Third Person’s POV

Looking at the enormous dark crystal floating silently within the gray and lifeless mana dimension, Ethan remained stunned for a long while as his soul simply stared at it with amazement and disbelief. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

He had naturally realized by now that just like his Arctic Sovereign Body Strengthening Manual, his magic path had also somehow broken through the bottleneck of the Elemental Sea Mage Realm and advanced into the Crystal Formation Realm.

According to Ethan’s original calculations, it should have taken him at least another two to three years for his accumulation to finally reach perfection and complete the qualitative transformation of his mana sea into a world crystal.

And even that would not have been enough.

To truly cross that terrifying chasm between realms, he would still have required a catalyst treasure powerful enough to assist in the condensation of the crystal core, because this transformation was something that could never be accomplished merely through endless accumulation of mana essence alone.

If that were possible, then every Elemental Sea Mage would have become a Crystal Formation Mage eventually through the simple process of mana accumulation, even though it would have taken many years, according to their talent level and hard work.

Yet now, that impossible transformation had somehow completed itself without his knowledge.

Even though the giant crystal floating within the dimension was incomparably smaller compared to the seemingly endless sea of dark mana that had existed when he was still at the Elemental Sea Mage Realm, Ethan’s soul could faintly feel waves of power fluctuations radiating from it that were denser, heavier, and vastly superior to before.

The difference was qualitative rather than quantitative.

That dark crystal no longer possessed the vast and chaotic feeling of an ocean.

Instead, it felt condensed, stable, and terrifyingly pure.

However, since Ethan currently existed only in his soul form, he could not truly experience the mana coursing through the crystal directly nor fully understand how much his control, quantity, and quality of mana had transformed after entering this realm.

And once again, confusion rapidly filled his mind.

The more Ethan observed the crystal, the stronger the feeling became that his Master Nyx’s memory fragment had hidden far too many things from him.

That vague explanation she left behind only deepened his doubts instead of clearing them.

His mind became chaotic from countless unanswered questions and unresolved mysteries.

Something major had definitely happened after he had been imprisoned within Eagle Peak.

When he replayed all the events from that morning onward carefully within his mind, Ethan increasingly felt that a dark and hidden hand had manipulated everything from the shadows.

From Solomon’s schemes to the horrifying force that had dragged him away afterward, none of it felt natural anymore when viewed together.

But eventually, Ethan forcefully calmed himself once more as there was no point in exhausting himself through endless speculation when he still lacked information.

Gradually suppressing his thoughts, Ethan withdrew his soul sense from the mana dimension and returned his awareness toward his physical body once more.

However, the instant he observed his body from within, he became shocked once again.

Because the mana dimension had seemingly manifested partially into physical reality.

Near the center of his chest floated a tiny dark spherical crystal roughly the size of a cherry.

It rotated slowly while emitting faint dark fluctuations, and from it, countless nearly invisible and extremely thin mana vein strands extended throughout his body before vanishing deep into his flesh and organs like the roots of some mysterious ancient tree.

The sight looked profound and surreal as that tiny dark crystal was clearly the condensed quintessence and absolute source of all his magical power.

And seeing it physically manifested inside his body made the realization strike Ethan once again with full force.

After remaining trapped within the Elemental Sea Realm for six to seven entire years, he had finally transcended into the Crystal Formation Realm.

It was a realm countless mages struggled to reach for decades, and many couldn’t reach even in their lifetimes.

Feeling both shocked and deeply satisfied, Ethan’s soul once again returned fully to his body.

As the synchronization between his body and soul gradually strengthened, he suddenly opened his eyes abruptly.

At first, his vision was blurry and unfocused, and everything appeared vague and distorted as if covered beneath layers of fog.

But slowly, the scene before him cleared.

And the moment it did, Ethan froze slightly in surprise.

He found himself lying within an extremely luxurious room.

Everything inside the room was snow white.

The walls, curtains, furniture, pillars, and even the marble floor possessed that same elegant white shade, while delicate ice blue decorations and intricate patterns decorated the surroundings beautifully and complemented the whiteness perfectly.

The room radiated a refined and noble atmosphere that made it feel less like an ordinary chamber and more like the personal room of royalty.

Huge white windows stretched along the side of the room while pale icy light entered through them softly.

The pale icy light was so bright for his blurry eyes that he couldn’t see the scenery outside.

Everything about the room, from its aesthetic elegance to its luxurious beauty, was nearly flawless, yet Ethan did not feel amazed.

Instead, confusion surfaced within him immediately.

Because according to his expectations, he should have awakened somewhere beneath an icy cavern, within some frozen crevice, or perhaps inside that ancient underground chamber where Nyx had sealed him according to her memory fragment.

But instead, he had awakened inside a luxurious royal room.

Curiosity and vigilance immediately filled his mind, and as he tried to understand his situation, Ethan attempted to sit up from the bed.

However, the moment he moved, he immediately frowned as he realized that his body felt impossibly stiff.

It almost felt as if blood and life energy had not flowed through it for hundreds of years, causing every muscle and joint to feel numb and rigid like frozen stone.

The sensation was deeply uncomfortable.