My Muscle System in the Mage World

William cried out in agony as he felt disoriented, waves of tearing pain radiating from his brain. Clutching his head tightly, he struggled to open his eyes against the blurry haze.

Amidst the agony, he could hear someone calling out to him desperately. "Master! Master!!"

With a jolt, William's eyes snapped open. "This..." he murmured in surprise, taking in his surroundings. Before him lay his familiar colourless mana, reaching towards the ceiling, with five spells floating silently and a bright golden text that was familiar.

"I'm in my mental space!" he exclaimed, realisation dawning upon him. But confusion quickly followed. "Wasn't my body taken over by the eight elder, already?" he muttered, his face contorted with puzzlement.

"Master, luckily it looks like you're awake now," came a cheerful feminine voice from inside the golden text.

"Lily, what happened to me?" William asked, his frown deepening as he sought answers.

"Well, about that…" Lily's voice trailed off, sounding complicated.

Suddenly, a sneering tone cut in from the golden text. "Your body has already been taken over by that bug," Asmodeus declared.

"But I am still here..." William retorted, defiance in his voice.

Asmodeus sneered even more, clearly amused by William's ignorance. "Then try to return back to your own world then," he taunted.

"Alright," William replied, unconvinced. With a determined expression, he closed his blue eyes and attempted to return.

Time passed, and William remained still, frustration mounting as he tried tirelessly. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to find his way back. Slowly, he opened his eyes again, a resigned look settling in.

"I can't return back," William said, realising sinking in. Suddenly, he looked down and noticed his blue phantom figure slowly flickering in the bright light of the golden text.

"What's this?"

"Master, you are in the phantom form. This is the representation of your consciousness, which carries your spirit as well," Lily patiently explained as the book turned towards Asmodeus, glancing at the demon.

"What do you mean? I don't understand," William frowned.

"You don't need to know these things, master. When you reach tier two wizard, you will naturally understand these things. But for now, you can consider your blue phantom as your consciousness."

William nodded his head upon hearing this. He looked at his phantom figure, which was slowly dimming in a blue glow.

"What happens when I completely dim out?" William's expression turned complex.

"Your consciousness will completely die out, and that old man will take over your mental space as well," Asmodeus said with a mocking tone.

"This…" William was stunned beyond shock.

Eventually, a bitter smile graced his lips. "Didn't I just escape from the poison, and now there is an old monster who wants to take over my body?"

Thinking of this, William wanted to rub his temple; however, his hand ceaselessly passed through his head.

Seeing William's bitter smile couldn't become even bitter.

"Sigh, I cannot die, at least until I slaughter the Steele family and deliver the injustice they had done toward my mother. Besides, I still have my sister as well…" William's eyes flashed with determination.

"Lily, can you help me?" he asked with a resolute expression.

"This…" Lily couldn't answer his question.

"You cannot?" William's face turned disappointed.

"I cannot, young master," she said bitterly.

"She has already lost all her power, already defending you previously," Asmodeus voiced with a snicker.

"Then what should I do?" William narrowed his eyes as he racked his brain.

"I can help you," suddenly Asmodeus said, stunning William on the spot.

"When did you start to help me, Asmodeus?" William couldn't help questioning with a suspicious tone.

"If you don't want my help, then forget it," Asmodeus shook his head and completely went silent.

A small sweat seemed to trickle down William as he grew nervous, his teeth grinding against each other in frustration.

Anxiety enveloped his entire being as if a drop of cold water had fallen right onto his body, awakening him.

Eventually, William couldn't take his own anxiety as he turned to look at the golden text as if seeking its help; however, the golden text remained unresponsive, its radiance lighting his entire mental space.

"Wait, Asmodeus, I didn't say I wouldn't need your help," William called out anxiously.

Inside the golden text, the primordial demon smirked. "The prey has fallen right into the trap," he murmured while looking at William's reflection outside.

"Hey, primordial demon, you better not play any tricks with my master, or I will slaughter you," Lily's voice echoed in this seemingly endless abyss inside the golden text.

"Oh, what if I tricked or didn't trick him?" Asmodeus replied with amusement. "What can you even do?"

Lily's voice stuck in her throat as her body, the holy book, trembled.

"Hmph," she huffed and fell silent.

Asmodeus snickered as he turned his gaze to William again.

"I am here, William."

William's face lit up with excitement. "Great, can you help me?"

"Sure," Asmodeus replied. Instantly, a small spark passed through his body, seeming to contain a galaxy within. It effortlessly phased through the golden text, appearing in his mental space before passing through the walls of William's mental space as well.

While the sparkle of light travelled, Asmodeus' eyes flashed in contemplation.

"As long as I don't have any intention to harm William and only help him, does the golden text allow my power to pass through it," Asmodeus mused, observing the chains that were constantly sapping his energy in huge waves. However, Asmodeus could discern that the absorption force from the chains had significantly lowered.

His black, abyss-like eyes flashed with a ruthless glint.

"Soon, soon," Asmodeus repeated as he looked at the golden-haired blue phantom from inside. William himself was ignorant of this.

William's eyes instantly lit up upon seeing the sparkle. Although it looked tiny, the terrifying aura it contained made his blue phantom tremble with instinctive fear.

This fear wasn't because of the terrifying aura of the sparkle; it was instinctual, as if the mere touch of its existence could evaporate him into the abyss.

As the spark traveled, William's phantom started to tremble. However, the sparkle of light blinked past William in an instant and disappeared from the mental space.