Mummy Evolution

Sett's consciousness connected with his own Axiom and the land surrounding him. The sensation was weird—a state of deep meditation. It was calm. Deep. Strong. And in that state of mind, he noticed his own aura.

A person's aura was a congregation of their own life experiences, psychology, mental condition, reputation, and one's hard power. Sett's own aura felt royal, vibrant, and in a way—detached from the world around himself.

He smiled in thought.

It was himself. He liked himself.

He remembered a past memory.

…

It happened in their study.

"Son, do you hate me?" Neilara, Sett's mother, asked one day.

Sett, 15 years old now, was startled. His young face taking on a proud indignation, still holding a novel written by Zainah in his hand.

"Mom, why would you ask something like that?"

"Am I burdening you too much?"

"Yeah, that you are. But you do that for my own good. The question is far too stupid. How can I hate you?"

He looked at Zainah's book again. She was quite the good writer.

Neilara sighed. "But I feel you are closer to my mother, your grandmother, than you are to me."

"..." He frowned. "I am a bit too close to grandma. But that doesn't make me not-close to you. Look, I see you more often than I see grands. I haven't seen her in a year now—she is such a wind."

"Hmm… anyway, how much of Ehyut have you refined?"

"30,000 kilometers so far. I am far too slow, I can barely refine a kilometer per hour."

"When refining, if you think of something you really like about the place you are refining, it becomes much faster. Try it that way from now on."

"Mom, what is your Refinement Speed?"

"Same as yours. 1 hour normally, but with the trick I just said, I can refine 1 kilometer per half an hour."

A long silence stretched between them.

Sett read the book.

Then, Sett slowly climbed my bed. His stunning golden eyes as clever as usual as he nibbled on my lips. Sometimes I wondered why this cheeky bastard was so arrogantly good looking when he kissed me, but this time, all I could think of was one thing—his thick, strong, long… aura.

Sett clicked his tongue. Aura? And here I thought it was getting good.

"Mother, sometimes I wonder what my strengths are," he said with a sigh. "Maybe I am not suited for rulership."

She sighed. "This again?"

"It bugs at me too often. What makes me special, mom? I am nothing. Take away my powers, and I am the same as anyone else."

"Don't be so humble. Even if I take away all your powers, do you think an average commoner can survive more time in a Tomb than you?"

"...of course no."

She put down her own book and raised her leg, placing it on Sett's lap. He himself put down the book and began massaging her legs.

Neilara continued. "Do you know what makes you special among every person I've met?"

"Well, no one else has my Axiom."

"No, I mean personality. Your psychological trait."

"My charm?"

"You are barely charming."

"No way, old woman. All the beauties in the capital want me."

"For your money."

He added: "And my looks. And my smarts. And my status. But so what? That's part of my charm."

"Anyway," Neilara said. "There is one trait you have that puts you apart from anyone else. I think that trait is your strongest power. It is the one thing that can help you surpass me, your grandmother, or anyone else."

"Oh, what trait is it?"

"I will not tell you."

Sett squeezed his mother's legs. "What is this tomfoolery, this is cheating."

She smiled, eyes still closed. "One day, when you are at some sort of important moment of your life, you will realize it. And at that moment, it will be much clearer than if I just said it now."

He nodded with a sigh and continued massaging.

…

Sett smiled. I never learned what she was talking about. But well, her teachings made my refinement skills much better.

He focused on what he liked most about the lands of Kemet.

It was none other than the fact that it was a land of opportunity. A place filled with hidden treasures.

He focused on his own aura and then channeled it mentally towards the land below him. This was a complicated process to learn, but for someone as experienced as Sett, this was nothing hard.

He took one wisp of aura, embedded it into one piece of land. Then, kept doing it.

In the span of mere 30 minutes, he refined a whole kilometer of land. It was a desert full of giant dunes.

Sett stood in the very middle of it, then breathed in.

Absorb!!!

Light and shadows warped into him as another kilometer vanished into his Inner Tomb.

Sett's bones tightened. Flesh gained another layer of strength.

59 Metric Tons.

The sheer power in his body would have been hard to control for anyone, but for Sett, this was just normal. At a point in time, his body used to be much—much stronger than it was now.

He continued refining.

Another kilometer of land was refined, inch by inch, in mere 30 minutes.

60 Metric Tons.

Right then, the Monkey returned. "I've conquered all the D-tier Tombs, you just have to go in there and do your thing now."

It was a strong creature on its own, not to mention that it had a great army. Conquering a few D-tier Tombs was just a walk in the park.

Sett smiled. "Monkey, now that you are done here. Go to the C-tier Tombs and help my new guy out a bit."

"New guy?"

"He has some potential. Go check him out."

The monkey nodded after some thought. It had also just removed its trauma of entering Tombs. Now, those things didn't seem so frightening anymore. It also found working under Sett quite enjoyable—life was easy with a leader leading you.

If the leader was capable as well?

Life was luxurious.

Sett cracked his knuckles. He just had to absorb the Tombs now.

"Faceless, let's move."

A dimensional gate was torn open for him to walk through. Sett walked in with his hands in his pockets.