(Arin's Perspective)
The Student Research Building stood as a sanctuary for those thirsting for knowledge. Typically, these halls were populated by young mages in crisp robes, busy chanting incantations or stirring cauldrons of colorful potions.
However, today, inside a private laboratory tucked away in the corner, the scene was starkly different. A student with a physique honed for war stood before a metal table, tinkering with complex chemical apparatus instead of wands.
I poured a suspicious liquid into a glass syringe with steady hands. The substance was dark red, nearly pitch black, resembling blood that had coagulated for days. Its texture was viscous, like engine lubricant that had been ground down by friction.
Most terrifying of all, the concoction seemed to pulse faintly, as if it possessed a heartbeat of its own.
This was my masterpiece: Tissue Elasticity Serum: Version 2.0.
Its base was the purified extract of a Grizzly Heart, mixed with Swamp Slime mucus to prevent my muscles from rigidifying into stone, and a low-dose Nightshade catalyst to suppress pain receptors so I wouldn't die of shock during assimilation.
Although adding stabilizers reduced the serum's potential potency by seventy percent, it was a fair price to pay for survival.
Injecting the raw serum directly into my bloodstream without a dampener would be fatal; my heart would either explode, or I would mutate into some hairy abomination.
I glanced at the whiteboard on the wall, covered in complex calculations.
"Heart failure probability: twelve percent. Permanent paralysis probability: eight percent. Successful evolution probability: eighty percent," I muttered softly.
Good odds.
Thanks to the private laboratory facilities provided by the Academy and an unlimited supply of pure chemicals, the risk of failure had been suppressed to a minimum.
Gishlain Bassil's book, "How to Extract Monster Serum", had been instrumental in determining the exact mixing ratios.
"Damn it, Old Man. I admire you more every day," I whispered to the worn book on the desk.
I sat on the iron chair, rolled up my sleeve, and tied a rubber tourniquet around my upper arm until the veins bulged against the skin. Without hesitation, I drove the large needle straight into my brachial artery.
I depressed the plunger slowly.
THUMP!
It felt like injecting molten lead. The liquid surged in, burning my blood vessels from the inside out.
The syringe slipped from my hand and clattered onto the floor. I fell to my knees, gripping the edge of the steel table so hard my knuckles turned white from the pressure.
"ARGH!"
A stifled scream escaped my dry throat.
This was no ordinary pain. It was structural agony attacking every organ, every muscle fiber, and every inch of bone.
I heard faint cracking sounds from within my body. It was the sound of my muscle fibers being torn apart by force and knitting back together with double the density.
My ribs felt as if they were solidifying into steel plating, while my marrow boiled as it produced new blood cells more efficient at binding oxygen.
My skin blistered. My pores opened wide to expel a foul-smelling black sweat; toxins and impurities forced out by the extreme metabolism of the Grizzly serum.
The pain continued to bite at my entire body like thousands of fire ants devouring flesh. It gave me no room to breathe. I fought desperately to maintain consciousness, clinging to sanity by a thread.
Five minutes passed, though they felt like five years in hell.
My breath came in ragged gasps, like a beast that had just finished a hunt. I tried to stand, but my body felt strange. Heavy.
Not from exhaustion, but from increased mass. It felt as if gravity around me had doubled, yet strangely, my new muscles supported the weight with ease.
A familiar feeling flowed through my veins. A surge of Aura, small but continuous and stable. It was no longer a momentary spark, but a calm, powerful river.
I grabbed a thick glass beaker from the table to drink. Unconsciously, I squeezed it a little too hard.
CRACK!
The thick borosilicate glass shattered into dust in my hand.
My eyes widened. I stared at my palm, cut and bleeding from the glass shards, but the wounds closed and stopped bleeding in less than a minute.
Low-level regeneration.
Unconsciously, I had activated a passive, minimal Junior-level Aura without needing any special breathing technique.
Before, I had to perform complex breathing exercises just to spark this small flame.
Now, let's try something serious. I regulated my breath. Inhale... Hold...
A much larger surge of energy flowed through every vein. My muscles tightened instantly, veins popping out beneath the skin.
This... there was no mistake. Peak Junior-level Aura. I was only a few steps away from breaking the wall to Senior-level Aura.
With this new body, I could likely unleash techniques equivalent to Senior Aura six times in a row without vomiting blood or breaking bones.
I might even be able to force myself into the realm of Professional-level Aura for a single fatal strike, though the consequences would remain severe.
"Perfect," I whispered. A wide, feral grin carved itself onto my face.
I drank water directly from the lab sink tap since the glass was broken.
I washed my face and body to remove the sticky, foul-smelling black sweat. Every muscle I touched felt incredibly dense, hard like a tire pumped to maximum pressure.
Although my body size hadn't increased drastically like Gareth or Gordon, my muscle tissue was now so dense and tough that there was not a shred of fat left beneath the skin. My muscle definition looked razor-sharp.
However, there was one small problem. A worry nagged at me. Although fat weighed the body down, it was undeniably a reserve energy source.
The process of adapting to this vicious serum had burned away every gram of fat I had stored.
GRRRL...
Sure enough, my stomach roared loudly, protesting the void. My body went limp instantly; my blood sugar had plummeted. I felt an overwhelming urge to sleep and conserve energy.
I cleaned the lab equipment quickly, then jotted down a few observations in my journal. Now it was time to return to the dorm and feast.
Upon arriving in my room, I devoured the rest of my food stock. All the boiled eggs I had, two large loaves of whole wheat bread, and dried meat jerky vanished in an instant to fuel the furnace within me.
Satisfaction hit my stomach. I let out a loud belch, as if my gut were thanking me for the fuel.
Now, what next? Yes, a field test. I would go to the Northern Forest, specifically the steep slopes of Crystal Mountain. I needed to find the main ingredient for Elena's medicine anyway.
I donned my new Mithril armor. The bluish-black metal reflected the room's lamp light beautifully. The steel plates shone cold.
I didn't forget to wear chainmail underneath for extra protection against bites. The weight of the armor, which usually burdened my shoulders, was no longer an issue with my current strength. It felt like wearing a light leather jacket.
I put on the closed helm, then stared into the mirror. The reflection of a gallant knight stared back. A sight I could previously only dream of in my sleep.
My heart filled with sentimentality seeing this image. I felt like a true knight, no longer a sickly boy.
For a moment, I stood still, contemplating how far I had come.
Now, it was time to hunt.
The Northern Forest on the slopes of Crystal Mountain welcomed me with a light blizzard. The temperature here reached minus ten degrees Celsius. Yet strangely, the cold no longer bothered me.
My new, reinforced heart pumped hot blood throughout my body like an internal furnace, keeping my core temperature stable.
Today's mission was simple: Retrieve the Blue Crystal Flower growing in the high cliff crevices to stabilize Elena's mana circuit, and... find a living punching bag.
Snap.
The sound of a breaking twig was faint in the distance, masked by the wind.
My ears twitched. Not one, but many. Light footsteps on packed snow. Rapid, synchronized breathing patterns.
I stopped walking, standing still in the middle of the silent white snowfield.
My left hand slowly reached for the dagger hilt at my waist, and my right hand grasped the longsword hilt on my back.
"Come out," I said calmly, white steam puffing from my mouth. "I know you're hungry."
From the white mist, a pair of glowing red eyes appeared. One, two, three... six pairs of eyes stared at me savagely.
Three jet-black wolves emerged from behind the pine trees.
Dire Wolves. Peak Tier 1 Monsters. Their bodies were far larger than normal wolves, reaching the chest height of an adult human, with teeth and claws capable of tearing through leather armor with ease. They hunted in packs and were intelligent.
They surrounded me in a perfect triangular formation.
However, I did not take a defensive stance. I stood tall and relaxed. I held my longsword with one hand by my side, the tip touching the snow.
I activated the cardiovascular breathing technique. Hhhhh... A thick puff of hot steam escaped the vents of my helm.
The first wolf on the left seemed impatient. It let out a short howl and then lunged, leaping high to target the vital neck area.
I didn't dodge. It wasn't necessary.
I swung my right arm holding the sword upward casually. A simple movement; an Ascending Cut.
With physical strength equivalent to Junior Peak and muscles reinforced by serum, the sword moved faster than the falling wolf.
SHIIIK.
The sound of flesh parting was soft.
The sword sliced from the chest to the lower jaw of the wolf in mid-air.
The wolf's momentum was forcibly halted by the thrust of my slash, and its carcass was thrown to the side like wet trash.
The first wolf died without ever touching me.
Seeing its companion die, the second wolf on the right lunged.
It was smarter. It didn't jump high; instead, it went low, targeting my left arm to pin my movement, hoping the other one could attack my back while I was locked.
The wolf's jaws opened wide and clamped down on my left arm, which was encased in a steel vambrace.
CRUNCH.
The sickening sound of canine teeth clashing with high-quality steel echoed. The wolf exerted all its jaw strength, but the Mithril steel didn't dent in the slightest. My arm inside didn't even tremble.
I stared at the wolf hanging from my arm with a bored gaze from behind the helm. I lifted my left arm high, hoisting the eighty-kilogram wolf into the air as if lifting a cotton doll.
I slammed its body against the pine tree trunk beside me.
SLAM!
The wolf's spine snapped instantly upon impact with the hard wood. It fell to the snow, convulsed for a moment, then died with bulging eyes.
The second wolf died a foolish death.
I flicked the black blood from my sword onto the white snow, creating an abstract pattern of red and black on the white canvas. I glanced at the third wolf behind me.
The third wolf had prepared to jump, its legs already bent. But seeing both its friends die in seconds, its paws braked suddenly on the slippery snow.
Its animal instincts screamed danger. The armored creature in front of it was not prey. It was a higher predator. It was a moving Iron Wall.
I took just one step forward.
THUD.
The sound of my iron boot was heavy and intimidating, breaking the forest silence.
The third wolf whined softly, tucked its tail between its legs, then turned and ran frantically through the bushes, disappearing into the darkness of the forest.
The fight had lasted only ten seconds. But I had taken down two ancient wolf monsters alone. Without breaking a single sweat.
A satisfied smile curled on my lips behind the helm. This was what power felt like.
I sheathed my longsword. My feet stepped over the two monster carcasses without looking back, leaving them to be consumed by nature.
My journey to find the Blue Crystal Flower was still long.
I traversed the mountain slope patiently, my eyes scanning every detail of the ice-covered rock cliff so nothing would be missed.
After an hour of exhausting searching, patience paid off. A reflection of dim blue light shone from high up the cliff, about eighteen meters above me.
Blue Crystal Flower.
The position was difficult. The cliff was vertical and slippery with ice. Climbing it in this heavy armor was impossible, not to mention the risk of being attacked by venomous creatures like Ice Centipedes that often nested in the cliff crevices.
This was why the flower was so rare and expensive. But I hadn't come unprepared.
I bent down, searching for a stone the size of a fist. After finding one, I placed the stone in the leather pouch of a simple tool: a Sling.
It was a traditional rotary catapult used by shepherds of old to drive away wolves. A simple weapon, deadly if mastered. Just like the blowpipe, I had learned it from a book on ancient weapon history in the library.
I held both ends of the sling cord with one hand. I regulated my breath again. Inhale... Hold... I flowed Senior-level Aura throughout my body, especially to the muscles of my shoulder and right arm. My muscles tightened instantly, providing incredible spring power.
I swung the sling by my side in a vertical circular motion.
Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh...
The sound grew louder as the rotation speed increased. I built up momentum and extremely high centrifugal force.
Every rotation put pressure on my shoulder muscles; it felt like they were being pulled forcibly. At least this wasn't a fatal injury, though it still hurt. It was all still within tolerance limits thanks to Serum Version 2.0.
At the right moment, when the stone was at the lowest point of the rotation and about to rise, I released one end of the cord.
SNAP!
The stone shot vertically upward with the speed of a bullet.
THWACK!
The stone struck the cliff right beneath the roots of the Blue Crystal Flower embedded in the rock crevice.
The impact cracked the cliff rock. The shockwave dislodged the flower.
Pebbles scattered down, and amongst them, the Blue Crystal Flower floated down gracefully.
I ran forward, opening a palm covered in a thick leather glove, and caught the flower before it touched the ground.
I didn't need to worry about the flower being damaged by the fall or the catch. Its petals were hard as gemstones. That was why this plant was called 'crystal'.
I immediately placed the precious flower into a special cooling box lined with preservation magic that I carried at my waist.
My heart blossomed staring at the box. Finally, I could make the mana stabilizer for Elena and keep my promise. This was the key to securing my political position at the Academy.
However, as if the universe wouldn't allow me to be happy for too long, a long howl was heard from the forest below.
Awooooo!
The voices were dozens of times more numerous than before. The ground vibrated softly.
A massive pack of wolves was approaching the mountain slope. Their red eyes glowed in the darkness of the forest like a sea of fire.
Apparently, the third wolf that ran away hadn't fled out of fear. It went to call for backup. It called its Alpha.
I let out a long sigh, white steam escaping my helm. My hand grasped the sword hilt once more.
"Well, at least the food stock in the dorm will be safe for the next month," I muttered, smiling wryly.