Time passes as Novus’s body continues to absorb an overwhelming amount of Evolution Energy at a tremendous rate.

Even he himself is quite shocked. After all, for the two days that he had been using Evolution Crystal to improve his own strength, the most he could absorb was a couple of hundred within a single day, and that is even a generous estimation that considers him meditating for the entire day.

Yet now, ten thousand F-Tier Evolution Crystals, and on top of that, ten E-Tier Evolution Crystal as well, not even a few hours passing since he started his promotion to the E-Tier, a significant part of that massive amount of energy is already absorbed into his being.

And still, he continues, the extreme awareness towards his own body right now allows him to know the fact that his body is still far from the limits.

Another hour passed, and he sensed that his body had finally approached, then eventually hit that limit. Each cell being fed power and strength by Evolution Energy is now filled to the brim, overflowing with Evolution Energy as his promotion continues.

Right at this very moment, not a single part of his body is left untouched by Evolution Energy. Every and all cell was filled, nay, saturated, by the power beyond mana itself.

His heart starts beating faster, his lungs expand in an attempt to draw out more air from the surrounding air as his blood starts to thicken, his muscles begin to twitch uncontrollably as his very own body starts hyperventilating as if it can no longer keep up with the Evolution Energy’s speed, but he decides to keep pressing on.

Only this time, he no longer just let Evolution Energy move on its own, willing his body to regain control over itself, stabilizing the panic-induced hyperventilation, only to realize that his senses alone aren’t enough to keep up with what is happening with his own body.

Each system, each organ, each tissue, and each cell grows at a terrifying rate, yet even then, it still fails to keep up with the oncoming torrent of Evolution Energy that flows towards him, forcing him to find ways for his mind to keep up with these changes, and just a moment after, he found it.

It was as if he instinctually knew it.

’Sensory Expansion.’

As he unfolds his technique, Novus’ focus falters for a bit as every single stimulus in the outside world flows towards his brain, prompting him to forcibly shut them down, trying to go with it just like what he did before during his most recent final moments in the Evolution Domain.

Perhaps it was because he was just too tired back then that his senses were prone to just shutting down, but right now, he fails to do so time and time again, forcing him to give up on the idea, resorting to just ignoring them instead.

Well, even just ignoring the influx of massive information coming towards one’s brain is still severely difficult to do, yet compared to the difficulty of breaking through while not doing so, the former is still far less taxing than the latter.

Through a massive amount of information, the flow of air, all things around him, that flows into his head, Novus found it, the part of his senses not expanding towards the outside world but rather, descending inwards, freezing him for a moment in wonder as he recalled a certain word from his childhood.

’The body is a world in and of itself.’

All the way until now, he never truly understood what his father meant by those words, yet right now, as he stares at what is fundamentally his very own world, he couldn’t help but marvel at the mysteries of the human, of his own body, each cells a building producing mass amount of power each tissue formed like workers performing their different tasks, each organ and system-like structures that systemize all the process.

All is working in harmony, and there’s not a single thing that is truly useless.

And within this ’world’, he saw it, the flow of Evolution Energy automatically circulating all across his body, and taking his chance, he guides it, not the Evolution Energy that can work on its own, but rather his own body to work even better with it.

With two working together instead of just one working on its lonesome, the process became so much easier for him to bear. The torrent-like energy flow begins to calm down as his saturated cells push through, using excess energy to refine itself and expand its capacity before taking in even more, pushing his growth further as he begins increasing his absorption of the ball of Evolution Energy once again.

Where one falls and one advances, where the body and energy once clashed, now find harmony as they move as one.

Evolution Energy continues to drain as time passes, and with the breakthrough reaching its imminent peak, Novus couldn’t help but have a smile creep onto his face, even despite all the intense focus.

Then suddenly, he felt it, amidst the surging power from his own body’s elevation to a higher level, amidst the harmonious movement between said body and energy, something stirred deeper within.

Something that is neither power nor energy, something grand waiting to be forged.

Then he heard it, a loud, sharp, and resounding crack of shackles, of chains breaking, echoed all around him, sounding so close yet also so far at the same time.

The final drops of the Evolution Energy once the size of his own head reached his body all at once, and as if signaling the end of his breakthrough, each cell began vibrating all at the same time, sending shivers down his spine as comfort flowed large and fast, almost making him groan in relief, but he managed to force himself from doing so.

’That was close...’ luckily for him, that greatly comforting sensation goes out as fast as it appears, allowing him to keep his dignity for himself, the young man whose tolerance to pain stands at an inhumane level, realizing that there are more, well, dreading sensations other than pain.

As he opened his eyes, he was met by the perpetrator who made all of this possible; his breakthrough to the E-Tier wouldn’t be this easygoing and silent had it not been for the assistance of Evolution Crystals and the system that congealed those massive amounts into a singular ball of energy.

[Congratulations. You have been promoted to E-Tier.]

As he read through those lines, he couldn’t help but reveal a faint but genuine smile on his face. This system, despite being all too cold and laissez-faire with his discovery of its features, is still designed to greet him during times like this, making him feel a little bit of warmth amidst its often ruthless cold.

Pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind, it is only now that he truly realizes the significance of his reaching the E-Tier.

He breathes with ease, each inhale, each exhale lighter than before as his body feels unburdened, as if he just removed weights that he never realized were always there before, said weights now completely gone.

Mana in the air feels closer to him than ever before, as if he can grasp them just by reaching out his own hand.

Finally.

The monster who would take the academy by storm had finally taken his first step.