Chapter 231: Reckless
The moment the elemental forces of fire and ice had invaded Adam's spirit sea, the white lotus that had been resting at the center of this ethereal space had come alive.
Its white petals suddenly pulsated with a holy light as it slowly started to rotate. Its three, round, verdant leaves pulsed with vitality, sensing the incoming danger.
A mere elemental spell had dared to smear the majesty of the white lotus. How could it allow that?
At once, the white lotus glowed with an otherwordly brilliance that completely drowned Adam's spirit sea. The fire and ice elemental spells were instantly vanquished in the presence of this light.
Once the intruders were swiftly taken care of, the ethereal light receded and everything returned to normal.
The magnificent white lotus had once again returned to quietude.
...
In the outside world, Adam slowly opened his bloodshot eyes after going through that hellish ordeal. He had never gone through such unimaginable pain before.
After all, this time it had been his soul body that had been directly assaulted. He really thought he would die this time. But at his most desperate moment, the white lotus had saved him.
Although his mind was in chaos, he could still barely sense what the lotus had done. To say that he was shocked would be a major understatement.
Until now, he had thought that the primary ability of the lotus was that it could devour souls and help him absorb them, in turn strengthening his own.
However, now he learned that the lotus could also protect his soul from external attacks!
As the intense pain in his mind slowly receded, Adam lay on the ground silently, trying to come to terms with this newfound information. In the end, he heaved a sigh as he muttered with a bitter expression, "I'm really reckless."
The next moment, however, he gazed at the purple flower lying beside him. Seeing it, his lips curled up into a faint smile.
"But it all worked out in the end."
He slowly sat up and then gazed at the hourglass on the table beside him. His lips twitched when he saw the grains of sand slowly falling to the bottom compartment.
"I see... so only a few minutes passed in the material world, huh?"
He had spent a few hours in the Spirit World, however, only a few minutes had passed here. Although he found this incredulous, at the same time, he felt that it made sense.
After all, time worked differently in that mystical dimension.
"It is what it is. I'm not going to try and make sense out of it." He slowly got back to his feet after he grabbed the purple flower on the ground.
Seeing the strange pattern that resembled the mixture of an eye and a heart on the petals of the flower, the youth couldn't help but get excited.
"To think that I would find the Soma Lavender.... Ah, I must be blessed by fortune!"
But the next moment, his face contorted as he recalled the dangers he had to go through and the amount of inhumane torture he had to bear. He couldn't help but scream in anger.
He raised his hand and was prepared to violently smash the Soma Lavender on the ground, but at the last moment, he stopped. A drop of sweat trickled down his forehead as he whispered, "No, this is too precious to be thrown like that."
He then walked toward the shelf where myriad magical ingredients were stored and carefully put away the purple flower in a special container.
"Blessed by fortune, my ass. It was all because of my hard work and guts, hmph!"
As he looked at the flower inside the container, he couldn't help but grin widely, "If I use this as the main ingredient and use the magical catalyst that is the Neer Springwater, the resulting potion will greatly help me."
Without even bothering to wipe away the blood on his face, he sat down at his study table and began to scribble down notes, trying to create a brand-new recipe for the potion he was about to brew.
There was no room for trial and error because the main ingredient—Soma Lavendar—was scarce. So he had to utilize all the Herbalism knowledge he had and make countless simulations in his mind.
Failure was not an option.
It never was.
...
A week later.
As the professor was giving his lecture, Adam found himself dozing off. He had been pulling all-nighters ever since he had returned from the Spirit World.
The reason was, that the recipe for the potion had still not been perfected. However, he had made some progress.
He would work tirelessly all through the night, and sleep during the day in class much to the protest and dismay of his professors.
However, today's class was a little special. So Adam was trying his best to not fall asleep. After all, the professor was giving a lecture about the realm of Neural Stage.
The professor, a middle-aged woman wearing yellow robes and round, crystal glasses donning her face, stood behind the desk and glanced at the students with a stoic face.
"Where do you think force comes from?" She asked flatly.
Before anyone could even get a chance to answer, she had already done it herself.
"Muscles."
She paused before continuing, "But do you think force will increase if you just strengthen the size or the density of the muscles?"
Once again, she answered her own question, leaving the students with dumbfounded expressions.
"No, it will not."
"Are you familiar with the nervous system?" She asked.
"Well, muscles and organs also have nerves." She answered.
"The limit of force that can be exerted is determined by the development of the nerves. The reason why strength doesn't always depend on one's physique is because of the difference in the muscle nerves."
She paused once again, making sure that everyone was paying attention to her. Even the raven-haired boy in the back who had the darkest eye circles she had ever seen on anyone.
Hmm, good. She nodded. I'm glad he understands the importance of this lecture at least.
"That is why, my students, the stage that comes directly after the Organ Stage is the Neural Stage. When the mana completely nourishes all the organs in your body and touches upon the nervous system, that signifies your advancement to the Neural Stage."
The professor's stoic expression suddenly changed and her lips curled up into a faint smirk.
"Preoccupied with a single leaf, and you'll miss the tree.
"Preoccupied with a single tree, and you'll miss the forest.
"A Magus must learn to see everything in its entirety. And once you become a Neural Stage Magus...
"That's when you will learn to truly see!"