Jace received Catherine's reply quite sooner than he had expected.
In the letter, Catherine congratulated him on successfully digesting the potion and wished him luck in his advancement to Sequence 7.
She also stated that it was alright to meet on Friday night. With that, she ended the letter formally.
Again Catherine's letter was proper and quite reserved, making him unable to believe that it was her writing; he remembered just how bold this woman was in bed.
Thinking about that, his face flushed; he couldn't help but look forward to their next meeting.
Jace felt good; he was recovered and well-rested and his mood was positive as well.
He felt that it was the right time to consume the potion and advance.
Advancing to Sequence 7 was a big step, not only because of the significant boost and multiple abilities but also because advancement to Sequence 7 was significantly more challenging than the previous sequences.
The thought made Jace incredibly nervous, but he wasn't going to stop now.
He laid all the ingredients on the kitchen table and brought out the iron pot.
He started with the supplementary ingredients as that was how it worked.
After that, he brought out the bottle of spinal fluid of a Black Patterned Panther.
The liquid was dark, but there were multiple mesmerizing layers in them that seemed to swirl with a life of their own.
Opening the cap, he poured it into the pot; now only the final ingredient remained.
The Mist Treant root was a brown, heart-shaped, wrinkly thing; he put it in the pot without thinking much.
He stirred it for a minute or two and the potion was ready.
Jace pulled out a glass and kept it on the table, and poured the pot into it.
The potion was a colorful one; there were patterns kind of like fireworks forming and dissipating within the liquid.
He pulled out a coin; muttering seven times, he flipped it.
As a Seer, he had divined whether or not the concoction of the potion was successful; the result of course was positive.
He sat down on the chair, preparing himself for the agony that was to come. Using cogitation, he calmed himself down and got into a state of control.
It was the right time; he picked up the glass and poured it into his mouth completely.
Gulp!
In one single gulp, the potion went down his throat. The potion was ice cold; when Jace drank it, he felt uncomfortable bubbles bursting within him.
His body became hot and tingly, bursting with stimulation. Within, his mind was like fireworks; massive amounts of information burst into his mind.
Vision blurred.
The pressure in his head increased; veins bulged on his head as he gripped the edge of the table.
Then came the ravings: "Hornacis Flegrea, Hornacis Flegrea, Hornacis Flegrea, Hornacis Flegrea..."
They were louder and harder to endure than they were in previous advancements.
After a few moments of this intense mental endurance, Jace finally found his trail of thought. But he didn't think much; instead, he started cogitation to better handle his condition.
By now he was on the floor, writhing in struggle.
Finally, after some time, Jace showed some signs of things getting better; his vision recovered and the whispers in his mind finally started fading, but his mind was still dizzy.
But his body was in a different kind of pain, feeling itchy and painful—some spots more than others.
His palm was one of them.
He brought out his palm to get a look at it; his eyes widened. The palm was all wrinkly and disgusting-looking; he was similarly feeling the pain in many other spots on his body.
Hiking up his shirt, Jace looked at his stomach; it was kind of wrinkly and translucent, allowing him to peer into his own anatomy.
Jace was horrified!
He had almost lost control—no, maybe he was losing control, as the whispers and shouts had not completely faded within his mind.
.'calm! Calm down! '. Jace inwardly screamed.
He recalled that Klein himself had some symptoms like his when he advanced to Sequence 7 Magician.
But Jace's symptoms were more severe than his.
For now, he could only cogitate and keep a strong will. He persevered for over half an hour; every moment of it felt like a lifetime, but Jace wasn't going to give in now; he still had many things to do.
Then it was finally done; the whispers in his mind started to fade. He felt better, but he still kept meditating.
Fifteen minutes later or so, the weird things happening to his body started fading.
And after an hour or two, Jace finally felt that he was fine.
He had survived this madness; he had successfully advanced to a Sequence 7 Magician.