecting it before now almost seemed like blasphemy to him!

Rationalizing this, he easily deduced that these were the resources that the Sea King originally prepared to make his new mortal vessel as powerful as possible and to grant it the best potential.

Now, all these were Sebastian's with no additional clause of losing his soul so that the Sea King could take over his body.

Of course, after the powerful attack, the Sage indicated that its fragment was further weakened which meant less help to Sebastian in the future but Sebastian was completely satisfied with this bargain.

After settling down, he did not waste time, he directly started consuming the cores that he managed to grab.

This was when Sebastian met a roadblock.

[Warning! An orange tier predator's limit is absorbing 10 cores of a specific type, absorbing more cores is filled with risks.]

Sebastian didn't ask why this was so, he already lived here long enough to know the eccentricities of this magic world.

He absorbed all the strength, endurance, luck, and longevity cores, while also absorbing the mana cores that he could before he reached his limit.

By this time, Sebastian felt the difference. 

He felt full! He felt full of energy, power, and vitality! Sebastian could even tangibly fill his filled-up physical and magic qi! He felt at his strongest!

He knew it, this was the right time to start his evolution.

Sebastian grinned. "System, give it to me!"

[Proceed with breakthrough attempt: Yes/No?]

"Yes!"

[Breakthrough mechanisms have been put in place. Stabilizing host…, host has been stabilized.]

[Mental check: Pass.]

[Physical check: Pass.]

[All parameters for evolution are complete, host's consciousness will now be drawn into the illusion realm.]

Sebastian could already be considered a veteran in the evolution phenomenon though this was an evolution to a different realm entirely.

He reacted mildly as the bright light flared before dying down shortly after.

He was gone, his evolution had already begun!