[Ever Smile] jumped from Ascendant to Omni level. For this alone, Tetsu considered the scar god to be a tier above Omni for him to jump a whole tier, instead of a rarity. Unless one gets a next-tier epiphany, the skill increases in rarity first, and later develops in level.

The eternal slumber hack and rarity of the skill might also be the reason, but Tetsu placed his bet on that god’s power.

The scar god barely used a smidgen of his power and the entire world crumbled, forcing the system to recreate it from scratch. Sure, gods are scary strong, but until you witness the world getting erased and recreated on a whim, the perspective does not set in.

Expecting gods to speak with equality might be a stretch. If they had a bit of compassion, he wouldn’t have so many targets on his back. This was one other reason Tetsu hated killing. Once the lines get blurred, everyone justifies their actions instead of correcting them.

Just because the system deemed killing to be the fastest way to level up, doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways. Always picking the easy route is the first step to abolishing one’s own line.

This does not mean you stay weak, either. That’s utter stupidity. One should train to protect their values. Life is a journey that tests our values at every turn. Slip or make excuses. Once you divert from your true self, you fail the test.

The casual meeting with the gods opened Tetsu’s mind to pride, resolve, and his boundaries. He already planned a fixed path and these encounters only strengthened his resolve.

In fact, the line never shone this bright.

Going in order, Tetsu moved on to the gains of meeting gods. He called them boons as they involved gods. The order helped him keep track of what aspect increased which attribute. This procedure will also help him in the long run, boosting his skills or finding a way to train them to the next level. Procedures have already helped him break into several skills in the past.

The rune god was the most helpful among the bunch. If it wasn’t for his or its demeanor, Tetsu would have joined without a second thought. He did not help Tetsu unlock a hack/skill from the system, but his mere presence zapped a million bulbs in his mind.

Long-range attacks always eluded Tetsu. Not all opponents are approachable, and with a limited skill set, all of it revolving around runes, Tetsu had to fight in close quarters.

Tetsu discarded many ideas because heading closer to an opponent would kill him before a rune can be drawn. The title [Rushmore] helped to draw the runes faster, but if his opponent wasn’t a dumb, egoistic, and prideful beast, he would’ve been floating within the realm of the goddess; Dead and in a delusion of peace.

The basic rules of rune he acquired from the notes of the Sage never mentioned the range, so he assumed the Sage either didn’t know or didn’t share.

“Sharing never was his strong suit.” Tetsu lets out a deep sigh, recalling the many near-death scenes where Saint withheld information for him to learn through his mistakes. “Dumb fucking sage. How will I learn if I am dead?”

After scanning every inch of the rune god, mostly his eyes, many puzzles solved themselves.

At first, he assumed a god could create carving on their eyes with relative ease and his inner masochist cannot help him in this aspect. Down the line, he might recover or regrow his eyes, but now it was too much of a risk.

Out of habit, Tetsu mauled over the concept for days, until it finally struck a chord. He imagined the rune inside his head first, and then over the target. After infusing mana into his eyes and following every step toward creating a rune inside his head, the rune flared to life, unlocking another hack, making his life much easier.

“Oh..! how I loved myself a system hack.” Tetsu whistles.

[Ding. Ru’nic sage skill: Eternal rune: Give life to a rune with imagination and reap its benefits through your willpower. Level: Conqueror. Rarity: common.]

To do the entire process inside one’s head and imagine it over a fixed target places a huge mental strain on anyone’s mind. Not for an overthinker, though. They excel at imagining and fixating on useless stuff. This skill, however, worked against [Etched rune] skill.

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A constant image of the target is required to keep the rune active. Tetsu bypassed this threshold by using his over-imaginative mind. After the initial contact, Tetsu concentrated and imagined the rune over his target. Because of this, even if the target concealed themselves, until Tetsu had an image of his opponent inside his head. The rune stayed active.

[Etched Rune] freed up a lot of mental space in this aspect, as it stays active from when it’s drawn. But in the long run, improving his strongest basic power, his mind, and long-range attacks will place him on the apex.

The discarded projects bloomed to life as Tetsu adorned a genuine smile in a long time. With everything in place, he planned on sharpening out his weakness before he lost the effects of the incubation grounds.

Meeting the scar god proved his unconscious mind held the key to immortality. He still planned on improving all three basic powers for survival until he reached immortality, yet even amongst them, mental powers took precedence. Brain over brawn, any time of the day.

Luckily, the eternal runes pushed Tetsu one step closer to his goals. After days of practice, he could create a scarf made of runes. The scarf only comprised four basic runes, but in time he will have a suit because dresses are for girls. It is going to take a million years before he might make anything out of runes, but he stuck to a suit.

Tetsu imagined showering his opponents with runes, then imagined himself naked. “Maybe wear some pants underneath.” He looks below at his boxers. “I won’t be removing you, so things should be fine.” He snickers.

The rune god also left a gift behind. Though as a joke, but anything from a god is invaluable to a mortal.

Tetsu used the brick to understand fractals and other symbols, while also creating a recording.

Tetsu already has the symbol for it and all he had to do was figure out the inner workings, which took little to no time.

[Ding! Access gained to Divine Seal: Soul thought.]

The fractals were harder to decode, so he kept the slab of rune close, trying to gleam more information from its design. Losing long-range communication devices is a possibility after the integration. This forced Tetsu to waste more time on the symbols recording feature.

If this symbol can be stored, there might be a different symbol that can transmit and receive voices. A phone that works on runes. But so far, Tetsu had no luck, and the procedure got even more complicated with the fractal added into the mix. He created many recording symbols while playing with the fractal, and now the forest was littered with symbols.

Anyone who can infuse mana into the symbol will receive a wild goose chase. The price leads to a certain Dandralith.

Next, Tetsu dwelled in the memory of a goddess, wishing she returned to scold him more. He will never cross the line, but one can imagine and an overthinker is forced to imagine every aspect. Not that Tetsu wanted to stop any of those images flooding his mind. No human can ever compete with such beauty, even with mana or skills.

The true peace, as the goddess claimed it, helped Tetsu enter meditation. This space differs from the muse-verse he freely slipped in and out of.

Muse held the power to create, and meditation held the power to understand. Both are different yet essential powers to create anything.

Tetsu always lacked in the meditation department, while Kile had an unearthly grasp of every concept. For an overthinker, sitting still and concentrating on a single concept and unraveling its mysteries one tiny step at a time is hard.

Muse land works differently for different individuals, and even if Tetsu focused on a single topic, he tackled different concepts at once to understand a single concept. Based on his experience, every concept has various sub-concepts that act as building blocks, forming the key concept, but mediation is concentrating on a single block.

Vital energy comes under a single concept. Be it a tree, human, or insect, every living being holds and uses this single energy to stay alive.

The goddess forced Tetsu into the deepest stage of meditation, and now, by recreating a similar effect, he dove deeper into the inner workings of his body.

Tetsu stood on a vast green plain, staring at a sky filled with ethereal aurora lights. Various hues clash against each other, each hue the result of one’s will, dyeing the aurora with a different intent.

Similar to mana, vital energy is unique to every individual. Our willpower shapes and uses the energy based on our needs. After all, a tree uses its energy purely to grow, while an insect expands its energy for various tasks.

The concept of life unraveled a few of its mysteries, and by focusing on healing, Tetsu healed quicker than before.

Vital energy puzzled him for so long. His friend’s death lit a spark, but this state helped him guide the energy.

Days passed by as Tetsu basked within the waves of life, until one day he controlled the flow, diverting it into a small orb that used to hold smoke.

Tetsu stared with awe at the emerald green orb in his hand. Except for his fangs, the rest of his body craved the energy.

“Seems like the Crimsonfae hate handouts.” Tetsu respected them more because of this development.

They rather hunt an impossible game and gouge on its flesh. Even if it meant death. This made a lot of sense to Tetsu. Based on the description and how the fangs react every time they face a stronger opponent, the [Crimsonfae] live for the challenge and consider their opponent’s life force as a reward or medal for an impossible victory.

Both were equally precious, yet they exhibited a preference for one over the other in succession. Tetsu guessed that even if they possessed the ability to drain the entire life force from the multiverse, they would still opt to confront a formidable adversary and consume only their energy.

"I won't regret accepting this gift," Tetsu murmurs as he gently strokes the tooth.

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