A day had passed since Marcus had woken up. He had rested in the infirmary for a few more hours before leaving. He kept on studying the paper that Nexus left for him, and even though he understood the concept of beginning cultivation, he decided not to start yet.
He wanted to make sure that he understood enough about the human body from the perspectives of the cultivators and the awakened.
Only then would he start cultivating.
The real reason was that he wanted to use this to understand why it was hard for people to form a Core.
Starting now might only lead him to the same endpoint as the others, and he, as patient as he was, wanted the most stable foundations.
At the same time, he wanted to properly step foot into being a Rune Master at least, before turning his attention elsewhere.
After spending a day resting, he made his way to Logan's place. He knocked a few times but received no response. Checking if the door was open, he invited himself in.
Upon entering, he found out that the man seemed to be distraught. Even more tired than he remembered.
"Who is it?" Logan snapped and a powerful breeze crashed into Marcus, lifting him off the ground. Even the shelves around weren't spared.
Upon realizing who it was, everything mid-air paused including the shelves, before returning to their normal positions as though time had reversed and nothing happened.
"Oh, you're back."
At this point, Marcus felt that there wouldn't be much he would see from these people that would come as a surprise to him.
"Hmm," he replied.
Logan scanned Marcus and noticed that a few other things about him had changed. "Has your willpower increased?"
"Huh?" Marcus frowned as he summoned his status.
Name: Marcus Black
Age: 24
Race: Human (F)
Level: 0
Nature: Predator (A)
Attribute: [Blood Bane] [Berserker] [Deep Thought].
Skill: [True Double] [Mind's Eye]
Realm: Mortal
Comprehension: [Unfettered (1%)]
Strength: 10
Stamina: 30
Speed: 10
Mental: 84
Will: 30
Wilder Force: —
Wait, when did this happen? The change in his stamina and will stats came as a surprise as he could recall doing anything in particular that affected it.
Logan realized how much of a mess the library had become and he couldn't help but be embarrassed by his reaction. "Go ahead, take the papers," A stack of rectangular papers alongside writing materials, floated towards him.
"Practice on your own. I still have something to do." With that, he dismissed Marcus.
Either way, Marcus didn't mind. He made his way back to the table he studied last time and sat down, before closing his eyes to calm his mind. The moment he opened his eyes, it was as if his mind had been possessed by something else.
His focus was immaculate, the point where his pupils became enlarged as he focused on the paper.
Unlike visualization, inscribing Runes was harder for Marcus. Not even a second after he started to trace the Alphonic Prime, he made a mistake.
It was very hard for him to keep his hands steady enough not to make a mistake. Nonetheless, this wasn't enough to make him give up, if anything, he welcomed the challenge.
About three hours went by and Marcus still hadn't been able to successfully inscribe a complete Prime. However, he had successfully inscribed a few markings without mistake.
This time, he felt a headache coming, and he had to stop. His forehead was covered with sweat, to the point where a few drops got into his eyes. Leaning back on his chair, he looked around before finally noticing that Logan had been looking at him.
"Any idea as to why you haven't been able to complete a Prime?" Logan asked.
"No, for some reason I keep on going off track," Marcus said.
"That's because you've been trying to inscribe the markings using your mental strength. Normally, people inscribe by infusing a bit of their mental strength with a considerable amount of Wilder Force into their markings. However, you've been trying to use mental strength to accomplish this."
Even though inscription with just mental strength wasn't a rare thing to accomplish, by watching Marcus, Logan was able to learn something.
He praised himself for letting Marcus try things on his own.
While Marcus was trying to inscribe a Prime using just his mental strength, a Rune Master of his caliber was able to notice the subtle changes in the atmosphere. He remained patient and kept on observing as Marcus struggled to complete the Prime.
If he can get Wilder Force, will these subtle changes still be present? Logan wondered.
"Wilder Force?"
And yet again, impeded by this thing… should I start cultivating the art Nexus had given me?
"How will you tackle this problem? Do you need my assistance?" Logan asked, attempting to guide Marcus into asking him for something that he wanted for him.
"Not exactly. I think I'll need a book on human anatomy. One written from the perspective of cultivators or the awakened."
A bit thrown off, Logan began wondering why he wanted such books. But he soon shoved the question to the back of his mind and told him where he could find the books he was looking for.
Let him explore. I think I can try something different now. Let's focus on that at the moment.
Not long after, Marcus returned with a few books in his hands and he soon started reading.
…
At the entrance of the Eastern Mansion's Palace Barracks, a few military cars had parked outside, and they were soon granted access to the barracks.
Just like when Marcus had arrived in the Western Mansion's Palace Barracks, a lot of soldiers soon gathered in the parade grounds of the Eastern Mansion's Palace Barracks.
A high-ranking officer had arrived.
Though, none of the Oasis team members were present to greet this officer.