With Demon Transformation and Heal supporting him, even with the increasing pressure(l, Damien was able to easily hold out until the evolution of his Ananta Matrix was completed.
Voom!
Damien felt an explosion go off in his mind. Even in this space filled with unending blackness, his vision was dyed white.
Within his body, minute changes were taking place, but each one carried a profound intent. With the new algorithmic chip guiding the Ananta Matrix, not only was its function drastically improved, even its autonomy lept to another level.
Now, Damien barely even needed to command his mana before it followed what he wanted to do. For the first time in his life, he felt like he and his mana were connected as a single being.
Every being under the system had access to mana. Regardless of talent, regardless of affinity, everyone was given the chance to utilize this mystical essence.
That was one of the universe's beauties. Even though talent was important, it was never the end all be all law of things. Any hardworking individual had the same ability to reach the heavens as a genius if they worked hard enough and continued to level up.
But in the end, mana was an external force. Even once it was internalized, one needed to change their body to accommodate it. Humans, at least, weren't naturally evolved to use mana in the most efficient way they could. This was simply because they lacked the intrinsic connection with mana that many other races had.
Humanity was versatile and adaptable, and while this was their main advantage against other races, it was also their downfall. Humanity was quite literally a prime example of the saying: "jack of all trades, master of none."
And as a human himself, Damien wasn't able to escape from this quality. Regardless of how many times he evolved, his core would always remain human. That 50% of his bloodline would never be wiped no matter how much the Void Physique changed him.
But in that moment when the Ananta Matrix finally evolved, Damien felt an orgasmic bliss spread through his mana. With every exhale, mana was pushed into the atmosphere, and with every inhale, it entered his body and infused itself into his systems.
His pores opened wide like hungry mouths, mimicking the breathing done through his mouth. If it wasn't for the lack of mana in the surroundings, Damien would've sucked this space dry.
'Is this how elves feel when they breathe? No wonder their physical appearances are heightened. This kind of connection with mana isn't comparable to ordinary mana use. Just being in such close contact with the energy would do wonders, giving a mortal the ability to easily live for hundreds of years.'
It wasn't just a feeling. The barrier between thoughts and reality was so thin it was negligible. A subconscious desire was enough to mobilize Damien's mana to do his bidding.
At the moment, his level of mana affinity was actually more harmful than beneficial. Because Damien wasn't used to such fine control, it was easy for him to idly waste mana. This was when the Ananta Matrix came in.
Its autonomy was imperative. It could regulate his mana for him and decide when to initiate its movement and when to ignore his subconscious thought. The best part was, the Ananta Matrix would never be wrong in its judgement of his desire.
This was the intrinsic connection between circuit and man, between creator and creation.
But even with this new level of efficiency, Damien wasn't out of danger. Once again, the pressure around him exponentially increased. The universe clearly didn't like that he was enduring so easily. Otherwise, how could the current circumstance even be called a trial?
Crack!
The sound of Damien's skin cracking was as loud as a gunshot. As his blood began to leak, he rapidly suppressed Transcendent Regeneration and endured with his body alone.
Crack! Crack!
The cracks on his body didn't stop spreading. Within minutes, his skin was segregated like puzzle pieces, thin lines running all across his body. In this state, it looked like a single breath could shatter him to pieces.
And it really could…at least, the outside layer of his body.
"Khh…!" Damien suppressed a groan of pain. Before things could get worse, he already acted to save himself.
'Dragon Transformation!'
Biting his tongue to help him remain rational, Damien activated his second transformation ability. When the two were stacked, they were an unstoppable force. The only reason Damien avoided this ability beforehand was because it consumed his stamina extremely rapidly.
When he first gained the ability, he could spend at most 30 seconds in this form. But he wasn't the same person anymore. Even lasting 5 minutes wasn't a problem for the current Damien.
And when time became inconsequential, when its essence no longer existed to cement its flow, the concept itself returned to a representation of perception of change.
In this environment where there was almost no change at all, couldn't 5 minutes become 5 years without worry?
This was what Damien kept telling himself as he resisted the pressure. Because his mana and stamina were being depleted at an insane rate, he couldn't even resume practicing like he usually would've done.
At one point, he was even of the mind to train the Space-Time River. No matter how hard he tried to comprehend it, he couldn't even take a single step past its most basic form, a form that wasn't worth anything to the current Damien.
Space and Time altered by the universe itself seemed like the perfect source from which he could draw inspiration. Unfortunately, the universe wasn't that charitable. At the end of the day, Damien was being tested, not trained.
And this was truly a test of mental and physical fortitude.
Even disregarding the physical test, Damien almost didn't realize how daunting the mental test would be for most people. Humans feared the unknown more than anything else. And after that was loneliness.
In a dark and lonely place where nothing was certain, going insane wasn't shameful at all.
The only reason Damien could survive so easily was because he'd already adapted to similar environments many times before.
Even disregarding the First Dungeon, his first experience with intense loneliness and darkness, and Alaric's memories, his most memorable experience with the concepts, just the half a year he spent comatose and piecing together his spiritual continent in the Trial World was worse than this trial.
Without realizing it, Damien had built up more experience than he could've ever imagined. He was even at the point where he looked down on a Universe Baptism.
But he was painfully aware of one fact.
His Baptism wouldn't end with this trial.
The strange Baptism he underwent started with the Void Physique, so it would end the same way. In Damien's opinion, the physique had been far too quiet considering the circumstances.
Now that he'd passed the elemental trials, he'd passed the mental trials, and he was infinitely close to passing the physical trials, it was finally approaching time for it to make a move.
This made Damien insatiably curious.
What kind of surprise would the Void Physique show him this time?
