Gagging for what felt like the thousandth time, I turned my face to one side, trying to ignore the cloying scent filling my nose. I had tied a cloth around my face to block the smell, but without success. Taking in a breath through my mouth, I turned my attention back to my work.

Splayed out in front of me was the corpse of the monster, cut open from neck to stomach with my knife. Underneath the skin was a mess of body parts that I struggled to comprehend. My knowledge of physiology was far from complete, and I found myself more lost than I would prefer. Still, there were enough recognizable parts to confirm my worst fears.

Whatever this thing had become, it was once human. A mutated, twisted abomination, packed full of mana but human nonetheless. Muscles, bones, and organs all looked familiar, and I sensed mana bonded to every inch of flesh. To my eyes, it felt more familiar to my own body refining than I cared to admit.

Taking my knife, I cut off a few small pieces of muscle tissue, slipping them into glass vials I had bought before leaving Thorndale. Arranged on the ground next to me were similar containers with samples of bone and skin. Over the next few months, those would provide me ample opportunity to examine the changes in more detail.

Digging deeper into the corpse, I moved the heart aside, pushing over blood vessels. There, nestled inside, was a small circular organ, just a hair smaller than a marble. Perfectly round, I spotted several small vessels leading off of it, weaving their way throughout the body.

Slipping my knife under, I was ready to slice it out but stopped just before twisting as a thought came to me. Pulling the blade back out, I set it down before placing my hand on top of the organ. Closing my eyes and reaching inside, I pushed a small sphere of mana inside, keeping it under control.

Moving through the damaged walls of the organ, I held the sphere in place, taking a few careful breaths. I had never tried to use Iron Fortging in this way, but the technique should be transferrable. If I was right, this experiment might help shed some light on what made this monster work.

As I exhaled, I pulsed mana throughout the channels, feeling energy weave down familiar pathways. To my surprise, their layout felt almost identical to my own, with only slight differences that could easily be attributed to personal development. However, upon closer examination, I began to spot the differences between our two bodies.

At first, I thought the mana bound to its flesh was Aether, the same as mine. However, as I dug deeper, something felt different about its energy, which I could not place. Pulsing my mana again, I pushed my thoughts as close as possible to one side of its core, straining to find some clue.

Suddenly, the body twitched, and I saw that my energy was absorbed into the flesh of the monster, the blackened walls of its organs pulsing. Within seconds, my mana was consumed and converted, becoming swirling black energy. Withdrawing my hand from within the corpse, I jumped backward, clearing ten feet in a single move.

Watching the corpse for several minutes, I kept my senses open, on guard for any more movements. Inside, I watched as the remnants of my power were absorbed, slowly warping from my natural Aether into whatever corrupted form of energy this monster used. After fifteen minutes had passed without change, I let my tensed muscles relax.

Interesting.

Whatever energy this thing used felt like Aether, but different. Judging by the density inside of its flesh and the size of its core, I suspected it was the equivalent of a mid to high Mist mage. Maybe pushing Fog, but that was it.

Yet, it had demonstrated raw power far above what its rank should imply. Did that mean that whatever energy it used was even more potent than Aether? If so, then this trip might be even more useful than I had hoped.

Any theories?

Sitting backward on my haunches, I glanced at Fortuna before sighing.

"Two, I suppose. The first is that something this person encountered warped their mana, changing it from natural Aether into something unnatural. This new energy then warped their body and mind into the abomination before us."

And the other?

I bit my lip, pausing before replying, "Somehow, body refining, this oasis or Aether mana as a whole can cause these sorts of mutations. I have no idea how or why, but I could very well become another monster just like this one if that is the case. Possibly far more dangerous, considering my knowledge of magic and combat."

I tried to suppress a shiver, images of my flesh twisting like water as mana ripped through skin and bone. If it came down to that, would I become just as mindless and sadistic, feeding off monsters and waiting for another wandering mage to end my suffering?

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Concerning. What do you plan to do?

"Study this monster and its flesh to try and understand the secret. If it is a risk, I need to find a way to eliminate it. But if I could safely replicate its effects and retain my mind? Well, it was quite a powerful monster..." I trailed off, staring down at the creature.

It was borderline insanity to consider. I had just admitted to Fortuna that I might be at risk of becoming a monster, but here I was pondering its uses and how to 'safely' toss away my humanity in search of power. More than insanity, it was near suicidal. Still, there was one overwhelming reason why I was considering the route.

My future self would never have done it.

In that future, I would have had access to the best elixirs and techniques Ferris could provide. I would have taken the safe, conventional path to power, and nothing I could do in this future would match that. That meant I needed to pursue every unorthodox, dangerous, insane method I could find.

And that might mean experimenting with energies that might turn me into a monster, for instance. It was a risk, and one that sent a chill down my spine, but changing the future was not a task for the faint of heart.

Walking over, I reached down and plucked out its core, placing it into another vial. I would need to research and study the creature more, to better understand the process and its effects, but I had several ideas to follow up on. If I could make my body and mind strong enough to resist this energy, could I use it without problems?

Those were questions and theories for later after I had time to study the body more in-depth. Taking just a moment to cast the cleaning spell from Amelia's ring, my hands turned spotless, half-congealed blood disappearing in a heartbeat. After that was finished, I stretched out my senses, checking the area around the oasis before casting several defensive spells.

Several times over the past week, other magic beasts entered the area, likely sensing this creature's demise. Despite my presence, they had not attacked me. If I had to theorize, my best guess was that they were intelligent enough to realize that if I was there, and this abomination was dead, I was the more powerful of the two.

Although I doubted they would cross me, I could not afford any interruptions for this next step. If I failed to condense my energy, the backlash could injure or even cripple me, halting any development.

Stripping off most of my clothing, except for my pants, I slipped into the water, letting out a long sigh as energy seeped into my flesh. Over the past week, I split my time between physical training, practicing my staff forms, and learning to use the gravity gem. Any time not spent training was when I used to lounge in the oasis, feeling the energy inside nourish and strengthening my body.

Reaching out, I called the book on cultivation to my hand, flipping it open to the page on condensing. The process was simple enough, requiring only two things, high enough mana volume and strong enough will to compress it down to the next stage. If I was right, I should have more than enough of both.

Walking out of the water, I sat down on the forest floor, crossing my legs and closing my eyes. Taking several deep breaths, I began working through the mental exercises I had learned at the Academy. One by one, errant thoughts fell away as my mind cleared, becoming empty. I needed as much focus as possible, and all those distractions would only hinder my chances of success.

With one final exhale, I mentally squeezed, a hand wrapping around the mass of swirling energy in my core. A stab of pain shot through my chest, but I gritted my teeth and pushed on. Compared to what I had felt in the past, it was nothing but a minor ache.

As the book had warned, mana pushed against my will, struggling to escape. From between my grip, a small burst of mana slipped free, and I adjusted my focus, forcing the energy back into place. On the other side, another wisp lashed out, rebelling against my control. I barely caught that one in time, another burst of pain ripping through my core.

Time and again, I pushed and squeezed and molded, gradually compressing my mana down bit by bit. The minutes passed, and the once-irregular mass of energy grew more focused, forming a rough sphere.

Suddenly, my mana stopped, refusing to compress any farther. Part of me rejoiced, sure I had succeeded, but my instincts screamed at me just before I released control. I felt nothing, no difference in power from my mana, no change in strength, and knew I should have noticed something. I was close but had not succeeded just yet.

Gritting my teeth, I tensed my entire body, straining every muscle, and pushed, throwing every scrap of effort into the attempt. I thought of everything, of every struggle and fear that haunted my dreams, of failure and death that awaited me. It all served as kindling to my will, and I ignored the pain ripping through my insides as if an invisible knife dug through flesh.

And just like that, the pain disappeared, like a candle snuffed out with a quick exhale of wind. I gasped, falling forward and barely catching myself from submerging underwater. Sweat dripped down my face as I sat with my eyes closed, feeling the energies in my core settle into place.

My mana had shrunk down to half its size, turning from a faint cloud almost too thin to see into a more substantial sphere of energy. It had a sort of weight and presence to it, and I knew from just a glance it was far more potent than before.

Standing again, I clenched my fists, feeling the energy roaring through my body with a simple command. Moving my hand up, I held out two fingers, taking aim at a nearby tree. Calling my mana down one channel, I weaved it into a spell, casting Arcane Beam and watching as a thick green bolt lanced through the air. Letting my hand fall, I crossed the short distance in a few long strides, eager to examine my handiwork.

A hole was neatly burned into the bark around two inches across, leaving a tunnel through the sturdy wood. I let out a laugh, remembering that my test the previous day had left a mark less than half the size.

My laugh was cut off when I realized that I had struggled just to go from the lowest stage to the second-lowest. How hard would it be to get to the next one? Problems for later, I decided after a moment. For now, I should enjoy my success and focus on questions I could solve right now.

In the morning, I could continue on my way, moving at full speed for the border. When I reached the dunes, I could search for one of the Wandering Cities and from there, Cortos' sanctum. But along the way, I had several other tasks to accomplish.

And first on that list was testing out the full limits of my new stage. After all, I was a mage, and now I might actually have enough power to fight like one.