Andrew was shocked, '...Is he already gaining a method?!? It hasn't even been 30 minutes since we started!'
To Andrew's knowledge, the fastest someone gained a method was in 5 hours. That person rose and became a Stage 9 peak-level mage. If Cage was more talented than that mage, then who knows how far he could climb.
A smile crept up on Andrew's face, he couldn't help but be excited. He may have just witnessed the birth of an absolute powerhouse in the world. 'This kid is a true monster, and I'm gonna be the one making him more monstrous... This should be fun. I wonder what method the kid got...'
Cage could feel the mana fluctuations and could feel the density increase to almost five times what it normally was. In the body of his soul, he could see a membrane form around his core. It was colorless, but Cage could immediately tell which method it was. he could even see it being engraved in his soul. After a few minutes the mana surging towards Cage began to decrease along with the density. When the mana in the area went back to normal, Cage opened his eyes.
Andrew looked at Cage with a smirk. "You should talk more. So, what method did you get?"
Cage couldn't respond to that question. Literally, he still couldn't talk. Cage just facepalmed in response. "..."
"HA HA HA! Sorry, Sorry, I'm just pulling your leg." Andrew burst out laughing at his own joke. He calmed down after laughing for a little. "Anyways, Just hold up one finger for the Mortal method and two for the Spiritual method."
Cage slowly put up his hand. Only one finger was up. It also happened to be with his digitus tertius.
"Oi come on! It was just a joke, I already apologized!"
Andrew quickly realized that Cage was a Mortal method user. Cage had been compatible with the Mortal method and as such, he was an enchanter.
"I for one, am happy you're an enchanter like me. It means that I can guide you better and maybe when you're older we can even spar!"
Cage gave Andrew a funny look. He couldn't help but wonder if Andrew was a battle maniac.
'Actually, he might be one. He did fight people for five years straight more or less, right? Oh no, what have I gotten my self into...'
While Cage was looking back on his life choices and how he was going to survive Andrew's teaching, the person began to talk.
"Now that you have a method, you should be able to cultivate on your own. When you received your method, you should have gotten the information with it. And while the methods are classified in two categories, no method is ever truly the same. Each method is different for every person so the knowledge of my method won't really be able to help you other than some basic information. It will more or less be up to you now. Ask me any questions if you have them, It's only really the first step that is challenging."
With a smile, Andrew said good night to Cage and went to turn in for the night.
Cage couldn't fall asleep, he wanted to get stronger. Despite having an older mentality, he still acted like a kid. Back on his old world when people were still kids, they would dream of being a super hero or having magic powers. Now, Cage was in a world where magic was commonplace.
He would naturally stay up later to work on his method. He wanted to know how the method worked. Andrew was indeed right that he had all the information he needed to use it, but the method was like a math equation. Anyone can use it, but only when you understand it can you use it more efficiently.
Thus, he began to absorb mana to understand the method as well as make himself stronger using said method. Cage's method required the mana to go through the physical body then into his soul.
Just like before, he could feel the warm and comfortable sensation of the mana going through his veins and into his soul. He noticed that after he became a method user, he could perceive mana much easier than before. It wasn't as drastic as when he first woke up from his soul-scape coma, but it was still noticeable.
He kept absorbing the mana for about two hours before he realized that he need to rest to keep himself in good condition.
After he got a good rest, it was the standard procedure for the day. Go to rehab, have soup, endurance training, cultivate, sleep, rinse and repeat. He spent about a month with this routine in the facility. He also graduated from soup to hard food as well as getting two meals a day.
'Oh how I have missed you, Solid food... I can't believe I was sane for this long with basically only having a liquid. Now, I get to have food that actually has texture!'
It was a very momentous occasion for Cage.
Cage had also gone from Stage 0, low-level, to high-level. He still wasn't able to talk , but he was making substantial progress. Cage figured he would be able to talk in less than a month. He also was gradually adjusting to his center of gravity. He was able to walk now without any help, he just couldn't move fast or else he would stumble. The assistant said that he was making progress faster than normal and he would be able to run and do all the things people can do with their legs in a month less than it normally would have taken.
There was also more people injured everyday, but it seemed like people were getting better at fighting. Cage still had the threat of the wave looming in the back of his mind, but that was still in a little less than two years until it was estimated to happen.
Cage was having a nice time at the facility, but little did he know that the facility housed several... interesting things...
-=-=-
"How is subject 017?"
"Vitals are stable."
Dr. Gramm and another person were underground, beneath the main building of the facility. They were currently researching how beasts embedded with soul stones would react. They didn't only perform that experiment though, they performed many experiments. Some humane, others... not so much.
"No wait, heart rate is increasing."
Inside a cage was a shadow wolf, it was a wolf type beast who had black stripes. It's soul was in Stage 2, low-level. It was also known to be intelligent and strong. Some could even use magic. Yes, beasts could cultivate as well. But their way of doing it was a little different, all beasts had mana cores and to progress their stage they had to assimilate said cores. Most intelligent humanoid species couldn't eat them, the most they could do was have it near them and use them as a source of energy to increase their Stage level.
The shadow wolf currently had several fist sized soul stones along it's spine and was violently convulsing. It was a sad sight, the shadow wolf seemed to be in excruciating pain. It's pained whines could be heard by the two people present. They didn't flinch or react in any way, to them it was just another beast.
"Damn. We are close to human trials, but for some reason they can't handle the energy. Maybe we need a stronger beast."
The wolf beast, stopped convulsing. It's heart had stopped because it couldn't handle the energy.
"Another failure, bring the next subject."
The man with Dr. Gramm stepped out of the experiment area and went down a corridor. He weaved through several rooms and several corridors. There were heavy enchanted metal doors in some of the corridors. Sounds could be heard past the metal, but it was unknown if they were beast or human.
The man eventually made his way to a large warehouse like room, the walls and shelves were lined with many cages. Inside the cages were just as many beasts. Just taking a glance, several more shadow wolves could be seen. There were many species of varying Stages. There were beast from Stage 0 through Stage 2. There was even a Stage Three. There were many chains binding it in it's cage to the point it couldn't even move.
The second the man walked in all the beasts became either very silent, or very aggressive to him. The former being the ones who have been there for a while and were fearful, the latter being the newer "specimens".
The man walked around, He stopped in front of the group of shadow wolves in cages. "Which one of you wants to be the next subject? That weak wolf couldn't handle the gift we bestowed him and died, painfully."
The man smiled at the wolves as he said the information. The wolves didn't understand the meaning, but they knew that every time this man came here one of their pack members would leave and not return. Hearing his provocations, they began growling and released killing intent that would make a grown man faint.
The man just laughed in response, "You can't do anything to me you stupid mutts".
The man kicked the cage to get back at the shadow wolves. He suddenly became very annoyed. "That idiot Dr. Gramm as well, we should just move to beast-man trials. We would make much more progress with them than with these useless animals! At least those trash would be useful!"
The man took a deep breath to calm down. "Just calm yourself Vod... Only a little less than two years, then I can finally perform more... Interesting experiments...."