Elemental Cats

Toz couldn't quite begin to imagine what would happen to his magic in the future since the only attributes that had already begun diverging from their source, the cats, were the fire and void attributes.

However, after thinking about it a little more, Toz realized that his other elements had also gradually begun taking their own shape, separate from the cats he got them from, thanks to his inclination.

Lucy's offensive darkness magic focused on manipulating a target's mind. He was also extremely proficient in concealing his presence using shadows. Toz's darkness magic, on the other hand, had developed into severing the physical and bodily sensations of his target due to the development of his own darkness spell, Void's Embrace.

Nil's metal magic focused on sharpness and detailed creation due to his spell and his natural affinity for creating things rather than attacking with his magic. Toz's metal magic was more directed toward increasing the strength, sharpness, and durability of his sword and body.

The elements Toz got from Scrael and Asilean hadn't had time to develop in their own direction, except for the void attribute. Due to his many elements and his liking for combination magic, Toz's void magic was already developing in a direction suitable for that. It had also taken on some properties from the Dissolution spell he learned.

Despite not being able to use his magic, Toz felt like he had progressed slightly, thanks to his self-reflection. Maybe not in terms of level, but his reflection and deepened understanding of mana had helped him improve his own magic, which he felt would stagnate if he didn't break through.

Toz had previously thought that he was nearing the limits of what he could achieve at the sixth level, but it was obviously nothing more than delusions caused by his arrogance. There were more ways to improve other than breaking through to the next level. His multiple refinements were proof enough of that. And now, he had discovered another way. By deepening his understanding of mana, he could improve his magic. The only relatively minor problem with the method he found was that he had to risk injuring his mind to do it.

But since it was not only his sole hope in breaking free from the restriction on his mana pool but also a way to improve his magic, Toz didn't shy away from it.

As soon as he recovered enough to try again, Toz gathered his willpower and consciousness, once again bringing it to the border between his body and the outside world.

Toz had an easier time forcing himself through the resistance this time, but he didn't know if it was because he had done it once or if the blanket-like cover had weakened after his previous trip. It wasn't like it mattered.

As soon as Toz left the protection of his body with his mind, he felt the outside world wear down on the piece of his consciousness he sent out. After the first time, Toz had gotten slightly more used to the feelings of being exposed, so he had an easier time perceiving the world around him using only his mind.

However, he couldn't spend too long doing that since he felt the outside world's pressure wear away at his consciousness. It was almost similar to the pressure of the Void. But instead of the Void's indifferent power that was too great for mortal bodies, the pressure of the world around him felt like he was being overwhelmed by the universe's abundance.

Toz wanted to stay outside of his body longer, but he could sense that his mind was quickly reaching its limit. Toz instinctively knew that if his mind reached its limit, he would die.

Left with no choice since he really didn't want to die, Toz retracted his consciousness back into his body, after which he waited for it to recover so that he could try again.

While waiting for his mind to recover, Toz thought about his experience and tried to understand as much of mana as possible. But since his stay outside his body was too short, it was hard to get anything more than what he got from his first try. It also didn't seem like he was going to manipulate the outside mana with only his willpower anytime soon.

But since he didn't have anything else to do, Toz simply continued recovering and then sent his consciousness outside as soon as it recovered.

Time passed. Toz had no idea how much since he had no way to measure it, and his mind was too preoccupied to take note of the passing of time.

Toz sometimes wondered what the purpose of his imprisonment was and if anyone was watching him, but he couldn't find an answer to those questions. He could only hope that he could get as much time as he needed to break free of the restriction on his mana pool before anyone came to bring him out.

If he was imprisoned in a completely bare isolation cell, he probably wasn't going to be treated as a guest when Yill or whoever finally decided to do something with him.

Yill had claimed he was 'too valuable,' but Toz had no idea what she meant. But considering she said it after he demonstrated his strength, he could only guess it was related to that. She also hadn't said or shown any reaction toward him before that.

Toz could kind of understand why Yill would want someone strong for their level since she couldn't recklessly interfere with the affairs of the Mortal Realm. Toz was strong enough to contend against most people of the Mortal Realm before even reaching the high levels, so if Yill wanted him for that reason, he could understand.

Maybe keeping him isolated was a way to wear down his mind, and the lack of a comfortable sleeping place and food would wear down his body.

Toz wasn't confident in his conjecture, but he didn't think it was completely unreasonable.