In the end Jason wasn’t able to persuade Courtney to not use the scroll and so is once again forced to have a good night’s sleep. He wakes up refreshed though sans any new insights. The thought of being lucky enough to have it happen again is enough to make him laugh. Only a hero gets to go to sleep and then wake up knowing some new universal truths about the world.

As the party sets out for the day Jason spots a couple of wolves behind them but no longer are they being hounded. At noon only a single wolf is still on their tails and when it comes time for bed even that one is gone. The forest is once again alive with animal life. Despite this though Rosha insists once again that she takes mid shift. Different from last night Courtney agrees with her. Jason can only sigh. It is nice that they care but the lack of progress on the runes frustrates him.

More days pass for the group before something clicks for Jason. Until now he had been taking his body as his point of reference. Because of this his core rune would have moved before he could do anything with it. His realization from this was simple yet had profound implications. His image of his inner body was just that, how he imagined it no matter how close it was. Instead of trying to stop his core rune why not set it as his point of reference?

The answer is cause a massive headache. Yes, the core rune is now still at the center of his inner view. However the rest of his body was twirling around like a maniac. Not easy on the mind, that’s for sure. Jason however takes this as a challenge. While his core rune was a free spirit he had taken control of his body in a way few could.

As he concentrates on his body’s image the movements become less frantic. Time passes and Rosha takes up first watch while he sits still by the fire, dinner uneaten. With an effort his visualized body is no longer moving so fast it blurs. Rosha glances over at him and rolls her eyes. She doesn’t even bother trying to get him up, instead going to Courtney. With a shrug the watch is passed and Courtney shakes her head at the situation.

Meanwhile, Jason has come to an important point. His body now hardly moves but there is still a slight jiggle. Almost unnoticeable but the movement is still there and would disrupt the alignment of his runes. He clamps down tighter so that even his physical body is affected. With no one noticing, the steady beat of his heart goes silent and his breath stills. On one hand, this is good because his inner world has gone completely still. On the other hand, his health starts to fall.

Of course that tends to happen when your heart stops or you can’t breathe. In fact, anyone else would be shocked at how slow his health is dropping. Not only that, but the speed at which he is losing health is slowing. Jason’s health dips below ten before it stabilizes and then climbs. His natural healing now greater than the damage.

This goes on for a while, his health recovering before with a gasp his eyes open. His heart doesn’t start but he still has a pulse. It takes a moment for him to notice this but when he does all he can think of is his cultivation. To still be alive without a heartbeat there isn’t much else he has that could do it. Jason pulls op the info on the skill only to be shocked even more.

Energetic Body Reinforcement

Accepting only purity of body and mind you have given up past concepts of self for the uncertainty of truth.

Apprentice Level 1 - 0% [+1 rank]

Rarity: Truth

Type: Passive, Cultivation

Effects:

Filtering Cycle - Gain only 10% of absorbed energies but they are extremely pure Purity of energy - Because of the purity of your energy higher levels have a lower scaling on what is needed to level up and the energy does more Body/Mind Unification - [Your inner self has stabilized allowing you as much control of your body as you have over your mind] Energized Flesh - Can hit incorporeal things for [27 -> 34%] of normal damage with body Material Body ([Hard Leather -> Wood]) - With time your body can become like living metal or hard like a diamond Untainted Core - [No longer is your body that of a normal mortal as your heart has stopped but you haven’t.] Your body doesn’t attempt to mimic internals so status effects like broken bones heal twice as fast because you don’t have any.

He had skipped through the last bit of initiate and into apprentice rank. Not groundbreaking as Desolate Traversal had already reached it but the cultivation skill had been much slower to advance. Besides that the changes to untainted core and body/mind unification are important in ways he isn’t even sure of yet.

‘No longer a normal mortal? My inner self has stabilized? On the surface I could explain them. A normal person has to have a heartbeat to live so without one I am not quite normal anymore. That and you could describe everything I was just working on the stabilization of my inner self. With what I know of NeoRealm though it goes deeper.’

‘While no one has gotten a strict definition from anyone that knows what’s up with it, the word mortal has a deeper meaning here. To not be a normal one will be an interesting experience. Besides that nonsense I still need to figure out’ and then his thoughts are interrupted as Courtney taps him on the head with a stick.

He waves it away but she just pokes him again. “Hey, You missed your watch. Don’t worry though because Rosha woke me instead. However now it is definitely your turn. I saw you wake up from whatever you just did. Now get up so I can go to sleep.”