Noah stared at the corpse of the rank 6 Kesier Ape for only an instant before storing it inside his second space-ring.
That wasn't the time to lose himself in the overwhelming pride that was filling every corner of his body. There were still many procedures to perform, and he couldn't let the material suffer even more damages.
Carl's couldn't help but tremble in excitement as he watched the Ape disappear from his sight. It had taken all his determination to approach the beast from behind, and he almost didn't believe that the small needle had dealt the fatal blow.
His hands shook at the thought that he had killed a being in the sixth rank. He was a powerful expert, but he had always known that he was ordinary for his level. The success of the hunt made him feel something that he had never experienced before.
There were deeper emotions hidden under that intense sensation of power, and the other four experts felt them too.
Since birth, the natives had lived under the Kesier Apes' rule, and now they had managed to kill one of their strongest specimens. That achievement made them feel as if their revolt was finally starting.
Noah's spells dispersed, revealing the poor state of his robe. Even with all his protection and the Ape's weakened status, the last attack had affected his body.
The skin on his forearms showed large bruises, and his arms felt sore. His shoulders let out cracking sounds when Noah moved, and his waist felt stuck in place.
Approaching a rank 6 magical beast had been a reckless move, but Noah had done his math. The Black Mark had given him a general understanding of the Ape's condition, and his many spells had ensured his temporary safety.
It was a calculated risk that Noah had been willing to take to create an opening in the creature's defense and test his current prowess. Now he knew that there was still an abyss between him and the sixth rank.
However, he had understood that it wasn't out of reach. It would be enough for any of his centers of power to experience a breakthrough to shorten that distance by a lot.
Noah quickly suppressed the thoughts concerning his power to focus on the impelling issue. He had obtained the corpse needed for the fusion, but Skully was unable to undergo the procedure.
"Noah!" Carl shouted before the other experts aligned next to him. "You have my deepest gratitude!"
Carl bowed toward Noah, and his companions did the same. Their gesture was a simple demonstration of gratitude toward the expert that had made such an incredible feat possible.
"It's a pity that you have so little black metal," Noah said as he turned toward the rebel's headquarters. "We could have started a proper invasion otherwise."
The hunting group remained speechless at that claim. They had helped Noah planting the many disposable weapons, so they knew how many resources they had used to kill a single rank 6 magical beast.
Noah had used most of the black metal that the natives had mined since they first rebelled to create the inscribed items deployed that day. He had kept a few of them for himself, but everything else had gone into the hunt.
However, Noah didn't seem to care about the expenses or the dangers of the hunt. He acted as if he could repeat that extraordinary deed easily as long as he had enough resources.
There were a few unexploded traps in the area, but the hunting team could take care of them. Noah had to return to the headquarters to prepare the rest of the procedures.
The road back to the black palace floating on the lava lake was uneventful, and Noah went directly inside the room that he had used in the past years during his experiments. It was one of the palace's sturdiest areas, and the black metal that made its walls managed to absorb any shockwave caused by Noah's experiments.
The metal had power varying between the peak of the fifth rank and the middle tier of the sixth. That depended on how much time it had spent on direct contact with the sea of magma above.
The longer the magma tempered it, the harder and more powerful it became.
Noah had to rely on his dark matter to loosen the metal before he could use it during the forging. The procedure wasn't too tricky with the parts at the peak of the fifth rank, but it took time when it came to the more challenging pieces.
The same went for the Kesier Ape's corpse that he had just obtained. Noah didn't have the power to mold it as it was. He needed to loosen it up before he could make the necessary modifications.
The modified version of the Black Hole spell appeared in his palm, and Noah threw it toward the center of the empty room as he poured his darkness into the environment. The area's temperature was high already, so Noah only had to release enough "Breath" to create a dark star right in the center of the room.
The gravitational pull was intense, but Noah had become used to working in that environment by then. The corpse of the Ape appeared in his hands, and he threw it directly inside the star.
The dark matter moved as the corpse entered the sphere and began to float at its center. It remained suspended mid-air, right where the higher energy had the highest density.
That was the method that Noah had used in the past to loosen up the black metal. The dark matter was peaceful at the star's center, but the gravitational pull imbued it inside the materials.
In that way, Noah would have some control over the processed items' internal structure, and he could use them even if his level wouldn't usually allow that.
Noah walked through the dense dark matter and inspected the Ape's corpse. Most of its black fur was gone, and even its six Kesier runes showed some damage. Its skin was a gory mess, and its eyes were beyond saving.
The brain had suffered heavy damages too, but the higher energy was already filling the hole on the back of the beast's head.
Noah's dark matter was a pure expression of his creation. It could theoretically replace any material and enhance its natural properties. However, that didn't apply to materials on a higher level of the dark matter. Noah's higher energy couldn't create something stronger than itself. Still, it could make some patches.
The patches had to find harmony with the material's structure, which was harder to do when it came to something as complex as a rank 6 magical beast.
Noah didn't know how much the dark matter could fix those injuries, but he had another pressing issue now. He had to prepare Skully's body for the fusion.