Body Tempering

"Hah.....Hah....Ha"

In the absolute darkness of the forest which was usually filled with growls and shrieks of mana beasts at night was now devoid of any of that with only the sound of the gasps of an young man travelling across.

Lucas had been running in the forest for 6 hours without stopping even once. It now currently mid-night and even though his body has worn out after running in uneven terrain of the forest, he showed no signs of stopping.

"Hah...This body's...hah...stamina...hah...is...absolutely worse" Lucas complained to no one while gasping for air.

This is what Lucas planned after deciding to train his body, the first step was to improve the stamina of his body. And to do so, he had to push his body beyond the limits.

Even thought his body was on the verge of breaking down, there was not single change in his indifferent expression. To someone like him who had been through even worse conditions, his current condition was nothing to think about.

After one more hour of non-stop march, Lucas was now on a edge of a cliff at the edge of the island. Beyond the cliff was the ocean which was Lucas's destination. After 7 hours of continuous running he had finally reached the ocean.

"I should take a break before resuming my training." 

After deciding to take a break, I flopped down to the ground and sat at the edge of the cliff.

Stabilizing my breath, I recalled the entire journey till here. And there was one thing that bothers me, I didn't come across a single mana beast the whole time I was running.

Considering how weak my stats were accompanied with the sounds I made, I should have been an easy prey for them. Yet I didn't even hear any sounds in the forest much less seeing a beast. The forest was completely silent except for my gasps.

I had an inkling as to what might be the reason for this strange situation but I don't have any explanation support my claims. 

Well, I can think about it later now I should continue my training. I looked down the cliff only to witness the fierce collision between the strong currents of ocean and the sturdy cliffside. 

Without hesitation I jumped from the clifftop into the ocean. The volcano I wanted to visit was on an island a few kilometers from here. Since I wanted to improve my stamina, I decided to swim to the island from here.

SPLASH-!!

Soon after I fell into the water I started to swim towards the ocean floor. The waters were completely dark with not a single ray of light.

However, I already the direction of the island so all I had to do was swim in that direction even if I can't see a thing.

The water pressure on my body started to rise as I continued to swim downwards. Even my lungs started hurt not being able to hold my breath any longer.

Even then, I continued to swim downwards not paying mind to the condition of my body.

After a few minutes I landed my feet on the ocean floor and remained in the same position. 

The pressure on my body due to the water bore down on me as if a mountain has been placed on top of me. Unable to hold my breath any longer I exhaled all at once and closed my mouth before any water could go in.

Right after that I took a small breath through my mouth immediately exhaling afterwards. I continued to do this until my body became accustomed to it.

The water of oceans or of any other water body for that matter has oxygen dissolved in it. Oceans have the highest amount of oxygen dissolved in it due to the all the plants growing here. 

What I am doing right now is to repeatedly inhale and exhale in a very short amount of time. This will allow me to breath even a small amount of dissolved oxygen present in the ocean without swallowing the water. 

This is a trick I discovered in my previous life when I desperately tried to survive after being trapped in water. Of course this method is accompanied with an huge amount of risks.

First, the span of inhalation and exhalation should me very in order to prevent water going in.

Second, the strain put on the lungs would be quite huge. Just staying in the bottom of the ocean is enough to make one's lungs explode and burdening it even further by doing this will increase the chances of lungs exploding even further.

Third, No matter how fast you inhale and exhale there will be small amounts of water entering your system as the human body doesn't have a specialized organ to separate oxygen from water.

Due to all these reasons, what I am doing right now is no different than committing suicide. Of course I didn't come here die.

Like they say, the greater the risk you take, the greater the returns are.

If I managed reach the island alive in this situation then my physical body alone would be incomparably tougher and stronger than anyone. What's more, having such a body is absolute necessary for my next training.

I took my first step right after my body became somewhat accustomed to the situation. Just like that, I slowly continued to move forward step by step.

I have 13 more days, I have to complete this soon but that doesn't mean that I have rush things. That would render this whole training counterproductive. Patiently, I kept walking in small steps.

After 5 days,

Lucas who had been walking slowly for the past five days without rest at the bottom of the ocean had finally reached his destination.

Now he was lying down on the sand near the sea. He was visibly tired as he lay on the ground not considering the dirt and sand sticking to his body. 

"This confirms my hypothesis." Lucas said to himself as he gazed at the sun rising from the horizon.

Over the past 5 days I spent at bottom of the ocean, I didn't come across a single beast or animal even once. The forest is one thing but if the same happened in the ocean then it can't be a coincidence.

The conclusion I came to was quite simple. The mana beasts are terrified of me. Even my presence alone is enough to make them run away. 

I don't know the reason for it, however I think it is related to my previous life. It's not surprising if that is the reason as I was the strongest in my previous life.

Perhaps maybe my atmosphere or soul makes them terrified since animals are much more sensitive to dangers than humans.

Well, there is no reason for me to worry about this now. I got up after deciding that I rested enough. I looked towards the center of the island where a huge volcano was present. 

Without hesitation I ran towards it while using mana. 

After a few minutes, I reached the top of the volcano.

I looked down the center from where smoke mixed with ash and CO₂ kept rising towards the atmosphere accompanied by an intense heat.

After gazing down a few more seconds, I took a few steps backwards. I started to run towards the center and jumped into the volcano from the edge.

Today would be the day the Lucas Morningstar everyone knew died.