Chapter 35: Transformation

Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Transformation

After thirty straight days of closed door cultivation, the chamber fell dead quiet.

The room was austere, just four bare concrete walls lined with sound-dampening runes, a low cedar table, and a woven rush meditation mat centered directly over the floor’s ambient mana intake vent.

Eric exhaled a long, thin plume of gray, stagnant breath, slowly parting his eyelids.

A sharp, vibrant gleam flashed through his pupils before settling into calm, glassy clarity. His thirty-day lease had officially expired, yet he felt such an abundance of momentum coursing through his energy channels that he could have cultivated for another week straight without fatigue. A breakthrough was practically humming at his fingertips.

When Eric pushed himself up from the woven mat, the subtle shift in his physical vessel was immediate and striking.

His height had stretched from an unassuming five-foot-eight to a lean, imposing five-foot-ten. His shoulders had broadened, his posture straightened naturally, and his musculature had tightened into dense cords of functional power without an ounce of wasted bulk.

"Ugh... I smell like a swamp," Eric grimaced, catching the pungent, metallic scent clinging to his skin and sweat-soaked shirt. "First order of business: shower."

Crossing the pivotal threshold of Mortal Stage Level 5 had triggered a natural biological purification. Over the past four weeks, his body had systematically purged dark, muddy impurities through his pores as his bones, sinews, and marrow density fundamentally restructured.

Eric stepped into the chamber’s private washroom and turned the brass shower valve all the way to cold.

The freezing water cascaded over his shoulders, rinsing away layers of dried grime and mineral residue. Beneath the runoff lay smooth skin, clear eyes, and a physical vessel that felt incomparably more durable, balanced, and agile than when he had first entered the facility.

After drying off and pulling a fresh gray shirt and dark cargo trousers from his canvas duffel, Eric walked back into the center of the room. He focused his intent inward toward his spiritual sea, opening the soul gate to summon Coal.

*FLASH.*

Coal emerged with a soft, resonant sweep of his wings, settling gracefully onto Eric’s braced forearm.

The young crow had undergone a stunning leap in maturity. His wingspan had expanded to a formidable three feet, and his obsidian plumage gleamed with the impenetrable, oily sheen of polished obsidian. Wisps of cold, smoky Shadow elemental mana curled naturally around his ivory talons, radiating a steady, commanding pressure that completely outclassed his former fledgling self.

Between the two of them, Coal had experienced the most staggering leap in power.

Eric slung his duffel over his shoulder, locked the chamber door, and returned his brass keycard at the front desk. Pushing through the heavy glass doors of the complex, he took his first deep breath of the crisp outside air, letting the morning sun warm his face.

As he walked down the paved commercial boulevard toward Elm Street, Eric called up his status window.

│ STATUS PANEL

│

│ Name: Eric

│ Race: Human

│ Cultivation Stage: Mortal

│ Level: 7 (84%)

│ Talent: Appraisal (Rank D), Skill Comprehension (Rank C)

│ Skills: Shadow Steps (Rank D) [Mastery: Minor]

│ Contracted Beast: 1/1

*Level 7 at eighty-four percent... practically knocking on the door of Level 8,* Eric observed with deep, quiet satisfaction.

Spending two hours every evening drilling footwork across the empty concrete floor had paid massive dividends as well. With the boost from his Rank-C Skill Comprehension, his *Shadow Steps* had smoothly advanced from *Entry* to *Minor Mastery*. He could now glide across cast shadows and low-light terrain with half the original mana cost and nearly twice the initial burst acceleration.

Next, he brought up Coal’s panel directly across their soul bond.

│ CONTRACTED BEAST STATUS

│

│ Name: Coal

│ Race: Bonepecker Crow

│ Cultivation Stage: Mortal

│ Level: 9 (16%)

│ Rank: D

│ Element: Shadow

│ Skills:

│ - Flight (Rank D)

│ - Shadow Talons (Rank D)

│ - Shadow Clone (Rank D)

Coal had completely consumed Eric’s stockpiled reserves of harvested beast cores over the month, but the return on investment was extraordinary: *Mortal Stage Level 9*.

Only one more level stood between Coal and the pinnacle of Mortal Stage Level 10, which would open the door for the critical breakthrough into *Soldier Rank (Tier 2)*.

With sixty days remaining before the regional Beast Taming Academy registration window opened, their progress was well ahead of schedule.

Eric reached up with his left hand, gently scratching the nape of Coal’s sleek neck feathers. Coal leaned into his fingers, letting out a low, vibrating trill as his pitch-black, intelligent eyes watched the horse-drawn wagons and armored explorer transports passing down the avenue.

"Well done, buddy," Eric murmured, a confident, predatory smirk touching his lips as he looked toward the horizon.

"The debt is gone, our foundation is rock-solid, and we’re just getting started. Let’s show everyone what we’re really made of."