A faint hum filled Max's skull—like wires crackling or a heartbeat that wasn't his. Then Raven's voice drifted through his mind, playful and razor sharp.
[Alright, newborn. Let's take a look at what you've become.]
Energy surged through Max's body—warm, sharp, electric. His vision sharpened, senses aligning like a mechanism snapping into place. A translucent screen flickered into existence before him. The digits glowed with eerie clarity.
Name: Max
Stage: First Stage: Magic Spirit
Age: 19
Health: 100 / 100
Strength: 20
Speed: 25
Mana: 300 / 300
Lightning Resistance: 9%
??? — 30%
??? — 30%
Magic Points: 0
Max stared, stunned.
"Magic Spirit…? And why are the stats doubled?" His voice shook with equal parts awe and fear. "My mana shouldn't be this high. No human—"
Raven cut him off with a scoff.
[Human.]
She stretched the word like an insult.
[Listen carefully. You're still thinking like one of them. Your old "magic system" was nothing but artificial scaffolding a toy framework made by mortals to safely interact with natural law. But now?]
A pulse of power rippled through Max's chest.
[You're running on essence the foundation of all existence. Life, death, elemental forces, celestial bodies essence fuels it. What you humans call mana is just diluted, processed essence. Now your body converts it naturally with each breath.]
Max swallowed hard.
This felt bigger than the academy bigger than anything he had imagined when he put on that bracelet.
"So… I'm not human anymore?"
A soft, amused hum echoed.
[Human-shaped, maybe. But your soul? Your blood? Your potential? No.]
[The contract rewrote your existence. I simply accelerated the process.]
Max continued walking beside the glowing underground river its surface shimmering with threads of gold and blue light. Essence drifted into him like fireflies, dissolving into warmth beneath his skin. His breathing steadied, the exhaustion fading.
He flexed his hand.
He could feel power — thick, potent, waiting.
"…This is mine?"
[Not borrowed. Not awarded. Yours.]
[But don't get arrogant. Power without control is just suicide wearing nice clothes.]
He rolled his eyes and kept absorbing energy.
Then another notification appeared before him — smooth and silent.
New Essence Trait Unlocked
Golden Eyes.
• Enhances night vision
• Intimidates weaker creatures
• Reveals hidden movement in darkness
Max blinked as his irises briefly glowed like molten metal being forged before returning to ordinary brown.
"That… was creepy."
[Necessary.]
Raven's tone shifted — darker, older — like a whisper from a forgotten cathedral.
[This river is infused with draconic and abyssal remnants — fragments left from an era of real power. Absorbing it now helps stabilize your change. If you stop mid-transformation… well, your organs liquefy. And then you die screaming.]
Max froze.
"…You could've mentioned that earlier."
[You survived. So it doesn't matter.]
He let out a long shaky exhale.
Beyond the river, the cavern split again — one tunnel pitch-black and echoing with the sound of bones snapping. The other glowing faintly with runic moss.
Max's stomach churned.
Raven clicked her tongue.
[Pathetic. You tremble at the sound of oversized rodents chewing leftovers? You wanted power. This is where it starts.]
He swallowed.
"You said something earlier… cultivators?"
A pause — then a low laugh.
[Yes. Beyond this academy, beyond the rules humans cling to — the universe functions through evolution of body, soul, and will. Cultivation, as your fiction calls it, is simply the natural path of strength.]
Max looked down at his trembling hands—not from fear, but exhilaration.
He could feel the river, the cavern, the world humming beneath his skin.
A quiet realization washed over him:
This wasn't just survival anymore.
It was transformation.
A beginning.
Raven spoke again — voice softer, almost approving.
[Now get up. Face forward. And kill what stands in your way.]
Far ahead, glowing eyes reflected in the darkness — massive rat shapes shifting in the shadows, teeth scraping bone.
Max's heartbeat steadied.
His fingers curled into a fist.
"…Alright."
"Let's see what I can do."