Sometime later, Ross and Julia eschewed themselves to allow Alex to get the rest he needed.

Now left to himself, Alex thought back to the feeling he had when he was in that blazing form. Honestly, it was an intoxicating feeling.

''But it also comes at a cost. But what I''m interested in the most are the conditions to take that form again.''

While he had a guess as to how he achieved it, he didn''t want to rely on his emotions and stringent conditions like when he felt his life was in danger.

What''s more, there was no guarantee that would always work. What Alex was interested in was how to call it upon command.

''That would be a huge trump card in my arsenal. Let''s just wait for Hunter Zol''s explanation before doing anything else.

"Xex, wake me up in two hours'' time. I want to cultivate a bit to see what happens."

[Of course. You also mentioned earlier you needed to contact Abigail. Do you still want that reminder?]

"Ah... Her too. Thanks for the reminder."

[That''s why I''m here. Rest well.]

........

Hunter Zol took his eyes from Alex''s room shortly after Ross and Julia left him to rest. He was currently sitting in an office space assigned to him. With his presence here, he needed a place to dwell during his stay.

And while he could go and come in a blink, he chose to stay. Right now, his mind was making multiple plans revolving around Alex and how best to protect him.

''With what he showed in the trials, it''s only a matter of time before they start approaching him.''

Power like that would drive men to do whatever it took. Imagine a Class S hunter able to do what Alex did. They would be in an entirely different class.

''But I know for a fact that what he did was entirely due to his void energy; something only Alex had survived. It''s not an ability anyone could have.

Two hours later, Xex did what he was instructed and woke Alex from his slumber. Waking up, Alex attempted to stand on his feet and noticed how he was still having a bit of difficulty.

"Just how much was taken out of me?" He wondered out loud and then moved to the mana podium. It was time to cultivate to see if he could recover his mana despite not being able to cultivate for some time now.

To his surprise, he could absorb mana into his body just fine.

"Haha..." He laughed in joy, missing the feeling that came from bathing in mana. He quickly regained his composure and returned to cultivating.

A few hours later, the sky outside was darkening when Alex finally opened his eyes, and his eyes flashed a dark hue for a few seconds before disappearing.

"My cells are filled to the brim once again and I still can''t channel it."

He noted this recurring issue when he tried to circulate his mana only to feel the void energy. His mana remained as dormant as ever.

After trying a couple of things, he still came short as he could not figure out what the trigger was.

"Hmm..."

His thoughts spun trying to see if he could come up with another plan and thought about going back to the VR world to try it out when he heard the familiar heavy voice of Hunter Zol.

"You''ve recovered your mana. How do you feel now?"

Quickly turning his head, Alex was not as surprised as one would be when they suddenly heard someone''s voice in their room.

''Maybe I was expecting him to make an appearance?''

He mussed and then replied, "Not much different from before, I''m afraid."

He stared at his right hand in thought before lifting his head to meet Hunter Zol''s eyes.

"Mm... Come with me."

With a gesture of his hand, Alex and Zol disappeared from the room, both knowing exactly what they wanted to talk about.