Another Kind of Pain

The knowledge of being able to become a real 'immortal', the definition that was imprinted in Maya's mind, eased Lucas' worry a little as he knew how strong it would be for him to reach that stage.

Essentially being a part of the world, the worst thing that could happen to him was to get sealed like Maya, he wouldn't be erased from existence from just simply destroying his body.

However, Lucas held down his excitement as he knew that becoming such an entity was not a feat that any average Joe could achieve.

More exactly, nobody could achieve it without the technique that had just been imprinted in his mind.

It was a privilege that Lucas could count as very special, not even someone who was born with a gold spoon in their mouth could easily get.

Knowing that Lucas wasted no time as he began to follow the instructions that the book gave him.

'I'm starting, Maya.' He said before he closed his eyes and put all his focus onto the mana inside his body.

Hearing Lucas' words and feeling the movement inside his body, Maya nodded inwardly and explained to him,

'Remember Lucas, the objective of all cultivation techniques, whether this one or the other techniques is to make your body stronger, a better vessel that could hold more mana and become more attuned to it.

Doing the basic cultivation technique is easier since you would only be imprinting runes on certain parts of your body.

But with this cultivation technique, you would need to-'

Maya's explanation was cut short as Lucas finally began to imprint the first part of the magical rune inside his body.

Lucas was going at it with full gung-ho, filled with spirit and excitement as he used his own mana to carve a magical rune in his body.

The book mentioned that he would feel pain when he started imprinting the runes, which was normal considering he would be purposefully making a scar in his body.

However, Lucas couldn't imagine that the pain would be so much that he couldn't help but let out a sharp pained sound from his mouth.

"AGH!"

Lucas' grandma, who had been asleep, suddenly woke up as she turned her head to see his grandson who sat up from his bed.

"Lucas? Are you okay?"

She grabbed her grandson's hand, which was slightly colder than usual despite the room not having an air conditioner.

Feeling the soft touch from his grandma, Lucas took a deep breath and looked at her in the eyes gently.

"I'm sorry grandma, I dreamt of falling from a 7-story building." He said with a guilty smile on his face.

His grandma looked at his grandson's face and shook her head as she caressed his hand gently,

"They said you were too tired if you ever dreamt about something that jerks you awake. Don't push yourself too hard at work."

"Yes, grandma. I'm sorry for waking you up."

Lucas' grandma then closed her eyes once more before saying, "Go back to sleep, don't worry, you won't fall for the second time, I will catch you even if you do."

Seeing his grandma go back to sleep as fast as she woke up, Lucas heaved a sigh as he also returned to his blanket.

'Maya…What kind of pain was that…'

Without long, Maya instantly answered,

'A pain that you need to get used to.'

Lucas gulped as he heard Maya's words as he knew that he was far from finishing the first part of Maya's cultivation technique.

While the ordinary cultivation techniques needed the practitioner to create those runes either on the person's hands or feet for their first step, Maya's Perfect Mana Body Cultivation Technique was different.

The first step of Maya's cultivation technique required the practitioner to imprint the magical runes onto their whole skeleton.

From the top of Lucas' head to the tip of his feet, all parts of his skeleton needed to be inscribed with the magical runes.

What Lucas had just done before was to carve the runes on his cranium, which were the bones on his head that protected his brain.

The pain was so much that he couldn't bear to jump from the pain.

'Don't worry, the first part is the worst. As long as you can carve the runes on your skull, the other body parts won't be as painful.'

Hearing Maya's comforting words, Lucas gritted his teeth, this time fully ready for what was to come.

He then began redoing the process as he began pushing his mana into his head, particularly his skull.

Now that he was prepared, Lucas was able to bear the pain.

But that is only for a few seconds longer.

Lucas almost jumped and sat up from his bed once again from the pain, but he got enough control this time to stop waking up his grandma for the second time.

'Maya… I don't think I could bear the pain…'

As if expecting Lucas would say such a thing, Maya quickly responded,

'Of course, alone, you wouldn't be able to stand the pain. You need to remember why you even decided to start doing all this.'

Lucas stopped saying anything and began thinking, the reason why he decided to learn the cultivation technique was right next to him.

The old fragile grandma who cared for him and gave him everything she had just for him. The grandma that struggled with her illness, but still kept him as her highest priority.

The grandma who treasured him even more than her own health.

'I can help you a little.' Maya spoke once again as she used her own power and sent an illusion into Lucas' head.

Lucas saw the times when his grandma fed him, working until late to be able to afford his school when he wasn't able to get part-time jobs before.

His grandma started falling sick due to overexertion. 

His Grandma, standing with her feet wobbling as she struggled to keep herself standing.

The moment when he saw her staring at an empty wall for hours when she found out her illness was incurable except for a very expensive surgery that they couldn't afford.

Those scenes replayed again and again in Lucas' mind.

After each scene, the pain in Lucas' heart multiplied each time he saw and was reminded of what his grandma had done for him.

What she had sacrificed for him.

Before he got drowned in his own pain, Maya's voice resounded,

'Remember your reason, Lucas!'

Like a large horn that forced him awake, Lucas gritted his teeth once again, his hands squeezing the purple book as hard as they could as Lucas' heart was filled with the most conviction he ever had in his life.

Without being told about what to do next, Lucas began carving the magical runes once again onto his body.

The pain that he felt in his head was still as incredible as ever as more and more magical runes were carved onto his bones.

But the pain in his heart was even more powerful as he saw and got reminded again and again of how powerless he was in helping his grandma.

Lucas numbed his physical pain as he only focused on the fact that he was a useless human being and he didn't want to remain like that forever.

Just like that, about 30 minutes passed before the final magical rune was inscribed on Lucas' toe and Maya stopped her illusion spell on Lucas.

The second the images stopped being recalled in his head, Lucas lost his consciousness as he passed out cold in his bed.

Despite his inability to keep his eyes awake, in the red pendant, Maya smiled wide as she saw what had happened while Lucas passed out.

The magical runes that filled every inch of Lucas' skeleton activated and they began sucking every bit of mana in the air.

Healing every part of Lucas' body that had been wounded by the process while at the same time exponentially increasing their strength and attunement with mana.

'Congratulations, Lucas. You've finally become a true cultivator.'

Seeing Lucas' body had sucked in even more mana than what other people normally would, even with her special cultivation technique, Maya couldn't help but to pat herself on the back for finding and choosing him as his potential savior.

'An incredibly talented one at that.'