The world was growing more complicated by the day.
Aldwin stood atop the town hall roof, watching torchlight flicker along the perimeter walls below. Patrols moved in steady rotations. Mana sensors pulsed faintly as they monitored the forest beyond the barricades. Everything functioned, yet Aldwin felt an unease he could not quite place.
It was not fear.
It was curiosity.
"The existence of martial clans and this internal energy is intriguing," he muttered to himself.
Mulligan's presence stirred within his thoughts, faint but attentive.
"You are correct," Mulligan replied. "Internal energy is separate from mana. It follows different rules, different limitations. In my world, those who mastered it were considered anomalies."
Aldwin leaned against the stone railing.
"According to the system and discussions among high rankers, many of the top ten thousand rely on it. Martial artists, body cultivators, weapon masters. It explains how some of them survive without massive mana pools."
"Power finds many paths," Mulligan said. "You have simply begun to see them."
Aldwin pulled up the ranking interface again, scrolling through names and gifts. Beast Masters. Sword Saints. Body Refiners. Ki Sovereigns. Titles meant little, but the patterns were clear. Raw physical dominance backed by internal energy allowed many to stand alongside mages without relying on spells at all.
The system notification he had been expecting sat quietly at the edge of his awareness.
[Next Milestone Reward: 100,000 Contribution Points]
[Reward Type: Gift Evolution]
An upgrade to Past Life Embodiment.
More slots.
More inheritance.
More danger.
"I have demons," Aldwin said softly. "Water magic gives me control and destruction. What I lack is sustainability."
"And adaptability," Mulligan added.
Aldwin nodded.
"If I am overwhelmed or injured, water magic will not save me. I need either healing or a body capable of enduring extended combat."
He exhaled slowly.
"Which means my third embodiment cannot be chosen lightly."
That night, Aldwin entered meditation within the reinforced basement of the town hall. Mana flowed smoothly through his channels now, guided by the Mana Heart and refined by the condensation technique. The Tidecaller's Staff rested beside him, sapphire core glowing faintly.
When his consciousness shifted inward, the familiar void greeted him.
Three orbs hovered before him.
The sapphire glow of Mulligan.
The abyssal darkness of Aramak.
And countless others beyond them.
He ignored the shadows this time.
He searched for balance.
For something alive.
For something that refused to die.
His awareness brushed against something different.
A green glow, deep and layered like emerald stone. It pulsed slowly, not violently, not passively. It felt resilient. Enduring.
Aldwin reached for it.
Pain did not greet him.
Acceptance did.
The world twisted.
His vision filled with overlapping sensations. Scales sliding over muscle. Bones shifting without breaking. Lungs expanding far beyond human capacity. Blood thickening, burning with vitality.
A presence rose within him.
Massive.
Hungry.
Alive.
"I am Verakul."
The voice was layered, rough and smooth at once. A chorus of instincts bound together by will.
Memories flooded Aldwin's mind.
A mutant chimera forged through unnatural evolution. A creature that survived by adapting. Healing flesh that knitted itself back together in moments. Scales that turned blades aside. Toxic breath that melted enemies from within. Fangs that drained life and returned it tenfold.
Verakul was not a hero.
It was not a king.
It was a survivor.
"You sought strength and healing," Verakul said. "You will receive both."
Aldwin felt the embodiment settle into him with frightening ease. His vast mana reserves absorbed the transformation without resistance. No screaming. No collapse. Just a deep, bone aching pressure that stabilized quickly.
His body changed.
Muscles tightened. Skin hardened subtly, invisible to the eye but unmistakable in sensation. His heartbeat grew stronger, more deliberate.
When the embodiment completed, the system chimed.
[Third Past Life Embodied: Verakul]
[Synchronization Stable]
[Permanent Skill Acquired]
[Physique of a Unique Abomination]
The skill unfolded within him.
Regeneration surged, not explosive, but constant. Wounds would close. Fatigue would fade. His body would adapt to damage instead of simply enduring it.
Mana responded differently now. It flowed more freely, interacting with his physical form in ways it never had before. Internal energy, previously foreign, brushed against his awareness like an unopened door.
Most alarming of all was the final effect.
Toxic mana did not harm him.
It fed him.
Verakul's presence receded, leaving Aldwin alone with the aftermath.
He opened his eyes.
The room looked the same.
He was not.
Aldwin stood slowly, flexing his hands. His fingers felt stronger, denser. He pressed a nail into his palm, watching as the skin indented and then smoothed over instantly.
No blood.
No pain.
Outside, Flambe hissed softly as Aldwin emerged. Hatch turned, eyes widening slightly. Corvus tilted his head, studying him with new interest.
Their reactions told him everything.
They felt it.
Aldwin took a steady breath.
With water magic, he controlled the battlefield.
With demons, he commanded presence.
Now, with this body, he could endure the wars to come.