When the mutated shadow merges into the body, it alters the body's organs; more accurately, this alteration is a form of accelerated evolution.
This compressed the evolutionary timeframe, which would normally take thousands or tens of thousands of years, into just a few days.
The body cannot withstand such drastic, rapid evolution, and will naturally lose control.
Once the loss of control was brought under control, the energy needed for evolution required Leo to provide it, which led to the subsequent frenzied eating.
We are now in the advancement stage, an advancement unique to Body Refinement Wizard, where every cell in our body is waiting for enough energy to evolve.
More than half a year has passed, and Leo still feels hungry.
Without hesitation, he tossed the second energy crystal into his mouth, waiting for the stomach acid to dissolve it before unleashing a powerful burst of energy to replenish his body's energy reserves.
It took another six months to completely deplete the energy of this energy crystal, but the body was still hungry, just like before, without any reduction. Every cell in the body was like a hungry newborn, searching for food everywhere like a starving wolf.
The third one,
The fourth one,
The fifth one,
The sixth one,
It wasn't until the seventh energy crystal entered his stomach and was completely digested by the powerful stomach acid that Leo finally felt full.
"Belch"
At this moment, his body had accumulated enough energy. Leo felt that he had evolved into a barrel full of energy, and as long as he moved, energy would spill out.
"Click click click"
Before Leo could react, the cracking sound of his bones growing hard rang out. The crisp sound seemed to be a great being constantly stretching Leo, breaking his bones and reassembling them, stretching him from 1.8 meters to 2 meters, and then from 2 meters to 2.5 meters.
Does it hurt?
It must hurt!
Skeletal remodeling
The fascia began to grow wildly.
Blood vessels, muscles, skin, internal organs—at this moment, the entire body is like it's on accelerator, all growing wildly.
A powerful force surges from every cell, endlessly filling the growing new body.
The energy that had been stored up before was released all at this moment: division, growth, death, and then a cycle of division, growth, and death...
The cells in the body iterate and evolve wildly generation after generation, constantly challenging the body's limits and pushing it to evolve.
Leo was panting heavily, the surging power throughout his body was something he couldn't adapt to in a short time, but more power was still surging out.
At one point, a shadow from within his body appeared behind him, clinging tightly to his body. This semi-illusory shadow bore no resemblance to Leo; it was more like a black, ferocious grim reaper, the only difference being the absence of a scythe in its hand.
Countless memories flooded Leo's mind—scenes he had seen at some unknown time, now dredged up by his own recollections. His eyes rolled back, his body convulsed, and his consciousness began to spiral out of control once more.
It was sitting in front of the TV as a child, it was school screenings, it was about birth, aging, sickness, and death.
The Qin Huang, seated on his throne, dispatched Xu Fu to sea in search of the elixir of immortality.
A Daoist priest was constantly increasing the flames beside the alchemy furnace, and a black-clad warrior was waiting nearby;
A dying elderly person reaching out to the sky, wishing to live another five hundred years;
The sound of children weeping during the funeral procession of an elderly person in the village;
And the fear I felt when my grandmother passed away.
Death... terrifying.
There are too many—scenes of death, scenes of reluctance to part, scenes of not wanting to die. The short lives of humankind on Earth have left behind too many regrets.
Turning to any remaining information, any written record of thoughts, it seems that everything can be linked to death. Humanity on Earth is like a pre-programmed sequence of birth, with death as its destination.
No one can escape it, regardless of your identity.
"I can't die, I still have so many things to do."
"I can't die, I can't die."
With his eyes rolled back, Leo struggled in agony, his hands frantically pushing and shoving as if trying to push away whatever was in front of him.
But there was nothing in front of him, only Leo's hands, which were still struggling to retract.
The hands struggled desperately, while an invisible force forcefully suppressed them, preventing them from moving. The two sides were locked in a stalemate. The veins on Leo's large hands bulged, but he still couldn't stop the hands from getting closer and closer to his body until they were pressed to his sides and he couldn't move them.
Leo seemed to be dead, forcibly killed, motionless, even the changes in his body had stopped, and his aura began to become still, like stagnant water that no longer flowed.
But the next second, Leo suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze cold, violent, and cruel—any negative adjective could be found in them.
A voice, seemingly from the deepest depths of hell, roared from his throat.
" Body Refinement Wizard, First Layer Hunter Bloodline, Activated!"
Leo's voice was like a switch, unlocking the secrets of the body.
As soon as the sound was uttered, all the cells in the body began to divide and recombine wildly. Furthermore, a mysterious force, seemingly from the depths of the soul, directly altered the genetic material in the cells, replacing the double helix of DNA with a more powerful and mysterious structure.
Already stretched to a height of over two meters, it continued to grow taller, instantly becoming a three-meter behemoth.
His fair skin transformed into dark, grotesque muscles, exuding power and ferocity.
With a single step, he stomped out, leaving two inch-long footprints in the ground. His sharp, outward-pointing nails gleamed with a chilling killing intent. Without a doubt, being stepped on by such a foot could instantly create five bloody holes.
Extending his palm, just like his toes, his fingernails grew to an inch long; with a casual swipe in the air, they produced several cold glints, sharper than any sword.
Without any weapons in hand, these fingernails are the best weapon!
His face was covered with sharp teeth that protruded like fangs, making him look like an executioner who hunted and slaughtered his prey!
Leo turned to look at the mirror in the corner of the room. In the mirror, a three-meter-tall monster with a ferocious face shot out a chilling light from its eyes. Although its bulging muscles were not as grotesque as Gru's transformed Wild Giant, its more slender figure and perfect muscle proportions completely told the story of this Hunter's unparalleled speed.
With the cloak-like shadow standing behind him, the transformed Hunter perfectly lived up to his name, like a demon that hunts life in the dark.
"As expected, I'm still a human being at heart; the fear of death is instinctive."
The Hunter's lips curled into a hideous and terrifying arc; it should have been a smile, but the word "smile" on the Hunter's face could only be associated with demons from purgatory.
Leo is different from the native inhabitants of the Wizard World, especially after being corrupted by the Power of World Origin the Benji World.
As a short-lived species from Earth World, and further influenced by the Shadow Power, Leo's advancement was more about fulfilling his inner desires, or perhaps escaping certain things.
He transformed into Hunter to fulfill his deepest fears!
The moment he successfully transformed, Leo knew about the Hunter's abilities.
It doesn't possess the immense strength of Berserk Giant, nor does it have the innate ability to increase its power with Berserk Giant.
But he had superior physical coordination and terrifying speed, and the Hunter's unique abilities amazed Leo.
With a thought, the cloak-like shadow behind Leo instantly split into ten pieces, which then darted around the room at teleportation speed.
It appears to be fused with the other shadows and has little offensive power, but only Leo knows just how strong the evolved shadow is now.
The shadow has only one ability: to bear!
This power originates from the Planetary Core — the Power of Bearing!
The Planetary Core is the cornerstone of a world, perfectly inherited by the shadow!
During Leo's apprenticeship, the shadow could also bear some burdens, such as bearing a portion of energy to feed back to Leo, although not much, only about 10%, Leo always used as icing on the cake.
More importantly, it utilizes the property that shadows can reduce side effects by 50%, thus reducing harm to the body. In essence, this is also a kind of Power of Bearing!
Now that the Planetary Core has been established, the shadow has evolved, and the Power of Bearing has fully evolved. The previous 50% has been increased, an increase that would make Leo ecstatic!
Why does Leo say that he is still afraid of death deep down? Because the evolved Shadow has almost maxed out its damage reduction skills, putting survival first!
Ten shadows, each reducing damage by 50%!
At the apprentice level, there was only one shadow, which could reduce the side effects by 50% once. Now, it has become ten!
It can reduce side effects by 50% over ten treatments.
When Leo learned about his evolved abilities, he was even a little afraid of himself. "Even a tough nut doesn't have to be like this!"
The damage reduction, when maximized, is already terrifying, but this is only the Shadow's basic ability; its carrying capacity hasn't even been taken into account!
Leo was astonished at the thought of his newfound abilities after advancing a level; who could possibly kill him?
Even if they were surrounded by thousands of wizards, they could still break through the encirclement!
Countless solutions and ideas flashed through my mind in an instant, trying to figure out how to better utilize this Power of Bearing.
Upon seeing the runes and magic circles inscribed on his body, the Hunter grinned maliciously. He'd got it!
Inside the Gru courtyard,
Gru stared intently at Leo's room. Although Leo's advancement time far exceeded expectations, reaching as long as ten years, he had just truly sensed the aura of a level one. Leo had succeeded!
Gru let out a soft sigh of relief; the protective mission was over!
Leo, that little guy, has finally grown up!
"Tear"
Suddenly, a sound of space being torn apart rang out, and Alexander, the dean of the Purple Flame Academy, slowly walked out of the spatial rift, leaning on her staff.
" Leo got promoted, right?"
"Yes, the promotion has been completed and is currently stabilizing," Gru replied solemnly.
" Gru the Wizard, you'll need to stay here and keep watch. I'm going to report to Purple Flame Stigmata Wizard."
Before leaving, Alexander muttered to herself, " The Purple Flame Stigmata Wizard has been waiting for this news for a long time."
The spatial rift immediately closed, and Gru lay on the armchair, his eyes slightly closed, seemingly lost in thought.
He appeared relaxed, but his hands had somehow crushed the armrests of the recliner to pieces.
"Yes, everyone has been waiting for quite a while."