There was a saying— mana could become anything.
At its purest form, it would spontaneously transmute into the seven elements. It would be as if a new world was being created and destroyed.
That happened on the surface of the liquid mana ball.
The amount of mana was insufficient to truly create a new world, but there was a myth that with enough pure mana, one could create a new world.
Naturally, mana would have impurities with it.
Mana Nectar could be said to be pure liquid mana, but it wasn't the same as it would form a mana crystal.
Instead, this liquid mana ball would stay in its liquid form and slowly evaporate. While doing so, it would show this rare phenomenon.
Trago immediately realized that Henry used the magic circuit to purify the liquid mana underground and sent it out in the form of a ball.
The magic circuit would have an impurer mana once he absorbed it.
"You agreed already."
Henry reminded Trago.
Trago's face turned red. He didn't expect to be tricked like this. Well, could he even consider it a trick?
He agreed to let Henry use the magic circuit to reach the next class.
He merely didn't expect he would extract pure liquid mana…
"The magic circuit will be fine. At most, it will be slightly weaker for a few years."
Henry was worried Trago would stop him at this critical moment, so he convinced him further.
"You have to give me a vial I can use to study."
Trago conceded. A few years were nothing down the line for the academy.
Henry had already made it better, and the weakening wouldn't be weaker than it was prior to Henry's modification. It was barely acceptable.
"Here."
Henry waved his hand.
He used wind magic to suck up a bit of the liquid mana then he sent it to Trago, who caught it inside a vial.
Henry glanced at him one more time and saw the satisfied look on his face.
He sat down with his legs crossed before the ball of pure liquid mana. He raised his left hand and submerged it in the liquid.
And as soon as he did so, the liquid mana invaded his skin and seeped into his body. It felt ice-cold, akin to dipping his hand in freezing water.
Henry took control when they entered and led them to his heart.
Soon, his heart became filled to the brim with liquid mana, and couldn't take any more.
Thump.
Thump. Thump.
Henry's face paled.
His heart started sending the liquid mana to the various parts of his body. First, it was his lungs, which easily filled up with mana.
Then his stomach, pancreas, intestines, brain, etc.
Time passed indefinitely. Each time the liquid mana would reach a new organ, he would shiver.
The liquid mana didn't belong to his body before. It was a newcomer, and his body struggled to get used to it.
The change was quick and didn't give Henry the time to adapt to the feeling.
Outside, the ball was still big and hadn't been used up.
Trago rested his back against the wall while watching Henry advance to the next class.
"What a crazy student."
He had never seen someone speedily fill up their organs with mana. It was an uncomfortable process that no one he knew could bear consecutively similar to Henry.
Very soon, Prospect arrived, and Trago told him the details.
The two magus teachers watched in awe.
Midnight struck, and Henry reached a critical moment.
It was the last step but also the most dangerous.
All his organs, including his skin, now had mana in them. The only ones left were his bones.
Henry already expected to feel intense pain.
He took a deep breath and initiated it.
This was the last part many magi failed at.
Losing control at this point would put them between the two classes. They would be unable to use a higher class spell, but would only have ampler reserves of mana.
The liquid mana touched Henry's bones, and a crushing pain assaulted his mind. It was like his bones were being pricked by millions of tiny sharp needles.
It was a pain different from his soul being shattered, yet it was still up there. His mind started slipping, and he would fall unconscious the moment he became careless.
Henry gritted his teeth and used his expertise and past experience to ease the pain. He controlled the flow of liquid mana and had it start from the outside layers of his bone.
It slowly injected itself deeper, causing greater pain, but it was bearable.
This slowed down Henry's progress like the flow of honey.
Without any issue, three days passed. Henry took a deep breath and pushed a bunch of liquid mana to the last bone in his foot.
"AHHHH!"
Henry screamed in pain, and immediately after, intense pleasure wrapped around his body.
He opened his eyes and looked down. A tent had formed.
And something… came out.
"Cough."
Prospect and Trago turned their heads away.
It was a natural thing to happen after succeeding in reaching the next class.
The cohesion of the mana in the body would give the magus a sense of pleasure, and the blood pressure would rise to a higher level, causing males to make a tent below their torso.
Sometimes, some magus would release some liquid. Thus, it wasn't unheard of.
Henry didn't care. He panted and lay on the floor.
He was glad that the pain finally finished. The pain was something else when it kept on for three days. It was unlike the quick shattering of his soul.
This one was torture.
It was very different from the magic system of his era.
The two magic systems did the same thing in the second class, yet this one gave indescribable pain.
A few minutes later, Henry regained enough strength to stand up. His whole body now had mana.
The difference was apparent. Each part of Henry contained mana.
It was even easier to cast spells without chants. He only needed to think about it, and then a spell would come out from any part of his body.