Chapter 168 - Reaching Staten Island
Angela had an elemental affinity that was greatly higher than her cultivation level could handle, but since her talent matched it, her body was balanced and regulated the power until she was strong enough to fully use it.
However, for Adam, he couldn't upgrade his Dungeon Form, which represented his talent, past the floor of the dungeon he was on and so wouldn't be able to gain an elemental affinity past the floor of the dungeon he was on.
[It seems that once again the only solution is to hunt in the dungeon] thought Adam to himself as he sat on the sofa-like chair in the back of the van with his legs crossed and his eyes closed.
Angela could only use the elemental affinity according to her current cultivation level and wouldn't be able to use its full power without suffering backlash, but she could still do so in a life or death situation.
The higher one's elemental affinity, the more energy of the element they can wield and absorb at once, meaning they could unleash more power using it.
Although one needed to be an Internal Cultivator to use their elemental affinity and most other things to do with cultivation, it could also be used to temper the individual's body externally.
For example, the reason why Wayde was so feared was because he had an explosively powerful body that was stronger than most at the same External Cultivation Level as he had used his Fire Elemental Affinity to enhance his physical body, while all his Internal Energy was also of the Fire Element.
Adam used the Ethereal Recovery Skill to relax his mind and his body for an hour, then opened his eyes to see that Angela was also cultivating.
Adam hadn't expended much energy against the triad members and didn't even use any of his skills or the Unique Collector Skill, so still had the potential to defeat even stronger opponents.
To Angela, Adam's Ethereal Recovery Skill seemed to be some sort of cultivation method where he absorbed attributeless energy and circulated it around his body, and she wasn't perceptive or skilled enough to see that it was merely a recovery technique.
But Adam assumed that would be the case and used it to make her think that he was cultivating like he said he would, and after an hour, thought that it was enough to prove that he cultivated normally and that he was actually cultivating.
There was an unusual aura around Angela as she cultivated, but Adam assumed that it was her using her elemental affinity to cultivate and absorb water elemental energy that was omnipresent in the air.
It rains quite a lot in New York depending on the time of year, but there were still more suitable places for Angela to cultivate and Adam couldn't help but wonder whether she could breathe underwater and what else her water elemental affinity was capable of.
"Stop staring at me while I am cultivating, it's making it hard to focus," said Angela as she opened her eyes.
"Sorry, I was just amazed by your elemental affinity" apologised Adam, feeding her ego.
"You cultivated for exactly an hour, was that enough for you to prepare your body and mind just like you said you would?" asked Angela, who was beginning to realise how Adam was and acted.
She tried to no longer be offended or affected by what Adam said, and was more interested in finding out more about him, despite him appearing very plain.
"Yes, it was. Why was it not enough for you?" teased Adam.
She was trying to find out more about him, but Adam always took control of their conversations. Even when Angela thought she was dominating him and was in control, Adam was merely making her think that while he gathered more information from her.
"So, what was that method that you were cultivating?" asked Adam shamelessly.
Most wouldn't reveal anything about their cultivation method, skills and techniques, to their family members let alone an outsider, but Adam still asked, not having anything to lose by asking.
"That is something that is confidential, but why don't you tell me what method you are cultivating" replied Angela, bounincg his question back to him.
Adam could see that she was clearly becoming less naive and beginning to watch what she said, but that was something that everyone had and Angela was merely behind previously because of her sheltered upbringing.
"An ordinary method that I stole from some small gang. It is quite low quality and inefficient, but it is better than nothing" answered Adam.
She was surprised by his answer, but if he was able to take down 7 opponents that had a higher cultivation level, Angela knew that what he said was very unlikely to be true.
But at the same time, it was unlikely that he had a high-quality method and if he was skilled enough, he should have still been able to take them out without having superior methods and skills.
Adam and Angela were looking into each other's eyes trying to gauge more about each other, but Angela wasn't able to read anything from his dull red eyes. Adam was amused by Angela trying to read his eyes, while Angela was trying her hardest to find out anything.
"Can you breathe underwater?" asked Adam.
If that was something that the Water Elemental Affinity allowed her to do, Adam would definitely consider it as one of the first elemental affinities that he would buy, especially since he might have to hunt in a marshland or marine environment in the future.
"No, but I can form an air bubble around my head by controlling the water around my head" answered Angela, who didn't think that it was a secret.
Adam continued asking her questions about her elemental affinity, while she tried to do the same, but Adam would always deflect her questions.
"We will be reaching Staten Island soon" notified them Wayde.