The transition was smooth each ti. Noah materialized in the familiar endless expanse of his personal domain—a pocket dinsion that existed sowhere between reality and void. The space stretched infinitely in all directions, a canvas of dark purples and sotis blue skies that shifted and flowed like fabrics.
'Ho sweet interdinsional ho,' Noah thought with satisfaction.
Unlike the sterile training facilities at the academy, Noah's domain had evolved into sothing far more complex. In the last months since he'd first discovered this ability, he'd shaped portions of the endless void into distinct regions—so resembling natural landscapes, others defying conventional physics altogether.
But his first stop wasn't to any of these carefully constructed areas. Instead, Noah headed toward the distant cave that marked Nyx's territory.
As he approached, the ambient temperature rose noticeably. The dark purplish void gradually gave way to a cavernous space with obsidian walls veined with what looked like molten lava. At the center, nestled in a crater of glowing embers, lay two distinct forms.
Nyx, the massive red death dragon, curved his serpentine body protectively around a smaller, frost-blue wyvern. It looked like Nyx had moved Storm to his own nest, how that happened, Noah had no idea.
Storm had been undergoing a strange tamorphosis for weeks now, his scales alternating between radiating intense cold and absorbing heat from his surroundings. Nyx had taken it upon himself to regulate Storm's temperature, providing heat when needed and absorbing excess when Storm's body temperature spiked.
Noah paused at the entrance to the cavern, careful not to advance further. The last ti he'd approached during Storm's evolution, Nyx had nearly taken his head off with a warning blast of fla.
'Overprotective dragon,' Noah thought with a mixture of amusent and frustration. 'Who knew Nyx had such strong maternal instincts?'
As if sensing his presence, Nyx's massive head swiveled toward him, red eyes narrowing dangerously. A low rumble vibrated through the cavern floor—not quite a growl, but definitely a warning.
Noah raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Just checking in," he called out. "No intention of disturbing you two."
Nyx maintained his intimidating stare for several more seconds before returning his attention to Storm, who was emitting periodic pulses of frost that crackled as they t the heated air.
'Twenty more days,' Noah reminded himself as he backed away. 'Whatever Storm is turning into, it had better be worth all this drama.'
Giving the dragons a wide berth, Noah made his way through his domain until he reached an undeveloped region. Here, far from Nyx's territorial awareness, he could work without interruption.
Noah settled onto a flat stone. If he had enough Void coins, he could build himself a little hut here but that would be another project for another day.
The ability to shape his domain with thought alone was still sothing he was getting used to. Sotis the changes were instantaneous; other tis, they took ti before actually manifesting.
'Convenient,' he thought, sitting cross-legged on the stone. 'Now, let's take inventory of what we're working with.'
Closing his eyes, Noah called forth his System interface, the familiar blue text materializing in his field of vision:
[Na: Noah Eclipse]
[Level: 20]
[Class: Void Oracle]
[Health Points: 600/600]
[Void Energy: 950/950]
[Experience: 8,500/10,000]
[Talents:]
Void Summoning [SSS RANK]
Perfect Echo [Sealed]
Self-Regeneration [B RANK]
[Enhanced Skills:]
Void Blink (Level 6) – Shorter cooldown, longer range (Cooldown: 4 seconds)
Null Strike (Level 3) – (-100)
Void Absorption (Level 3) – Can now absorb a wider array of energies including electricity.
Entropy Touch (Level 3) – Stronger decay effect.
[Attributes:]
Strength: 57
Agility: 65
Vitality: 54
Intelligence: 73
Wisdom: 68
Noah studied the display thoughtfully. His attributes had improved significantly since he'd begun at the academy, but they weren't exceptional compared to what he'd face in the tournant. Students from the other academies, especially those with combat abilities, would likely have physical abilities that would give him a run for his money. That much Lucas has led him to believe.
'Raw numbers aren't everything,' he reminded himself. 'Strategy matters. Application matters. Understanding the underlying principles matters.'
That last thought stuck with him as he transitioned from reviewing his System to ditation. He needed to understand not just what his abilities did, but how they functioned at a fundantal level.
Noah closed his eyes and began the breathing exercises Master Anng had drilled into them during chi training. Inhale for four counts, hold for seven, exhale for eight. The rhythm established, he turned his awareness inward, feeling for the familiar current of chi that flowed through his body.
Unlike his early attempts, where chi had felt like an unpredictable wild current, Noah now sensed it as a network of energy pathways. He could trace its movent through his ridians, feel the subtle variations in its flow. More importantly, he could direct it.
'Let's start with the basics,' he thought. 'Chi circulation, then augntation, then external manipulation.'
Noah guided the energy through his body, accelerating its natural circulation. He felt the familiar warmth spreading from his lower abdon—what the instructors called the dantian—up his spine and through his limbs. As the circulation increased, his physical sensations heightened; he beca more aware of every muscle, every nerve, every subtle shift in his posture.
Next ca augntation. Noah directed concentrated chi to his right arm, feeling the muscles tighten and energy suffuse the tissue. What had once caused painful spasms now manifested as controlled strength. He opened his eyes and extended his arm, watching as faint golden energy rippled beneath his skin.
'Better,' he thought. 'No more muscle seizures. Now for sothing more complex.'
Noah stood and began to move through a series of combat forms, directing chi to different muscle groups as needed—reinforcing a stance here, accelerating a strike there. The smooth integration of physical movent and energy direction had taken weeks of practice to achieve, but now it felt almost natural.
For his final exercise with pure chi, Noah extended his hand toward a small rock formation several ters away. Concentrating, he projected a thin stream of white energy from his palm. The chi struck the rock with enough force to chip away a small fragnt.
'Chi transfer between diums,' he noted with satisfaction. 'Still weak compared to Null strike or Lucas's lightning, but it's improving.'
Noah lowered his hand, considering his progress. Chi manipulation was becoming second nature, but it wasn't enough. Not for the tournant, and certainly not for whatever lay beyond the academy's walls.
He returned to his ditation posture and brought up his System interface again, this ti focusing specifically on his void-based abilities. Void energy was his natural affinity, the source of his most powerful techniques. But it was also the thing that he wanted to avoid using for the majority of ti. Not just because it drained him if his life force, but then he'd have to explain a couple of things he didn't want to.
He needed a solution that would allow him to utilize his full potential without drawing unwanted attention. As he pondered this dilemma, Noah recalled his experience with Void Entropy Syndro—the dangerous condition he'd developed after his encounter with Gigarose at the arcade.
During that episode, his void energy had beco unstable, consuming his chi pathways from within. The two energy types had interacted violently, with void energy overwhelming and absorbing the chi.
'But what if,' Noah thought slowly, 'that interaction could be controlled? What if, instead of one consuming the other, they could be... integrated?'
The idea was either brilliant or suicidal—possibly both. Convention held that differing energy types should be kept separate to prevent harmful interactions. But convention also said that first-generation students couldn't achieve perfect scores in combat trials, and Noah had already disproven that.
'Worth a controlled experint, at least,' he decided. 'And where better than here, where no one can get hurt if things go sideways?'
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