After Mack finished dealing with his ‘intestinal problems’, which he believed were caused because of excessive alien food ingestion, he thought about what other effects the excessive density of Essence could cause. He felt heavy, but what more was actually happening that he could not perceive?

With this question in mind, Mack moved to the next phase of his experiments.

First of all, he needed to increase again the density of Essence, so after a few minutes of walking in circles, literally, he stopped.

‘A thousand steps should be enough for tests’

Then he put his right hand behind his back and took a knife out.

And with the knife, he made a long and thin cut in his left hand.

Blood started to drip. That caused the Essence to increase.

But Mack was already expecting.. He put his hand right above the safe zone line. Half his hand inside and half outside. And the Same for the cut his mad with the knife.

Mack then just looked at the cut and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

He was bored, so he sat in the floor. The cut in his hand was not dripping blood anymore and was coagulating already.

But nothing else happened.

So, he just waited.

While waiting he thought about several things, but his real concerns were in front of him. If things didn’t work as he was expecting he was doomed. And if they worked, he was even more doomed.

Mack could only picture pitiful days ahead.

After a few hours, few very boring hours.

“Just as expected. It did influence my body in positive ways.”

Said Mack looking at the cut in his left hand.

The half outside the safe zone was already mended with a line of blood on top. While the other part, inside the safe zone, looked almost the same coagulated blood from the beginning.

“So….. Somehow, my regenerative abilities are improved along with the increase in Essence density.”

After pondering for a few minutes….

~sigh~

“Lets get this done already!”

Said Mack removing his clothes, all of them, while holding his knife with the mouth.

After throwing everything inside the safe zone. Mack stood there. Naked.

Naked.

With a knife in his mouth.

Mack walked ten steps away from the safe zone.

And fell on his knees.

And still holding the knife in his mouth he punched the ground.

One punch.

Two punches.

And like a mad man. He continued to punch the ground.

Right.

Left.

Right.

Blood gushed from his hands from time to time as small cuts were formed from the impact.

But Mack continued to punch the ground.

And from time to time he let escape grunts from pain, his improvised gag using a knife, only worked partially.

After almost a thousand punches on the ground. The pressure caused by the Essence was so strong that Mack fell unconscious to the side.

In the middle of a blood pool formed by himself Mack saw darkness come to him one more time in his life.

But this time, he was not trying to kill himself. Quite the opposite, he was doing this, so he could save himself.

[What a crazy bastard. To think of this way to improve faster, he deserve the result of his own actions.]

Said the Arcane Legacy, but did nothing to change the man situation. An Arcane only role was to guide, not to change.

Mack’s fate was only bound to his own actions.