A standard window popped up before her eyes:
[Do you wish to spend 100 skill points to unlock the skill: Succubus Devour?]
The moment Lilith confirmed her choice, she felt her resource of points melt away rapidly.
"Alright, done. Now what...?"
She didn't have time to finish her question before the interface in front of her began to go wild. System windows overlapped each other, flashing an aggressive purple.
[Initiating parameter override procedure.]
[Extracting "Absorption" specificity from [Succubus Devour].]
[Extracting "Storage and Processing" specificity from the unique organ [Desire Core].]
[Beginning cross-assimilation of attributes. Reconstruction of skill logic structure in progress...]
A complex pie chart appeared before Lilith, with hundreds of rows of code scrolling at breakneck speed. She didn't understand a single word of it, watching with a mixture of admiration and terror as Minerva insolently "rebuilt" her own body.
[ASSIMILATION SUCCESSFUL!]
[Skill: Succubus Devour has evolved into: PROGENITOR PREDATOR OF THE ABYSS - VOID PREDATOR!]
[Organ: Desire Core has evolved into: BLACK HOLE OF DESIRE - SINGULARITY CORE!]
In that same second, Lilith doubled over, clutching her chest.
"Aaaagh!" she hissed through grit teeth.
She felt a tearing pain in the spot where her Desire Core pulsed. The small, neon-pink orb, which until now had been a solid crystal of magic, suddenly began to melt.
Lilith saw through her soul's eyes as the pink essence became thin, almost liquid, and its color shifted into an unnatural, blue-black hue. The crystalline structure vanished, and in its place appeared a swirling, dark liquid that spun around its own axis with terrifying speed, like a miniature black hole hidden in her breast.
The pain lasted several minutes, squeezing cold sweat from Lilith. When it finally subsided, the Monarch leaned against the altar wall, breathing heavily.
[Singularity Core: Stabilized.]
[New Functionality: Ability to infinitely store matter and energy without volume limits. Capability for automatic conversion of absorbed energy into pure Mana.]
Lilith stared at the notifications with complete lack of understanding.
"Minerva... what did you just do to me?" she rasped, feeling something swirling inside her that seemed to have no bottom. "Because this... this doesn't look like a succubus skill anymore..."
Lilith still felt a strange tingling in her chest where her new core now whirled. Minerva did not delay with explanations, sounding now like a stern lecturer who had just performed a successful operation on open code.
[I utilized the structure of Succubus Devour as the engine and the Desire Core as the database. The result is infinitely more perfect than what your race's system offered. I recommend reviewing the description of VOID PREDATOR.]
Lilith swallowed hard. The name "Void Predator" alone sounded much more menacing than anything associated with succubi. She focused her gaze on the new icon, which pulsed with dark blue light.
[Unique Skill: VOID PREDATOR]
Description: Allows for the immediate pulling of an object into the SINGULARITY CORE. Absorbed objects are analyzed. You can acquire the unique abilities of absorbed matter or beings. After completing a full structural analysis, the user can perfectly mimic the appearance or properties of the object. Harmful substances, poisons, or curses are isolated within the Singularity Core, preventing damage to the user's organism.
"Impressive..." Lilith muttered, feeling a shiver run down her spine. "Should a succubus even have something this powerful? It sounds like you've turned me into a walking vacuum cleaner for reality."
She smiled broadly, however. Since she already had this power, it would be a sin not to test it. She pulled a Life Herb from her inventory and placed it on the cold floor of the altar room. She extended her hand, and her eyes flared.
"VOID PREDATOR!" she called out with almost childish excitement.
From within her palm, a small, swirling black hole bloomed. Dark energy, resembling a smoking liquid, shot toward the herb. The Life Herb didn't even have time to twitch before it was simply "sucked" into a space that seemed to have no end.
After a moment, not even a trace of the herb remained, and the black hole in Lilith's hand vanished.
"I guess it works..." she whispered. "Minerva, could you analyze what I just sucked in as a test?"
A spinning neon circle symbol appeared before Lilith's eyes. Three seconds later, the interface spat out a report:
[Analysis Complete: Life Herb.]
Description: A valuable herb growing exclusively in places with a high concentration of Pantheon Ethereal Macromolecules.
Application: Main ingredient in high-grade regenerating elixirs and healing salves.
Lilith furrowed her brow, trying to read the complicated name. "Ethereal... Pantheon Macromolecules? What is this gibberish?"
[It is a special energy material found in every...]
"STOP! STOP! STOP!" Lilith waved her hands frantically, as if shooing a fly. "Explain it to me so I can actually understand. Keep it simple, Minerva!"
A short moment of silence followed. Lilith could have sworn Minerva was taking a deep breath, wondering how to explain the foundations of the universe to someone who prefers swinging claws to reading books.
[In simplified terms: They are the particles that make up every magical life in this world.]
"Particles that create life?" Lilith nodded, understanding flashing in her eyes. "I see. In that case, our Fields of Spirit Cultivation must be mass-producing these particles if herbs grow on them at such a rate, right?"
Lilith suddenly grew serious, her gaze drifting toward the altar. She remembered Morana, who could conjure potions from these herbs.
"Ech..." she sighed heavily. "It's a pity I don't have anyone on hand who can make potions. I just have a pile of raw materials I don't know how to process."
[Creating potions and healing salves is possible within your current energy structure.]
Lilith went completely dumb for a moment. She stood with her mouth open, blinking.
"Wait... what? Are you telling me that since I can analyze plants and store them in this whole Singularity Core, I also have the ability to create and store finished elixirs inside it? Without a laboratory? Without a cauldron?"
Lilith could have sworn she heard the sound of little bells in her head, exactly like those heard on game shows after giving the correct answer to a million-dollar question.
[Confirmed. The Singularity Core functions as an alchemical reactor. Once the recipe and ingredients are analyzed, the synthesis process occurs automatically in an isolated environment.]
"Dammit... isn't this already way too OP?!" Lilith shouted, her voice echoing off the walls of the altar room. "I am literally becoming a walking factory!"
Without waiting a second longer, Lilith began feverishly pulling out all the supplies of Life Herb she possessed.
"VOID PREDATOR!" she roared at almost every batch of herbs, as the black hole in her hand consumed the plants at an industrial pace.
After a moment, she commanded Minerva to begin processing. With disbelief, she watched as a thick, shimmering, crimson liquid slowly began to "pour out" from the swirling black ball of energy in her hand.
"It actually works! It actually, for goodness' sake, works!"
Lilith began to laugh like a madwoman, spinning around the altar. She was so excited she lost the last of her inhibitions.
"Minerva! I love you! Marry me! You're the best thing that's happened to me in this world!"
[Analysis of proposal: A matrimonial union between the user and an ancient skill is ontologically impossible and illogical. Furthermore, I do not possess a physical form capable of consuming wedding cake, rendering the ceremony useless.]
"Oh, shut up, you spoilsport!" Lilith waved her hand, completely ignoring her assistant's technical babble.
She was too busy absorbing more herbs and watching her "internal factory" produce liquid gold.
"You're brilliant! With you and my new army of goblin farmers, this world doesn't even know what's coming for it!"