After that invisible shackle was shattered, Edwyn's body underwent a startling transformation.
A tingling sensation spread through every part of him, as though each of his cells were trembling. At the same time, his internal magic began to deplete, absorbed by his cells as fuel for evolution.
The first change appeared on his skin. A layer of keratin formed visibly on the surface, and with its protection, Edwyn could immediately sense a significant drop in the rate his body lost heat.
But the transformation wasn't just skin-deep. Every cell in his body began mutating. His cells burned hotter, and his muscles and fat began restructuring, optimizing themselves for cold resistance.
Tens of thousands of years' worth of evolution occurred within minutes, accelerated by the potion.
When it was over, Edwyn suddenly vomited a mouthful of black blood, waste expelled from the cellular regeneration process.
"So… this counts as entry-level, right?" he muttered, wiping his mouth.
The freezing chamber was still active, but Edwyn could no longer feel the cold.
As the timer ended, he exited the pod and pulled a crystal orb from his magic pouch to check his stats.
Spiritforce: 33.2
Physique: 31.9
Mana: 332
Rank: Intermediate Apprentice
"I actually gained almost two full points in Physique. That year of training wasn't wasted after all."
Body of Adaptation was said to unlock latent potential. While that was listed as a secondary effect, for Edwyn, it was proving to be the most useful benefit.
After cleaning the freezing pod, he drew another vial of Adaptation Elixir and injected it.
The previous transformation had burned through the last dose, he needed a fresh supply.
He sat in the electric chair, took a deep breath, and flipped the switch.
This time, the electricity didn't bring pain, but a tingling euphoria.
His body had begun adapting to electrocution.
As mentioned before, the life core is like a rusted machine. The potion was the oil, and environmental stress was the power. Now that the machine was running, it would only spin faster and smoother.
After the full cycle, Edwyn climbed from the recovery tank and decided to report his progress to Joron.
Joron had been checking in frequently since Edwyn complained about the lack of results. Every few days he'd offer encouragement and advice.
He knew all too well the early pain of this path: endless suffering with seemingly no progress.
The last mile is the hardest.
It was easy to quit when there was no end in sight.
At the lab, Joron was pointing at the corpse of an otherworldly creature, instructing Chayle at the dissection table.
"This gland here is the digestive sac. It feeds into the cavity through this duct, where it breaks down food into nutrient slurry, "
He stopped when he saw Edwyn enter.
"Ah, perfect timing! I have news for you."
"What is it, Master?" Edwyn asked, pulling up a stool beside Chayle.
"Good news. The Chancellor returned early. You'll be entering his private dimension this afternoon."
"Really?!" Edwyn's eyes widened with delight. "Wasn't he supposed to return a year from now?"
Joron set down his scalpel and summoned a water orb to wash his hands.
"Beats me. That's just what Elric said. I saw the smile on your face when you walked in, figured you had good news too?"
Edwyn gave a shy smile. "I came to tell you that the Body of Adaptation is finally working."
He extended his arm. One glance, and Joron noticed the changes immediately.
"Excellent! That's wonderful news," he said with genuine joy. "A whole year without results, I was worried you might give up…"
Before he could finish, he noticed Chayle quietly trying to scoot away.
"Chayle, trying to hide behind him? If you had Edwyn's persistence, you'd have made it into the secret dimension too!"
Chayle offered a bitter smile. That Body of Adaptation thing was inhuman. He'd lasted three months, already above average.
But it was nothing compared to the monsters around him.
Senior sister Agnes trained for six months. And this little junior? He kept going for a year without quitting.
Freak.
…
That afternoon, Edwyn met Joron early so they could head to the upper levels of the Central Black Tower.
The tower was massive. The first fifty floors were classrooms. Levels 51 to 300 were for mages. Above that were the Chancellor's private chambers, inaccessible even to most mages, except for Vice Chancellor Elric.
At the 300th floor, all the selected apprentices were gathered, each escorted by their respective mentor. Two students didn't have mentors before, but were immediately taken in after the exam.
"Everyone's here," Elric said, checking his pocket watch.
"Follow me."
What surprised Edwyn was that they had to walk up actual stairs to reach the 301st floor.
"Wait, could there be an anti-flight barrier here?"
That question was answered quickly.
As soon as they stepped past the boundary to Floor 301, the environment changed dramatically.
Suddenly, Edwyn felt the mana density around him spike by several magnitudes. He thought he was imagining it, until he saw the shocked expressions on the other students' faces.
"From this level on, the tower merges with the Chancellor's pocket dimension," Elric explained without turning around. "That's why the space and mana here far exceed normal levels."
The students composed themselves and followed closely behind their mentors.
They stopped at a door. Elric pulled a strange-looking key from his sleeve and unlocked it.
The moment the door opened, a wave of indescribable terror poured out.
Edwyn almost collapsed on the spot.
Just brushing against that presence made every cell in his body tremble. Even without any potion, his life essence began spinning wildly on its own.
His vision blurred. His body was instinctively searching for a way to survive.
"Chancellor," Elric called out with a sigh, "your life radiation is too much for these kids."
A hearty laugh answered him.
"They're not all bad. Look at that one, Joron's student."
A figure walked up to Edwyn.
It was a middle-aged man, handsome, though his hair and beard were wild. But on him, the unkempt look carried a kind of fearless charm.
"Joron, your Body of Adaptation is impressive."
The man placed a hand on Edwyn's head, infusing him with a steady stream of magic to aid his transformation.
In mere minutes, Edwyn's body stabilized.
When his vision cleared, he found the stranger looking down at him with amused curiosity.
"And you are…?"
The man smiled.
"Little one, I'm your Chancellor, the Grand Mage of the Black Tower."