Cycle of Destiny

Chapter 25 Advancement to Intermediate Mage!

Back in his hotel room, Harry kept thinking about the conversation.

When Veronica finally left, she had lost her initial enthusiasm and was clearly disappointed, but Harry didn't understand why.

Veronica never told Harry what he needed to do.

Harry initially guessed that it might be related to his status as a disciple of a holy mage, but when he shifted the topic of academy life to the scandal in the capital, Veronica did not resist at all and was even happy to participate.

She seemed completely unaware that she had been taken in as an apprentice by the Holy Wizard, and showed no interest in Harry's wizarding life.

The latter is easy to understand. She has always looked down on magicians, but if she doesn't know that she is the apprentice of a holy magician, then what help can he give her?

Perhaps because she had been too unfriendly, Veronica didn't think this was the most appropriate time.

As Harry was still reflecting, he felt a solid warmth in his stomach, as if warm spring water was gently rippling within it. The monster meat he had eaten had finally reached its peak absorption.

Immediately afterwards, this warmth gradually seeped into all the internal organs, immersing the entire torso in a soothing warmth.

Then, the warmth spread smoothly through my veins, flowing to my arms and legs, until even my fingertips and toes felt slightly warm and tingly. Finally, even the surface of my skin felt as if it were enveloped in an invisible layer of warm water, becoming slightly warm.

His whole body was immersed in this continuous and comfortable warmth, and he felt energetic and exceptionally comfortable.

As he was enveloped in a warm, full feeling, Harry immediately seized the opportunity and sat cross-legged on the bed.

He closed his eyes, cleared his mind of all distractions, and focused all his consciousness inward according to the methods he had learned.

Unlike ordinary meditation, which begins with perceiving external elements, he first focused his attention firmly on his body—on the warm energy that was flowing with his blood and pulsating slightly with his breath.

That was unguided, primal magic originating from the flesh of monsters.

He focused his mind and began to "organize" the energy scattered throughout his body, guiding it like countless tiny streams, allowing it to slowly converge from his limbs and bones to the center of his torso.

As he focused, the flow of energy noticeably accelerated. The warmth no longer spread haphazardly, but began to steadily converge towards his consciousness space along the path he had planned.

Harry felt his mind become more focused than ever before, all his senses collapsed inward, and the sounds, light, and smells of the outside world gradually faded away.

At this moment, his entire world consisted of the torrent of energy within him that was being gathered and tamed.

When his consciousness was fully focused inward, Harry clearly "saw" the flow of energy within his body.

The warm energy gathered by his will was no longer scattered.

As if guided by some clear direction, they were drawn from all parts of his body—muscles, bones, blood, and even beneath his skin that had just been warmed—and gathered into a warm current that was invisible to the naked eye but that he could clearly feel.

This warm current flowed steadily toward his spiritual core, where there seemed to be an invisible entrance. The moment the warm current touched the entrance, it surged into it without any hindrance.

In Harry's introspective perception, the influx was not a raging torrent, but rather a continuous, smooth trickle.

He could discern subtle differences in texture: some energies were cyan, clearly purer wood-attribute magic; others were pulsating red, a characteristic of fire-attribute magic.

This external energy is continuously flowing into his consciousness space through this sole channel. He also noticed that because his magical attribute is closer to the wood attribute, and he eats mostly wood-attribute antler beast meat at the dinner table, he has the most blue energy.

Although the fire lizard meat steak and octopus tentacles that I eat are similar, my magic attribute is more inclined towards fire between fire and water elements. Therefore, the second most abundant energy I can absorb is from the fire element.

At the same time, he also keenly sensed that at the very bottom of the consciousness space, that familiar "loophole" still existed.

But at this moment, the influx of magic was clearly faster than the slow, continuous loss caused by that tiny leak. The amount flowing in far exceeded the amount leaking out.

This directly caused his consciousness space to begin to be filled by this external warm current at a visible speed.

As magic continued to flow steadily, Harry's perceived space of consciousness was gradually filled.

Initially, the empty bottom was covered with magic, and then the filling height continued to rise. He could clearly sense the increase in the magical "level" in the space until it reached that invisible boundary—the upper limit of space determined by his current level three mage.

However, the torrent of magic from the monster's flesh did not stop. New magic continued to pour in, relentlessly impacting the already saturated boundaries of space. Harry began to feel a distinct pressure.

This pressure did not come from the body, but acted directly on his mental being.

He "felt" that the edge barrier of his consciousness space began to experience a uniform, continuous inward compression. The entire spatial structure trembled slightly, emitting a low "humming" that could only be perceived by the spirit.

The magic was further compressed within the already full container, increasing its density and becoming viscous and active.

Harry had to use all his mental energy to maintain the stability of this saturated space and fight against the expanding force that kept stretching it from the inside.

The pressure continued to build, stretching the barriers of space thinner and thinner, and the tension made him feel a dull ache in his very core. He knew he was at a critical juncture.

Just as the tension reached its peak, and Harry felt he could barely maintain his composure—

"Snap..."

A faint yet clear sound, as if some invisible barrier was being evenly stretched open, resounded directly in the depths of his consciousness.

With that soft sound, the overwhelming pressure that had almost crushed his spirit suddenly disappeared.

He clearly sensed that the extremely thin boundary barrier in his consciousness space had not broken, but was gently and firmly pushed open by the magic power that filled it to the extreme.

The entire space is like a highly elastic container; after reaching its limit, its boundaries steadily expand outwards.

The magic that was originally compressed at a high density instantly gained a larger volume, quickly filling the newly expanded area, and the "fullness" of the space was immediately relieved, restoring a stable and accommodating state.

He was no stranger to the feeling of expanding his consciousness space.

During the magic apprentice stage, everyone's consciousness space can only hold the magic power of a level one spell, but with continuous meditation, the consciousness space will slowly expand.

When Harry left the academy, he already had the consciousness space capacity of a level three mage, but this was not expanded through meditation, but through food: after eating the meat of intermediate magical beasts several times, his consciousness space increased from level one to level two, and finally reached the level of a level three mage, but he has never been able to break through to a higher level.

The expansion was brief and smooth. When everything calmed down, Harry realized that the capacity of his consciousness space had permanently increased.

Its stability and scale have already crossed that threshold and reached the standard of a fourth-level mage!

Harry has advanced to the rank of intermediate magician!

Harry slowly emerged from deep meditation and regained control of his bodily senses.

He still had his eyes closed, but the first thing that struck him was his restored hearing, which made him slightly startled. He was sitting on the bed in a room on the third floor of the hotel, but the sounds entering his ears were completely different from usual.

The feeling was like a thick layer of cotton cloth separating the sound from the ear being suddenly pulled away.

The sounds downstairs were so clear they seemed almost within reach: he could clearly hear the rhythmic footsteps of the lobby waiters carrying trays across the wooden floor, and even distinguish the slight clinking of glasses on the trays. The hushed conversations of guests in other rooms in the corridor were no longer muffled.

What surprised him even more was the street outside. Through the open window (which he hadn't closed for ventilation before his meditation), various sounds came in minute detail: the unique shouts of market vendors not far away, the rumble of horse-drawn carriage wheels rolling over the stone pavement, the footsteps of pedestrians, and even the faint sounds of two women chatting about vegetable prices across the street.

All these sounds flowed into his ears clearly and distinctly, without interfering with each other, instantly making him "know" what was happening on the street outside the window at that moment.

It wasn't just hearing. When he opened his eyes, the wood grain of the furniture, the finest cracks on the walls, and even the dust particles floating in the air were exceptionally clear in the afternoon light.

His sense of smell had also become much sharper, allowing him to clearly distinguish the wood smell of the room itself, the lingering scent of monster meat on his body, and the street smell wafting in from outside the window, a mixture of food and dirt.

Harry sat on the bed, carefully experiencing this world that was completely different from anything he had ever seen before.

Immediately, a clear fact came to mind—his mental strength had undergone a qualitative leap as his consciousness space expanded.

This is not just an increase in the total amount of magic power, but also a comprehensive improvement in perception and control abilities.

The thought that he had successfully advanced to a fourth-level mage simply by eating a meal filled him with overwhelming joy.

He could no longer contain himself; a wide grin spread across his face, and he finally burst into a hearty laugh.

Life is full of surprises. Just a few months ago, I was worried about whether I could become a first-level mage and stay at the academy. Now, I am a disciple of a holy mage and have the strength of an intermediate mage.

Unfortunately, he still couldn't find a solution to the loopholes in his consciousness space. The only thing he could rely on now was the wooden silkworm silk – he had previously only been able to tell that it could store the energy level of a mid-level mage, but in Harry's current opinion, when fully charged, it could probably provide him, a level four mage, with energy about three times in a row.

In other words, the energy stored in this piece of wooden silk is about three times that of his current state when his magic is at its peak.

He had absorbed some of it while on the ship and at the port, and now that he was full of magic, and since it would dissipate anyway, he might as well fill it up.

The help from high-grade monster meat is really great. I advanced in rank after just one enjoyable meal. If I could eat it every day, how far would I be from becoming a great mage?

However, Harry knew that this idea was unrealistic. High-level magical beasts were hard to find, even in the magical beast market of the magic academy, and he simply couldn't afford the cost of the Lionheart. Veranika's willingness to be taken advantage of this time was purely luck, and it would be difficult to have such an opportunity in the future.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

It turned out that the inn's servants had been instructed to deliver a set of clothes to Harry.

After closing the door, Harry lifted the top of his coat by the shoulder line with both hands and fully unfolded it.

This was a formal coat prepared for a banquet, hanging loosely in front of him. The material was silver velvet, thick and substantial, its surface shimmering with varying shades of light as his arm moved slightly.

The tailoring is a classic aristocratic style, with deliberately widened shoulders and significantly increased bust and waist measurements to accommodate a wider torso.

As you can clearly see from the unfolded shape, the lines on both sides of the garment are almost vertical, only slightly tapering inwards from the waist down, forming a loose and smooth silhouette.

Accompanying the jacket was a dark gray satin vest and a pair of straight-leg trousers in the same color, both neatly folded on a tray brought by a servant.

Harry tried them on and found that the jacket and vest were a little small, but overall they felt pretty good, just a bit tight.

Needless to say, this must have been sent by Veranika.

Wearing a mage's robe to the Lionheart was already enough to attract attention; if Veranika were to attend her banquet in the same attire, she would be the one who would be embarrassed.

It can only be said that Veronica is too concerned about aristocratic etiquette; she will not allow any potential embarrassment to occur at her banquet.