"Huh? Did I fall asleep?"
A warm ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating Noah's face. He stirred slightly, feeling the pleasant warmth, and instinctively stretched, opening his eyes. The sun had already risen above the horizon, and a new day had begun.
He stretched lazily and, glancing to the side, noticed Gwen sleeping peacefully beside him, her face serene. He blinked a few times and then looked at their surroundings, realizing that some strange changes had occurred. The grassy field around them, where they had settled down to sleep, remained the same, but within a kilometer radius, the grass had grown to a height of several meters, although just yesterday its height barely reached thirty to forty centimeters.
Noah rose into the air and flew around the area, discovering that only this specific area had undergone such changes, after which he returned.
"What's going on?" he wondered.
Yesterday, he and Gwen had somehow fallen asleep right here, and upon waking up, they discovered these strange changes in nature. However, it seemed vaguely familiar, as if he had seen something similar before. Noah opened his palm, and a green rune glowed in his hand.
"Was this your doing, Rune of Resolve?"
Summoning the rune, he immediately felt his connection to it strengthen significantly. He felt that he was now only one step away from complete control over this powerful force.
Unexpectedly, yesterday's peaceful contemplation of the starry sky had plunged him into a state similar to enlightenment, and this led to a deepening of his connection with the Rune of Resolve. This was quite unusual, and previously he couldn't even imagine that something like this could happen to him.
The unexpected decision to show Gwen the beauty of China had brought him such an unexpected bonus.
Feeling his body significantly stronger after the night, Noah clenched his hand into a fist, enjoying the sensation of power pulsing in his muscles. The Rune of Resolve, integrated even more deeply within him, significantly enhanced his physical capabilities. And the grass that had risen around them was the result of a small portion of the rune's magical energy spilling out.
Moreover, he noticed that Gwen, sleeping next to him, had also received some of the rune's energy. Her body had become much stronger. He leaned over and gently pinched her cheek.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Gwen asked, pushing his hand away slightly and rubbing her eyes.
"Huh? Where are we?" she asked, still a little sleepy. Several blades of grass were stuck in her blue hair, and, remembering last night, she stretched.
"Why did we fall asleep here, Noah?" she asked, yawning, then stood up and stretched again. Even in loose clothing, her figure looked quite impressive, attracting Noah's gaze.
"Something unexpected happened yesterday, but it's for the best. Gwen, feel your body. Do you feel any changes?" Noah asked, looking up at her face.
"Changes? Hmm... Ha!" Gwen raised her hand, and the sleeve of her clothing slipped down, revealing her snow-white wrist. She examined her palms, and then, thinking, clenched her fist and struck the ground.
Boom!
Her small but strong fist possessed incredible power: the ground beneath it cracked. Gwen brushed the dust off her hand, and the skin on her knuckles reddened slightly.
"Wow, I've become stronger!" Gwen exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Noah, you did this, right?" she asked excitedly.
Noah, looking at her happy face, looked at the green rune in his hand and said, "You could say that. It's related to what happened last night."
He explained that their sleep wasn't accidental. It wasn't an ordinary state – if any threat had arisen, his magical senses would certainly have awakened them. But yesterday everything was calm; even the small insects living in the grass were driven away by his magic, leaving a circle around them where the grass hadn't changed.
"Yes! Great! Now Gwen can better protect this world together with Noah and Lissandra!" Gwen said. Noah often talked about the future of the world, sharing his thoughts, and she remembered everything. Although he always added that he would handle all the crises he mentioned himself, and she didn't need to participate in those battles.
She understood that Noah was worried about her because of her weakness. After all, he had mentioned enemies like a titan capable of destroying half the universe, demons controlling dimensions, and opponents the size of planets. She didn't know who these beings were, but one thing was clear: they were incredibly powerful.
But despite this, Gwen wanted to help him. After all, for her, Noah and Lissandra were the only ones who had become her true family in this world. Now that her strength had increased, she felt joy, because it meant that perhaps she could support them. She knew how strong they were.
"Um... Noah, can we sleep here more often in the future?" Gwen suddenly asked shyly.
"Uh..." Noah raised an eyebrow slightly, catching the double meaning in her words, but understanding her thoughts, he withdrew the Rune of Resolve back into his body and said,
"Gwen, when we get home, I'll teach you a method for absorbing magical energy. That way, you can constantly grow stronger without even leaving the house," he offered.
Since he had studied Kamar-Taj magic, he had acquired a lot of useful knowledge. As a result, he improved his technique, based on Yasuo's practice methods, and significantly increased the efficiency of magical energy absorption.
Now he decided to teach Gwen this technique when they returned. He had previously noticed how she gradually immersed herself in domestic life and became a recluse, and decided not to interfere with her lifestyle. She seemed to enjoy it.
However, since she wanted to increase her strength, he didn't object. Moreover, he started thinking about creating her own "PROJECT" style battle armor. After all, her magical power hadn't yet reached a high level. Therefore, the armor could provide her with a significant boost.
Besides, Noah had another idea. Now that he had almost completely mastered the Rune of Resolve, he could achieve a lot. He planned to transform their mansion into a place saturated with magical energy, turning it into an ideal training ground where even sleeping and breathing would contribute to their strength growth.
"Yes, yes!" Gwen nodded happily, looking around and only now noticing how tall the grass around them had grown.
Noah prepared to return home, but before that, he had one more thing to do. He raised his hand, and green life energy began to shimmer in the thickets of grass that had grown thanks to the power of the rune. Its source was the insects that had absorbed the rune's energy and grown significantly in size. Now, deprived of this power, their bodies withered and crumbled into dust.
"Done," he said, gathering all the life energy into a single glowing sphere. He didn't want it to spread beyond the field, as it could disrupt the ecosystem and even harm people.
He carefully compressed the sphere, and the green energy was absorbed into his body. Then Noah opened a portal and asked Gwen to follow him back home.
As for the two-meter-tall grass thickets left after their stay, he decided not to worry about it. He checked and made sure that no dangerous mutations had occurred, so nothing bad would happen. Most likely, this area would attract attention and serve as excellent material for nature documentaries.
Besides, as far as Noah remembered, a branch of the Spear of Shojin was located somewhere nearby. He didn't know much about them, but he remembered Lissandra collecting information about this organization. Noah decided to visit them sometime to learn more about their activities. In the meantime, let them puzzle over what happened here.