In this month and a half of isolation, Noah's advancements were immense.
The first one was the conclusion of the fifth cycle.
With the help of 12 bottles of Beast's essence and 2 bottles of Inner-energy potion coupled with one month of natural absorption from the acupoints, the fifth cycle got completed in less than three months!
The second one had happened this same day a few minutes before.
He was training in the Kesier rune when its image in his sea of consciousness formed completely.
After that, a humming sound shot out from it and reverberated inside his whole mental sphere making it tremble and enlarge.
Noah only felt a splitting pain in his head and endured until the pain dispersed and the sphere stopped shaking.
The world he saw after the process was over was a different one.
Even though it was deep in the night he could see things almost as clearly as during the day and there seemed to be more details on those.
He took one of his black sabers and carefully inspected it.
The black blade looked perfectly smooth before he advanced but now Noah could see some small dents on it.
He put back the saber and focused on his hearing and perception.
He could sense all the people on the floor!
If he focused enough he could hear the steps of the servants still awake in the distance.
He could feel the air entering his lungs, the blood running in his veins, the "Breath" filling his body.
Even his thoughts seemed to run more smoothly and at a higher speed.
He tried to move the "Breath" according to his martial art with his fingers and he noticed a faint gaseous trace of the color of the rainbow left in the air.
'Is that the Breath of Heaven and Earth? Can I actually see it now?'
He was amazed for a moment before he shook his head.
'No, that was the concentrated "Breath" inside my body. I don't know if I would be able to feel the one of other people so easily too.'
He then lied in his bed to rest since his mind was still a bit confused from the advancement.
'The only problem is how Master will react tomorrow.'
.
.
.
"WHAT?! How is it possible that you completed the fifth cycle?"
William had his mouth wide open and was standing in front of Noah in their usual training room.
"How is it possible? Even with the Inner-energy potion, you should have at least still two months to go! Are you sure that your acupoints stopped working?"
Noah only nodded and then strongly exhaled to calm himself.
He took something from inside his clothes and raised it in front of his Master.
William was still shocked by the earlier news that he simply stared at Noah's hand without recognizing its contents.
Then he finally discerned that something was strange and picked up the sheet in front of him, he unfolded it and looked at the Kesier rune written on it.
He furrowed his brows and looked at Noah's eyes with a confused expression.
"Are you giving up on being a mage?"
Noah could only show a wry smile as he looked around him for a bit, then he got close to his Master and spoke with a soft voice.
"Actually, I would need the next rune because I became a mage last night."
A yell that made the walls tremble sounded in the guards building, the soldiers in the courtyard felt that the noise was similar to the vice-captain's voice.
Inside the room, Noah was sitting on his knees with his hands tightly plugging his ears.
He was waiting for his Master to come out of his amazement afraid that he would release another monstrous yell.
William was breathing roughly with his eyes wide open, but after some seconds, he forced himself to calm down and focused on Noah's forehead, staring at it with a serious gaze.
Noah felt some pressure on his sea of consciousness and so operated his mental energy to defend his sphere.
The fight between internal and external pressure lasted for a minute before William stopped his probing and sat in front of Noah with an incredulous expression.
"You really did it."
Noah just nodded, he really could not give any explanation about it.
"If I was called a rare genius what would you be called then?"
William was deep in thought before he understood the real problem about the whole situation.
"I'll find an excuse to get another copy of the second rune, the inner circle must not know that you became a mage, it's too dangerous."
He still didn't realize that what he was doing was lying to his superiors.
"Then, after you pass the sixth treatment, it's better if you always be outside doing missions. The possibility of the family giving you a magic scroll is low but it's better to accumulate merits before you know your element. You never know, they might actually acknowledge you as a real descendant!"
William was planning the best course of action for his disciple, uncaring that his words were an act of treason themselves.
Noah, looking at the mumbling man in front of him, could not help but feel some warmth inside his chest.
'He is really a good Master, if only his position wasn't so tied to the Balvan family... I should at least make sure not to make trouble for him when I'll run away.'
William stopped his planning when he noticed his disciple staring at him with a simple and honest smile on his face.
"What are you looking for?"
Noah only gave a simple answer.
"Thanks."
William was a bit stunned but then smiled shaking his head.
He placed his hand on Noah's head an ruffled his hair a little before speaking with a joyous tone.
"You worked hard, it's fair to have some rewards, and if Heaven and Earth won't give it to you, I will."
The internal conflict that the vice-captain of the guards had before was solved.
'If humans are not fair, so be it. At least I'm doing my part to make things right.'
Noah could not know of his Master's doubts so he didn't really understand his words.
William rose from the floor humming a happy tune and then sat behind a table in the room to sort through some reports, yet, after some minutes, he looked at the kid still sitting on the ground.
"What is it?"
He was still smiling when he asked that.
"Uhm, Master, are we not gonna do the treatment today?"
William's newfound happiness vanished, replaced by a familiar feeling of irritation.
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