Chapter 841 Stages
Sylas' brow furrowed, not quite understanding. It was a rare thing for him, but as far as his understanding went, he couldn't quite see how slowing his perceptions and peeking into a Rune's past and future could be related.
And then it suddenly clicked.
"The reason it is so difficult to increase one's Micro Rune Mastery is because there are too many changes to account for. Rune Masters often treat Runes as though they're static existences, with rigid forms to be drawn the same way again and again.
"But, with this sort of philosophy, you can only get so far. You certainly cannot make it past Soul Mastery, that is for sure. In order to reach the final three stages of Mastery, at least on the Micro level, you need to have some understanding of the flexibility of Runes.
"With your ability to slow your perception, you are able to slow the changes to the Mesh of Reality and also draw Runes near instantly. Because of that, the Runes that you do create within that state tend to have higher Micro Rune Mastery because there is very little time between your intent to draw a Rune and your success in drawing it.
"Due to that, the Mesh of Reality doesn't get the chance to change very much, which leads to obvious results."
Sylas was nodding slowly. He didn't really need Gralith to say much else.
As much as the slowing in his perception could help, how could that be better than peeking into the past and grasping the future?
If he matched that with his perception-slowing ability, though, the boost to his Micro Rune Mastery would be far higher than most, even if they used this very same Inheritance.
If Sylas was correct, this Inheritance was divided into twelve stages. At the first, one could see one Rune-Change back and forward. At the twelfth, one could see a dozen Rune-Changes back and forward.
He wasn't exactly sure how this related to time, but what he was sure about was that entering the first stage might not have shocking results for most others… but for him, even the most minor of changes could have a huge impact.
This was because this Inheritance and his two Progenitor Flame Abilities had a strong synergistic effect.
To put this matter into perspective, it could very well be that to Sylas, the first stage was actually equivalent to the fourth stage. And even that might be being a bit conservative.
This wasn't a linear difference either. Every stage one moved up, the more shocking the results would be.
It was a bit complicated to calculate just what the exact advantages were as there were too many variables involved, but all things considered, by the time one reached the fourth stage, even a Rune one had never drawn before would come out at Breath Mastery.
If it was a Rune one was familiar with, the benefits could be imagined.
That said… Sylas was only thinking about things in this way because his scope of experience with Rune Mastery was too limited.
This sort of Inheritance was a dream-send to Rune Decoders and a nightmare to large-scale Formation Masters.
In a battle against a fellow Rune Master, disrupting their casts or countering their Runes would also come as easily as sipping water.
The more Sylas learned about the true depths of Rune Mastery, the more he would understand just the kind of Inheritance he had stepped into.
And yet… this was just the very first leg of the Inheritance.
Where the others were, Sylas didn't know, but at the very least, even if he never found them, this alone was a shocking change enough.
"… I would like to master at least the first stage," Sylas said after a while.
Gralith didn't seem surprised by this. He had expected as much.
"It's harder than you might think."
For Gralith to say this after witnessing Sylas' breakthrough, it could be said that he was either lying through his teeth, or this Inheritance was truly far more difficult than it seemed.
"I understand."
"It also might not leave you time to learn the second layer of the Scorpion Warlord Armor."
Sylas' gaze flickered this time, and he fell into his own thoughts. But after a long while, he shook his head.
"I still want to learn it."
"Alright. Like I said, this Inheritance isn't very compatible with me, so I can only do my best. First, go through the first few pages again, really ingrain them into your psyche."
As Sylas obliged, Gralith began to speak, his words coming out in a jumbled mess that hardly sounded like a language at all, and yet Sylas felt them like they were nudges to his body, or rather his mind.
It was an odd feeling, as though his mind was being directed to the left and right, and then up and down. It was almost like a massage… and yet slightly uncomfortable.
Sylas didn't like having his mind directed like this, but this time, he buried his distaste deep. What was most important now was improvement. Plus, he could tell that Gralith was aware of his personality and had dialed it back several degrees.
This was no time to shy away from progress. No matter what reason he had.
So he sat there, maybe more focused than he had ever been in his life. Every step was deep and reverberating.
The Mesh of Reality became clearer and clearer in his eyes, the depth of his Rune Spark Mastery increasing as the scope he realized he could use it on likewise changed.
The Inheritance Realm soon fell into silence, the hum of Sylas' Will growing with each passing moment.
And then there was quiet.
Sylas and Gralith sat across from one another, the former in a state of pale weakness. However, the latter… still held hints of surprise in his eyes.
He was right about it taking more effort than expected to reach the next leg, but in the end… Sylas still managed to surprise him.