Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Adam sat cross-legged in the center of the chamber, his eyes closed and breathing steady.

The runes on the floor lit up in a blinding light as the advancement began. The essence of the five hearts was gradually absorbed by the formation and used as fuel for the advancement.

He began circulating the mana inside his body through the method described in the Astral Tyrant Manual.

The first stage was the nourishment of the flesh. A vast amount of mana surged through Adam’s body, seeping into every inch of his flesh and beginning the process of transforming it. His muscles trembled violently as the mana entered them, tearing apart old tissues and rebuilding them into something stronger.

Adam’s eyelids trembled. The pain was immediate, but bearable. It felt as though countless needles were being driven into every muscle in his body simultaneously. His flesh burned, twisted, and contracted as his mana slowly permeated through it.

Yet he remained motionless. Everything was under control.

The mana gradually moved deeper. Into his muscles. Then his bones. And the moment it reached his skeleton, Adam’s entire body violently shuddered.

His bones began to crack beneath the pressure. The pain intensified to an entirely different level. It felt as though his entire skeleton was being shattered from within. Every bone in his body was being broken apart and reconstructed at the same time.

Adam’s forehead was covered in cold sweat. He gritted his teeth fiercely. He wanted to scream, but he didn’t. He simply endured. As he always had.

The mana continued to nourish his body, strengthening his bones and making them denser and more resilient.

Then came the internal organs. His heart, his lungs, his liver, his kidneys, and every other organ were slowly nourished by his pure, tyrannical mana. The pain became almost unbearable.

Adam’s breathing became ragged as his organs underwent the same violent transformation as the rest of his body. His heart pounded like a war drum, like an unstoppable stallion.

Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

Each beat sent waves of agony throughout his body, but he persevered. He had come too far to stop now. He was going to see this through in one go!

As the advancement continued, the mana slowly began moving toward the final stage—the neural system.

Adam’s expression finally changed. This was the most dangerous part, after all.

The neural system was fundamentally different from flesh, muscles, bones, and organs. It was far more delicate. A single mistake could result in permanent damage.

Or death.

Mana slowly, carefully seeped into his nerves. Adam immediately felt an indescribable sensation. His entire body convulsed. Every nerve seemed to ignite at once.

It was not simply pain. It was as though his entire nervous system had been exposed to lightning!

His finger spasmed, his muscles contracted uncontrollably, his consciousness flickered, and his thoughts became fragmented.

The mana traveled through his nerves, nourishing each individual strand while simultaneously strengthening the connections between them.

Then it reached the synapses. Adam could not hold it anymore and let out a guttural, blood-curdling scream. A tremendous wave of pain exploded inside his head. His entire world went white. The sensation was impossible to describe. It was beyond language, beyond comprehension.

Every thought seemed to become pain. Every sensation became pain. Pain. Pain. Pain.

Every nerve ending in his body screamed simultaneously. Adam nearly lost consciousness. But he clenched his jaw hard and persevered.

If he lost control now, even for a moment, the mana could damage his neural system beyond repair. A tiny mistake was enough. One wrong movement. One miscalculation. That was all it would take to end him.

Adam desperately maintained his focus. His mind became the only thing he could control. Everything else was chaos.

At the same time, his body was undergoing a wild transformation.

Valerian gaped in horror as he saw tiny tendrils writhe beneath Adam’s skin as the mana moved through his nervous system, causing strange ripples across his flesh. His veins bulged, muscles spasmed, and fingers twitched uncontrollably. His entire body looked as though something was moving beneath his skin!

”What… what is going on?” Valerian felt indescribable horror grip his heart.

Adam continued to endure. Minute after minute. Hour after hour. Day after day. He remained seated. He refused to give in. Eventually, the pain began to subside after an unknown period of time.

The mana slowly completed its journey through his neural system. His nerves had been nourished. His synapses had been strengthened. His entire body had been transformed inside out.

Adam remained motionless for several minutes as he steadied his state of mind. Now only one final step remained.

The Oath.

He followed the instructions in the Astral Tyrant Manual and symbolically took the Oath of Vitality.

The moment he did, something within his body shattered.

CRACK!

It was not a physical restraint, no. It was something deeper.

A restraint placed upon his body’s natural potential.

The first restraint had been released!

The natural stamina and recovery of his body were no longer suppressed. A powerful sensation suddenly surged through Adam. His heart began beating faster. His blood circulated through his body at an incredible rate. His muscles felt lighter. His breathing became deeper.

The exhaustion that had weighed upon him throughout the advancement rapidly disappeared. His endurance increased. His stamina increased. His resistance to fatigue increased. Even his body’s recovery speed improved drastically.

Adam slowly opened his eyes. He clenched his fist as he felt strength surging through his fingers. He couldn’t help but smile.

He had finally become a Templar Paladin!

But soon, his smile vanished.

Something else had happened…

Something in his blood.

The blood circulating through his veins suddenly began to change!

Adam froze.

His blood wasn’t normal. There was something hidden within his blood. Something ancient. Something mysterious.

The blood of that creature from the Beyond!

When Adam had transplanted the creature’s blood, it had been incredibly diluted. So diluted that it had almost become indistinguishable from his own blood.

But now, because of the Oath of Vitality, his blood circulation had improved to an extraordinary degree.

The diluted bloodline of the abomination from the Beyond had begun to react!