Well, the body upgrade goes more or less as expected. Nothing extra, but it does entail some nice additions. Much like the previous upgrade, the changes seem to be taking some time to apply, so it’ll probably take a few days at least.

As a test, I let my mana flood my body, but once again, I immediately start taking damage. There might be a tiny difference in the degree of damage, but that's it. I'm curious if the fully applied upgrade will change that, at least a bit.

In the end, it seems like I still have way too much mana for my body to handle.

Good.

At least I won't have to breathe as much.

Rereading the description, I also don't think my improved cellular regeneration will be enough to replace my healing skill. The system just isn’t going to give out powerful regeneration to everyone over 250. Though It might be for those with high or upgraded constitutions.

I also start to wonder what would happen to my body if I didn't get body upgrades? Going by the notifications, it seems like it wouldn't be able to handle active skills, traits, and passives. It could be interesting to observe and compare the difference between a body upgrade and a high constitution.

The timer continues to tick down so I locate the body of the Champion. It's easier now without the Volcanic Hydra messing with my senses. Unfortunately, the body seems to be very deep below the surface of molten metal. Deep enough to be surprising. I expected it to be just a few lengths of my body, instead, it's deep enough to hold a small skyscraper.

Feeling that I know I won't be able to reach it. My senses barely pass through and placing an anchor is impossible.

The amount of heat is also too much for me to absorb.

My shields would be unable to endure that amount of molten metal and heat.

Hell, I'm sure even our resident cockroach would have trouble reaching it with her current capabilities.

It also explains why there isn't that much Mana Radiation. Most of the residual energy generated by the body is being used to send heat through the pyramid, create these annoying monsters, and keep a pool of molten lava the size of a small city liquid.

Should I jump in? I mean, I'm sure I would be able to move around for a while just with my chest and head. I can recreate the rest with mana and slowly regenerate it later.

Or maybe I could go in with nothing but my heart, spine, and brain?

Maybe I could just send my brain and leave my heart behind connected through [Tether] to feed me mana. It could be possible to create a smaller barrier around my brain.

Hmm, maybe not that, the molten metal would cut off the connection to my heart. Also, it would be unfortunate if the cockroach found me like that.

What about the main pillar with the rooms, I could try cutting it loose and using it as a submarine to get there? Or maybe create a capsule out of the metal for me to dive in? That probably wouldn't work, my thermal energy will only work against me there and whatever the body below is generating should be more than enough to destroy me.

Fish the body out? Am I even capable of creating a thread powerful enough to get there? Not even mentioning how easily it’s going to melt as it gets closer to the body.

Even the Volcanic Hydra wasn't swimming that deep, keeping itself just below the surface.

I shake my head and then scratch my cheek. At least I try to, both of my mana arms are disrupted as I forget to concentrate on them. It leaves me standing there without arms which I can’t help but find funny for some reason.

Annoyed, I shoot a tricolored orb in the direction of the Champion’s body and then head to the solid metal around the control pillar. There I sit and nearly fall, losing my balance due to my lack of arms. Even so, I do not recreate them. I don’t need them right now and may as well use my [Focus] for other stuff.

First, I reach into my crown, and the amount of mana in it makes me both happy and terrified.

Slowly I reach for the threads I’ve been forming around the crown. My own web heavily based on the Mindblender’s. It's not as good or delicate but it doesn't need to be. Thread after thread I uncoil it, making a few last-minute changes.

These threads start covering the area around me. Starting with the pillar next to me, than moving to the ceiling, the adjacent pillars, and the walls of the room. More and more I continue as the invisible, intangible threads fill almost the entire room.

I use [Infusion] and [Mana Domain] to fill them up. Adding my Pride to the skill makes the threads more “mine”, less susceptible to external influences. It's almost like expanding my [Mana Domain], but it’s also more than that.

Gradually, I redirect a bit of mana from my crown, creating a dozen pockets of mana all over the room. Each one contains enough mana to compress into a tricolored bomb or a few.

I create multiple layers of the web, each with a different frequency. I even make a few smaller webs with less mana running through them. These webs, I keep disconnected from the main one. I fail a few times, and it costs a lot of mana. I just don’t have as much experience with it as I would like. But I still continue, using everything I have learned.

[Mana Crown - lvl 30 > Mana Crown - lvl 31]

[Infusion - lvl 32 > Infusion - lvl 33]

My creation, my web then stays there, anchored, with the help of [Tether], to the surroundings and myself. And it's huge.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

I also place a few mana stones and melt mana conductive metal into the inscribed pillars.

And once I’m done, I let the crown disappear from its place over my head. I can activate it later when the time comes. Instead, I focus on converting my mana transforms into thermal energy which I use to fill the orb. At this point, it's about as big as my fist and could be bigger if I didn't compress it.

It's fun to watch as it melts anything it comes close to. Even the pillar just an arm's reach away is being scorched, a thin layer melting off the surface.

For some reason, it becomes difficult to stand up and for a moment I rest against the pillar.

Damned body upgrade, could do something for once. Sure, making sure my skills and traits don’t kill me is great and all but a bit more healing would be nice. I get that the system is cheap and doesn't want to give out regeneration but this cellular something bullshit isn’t going to regrow my arm. Best case my stamina comes back a bit faster, and wounds close faster.

I summon the status window and flip it the bird only to realize I have no arms. Huh, why are they not regenerating?

Oh, it's because my healing is based on thermal energy and the body of that chump is messing with its ability to function. An annoying guy, indeed. Shouldn't dead bodies float to the surface or something like that? If I can't take the heart I at least want to examine it.

I shoot another tricolored orb toward where I think his body is and step away from the pillar, boosting myself up onto the ridge. There I concentrate my thermal energy, opening the hole into the pillar.

It becomes comfortably cold as the hole behind me regenerates and instead of creating an arm and hand with mana I just create a single tentacle to touch the control panels. Maybe I'm getting lazy.

Using detection systems I locate all the heat signatures inside and outside of the pyramid. There are thousands of them, displayed as tiny dots on the surface.

At the top, I find two of them in particular, and as the time ticks down I continue to watch them. As I’m waiting, I get bored and recreate a few evil orbs, part of my mind continuing my training.

A question pops into my head.

Why didn't I at least take a few hours to sleep? It would have helped me a lot and I wouldn't have lost much in the way of preparations.

It was because of that Pride of mine, right? Because of the cockroach’s rules. For the same reason, I haven't used [Focus] for my emotions and nor did I use it to create black mana.

Well well well, if it isn’t time to face the consequences of my actions.

Even so, I wouldn't change anything. Though maybe I’d have tried to loot a bit more and get more shards.

While I’m wasting my energy on these useless thoughts I train and explore the options the control pillar gives me. The longer I do it, the more I learn about the functions and how I could use them in combination with the timing of heatwaves being generated by the Champion's body.

Five hours remain until my two-week stay here ends when one of the dots starts moving, leaving the other behind.

In one hour, that dot moves through a distance multiple times greater than I was able to. There are no stops, no fighting monsters. It just rushes straight here.

Four hours remain when I begin manipulating the pyramid through the control panel. I start closing the doors, opening them, controlling vents. I do it all with the heatwaves in mind, redirecting them through openings and closing doors to hit the red dot as much as possible.

Heatwave after heatwave washes over the dot, slowing it down and forcing it to waste mana.

At some point, the dot disappears from the detection array and I just open and close the doors where I expect it to go, knowing the heatwave will hit it fifteen seconds later.

Lastly, I close some doors further away and activate some of the barely working devices with the intention of increasing the temperature in this place. Then I take a bit of my mana back from the control panels and pop the evil orbs.

My heart beats wildly in my chest and after a long moment, my mind feels as sharp as can be.

Three hours and ten minutes remain when I exit the pillar.

My [Mana Crown] forms over my head, and [Perception] checks the web one last time, making last-minute changes. A pathway added or removed. A twist changed, mana redirected.

I move my thermal orb to the stump of my right arm and then I create a golden arm prosthesis out of its energy. My flesh burns to the point where it touches the golden thermal energy, emitting too much heat for me to redirect.

Taking a few steps I grab Flamebearer from its place with the blade half submerged in molten metal, finding it untouched by the heat.

I swing the ax to clean the blade, molten metal shooting free in its wake. Then my thermal energy moves through the ax which starts shining with golden light.

Parts of the ax sizzle, the metal at Its surface melting slightly as the metal starts to glow, the air around it beginning to shimmer from the heat.

Active skills:

Focus - Lvl 50

Perception - Lvl 49

Redistribution - Lvl 50

Resonance - Lvl 49

Mana Domain (Pride) - Lvl 43

Tether - Lvl 37

Infusion - Lvl 33

Mana Crown - Lvl 31

Mana Manipulation - Lvl 51

Two more skills, that's all I need and I still have a few hours.

If I fail I will die.

If I die it will be my fault.

If I survive I’ll only have myself to thank.

That's how it should be. That's how I want it to be from now until the end.

The doors I used to enter this place open, and a single figure steps through them, striding confidently in my direction. Her silver hair moves in the scorching hot air, contrasting starkly with the surrounding colors; it even seems to be glowing in this place.

She enters and the doors close behind her without her giving them a second look. On her waist, there are two daggers. One made out of black mana, and another made out of flesh, skin, and bones. Embedded in that fleshy dagger is a single orange eye.

So that's what she did with the Saint’s arm and the other Ignition Wavelength Eye.

Lissandra Hawthorne, Absolute of Eladore, a fake, a shadow of her original self, is just as relaxed as ever. With a single glance, she examines the room and its contents, taking note of the ax, and my preparations.

Then she takes a step forward and stands on the pool of molten metal, around her feet a faint amount of blue mana glows. Each of her steps sends a ripple through the otherwise calm surface and she comes to a stop a few steps away from me.

“Shall we start, little pup?”

Three hours and two minutes remain when a heatwave generated by the body of the Champion fills the room and I attack.