Chapter 62

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 62

Chapter Title: Inspection

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I thought this time it wasn't a forced enlightenment.

It really wasn't forced enlightenment—instead, a wave of forced agony crashed over me.

What's the difference? Why the hell do I have to endure this pain? What did I even do wrong?

...The fact that I'm feeling this indignant means the pain has already lost some of its edge.

Normally, it hurt so badly that rational thought was impossible.

Being able to think about how unfair it is right now means I've got some breathing room. The overwhelming pain that hit me is gone, leaving only a throbbing afterache.

"Haa... haa..."

When I opened my eyes, the training hall's ceiling filled my vision. I'd clenched them so tightly to endure the pain that the ceiling looked yellowish and blurred.

But as my sight cleared, an unexpected sense of refreshment followed.

"Huh?"

As the pain receded, a clear, cool sensation filled the void—like gazing out at a vast, open landscape.

My range of perception had changed. It had widened from a puddle gathered in my palm to an entire lake. If I exaggerated a little, it felt like a hole had punched through my head, fresh wind seeping in.

At that moment, a smell contrasting sharply with that refreshing sensation brushed past my nose—a musty, fishy odor.

Lowering my gaze slightly, I saw black liquid spread stickily around the floor where I'd been lying.

"...Ugh."

My body was drenched in stickiness too. Feeling that refreshment and clarity amid it all was purely my mind's doing.

I hurriedly got to my feet and stripped off my clothes.

...I'd grown a bit taller.

The skin peeking through the black grime clinging like dirt was markedly different from before. The patches of exposed flesh were noticeably smoother and cleaner.

I started to wash it off with the water magic Merin had taught me, but decided to check ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my circles first.

Eight rings.

I'd reached the 8th rank.

As expected, that pain hadn't been for advancing to 7th rank. It had skipped straight past that to 8th rank... the process of becoming a Transcendent.

Simply 7th rank to 8th rank. One might call it just a single rank difference, but between them yawned a massive gulf—the divide between ordinary folk and Transcendents.

I'd diligently practiced up to 6th rank, only for it to leap ahead again...

No, that wasn't the important part.

'I've become a Transcendent?'

This easily? ...No, I couldn't call it easy by any means, but it was sudden all the same.

I couldn't help feeling dazed. Unable to wrap my head around it, I decided to inspect my overall condition.

For starters, all my fatigue was gone. I'd always been confident in my stamina, but now I felt so brimming with energy that I could go a full week without sleep.

Another change was my crystal-clear mental state—like a bright mirror and still water.

On top of that, my perception range had expanded noticeably.

An expanded perception range means this.

Concentrating my mind, shapes began appearing in the previously empty air.

It was mana.

They say mana is like air, right? The first step to becoming a mage is the talent to sense that air-like mana.

But now, it was visible to the naked eye. Each speck of natural mana, delicate and dust-like.

I swiped my hand through the air thick with natural mana.

I felt a slight drag, like stirring through water loaded with frog eggs.

And I realized: I could manipulate all the surrounding natural mana within a one-meter radius of me at will.

Not just the mana in my circles, but natural mana too. Within that domain, everything became mine.

My own pocket of nature within nature. A small universe blooming inside the greater cosmos, perhaps.

And being able to wield natural mana like my own opened up things like this.

I hopped lightly in place. Grasping the natural mana underfoot, my body froze suspended in midair.

With more skill, I could probably walk on it—or even fly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like true flight.

'I've really become a Transcendent.'

I don't know why it sank in right here, but nothing could have made it feel more real. Maybe because it evoked memories of air-walking from my past life.

I landed back on the floor.

Handling natural mana felt so novel that curiosity stirred, and I tried expanding my perception further.

That instant.

"Khk."

A crushing pressure slammed down, like thousands of kilograms of rock piling onto my head.

'Can't push it wider at my current level?'

Startled, I abandoned the attempt to expand my perception range.

And I understood why Merin had said she felt another massive wall right after becoming a Transcendent.

Wasn't this the wall she mentioned?

The instant I became a Transcendent, a sense of freedom washed over me, as if part of the world had become mine—but at the same time, the sharp limit curbing that freedom made itself plainly known.

'But if the surrounding natural mana gets affected like this...'

Any Transcendent would easily spot another. Normals might not see the influence, but Transcendents could confirm it.

The thought occurred to me because of Philip Deran. More precisely, the Philip Deran clone I'd created.

The other Transcendents hadn't noticed it at all, had they?

'How did I fool them? ...How, exactly?'

If there was one function of that Philip Deran clone I hadn't fully grasped, there was only one.

The black slime. What they called essence.

Did that affect the surrounding natural mana too? It was the only hypothesis that came to mind.

I set the thought aside for now and checked changes beyond my circles.

Sure enough, my rank leaping like this had another reason.

The hierarchy of my properties had risen.

More precisely, as my understanding of other attributes surpassed properties, my principle hierarchy had advanced. My phenomenon hierarchy had naturally been dragged up in the process.

If the principle stages were lower realm, middle realm, upper realm... I'd jumped from lower to middle.

And the result: my trait, Property Conversion, had evolved a step further.

Using magic of every attribute I'd ever handled was a given now.

Manifesting all those attributes chantlessly became possible too.

And...

I raised my palm and slowly swept it up my body from the fingertips of my other hand.

Black gloves enveloped the back of my hand, coat sleeves draped next, a robe cascaded over my shoulders the moment it brushed them. Finally, reaching my face, a pitch-black mask took form.

I hadn't changed clothes at all, yet I'd transformed into Cedric's appearance.

But it didn't end there. If I wished, height, build, even the face beneath the mask—everything could change.

Now, it wasn't just hiding my true face behind Cedric's mask; I could fully become Cedric as another solid entity.

Naturally, the natural mana within my one-meter control radius could be transformed too. Altering the scenery of transparent air, spawning magic of utterly mismatched attributes tailored to my conversions, blending seamlessly with surroundings for stealth—all possible.

'I think they said lifespan increases when you become a Transcendent.'

Actually, Transcendents transcend the mortal world to begin with. In my case, less like I ascended and more like I got hurled out of it.

Just look at Joart or Merin's appearances. How do faces like that belong on their age bracket?

I don't know their exact ages... but they've been Transcendents for at least decades. Unless they ascended before twenty, those faces make no sense.

'Will my face lock in like this too?'

Of course, I could use my trait to mimic natural aging.

The reason I mulled this over was my intent to hide being a Transcendent.

It was possible with my abilities. Just make it seem like the surrounding natural mana wasn't influenced by me.

Having leaped ranks unprepared once more, I'd be weaker than other Transcendents. And on top of that, deal with pursuits from the covenant?

I might end up more hounded than before becoming one.

'Tsk...'

Having absorbed so much info on them before ascending, the worries hit first—unavoidable.

Hiding my status as a Transcendent seemed best for now all around, but the downside was struggling to get solid information.

Beyond the changes I'd felt firsthand, Transcendents could do far more. Those who'd handled natural mana beforehand would have precise details.

If I didn't reveal myself, I couldn't access knowledge reserved for Transcendents only.

'Normally, yeah.'

Just look at me right now. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I couldn't even pin down if my lifespan had truly extended or what changes lay ahead.

But I had a method others couldn't touch.

'The chat room.'

More precisely, the Transcendents in the chat room.

No need to hide my ascension there. Identities were unknown anyway.

I pulled out my manaphone. No beating around the bush—I stated it plainly.

...They were all watching already?

What's with this, making me uneasy.

Especially since 1, 2, and 3 all reacted the same way in a row—it feels like I messed up.