The small, cramped dorm room felt like a furnace. I had barred the door and drawn the heavy curtains. On the floor, a bowl of cold water and a wooden stick to bite down on were my only companions.
[Notice: You have purchased 'Celestial Marrow Cleansing' (Rank: Epic).]
[Warning: This process involves the manual restructuring of your mana circuits. The pain will be 'Extreme'. Do you wish to proceed?]
"Do it," I whispered, gripping the wooden stick between my teeth.
In my past life, I had reached the peak of swordsmanship with "average" talent. I had fought through every bottleneck with sheer blood and sweat. But against monsters like Marcus, who were born with Divine-Grade mana veins, "average" wasn't enough.
CRACK.
It started in my toes. It felt as if someone was pouring molten lead into my bones. My vision went white, and the sound of my own heartbeat became a deafening drum in my ears.
[Notice: Cleansing 10%... Impurities being expelled.]
A black, foul-smelling liquid began to seep from my pores. This was the "trash" talent Marcus and the instructors had mocked. It was the years of poor nutrition, stagnant mana, and the curse of a commoner's birth.
I wanted to scream, but the wooden stick took the brunt of my agony. My muscles spasmed, and I felt my ribs shifting, hardening, becoming more like steel than bone.
[Notice: 50%... Mana Circuits being widened.]
I saw my mana veins through my skin—they were glowing a violent, pulsating blue. They were no longer thin, fragile threads; they were expanding into wide, reinforced highways for energy.
Hours passed. Or maybe it was days. Time had no meaning in the void of pain.
Finally, the heat receded, replaced by a cold, refreshing breeze that seemed to originate from the center of my chest. I slumped against the wall, my breathing ragged, my body covered in a layer of black filth.
I stood up, and for the first time in this life, I didn't feel the "weight" of my body. I felt light. I felt... dangerous.
I threw a simple punch at the air.
WHOOSH.
The friction of the air crackled. I hadn't even used mana, yet the sheer physical force was enough to make the curtains flutter.
[Notice: Cleansing Complete.]
[New Status: 'Perfect Human Foundation'.]
[Mana Capacity: Increased by 400%.]
[Current Karma: 500 KP]
I looked at my hands. They were still thin, but the muscle underneath was dense and coiled like a spring.
"Now," I muttered, looking at the blackened water in the bowl. "I can finally hold a sword without it feeling like a toy."
A soft knock came at the door. I froze. It wasn't the heavy, rhythmic knock of a guard. It was three light, rhythmic taps.
Seraphina.
"Voss?" her voice came through the wood, muffled but urgent. "The Prince is moving faster than we thought. He's called for an unscheduled 'Hunting Expedition' in the Forbidden Forest tomorrow. He wants you there."
I wiped the sweat from my brow, a cold smile forming.
"The Forest," I whispered. "Where people go to disappear."