Ever since Nidhogg absorbed the Salmacis soaked in Sun Child blood back into his body, an indescribable feeling of simultaneous pleasure and pain began to grow within him.

Pleasure-wise, Nidhogg was astonished to find his abilities to manipulate fire elements had drastically increased, to the point where he could vaguely sense the ambient fire elemental energy in nature. It must be noted that sensing natural energies was a capability reserved for official wizards!

With his crystal ball floating in the sky, Nidhogg casually cast a Firebird Sorcery using the ninefold leverage.

Boom!

After a surge of searing fire waves, Nidhogg gestured toward the crystal ball, and upon sensing the degree of his recent attack, he was astounded: “It reached an energy attack level of 118!”

At that moment, Nidhogg possessed 29 points of mental power, with mana ranging from 280 to 301. His most potent single attack drained between 60 to 70 mana. If he only used Firebird Sorcery, his attack energy should range between 55 and 65. Yet, his crystal ball indicated his fire element attack reached 118!

This translation implied the basic formula for the Flame Body was to increase a wizard's base fire element spell attack by tenfold.

Hiss...

Nidhogg took a sharp breath.

No wonder the Sun Child was so arrogant and domineering during the trial secret realm, almost invincible. With 29 mental power, Nidhogg barely approached the power level of the Sun Child back then, capable of fire element attacks over 100 degrees with a mere wave of his hand!

Moreover, the Flame Body's affinity for fire elements granted Nidhogg complete immunity to fire element attacks below 65 degrees (ten times the base attack value). Adding Nidhogg's future growth in passive elemental resistance evolution...

This Flame Body was indeed a game-changing talent for wizard apprentices, even low-level wizards. However, as higher-level wizards exponentially increase their leverage, the tenfold fire element base increment from the Flame Body would diminish over time.

While the surge in ability fueled Nidhogg's excitement, the cracks in his life code were the source of his agony.

Indeed, forcefully altering his life code, even minimally, inevitably caused cracks. According to Nidhogg's estimates, making such forced changes around three times would lead his life code to collapse, resulting in a loss of control over his life form, akin to fully stimulating Salmacis without source liquid control.

Moreover, this issue arose from copying a tiny portion of life code from another human. Attempting with another species' life code, even once, could bring Nidhogg to the brink of collapse.

In other words...

Nidhogg could only carry the talent of up to three human wizards simultaneously, not counting his inherent potential.

Nidhogg felt a surge of excitement at this realization. Indeed, knowledge was the wizard's ultimate power, and talents were merely supplementary tools during a wizard's era.

After thoroughly testing his "Flame Body" ability, Nidhogg calmed himself and murmured, "This sorcery is a powerful unique technique of mine, allowing the ability to replicate three human talents. Even with my current insight, it's an extraordinary sorcery deserving of an impressive, awe-inspiring name. Let's call it... Nidhogg's Grand Sorcery of Triple Secret Paths!"

Currently, with the Flame Body, Nidhogg’s life code could accommodate two more copied talents. He wasn't in a hurry to fill those slots; the Flame Body was the strongest talent he'd seen in the trial grounds. He didn't want to waste a slot on an insignificant talent, especially since he lacked the knowledge to remove life code talents.

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Leaving the lab, Nidhogg planned to delve into the Voodoo knowledge of Mixed Venom Body Refinement. At the lab door, the demihuman female, face full of reverence, bowed gracefully and softly said, "Master Nidhogg."

He nodded.

This demihuman female was named Yujia, whom Nidhogg had promised to free to live a normal human life in the wizarding world if she successfully adapted the sac within her to the human body, permitting its evolution.

The sac, an organ from the Wild Crane producing source liquid, was modified by Nidhogg and transplanted into Yujia, serving as a human body adaptation test.

Nidhogg reached out to feel Yujia’s abdomen. She blushed slightly, not knowing where to place her hands but did not evade.

Through mental perception, the state of the "sac" inside Yujia appeared vivid to Nidhogg, who sensed its thriving vitality, confirming the sac had indeed adapted to the human body.

"Any discomfort?" Nidhogg asked while contemplating.

Yujia shook her head, replying shyly, "No."

"Mhm." Her response was as expected. Nidhogg blandly said, "Next month, we'll proceed with the transplant surgery. If successful, as promised, you'll live a normal life in the wizarding world." With that, he paid her no further mind and entered the Voodoo lab.

As for the experiment subject, Nidhogg had kept the male humanoid creature well preserved.

"Thank you, Master Nidhogg," Yujia expressed her gratitude, tears of joy streaming down her face.

...

A year later, Nidhogg fully integrated the rare indestructible fire elemental rune into his basic fire elemental magic array. Consequently, he felt a fundamental shift in his understanding of certain energy properties of fire, akin to transitioning from water to ice.

Whoosh...

A flame lit at his fingertip, and Nidhogg marveled at its "indestructible" trait with delight.

After half a day, he gained some initial insights.

The indestructible flame's primary counter target was spells and restrictions dependent on energy shields since it would use the shield's energy as fuel for genuine perpetuity. Naturally, this applied only when neither party's energy degree reached a transformative state.

Furthermore, even without a defensive shield, the indestructible flame would inflict extraordinarily prolonged damage, and Nidhogg could exploit its indestructible nature to create a flame armor defense spell with minimal energy consumption.

With his current Flame Body and indestructible flame characteristics, had Nidhogg possessed these abilities during the trial, he might have suppressed the six other despairers and claimed all rewards. This effectively showcased Nidhogg's standing akin to the Sun Child's tutor's ideal desired state during the indestructible flame period.

Additionally, through elemental magic array research, Nidhogg successfully upgraded his Firebird Magic Array to a Firebat Magic Array, harnessing tenfold leverage power.

"Once this mandatory mission is completed, I'll attempt to specifically study two fire element control spells. Luckily, there are some decent selections in the mentor's library. Otherwise, I'd need to spend magic stones to seek advice from wizards on the third and fourth floors of the Black Tower," Nidhogg muttered.

These were the fruits of his endeavors in elemental sorcery...

Nidhogg slowly extended a finger, and as Salmacis agitated within him, Nidhogg’s body, regulated by the origin liquid from the sac, morphed his finger into a tentacle, its tip bearing a mouth lined with sharp teeth—an intimidating sight.

That was not all. After a shake, Nidhogg’s golden hair suddenly stood rigid like steel needles, shielding his back like armor...

Though still appearing human, far more so than those enhanced by bloodline modifications, Nidhogg had undeniably embarked on the path toward becoming a genuine "monster." This seemed an inevitable trajectory for all advanced wizards.

Months later, on a day when Nidhogg spent an hourglass duration within the Radiant Stone chamber before exiting, he found it ineffective. He lamented, "Indeed, I've nearly reached immunity to this weak Radiant Stone; time to inject my formulated toxin again."

Half a month later, Nidhogg held a crystal ball, assessing his physical state.

Mental Power: 30, Mana: 285309

Physique: 36, Stamina: 100101, Strength: 35120, Vitality: 110157 (the Grand Transformation Art significantly boosts this attribute)

Observing his stamina, strength, and vitality figures, Nidhogg couldn’t help but smile wryly. Despite having a potential physique of 36, his stamina, strength, and vitality were comparatively low. Indeed, body sorcery cannot solely rely on theoretical research for continuous enhancement; frequent outdoor trials are necessary to align the fundamental attributes with intrinsic strength.

Nonetheless...

Accounting for time, the academy's biennial mandatory task should soon be announced. Nidhogg wondered what kind of assignment Mentor Peran Ornos had planned for him. One thing was certain: regardless of the task, it would involve a considerable journey...