After warning Leo about all the risks associated with the breakthrough, Hen began explaining the process itself.
"It starts with a breakthrough potion. A volatile compound that supercharges your mana core and floods your system with raw energy. The second it hits, your mana circuits are forced to widen. And I don't mean gently," Hen said, mimicking the motion of drinking from a bottle. His face twitched in discomfort, as if haunted by memories better left buried.
"It's like shoving a hurricane through a straw," he muttered with a grim expression. "Most people scream. Some go catatonic. And those who haven't trained their mental limit? They die on the spot."
Leo nodded, slow and expressionless. "I see."
Internally, he was already imagining how he'd direct the flow—mapping out his current circuit pathways, noting the weaknesses he'd need to reinforce before attempting such a surge. The danger didn't intimidate him; it simply presented a formula with very real consequences.
"If you survive that," Hen continued, "the mana doesn't just move through your circuits anymore. It starts infiltrating your nervous system and bloodstream. That's when your body begins to change on a physiological level."
"At key overlap points—your spine, your heart, your major arteries—your mana circuits start merging with your biology. These merge zones are called Chakra Nodes. Each one becomes a fusion point between your nervous system, bloodstream, and mana circuits."
"This stage is excruciating. But once it's complete, your muscles begin receiving mana directly. Think of it like switching from combustion fuel to clean energy.
But this comes with a risk.
Because if your body's not strong enough and your muscles can't take it. They melt.
Which will leave you crippled in seconds." Hen said, giving Leo a meaningful look.
"But if you're ready… your body adapts. It upgrades. High-performance engine, high-grade fuel. Everything becomes smoother, faster, stronger."
Hen paused, letting the silence carry the weight of that sentence.
"But it's not over yet."
Leo didn't move, but his mind was already ticking. He absorbed everything Hen said and started to envision it in a chronological order, listing out the risks associated with each stage.
"After that stage, once you're overloaded. That same energy that helped you break through becomes toxic if left unused. So you have to burn it—fast."
"You activate every technique you've got. Back-to-back. Rapid-fire. Anything to drain yourself dry, because if you hesitate, even for a second, that mana starts corroding you from the inside."
Hen's tone darkened.
"At this point, you'll be in so much pain—mentally and physically—you won't be able to perform anything that isn't pure instinct. Your body won't be stable enough to execute skills you haven't perfected."
"That's why skill perfection before breaking through is mandatory," Hen added. "Because only when a move becomes second nature can you rely on it during the breakthrough."
Leo nodded again. No emotion. But internally, he felt enlightened to know the actual reason behind needing skill perfection.
It was actually because he needed those skills to quickly burn off excess mana, because if he did not, he could die.
"And once you're empty… completely hollowed out… after all the excess energy is gone," Hen said quietly, "that's when you move to the final step."
"You release your own natural mana into your new body. You flood the system—every inch of it. Because if you don't fill it in time, your body, now redesigned to live off mana, starts shutting down."
"You'll feel like you're holding your breath in a vacuum—like suffocating from the inside out."
Hen's voice flattened.
"And if you don't have enough mana to fully saturate your new body? Then the transformation halts. You end up in a broken state—alive, but ruined. Your circuits won't work right. You'll never reach Grandmaster."
Leo stood still, processing the sequence like a tactical report. Step by step. Each phase was brutal—but precise. There were no random factors here. Just thresholds. Control. Preparation.
Hen let out a breath, breaking the silence.
"That's the path, kid. Becoming a Grandmaster isn't leveling up. It's being torn apart and rebuilt. And only if you survive it all do you get to ascend."
He exhaled again, softer this time.
"You're lucky you're doing this at the Rodova Military Academy. The institution provides you with one of the highest-grade breakthrough potions in the system—for free."
Hen's voice turned slightly nostalgic.
"When I was a Master, I had to gather the ingredients myself. I scoured wild zones for some herbs, bought some on the black market, begged others for some in exchange for favors I'd rather forget."
He shook his head.
"And even after all that, I still had to pay an alchemist to brew it. And trust me, he wasn't top-tier. My potion had minor impurities… burned like hell going down. I was lucky to survive."
Leo didn't respond. But he finally understood his privilege for being a Rodova Military Academy student.
Because, if he wasn't here, he would have to struggle a lot more to get the same results.
Just because his environment would demand it from him.
"Outside this academy, nothing comes easy," Hen said, as he offered Leo some genuine life advice.
"When you're inevitably someday ready to break through to the Transcendent stage, don't expect anyone to hand you a potion. Start planning for it years in advance."
He leaned in slightly, voice quiet.
"Because if you don't… it'll take years just to gather the materials and find an alchemist talented enough to brew it for you."
Leo gave one final nod, slow and deliberate.
He understood now.
Standing here, in the heart of Rodova, surrounded by systems built to support him—he was living in a controlled environment. A privilege most warriors in the real world would kill for.
Universal Government soldiers spent decades in service to earn the right to a breakthrough potion. Independent warriors risked their lives hunting down each ingredient on their own, hoping they wouldn't die before the last one was found.
Compared to them, Leo's path had been easy.
And Hen had made it very clear—
It wouldn't stay that way forever, which was why he needed to be grateful for what he had today and prepare thoroughly for what he might not have tomorrow.
"Thank-you for the explanation Major Hen, I think I understand the entire breakthrough process clearly now.
I feel like I'll be ready to break through in about a week's time from now, but I'll let you know when I'm ready," Leo said, as Hen nodded with pride towards him.
"That's right kid. It's about time you break through—-
I've been sparring against you for months now... if you don't break through even after all that help, it will reflect badly on me as an instructor.
Hahaha!" Hen chuckled, as he slapped Leo on the shoulders.
"Just remember…. Take proper rest before you attempt a breakthrough.
With the way you're training these days, I worry for your sanity.
So when you're at the threshold. Just take a day to relax and get to your peak, and only then attempt it.
Maybe sleep for 9-12 hours the previous day.
But burn off every inch of fatigue you have in you before you do it.
The process is dangerous, and many have lost their lives trying to attempt it when they were not ready" Hen warned, as Leo gave him a final nod of understanding.
"Don't worry Major… I'll keep your advice in mind," Leo said before turning to leave.