Zatiel and the King of the Scientia Kingdom completely immersed themselves in The Ultimate Rune Path's study. They examined every single one of the runic diagrams and magic formulas that John had developed through the years.
The duo's goal was not to obtain tricks or easy paths to develop John's rune mastery but to enhance his foundation.
The King was not the only one who improved his runemaster abilities since those of the Neo-Demon were also increasing.
Zatiel had all the theoretical knowledge about The Ultimate Rune Path, but he still needed a lot of practice to transform it into actual skills.
Although neither of them needed to sleep, their minds still grew tired due to the countless calculations they were performing every minute, so once a week, they rested an hour.
They continue like that for one and a half months before finishing.
"I have solved all your doubts and explained in detail the basics of The Ultimate Rune Path, fixing all the flaws you had before and fully solidifying your foundation. You should have no problem becoming a Rank 6 Animax Soul Runemaster with enough time and hard work. As for going beyond that, it depends on your talent and destiny." Zatiel knew that the King was a determined person, but just hard work is not enough to become a Rank 7 Animax Soul Runemaster.
"Thank you, Grand Animax Soul Runemaster, for your teachings." John performed a small bow after saying those words. He had begun to use that title to refer to Zatiel after the third day of study.
The King was a smart person and understood by the interaction with Zatiel that his previous identity must have been an exceptional one, so he found nothing wrong in his behavior. Besides, the Scientia Kingdom's members learned to show respect to anyone who taught them something regardless of their power.
"There is no need for gratitude. We performed an equivalent exchange."
"No. The help you gave me is much more valuable than the price of that head." John spoke with resolution and sincerity.
When the Neo-Demon saw that, he just shrugged his shoulders. He was not going to argue with the King if this one wanted to thank him.
"I will leave now. Can you create a portal to the Daybreak Magic Tower, or we need to call the boy?" Zatiel knew John was strong but did not know if his laws allowed him to perform long-range teleportation.
"Don't worry. I can do it." John released his consciousness, and in less than a second, it reached the City of the Sun.
He marked two points in his consciousness, and then with a single punch, he broke space and connected them.
The King and Zatiel shook hands before the latter went through the portal and left the Scientia Kingdom.
Zatiel had many things to do, so he immediately used the World Gate and returned to the Neo-Demon Realm before heading to the Garden of Creation.
The Neo-Demon sat in the Soul Throne before releasing the Sun Domain, Genesis Sun Seed, and Nether Crow.
The Genesis Sun Seed had changed after Zatiel advanced to Rank 4. It no longer had the arcs of golden energy that the Neo-Demon could use to enhance his physical strength, but its mass, size, and ability to increase the fire's might in the Sun Domain grew. You could see an Undying Leviathan and Nether Crow engraved in it, but only the first one was moving.
Zatiel threw the Underworld Flaw Crow into the domain, and this one began to rotate around the Genesis Sun Seed, slowly melting. As that happened, the Nether Crow began to evolve from an incarnation made of energy to a creature made of flesh and blood.
'Despite only being a severed head, the creature was a Rank 6 life form, so it will take a while for it to integrate into the domain. Luckily, the Genesis Sun Seed can handle it independently, and I don't need to waste my time.'
The Genesis Sun Seed was a living spell and was already showing the first sign of consciousness thanks to Zatiel's bloodline laws. Although it did not possess sentience, it could handle a simple task like consuming a corpse.
'With that taken care of, I can focus on the other aspects of my battle style. Both my long-range spells and martial arts can express the full power of my body and energy pool. The only thing that has ample room for improvement is my illusions and soul invasion spells.'
The Incarnation of Death and Destruction battle style focused on using his mighty body combined with destructive spells and laws, so Zatiel did not have many experiences with illusion and the likes.
The Rebirth Eye's soul offensive capability was too impressive not to take advantage of it, so he went through all the Illusion Path Techniques in his mind and the opponents he faced that used that battle style.
'When it comes to skill and technique, not even Beings of Laws could compare with that man. I still wonder from where he came and what his real identity was?' The one Zatiel was thinking, was the entity that almost caused his demise, the Sage.
The Neo-Demon took a deep breath and began to examine the illusion spells the Sage used on him and understand the properties behind them.
'The raw power of the illusion I can perform with my Rebirth Eye does not fall behind the one he used on me. The main difference and where my biggest flaw lies is in our fuel. He used that unique Mind Force that was not only perfect for illusions but also vast, while my spells solely have the energy inside my right eye to function.'
Zatiel had many energies inside him, but the soul invasion spells from his Rebirth Eye do not work with them. That is why he can barely use his Rebirth Nightmare at full power once.
'My right eye has a unique energy pool that originates from the purple dimension inside it. Unfortunately, I don't have a way to develop it, and it is too small for...WAIT!' A flash of inspiration appeared in Zatiel's eyes as enlightenment filled his mind.
The idea was already born, and the more he developed it, the wider the smile on the Neo-Demon's face became.
"A.I. Chip, show me the status of my Animus Path of Power and the information about the Dream Dimension Technique."
"Bip...
Path of Power: Animus (Peak Rank 3)
Mind Force: 0.3
Dream Dimension Technique: Training method for an Animus to enter Rank 4. Using Soul Origin, an Animus can form a dream dimension in their mind that will serve as the new origin of Mind Force. This technique doesn't grant special abilities besides a higher amount of Mind Force and enhanced spiritual defenses."
Zatiel had not focused much on his Animus Path of Power after entering Rank 4. It could not compare with the other paths of the Neo-Demon, and even if it advanced to Rank 4, it would not be of much help, but now things were different.
'There are many other Path Techniques for Rank 4 Animus better than the Dream Dimension Technique, but what if instead of creating a dimension out of Soul Origin, I expand the one in my Rebirth Eye to my mind!' Zatiel could barely contain his excitement as he imagined the kind of Mind Force that would be born out of the purple dimension that was the embodiment of the Law of Rebirth.
'I need to make modifications to the Dream Dimension Technique, which will take me a lot of time and hard work.'
Before beginning, Zatiel made five Fiend Lord's corpses along with one hundred high-quality origin stones appear. The Neo-Demon opened his mouth and sent everything to the unique dimension inside his stomach, where they will slowly be digested.
'I have a constant stream of Origin Power to train my True Soul and True Will. The Fiend Lords' corpses will nurture my body, and the Elemental Chaos in my stomach will improve my energy pool. I can now focus my mind on a single task.'
Zatiel was now ready to enter secluded training.
