Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 1984 Genius or Madness

To advance, Adam needed something new.

It had to be something smaller, something purer. Something that represented not what he possessed, but what he could become.

His consciousness enveloped the Core.

And then, he began the final compression.

The entire ethereal sphere suddenly contracted. A tyrannical pressure erupted within his body as the Core collapsed inward. The immense existence that had accompanied him for almost a century began shrinking at a rate far beyond anything he had attempted before.

Adamʼs breathing remained steady. He didnʼt know how much time had passed outside, as all of his attention was focused on the transformation taking place within him.

The Core continued to collapse. It became smaller, denser, more concentrated. The mana within it screamed as it was compressed beyond its previous limits.

Then, just when it seemed that the Core could no longer withstand the pressure… a tiny crack appeared across its surface.

Adamʼs eyes twitched, and he could feel his heart almost leap to his throat. But he stayed calm.

The crack spread. Another appeared. And then another. Soon, countless cracks covered the surface of the ethereal Core, resembling a fragile shell that was about to shatter.

The Core was breaking!

Yet Adam did not panic. This was exactly what was supposed to happen. He had scoured through enough memories countless times to know that his progress was smooth, and the potential was exceptional even when compared to the owners of those memories.

He calmly circulated the Five Elemental Codex. The Core had reached the end of its existence. It was time for it to transform.

The cracks widened, and the enormous quantity of mana contained within the Core began collapsing toward its center. Everything was being drawn inward, compressed to a single point.

The Core became smaller. Then smaller still. Until eventually, even its original shape started to disappear. Until that, too, disappeared.

For a brief moment, there was nothing.

Then a tiny light appeared in the darkness.

A tiny, ethereal object floated within his body.

The Mana Seed.

It was impossibly small compared to the enormous ethereal Core that had preceded it. Yet Adam could feel the profound power contained within the tiny existence. The moment it appeared, he knew that he had succeeded.

He had reached the Mana Seed Rank.

But Adam did not stop…

He had not spent so many years consolidating his foundation at the Mana Core Rank merely to stop at the point where others would have considered their journey complete.

He had thoroughly researched the topic of advancement to the Mana Seed Rank in all the memories he had devoured. He had connected the similarities in all the cases, avoided the pitfalls he had witnessed, and a new understanding had dawned on him.

Adam didnʼt know if anyone else in history had ever attempted what he was going to do now, but he was certain that it was doable. His confidence stemmed from studying the trials and errors of the experts whose memories he had devoured.

A beautiful and profound thought emerged in his mind:

An infinite universe must begin with something infinitesimal.

And so, he struck the anvil while it was hot.

The moment the Mana Seed formed and while the energy around it was raw, Adam began to compress it even further!

His consciousness enveloped the tiny Seed, and the surrounding mana began to tremble.

At first, the change was almost imperceptible. The Seed shrank only by the slightest amount, but Adam continued nevertheless.

Cloaked in ambition, he poured his will into it and relentlessly compressed the Seed, forcing its already astonishing density to increase further.

It was as though gravity had suddenly collapsed inward upon itself. An invisible force began pressing toward the Seed from every direction, crushing it without mercy.

The Seed resisted!

But Adam pushed harder!

The tiny existence became even smaller. His entire body remained perfectly still in his meditative position, but deep within him, an unimaginable transformation was taking place.

This was no longer about forming the Seed, which was the threshold required to enter the Mana Seed Rank. What Adam was doing now was something else entirely.

He was attempting to shrink the Seed itself!

Even among the geniuses of the Greater Universe, there were very few who would dare attempt such a thing immediately after forming their Seed. The foundation required to withstand such compression was simply too demanding.

Adam did not know whether anyone else had ever attempted what he was doing. Perhaps there were those who had walked this path before him. Perhaps there were those who had thought of compressing their Seed to such an extreme. But he had no way of knowing.

And perhaps, even if they had thought of it, they would not have considered it genius. They might have considered it madness.

After all, a Seed was already the condensed essence of a Magusʼ Core. To compress it further was to force the very foundation of oneʼs magical attainment to endure another transformation. One wrong step could potentially damage the very foundation that would determine a Magusʼ future.

But Adamʼs path had not been born from a moment of inspiration. No. Far from it. It was the culmination of decades of research and understanding.

Throughout his lifetime, Adam had absorbed the memories and knowledge of countless experts. Their experiences, their insights, their failures, and their understanding of magic had all become part of the knowledge that he carried within his mind.

After the Great World War in Tron, he had spent decades studying those memories, piecing together fragments of knowledge and forming his own understanding of the path ahead.

This was a path Adam had built himself. Whether it was genius or madness, he did not know. If he died in the process, then he would be a madman who bit off more than he could chew. If he survived and stabilized at the next rank, then he would be a genius rarely seen.

But he did know one thing…

He had no intention of settling for what others considered the limit.

His path would be one that knew no limits!