Ragna could distinctly feel a trace of divinity flowing off the guardian entity. This made him wonder if she was a goddess of low status or maybe just a descendant of a Divine being. There were so many questions Ragna had. But what he knew was that this woman was no ordinary being. He could feel the ground underneath him being affected just by her presence. As the woman opened her eyes, everybody bowed before her, including Ragna. He didn't want to come across as disrespectful not when he barely had the power to defend himself If she were to get offended by him.

"It seems the birth of a new generation of sprouts is about to unfold," The guardian entity said. She walked towards the bonfire which was still burning and then she began to whisper. Ragna watched as she made some gestures with her fingers, the flames from the bonfire rose changing colors from orange to red, then green and blue which finally turned white. And then it shot up in the air, the flames converted into pure energy. He felt the space above the bonfire begin to move, a familiar presence coming from beyond the space where the white flames were twisting apart. The bonfire was gone, the space around it melting away like mist revealing a swarm of plants and herbs. In the middle of this patch of greenery was a huge oak tree with different colors of leaves. Each of these colors was black, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and diamond colored. The tree was brimming with so much vitality and Essence that Ragna could feel the energies emitting out of it.

This was the source of Essence he had felt yesterday. Ragna thought to himself. So this is the Divine blessing the gods had left to them. Ragna was beginning to understand what sort of Awakening the ceremony was going to be.

"Those who show compatibility with the runes shall awaken as Vikings, those who do not should lament their luck and fate for lacking the right constitution," The spirit lady said. And then a light from within the tree shone forth covering the entire ten year-olds who were there for the ceremony. Ragna felt his consciousness being pulled from his body and sent somewhere. Instead of fighting the pull, he allowed it to happen, curious to see what would happen. Ragna opened his eyes to find himself in a white space devoid of anything but the same Oak tree from earlier. Standing in front of him was the Landvaettir. The Spirit was mildly interested in this Lothbrok boy who seemed to possess great potential.

He seems to be the son of Bestla, the Spirit, Fulla thought out loud. Bestla had great potential. The boy seems to have inherited it.

Ragna was checking out the leaves from the tree recognizing it as the same Rune Aksel had shown him years ago. From what he could feel, each of these leaves contained pure Essence, Essence that could be used to form a core. And the quality of these runes depends on the color of the leaves. The black colored leaf was around, hmm Ragna deduced it as Iron tier grade. The lowest of the low. He summarized that the tier of the Rune one bonded with spoke of the cultivation talent that one had. It was followed by the bronze tier, then the silver, gold, and platinum, and then finally the Diamond tier. The spirit could feel the sharpness and intensity of Ragna's Psychic energy which fueled his will and consciousness, drawing the Diamond tier Rune leaf towards him. The Spirit was not surprised by it. It was exactly what she had been expecting.

Looks like all the Lothbrok would be Diamond tier this Generation, Fulla said in her mind. Fulla was aware of the Lothbrok girl who was a Volva and had been born with a Diamond tier Storm Rune. Is this a sign that things are about to change?

Ragna felt the pull of the Diamond tier Rune towards him and he was all for it, knowing how powerful the core would be if he bonded with that Rune. But when Ragna felt the potency of the Essence within the Rune, he had to take a step back. His soul rumbled, refusing to bond with such a Rune. The Essence was too dense, thick, and vast for Ragna. If he were to bond with such a Rune, his semi-transcendent soul would expand releasing the overpowering Soul power that his soul contained. If that were to happen... Ragna's body would burst from the overloading of internal power. His body was too mortal to handle such a form of power. If he had an Immortal, indestructible body like his former body, then Ragna would have accepted the Rune, but he didn't. Ragna had been born a human. Before he could wield a diamond-tier rune, his body had to be refined to the point of being sturdy enough to withstand the power. So Ragna had no choice but to refuse the Diamond tier Rune.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Fulla sensed the change almost as soon as it happened, the Psychic energy of Ragna rejecting the Diamond tier Rune. She was flabbergasted by what had happened. Her shock was understandable because who in their right mind would ever reject or deny themselves a diamond tier Rune that would make their Cultivation life easier. Ragna ignored the look on Fulla, going over to the platinum tier rune. Again, he encountered the same problem, the Essence within too much for his mortal body. He rejected the Rune, refusing it's desire to join with him. He went on to the Gold colored rune. Again. Ragna couldn't believe it as he was forced to reject another Rune again. As much as he wanted those Runes, he knew the risk of bonding with these high level Rune would be a hindrance to him and his path of Ascension. In order for him to refine and grow his physical power, he needed a core that could accommodate his soul. So Ragna denied the Silver colored Rune too, going to the bronze and again he felt that it was not enough. His Psychic energy settled on the Iron tier Rune, and he felt the Essence and Vitality within it, and it was so close. Ragna sighed feeling glad that at least it was slightly good enough to fit his soul. He accepted the Rune, using his will to pull the Runic leaf towards him.

Observing all this from beyond this mental space, King Sigurd was just as shocked as Fulla. He could not believe that Ragna could refuse the bond of so many high tier Runes. It had to be noted that normally one didn't have a choice regarding what Rune they bond with. It was out of their hand and due to the compatibility and luck of a person. But Ragna had broken such a rule like it was nothing. He had denied a Diamond tier Rune from bonding with him. And also a Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. He had settled for the lowest of the low and King Sigurd knew why. His eyes after all sees all. Meanwhile Fulla couldn't believe what she was seeing. Ragna had quickly assimilated with the Rune, channeling the Essence directly to the center of his soul and using his Psychic energy, molded and shaped the Essence into a physical core within both his soul and his physical body. In Ragna's solar plexus, a shining bright light could been seen glowing from within his body, a Rune shaped like the letter M formed around his sternum., the black ink engraved on Ragna's skin. This was the Rune of Awareness and insight. The first Rune that all Vikings must have before they could begin their path of Ascension. With the First Rune, one awakened their Psychic energy, the Mental power that gave one awareness and insight into the truth of the world itself. And then by using Psychic energy, they begin to gather Essence into their body and their soul. This was the first level of Cultivation known as Essence gathering realm. After that one began to form Essence within their soul. This was the second level known as the Essence forming Realm. And then when the Essence was gathered and formed within the soul, one moved on to the third level. Which was the Core formation Realm. The Essence core was formed into a component of the soul like a spiritual organ. And then within the physical body, the core was also formed within the solar plexus. Of course all this took time and effort, not something that could happen overnight. It was only that in Runic Cultivation all this could be hasten thanks to the role one's Rune played in Cultivation. But in the end time and effort was still needed. But not for Ragna. All the process of the three realms Ragna had gone through in an instant, feeling the changes that was happening within his body. With the formation of his core, Ragna had ascended so many levels of the early stages of cultivation. The Divine blood within Ragna that had been awakened by the blood King Sigurd had given them last night, stirred growing stronger than ever within Ragna as two bloodlines of Divinity became present within Ragna. And finally Ragna was a Rune Novice.