Chapter 62: Is this considered courting death?

Is inscribing basic runes difficult for a wizard? The more advanced the basic runes, the more complex they become. Moreover, after inscribing a rune with mental power, mental power is also required to sustain its existence. So, from being difficult at first to becoming simple, it will gradually become difficult again. However, the reason for this difficulty is not visualization, but rather a lack of sufficient mental power and perseverance to inscribe them. Inscribing all thirty-six basic runes is genuinely very, very difficult; basically, no school would support such an endeavor.

The minimum requirement is nine runes, the intermediate requirement is eighteen runes, and the advanced requirement is twenty-seven runes. As for thirty-six runes, practically no one has the time and energy to visualize and inscribe all of them during the wizard apprentice stage. Once a specific school’s meditation method is meditated upon, it’s easy to form a habit that is difficult to change, making it hard to inscribe new basic runes and integrate them into the existing visualization method later on.

Some official wizards, after advancing, will complete the other basic runes they hadn’t originally inscribed. These are typically wizards who hope to open up auxiliary professions. However, more wizards tend to inscribe basic runes according to their school’s requirements, pursuing depth in their own school’s knowledge rather than breadth. A person’s energy is finite; rather than being broad but not refined, it’s better to specialize in one area to go further.

What the hell is visualizing and inscribing two basic runes in one day?

Little Will felt incredibly good today. He woke up before dawn and tried visualizing the runes. He found all the runes unusually clear; the ones already inscribed were obvious, but the other uninscribed runes also glowed brightly. After visualizing all thirty-six runes one by one, Little Will, on a whim, gathered his spirits and inscribed the ninth rune.

Then, Little Will’s feeling was not wrong; his state was surprisingly good. Not only did he succeed in one go very smoothly, but he also felt no fatigue, as if he had endless energy to squander. The impulsiveness of youth finally took effect on Little Will. Then, with his blood boiling, Little Will, in one breath, inscribed the tenth basic rune into his mental sea, and he actually succeeded.

Boom! There was a rumble in his mind; the runes emitted a strong light, and the entire mental sea vibrated. Ten basic runes shimmered in concert, constantly colliding. Nine empty slots appeared in the mental sea, but they were being fought over by the ten basic runes.

Advancing to a Level 1 Magic Apprentice! Little Will suddenly realized that after successfully inscribing nine basic runes, he would smoothly advance to a Level 1 Wizard Apprentice. Naturally, the basic runes would be reordered. Because of the sudden surge of massive mental power, he had inscribed two basic runes in one go, leading to a riot of basic runes during the Level 1 Wizard Apprentice advancement.

The collisions between the runes caused intense tremors in his mental sea. Little Will felt dizzy, nauseous, and wanted to vomit, as if he were on a turbulent sea, or being repeatedly punched in the head. With each collision, Little Will’s mind seemed to flash with a hint of connection between the runes, deepening his understanding of the basic runes slightly.

The collision of ten runes triggered a major tremor in the mental sea, and the other twenty-six uninscribed runes also drifted with the current, gradually deviating. There is a natural order in heaven and earth, which can be called rules, or the Way of Heaven. Heaven and earth have a fixed number, and naturally, there are also variables. Originally, after each basic rune was inscribed, the nine runes would combine in a fixed manner to help Little Will advance to a Level 1 Wizard Apprentice. However, by a strange twist of fate, this audacious little fellow inscribed two basic runes in one go, and at this damn critical moment.

Mojes knew some taboos in cultivation, but she felt Little Will wouldn’t need them anytime soon, plus she didn’t believe anyone could inscribe two basic runes in one go, even if they could, it would only be at the very beginning of their cultivation. She had seen Little Will cultivate steadily before, and while his speed was fast, it wasn’t that exaggerated. So she treated her son as a generally talented individual, and thus inadvertently overlooked this small detail.

“Oh, interesting. There’s a hint of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Stars in there. Are the principles between worlds interconnected? That shouldn’t be right; this world is clearly one where wizards and gods coexist. Hmm, it’s worth studying.” A curious voice sounded, accompanied by an invisible force quietly invading Little Will’s mental sea.

The inscribed ten runes seemed to collide more frequently, and the trajectory of the twenty-six uninscribed runes, drifting with the current, began to become somewhat peculiar, even showing a hint of regularity.

“Promoting advancement with the power of the Earth Goddess, this foundation is truly solid. Earth generates metal, so these first nine basic runes should represent the White Tiger. However, these Thirty-Six Heavenly Stars seem to be somewhat incompatible with the Small Heavenly Cycle and don’t align with the Four Symbols. Is there some other hidden trick here? Instead, the Twenty-Eight Mansions—Eastern Azure Dragon, Northern Black Tortoise, Western White Tiger, Southern Vermilion Bird—are more suitable. Hmm, let’s give it a try. First, let’s arrange the seven mansions of the Western White Tiger: Kui, Lou, Wei, Mao, Bi, Zi, Shen. Let the other two stars follow their natural course. Ten runes vying for seven constellations and two dark stars, one is bound to lose. And the most likely one to lose is probably the tenth, given that you’re the youngest, the last one born. What a spectacular struggle! Oh, what’s colliding between these two runes seems very interesting. No, something feels a bit off. My goodness, it’s so intense! A chain reaction of collisions actually occurred. The things colliding from these four runes actually possess such great power, but the killing intent doesn’t seem as strong as imagined. Is it because the Earth Goddess in this world is female, thus leaning towards the power of life? Should I switch the Western White Tiger’s seven mansions to the Eastern Azure Dragon’s seven mansions? Forget it, this kid’s mental sea is still too weak. If I move things too frequently, turning him into an idiot wouldn’t be fun anymore. Keep it up, little guy, I’m rooting for you!”

Little Will didn’t know he had escaped a disaster. He continued to endure the pain of the rune collisions, completely unaware that the positions and arrangement of the nine acupoints had subtly changed. However, with each basic rune collision, he always gained a unique insight, vaguely sensing the greater meaning of these runes.

Basic Rune Combination?! Little Will suddenly remembered what his mother had once mentioned: basic runes are the foundation of wizard spell templates. Almost all wizard spell templates are formed by combining and connecting basic runes. Deeply understanding and testing the effects of basic rune combinations would allow for better comprehension and application, and even the creation of wizard spells. Such opportunities are rare—to practice real basic rune collisions and combinations within one’s own mental sea.

Since he couldn’t stop it and didn’t even know how to deal with it, he could only force himself to focus and comprehend the functions of these basic runes and the mysteries of their combinations. Little Will’s mental power wasn’t that strong, but his perseverance was quite good. Although the ten runes had been successfully inscribed, very little of it truly belonged to him. After all, he was just a little guy who had only been exposed to wizardry for just over a month. Although he was a bit of a genius, visualizing and inscribing ten basic runes, this was just the most basic, rudimentary copying. Truly visualizing and deeply understanding them would require a long period of accumulation. He understood too little of the profound principles contained within the basic runes, so the power imbued in them was also very weak.

The basic runes also seemed to possess some sentience, knowing that a stalemate was not a solution. However, a compromise was reached. After the first basic rune settled, the other basic runes quickly scrambled to claim other territories. This time, after a collision, the weaker side immediately changed its target instead of continuing the stalemate.

Soon, all nine basic runes settled into place, leaving only the tenth basic rune, which had just been successfully inscribed, floating there slightly dimmed. The other twenty-six uninscribed runes gradually calmed down after the mental sea stabilized. However, Little Will noticed that the thirty-six basic runes he had visualized were no longer static but slowly rotating within his mental sea, with nine in each direction—front, back, left, and right.

This should be normal, right? Little Will wasn’t entirely sure, but he decided to let his cultivation take its natural course. After all, his mother had also said that as long as his mental power kept up, there were basically no other dangers in visualizing and inscribing basic runes.

So tired! After everything was over, recalling what he had done, Little Will shivered, cold sweat pouring down! He seemed to have done something incredibly significant.

Is this considered courting death? No, I’m too tired. Sleep, sleep. I absolutely cannot let Mother know, otherwise, I’ll be in for it.

So, when Little Will was once again woken up by his adorable demon sister, he was still a bit listless.

“My dear son, Little Will, although I know you’ve grown up, sometimes those magazines for adults aren’t suitable for too much reading. You’re still just a child, and your knight training during the day consumes a lot of your energy. Don’t waste your energy on trivial things.” Florete Declane’s words left Little Will speechless. Father, I really haven’t read them. Uh, I haven’t even finished a single one. It’s a misunderstanding! Little Will, on the verge of tears, saw his mother’s suspicious gaze and became even more speechless. There was really no way to explain this.