Chapter 56

Was it because I had consumed too many elixirs?

Had I grown too intoxicated by my own arrogance?

Even the blessed body of a Winterbell couldn’t endure the core of the manticore.

No, more precisely, I should say it couldn’t keep up with the growth I had undergone so far.

Basilie’s Elixir.

The thousand-year snow ginseng.

The contract with Attica.

The manticore’s core.

The tattoo to master the Heavenly Flame Grand Divine Art.

And countless other herbs and elixirs besides.

Looking back, I had grown far too much in far too short a time.

Even with an exceptional body, I knew that the process I had gone through was beyond reason.

Still, it hadn’t seemed like it would cause any real problems, so I kept pushing through...

But they say greed brings disaster.

In the end, this is what it led to.

The blood throughout my body boiled like lava.

“Gaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!”

“Young master! Young master! Please, get a hold of yourself! Can you hear me? Young master!”

“Grrruaaaaargh!!”

When I couldn't respond properly, Cecil cried out in panic.

“Ran! What the hell is happening?!”

Seeing my flesh peel off, she seemed to grasp what was happening to me.

“Don’t tell me… it’s a side effect?”

Fwoooosh!

This time, flames burst out across my entire body.

Not figurative flames — literal ones.

The mana burning inside me flared up so violently, it manifested outward.

“Ggghaaaaahhh!!!”

My flesh peeled away.

My skin came off.

Cecil enveloped her whole body in aura and embraced me.

With her one remaining arm, she wrapped it around my shoulder.

Then, in a calm yet firm voice, she murmured,

“Young master.”

“……”

“Van Descartes.”

“……”

“This… isn’t like you.

The person I know, the one with the greatest potential I’ve ever seen, is now falling apart just because he can’t absorb the power of a single elixir?

You’ve been mentally overwhelmed lately, and it’s made it harder to control things…

But even now, you can pull yourself together. Focus.”

She pressed her forehead to mine.

“This is your power.”

“……”

“A power you can control.”

“……”

“So get it together. Now.”

Those words snapped me out of it.

Until now, I had only been thinking about the side effects — not once had I tried to control the mana coursing through my veins.

Was I… giving up?

I don’t know.

Maybe I’d just been too mentally exhausted.

When I should have been fighting with everything I had to take control, I had already grown too weary without even realizing it.

That’s probably why I let things get to this point, letting it all go.

This was the path I chose to get stronger quickly — to grow powerful in a short time…

And yet, here I was, thinking like this.

Pathetic.

No better than a cripple.

“Thanks, Cecil.”

Now, at last, I was regaining my senses.

The pain was still agonizing, but I was going to control this power — no matter what.

I closed my eyes and focused.

On the energy within my body.

This was mine.

It belonged to me.

It was my power.

No matter how violently you rage and struggle, in the end — you will become mine.

As I slowly circulated the mana, the pain began to subside.

Not missing the opportunity, I condensed all the energy I had absorbed through the core into my heart.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

I could hear the pounding of my heart echoing in my ears.

‘I can do this.’

The power I had gathered in my heart began to spread out again.

It seeped into my blood vessels, meridians, bones, and muscles, gradually becoming one with me — yet the sheer volume was so overwhelming that it burst out through my skin.

In the process, my flesh continued to peel away.

I strained with everything I had to hold onto more of this power.

As a result, the structure of my entire skeleton began to change.

It was the beginning of a complete metamorphosis!

With the mindset of being reborn, I knew I had to act even more carefully from this point on.

If I could just endure this process, I was certain I’d grow stronger at a speed incomparable to my previous life.

“Gghhhk!”

“You must endure it. Please, hold on. I’ll stay by your side until the very end.”

Even amidst the chaos, her voice rang clearly in my ears.

And just that one sentence — gave me immense strength.

My entire skeleton twisted, and even my internal organs began to tear apart.

Metamorphosis was, in the truest sense, a process in which the entire body transformed into something entirely new — and with that came immense risk.

There had been many cases where people died during this stage if they were unlucky.

And right now, I was in one of those very unlucky situations.

Because of the twisted structure of my body, my organs were taking damage.

“GAAAAAAAARGH!!!”

Unable to withstand the pain, I let out a scream filled with agony.

But the scream wasn’t what mattered — what mattered was surviving this.

If things continued like this, I might die before I could even complete the metamorphosis.

So the idea I came up with was…

To recreate parts of my torn organs using Makina.

With no innate regenerative ability, this was the only solution available to me right now.

First, I poured recovery potion down my throat.

I gulped down a high-grade healing potion in big swigs.

Just that alone made me feel somewhat better.

‘Focus! Focus!’

I knew full well that the aftereffects of using Makina would bring a massive headache —

but that didn’t mean I could afford to die here.

It felt as if I was reassembling my own body.

If I could just endure this process, I could set foot on a new path.

Believing that, I kept enduring, and enduring, and enduring again.

“……”

I no longer had the strength to speak.

How much time had passed?

An hour? Two?

I didn’t know.

The sun might have even set by now.

“Huu…”

One thing was certain — I felt more refreshed than ever before.

My entire body had expelled its waste, and the floor was soaked with it.

Seeing that gave me a strange sense of relief.

But then, an overpowering stench hit my nose.

“This smell… is coming from my body?”

It was a horrendous stench.

I slowly clenched and unclenched my fist.

Then I moved different parts of my body.

The sensations were on a completely different level than before.

My mana had stabilized throughout my body, and my strength had increased tremendously.

‘It worked! Perfectly!’

There was no trace left of the disability I once had.

From this moment on, I had been completely reborn.

Now, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I possessed the most exceptional body among even the blessed Winterbell bloodline.

“Young master…”

Cecil called out to me, her face flushed.

“Hm?”

“She should at least get dressed first.”

She handed me some clothes.

Come to think of it, I was completely naked — not a single thread on me.

It wasn’t something to be particularly embarrassed about anymore, but Cecil seemed extremely flustered.

“Why is Cecil more embarrassed than I am? Didn’t you see me naked all the time back when we traveled together?”

Of course, that was only from the waist up.

“I was always just as embarrassed back then too, young master. You were simply unaware of it.”

“Was I?”

“Yes. So please, just put your clothes on.”

After putting on the clothes Cecil handed me, I slowly spread mana throughout my body.

‘It’s different! The way I absorb mana is completely different! Did even my blood vessels improve?’

My output had changed.

Just like how a weapon’s power depends on the blacksmith who forged it, a body worked the same way.

No matter how vast or pure the mana, if the body couldn’t handle it, it was meaningless.

But now, my body wasn’t just tougher or stronger — it had reached a state where it could channel mana with maximum efficiency.

This was an opportunity more valuable than a fortune.

A crisis turned into a chance.

It was a textbook case of turning misfortune into a blessing.

“I'm overflowing with strength.”

“Congratulations, young master.”

“Thanks, Cecil. I’m heading to the training ground.”

“Yes!”

“Oh.”

Before I left, I tried to clean up the waste produced from the metamorphosis, but Cecil insisted on doing it herself and stopped me.

Ever since I found out she was Ryeong, I couldn't help but be conscious of it — even if I tried not to be.

It was unavoidable.

I headed straight for the training grounds.

“Huu.”

I stepped forward, applying just a bit of strength.

“!”

A distinct footprint was left on the ground.

It was mine.

I hadn’t even used mana — it was done with pure physical strength alone.

“This is actually possible? At this level… my raw strength alone is probably close to Ivaki’s.”

In our party, Ivaki was unmatched when it came to raw physical power.

Next was Hero Malero Saladin, then me and Ryeong — if I remembered correctly.

I threw a punch into the air, and the sound of the air being torn rang out sharply.

“……”

Something clicked.

That elusive, tingling sensation — like something just barely within reach.

Was it because my body had evolved?

I felt a powerful sense that I could now break through the wall to the next realm.

I couldn’t let this chance slip away.

I drew Behemoth.

Unlike before, the edge of Behemoth now emitted a sharp, fierce aura. I channeled mana into it.

Chwarurururuk!

The blade extended, bathed in a blue aura.

[Not bad. Your mana is incomparably purer than before. Don’t forget this feeling.]

‘I don’t need you to tell me that.’

I imagined an enemy.

Someone I could never defeat.

The Patriarch — Arkan Winterbell.

I visualized him standing before me.

“……”

The moment I raised my sword—

Shrrk!

My neck was sliced.

It was just an illusion, and yet I hadn’t even managed to swing my sword before my throat was cut and I died.

I raised my hand and rubbed the back of my neck.

Even though it was a vision I created, it felt as if my real throat had been cut.

“…Still intact.”

A chill ran down my spine.

It was hard to comprehend — how the illusionary figure I had conjured could be this powerful.

Once again, I was struck by just how monstrous Arkan Winterbell truly was.

If he had crossed swords with Malero Saladin back in his Hero days… who would’ve won?

I couldn’t imagine Arkan losing.

But at the same time, I couldn’t quite picture Saladin being defeated either.

‘And both of them are Deus, too…’

Then again, does it really matter?

Right now, I can’t even graze a hair on either of them.

I composed myself and focused once more, then swung my sword.

This time, the opponent I imagined was the red-haired man I had encountered in the village of the Harlan Clan.

Back then, the gap between us had been obvious.

But unlike Arkan, he wasn’t so overwhelming that I lost without even making a single move.

I unleashed the Winterbell swordsmanship freely toward the imagined opponent.

The blade, dyed in blue aura, painted beautiful arcs as it scattered through the air.

Chaaaak!

I pushed my body to the limit.

Relentlessly swinging my sword.

Breaking up my breathing into smaller bits to move even faster.

More precise.

I lost myself completely in the flow — blindly immersed in the act of swinging my sword.

Before I knew it, my whole body was soaked in sweat.

“Haa… haa…”

And yet, my mind was sharper and clearer than ever.

I had reached 8-star level.