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Chapter 744 - All me
🕑 Added 2025-11-26 09:34:28 +0000 UTCFrom where I sit on the ground, I watch the transparent half figure above Adrian lift into the air somewhere in the distance as wings grow from its back, and with Adrian hanging beneath it, he flies toward the second floating island.
I only have time to wonder what I should even call him in my mind before the mess I put myself into becomes too much and forces all my focus onto it. Lily tries to come back to heal me, but I gesture for her to stop and instead try to deal with it on my own.
The body upgrade keeps gradually applying, and that individual part of the upgrade that affects my Mana Physique makes the biggest mess. The constructs get erased by it, then try to come back in ways that absolutely do not work with a body that keeps changing under the upgrade.
I do not know if it is some sort of genetic memory that made the constructs cling to existence, or if the system considers them twisted passives, or something else entirely, but they refuse to get erased.
It would probably be far less of a problem if the body upgrade applied all at once. But it is not that simple. The body upgrade applies a bit, the constructs get ruined, I fix them, the upgrade applies again, the constructs get ruined again. Constantly in a loop.
Then there are my passives messing with everything. Usually, the system handles that automatically, but I think at least the two of my passives are likely too strong for my current Constitution, so the changes are deeper, heavier, woven further into my being. I wanted that, yes, I counted on it. But damn, I would have done things differently if I knew what I know now.
I planned on the upgrade not applying fully because of the constant healing aura of the tournament, which would have caused most of the body upgrade to apply after the tournament, but with me having observed it, I prepared for it.
In a way, the body upgrade is similar to my body tempering or restrictive training emblem. My body needs to take damage for it to work. Instant healing ruins the process.
Still, even through all of this, I will not change my approach. I am confident that I can do it.
I am sure of it even as I let my body get damaged to the point where I almost die. Then I stop handling mana, and focus on thermal energy alone, letting it combust and heal me to the point where I can let go of it, watch my body break again, and the upgrade continue applying.
[Focus - lvl 74 > Focus - lvl 75]
Each time my concentration slips, scars form. Sometimes they are barely as long as a fingernail, small tears in my skin and the flesh below that heal quickly. Other times they are as long as my finger, deeper, and hitting harder. There is also a longer one running diagonally across my chest over where my hearts are, it is as long as my forearm, and another on my back of similar size. These wounds heal, but the scars stay, pale white and visible on my skin, refusing to disappear even though they should.
And thus my body keeps tearing, healing, and scarring while my mind observes it all. Now, with my new passive, my cognitive vector, my mental capacity is stronger than ever.
Most of all, it feels like my mind itself became more durable, letting me abuse it more than ever and making some things disturbingly easy.
The only thing that holds me back is me. My talents, my capabilities, which still feel lacking compared to the potential I can sense right in front of me.
Cognitive Hyperprocessing Vector (Low Pristine) - Your cognition gains a compact internal framework vector that reduces thought into a refined conceptual structure. The model allows efficient manipulation of intricate concepts and maintains stability through heavy mental load.
The passive is, well, something. I have no idea what half of the description means, and...I pause only to handle yet another spike of mana. A part of my body bursts open, but I gesture again for Lily to stop where she stands. With my eyes closed, I let my thermal energy combust while I hold my body together as it heals the wound.
It takes a few long seconds, but when it is done, I breathe out a shaky breath and check the last seal on my Ignition Heart. It still holds, and I hope it continues to do so.
A small part of my mind dives back into thought to distract me from all the pressure and pain. My new passive is certainly powerful. I spent shards gathering as much information as I could and used my guild’s archives too. Pristine passives are, well, far fewer in number, each one specially chosen by the system and offered to the user.
There are many options, categories, and subcategories. Vectors are one of those subcategories, and as far as I have found, at least five vectors exist. Cognitive, Spatial, Temporal, Causal, and Harmonic.
I got offered the Cognitive Vector, likely thanks to my mental capabilities, though how important it is, and how it happened will be up to future me to judge. I just know vector type passives are among the rare ones.
So far, it does not feel like it did change anything or add anything. All the work is for me to do. The passive provided a durable internal framework into which I must place the engine, meaning my mental capabilities, split minds, and more. It is simple in a way, but exactly what I need.
I blink and snap back to reality, only to notice Lily standing in front of me, her hand pressed against my chest as she heals a huge hole a spike of thermal energy burned through. A part of the leftover energy hits her too, adding to the damage my wild energies cause. I can see the area around us shimmering and the barrier outside taking more and more damage, forcing people to reinforce it.
(Food?) sounds in my mind. Like an offering, a gesture to step in and fix most of my problems. If it is him, I know he could help.
But I do not want it, which is why I rejected his help when I first appeared here or when I recognized Christoph. It is for me to deal with, to clean up the mess I created, and overall, something I know I can do. So I shake my head, unable to answer in any other way, and Biscuit’s presence takes a step back.
Lily knows my intentions, too. She steps away after healing me just enough not to die on the spot, but stays close. It makes me turn toward her, searching her face for pity or hesitation. Instead, there is simply trust, a willingness to let me make my own decision, no matter how stupid it might be. And damn, sometimes I know I am a difficult person to deal with. I know it, the system knows it, hell, anyone who watched me long enough knows it.
What else can explain some of my decisions? Especially the ones fueled by pride, greed, and arrogance, supported by my constant urge to do everything myself and trust no one more than myself.
Sometimes I wonder if I was born like that or if my environment shaped me, or if it is just the sum of all the decisions I have made that formed me into what I am today.
In the end, Greed and Pride, they both fit me quite nicely, do they not?
I feel myself smile as another spike of mana bursts out while the body upgrade makes yet another change to my Mana Physique. I examine my body right after, searching for pathways I could use to circulate the mana. The pathways are there, but so are the half broken constructs, blocking them, twisting what should be simple. I inscribe into my body, fixing the constructs and rerouting them while knowing I will have to do it again minutes later. I do it to ease the load on my Mana Cycling, which I need to do constantly, pushing mana through a body with only one hundred one Constitution while doing all of this at once.
Thermal energy is no better, having nearly the same problems. Sometimes, even my Kinetic Mana Heart pulses and starts turning mana into kinetic energy until I catch it and shut it down.
It is a never ending battle, further messed up by the healing I need once in a while, each time raising the difficulty.
Through it all, I keep splitting and combining my minds. I push it further than before, often separating into more than ten subminds, many of them pre-prepared with arrays and inscriptions, making all of this possible.
And the body upgrade keeps ramping up, each wave bigger than the last, forcing me to improve or accept that soon I might not be able to keep up and will have to rely on others.
Again.
As if I am not enough. As if I took a far bigger bite than I can chew. Many people have told me that I have done that, stronger people, more experienced people, more talented people.
However… Did I ever care? Nope, I did not. Not even once. Who are they to tell me what my limit is? Who are they to judge what my mind is capable of?
I straighten and stand tall, and under my will, all the raging energies calm and hesitate. They stop and pull toward my body where they cycle in the exact way I want them to.
For that short moment, I see what I need to do, and what my goal is, before everything becomes too much and the energies explode into my surroundings again, and out of my control.
As if waiting for that moment, a finger plops onto the ground near Lily.
When I track where it came from, I notice a small opening in the barrier surrounding us through which it slipped in.
A moment later, Victoria grows from it, reliable and calmly composed as always, and takes a step toward me.
Lily tries to stop her, but my sister just slaps her hand away like an annoying fly without even looking at her. After taking a few more steps, Victoria stops in front of me and places her hand on my shoulder.
It is not like the mana and golden flames are not here or not hitting her. They slam into her body, trying to break it the same way they tried with Lily. I always suspected Victoria’s body was more durable than Lily’s, but the difference here is absurd. There is not the slightest burn, not the smallest sign of damage from the mana radiation. Not even a single strand of hair is disturbed.
That… should not be possible. There is no way her body is this durable already.
Slowly, gradually, I realize what is happening. It is not that her body is impossibly durable. It is me. Somehow, even in this state, I cannot seem to bear the thought of hurting her, not even by accident or as a side effect of my own mistakes.
When I try to figure out how this is possible, I realize most of my minds are in deep [Focus], overclocked to the point of tapping into the tiniest bit of thought acceleration. They brute force the behavior with help from my new passive, ignoring how much it should hurt or how impossible it should be without a specialized skill.
Victoria looks at me as if she never once considered the idea that I might hurt her, as if she knew from the start that this would be the outcome.
“Do you need my help, Natty?” she asks. “Tell me, is it someone else’s fault, or is this one of your fun projects?”
“It is all me, Vic,” I force out of myself. “No need for help.”
She leans in and kisses my forehead. “Good. I will leave it up to you then.”
Walking up to Lily, she stops in front of her and says, "Do not ever try to do something like that again."
Then she heads toward the barrier, where she knocks on it. I see a bunch of people scrambling around until her right hand, Gloria, a young blonde with a choker, stabs her hands glowing with white light into the barrier and tears it open wide enough for Victoria to walk out.
Once the others restore it behind her, the barrier closes again.
Comments
Hellnhavoc
When I see people complain about book 1 it’s usually that they think the mc is a psycho. It’s really his sister.
Logan
He’s already got thermal, kinetic and gravitational black mana, he’s got all the pieces. Lissandra turned into a black hole too so I think Nat needs to go mana supernova already.
RatOverLord
Radiances - Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride Blights - Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Patience, Kindness, Humility
Christian Standhardinger
This chapter is written greatly!
Erebus
Hah
Erebus
What were all the possible subclasses again? Whenever I see it mentioned I usually try and guess what I would pick if given the option.
Konrad Pagacz
This is one banger chapter. I keep coming back to it over and over again to reread parts of it. Really well written
Audrey WJ
Bro Is basically exploding while completely naked in front of earths current tutorial population along side another tutorial with a lot of people who can probably see him with full clarity 😂.
Audrey WJ
Same and even he said it would be fun if he figured out how to do that and ultimately combine them into some unique energy/mana that belongs to him, he foreshadowed it for sure and this would be the first step to mana daddy energy or whatever 😂.
DrSubterfuge
Huh looks like Vic's stuff has been edited slightly. Nat thinks Vic never thought for a second that Nat would let his bullshit hurt her (so the fact that she helped him realize how much more he can do with his abilities reads as more intentional) and her threat to Lily isn't nearly as agro.
Alex O'Connor
Level 75 is supposed to be champion levels right? And 90-95 where absolutes are at
ShinyOtter
Dont forget to link your patreon to discord if you want to join and talk about how Adrian is the worst character
Mister Cakers
I’m theorizing his breakthrough will be creating a combined cycle of mana, thermal, and kinetic. This should be possible since he now knows how to cycle thermal, even if he hasn’t practiced it much. Devising a kinetic cycles gonna be tough though.
Luis Guerrero
I feel like alot of yall need to reread or read between the lines before making a comment ....... some of you seem to miss the multiple times he told his friends he didnt want help ....... is it reckless is it stupid ofcourse not only that after the Adrian reveal Nat knows he need to push more than ever before if he is gonna have a chance against him and his sister appearing just shows that he is more than capable of doing so with him not harming her not only that he was able to push focus to 75 which if yall remember its supposed to be a huge hurdle
zoarian
I know the body upgrade is epic, but I find the situation really funny given Nat is completely naked all this time
Jordan Jones
Victoria is a scary sister. “Get between me and my little brother when he is in trouble again. I dare you.” Is crazy lol. This is me and my siblings. There should ideally be no greater ally and friend in existence.
MrSlouch
Tyftc
Kirin
Thank you for the chappie!
Daniel is ŁØNE
True but lily is only as capable as she is because she is doing it for the group, to a degree none of their group would be as capable as they are if not for each other. They feed off each others progress to become better, a lot of the technical capability Lily has wouldn’t exist if not for her working with Nat on many physique and body changes. She would still be incredibly talented and potent but I honestly doubt she would be as skilled as she is.
Andrew
Thank you!
Madje Tobi Marc'Avent Tchona
He did make a good showing the last time tho.
Psyren1596
TFTC!!!
Daniel Golding
I wonder if the author intends for Vic to be so useless? The crap with Lily is just gratuitous.
C -dubzilla
We glazed enough I need to see him conquer the system first hand lol
YaBoiiSloth
Lily tried to stop her from getting to Nat. I think she's made it quite clear she would basically kill all of his group if he didn't consider them friends just because she thinks the group is holding him back. She's a certified psycho that only cares about her brother
C -dubzilla
Ah yes the good ole cerim edge for the Thursday climax…. I’m hype🤣
Little Watchmaker
I hope this upgrade is what's used to keep him on closer footing with people like Morwag. At this stage, he needs to not only be able to hold those people back, he needs to be a genuine threat. I'm not saying Morwag shouldn't be stronger than him. But he should at least have a 20% chance without black mana.
Daniel Golding
Not sure I see the point of Vic being rude to Lily, considering Lily is only there to help Nat
FeelingsandFoibles
Noooo, I can't wait for the resultssssss. Don't do this to meeeeee.
zoarian
Alas, she's not a single stat Mana enjoyer
caeven
lily just made more progress in aquiering that mana daddy booty in a day than she did in the past 3 years. only to discover that the only member of nats group his sis seems to like even remotely is Tess.
tishane Imperial MageKiller
Can't get between family love lol poor lily
Edmund Dillon
Tftc!!!, Im curious about Vic and Gloria's group. How do they stack to the Angry Kittens
Nemesis
I'm sure Ruby is watching closely as well, though she probably won't interfere, even if she can.
Lance Beam
TFTC. Nat's self reliance amid the horrendous concentration of mana, thermal and kinetic energies, [Focus] enabling the perception of new truths are evolving him just as much, if not more, than the body upgrade.
Nemesis
I suspect she feels somewhat guilty. She was able to endure their father, so her brother copied her to cope as well, but she didn't realise how much it was hurting Nat until he tried to kill their father, and couldn't follow through. His entire personality was warped by enduring his father and emulating his sister as he grew up
Nemesis
Probably going to negotiate a 'cease fire' with them, and subtly encourage them to get Nathaniel killed somehow before the tournament end. Never trust Christoph!
Fdrugc
I know it's just a expression but do you actually wear a hat?
Fdrugc
Tftc I love there bond
Lance Beam
I think so.
Gutz
Bro is trying is best to survive then his sister comes in and provoke a catastrophy considering his mental power got sucked into trying to not hurt her. What a useless sister... OMG i really think she's exactly the character i most dislike in this whole series.
Flo Zilla
Will Nat use this realization that he can do more, as his control with Victoria has proven. Is it self doubt that limits him? Will he overcome that now?
mitchell kaiser
Fantastic chapter! Can’t wait to see what he gets out of this.
Josh Betts
I'm curious how his sister would treat an actual true love intrest of nats
Bob
I think it would be detrimental for earth to loose the reward of the intermediary events, so Adrian would not.
Blooper
Do not miss your chance to blow
Arnon Parenti
System: you only get one chance. MaNathaniel: I got you fam.
Krazo
There is a good reason for not letting Biscuit help, the same as with Lilly. If he does this fully on his own the reward will be better, his body will be more adapted to HIS type of alterations. I'm not sure if he doing it on his own will help with his body falling apart or if it only accelerates the problem, but he will definitelly become more powerfull as a result of doing the body upgrade this way. Honestly if I'm reading this right the fact that there is no immortality effect also makes the results more powerful, at the cost of the transformation being much less safe. The reason Nat doesn't ask for help here is because AFTER using Lily's help to survive, he realized that he ACTUALLY CAN do it on his own and decided to attempt it. This kind of risk taking while reckless is an established pattern, and the only reason for why he has a chance of becoming an Absolute. Nat seems to believe that he has the plot armor (he does) and uses it to the maximum.
Michael Williams
Great chapter. I see that christoph/Adrian is headed off to the other island. I really hope he doesn't just one shot everyone and finish the tournament immediately. I want to see nat do some cool stuff here trying to keep up with christoph/adrian after his body upgrade.
anakin hanson
It could be cool if we got other groups povs of his body upgrade
forgetfulposum
The Cognitive Compression Vector (Low Pristine) passive was called Cognitive Hyperprocessing Vector two chapters ago in his status.
Danny
Man, it's been a long time since I've been this eager to find out what happens next in a story. Amazing job! (I take my hat off to you.)
Mina She
I know it’s unlikely but I can’t help but hope Lilly grows out of her crush on Nat and moves away from the group a little. She has the most interesting skills I have ever seen, and it always feels like she is underutilizing them. A little more focus on herself and she could become something really dangerous.
Andrew Kluttz
Nats pride and his Pride via subclass are two very different things. His normal pride... It's the only thing that makes him somewhat unlikable. That cocky self-assured arrogance and the refusal to let others assist him. I get not letting Adrian help, even if he wanted. Same with cockroach. But Biscuit. Hell no, if Biscuit could fix it, then Nat should let him and then learn from him. It's okay to learn things for yourself, but when your best friend is more talented maybe it's time to finally allow yourself to trust your friend. Nat isn't Savant. Friends are what makes him strong, and gives him the ambition to be stronger for someone other than himself. It's prompted him to change his behavior for the better. Part of me almost hopes Nat will die because of this stupid stubborn arrogance. You can have pride and still trust other people. He isn't an island, he's part of a community, and he needs to grow the hell up and start realizing it before he bites the dust.
V
TFTC. Victoria's an interesting paradox. Loves her brother tons, but seems to be utterly machine-like otherwise. What motivates her? Why is she as strong as she is?
Stoney
Just remember that Lissliss is also not at 100% so it could be a more even match. And he wasn't at her level in his original body. He's now been able to fix all his mistakes so he's probably a lot stronger than he originally was
Moonfrost
Tess and Vic are already acquainted, they knew each other pre-tutorial
Tsorov
I already predicted a thursday cliff yesterday, I was already there!
Krzychu0304
I see Nat gaining a better understanding of the concept of pride, maybe even advancing his subclass.
Literally Goose
This was a great chapter. So much nuance in the character interactions. Nat is growing in more ways than one. Just as he realises the depth of the feelings Lilly has for him, we see how much that is dwarfed by his feelings for his sister. Keen to see how his upgrade resolves but sense there may be a cliff tomorrow?
Adrian Rake
Great chapter. It truly shows Nat’s stubbornness and commitment to achieve his own goals. 🙂👍
John
Thanks for the chapter, i hope christoph doesnt kill the whole other planet's population before the first event starts...
River
I'm actually really looking forward to whenever Adrian finally runs into Lissliss since he specifically stated he was never on her level of power
Sushitrash
Beautiful chapter man, I love seeing Lily's resolve for Nat and how far he goes to not hurt Victoria and her absolute cheer confidence that this is just amounts to a fun side project for Nathaniel. Love it!
Val the mysterious Jedi
More 😭, dang I can't wait for Tess reaction and her and Vic talking. Crazy how I look forward to character interactions as much as the badass fights
Ansordia
Nat is the most normal of anyone in Hell difficulty and Group 4... I wonder when the rest of them will realize that breaking your bod and remaking it in the image of mana is the purest of devotions anyone can have!
Val the mysterious Jedi
Some savior a chapter like a fine steak and others vacuume it like an American eating McDonald's
Ivan Jelenić
Will Adrian wipe the other island on his own, or contain it so Nat can solo it?
Kroppertites
Thanks for the chapter.
Poutine Au Syrop d'érable
Damn. I'm sensing an evil cliff for tomorrow's chapter.
okatmosphere
Thank you for the chapter!
Broke Boy
How are you lot so quick
vEnviouz
TFTC!!!
BlackRazaras
Thanks for the chapter
Ivan Jelenić
Not first.
Jonah
woah
