Chapter 22
This cycle was meant to absorb particles of mana into his body and since not one, not two, not three, but four monsters died in this area, all of their mana stayed in the area, creating an area where the mana was so thick that it felt palpable. Ash greedily absorbed the mana until his dormant mana was full, but he didn't stop as he activated the mana, his eyes glowing despite his eyelids being shut.
Ash then controlled all of the activated mana, not to extend to an object or overload one of his limbs with mana, no, instead, like a phenomenon. Ash then gathered the now activated mana inside his body into a single body before he spun.
His breathing technique continued, drawing more mana, which he then condensed into a single point. He continued, absorbing more mana and then condensing it, he was focused absolutely, making sure that the gathered mana doesn't overflow or it would explode. Since it was more than his body was supposed to handle,
it would tear him to shreds, like he did to the stone rods he practiced with. But Ash didn't think about that, as he continued to condense all of the surrounding mana into a single point inside his body for hours. Draining the large quantities of mana formed from slaying 4 mana beasts, until a large stable mana core was built.
If Ash had followed the knowledge of his golden finger, then the moment he advanced to the fourth stage, his core stage should have been the size of a marble, which is 2.5 centimeters wide, roughly the size of a large coin. But since he decided to become ambitious and absorb more mana, risking being ripped to shreds, it paid off.
Ash had successfully absorbed all of the mana in the vicinity and constructed his mana core. Which was now the size of a beach ball, which was 50 centimeters, 20 times that of someone who had advanced into the fourth stage the normal way.
The surrounding area showed the signs of the massive drain as well, the once thick fog of mana had thinned to almost nothing. Loose stones and cracked ground lay everywhere from the overwhelming mana pressure that had built up during the absorption. Ash's skin glistened slightly with sweat, but his breathing remained perfectly steady, rhythmic and controlled.
Though exhausted, there was a gleam of satisfaction in his closed eyes, as the newly formed mana core pulsed with vitality. The air around him shimmered faintly as residual mana warped the light. The cliffs nearby bore deep grooves where energy had vented out during his control attempts.
Small cracks continued to spread quietly across the frozen earth, marking the silent testimony of his struggle. With the beach ball-sized core resting stable within his body, Ash had stepped beyond what was considered normal progression. And for the first time in a long while, he allowed himself a small, content breath of triumph.
However, that breath did not last long as he felt his body going into shock, like someone was electrocuting him. You see, Ash had forgotten one thing, in the fourth stage, once a core is formed, it's the size of a marble and the practitioner is supposed to increase its size slowly. This also allowed the dormant mana within his body to slowly push his body past the human stage and into superhuman territory.
But this change was supposed to be gradual, unnoticeable, as he increases his core size. But since Ash was ambitious and directly increased his core 20 times its supposed starting point, it also meant that all of the improvement that was supposed to happen gradually, happened all at once.
Hence why Ash was currently in excruciating pain, since his body was forcefully and suddenly being upgraded. Ash gritted his teeth as he felt all of his bones breaking and reconstructing over and over again to strengthen them. His muscles twitched violently,
spasming under the sudden surge of power reshaping them. New cells, especially the ones that become different cells such as bone cells, blood cells, muscle cells, brain cells, and white blood cells, were being mass-produced at an insane rate. The old, now inferior cells were being excreted, forming a thick mass of dark goo.
The mass oozed out of his pores, coating his skin in a slimy, foul-smelling layer that quickly began to solidify. As the old cells were expelled, the new and improved cells rapidly took their place, strengthening every fiber of his being.
Ash, despite the pain that threatened to tear his mind apart, remained seated in his meditation posture, his face twisted in a grimace of absolute agony. His breathing, though ragged and uneven, did not stop, anchoring him to consciousness while the transformation continued.
The dark goo soon encased him completely, forming a grotesque cocoon around his sitting form. The hardened mass continued to grow as more and more waste was pushed out of his body, making Ash look like a statue made of blackened tar.
Inside the shell, his bones were reforged, his muscles reconstructed, and his nervous system rewired, all in a terrifyingly short span of time. His heart thudded violently against his ribs, beating with newfound strength, pumping blood enriched with cells more durable and efficient than any human's.
The transformation only stopped when his beach ball-sized mana core was finally emptied, leaving a deep, aching void inside his body. The once-thick fog of mana that blanketed the surroundings had vanished, leaving the air eerily clear and still.
Cracks started to form on the surface of the hardened goo, tiny lines spreading outward like a spiderweb. The rocky ground around him, once damp from condensed mana, had dried and fractured from the sheer heat and energy released during the process. A heavy silence fell over the area, broken only by the faint cracking sounds coming from the black shell.
Ash, though unconscious, was no longer human in the purest sense, his entire being reforged by the violent surge of evolution. Pebbles and small rocks that had been scattered during the transformation trembled slightly with every pulse that the black cocoon emitted.
His body had been completely rebuilt into something stronger, something beyond human limits, something that was now waiting to emerge. And it did, as a hand littered with dense muscles and veins burst out of the cocoon, shattering a portion of the hardened shell. The chilling winds of Mount Everest howled louder now, as if heralding his rebirth into the world.
One arm was quickly followed by the rest of his body, breaking free from the blackened prison in a spray of brittle fragments that scattered across the cracked ground. The once frozen patches of ice on nearby rocks had melted and refrozen, creating a mirrored surface that reflected the figure emerging.
In that moment, amidst the frigid, merciless expanse of Mount Everest, Ash was reborn. He now stood at six foot and five inches, his body sculpted like a statue carved from marble, gleaming slightly under the muted gray light. His breathing was deep, steady, and strong enough to stir the thin dusting of snow at his feet.
His skin was smooth and tight over thick, defined muscles that rippled with every small movement, each fiber honed to perfection. His chest was broad and heavily muscled, with clear striations running across his pectorals, leading down to a sharply cut set of abs, each muscle block deeply separated and firm.
His shoulders were wide and round, leading to arms thick with sinewy strength, the biceps and triceps standing out prominently even in a relaxed state. Veins snaked subtly along his forearms, hinting at the raw power contained within them, while the icy wind only highlighted the rugged contours of his physique. His waist narrowed sharply, emphasizing the strong v-line that framed his abdomen and disappeared below his hips.
His legs were just as powerful, long and packed with corded muscles, from thick thighs to sharply defined calves, built for both speed and overwhelming strength. His face was striking, angular and masculine, with high cheekbones and a strong jawline that framed his features sharply against the bleak background.
His lips were firm, naturally set in a serious expression, and his nose was straight and proportionate to his rugged features. His eyes were a piercing gray, cold and intense, almost as if they could see through the very soul, faintly glowing whenever the light caught them right. His hair was black, wild and tousled, falling in messy strands that framed his face and gave him a slightly untamed, dangerous air, completing the image of something no longer bound by human limits.
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A/N like i told you, ash is going to contiguously change and grow, like a lizard.