Gazing at the six clusters of stardust-each filled to the brim with magic, their stars reinforced by souls-I couldn't help but feel a surge of pure joy.
Three years of relentless toil. Twelve hours spent cultivating, six hours sleeping, and every remaining moment carved out daily to hunt one-eyed rats or scrape together resources. School occasionally interrupted this grueling routine, offering what I frankly considered a welcome respite.
I am not the kind of person who enjoys the journey toward a goal. Take my first life, for instance-the one entirely devoid of magic. I loved having a lean, fit body with no excess fat. It wasn't to impress anyone else, either. I simply craved the sheer bliss of waking up in the morning feeling fully refreshed, without the urge to linger in bed; the everyday convenience of hefting a heavy object and walking off effortlessly; the absence of breathlessness when climbing a long flight of stairs; and the simple confidence of a healthy, painless body that you knew wouldn't fail you.
What I despised, however, was the actual process of getting there. The wretched diets where you eat tiny portions a day, walking around furious at the entire world. The agonizing soreness after the gym, when even walking feels impossible during those first few days. The frustrating injuries from accidentally pulling a muscle because you stacked too many weight plates onto the bar. I hated every second of it. Yet I endured, driven solely by the result that would follow the nightmare.
It is the exact same story with magic.
I take zero pleasure in sitting in the lotus position for most of the day to cultivate like some xianxia protagonist. I get no thrill from a hard-fought, even match, because in a balanced fight, I inevitably get hurt-and pain is unpleasant. But I do it anyway. For the result. So that I can crush my opponent into a bloody pulp without giving them a single chance to strike back. So that I possess the strength to protect those dear to me. To achieve that outcome, I am more than willing to put up with these dull, painful chores.
And today, I am celebrating. I have finally reached my first major milestone in this life-a breakthrough to the Intermediate level! There is no reason to stall; it is time to step into the next realm and leave most of the world's mages choking on my dust.
«Time Acceleration-fourfold,» I cast, invoking the fourth tier of the primary Time element to absorb the ambient magic four times faster than usual.
Attempting this during normal cultivation would be pointlessly wasteful. Ambient magic in ordinary environments is far too sparse; if I consumed it rapidly, the local pool would deplete and need time to replenish, yielding no actual gain in cultivation speed since there would be nothing left to absorb.
However, in places dripping with magical essence like the Underground Holy Spring, energy can be scooped up by the bucketload. Here, the trick works flawlessly. I immediately channel a portion of the incoming magical torrent to sustain the time-acceleration spell; otherwise, my energy reserve would dry up long before completing the breakthrough.
I have seven calendar days inside, which translates to four full weeks under acceleration. Time to begin.
First, I direct the surge of magic straight into the Ice element stardust. I will break through with Ice first, paying homage to this body's original element-and, naturally, keeping up my cover.
After two hours of real time-eight subjective hours-the Ice element yields. The primary blue star flashes brilliantly, bathing the entire cluster of stardust in light before expanding outward.
It expands to seven times its original domain before the brilliance fades, revealing not stardust, but a Star Cloud housing forty-nine tiny stars. Most of them are not yet under my control. Rather than pausing to tame them now, I redirect the energy stream-now considerably thinner-into the Space element: my primary hidden weapon for the coming disaster.
Because the stream of magical energy has thinned so drastically, this breakthrough takes fourteen real hours-a grueling fifty-six subjective hours. I had hoped to finish sooner, but my body is developing a temporary resistance to such an intense influx of magic. It is a natural side effect; in a few months, my tolerance will reset, allowing me to push my other elements forward just as rapidly.
Following the second breakthrough, the Underground Holy Spring dims significantly, its visual appearance barely distinguishable from mundane water. Unsurprising, really. The Spring is calibrated to supply a single breakthrough to the Intermediate level per year. Though reinforcing my stars to the fourth tier saved a portion of its energy, forcing two breakthroughs nearly drained it dry. I suspect it will take well over a year to recover.
I stop cultivating, as further effort now would yield diminishing returns, and pull my star-control pendant from my pocket. I intend to spend the remainder of my allotted time taming these forty-nine little rebels.
***
When the reinforced vault door begins to grind open four days later instead of the scheduled seven, I let out a tired sigh. I had hoped my preparations might buy a bit more time, but what happens will happen.
Fortunately, I finished controlling the forty-nine Ice stars four hours ago. As expected, the Space stars obey me as effortlessly as they did in my past life. I spent the remaining time simply stabilizing my cultivation post-breakthrough.
As the heavy door swings wide, a pretty twenty-three-year-old woman rushes inside. She has shoulder-length dark blue hair, brown eyes, wears a military uniform, and possesses 74–53–76 measurements…
Damn it. My spatial perception has returned. I'm not sure whether to be pleased or embarrassed. Still, expanding my spiritual boundary to the third tier is a major gain. The consumption of Mind element resources, two consecutive breakthroughs, and my prolonged stay at the peak of the second tier have finally borne fruit.
She opens her mouth to shout something, but freezes in sheer shock for a couple of seconds.
«What on earth did you do to the Holy Spring, kid?!» she cries, her eyes flashing with righteous indignation.
«I didn't do anything! I just broke through, and then it turned all dull like this,» I reply smoothly, offering a story far easier to swallow than the truth of a single young mage draining the spring dry. «Maybe the guards have been secretly siphoning off bits for themselves, and it finally ran out.»
… There's no time for this! A pack of wolves has attacked the city, and they brought a horde of rats with them! She rattles off the news while activating the emergency extraction mechanism for the Spring. So that is where the mechanism was hidden in the wall.
The vast volume of liquid within the pool contracts, flowing straight into a small bottle positioned atop a small pyramid of cubes that raised up from the stone platform.
«Take the Holy Spring and run. I'm opening a secret passage for you,» she says, pressing the glowing bottle into my hands and uncovering a small opening in the wall.
«Members of the Black Vatican attacked alongside the monsters. The guards managed to repel the first wave, but we took heavy losses. I'm the only one left. I'm going to distract the next wave. You run to the safe zone and deliver the Holy Spring to Commander Zhang Kong. Whatever you do, do not let it fall into the hands of the Black Vatican!» The girl speaks with the calm desperation of someone who fully intends to sacrifice her life.
«Why don't I stay and help you?» I offer. «If I just run, the threat doesn't disappear. Besides, they might already know about the secret passage.»
«We intercepted their comms-an Intermediate-level mage is heading this way! Stop trying to play the hero and get in the passage!» She remains stubbornly fixed on her suicidal course.
«And… up you go!» I catch her as she slips into unconsciousness, knocked out cold by my Mind magic. I lift her, set her inside the secret passage, and seal the door behind her.
Now that the lady is safely out of harm's way, I can thin out the attackers' ranks a bit before heading off to check on the future Goddess of Parthenon. Resurrection is a remarkably useful ability; I would hate to lose her this early.