Rick knew he was back on Earth by the sight of the half-burnt Cock and Haunch Pub. His golems were still standing around on guard when his trusted guard walked over.

“Master,” the giant fiery-ant Grant spoke, making a gesture that Rick assumed to be a bow.

Rick watched Grant bob his head up and down that he assumed was a bow. “Everything alright?”

“Yes, Master. No problem,” Grant replied in his screaking ant-voice.

Rick smiled at his only obedient familiar, wishing Pip would be as cooperative at least sometimes. He patted the Grant its warm head, “Good work Grant. But I need you to stand guard for a while longer, can you do it?”

The ant immediately nod its head yes, is lower abdomen twitching akin to a dog’s tail.

“Good boy,” Rick said with a grin.

With that done, he asked Pip to help stay watch as well. Although he had to bribe her with the promise of elemental food, he readily agreed. If this was anything like the time he had integrated with the Fire Core Rune, he would be indisposed and vulnerable for quite a while. He wanted to take every precaution he could.

“Peep peep!” the little Firebird chirped lazily climbing out of the collar off his shirt.

Rick felt a headache coming but decided to ignore it for now. He wasn’t going to be a parent now of all times, “Fine, you are in-charge. Grant, follow Pip’s instructions.”

“Yes Master,” Grant replied while Pip hopped on her feet happily before jumping onto the Fiery Ant’s head and the two walked off, leaving Rick alone.

Rick wanted to break through the ranks and become an Air Elemental mage. It was becoming increasingly obvious to him how lacking his core strength was while everyone had made giant strides to increase their power.

“Don’t interrupt me!” Rick said aloud, reminding Pip one last time before closing his eyes and sitting down in a clearing on the floor.

He cleared his mind and entered his subconscious.

Rick stood at the vast void looking at the Fire elemental Plane in his subconscious. It was only a model, but he could see everything that happened there and play God.

Any changes he made to the model, would change the reality, and anything that happened in there he could see here.

“The more Core Runes you add, the world of your subconscious will change,” Rick recalled Maya’s advice.

All this while Rick was relying on the Lemegeton so much that it had become a crutch. But Maya’s worlds had made him think of the elements in a more logical sense.

Each element has a specific affinity, but together they cancel each other to become the neutral colourless Mana.

Maya’s advice to him was simple. It was only after he integrated with the Fire Core Rune that he could cast fire spells by transmuting it from the neutral mana to the become fire elementals. So how was he breathing without a Core Rune?

“Where is it?” Rick sent a strand of mana towards his lungs.

Even though human physique had probably changed since the Heaven’s Dictate he was still breathing with his lungs – that seemed like the appropriate place to start. But as the strand of mana tried to deviate from the ordinary Mana circulation path, he felt suffocated. Rick tried to breathe but could not. He immediately dissipated the mana back to its normal path. He gasped for air like a drowning man.

Rick didn’t know what just happened. He could feel the sweat roll down his face. It was scary that he could breathe one moment and not the next. There was an itch in his mind that he was missing something here but just couldn’t figure out what it was. He shook his head calming his heart, before trying it again, but slower. But the results were the same, every time he guided the mana strand closer to his lungs, he would start suffocating.

“That’s not going to work,” Rick decided. He would probably die before he could even see the sign of the Core Rune. The last time was especially brutal as he almost passed out from the suffocation.

Rick decided to take a breath and concentrate on his breathing instead, hoping for an epiphany.

A moment later, he felt like smacking his head. “Of course!”

After a break, he decided to continue. This time he directed the strand of mana towards his nostrils instead. Afterall the lungs were the filter for the air that is inhaled. So the process of converting mana to air had to begin somewhere before.

Rick directed the mana towards his nostrils and focused on his breathing. As soon as the mana reached towards the nostrils, the mana started circulating in a spiral inward. Just as the mana reached the bottom, the colourless mana changed became azure blue.

‘Yes!’ Rick rejoiced mentally – he found the Air Core Rune. He quickly focused his mind back and decided to inscribe the Air Core Rune at the first instance. ‘I need to record it… and quickly.’

As the Air Core Rune started to appear, it started depleting his mana reserves rapidly!

‘Focus…’ Rick urged himself.

He had to juggle between keeping the mana supply and drawing in more mana simultaneously. He grit his teeth hard as a skull-cracking headache assailed his consciousness.

Rick didn’t know how long it was but after what felt like an eternity, the Air-Core Rune finally started to solidify and the mana consumption started to wean. Despite being exhausted to the bone, Rick knew he couldn’t stop right now. It was only a few minutes before the Air-Core Rune would solidify and within that small window, he had to etch the Rune into his subconscious.

‘The last step now. Come on Rick, you can’t fail now!’ He awaited with tensed shoulders, ready for the moment he could start converting the mana to Air elementals according to his will and with then carve the Air Core Rune right beside the Fire Core Rune.

Once that was done, he was hoping there would be another plane just like his Fire Plane. ‘Air Plane… or better Wind Plane,’ Rick thought trying to distract his mind from the throbbing pain in his head.

But all his plans were quickly laid to waste.

The moment the Air Core Rune became solid, a gust of wind started blowing in his consciousness. A gentle breeze at first, but it quickly started to pick up speed.

‘Damn it!’ he said exasperated.

“Aah!” Rick grimaced in alarm as a blade of wind struck him by the arm drawing blood.

Before he could even reach out to his arm, another blade but into his calf, and then another hit his chest.

Rick put his arms before his face, but it was of no use. The wind elements cut into his body leaving thousands of cuts all over his body. The air elemental winds gathered around him like a windstorm with him at the centre of the vortex. Flashed of colourful clouds had formed around bellowing, assaulting his mind.

But Rick refused to give up. He was not going to die like this!

His [Concentration] was running low and his mana reserves were completely sucked dry, but with every remaining ounce of strength, he pushed himself to circulate his last ounce of mana into the Fire Circulation Path and cast the Hot Hands spell, covering his body with fire elementals.

As soon as the fire elementals came into contact with the air elementals outside, Rick’s eyes went wide in surprise.

Flames appeared all over his body!

Even the wind blades turned to flames as soon as they came to touch with a fire element surrounding him.

The winds finally started to calm down. As if finally deeming him worthy of wielding it, the winds started surging gently before the dissipated into his chest with one last surge, knocking the wind out of his lungs.

As the winds cleared there was another surprise waiting for him. The Air Core-Rune was floating beside the Fire Core Rune! Shaped like a spiralling vortex, it bounced lightly before him.

“I didn’t need to draw it,” said Rick. Though it was more of a question than a statement.

Simultaneously, changes took place to the Fire Plane below the Core Runes as well. The giant red ball was now covered by a thick and violent stream of air that only weaned off at the surface. Even at the surface layer of the plane had changed. Now instead of fire elementals, there was a sea of flames instead.

“I can’t keep calling it the fire plane anymore,” Rick said chuckling to himself. Exhausted he fell to his knees.

The ordeal was horrifying. It was starting to dawn on him why so many mages died trying to obtain a core-rune! No matter how powerful a mage was, initiating to a new elemental meant being at the mercy of that elemental completely without.

“But bigger the stakes, higher the rewards!” Rick recalled Maya’s words and felt his consciousness.

***

“Peep! Peep!”

As soon as Rick left his subconscious and opened his eyes back in the Pub, the little Firebird jumped right at his face.

“I’m alright! I’m alright, Pip,” he said breaking into a smile.

“Peep! Peep! Peep!” Pip chirped.

“You can sense I’ve changed?” Rick was surprised. He looked at himself and realized, his clothes in the reality were torn to shreds as well. But thankfully, there were no bleeding wounds anymore. The only difference was that there was also the Air-Core Rune etched to his right chest. “I… I’m fine. Don’t worry,” he said holding her in his palm.

“Congratulations Master,” Grant said. The Fiery Ant was standing before him as well. “Home is changed.”

Rick took a second to figure what the ant was trying to say. “Oh ya… There should be some changes to the Fire Plane as well. Do you want to go check it?”

“Yes, Master,” Grant said, wagging his lower abdomen like a tail.

Rick chuckled and put his hand on Grant’s hand and dismissed him to the World.

“Pip, can you keep watch a little longer?” he asked putting her down. Thankfully, the little Firebird was so happy to see her mommy alive, she readily nod and left to stand guard.

As soon as Pip was out of sight, he tore away the little strips of clothes saving his modesty and pulled out a new pair of clothes from the storage ring. Once he was fully clothed again, he sat back down.

“Let’s see my rewards,” said Rick with a smirk, opening the notifications.

[Congratulations!]

[You have discovered an Air-Core Rune]

[Congratulations!]

[You are now a Novice Air Elemental Mage]

These were things were rewards he already expected and quickly ignored.

[Congratulations!]

[You have learnt the initiation spell - Cooling Wind]

“This could still be useful,” Rick decided to practice the spells later. If it was him from before, he would have readily dismissed it as a useless spell. But after experiencing the benefits of the Hot Hands spell, he wasn’t going to cast his judgment quickly.

Dismissing the notification he opened the next one.

[New Spells discovered, refer to the Lemegeton]

He decided to ignore it for now. There was definitely going to be a lot of new information in the Lemegeton, but he wanted to get through them at one go. Instead, he moved on to the next,

[The proficiency of the Skill Summoner has increased]

[Refer to the Lemegeton]

He skipped to the next,

[The proficiency of the Skill Rune Craftsmanship has increased]

[Refer to the Lemegeton]

And the next,

[The proficiency of the Skill Planar Mage has increased. Rfer]

[Refer to the Lemegeton]

Before finally stopping.

[Congratulations!]

[Fire Plane has evolved with the addition of Air elemental]

[Do you wish you rename your world?]

“Yes,” Rick said with a wide grin.