[Chapter 31: Unexpected Promotion]
Over the next week, since Zach was quite busy during this time, Bob drove John to the underground training facility every day. There, the group would spar with him for free, and John would occasionally offer them tips on their fighting techniques.
One evening after dinner, John promptly sent Zach and Bob back to their rooms, ignoring their complaints but giving them repeated instructions.
He told them not to come looking for him before he came out of his room. Not to knock on the door at all. He said he was about to break through a barrier in his skills, and once he did, he would come out on his own.
John had sensed a loosening of his magical bottleneck and knew he was close to an official promotion. This was truly an unexpected surprise for him.
...
Logically, John should have been able to advance long ago. Though he carried the memories of the powerful magic god Einstein, he cultivated on his own. Because the real world was peaceful, he'd been stuck whenever trying to break through to the next level of magic.
Recently, training daily with Bob and Adam and going all out in real combat had brought him a taste of true battle experience. Applying the remembered techniques of the magic god, he began getting used to the intensity and unpredictability of real fighting -- some practical experience.
Another factor was that although John appeared perfectly normal, only he knew deep down he'd been quite lonely for years, training mostly alone.
The recent sparring had allowed him to vent a lot of pent-up emotions. It's always better to open the dam than to block it.
---
After Zach and Bob left, John locked his door and went into his room. He locked it again, then stepped onto the desk by the window and sat cross-legged.
He silently recited his meditation mantra from over a decade of practice and gradually sunk his consciousness deep into his body.
Tonight, the magical energy felt more vibrant than usual -- as if the magic itself sensed that John was about to become the only mage in this world and was cheering in celebration.
Never before had he felt the world's magic so clearly.
The blue water element was fresh and pure, the golden metal element sharp and cutting, the red fire element explosive and passionate, the green wood element full of life, and the yellow earth element heavy and solid.
He even sensed other elemental types faintly for the first time, though they felt distant -- perhaps he simply lacked a natural talent for those.
...
With every round of magical meditation, elemental energy from the five classic elements flowed steadily into him.
He felt every cell greedily absorbing them, especially his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys -- constantly strengthening his body.
To John, this felt like an ongoing evolution on a living level -- like progressing from a lower creature into a higher one.
...
Time slipped away -- he lost track whether it was minutes, an hour, or days.
Suddenly, a thunderous boom rang out in his mind.
His consciousness blurred briefly, then clarity returned -- he had truly broken through, and a wave of joy swept over him.
Though still sitting cross-legged, his soul seemed to lift out of his body, hovering above, taking in the world.
He could see tears streaming down his face uncontrollably, feeling overwhelming happiness and the profound stirrings of new life.
His entire body, down to his genes, reacted naturally, every cell celebrating this evolutionary leap. Becoming a mage was the first step in advancing his life's progression.
...
From the moment his soul left his body, he felt the environment -- the gentle breeze, then a chill. The freshness and comfort gradually shifted to heat.
As his soul grew warmer, discomfort crept in, urging him to awaken.
John's body shivered with renewed vitality. He slowly opened his eyes -- a splash of stars twinkled within them, dazzling enough to discourage a direct stare.
Gradually, the glow faded, replaced by a flash of blue before returning to normal.
Fully awake now, he clearly sensed the difference -- a leap in his life's level.
...
He stretched lazily, then pressing down on the desk to jump off. Because of the breakthrough, his strength wasn't fully adjusted yet, and he landed several feet away.
A soft jump, a clenched fist -- he felt his strength and speed had improved by about 20 to 30 percent. Then he headed to the bathroom.
After washing up, standing in front of the mirror stark naked -- not out of vanity but to check any physical changes after the breakthrough -- he noticed his skin was smoother and paler, the contours of his body gentler yet more assured.
His physique looked leaner but more powerful.
His body felt lighter, stronger, and quicker.
...
Then a thought struck him, and his brow furrowed as he searched through the magic god's memories.
Logically, his body weight should have increased, given the boost in strength and durability. His body density should have risen compared to an average person.
After all, greater strength and speed require matching physical quality, or else faster attacks and hits could injure the body itself.
Yet John felt surprisingly light and agile.
Flipping through the magic god's memories, he understood.
According to those memories, everyone has a life magnetic field -- where the strength of a person's life force reflects their health and vitality. In the magic world, the belief is that as a mage progresses, their life magnetic field grows stronger. When a mage becomes a grand master, this field could even counter the planet's gravitational pull.
That's why grand mages can hover briefly, and when advancing to a mage lord, they can stand mid-air, even fly.
...
Thinking of the magic god standing atop the sky, John felt a surge of inspiration. No one could resist such temptation.
But for now, it was just a daydream. In a world where magic was faint, he wasn't sure if he'd ever reach mage lord.
Checking the clock, it was already noon on the third day -- he hadn't realized two full days had passed. He wondered if Zach and the others were getting worried.
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.
https://discord.gg/eKByGBSw.