"Boom!"
A thunderous roar echoed along the Manhattan coast, near the mansion. A bright light erupted from the estate, illuminating everything around. This place was far from the city, devoid of neon lights, and shrouded in darkness. However, under the radiance of the light, night turned into day, and it seemed as if the light was about to pierce the sky with a pillar.
Noah realized that if this continued, everyone's attention would be drawn to the mansion, and he couldn't allow that. The estate was enveloped in light as he extended his hand towards the rune hovering in the air, radiating immense power. The bright glow was caused by a surge of energy from the Resolve rune. As soon as he touched it, the rapidly spreading energy began to contract, as if time was moving in reverse. The light, like a whirlpool, swiftly returned to the rune.
The appearance and disappearance of the light were so rapid that anyone who witnessed it might think they imagined it. Even Gwen, inside the mansion, didn't notice anything. Lissandra, however, knew exactly what happened – Noah had discussed his plans with her.
"Too hasty... This won't do," Noah muttered, scratching his head after absorbing the energy back into the rune.
Upon returning, he decided to first complete the transformation of the mansion's surroundings, so he summoned the Resolve rune to begin this task. Currently, his synchronization with it was at its peak, and he could control it much better than before. When he first obtained it, his power wasn't sufficient for full activation. Back then, the system limited the rune's power, but as he grew stronger, his control increased.
Now his mastery of the rune was about 95%, and very soon, Noah would gain full access to its power.
However, even now he could unleash almost its full potential. Summoning it, he tried to carefully control its energy but underestimated its power. The instantaneous release of magical power was much stronger than he expected. He had to immediately take control of the rune to prevent a catastrophe in New York and the surrounding cities.
"Simply releasing energy won't create a sacred training ground," he thought, realizing he had been hasty.
"It seems this will take longer than I anticipated." Noah decided he should go to Kamar-Taj for advice.
Magic simply released into the environment would eventually dissipate. He needed to create something like a "dam" that could contain the energy in one place, like a reservoir. He believed the Masters of the Mystic Arts at Kamar-Taj, who were capable of creating a protective barrier around the entire Earth, could help him develop a similar technique for creating a place saturated with magical power.
"But first, I need to finish reading the books," he said to himself, looking at the rune, which was slowly releasing magic.
Noah didn't rush to dismiss it, allowing it to slowly alter the surrounding environment. He knew it was a long process, but even a small release of magic could change this world over time, similar to how magic permeated the land of Ionia on Runeterra.
Returning to the table, he picked up one of the books he hadn't finished and continued reading. Meanwhile, Blitzcrank, who didn't need rest, refilled his cup with tea. Noah opened the ancient book "The Gate of Secrets" again, intending to speed up the reading process this time and find what he needed.
In the silence of the night, the mansion was filled with soft light. The table was covered with ancient tomes, their titles gleaming in the lamplight. A sense of tranquility permeated the entire house. Only the quiet rustling of pages broke the silence, along with the barely audible sounds from Gwen's room – it seemed she was also busy studying.
Several hours later, Noah closed the last book. Thanks to his efforts, he finally finished reading the entire stack of books, which totaled almost half a meter in height. Gwen had fallen asleep a couple of hours ago, and the soft sounds of her sleep could be heard from the upper floor. He smiled: the path to mastery was a long one, and she still had a long way to go.
Although he planned to speed up his reading, in reality, his attention was diverted several times by interesting magical experiments, which slowed down the process. But it didn't matter much, as the books Dieter had gathered proved extremely useful. They significantly expanded his knowledge of spatial magic and enhanced his spells.
But most importantly, Noah found what he was looking for in these books: tracking magic. Now he wanted to test it in practice.
"Alright, time for a test."
He folded his hands, beginning to weave the spell. Magical runes glowed in the air before him as he took out a tiny fragment – Shuo'ma (soul energy) – from the ruins of the Leader's base. He wove it into the magical formula, and it began to rapidly twist into a complex pattern. At the end of the spell, it transformed into a blue magical compass, its needle pointing confidently in a certain direction.
"Did it work?"