(Rocky''s POV)


    *GASPPP*


    As Rocky finally woke up from his slumber, he looked around and realized that he was still floating within that icy coldke.


    *Waddle*


    *Waddle*


    Swimming towards the shore, Rocky used all the strength in his body to make it to the shore, as he dragged his exhausted body out of the water.


    *Cough*


    *Cough*


    Spitting out a mouthful of water, Rocky removed all the water from the soulke that he had identally consumed while he was unconscious, as he slowly regained his wits.


    The ordeal he had undergone within the soul realm was undoubtedly a dangerous and unforgettable experience, however, the benefits he had received from it were immeasurable.


    As Rocky gasped for air, he felt an unprecedented vigor coursing through his veins.


    His body, though battered from the ordeal in the Soul Realm, thrummed with a new kind of energy—a powerful, pulsing presence that filled him with both awe and an acute sense of capability, as although his mind was not used to his new strength, it seemed like his body had improved beyond leaps and bounds.


    As he clutched onto a small twig on the ground, he unconsciously turned it into powder, as he did not even snap or crush the twig into small fragments but rather turned it into literal sawdust with his improved grip strength.


    For a moment, he felt confused as to what was going on, however, once he began introspecting his body condition, he noticed that he had undergone some massive changes.


    He noticed an undeniable improvement in the mana concentration within him; it was as if his body had be a well-tuned conduit for magical energies, capable of holding and channeling far more mana than before.


    As he tentatively flexed his muscles, he noticed that his physical form had improved dramatically, beyond the normal limits of human conditioning.


    It was as if every muscle and fiber within his body was optimized, almost like his body had reached what could only be described as its peak potential—something that should have taken years of rigorous training and the consumption of rare elixirs.


    As he stood there, soaking wet yet undeniably stronger, Epita appeared beside him, her expression a mix of  visible hatred and jealousy.


    "You lucky bastard," she muttered under her breath, her eyes wide as they took in the sight of Rocky''s transformed physique.


    Her tone was a mix of envy and a twisted form of congrattions, recognizing the extraordinary leap in strength he had achieved.


    Rocky''s body was already incredible, he had wide shoulders, great bone density, great explosive muscle strength and great circtory system.


    If he stood shirtless, his physique already looked sculpted by a sculptor with well defined abs, well defined chest and a great body overall.


    However, if it was great before, it was simply perfect now, as every muscle, every vein in his body now stood out against his skin, as if he was a living walking anatomy diagram instead of a fitness model.


    When he contracted a muscle now, he could visibly see it moving under his skin, as even the movement of the smaller muscles responsible for non-obvious movements were now clearly visible to Rocky.


    Let alone muscle contractions, if he focused enough, he could even notice the vasoconstriction and vasodtion movement of his veins as he could literally notice the movement of his blood to his body parts.


    "What you have achieved isn''t just a small step; you''ve vaulted across stages that would bog down even the most dedicated climbers," Epita said, as she feltpelled to exin to Rocky just how great the reward that he received was.


    "You won''t need to train physically for a day in your life now until you be a tier4 climber and your body''s inherent capacity expands.


    This will give you countless hours to focus on skill development alone as training your body any more will be simply useless for you.


    Once you get ustomed to your new strength, you will be able to go toe to toe with even the strongest tier3 climbers, as in terms of speed, strength and endurance, you won''t lose out to any other species, even if your opponent is an angel or a dragon.


    As for how your mana capacity has expanded to this degree, which is beyond what even dragons of the third tier possess is beyond me, however, it can potentially be your biggest asset.


    While your opponents can only use a handful of big skill moves that drain heavily on their mana pools, you can use such onught almost non-stop.


    It''s like your body didn''t just improve—it evolved into something else entirely." Epita said, as she listed out all the benefits of Rocky''s new body while turning green with envy.


    Rocky, still catching his breath, could only nod in agreement, as he still did not realize that Epita had tried to trick and kill him.


    Having no idea about the other pools that he could have chosen for his promotion test, Rocky currently believed that what he achieved was only normal, which was why he did not show any animosity towards Epita.


    Focusing on the strength inside his body instead, Rocky tried to get a feel for the new found power that he possessed.


    The sensation was undeniable. The dense mana that now filled him didn''t just increase in quantity but in quality as well. It surged through him like a torrential river, yet perfectly controlled, as if each wave knew exactly where to flow.


    Although the increase in strength was sudden, he found himself inplete control of his body as after opening and closing his palm a few times, Rocky felt himself bing limated with his new strength at a rapid pace.


    "Your business here is done. I''m sending you back to floor zero, Champion Of Gemini, let''s meet here once again when youe to attempt your floor 20 promotion test-" Epita said, as with a snap of her finger she threw Rocky out of the Origin Realm.


    *************


    ( Back on floor zero, The University For Nourishment Of Young Talents )


    As Rocky found himself back on the grounds of University For Nourishment Of Young Talents, the first thing he did was to rush back to his room as he wanted to take a better look at his body.


    While he did perform some preliminary examinations of his body, right there inside the Origin Realm, he wished to do some detailed tests in privacy, for which he ignored the gazes of everyone staring at him and rushed straight back into his room.


    As he opened the door to his dorm, to his surprise, he found Sophia sitting near the entrance reading a book. As while Erin and Buhara were both also attempting their tier promotion test at the same time as Rocky and were absent from the room, Sophia had seemingly seized the chance and snuck into his room.


    "Sophia? Why are you in our room?" Rocky asked in surprise, as Sophia''s face turned visibly red to see Rocky arrive back much sooner than she had expected.


    Looking around the room sheepishly, she tried to think of some excuse, however, her dim-witted brain failed her at this crucial moment, as she could note up with a credible excuse on the fly.


    Since Rocky and Erin both did not allow Sophia to enter their boys dorm room and limited their interaction with her to the universitymon areas, Sophia had developed a sense of curiosity of what the trio were hiding in their room, as in her head she had developed wild conspiracy theories of the trio hiding some precious treasure.


    Since today, all three of them had gone out of the room at the same time. Sophia identified this moment as an opportunity to snoop around their room, as she wanted to verify her suspicions herself.


    While she could ept Rocky''s explosive growth, she could not understand the reason behind why Erin and Buhara were growing so rapidly as well, as recently looking at their performance in team battles, Sophia began to doubt if she was even the second strongest in the group anymore?


    Even Erin, whom she considered the weakest member of the group, had started to show some remarkable abilities, which made Sophia question if the three of them had some hidden secret.


    Unfortunately, the fairy tale she was cooking in her head was false, as there was nothing worthwhile to find within the trio''s stinky room, as apart from Buhara''s smelly underwear and a cute photo of Rocky with his sister Riva, Sophia did not find anything noteworthy within their room.


    "I- umm, I- , was waiting for you-" Sophia said nervously, avoiding eye contact with Rocky, as Rocky used his aura observation skill to discern her aura color.


    ''ck…. She''s lying-'' Rocky thought, as he immediately discerned that Sophia was lying as usual, however, chose to ignore it for the moment.


    "Well, I need to change, can you please move out?" He requested politely, as Sophia immediately rushed out of the room with a red face.


    It wasn''t until she was out of the room, that she registered the change in Rocky''s appearance and the fact that he had returned alive from the tier promotion test, which prompted her to turn back and try get back inside the room, however, Rocky had locked it from the inside by then, leaving her stranded.


    —-----


    /// A/N - Good news guys! The initial character artwork for the book has finally beenpleted, and should be up on the novel page in about an hour. So do check it out if you want to see it- ///