As soon as the giant needle pierced Felix's heart, a blue fire erupted, engulfing him in its familiar embrace. The needle's feather emitted an invisible flame, intensifying the heat within the room. Wooden lockers instantly caught fire, and black smoke billowed from the flames, darkening the ceiling. Though the fire provided light, the thick smoke quickly turned the room pitch-black.A regular person would have succumbed to suffocation, but Felix inhaled the carbon monoxide as if it were the freshest air. His lungs absorbed the smoke and digested the small dust particles, converting them into mana liquid, which was then absorbed into his bloodstream. As his body temperature rose, his lower abdomen produced a cold energy from the dantian, attempting to balance the heat.
Yet, his internal temperature continued to climb.
Felix ignored the raging fire around him and concentrated on his breathing rhythm. With each inhalation, he drew in flames, expelling impurities from his body. The first ten breaths seemed ordinary, but as Felix entered a meditative state, the fire swirled around him, turning him into the eye of a fiery tornado.
Flames and black smoke were sucked into his mouth and nostrils, only to be expelled as warm white smoke.
Impurities within Felix's blood circulation system began to exit through his skin as black sweat. However, the intense white flame purified the sweat instantly, transforming it into black ink. As more ink emerged, it gathered and formed a pattern on his back, creating a permanent tattoo.
The ink seemed alive, shaping into the image of a featherless chicken riding an alligator. The tattoo's details were so intricate that the figures appeared to move.
"POK-KOK!"
Felix coughed, making an unexpected noise that sounded eerily like a chicken. Oblivious to the sound, he opened his eyes and took in the chaotic scene around him.
The storm of fire continued, with Felix at its core, drawing in black smoke and flames and expelling them as sweat. The tattoo on his back expanded, soon covering half of it.
Finally, the flames subsided, leaving behind only the extreme heat radiating from Felix's body. His muscles had become more defined and toned, yet they retained their flexibility. His side abs were more refined, and the lats on his back were now visibly prominent.
Felix stood and patted his body, feeling the firmness of his chest and stomach.
"Damn," he muttered, satisfied with the results of the body refinement process. However, he knew his transformation wasn't complete. A prickling sensation behind his ears caught his attention, and he reached up to scratch them. To his surprise, he felt something extra—a soft, fluffy texture.
Curious, Felix purchased two mirrors from the system store and examined his reflection.
Behind his ears were tiny feathers, fluffy and warm to the touch. Stunned, Felix moved his head from side to side, inspecting the unusual growths. Fortunately, the feathers were hidden behind his ears, making them difficult to spot from the front. Only someone closely inspecting his ears from behind would notice them.
Felix put the mirrors away and surveyed the damage he had caused. Sёarch* The nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
The walls, floor, and ceiling were scorched black, and the wooden door had turned to charcoal, crumbling at the slightest touch. Seeing the destruction, Felix smiled wryly and quickly dressed before anyone could discover the mess. He purchased a new door, removed the charred remnants, and installed a replacement. The entire process took ten minutes.
With the mess cleaned up, Felix returned to the now-blackened room. He spread a piece of used clothing on the floor and sat down, sighing. He glanced at the system screen, checking the time.
8:00 AM…
"Man, the day is too long."
Felix grumbled. He was eager to finish his matches and go home. Growing bored, he opened his system menu to pass the time.
Meanwhile, Jiji, his contracted familiar, had been observing him. As usual, the magic contract allowed her to sense his thoughts and emotions. Noticing his boredom, she offered, "Would you like me to provide some entertainment?"
Felix chuckled, already guessing what she had in mind. "No, my stamina will be drained dry if I take that offer."
"How unfortunate," Jiji replied with a gentle smile, resuming her silent observation.
Felix shook his head, appreciating her sincere company. He pushed thoughts of time aside and checked the quest system screen, wondering if the quest had been completed since no notification had triggered.
The quest remained active, indicating that his transformation was still in progress.
Determined to understand what was missing, Felix browsed the recorded text of the Void Phoenix Breathing Manual. As he read, he noticed a small section he had previously overlooked during his training.
In the last two pages, the manual emphasized that the final step would take at least a month to complete, even with the aid of the phoenix feather. For the dantian and the mana heart to perfectly harmonize and stabilize, the body needed time to recover and adjust.
Additionally, during this adjustment and stabilization period, any spell or magic in Felix's arsenal would consume ten times the usual amount of energy, and he would struggle to control it fully, particularly in terms of mana manipulation. Fire spells, in particular, could range from being significantly stronger to dangerously overpowered.
After reading the last page, Felix pursed his lips and snorted. Unexpectedly, flames burst out of his nostrils like twin flamethrowers, scorching the air in front of him.
Startled, Felix quickly patted and rubbed his nose to douse the flames. He coughed and scratched his head, now uncertain about how to proceed in the tournament. His recent actions had set irreversible changes in motion. At this rate, he might accidentally incinerate his opponents or even roast the spectators in the stadium.
"I guess I'll have to stick with a regular gun or something," he muttered to himself.
Feeling mentally exhausted from overthinking, Felix decided to stop worrying about his upcoming matches and distracted himself by playing around with the system. As he browsed through the log to pass the time, he noticed something he had previously overlooked: the ability to purchase house add-ons.
Intrigued, Felix opened the system shop to check out the new items. To his surprise, there were only three add-ons available for purchase at the moment.