Wolfe's cells began to remake themselves, each with a dense, but flexible, mana barrier as the cell wall, stopping the biological decay of his body and stabilizing his appearance in the state he was the moment that he advanced.
From that moment on, every change in his body would be of his own will, the state of every cell was recorded, and both the number and condition could be replicated with pure mana.
That was the advantage of the Saints among the Magi. Complete Elemental Control over their bodies would allow them to appear any way that they liked with just a thought, and while they might not be immune to the ravages of time, they would be very close to it. Like a statue or a cypress tree, it would be better to measure his longevity in centuries than decades, as unless an external factor like disease or violence did him in, he would likely live a thousand years or more.
That amount of time was so long that it was an abstract concept to Wolfe. If the youngest Saints among the Magi had survived the war, they wouldn't even be middle-aged yet. The only Witch Saints to survive the war were already considered ancient two hundred years ago, and had now moved to a status that was better described as decrepit, but they had still maintained most of their powers when Wolfe saw them last.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtIt was so long, and the history that he knew was so short, that he simply didn't have a frame of reference that adequately described it.
What he did have a reference to describe was the aura that his body gave off at the Saint level. The formerly warm and comforting aura had become oppressively strong, even when Wolfe attempted to restrain it to a more tolerable level. The nature of the power had changed, as though he had gone from requesting that the Elements do what he wanted, to demanding it and expecting obedience.
For a moment, Wolfe wondered if it would affect his relationships, as most of the reason he was so fortunate with the women was that he was so comfortable to lean against. But, the sensation of his mana should be the same, it was just the aura that he gave off that was different.
With the advancement complete, Wolfe sighed and extended his senses out to see how they had changed. At every advancement, his mana sense had improved, and he became more in tune with the world around him, so he expected that this advancement would be no different, or perhaps much more grand.
The Witch Saints had been attracted by the advancement of Rank Three Witches, so they could sense that sort of power surge from continents away, even if they did have to use some special magical device. In theory, he should be able to do the same.
Wolfe focused on the mana flows of powerful creatures, and detected dozens of them coming his way. That was likely the Demons and Fae coming to see who had advanced, but in the distance, he could also sense nearly a dozen Fae who were right on the cusp of advancement, all in Forest Grove.
Risa had been right, the environment there was perfect for them, and the side effects of Wolfe pushing the Witches forward bled over to help the Fae advance using the excess nature magic from the Witches' reforming auras.
The guests wouldn't all fit here in the cavern, so Wolfe stepped outside and blew the excess snow away from the cavern entrance, creating a landing spot that wouldn't create a whirlwind of snow.
Most of the new arrivals would be using borrowed transportation magic, but some of the ones that weren't too far away in the nations of the East were simply flying and would be here in an hour or so.
Using Earth Magic, Wolfe created a small building on the side of the mountain that would hide the entrance to the tunnel unless you knew how to open the secret door, and then a bunch of simple chairs, so everyone would have somewhere to sit when they arrived.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThe first to arrive was a Faerie, who used some sort of spatial magic to just appear next to Wolfe inside the building, and then began wordlessly flying around his head, examining him from every angle.
"So, what do you think? Am I fully intact and functional?" He asked after the Fae had made a few laps.
"Oh, I know who you are now, you're that Magi, Wolfe Noxus. I couldn't figure out what sort of species you were supposed to be, I've never felt an advancement like that. It almost felt like an Elemental had broken through, but not quite."
It took Wolfe's brain a moment to translate that back into words that he could understand, thanks to the rapid speech patterns of the Faeries, but she was happy to just keep circling and examining him while he tried to understand her.
"There should be more people here soon. I guess I should have prepared more before I came here. I didn't even bring a full pack, so all I have is what I keep on my person." Wolfe sighed.
"Don't worry, don't worry. I'm a Faerie, we're outstanding with nature magic. You make a table and dishes, I will make snacks and juice."
The Demons would get a laugh out of the situation, being served Fae made juice for the advancement of a Magi, but maybe they would show up with gifts if they realized who it was.
As the Faerie had said, they might not. She had mistaken him for some strange Elemental life form, and those who were the most likely to come first were the ones who had stayed home, not the ones who had been in Forest Grove for the festival, as they were thousands of kilometres away right now, and couldn't fly nearly fast enough to reach here today, even if they had felt the advancement.