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

Chapter 190: 004: The Last Rune

[Meditation Lv9: 138/200000]

Level 9 meditation, 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 meditated 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 dimension.

"Tick-tock! Tick-tock!"

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

It was impossible to know how much time had passed, but one day Lynch caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and noticed his face had matured. He had transformed 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.

[Meditation Lv10]

The tenth rune!

At last, Lynch had meditated 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 dimension, 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 dimension warped by time and space, there was no distinction between day and night, no signs of life, nothing but the unchanging current of time.

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 meditating as if nothing in this world concerned him. He didn’t need distraction or amusement—seemingly a cold, unfeeling cultivation machine.

Lynch said, "I will remember your teachings, mentor."

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

After meditation 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 meditation alone is extremely difficult. It usually requires the aid of external objects.

The mainstream methods 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 methods are relatively rare.

Lynch hesitated for a brief moment before asking, "Mentor, isn’t it possible to advance to wizard level through meditation alone?"

"Hmm..."

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

Lynch thought for a moment. "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 increments of growth in the Spirit Vortex during each meditation. However, after condensing the tenth rune, he realized he could no longer perceive any growth in his spiritual power despite continuing to meditate.

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

Lynch nodded. "I understand."

Graham had mentioned 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. Sometimes, cultivation might actually harm your spiritual power."

"Thus, unless someone 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 merely 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 time meditating now is largely meaningless. You should find ways to leverage external help for the breakthrough. While such external aids inevitably come 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 meditation.

[Meditation Lv10: 26/500000]

After completing meditation 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 meditation 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 moment, it seemed as though Somda had entered a fast-forwarded timeline. 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 time 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 time 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 temperament, 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 lifetime, then we’ll simply have to wait for the next generation of inheritors. One generation passes to the next. Sooner or later, someone will unlock the mysteries of time and discover the true essence of eternity..."

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