Chapter 674 674. Runes
Noah did everything for a reason, and that reason was his power most of the time.
Learning a new inscription method had required a lot of time and effort, but Noah didn't mind it as long as it brought improvements to his battle prowess.
Also, he didn't neglect his training in those years.
His dantian kept on improving as usual, and his body slowly advanced deeper in the lower tier of the fifth rank.
He limited himself to hunt the peak rank 4 magical beasts nearby in that period since his whole focus was devoted to learning the Will-consuming runes.
After all, he had always focused on the quickest path to power.
The only issue was that even the quickest path would take him years in the heroic ranks.
As for his mind, it was slowly approaching the last stages of the fourth rank.
The last steps of that center of power would be the longest since it was reaching a completely different level, but Noah believed that the breakthrough would arrive in a matter of years.
The amount of stress that his mental sphere endured every day was incredible, just the continuous usage of the Divine deduction technique was enough to make him improve faster than his peers.
Then, there was his training with his new inscription method and the Blood companions, as well as his past modifications to his spells.
All of that, coupled with the fifth Kesier rune, gave to his sphere an incredible enlarging speed that couldn't be matched even by the best geniuses of the cultivation world.
Also, Noah felt that his mind had begun to enlarge faster after the breakthrough to the liquid stage.
'My centers of power improve faster as my existence reaches a newfound harmony. There is a subtle connection between mind, dantian, and body that intensifies as my entity strives for an individuality. A law can only be complete if all its components are divine.'
Noah thought as his usual session of meditation ended.
He would often spend some time pondering about himself and on what he was going to become.
There was something that most cultivators couldn't do at his level: Studying the individuality retroactively!
Heroic cultivators had to gain a lot of insights before their individuality began to influence their centers of power.
Still, Noah could already saw those features due to his cultivation technique.
So, it became part of his schedule meditating while analyzing his liquid "Breath".
His focus went on Thirty-seven's tome when a considerable part of his mental energy filled his sphere again.
He had mastered the basics of the Will-consuming runes, and now it was time to make his debut as an inscription master in that field.
'The first step as a master is to create a personal rune. The shape and purity of your meaning will determine its power.'
Noah read through the instructions in the book again.
He had already studied the entirety of the tome many times, but he still chose to follow the various steps cautiously.
Performing inscriptions wasn't a safe procedure, Noah knew that far too well.
The Elemental forging method was hazardous even among the dangerous methods, but that didn't mean that the other schools were safe.
For example, the Will-consuming runes took away part of his will to work.
Noah had to wait for his ambition to refill those missing parts after every training session to avoid complications.
Yet, his rune had to carry his ambition.
It would be pointless to create something that didn't make use of his most powerful drive.
'The book advises to use something general for my first rune, but I know exactly what I want. I'm not a naïve disciple, I've never been one.'
Determination surged inside Noah as he moved his focus on his half-transparent figure.
His vast, brown sea of mental energy appeared in his view, and Noah decisively stabbed his hands inside his ethereal shape.
'The first one is greed to absorb every form of energy.'
Noah thought as he forcefully pulled with his left arm.
What appeared to be a stomach came out of his ethereal figure, and Noah suddenly felt his hunger vanish at that moment.
He had severed the innate hunger of the magical beasts, and that will didn't exist inside him anymore.
Then, he pulled with his right arm, and part of his heart came out of his figure.
Part of his ambition vanished at that point, but Noah quickly squeezed both ethereal organs and turned them into a cloud of shining brown dust.
The dust slowly took the shape of a saber, and even its color started to darken as Noah's meanings affected its structure.
However, Noah threw it away from his mental sphere when he saw that it didn't turn pitch black.
'It needs to be purer.'
Noah thought as he opened his real eyes.
His complexion had slightly paled, but even that dangerous practice wasn't enough to affect him that much.
The creation of the first personal rune was meant for newly advanced heroic cultivators after all, that level of difficulty wasn't enough to threaten him.
Yet, he still felt devoid of any will after the process.
He wasn't hungry, and he didn't want to cultivate, he just wanted to lie down and sleep.
The drawback of severing part of himself was evident.
Nevertheless, his hunger soon returned, and the fire of his ambition began to fill his body once again.
Those feelings couldn't just vanish.
His species would always be hungry, and his ambition was limitless, they only needed some time to stabilize after the procedure.
It had to be said that Noah was trying to create something suitable for his level since he had no use for anything weaker than his current assets.
Noah spent three days to recover before trying to create the rune again.
The result still didn't satisfy him, so he simply discarded the rune and waited to recover for three more days.
Noah repeated that process a few times until he obtained the level of power that he desired.
'This will be my first spell.'
Noah thought as he focused on the black rune inside his sea of consciousness.
The rune had the shape of a saber that floated above the Kesier runes.
Then, the saber came out of his mental sphere and ran through his skin to appear on his left palm.
Noah poured some of his "Breath" inside the rune, and a series of small, saber-shaped runes came out of it.
The small sabers didn't have much power, and they were only able to spread some of the destructive force radiated by Noah's "Breath".
Yet, they absorbed the energy around them, as well as the primordial one created by Noah's individuality.
To be precise, it seemed that they preferred that primary energy rather than the "Breath" in the environment.
Noah smiled at that sight, and a line of thought couldn't help but appear in his mind.
'The world becomes my blade.'