The fifth stage of Mana Foundation, the Neural Stage, was the first major hurdle that a person faced on their journey as a Magus.
All the stages before this could be considered to be relatively easier.
Mana first nourished the person's skin, then their flesh, their bones, and finally their organs. All the organs were thoroughly washed by mana except one - the brain!
In the Neural Stage, mana had to seep in through the organs and then strengthen the nervous system. This was a very crucial stage because the brain also needed to be elevated by mana.
This was a highly delicate process and any small mistake could lead to devastating consequences.
The potion that Adam had brewed, Purple Twilight, and the frosty liquid that he had prepared combined the attributes of fire and ice and permeated every inch of his skin, creating pathways and allowing the mana to flow through smoothly.
The inspiration behind combining contradictory forces and utilizing them was something that he had gained from watching the two colossal creatures—the crab and the spider—fighting each other in the Spirit World.
Although the youth was going through immense pain as the potion circulated inside his body, he was still able to keep his composure. After all, he had gone through something far worse only less than a month ago.
This much pain was nothing.
When Adam felt that the timing was right and that more than enough pathways had been created inside the body, he revolved the Five Elemental Codex!
A barely visible vortex of energy swirled around the youth as mana from the five fundamental elements was slowly drawn inside his body.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})The mana, which was the fusion of five elements, entered this body and thoroughly revitalized his skin, flesh, bones, and finally organs. The mana was then drawn to the pathways of the nervous system like a river naturally finding its course.
At this point, Adam had stopped trying to proactively guide the mana. Instead, he simply let it flow. This was something he had learned while advancing to the Organ Stage back inside the secret plane.
The frown on his face slowly relaxed as Adam found himself attuned to the rhythm of mana.
Mana naturally flowed to the network of nerves that extended throughout his body. As it moved along these pathways, it interacted with the nerve cells and nourished them with newfound vitality.
At each nerve junction, the mana acted as the catalyst, enhancing the transmission of signals between each nerve cell. It strengthened the connections between neurons, allowing Adam's thoughts to become sharper and his reactions quicker.
Slowly, as time passed by, the mana reached the brain, gently penetrating the blood-brain barrier and bathing the central nervous system, resulting in increased cognitive function and mental acuity.
As soon as the mana reached his brain, Adam felt a profound sense of clarity wash over him. It was as if a fog had been cleared from his mind.
This signified his advancement to the Neural Stage!
When he opened his eyes, the world around him had changed. The colors were more vibrant, the sounds more clear, and everything seemed to sparkle with brilliance.
His lips slowly curled up into a smile and he softly muttered, "So this is what it means to truly see."
Adam got out of the barrel and looked at everything around him through a renewed lens.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"It's like having nerves outside my body, like a sixth sense of sorts. If I use this sense, I'll be able to analyze my surroundings more clearly."
The youth paused for a moment, suddenly thinking of something. "It's like an inferior version of my Sphere of Resonance!"
Adam closed his eyes and felt the changes in his body. Similar to the network of nerves, another brand new network had formed. However, it was still in the nascent stage.
Mana channels!
Over time, as Adam continued to practice mindfulness and extracted the mana from his surroundings, the mana channels in his body would gradually stabilize and be firmly established.
Through these channels, mana would be able to flow more smoothly. Moreover, his mana replenishment speed would also drastically increase.
"Come to think of it, I can already be considered to have progressed halfway through the Neural Stage," Adam muttered to himself, his eyes flashing with excitement and satisfaction.
In order to advance to Rank 2, a Neural Stage Magus had to fulfill two conditions.
However, Adam had already fulfilled one of the conditions when he was a mere Flesh Stage Magus - the formation of the spirit sea!
This meant that Adam only needed half the time that a regular Neural Stage Magus needed to advance to Rank 2. All he needed to do was consolidate his mana channels and slowly condense mana at the center of his body.
Once again Adam was reminded of how drastically his life had changed after acquiring the white lotus. Not only had it saved his life on certain occasions, but it had also greatly aided him in advancing through the ranks.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Thinking of this, he closed his eyes once again and shifted his consciousness to his spirit sea. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself floating atop a large body of water.
He looked around and was pleasantly surprised. "This… it feels like my spirit sea has increased in size? But I haven't even absorbed—ah, that's right!"
Suddenly, he recalled something that he had read in some arcane texts.
The water inside one's spirit sea is a representation of the Magus' spiritual power. With each advancement after the Neural Stage, the spirit sea increases in size indicating the increase in one's spiritual power.
Till now, Adam was able to increase his spiritual power only because he absorbed the soul fragments inside the white lotus. However, for the first time today, his spiritual power had increased naturally.
"Hmm, I wonder how much my spirit sea will have increased when I advance to Rank 2…" the youth mused to himself.
He then flew toward the center of this ethereal space where the white lotus was located.
The lotus was like an enormous island laying dormant in his spirit sea. Although in the real world, its size was only equivalent to a regular lotus, inside Adam's spirit sea it was countless times bigger.
The youth flew towards one of the white petals and gently touched it with his palm. He closed his eyes and sincerely said, "Thank you… for everything."
As if responding to his conviction, the white lotus pulsed ever so slightly, causing a smile to bloom on the youth's face.
The next moment, he vanished and arrived inside the mysterious white space where thousands of soul fragments were floating around leisurely.
With each advancement, the youth's capacity to absorb souls also increased. This time was no different.
Seeing the tiny orbs of light hovering before him, Adam licked his lips.
"Time to feast!"
