Chapter 21: Microscopic Transformation, Ultimate Creature

Immortality—pursuing this path to its end is an endeavor of unimaginable difficulty for ordinary people.

Consider this: even the sun, which has illuminated the earth for billions of years, will one day extinguish; even the universe will eventually succumb to heat death.

Yet, a mere human dares to seek eternal life…

Roger was not ignorant of the vastness of the heavens and the earth. Rather, in his eyes, as long as there was even the slightest chance—no matter how infinitesimally small—immortality was a pursuit worthy of dedicating his entire life.

Now, he would begin his journey toward immortality with the art of Transfiguration as his starting point.

...

In the distant ancient era, some sorcerers had explored how to extend their lives through Transfiguration.

At that time, sorcerers had not yet divided themselves along the boundaries of Muggle nations or organized themselves under institutions like Ministries of Magic or magical parliaments.

They acted independently—some allied with Muggle powers as court magicians or national advisors, others secluded themselves in mountains, founding their own sects or secret cultivation societies, often with little goodwill among one another.

Knowledge was passed down strictly through master-disciple lineages, and factionalism was intense. Ancient sorcerers did not enjoy the freedom modern Hogwarts students had to learn any spell at will, nor was most magical knowledge openly traded.

Typically, a disciple could only learn what their master mastered.

If a master was skilled only in potion-making, the disciple’s expertise was limited to potions as well.

Private magical libraries? Only the likes of Merlin possessed such prestige.

Thus, even when some knew that alchemy, bloodline modification, or soul artifacts were superior methods for prolonging life, they were confined to using the limited magic they knew to extend their years.

One of the books Professor McGonagall gave Roger, titled Bloodline Magic and Transfiguration—Speculations on a Future Era, was written by one such ancient sorcerer who sought to combine bloodline modification with Transfiguration.

His method of life extension was simple: skin stripping, bone extraction, and organ replacement!

Wrinkled skin would be tightened through Transfiguration.

Osteoporotic bones would be strengthened.

Aging organs would be swapped out for youthful ones.

Like the legendary Ship of Theseus, he continually replaced his decaying body parts with new components.

The old sorcerer spent many years overcoming countless technical challenges and ultimately succeeded in transforming his body into an eternally youthful form—or so it appeared.

...

But his ageless body had three major flaws.

First, even if he replaced almost every part of himself like Adam Smasher in Cyberpunk 2077, he could not replace his brain.

He lacked soul magic; his consciousness could not detach from the brain to exist independently of it. Though all other organs were new, his brain continued to age relentlessly.

Second, once the body was fully replaced and composed entirely of Transfiguration products, the magic would dissipate over time.

When a component’s Transfiguration expired, the old sorcerer had to immediately “repair” himself.

The more complex the organ, the harder the maintenance. In an era before modern medicine, managing immune rejection and ensuring proper connection and function of each organ was no simple feat.

These maintenance periods rendered the old sorcerer dangerously vulnerable.

The third flaw was related to the second.

It is well known that, aside from the three Unforgivable Curses, nearly all spells have counter-curses that dispel their effects.

There even exist universal counter-curses like “Finite Incantatem” or “Terminus.”

Thus, if the old sorcerer fell victim to a dispelling curse, he would perish instantly.

To overcome these flaws, after mastering Transfiguration, the old sorcerer shifted to studying magical creature bloodline fusion.

But lacking relevant knowledge, he had to experiment from scratch using magical creatures.

In the end, he could not outrun mortality and died of brain degeneration.

All he left behind was this book recording his philosophy and endless regrets—the Bloodline Magic and Transfiguration—Speculations on a Future Era.

...

Roger naturally would not simply exchange the thickness of his “health bar” for two or three centuries of life, as the old sorcerer had.

The record of those who walked before is meant to teach their successors lessons, allowing them to stand on giants’ shoulders and reach greater heights.

If descendants blindly repeat the mistakes of their predecessors, what meaning does preserving history hold?

Roger’s path borrowed the old sorcerer’s ideas but innovated technically.

In ancient times, knowledge of the world and human physiology was limited, so they had to resort to the flawed “segmented Transfiguration.”

But having received a modern scientific education, Roger understood cells, DNA, atoms, and molecules.

Therefore...

“Using one’s own cells as the basis for Transfiguration materials ensures that even if counter-curses or dispelling spells are used, the transformation will cause no harm to the body.”

...

Using other materials might result in a situation like transforming wood into a cake, which, upon digestion, reverts to wood and ruptures the stomach.

Red blood cells transforming into something else and then reverting back to red blood cells, however, would be harmless.

“Instead of replacing my aging components, I’ll make them my ‘manipulators,’” Roger recalled from movies and games he had seen in a previous life.

He remembered a film where the protagonist’s body contained nanotech robots smaller than cells, providing strength and repairing injuries.

There was also a game called Prototype, featuring a zombie virus named “Blacklight” with similar effects.

“According to the Fundamental Laws of Transfiguration, the transformed object remains indivisible during transformation,” he mused.

Sorcerers cannot Transfigure food because body cells cannot break down transformed food into nutrients.

“Yet the effects caused by transformed objects do not vanish when the Transfiguration ends.”

Just as a sword transformed from a baguette doesn’t resurrect the victim once it reverts to bread, the damage remains.

Thus,

the best application of Transfiguration in the pursuit of longevity is microscopic transformation—creating something akin to the Blacklight virus: a “manipulator arm” linking the human will and bodily structure, unlocking a human version of “world modulation mode.”

My cells, my DNA, the atoms and molecules composing my body—how they are arranged will be determined by my will alone!

Moreover, since no magical energy interferes during the process—only the “transformation tool” is a magical construct—no counter-curse can disrupt it.

Once Roger’s magic is perfected,

he will be able to absorb the strengths of all living beings on earth.

No—he won’t even need to learn from others.

He can design brain and body structures allowed by the laws of the world but impossible under natural conditions!

To break free from the shackles of carbon-based life and become the ultimate being!

Of course, Roger is still far from this goal.

Even the true ultimate being cannot bear the heavy burden of “immortality.”

Immortality is not an achievement attainable by Transfiguration alone.

“Sigh...” As soon as he began his magical experiments, Roger quickly encountered his first major problem.

“If only I had been a scientist in my previous life.”