The Monarch's Second Body Reformation

The spacious building right next to the Goldmoon headquarters.

It was an annex equipped with various training facilities for players, including sparring rooms and personal training halls.

Manhattan—the most expensive real estate on the planet.

Seeing them operate an annex of this enormous size here made the Rockefeller Foundation’s financial power feel all too real.

“Fucking huge.”

I’d asked for a personal training room and they gave me a space the size of a basketball court.

When I said I didn’t need anything this big—

…William had said, clearly indicating he would entertain no objections.

Well, goodwill should be accepted graciously.

Besides, a “sturdy barrier” was exactly what I needed.

“Is this not the act of remodeling your own body?”

“The shock could easily spread outward.”

“So you require Yeo’s assistance in that regard.”

“Killing two birds with one stone.”

I needed something to contain the shock from spreading, after all.

And when my mind grew unstable, the only one who could intervene without causing aftereffects was Nyx.

Our connection through the contract made it possible.

If my sense of self wavered during the body reformation, nothing would be more reliable than Nyx’s help.

“I shall strive to live up to my contractor’s expectations.”

“Just having you here gives me strength.”

“Hohoho. Flattery, yet not unpleasant to hear.”

After briefly explaining the variables that could appear during the reformation, I sat down cross-legged in the center of the training hall.

Huu—

After obtaining the Rainbow Flashing Stone and completing my first body reformation, I had never actively torn my body apart again.

I had simply subordinated the additional essences I gained as lower concepts and enjoyed the synergistic effects.

But now,

I had acquired several essences that could serve as the new core following my first reformation.

It was time for a complete overhaul.

“I’m counting on you.”

“Trust in Yeo and focus.”

I closed my eyes.

And observed my interior.

That was about it.

I thought I had packed it pretty efficiently during the first reformation.

Yet in just a few months, it had already become outdated.

My growth rate was dozens of times faster than in my previous life.

The meaning of my first reformation had faded because I had Devoured such outstanding essences.

No, that wasn’t right.

I had benefited greatly from the body I reformed back then.

Many even stronger essences had appeared since then.

My base body had also received a spec upgrade.

The larger the vessel, the more essences it could contain.

Now, I had more than enough preparation to take another step forward based on the new essences.

I reinforced the current framework of my body—the Primordial Species essence—by adding the recently absorbed Horned Dragon essence as an option, making it far more solid.

My original plan had been to gather one more Primordial Species essence, but thanks to the essences I obtained while clearing the gate with Ellen, I was able to move up the schedule slightly.

Since I had merged the Primordial Species essences, it was time to examine the other essences composing my body.

First, the head.

The current ruler of my head was the Goddess’s essence.

If I replaced it with the Multi Spell I obtained after defeating the Arch Lich Lord, I would gain various magic-related abilities.

However,

It felt too wasteful to give up Polar Night, the ability granted to me by the Goddess.

Thanks to the effects of the previous reformation, its output had increased, and it had proven incredibly useful whenever I needed to create variables.

“Hmm.”

In my mental world, I stroked my chin.

In my previous life, I had used magic strictly as support, so I never needed to worry about this.

But in this second round, my magic power stat was the highest, wasn’t it?

While magic power didn’t only affect “magic” but influenced skills as a whole,

It was better to handle everything I could use in its optimal state.

In that case,

There was only one option.

To preserve the magic ability,

I needed to subdivide the reforming body.

It felt like a cold awl had been driven into my crown.

Ugh.

Ughhhhh.

It hurt like hell!

My body felt chilly and drained, like I had caught a summer cold.

“Kuuuugh, kuhk.”

Still.

It succeeded.

In murim terms, the dantian is divided into three.

The lower dantian is the one we all know near the navel.

Upper dantian — the crown of the head.

Middle dantian — the heart.

What was the ultimate goal of martial arts?

Even in China, where the most players practiced murim arts,

Opinions were split into two when it came to their direction.

The first was to reach the pinnacle of martial prowess.

The second was to transcend mortality and ascend as an immortal.

Surprisingly, the method to become an immortal was fairly well known.

One had to open the upper dantian through enlightenment and communicate with the heavens.

Let’s flip the perspective here.

The upper dantian is the part of the human body closest to the heavens.

It is the part that touches the constellations whose names are recorded among the stars.

Therefore,

I subdivided the brain as the part that governs magic,

And the crown as the connection point to the constellations.

“Krrk.”

Ah.

I did say it succeeded.

I never said it didn’t hurt.

The pain from splitting the concept of “head” into two wasn’t something I could easily shake off.

It was a good thing my specs had risen enough to endure the subdivision.

Otherwise, given that it was the head, there was a high chance I would have gone insane or turned into an idiot.

Quite a dangerous attempt, you say?

I had done it in my previous life, so I judged there was a chance of success.

Precisely when I Devoured the essences of the time-related constellations.

To bring out the full efficacy of an essence, absorbing it directly into the body was most effective.

The miracle of rewinding the timeline.

To accomplish something once thought possible only in theory,

I couldn’t even begin to count how many tearful, desperate efforts I had made.

Sniff.

“Whoa.”

Insane. Absolutely broken.

Rearrangement speed reduced by more than half,

And most penalties when ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠using two or more spells had disappeared.

The additional mana consumption penalty remained, but since I had mana to spare, it wasn’t much of a downside.

The +200 magic power felt like a modest bonus on top of those options, and I couldn’t stop grinning.

To produce this much result from the very first change—

I was excited to see how strong I would become once the entire reformation was complete.

“Fuuuuck!”

I take back what I said about being excited.

Ah.

Seriously.

It hurts like absolute shit.

The core of this reformation was replacing the essences residing in each part with superior compatible properties,

And subdividing parts that could be split, like the crown and brain.

Neither side could be done without pain.

The first thing I remodeled was my skin.

I elevated True Dragon Armor from a simple defensive skill to something that permeated my entire body.

Now, even without activating the skill, scales would automatically rise the moment I sensed someone’s killing intent.

The only regret was that the process felt like walking through a thorn bush with my bare body.

I also split the Baby General essence that governed my arms, separating muscle and bone.

The option attached to the Ogre essence meant it didn’t apply to weapons.

For me, who enjoyed bare-handed combat, it wasn’t a penalty at all.

That’s right.

I had separated the skin to build it with True Dragon Armor,

Subdivided the arms into muscle and bone,

And now I had even separated my left hand—which was now treated as one with the Shining Trapezohedron—to implant another essence.

The pain was so bad it reminded me of the time Hyperion gave me a “congratulations on your regression” punch.

Next, I reformed the leg muscles and bones.

I assigned the Rapid Dash essence to the muscles,

And granted the bones the essence of the Purgatory Guardian.

While Rapid Dash granted speed-related abilities,

The ability granted to the bones was specialized in defense.

Finally, I touched the part I had left alone until now—my “blood.”

One might wonder why adding a property to blood gave a mental option, but it was basically a failsafe that kept my mind together even if I was on the verge of death from excessive bleeding.

Although replacing Dragon Blood with Giant Blood as the main component slightly reduced the effect,

It was fine. I had something else in mind.

Now that I had reinforced the foundation,

It was time for the true purpose of this second body reformation—remodeling the “Frame.”

“Hoo. I’m not sure if I should really be doing this right now.”

The pain so far had already been tear-inducing,

But with the grand finale of this reformation before me, I felt nervous.

My current body had been framed with the Primordial Species.

Combined with the Primordial Dragon Heart, it was approaching the Origin Dragon, but it was still lacking.

Therefore,

To complete the Frame,

I would apply the essence that also ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠contained a primordial form—the power of the Giant.

The reason I had placed the Giant’s blood in my bloodstream was simple.

Blood’s role is to circulate through the body and infuse power into every cell.

Therefore, it could more easily penetrate the Primordial Species essence that currently formed the framework of my body.

Crunch. Craaack!

They say when it hurts too much, you can’t even speak.

As if to prove that all the pain I had tasted until now was merely an appetizer,

An excruciating agony like tens of thousands of ants crawling through my veins and gnawing at my entire body struck me.

They only shared the common point of being primordial essences.

Dragons and Giants were opposing existences from the age of myths.

Their natures were too different to simply tie together with a single commonality.

I had to endure the full backlash.

Booom! Bang!

Explosive sounds rang in my ears.

The path through which the Primordial Dragon Heart released mana was “blood.”

Since that medium was currently tearing my body apart,

There was no way the mana would stay quiet.

I was too busy observing the mental world to know what was happening outside,

But it was probably chaos out there.

Still, with the barrier Goldmoon had set up and Nyx present, I didn’t need to worry about the outside.

The Cyclops essence I had deliberately saved for Frame construction felt like pouring fuel on boiling oil.

If I let my guard down even slightly,

The draconic ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠essence and the Giant’s power would rip my body apart.

But.

I could do this.

I had reached the peak of humanity before regression,

And after turning back time, I had become the world’s strongest player.

Something like this…

“Kuuueeeek!”

I could handle it.

Probably.

I had no idea how much time had passed while enduring the pain.

I simply continued without pause,

Clinging to the concept of “primordial”—the intersection of the two essences—

And kept attempting to fuse the draconic and Giant essences.

While running endlessly through a tunnel without a single ray of light,

Clack! Clack!

The sound of the essences locking together rang out like thunder.