Chapter 119: Keeping The Promise

Someone having to endure torture for the fourth time in such a short span probably wasn’t unique to Magna in the whole universe.

But going through so many different, unique forms of pain, each one distinct from the last, was probably exceptionally rare.

If an achievement system existed, Gaia likely would have unlocked one for this.

Currently his stomach was hurting so badly he wanted to throw up from the pain alone.

And the worst part was, the reason for this pain had nothing to do with needing the bathroom.

’Is this how women feel during their period?’ He tried to ease his pain with random thoughts, but it was no use.

After a while, the pain even transcended being purely physical, as he started to feel like his very soul was aching, though he couldn’t even begin to describe what that meant despite actually experiencing it.

Thankfully, good things were happening in the middle of all this pain he had to endure.

[Your Stamina increased by 1.]

[Your Stamina increased by 1.]

[Your Stamina increased by 1.]

...

..

.

His stamina was rising so fast that by the time he tried to count, it had already passed 20.

He wasn’t gaining any strength stat this time, but that was fine, since as his stamina rose, the pain he felt started to ease up.

It wasn’t that he was gaining pain tolerance exactly, more like his body was becoming more resistant to the pain, more used to it.

The stat was proving so versatile that he thought Gaia should just rename it from stamina to something else, since the name was starting to become a little misleading.

This mutation also lasted longer than the previous ones. Even after several minutes had passed, it was still going with the same intensity, which was good for his stamina stat, since it kept climbing without stopping.

By the time the pain had finally become something normal to him, something he was quite used to by now, he even managed to sit himself up off the floor, and only then did the mutation start coming to an end.

Curious just how much his stats had increased, Magna checked his status panel.

Strength: 18

Agility: 16

Reaction: 16

Stamina: 102

Mana 8.2%

"Almost doubled?" Even he himself couldn’t believe the result.

Now he really wanted to test Titus’s punch once more, just to see how durable his body had actually become.

Thinking that an average human’s stat value was around 5 to 6, he was already nearly 20 times more resilient than a regular adult.

Of course, since that was just a guess, he still needed to actually test his body with some exercise to find out its true limits.

Before that, he first needed to calculate how much mana regeneration he had gained.

Sitting in front of his open status screen, he started to wait, counting the seconds in his head.

Seconds turned into minutes, and after half an hour had passed, he finally saw the increase he had been waiting for, exactly at the 1800-second mark.

’0.1% every half an hour?’

That meant 4.8% a day, which surprised Magna quite a bit, since it was actually pretty good.

With mana regeneration alone, he would fill his mana back up to 100% in about 21 days.

It was, without a doubt, the best passive income he could think of.

"It was a very eventful morning." He slowly got to his feet and walked over to the curtains.

He slowly opened them, letting the morning sunlight pour in, feeling the warmth of it on his face.

He even opened the windows to let some fresh air in, letting his lungs refresh.

Less than an hour had passed since he’d gone through all his mutations and power-ups, but he was already feeling like a new person.

His eyes caught the ice coffins decorating the inner garden. He looked over at the one holding the mother goblin’s body.

"It hasn’t been that long, but I’m keeping my promise. Are you happy?" He murmured quietly.

He really was eating well and growing bigger so fast.

—

The morning sun lit up the whole Winterborne mansion, but it seemed to take special care with one room in particular, as Celeste’s study room was bathed in warm yellow rays.

Celeste, who had been awake since the night before, was still sitting behind her desk, writing papers without stopping.

The top of her desk was already covered in a batch of white sheets.

After writing to her mother about consigning Magna to the Tower, she spent her whole night filling out reports about the recent events.

The interrogation of the Faceless Witch, what they knew and thought about the Golden Sunberry farm, and a detailed explanation of Sable Thorn’s current strength and the spells she had used in her recent battle, along with her own analysis.

Some of the reports were meant for the Tower, informing them about the conflict between the two families, while the vast majority were for the alliance, containing information about the Thorn family, their current enemy, and their plans for a counterattack.

"I feel like a big war is waiting for us soon." She murmured, rubbing her temples, feeling a heavy weight settle in her chest.

Fights over resources had always been the biggest cause of war among Witch Families, and this time wouldn’t be any different, though she had a feeling this one would end up far more brutal and bloody than any before it.

While she took a short break to rest her eyes and hands, her shadow trembled slightly as Titus rose from it.

"I just caught 16 intruders trying to slip into the outer garden." He reported in a tired tone, making his way to the couch to sit down.

The intruders were still ordinary humans, but their numbers had suddenly doubled. The ones roaming the area were a clear sign that the enemy alliance was onto something again.

"Could you find out which family sent them this time?" Celeste asked, already starting to write her reports again, this time adding in the 16 intruders as well.

"As always, they don’t know who hired them. But isn’t it obvious it’s the Thorn family behind it?" Titus answered, settling comfortably into the couch.

Most of the people who came to spy didn’t even know who had hired them, since they were only there to die either way. Whether their mission succeeded or not, their family would still receive a large payment.

Usually, even if just one of them managed to bring back slightly useful information, the payment was high enough to support their whole family for years.

After writing the last sentence on the page, Celeste raised her head, stretching to ease her aching back. "We can’t rule out other families. Sable has probably already asked the others for help, promising them a share of her Golden Sunberry farm."

Titus nodded, having been part of this society long enough to know that alliances existed for exactly times like these.

"I just hope the conflict ends with as little damage as possible before it grows too big." He sighed, the only thing on his mind being his defenseless little daughter.