Hearing Andrew's positive response, the masked person nodded with satisfaction. Their only goal was to recruit a possible talent since Andrew's problem reminded them of a few cases that were mentioned in classified documents of Demonic Abode.
Most of the time, the solution to Andrew's problem was just to fulfill the necessary requirements, like making his body full of condensed mana even though he isn't a mage yet. This has a slight possibility to trigger partial awakening, yet it was still a possibility nevertheless.
"Can I know your esteemed self's name?" Andrew asked respectively as he performed a slight bow.
The masked person stayed silent for a while until...
"You can call me Shadow Crow, only once you truly meet my expectations then I'll reveal my true identity" the masked person announced with dignity and pride as it wasn't random and carried a deep meaning behind it.
Andrew nodded as he repeated his still unanswered question.
"Shadow Crow, are you sure that this material will be able to unbid whatever restriction I have in my body for me to start cultivating and comprehending mana?" Andrew asked as he wanted to hear a confident response.
"Absolutely! Believe me, even a high-level 1-grade magical item might be too much for your body, I would even say an overkill, yet anything more than that will outright make you explode into pieces" Shadow Crow answered with boundless confidence.
"Okay, what preparations I should take before assimilating this massive amount of mana into my body?" Andrew asked as he wondered whether he could even handle the mana that Advanced Apprentice Mages wielded.
"No need to worry, this magical item is nothing under my control as my existential state and mana comprehension are leagues above this measly object" Shadow Crow responded with a bit of disdain carrying in their tone since it had been a while since someone had doubts towards their skills in handling roadside trash. Of course, this arrogance was backed by their overwhelming power and expertise in the ways of mana.
"Understood, when do we start?" Andrew asked.
"Now" Shadow Crow shortly replied as their hand opened the lid of the box.
A dense aura of unfathomable power permeated throughout the room. Dark energy waves pulsated from the ordinary grain-sized object that comfortably lay in the cushioned box. It was pitch black as it was hard to outline its shape due to sheer blackness.
Andrew watched this object with full concentration. The suffocating might it possessed didn't faze him as his willpower had reached untold levels.
Shadow Crow was pleased that Andrew wasn't scared by the eerie and chilling aura that this object possessed.
"This is Dark Marble, a pill which is purely made out of the mana of Advanced Apprentice Mage, it's supposed to be consumed by Intermediate Apprentice Mage at the very least. Its purpose is to improve the qualities of demonic energy inside the mage's body and it might even give a slight glimpse into high-level 1-grade mana" Shadow Crow described the object.
"Normally, this would be enough to kill you thousands of times, but with my guidance, this turbulent demonic energy will be as docile as a tamed dog" Shadow Crow reassured Andrew.
Andrew simply nodded as he stood there marveling at such a bizarre object.
"Sit in the lotus position" Shadow Crow ordered as the pill flew out of the box and floated right above their gloved hand.
Andrew did as he was told.
"Enter meditation state, be indifferent to whatever might happen next" Shadow Crow ordered as they approached the sitting Andrew.
Andrew complied.
At the same moment, the pill started to crazily spin as winds blew in the room. The previously pulsating dark energy waves transformed into shadowy tentacles, trying to swallow everything.
Yet, it was restrained the moment it unleashed its powers. As if sentient the energy went berserk, doing its best to break out from invisible shackles, but it was of no use as the dark energy was being forcefully tamed and guided towards Andrew's body.
The moment, a strand of this demonic mana touched Andrew...
A cold shiver traveled through his entire body! Andrew's instincts were screaming for him to run! Andrew started to have his previously buried doubts blossom into full-blown paranoia! Yet he still remained immersed in the world of nothingness.
The dark energy slowly entered his body as it made its way through each cell, before it could even attempt to devour this mortal's flesh, it suddenly lost connection with part of its energy body which was forcefully sent into the mortal's body.
Slowly but surely, each physical cell in Andrew's body underwent a qualitative change. This dark energy was a perfect fuel to enhance his still mortal body!
More and more of the demonic energy was sent into Andrew's body. The subtle consciousness that this energy mass possessed went crazy with attempts to free itself since it could feel its end...
Yet it could do nothing.
Shadow Crow didn't even break a sweat while manipulating this energy mass however they wanted. The pill had already crumbled as nearly all the energy had dissipated.
Meanwhile, Andrew existed and did not in the dimension of nothingness. He could still feel the ever-present chill and the warnings that his instincts send him without end.
He could only wait for the process to conclude since he had no power over this matter.
It had almost been 10 hours since Shadow Crow had been assimilating the demonic energy into Andrew's body.
Andrew's body was fragile by the standards of such quality of mana and it needed enough time to adapt to cellular changes that were happening throughout his body.
The berserk energy still hadn't given up as it did its best to damage Andrew's body even if it was at the cost of its energy body.
But Shadow Crow didn't let that happen as they timely took control over the disconnected and ownerless parts of energy.
Eventually, the entire mass of wild energy was fully absorbed into Andrew's body, yet the assimilation process hadn't finished as it need some time to fully integrate with Andrew's body.
'It should take a couple of more hours' Shadow Crow concluded as they observed deeply immersed in meditation Andrew.
Deep in the non-existent dimension, Andrew didn't feel anything out of ordinary, his mind drifted there as he would think about random topics.
'What is existence? What actually is mana? What is the meaning behind the existence of the universe? Is that possible that my life is being orchestrated by someone?' those were the intrusive thoughts that he couldn't hope to shut down since he couldn't do anything in this dimension of nothingness.
Those intrusive thoughts continued for a while until bright light overtook his view.
'I can see?!' Andrew exclaimed in his mind as he saw towering icy mountains around him.
Suddenly, a hymn-like melody resounded throughout the whole place.
The dark sky lit up as the world shone with new colors. The blinding white light elevated the scenery as icy mountains glowed under its luminescence.
This place looked like a page straight out of a fantasy book! It was mesmerizing to the extreme as the natural beauty it showcased blinded everyone and everything.
'What is this place?' Andrew thought as he couldn't take away his eyes from nature's beauty.
'Was I teleported somewhere? No! Just a moment before I was meditating! Does this shift in scenery signify my success in attaining partial awakening?' Andrew came to various theories until...
"Congratulations!" a booming voice echoed throughout the whole place.
The hymns stopped immediately as the blinding white radiance was focused on a particular spot.
On the faraway mountain, stood a figure of untold proportions as their mere presence shook the world. It was even impossible to determine the outline of the figure since the white light shrouded it in mystery.
Andrew couldn't determine what race that entity might belong to since it was impossible to distinguish anything as his mind hurt just from looking at the direction of the white light.
"Congratulation! You managed to fulfill the requirements to step on the path of magic! No matter who you are or what is your current situation, I earnestly congratulate you on completing the requirements that I had set up for our lineage to prosper!" the voice boomed out once again as strong winds brushed past Andrew.
'Is this person a progenitor of a dominant lineage in my body?' Andrew thought as he did his best to look past this light, yet it was still the same as it caused an unbearable headache.
"Child! Embrace the path to greatness as you shall overcome all the hurdles in order to receive the honor of being acknowledged by me! Show me your potential! Show me your drive! Prove your worth with the power you attain and the peaks you conquer!" the voice boomed for one last time as the hymns intensified and after several seconds everything turned dark.
'This is truly a mind-blowing encounter' Andrew thought as he exited the meditation.