The hard part was over. The more challenging part was about to begin, but Noah approached it only after gaining confidence in the new power of his potential.
Countless tests went by as Noah grew used to his new potential. The drawbacks were harsher due to the almost double power that the fuel carried, but that didn't scare him. The process would mainly require his mind, so eventual empowerments wouldn't hurt him too much due to its rank 9 status.
Noah spent the rest of his time perfecting his imitation of Supreme Thief's ability. His black hole was also peculiar as a center of power, so it could endure the drawbacks fairly well, but he wanted to know exactly what he was doing.
It turned out that simply copying the technique wasn't enough to obtain satisfying effects, but that was almost expected considering Supreme Thief's level. Noah had to spend some time and tinker with the workshop to create a diagram capable of activating a spell practically identical to the expert's ability.
Noah could succeed in the task relatively easily since he could let the lines shape themselves while the light of Supreme Thief's ability shone on them. He used a foundation of greed, pride, hunger, and ambition to make sure that his version would have the same features without losing power.
The replica's power couldn't match Supreme Thief's technique completely, but Noah felt confident that everything would be fine once his potential activated. His priority was on confirming that his version worked flawlessly and expressed similar meanings, and he had achieved those results.
Supreme Thief didn't have only greed in his existence. Those features didn't end at his pride either. The expert expressed curiosity, carelessness, and other aspects that Noah didn't want, or, rather, he couldn't accept for fear of hurting his law.
The next step after confirming the power of his copy consisted in the creation of a filter made of dark matter. Noah had to make sure that nothing dangerous flowed toward his existence. That would make the ability part of its power, but he couldn't find better solutions.
It was even better to apply the filters after the ability melted rather than trying to removing them before the technique activated to avoid remnants and similar issues.
The creations of filters took longer than the last task, but the testing phase was at fault there. Creating the actual membrane of dark matter wasn't hard. The problem was confirming that it worked as intended without testing it by melting Supreme Thief's ability.
Noah had to create multiple versions of his copy and test them with the filter. Each different technique tried to imitate and highlight the features that he didn't want his existence to absorb, so everything took a while.
Night also had to patrol the membrane of dark matter inside his mind to make sure that the undesired features didn't reach the mental sea. The Pterodactyl's keen senses when it came to laws were perfect for the task, especially if the ambition empowered it. The creature would obviously suffer severe drawbacks, but it was willing to pay that price to help Noah.
Noah eventually started the procedure. The dark matter created a special environment inside his mental sphere before activating the copy of the ability. Supreme Thief's technique began to melt, and his ethereal figure even materialized at some point, but that didn't make Noah stop. He felt pretty sure that the old monster would have approved his methods.
Part of the melted understanding managed to seep past the filter while the rest remained above the dark matter, condensing and storing it in a different part of the mental sphere. It was a pity to throw away those aspects, especially since some seemed to suit his friends.
Noah felt a scorching sensation as understanding flowed inside his greed, pride, and hunger. The procedure didn't touch him as deeply as before, but the feeling was more intense now.
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It turned out to suit his hunger far more than he had initially expected. Supreme Thief had made his law seem like an independent force that escaped his control at times, but it was far more than that. Noah could only describe it as something as unreasonable as the magical beasts' instincts.
The absorption eventually began to slow down. The understanding inside Supreme Thief's technique appeared immense now that he was trying to seize it, but dividing the process into multiple phases would only make him lose part of it. The ambition activated, and new power spread throughout his mind, black hole, and Night.
The new state didn't make Noah's mind nearly as strong as when he used the ethereal blackness, but it met his requirements. Its consumption of potential wasn't even troublesome, so he felt confident in keeping those effects active for a long time.
The process went smoothly for a while, but a few issues eventually appeared. Supreme Thief was strong. His rank 9 cultivation level wasn't just for show, and the same went for his aspects. That single ability that he had given to Noah contained so much that he started to fear the arrival of changes.
The procedure had gone on for a while when that problem appeared. Noah could interrupt it and work on what he had absorbed. He had already replicated Supreme Thief's ability in the end. Creating something even better wouldn't be a problem even without his entire understanding.
The same went for his greed, pride, and hunger. They had deepened by a lot. Noah already felt stronger than ever. He could stop everything and settle for what he had gained.
However, Noah had played it safe before, and his current opponent was a mere shadow of a rank 9 expert who carried similar aspects. Stopping everything now would only declare how his existence wasn't ready for that level of power.
Noah wore a resolute expression while his eyes remained closed. His potential started to flow toward his greed, hunger, and pride to give them a chance against that mere shadow of Supreme Thief.
The arrival of the potential stopped the slight changes that Supreme Theif's aspects were trying to apply. His understanding continued to flow smoothly into Noah's mental sea, but it didn't manage to transform anything anymore.
Noah kept going for quite some time. His denser potential could keep him empowered for far longer than before. He almost struggled to realize how powerful he was getting with those procedures, but the battle against Supreme Thief's ability made sure to give him an idea.
A struggle that seemed to last centuries ended with the azure light vanishing from the insides of Noah's consciousness. He suddenly didn't find his target anymore, but his mind promptly made him aware of the outcome of the procedure. He had won. His aspects had absorbed Supreme Thief's understanding without changing.
The effects of the potential vanished as Noah relaxed. His back ended up on the floor as the assets affected by his ambition started to experience drawbacks.
His mental walls tried to tremble, but they appeared too stable to fell prey to that power. The same went for the dark world. The gales of dark matter in its insides became wild in some spots, but the other areas suppressed them.
Instead, Night cried in pain as its unique body began to change shades. The drawbacks almost seemed to push the Pterodactyl to a state when it couldn't keep its material form anymore.
Noah found himself unable to help Night because his mind grew confused after his pride, greed, and anger lost power and went limp. He could only store the Pterodactyl inside the black hole and let the organ handle it. He needed to rest right now, but a cold smile never left his face due to his recent success.
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Author's notes: I have a dinner tonight, and I can't attend it with my current schedule unless I publish less. There will be only 2 chapters for demonic sword and 1 for chaos today. I hope you understand my need for this partial break.