A few minutes passed, and 30% of Arthur's wounds had healed. His recovery was not perfect, and the regeneration caused his appearance to look downright hideous. Flesh had regenerated in the wrong places, causing him to look like a mutilated zombie.
Blood was splattered over both his tattered clothes and burnt skin. Parts of his flesh were ripped asunder, while other parts were sewn over the wrong places, causing his body to look like a poorly sewn piece of clothing.
Arthur couldn't describe the pain he felt in words, as it surpassed anything he'd ever experienced before that point.
Excruciating?
No, the word couldn't describe even a quarter of what Arthur felt. A thousand needles? A million would fall short.
But, despite that, Arthur was elated.
Why?
Because he hadn't perished.
Even after an experience that left him begging for mercy, he hadn't died. If pain could kill, Arthur would have died millions of times. Thankfully, pain was only a form of torture, and had little effect on causing death itself.
Pain was a warning, not the injury itself.
'But still, that hurt like hell,' thought the crimson-eyed man. Now that his body was somewhat healed, he pushed himself up. His legs shook like jelly, but after much trouble, he was finally able to stand.
While barely maintaining his balance, Arthur walked along the stream, enduring the mind-boggling pain that continued to assault his body. At that point, the crimson-eyed man was becoming numb.
The pain didn't seem to alleviate, but his receptors were becoming insensitive after such overuse. That was why a trip that might've given Arthur a stroke didn't cause much damage in the end.
After a few minutes, the crimson-eyed man arrived at a circular piece of soil untouched by the wetness of the nearby water. The surface was elevated, and the soil seemed to have hardened considerably.
It was almost as hard as cement.
Arthur tapped the platform, realizing it was hollow. However, since it was sturdy, the crimson-eyed man had no qualms performing the procedure atop it. With much trouble, he quickly climbed atop the platform.
Crawling for a few seconds, Arthur pushed himself up, assuming a meditative stance after wiggling around like a jellyfish. His body was slithery and moist, and his movements and behavior were akin to a snake.
Each movement caused a hiss to escape his lips.
Once he had assumed a meditative stance, Arthur began the procedure.
Sensing the flow of mana circuits, he determined that it all originated from his heart, the main component of how mana flowed across his body. The circuits were connected to his heart, through which they began.
[Your understanding of mana circuits and mana has improved.]
[Initiating Agonizer Nova procedure.]
Arthur chuckled, realizing that the system was not unbeknownst to his motive. Since the system itself was recording his progress, perhaps there was a reward at the end. But that was simply wishful thinking.
Arthur focused on his heart, calculating the rate of each pump, and the quantity of blood and mana that originated from there. Then, he followed the mana circuits, and how they separated from each other at various parts of the body.
The circuits were similar to blood vessels but in a more intangible way.
Arthur was not certain whether they would materialize as his mana condensed, or whether they would remain intangible. By intangible, it meant that slicing his arm would not cause the mana in his circuits to spill.
It would be consolidated, and before the arm was sliced, all mana would rush towards his heart to prevent any losses.
It was not like blood, which would spill if the vessels or veins were sliced.
[You have made a connection.]
[Your understanding of mana increases.]
[Your circuits strengthen.]
'No… don't strengthen them…'
Strengthening his mana circuits would result in an increase in their rigid surface. That would increase the difficulty of manipulating them to his heart's content. Arthur cursed, realizing that the system's rewards could also be a curse.
'I just have to avoid gaining insight…'
Arthur muttered internally, but he knew it was impossible. In order to complete the procedure, gaining insight into the art of mana manipulation was necessary. He could not deliberately avoid such concepts.
As the mana circuits continued, they acted like the vines of a tree. The complex structure of the vines was unpredictable. They weaved across a tree, forming undecipherable patterns while continuing to expand.
Similarly, mana circuits weaved across one's body, providing mana to all organs, tendons, ligaments, bones, muscles, tissues, and so on. It formed a web of an endless supply of mana, and could not be traced.
However, Arthur's motive was not to trace it.
He simply wished to expand them and increase the surface area, so that their destruction would be delayed. Currently, if he allowed himself to slack, Arthur would eventually be crippled in the best case, and perish in the worst case.
His mana circuits would either leave him defenseless or would explode, ending his life instantly.
Of course, to prevent–no, delay–that from occurring, such a procedure was necessary for him to undergo. There was no other purpose to the procedure other than to increase the surface area and increase strain.
Usually, it would also grant him a larger mana reserve.
Alas, Arthur did not have such a luxury, as most of the parts of the circuits would eventually be crippled, anyway. He simply wished to expand them enough to replace the "vines" that would eventually be cut down.
[Your understanding of mana has increased.]
[Your mana circuits strengthen.]
'Fuck you, system,' Arthur thought in a fit of rage, cursing while attempting to speed up the process. He couldn't offer the system a chance to fuck everything up. He needed to complete the procedure before the circuits were strengthened to an irreversible degree.
As the vines of mana stretched for eternity, Arthur continued to calm himself, focusing on their advance.
As the mana in his body continued to spread in places it had never explored, the vines stretched, too.
But this was the risky part.
A single slip-up would result in the detonation of that part of the body, which would cause his circuits to explode.
