After making sure that nothing could stop me, I took a deep breath and began to concentrate.

The technique that Althaea invented for me to refine the raw natural mana involved using the soul force to latch onto it and slowly drive away the concept that governed that mana. The process was almost the same as the one that mages use to refine the natural mana. However, refining natural mana with soul force was much, much slower. So slow that only the soul force expended would almost exhaust me in the process.

Getting in the right mindset was crucial because I would stay here for very long, and more, because my life force was stronger than normal, deemed as tier 2 life force by Althaea, the quantity of mana that I would have to refine increased a lot.

I released the soul force around me and gathered the natural mana. I involved it in my soul force and began to slowly refine it.

In the beginning, everything went well, there was no difficulty in refining the first pack. I guided the refined mana and kept it separated behind me.

slowly passed. After refining the first pack of mana, I did it with the second and third. Everything was still a breeze. A big ball of mana was now hovering on the soul field in my back.

I felt a slight resistance in refining the fourth ball of mana. Keeping the refined one behind me, and doing the process of refining in front was beginning to get a little tiring. I dismissed the strain and continued.

***

Time slowly passed, there was more than a hundred ball of refined mana on the soul field in my back. There was a clear line of sweet rolling through my forehead. Keeping the concentration was getting harder. However, the training that I did with Althaea these last years was paying off!

The soul pressure in the valley was bigger than I imagined in the center of the lost garden. before coming to the fortress, I was already a fourth tier soul force user, but I could only go to the end of the bridge without fainting!

It seemed that the soul pressure was constant in every other part of the garden, but in a radius of 15 meters around the lake, the pressure began to escalate exponentially. Even though I stayed there for two years, I couldn't take a step into the island in the middle of the lake.

Remembering how easily Althaea handed the soul pressure in the middle of the island, makes me imagined how powerful her soul must be to do something like this.

I looked at the refining process happening in front of me with determination and kept going.

***

There were almost a thousand packs of refined mana surrounding me now. All of the back part of my soul field and two-quarters of my front were filled with refined mana.

I didn't know how long it has been since I began the process. I only knew that it was at least three days.

My body was full of sweat and trembling like leaf in the wind. My mind was almost being crushed by the pressure of having to project my soul field for so long around me, holding into the refined mana and refining it was becoming a challenge to me.

I estimated that I would need to refine only a hundred or so more packs of natural mana to have a quantity big enough to fuse with my life force.

I gritted my teeth to relieve the immense pain that was assaulting me and continued the process.

The first ten packs were even more challenging than I thought. My soul force was being strained near the limits after holding so much refined mana. Some veins in my body popped as a result of the sheer pressure I was suffering because of holding so much refined mana at the same time. Thankfully, my natural regeneration was strong enough to heal me.

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I continued the process. My body was now constantly being harmed and regenerating, If my mutation didn't include an enhanced regeneration, I probably couldn't complete the process,

My body was being constantly injured and fixing itself. The pain of this process almost made me lose concentration for a second. I instantly reigned in my soul force and continued the process.

In the fifty pack refined, the rate of injury began to get higher, but my regeneration could still contain the after-effects.

In the seventh-fifty pack, the rate of being injured got higher than my regeneration could handle, and my body began to slowly crumble. Even after seeing this, I ignored it and kept going with the process.

In the eighty-seven pack, my skin couldn't hold the pressure and small parts of it burst. There was blood flowing from my body into the floor now, some of it tried to get back, but the flow was so constant, that most of it fell on the ground.

in the ninety-four pack, some of my internal organs couldn't hold the pressure and began to crumble as well. I knew that I had a decision in my hand, If I continued the process from here, there was no coming back.

If the pressure that was strong enough to even harm my organs continued for longer, the only energy left in me to regenerate my wounds would appear after the fusion, and if it wasn't successful, I would undoubtedly die!

I looked back into all I suffered in my life. Living in the shadow of a perfect brother…. having to be stared by my clansmen like I was a piece of shit, their looks of disgust and scorn lingered in my mind even to this day, motivating me to keep going…. The contempt that my parents treated me with, totally ignoring me and offering love and care to my brother….

Everything that happened during all my life came to my mind, the suffering, the struggles, everything that motivated me to go on, to never give up.

Continuing or stopping was not a decision that I made now, it was a decision that was taken on the day that I decided that I would do anything to be powerful!!

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

I LEFT OUT A GUTTURAL ROAR IN DEFIANCE TO MY DESTINY!

Soul power began to gush out of me in rivers. I decided to never give up, even if it meant that I would die!

The process continued more painful than ever. however, my mind was so focused that I could barely feel it now. And finally, after not so long, the hundred pack was refined!

I didn't let my concentration slip away from me, but instead concentrated even further, because I knew that the hardest part would begin now!

I used all of my strength to condense my mana! All of the mana in my soul field began to focus on a single point. Although I would have to focus on a simple point now, the pressure got even higher.

My bones began to scream in pain. my body was protesting, and I knew that I was on the point of no return.

I reigned in the mana, finishing the process of condensing it with my eyes red in fury. I slowly moved the sphere of mana through the air and brought it into my body.

"AHHHHHHH"

another roar left my mouth, and together with it, a bucket of blood. I continued the process without stopping, and the mana finally entered my body. Seeing that it was in the center of my body, I began to gather my life force around it, making my completion even worse.

Now, it was not a question of surviving or not but living long enough to complete the process.

My heartbeats were beginning to slowly die as my veins burst, but now, it barely moved. The fusion began, and the edge of the sphere began to transform. I could feel the tyrannical power from this new energy. however, I couldn't use it until the process ended.

Without the support of life force, My body became even weaker. half of the fusion was complete by now, and all my concentration was on it, however, my heart finally stopped….

Just after my heart ceased to work, my whole body quickly followed after. I could feel the life slipping away from me….

Everything became dark for a moment, All I could feel now was darkness surrounding me, and the sphere in the center of this darkness. I felt death approaching, but even so, my soul struggled against the waves and continued the fusion in a last struggle. However, the grasp of death was even stronger.

My soul began to slowly wane, trying to leave my body to go to the underworld….

All the suffering… all the struggle…. all the abuse…. was everything for nothing? everything for me to die in the moment of transformation?

….

….

A seething rage began to rise from the depths of my soul, a rage so great, that could engulf the whole world in its hate.

Darkness extended its hand in the moment where death would consume me.

A dark aura, with tinges of red, began to surge around me, devouring everything in its path. All the furniture around me turned to pieces.

My concentration began to return to me, I forcefully reigned in the energy that began to slip away from the center of my body. Continuing the process.

After just a few moments, the fusion was complete!!!!

The new energy began to surge in my body, healing every inch and corner, while further fueling the aura that was surrounding me. Dark flames appeared all over the surface of my body, burning all my clothes and scorching the ground.

I felt the power surging around me, and it felt great! So much power! I felt that I could make the world bend their knees before me, crowning me king before those worthless scum.

I slowly opened my eyes, looking around with my red pupils.

Everything felt in place right now, as if I could finally fulfill my fate and complete what I was born to do.

I concentrated a bit and erased the flames that were surrounding me. concentrating a ball of flames in my hand. I looked at that dark flame, burning in my palm, and my eyes began to burn in fury for those that humiliated me….