Chapter 22 — The Final Limit
A few hours later, Ren's magic phone vibrated.
It was a call from Elias.
Ren picked it up.
The moment the call connected, Elias appeared on the screen with a furious expression.
"Can you believe it, Brother Ren? That bastard deceived us for so many years!"
"Calm down, Elias. Who are you talking about?"
"How can I calm down?!" Elias shouted. "That bastard deceived us! Did you know that my brother Adrian didn't exist at all? Someone else was occupying his body. My twin brother was killed long ago!"
"What are you talking about?"
Elias quickly explained what had happened.
Adrian had been detained the previous day. Today, Elias and his parents had been called to the prison, where they were finally told the truth.
The soul occupying Adrian's body was a transmigrator from another world.
Adrian had confessed everything during the investigation.
When his parents learned the truth, they immediately disowned him and cut all ties. The transmigrator would now be serving several years in prison.
"Can you believe it, Brother Ren?" Elias said, his voice trembling as tears began forming in his eyes. "That sick bastard killed my twin brother, occupied his body, and then deceived and toyed with us for all these years!"
"All these years, I considered him my brother, but he turned out to be an imposter."
To Elias, the soul living inside Adrian's body was nothing short of a psychopath—a truly evil person who had killed his twin brother and stolen his identity.
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'Well, that was the reality.'
Ren remained silent for a moment.
His parents in this world weren't really his parents either.
He was also a foreign soul occupying the body of someone else's child.
If they ever discovered the truth, would they forgive him?
Of course not.
To them, he would simply be an occupant who had taken the place of their real child.
"I'm sorry, Brother Ren. I shouldn't have dumped all of this on you," Elias said, wiping his tears. "But please keep this a secret. We were only permitted to share the news with some close friends and relatives. We were specifically told not to spread it any further because it could cause mass panic."
"I understand. Don't worry. I won't tell anyone."
Ren paused before adding, "You should take care of yourself too. I also can't believe someone else was occupying Adrian's body this whole time, making a fool out of everyone."
He put on a serious expression.
"What a sick bastard."
Elias nodded.
They talked for a few more minutes before ending the call.
Ren placed his magic phone back on the sofa and leaned against it.
'My mission reward should be arriving soon.'
About an hour later, his magic phone vibrated again.
Ren glanced at the notification.
Mission Completed.
Reward: 15,000,000 Astra.
The money had already been deposited into his bank account.
'Finally.'
Ren immediately stood up and left his apartment.
He booked one of the university's training rooms.
Once inside, Ren activated the room's formation array and selected its gravity-manipulation function.
The gravity inside the room gradually increased.
Ren's body immediately became heavier.
The Aethergrove Training Center didn't have formations capable of manipulating gravity. Such formations were too expensive for a training center.
Aethelgard Grand University, however, was wealthy enough to have them.
Ren didn't waste any time.
He began training.
For years, he had pushed his body toward the physical limit of ordinary humans. His strength had already reached an extraordinary level long ago, but there was still one final barrier he had yet to completely break through.
The increased gravity provided exactly what he needed.
Ren performed weighted exercises under the heavier gravity, forcing his muscles, bones, joints, and internal organs to endure loads far beyond what they experienced under normal conditions.
Whenever his body was pushed too far, he took out one of the expensive healing potions he had prepared beforehand and drank it.
The potion restored his injuries, allowing him to continue.
Then he pushed himself again.
And again.
He didn't care about the number of potions he consumed.
He had just received fifteen million Astra.
Compared to that amount, a few expensive healing potions were nothing.
Ren continued training under the increased gravity.
His muscles strained under the enormous load.
His bones and connective tissues endured the pressure.
Even his internal organs were forced to adapt.
He repeatedly pushed himself to the edge, recovered, and pushed again.
This continued for an entire hour.
By the end of it, Ren had burned through a considerable number of healing potions.
But the result was worth it.
Ren finally stopped.
He stood silently in the training room, clenching and unclenching his fists.
He could feel it.
His body had reached its absolute physical limit.
'This should be the true limit.'
Ren had spent eleven years preparing for this moment.
From the age of five, he had trained relentlessly.
Now, there was nowhere further for an ordinary human body to go.
If he wanted to become stronger, there was only one path left.
Magic.
Ren looked down at his hands.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
'Finally.'