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The cyan aura surged through his bloodstream before rushing into his arms.
Bright cyan flames erupted around both of his hands.
"That is so cool," Ash muttered.
Raphael nodded in agreement.
Then she spoke.
"Now add Spirit Magic."
Ash smiled.
He repeated the process.
This time, however, he mixed Spirit Magic into the aura.
The moment Spirit Magic entered the equation, the previously formless aura began to change.
Spirit Magic acted like a skeleton for the energy.
A framework.
A structure.
Under Ash's control, the aura stretched and condensed.
A long sword appeared.
The weapon shimmered with bright cyan energy.
Ash dismissed it and immediately formed a war hammer.
Then a spear.
Then a shield.
Each weapon was composed entirely of Dragon Aura reinforced by Spirit Magic.
Finally, he created a massive greatsword.
Ash swung it through the air and watched the cyan blade leave glowing trails behind.
His grin widened.
After years of experimentation and countless failures, they had finally succeeded.
Artificial Dragon Aura was no longer just a theory.
It was real.
And more importantly, it could be shaped into almost any weapon he could imagine.
"Hahahaha! This is good!"
Ash laughed out loud as he admired the beautiful cyan energy sword in his hand.
Then suddenly, he froze.
A familiar sensation spread throughout his body.
"Oh, come on. This has to happen now?" he cursed.
He was advancing.
His mana core was about to evolve from Bright Cyan to Deep Blue.
The moment the impurities reached his mana core, Ash collapsed to the ground.
A pillar of brilliant white light erupted from his body and pierced high into the sky above the Life Woods.
Raphael watched the process from within Ash's mind.
At the same time, another pillar of light descended from the heavens.
The two pillars met and merged into one, completely engulfing Ash.
The phenomenon immediately attracted the attention of many powerful beings across the region.
However, after sensing what was happening, most quickly lost interest.
It was simply someone advancing from a Bright Cyan Core to a Deep Blue Core.
Rare, but not enough to concern them.
Meanwhile, Ash's advancement had only just begun.
The moment the two pillars of light merged, his heart began to shrink.
The process was visible to the naked eye.
His heart withered rapidly until it resembled a dried husk.
His blood circulation stopped.
The pain was so intense that Ash nearly lost consciousness.
Yet before death could claim him, silver-white energy flooded his heart.
The organ absorbed the surrounding blood and mana before rapidly restoring itself.
When it returned to its original size, it was different.
Stronger and more refined.
The newly evolved heart pumped not only blood but also mana throughout his body.
Raphael immediately began analyzing every change.
Then the same process began affecting his lungs.
Ash opened his mouth to scream.
It felt as though countless burning blades were stabbing into his flesh.
Yet no sound escaped.
One by one, every internal organ underwent refinement.
His liver.
His kidneys.
His stomach.
His bones.
His muscles.
Each organ was broken down and rebuilt by the mysterious energy.
With every completed refinement, the flow of mana and life force throughout his body increased.
Then it reached his brain.
For a brief moment, Ash genuinely thought he was going to die.
Everything vanished.
Light disappeared.
Pain disappeared.
Even time seemed to disappear.
There was only darkness.
An endless stillness.
The same peaceful emptiness he remembered from death itself.
He had no idea how long he remained there.
A second.
A minute.
An hour.
Perhaps longer.
Then, slowly, he felt something.
A connection.
Raphael.
The bond between them remained.
'If I can still feel Raphael, then I'm not dead yet.'
The thought gave him something to hold onto.
Moments later, his awareness returned.
His brain had finished refining itself.
Unfortunately, the process was not over.
All the impurities extracted from his body had gathered beneath his skin.
Ash immediately understood what was coming.
"This is going to hurt..."
The impurities flooded his skin, turning it completely black.
His entire body resembled a statue carved from obsidian.
Then cracks appeared.
One after another.
Thousands of them.
Ash felt as though every inch of his body had been submerged in boiling oil.
The pain was indescribable.
Finally, the blackened skin shattered.
Fragments fell from his body like broken stone.
For a brief moment, his flesh and muscles were completely exposed.
Then a new layer of skin rapidly formed over them.
The process finally ended.
Ash collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.
Raphael carefully examined his condition.
His physique looked largely the same on the outside.
Internally, however, everything had changed.
His body was denser.
Stronger.
More durable.
His mana core now possessed a deep blue color.
The amount of mana stored within it had not increased dramatically, but its quality had improved enormously.
With every breath he took, his body naturally absorbed tiny amounts of world energy.
His life force flowed freely through every part of his body, constantly nourishing and strengthening him.
After several minutes, Raphael reached a conclusion.
Raphael continued gathering and analyzing every minute detail of Ash's body.
During the examination, she detected the presence of two unique forces that had not existed before his advancement.
However, there was not enough data to confirm the hypothesis.
Raphael continued her analysis.
She carefully examined Ash's mana flow, life force circulation, Aura Circles, organs, muscles, bones, and nervous system.
Every change was recorded and compared with data collected before the advancement.
She paid particular attention to the two newly discovered forces, monitoring their location, behavior, and interaction with the rest of Ash's body.
For now, both remained dormant.
No abnormalities were detected.