Chapter 161: Finally Going Through the Mutation

After Faye and Magna left, the Winterborne mansion became quiet.

Even Titus, who usually spent his time at the training field, was sprawling lazily on the couch in Celeste’s study, staring listlessly at the ceiling.

"Is there any new letter from Faye?" He asked in a mumbling tone, his eyes tracing the lines running across the wooden beams that made up the ceiling.

Celeste, unlike him, looked very busy with a stack of papers on her desk and answered tersely. "The last one just came a few hours ago."

Faye had already arrived at the Tower, and had already sent 2 letters letting them know she was doing well.

She had even written quite a bit of detail, saying that the place wasn’t actually that scary and that her teacher, the Witch of the Rime-Blight, was a very good person who was easygoing too.

Too bad she hadn’t been able to meet her grandmother there yet, as she was currently away on a mission. Still, everything seemed to be alright so far.

Even though everything she wrote in her letters was good and reassuring, Titus was just too much of a worrier. He couldn’t stop himself from imagining the worst.

"What about Magna? Any news from him?" This time he asked while shifting position on the couch, lying on his side and closing his eyes like he was getting ready to sleep.

Celeste gave a sigh. "I’m sure he’ll be fine."

They knew Magna’s situation and privileges would be different from Faye’s, since he probably wouldn’t even have the luxury of something like writing letters.

Also, knowing he first had to go through a trial before heading to the Tower was another reason they understood why they hadn’t heard from him.

Either way, they weren’t too worried about the boy, since they knew he was very talented, could handle things himself, and could stay safe even in dangerous places.

While Celeste kept reading the reports on her desk about the conflict that kept growing day by day, a raven with deep red feathers landed in front of her window and started tapping at the glass.

There was also a cylindrical tube tied to its back, with a letter inside.

Celeste didn’t even need to read the letter to know, since she already recognized from the red raven that it was from Rowena Cinder.

She got up and opened the window, letting the raven in.

Opening the cap on the tube tied to its back, she pulled out the paper inside, her face slightly creasing.

"Lady Rowena says they found the location the Golden Sunberry farm was moved to."

Hearing that, Titus immediately sat up and started listening.

"Looks like it’s currently located somewhere inside the forest. Not too far from our territory."

Apparently Sable Thorn hadn’t been able to move it very far, since she had only placed the farm at a temporary location.

Hearing that, Titus raised one eyebrow. "They’re planning to attack it?"

Celeste nodded heavily. "They want to destroy the farm tonight, before Sable finds the time to relocate it again. Since it’s close to our territory, they want us to join."

The rising tension and the breaking point of the conflict had finally arrived.

—

[Your Stamina increased by 1.]

Magna, eyes closed, sitting cross legged, kept tracking the system messages popping up now and then.

As the minutes passed, reaching the 3 hour mark, he could feel his mind growing more and more resilient to the pressure of the mana pressing down on him.

His dizziness was fading little by little, and his thoughts had grown clearer, flowing more smoothly through his mind again.

He opened his eyes to check on how Matrim was doing so far and saw that he was doing well too.

But since his eyes were closed and his breathing was steady enough to make him wonder if the guy had simply fallen asleep, he called out.

"Matrim."

Luckily, he opened his eyes right away to look at him. "Yeah?"

His eyes still looked slightly heavy, and his voice came out tired and sluggish, but he was definitely looking good.

"How’s it going?" Magna asked, closing his eyes once more.

Matrim shifted a little, rolling his aching back and shoulders, and answered. "I think I’m getting used to it. I feel less dizzy now."

His adjustment process was definitely slower than Magna’s, but he could still clearly feel the gains.

"Think you can take another step?" Magna was thinking he would go one step further soon, since his stamina was about to hit the 300 mark.

Getting almost 80 stamina points just from sitting there for 3 hours was insane.

But now that he had gotten more used to it, his gains had also started slowing down, and it was clear they would stop completely after a while.

"I just need a little more time. Maybe another hour." Matrim could feel he was close to being able to take the next step, just not quite yet.

"Okay." Magna needed about that much time too, and besides, he didn’t want to take the next step right away, since he was planning something else.

His mana reserve had been sitting at 100% for a while now, and every extra bit of mana he gained through regeneration was going to waste, so he finally decided he wasn’t going to wait any longer.

At least he had found a decent spot, out of sight, to go through his mutation here.

Matrim’s presence didn’t bother him too much. First, he was fairly confident that he could handle the pain that would come during the mutation, since his stamina was much higher now.

Second, the mutation option he was about to choose wouldn’t physically transform him that much.

At least, not from the outside.

As long as he stayed silent during the process, Matrim wouldn’t notice anything while his eyes were closed.

The cave was also quite dark to begin with, so even if there was some kind of change, he doubted Matrim’s eyes would be able to see it, guessing the guy had no trait for good vision in the dark.

There was one more reason he wanted to go through his mutation as soon as possible. The option he was about to choose was something that could help a lot with his current training.

Deciding to just go for it, he chose the option he had been holding off on for too long.

[Option 1 selected. Utilizing gathered energy to accelerate physical regeneration by 5x. Prepare for sudden physical pain...]

He mentally prepared himself and watched the countdown tick down.

3...

2...

1...

Instantly, an agonizing pain hit him from inside his body and spread outward.

Before long, his entire body was filled with a kind of pain he had never experienced before, one he couldn’t even describe.

As he had guessed, his higher stamina made the pain bearable. He didn’t make a sound for now, but the intense discomfort caused his face to contort involuntarily.

The strange feeling became so intense that he soon couldn’t stop himself from making a sound.

"Hnnng..."

The sound didn’t really sound painful. It sounded more like relief or even pleasure, which immediately caught Matrim’s attention. He opened his eyes and looked at him strangely.