Wizard: Start with Biological Transformation to Grind Experience Chapter 190 - 004: The Last Rune

[ditation Lv9: 138/200000]

Level 9 ditation, nine Basic Will Runes. Already the late stage of the apprentice phase in every sense of the term. There are ten Basic Will Runes to be ditated upon during the entirety of the apprentice period, and Lynch was now just one rune away from perfection.

Yet Lynch did not stop there. Instead, he continued cultivating tirelessly in this curious dinsion.

"Tick-tock! Tick-tock!"

The eternal sound of ti’s passage reverberated ceaselessly. Lynch, too, remained unrelenting in his daily ditation—never stopping for even a mont.

It was impossible to know how much ti had passed, but one day Lynch caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and noticed his face had matured. He had transford from a youth of 17 or 18 into a young man in his early twenties.

The cultivation went on, until one day, the silent Sea of Consciousness was once again pierced by a sudden beam of radiant light.

[ditation Lv10]

The tenth rune!

At last, Lynch had ditated upon all the Basic Will Runes required for the apprentice period. He had completed all steps of the apprentice phase, and now only one step remained to transcend his life force and ascend to a higher dinsion, achieving—

Wizard!

Somda nodded in approval and said, "Not bad. I’ve seen many apprentices, but ones like you—so focused at such a young age—are few and far between. Hold on to this dedication. It will help you walk farther down the Wizard’s Road."

In this dinsion warped by ti and space, there was no distinction between day and night, no signs of life, nothing but the unchanging current of ti.

For others, let alone apprentices, even wizards would likely find it intolerable to stay here for too long.

But from the very first day Lynch arrived, he had been quietly ditating as if nothing in this world concerned him. He didn’t need distraction or amusent—seemingly a cold, unfeeling cultivation machine.

Lynch said, "I will rember your teachings, ntor."

Somda continued, "Well, this is as far as you should go for now. Continuing to ditate here won’t bring much benefit. It’s ti to prepare the resources and materials needed for your advancent to wizard."

After ditation upon all the Basic Will Runes, an apprentice can begin to prepare to break through the barrier between apprentice and wizard.

Breaking through this barrier by ditation alone is extrely difficult. It usually requires the aid of external objects.

The mainstream thods for breakthrough include consuming magic potions like Su Ya Water; performing certain rituals, such as Diego’s Despair Hell; or bodily reconstruction, such as transplanting organs or integrating high-level bloodlines. However, such thods are relatively rare.

Lynch hesitated for a brief mont before asking, "ntor, isn’t it possible to advance to wizard level through ditation alone?"

"Hmm..."

Somda pondered briefly, then countered with a question, "After condensing the tenth rune, you ditated a few more tis, didn’t you? Tell your impressions."

Lynch thought for a mont. "There wasn’t much difference from before, but I did feel my spiritual power growth slowing... No... To be precise, it stopped completely."

Previously, although the process was always slow, Lynch had at least been able to sense small incrents of growth in the Spirit Vortex during each ditation. However, after condensing the tenth rune, he realized he could no longer perceive any growth in his spiritual power despite continuing to ditate.

Somda said, "A stagnant pool of water. You can’t feel your spiritual power increasing, and you have no idea if this endless ditation will lead to promotion—or rely to the exhaustion of your life force."

Lynch nodded. "I understand."

Graham had ntioned similar ideas previously, specifically referencing the barrier between apprentice and wizard.

Somda said, "Breaking this barrier is not easy. Resilience alone won’t suffice, because during this phase, you truly cannot determine whether your efforts are yielding results. Sotis, cultivation might actually harm your spiritual power."

"Thus, unless soone has extraordinary talent, the mainstream opinion in the Wizard World discourages attempting to break this barrier solely through cultivation."

After a pause, he added, "Your talent is rely third-class. The potential of your aptitude has allowed you to make it this far through cultivation, but continuing on this path alone—who can say if you’ll achieve the breakthrough before your life force runs out?"

"Spending more ti ditating now is largely aningless. You should find ways to leverage external help for the breakthrough. While such external aids inevitably co with side effects, they are a necessary tradeoff compared to the aimless uncertainty of pure cultivation. It’s the only option."

Lynch said, "Oh, okay."

Although Wizard Somda was trying to persuade him, Lynch didn’t entirely agree with this perspective.

It was true that he couldn’t sense whether his cultivation was still effective or if his spiritual power was increasing.

However,

He could clearly observe progress in his skill level after each session of ditation.

[ditation Lv10: 26/500000]

After completing ditation on the tenth rune, Lynch bade farewell to Wizard Somda and left this peculiar space. To participate in the Blood Moon War, one had to remain below the wizard rank. Staying here for further ditation served no purpose.

Shortly after Lynch departed...

"Zzzzz!" A crisp, electrical sound echoed.

In the void, a massive eye slowly opened.

That eye gazed at Somda, filled with deep incomprehension and helplessness.

At this mont, it seed as though Somda had entered a fast-forwarded tiline. His body aged rapidly—his hair turned white and withered, and his skin grew dry and shriveled, as though he had suddenly aged by many years.

The eye said, "You have so little ti left, yet you still squander it like this. I truly can’t understand you."

Somda shook his head, his voice weak and frail. "Whether the ti remaining is one cycle or nine makes no difference. It will never be enough for the work I must complete. In that case, it’s better to pass it on to an inheritor, leaving a sliver of hope."

The eye fell silent, then gazed in the direction where Lynch had left. "He has a good temperant, but with only third-class talent, are you certain he can carry on your legacy and finish your remaining research?"

Somda shook his head. "I’m not sure."

"If he fails to find the answer in his lifeti, then we’ll simply have to wait for the next generation of inheritors. One generation passes to the next. Sooner or later, soone will unlock the mysteries of ti and discover the true essence of eternity..."