Ronan wiped the fresh Magic Beast blood off his face, slowly standing up.
Blowing out the Flame of Break Magic on his longsword, he opened his character panel.
Most of his skill attributes had not changed significantly—the only one that had made a leap in progress was—[Ascetic Body Refinement (Expert 799/800)]
Stuck at the brink of Expert Level, just one step away from Master!
Ronan stared at the small print of [Ascetic Body Refinement], his eyelids twitching fiercely.
Only he knew what he had gone through to reach this point, how much he had endured.
He had forgotten how he had gotten here, the passage of time was a blur, his mind consumed by the sole thought of relentlessly forging his body.
Many nights, he bit through his gums lying on the dormitory floor of the academy, sweat mixed with blood soaking him over and over...
Whenever he was close to giving up, the words of the Little Witch in the blue-roofed house would echo in his ears like the tower bell—You’re most likely going to die of old age! You’re most likely going to die of old age!...
But Ronan did not want to die.
His strong desire to survive made him forcefully master all thirteen movements of [Ascetic Body Refinement]. To enhance the effect and further strengthen his physique, Ronan even tried bizarre and unpopular "remedies" like consuming raw Magic Beast flesh.
Then, whether it was from [Ascetic Body Refinement] being practiced to a deep level or consuming too much Magic Beast flesh, his body expanded like a balloon.
His originally slim and perfect, appropriately muscular body that he was quite satisfied with had forcibly "fattened" into a muscle-bound brute covered in lumps.
Of course, the resulting physical enhancement was also quite terrifying. Ronan could now grapple with Advanced Zero Rank Magic Beasts, even dominating and decapitating them in battle.
"Can I now crush an Advanced Zero Rank Energy Shield barehanded?"
Ronan looked at his hands. His originally fair and slender pianist hands were long gone, now rough and wide, with veins like earthworms crisscrossing the backs, exuding an explosive power.
From underneath him, he carelessly tore out a watermelon-sized heart from the chest of a barely dead four-armed monkey Magic Beast, disregarding its stench and heat, and began to chew voraciously.
That flesh, full of copious amounts of energy essence, was quickly digested by Ronan’s stomach into a few warm currents which then disappeared into his body.
Ronan felt like his body was a raging furnace, anything thrown into it would be instantly burned clean.
"I’m practically a humanoid Magic Beast... Can other Knight Body Forging Methods achieve the same effect?"
Ronan was unsure, but having come this far, he could sense something extraordinary about the Body Refining Method known as [Ascetic Body Refinement], which was not exactly a standard method.
Just the fact that it would get stuck on Expert Proficiency Level 799, harder than any other Spell he had encountered before, hinted that it was anything but simple.
Perhaps he really did stumble upon a treasure back then.
Ronan cleaned up the battlefield, cutting and consuming the parts of the Magic Beasts he killed where the flesh was most essence-rich.
Having eaten Magic Beast Meat for so long, he could be considered an expert connoisseur. He knew clearly which parts of the Magic Beast were delicate and which parts harbored "nutritional value".
If given the chance, Ronan thought he might even consider writing a book on the subject.
Muttering these two names, Ronan silently gulped down the last morsel of flesh.
Their belief had played an indispensable role in his perseverance.
Being weak is a sin; it’s indeed hard for someone at the bottom to take control of their fate, but... it’s always worth a try.
After his meal, sword in hand, Ronan moved through the jungle until he found an Ice Lake.
He broke the ice with his bare hands and leaped into the lake.
Moments later, having washed himself clean, he stepped out of the lake water step by step.
The icy water sticking to his skin, before he could fully reach the shore, was turned into steaming mist by his body heat and quickly dissipated.
Standing on the lakeshore, his robust figure was like a walking bear-man from a distance.
Ronan wiped his hair, shaking off the tiny ice chunks entangled in it, and then took out a clean Magic Robe from his Waist Storage Bag to put on.
The damp hair resting on his shoulders was discomforting. It had been a long time since he took care of his hair, reminding Ronan of Vinicia.
Ronan took another look at his character panel where [Ascetic Body Refinement] proficiency level was displayed and made a firm decision in his heart.
"To wait any longer would render my promotion meaningless."
He couldn’t afford to waste all his time on preparing for the promotion, because becoming an Official Wizard didn’t mean the danger to his life would immediately pass.
Neither Angelie nor Lola were ordinary Female Wizards.
Ronan needed to allocate enough time for training after becoming an Official Wizard, to learn First Rank Magic, refine his Soul Seal, and build a system of Magic Attributes...only by further strengthening his Strength would he be able to stand a chance in a confrontation against the two.
The most crucial point was...
Ronan discovered that his [Ascetic Body Refinement] was stuck at a Proficiency level of Expert 799 and couldn’t reach Completion because it was missing something vital.
But what that missing piece was, he had no idea, and the secret book said nothing.