The next day arrived, marking the completion of twenty four uninterrupted hours of work.

Throughout the entire period, Victor had continuously infused mana into the massive furnace. In the past, such a task would have been impossible for him to sustain. His body would have reached its limit long before the process was completed. The violent fluctuations produced by large scale mana expenditure always placed tremendous strain on both the body and mind.

Things were different now.

The Chaos Element had fundamentally altered his physique. The Legendary Element had strengthened his mana pathways far beyond normal limits beside he had used legendary spells many times. Combined with the influence of the demonic sword run by extreme mana, his body had gradually adapted to extreme mana circulation. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Even so, adaptation did not mean immunity.

Victor could feel a deep ache spreading through every muscle and bone in his body. His mana channels felt as though they had been stretched to their absolute limit. Every breath carried a faint sense of exhaustion.

"You can stop now," Nova said from nearby. "The process should be complete. Open the lid."

Victor immediately cut off the flow of mana.

The sudden absence of mana expenditure caused a wave of dizziness to wash over him. He steadied himself and took a slow, deep breath before reaching into his storage ring and retrieving a healing potion.

Without hesitation, he uncorked the bottle and drank its contents.

A refreshing sensation spread through his body. The potion eased some of the fatigue, but it could not completely remove the strain accumulated over an entire day of nonstop work.

After waiting a few moments, Victor approached the furnace and slowly opened the heavy lid.

A burst of heat escaped into the room.

Within the furnace rested a small quantity of crimson liquid.

Victor narrowed his eyes.

The substance resembled blood, yet it was not truly blood. Instead, it possessed the appearance of condensed flames. The crimson liquid glowed faintly as though fire itself had been compressed into physical form.

This was pure flame essence extracted from an S Rank monster.

A smile appeared on Victor’s face.

Without wasting time, he carefully took out a special container that Nova had prepared beforehand. The small vessel was designed specifically for preserving elemental essence.

Using precise mana control, he transferred the crimson liquid into the container.

Once the transfer was complete, he sealed the lid securely.

"Only one," Victor muttered.

His gaze moved toward the remaining materials stacked around the room.

"Seven more to go."

The thought alone was exhausting.

Although he wanted to continue immediately, his body was already approaching its limit. If he forced himself to continue now, there was a genuine possibility that he would collapse before completing the remaining extractions.

He walked toward the simple bed positioned in a corner of the room.

The moment his body touched the mattress, his consciousness faded.

Within seconds, he was asleep.

Nova floated nearby and stared at him with an increasingly complicated expression.

"This boy is impossible," she murmured.

Her eyes lingered on his sleeping figure.

"How is he doing this?"

Even after all the time she had spent observing Victor, he continued to exceed her expectations.

Three hours later, Victor opened his eyes.

The brief sleep had restored a portion of his energy.

He sat upright and stretched his body before climbing out of bed. The exhaustion had not completely disappeared, but it had become manageable.

Victor glanced toward the furnace.

"Let us begin again."

Without wasting a single second, he resumed his work.

Fifty liters of Sea Serpent blood were poured into the furnace.

The next extraction process began immediately.

Days passed.

One extraction became two.

Two became four.

Four became eight.

Victor repeated the same routine over and over again.

He would continuously channel mana into the furnace for an entire day. Once the extraction was complete, he would rest for only two or three hours before immediately beginning the next cycle.

The process pushed him beyond normal human limits.

Every twenty four hour cycle required mana expenditure comparable to continuously casting Legendary Rank spells without interruption. Even Sage Rank warriors would feel significant strain under such conditions.

As the days passed, dark circles gradually formed beneath Victor’s eyes.

His face became noticeably thinner.

His body appeared exhausted.

Yet he never stopped.

His determination remained as strong as ever.

Finally, eight days later, the final extraction was completed.

The last elemental essence was sealed within its container.

Nova examined the eight vials arranged before them and nodded with satisfaction.

"Everything is ready," she said.

Victor looked toward her.

"You should now be able to begin your martial cultivation journey whenever you are prepared."

Victor stared at the collection of elemental essences.

A feeling of anticipation rose within him.

He had spent enormous effort obtaining these materials.

The true challenge was finally about to begin.

Unfortunately, his body had different priorities.

"First," Victor said with a yawn, "I need a long sleep."

The moment he reached the bed, he collapsed onto it.

Within seconds, he was asleep once again.

.....

In the far northern region of the planet stood the Tenth Empire of Humanity.

The Aurion Empire.

Unlike most human nations, Aurion was surrounded by ocean on three sides. Its population was significantly lower than that of the other empires.

Despite its relatively small population, nobody questioned its status as an empire.

The reason was simple.

Five of humanity’s most dangerous and powerful S Rank Green Dungeons were located within its territory.

These dungeons represented both opportunity and catastrophe.

As a result, powerful individuals continuously gathered within Aurion to ensure that the situation remained under control.

Over the years,Sages had established residence there.

Their presence attracted additional settlers.

Settlers became cities.

Cities became provinces.

Eventually, an empire was born.

However, Aurion carried a terrible reputation.

The frequency of dungeon breaks was higher there than anywhere else in human territory. White Dungeon appearances were also far more common.

Because of this constant threat, at least three Sages were usually stationed within the empire at all times.

Deep within one of Aurion’s heavily guarded regions, a man sat upon a magnificent throne.

He was known to humanity as Alfred Hockham.

Humanity’s Eighth Sage.

A subordinate stood before him respectfully.

"My Lord," the subordinate said, lowering his head, "that human prodigy is advancing too quickly. If we do not stop him now, he may become our greatest enemy within two or three years. What should we do?"

For several moments, Alfred remained silent.

Then something horrifying happened.

He raised his hand and placed all five fingers against his face.

Without hesitation, he tore his own skin apart.

Instead of blood and flesh, another face emerged beneath the torn skin.

The new face belonged to a handsome young man.

A cold smile appeared on his lips.

"These foolish humans," he said softly, "will soon experience another catastrophe."

His smile widened.

"And this time, that prodigy will not survive."

A chilling light appeared in his eyes.

"Humanity was always meant to bow before Atlantian supremacy. I will personally ensure that happens."

The subordinate lowered his head even further.

"How is the Chimera Program progressing?" the disguised infiltrator asked.

"The previous attempt failed."

The young man’s eyes became filled with greed.

"If we succeed this time, the royal throne of Atlanta will eventually belong to me."

The subordinate immediately replied.

"We are making progress, My Lord. Certain variables continue to create failures, but the researchers believe success may be possible within a year."

"Excellent."

The young man slowly stood.

"I believe it is time for another Sage to die."

His smile became even colder.

"I will bring Joseph here."

Moments later, the false face of Alfred Hockham covered his features once more.

No evidence remained of the monster hiding beneath.

As he walked toward the exit, his thoughts drifted toward a particular individual.

"Victor Walker."

The name emerged from his lips like a curse.

"You are the son of that bitch."

Hatred filled his eyes.

"I will tear you apart in front of her."

His tongue moved slowly across his lips.

"Then I will devour your delicious sister."

The subordinate felt a chill run through his entire body.

He had witnessed countless ruthless individuals throughout his life.

None of them compared to the creature standing before him.

The man was not simply evil.

He was a demon wearing human skin.

The following day, Victor finally awakened.

After sleeping for nearly twenty hours, he felt completely refreshed.

His body had recovered significantly.

Stretching his arms overhead, he released a satisfied sigh.

"That was good."

A grin appeared on his face.

"I finally feel relaxed."

His eyes soon shifted toward the eight vials resting nearby.

The excitement immediately returned.

"Now it is time."

Victor sat cross legged in the center of the room.

The eight elemental essences were carefully arranged before him.

Each vial contained the purified essence of a powerful S Rank monster.

Together, they represented the foundation of his future path.

Victor turned toward Nova.

"What should I do now?"

Nova floated down and settled comfortably on his shoulder.

"Under normal circumstances," she explained, "a practitioner applies a blood essence directly onto the skin before activating the corresponding breathing technique."

Victor listened attentively.

"The essence gradually enters the body during cultivation. It is an extremely painful process, but that is the standard method."

She paused.

A thoughtful expression appeared on her face.

"However, you are not normal."

Victor raised an eyebrow.

Nova continued.

"I believe your best option is to combine all eight breathing methods into a single unified technique."

Victor’s eyes widened slightly.

"Then activate them simultaneously?"

Nova nodded.

"Exactly."

Her gaze moved toward the eight vials.

"If successful, you should be able to absorb all eight elemental essences at the same time."