Body-Spirit Merging was actually quite easy to execute.
I just had to chant exactly 42 Latin words—a language that does not exist in Emerallia and only exists for this specific technique—and bear the immense pain that comes with it by simply passing out.
And so I did exactly that.
"Spiritus corporis, mortis tempus, eclipsin unitas..."
My voice echoed throughout the cave as I felt my body and soul resonate with the words I was spouting. Every word I spoke brought about change. Every phrase brought about a group of changes.
"Confundantur inconsutilem, merge perfecte, merge absolute, merge in tempore..."
My body and soul were becoming one.
"...Hoc finitur quadraginta duo."
Whoooooooom!
The moment I completed all 42 Latin words, an instantaneous change finalized my unification.
—And in came the inexplicable pain.
I promptly passed out.
...
I checked my pocket watch the moment I woke up.
I was out for 4 hours and 20 minutes. It was a bone-chilling amount of time allotted for suffering.
I swiftly took off all my clothes. They were all drenched in cold perspiration. My body creaked and ached as I moved. Meanwhile, a piercing migraine refused to keep its venomous grasp away from me.
In spite of such pains, however, I felt very much alive at this moment. I could feel the mana around me vibrating with excitement.
It had essentially found the perfect host to become one with. And I happily agreed to their presence.
Thus, I closed my eyes and got into the lotus position.
It was about time to absorb some tasty mana in this reborn physique.
...
It took me two hours to fill my measly mana reserves. My regenerative abilities were slow, as expected of a body with a [ Low ] Spirit Talent. Of course, I did have a mana capacity that was twice as much as normal since I combined my body and spirit, but that is beside the point.
"Caelum really is just a throwaway character..." I mocked as I looked outside.
The sun was setting. I had spent a lot of time with my preliminary strengthening plans. I took out some beef jerky from my pack and munched on them for a while.
Once my stomach stopped growling, I resumed my plans.
It was time to learn Mana Vision.
Normally, wizards used spells by controlling their spiritual mana and creating a number of mana programs out of it. The more mana programs they are able to set up and use, the more proficient they are at a certain spell, making the spell itself more powerful.
There was also the option of engraving integral spells into one's spirit. This would allow the wizard to instantly cast those spells, but at the cost of their body's strength.
What I was going to do now was to engrave a spell into my body. A technique that would essentially augment a part of my body and turn it into an enchanted item. Though it only worked for defensive and support-type spells, it was good enough.
After all, once the engraving was done, I would have the spell constantly active without having to spend mana on it.
Mana Vision would become a true extension of my senses.
I stared at the spell fabric in my hands and began with the first line of mana code.
I started the first step of carving:
The formation of the first mana program with spiritual mana.
It was easy enough. I simply had to copy the program depicted by the spell fabric using my mana. It took me about 45 minutes to make sure everything was correct and perfect. Every line, every nook and cranny, I made sure it was correct.
There were no redos in carving. It's either I do it perfectly on my first try or I cry myself to sleep forever.
I had no intention to do the latter. So I made sure to focus and constantly reread my work.
I spent another hour making minor adjustments to the mana program until I was sure it was absolutely perfect.
Now for the second step.
I moved the mana program and shrunk it down. I placed it inside my right eye. Specifically, on the optic disc where the optic nerve was connected. My special physique allowed me to manipulate mana in my body to such precise degrees.
The third step arrived.
Once again thanks to Body-Spirit Merging, I switched the phase of my mana from spiritual to physical while it was still inside my body.
And finally, the fourth step.
I willed my mana to bore into the optic disc.
Tsssssss!
I could literally hear the searing pain I was experiencing in my eye at this moment.
"F*ck!" I screamed, "This was a damn horrible idea!"
I clutched my right eye as the physical mana continued to carve its way into my optic disc. Swears fell from my lips like a waterfall. Tears of blood dripped from my eye and fell to the cold stone floor.
The experience was excruciating—and I could not cheat my way out by passing out. I had to stay awake to continue willing my mana to carve the mana program.
Thirty minutes passed, and then it became an hour.
Until finally, I had exhausted all my mana to carve the mana program into my eye.
The ordeal was done, and my right eye—was not blind, thankfully. It just hurt like absolute hell.
With a deep breath to calm my nerves, I opened my right eye.
Instantly, I saw a different world.
It was like seeing more than just visible light on the electromagnetic spectrum. It was like I had the vision of those high-end NASA telescopes that could see more than the human eye could.
Particles of mana lingered in the air, floating around like moisture. They appeared as hazy, bluish-white clouds wafting about and swirling around, even in the darkness of the cave.
I stood up and walked outside.
Fwoosh!
The mountain winds blew against my face, and I saw the night sky filled with streams and clouds of blue mana.
"Beautiful..." I muttered in awe.
The world I created was good.
But,
I still had to engrave the spell on my other eye.
I dreaded it already.