Noah wasn't concerned about the tests of his courses.
He was genuinely interested in the study of magical beasts so he had diligently memorized every lesson of that course, a simple written examination wasn't something that could worry him.
There was nothing to say about the real battle course, his strength was overwhelming among the students of his class and he had real experiences with battle formations, failing in that test was virtually impossible for him.
Regarding general cultivation, the test emphasized the progress of the students during their enrollment in the academy, Noah could pass that one just by revealing half of his mental energy.
"Are you ready to start?"
Ivor recovered from his amazement and became excited.
"Yes, being a rank 2 mage should allow me to forge something useful for my level. I just need to store enough "Breath" in my sea of consciousness to make it reach the same density of a cultivator in the liquid stage."
In the various books that Ivor gave him, there were hundreds of notes regarding the power of the product according to the "Breath" used to forge it.
Generally speaking, inscribed items had a rank that described their power.
They were rank 1 if they replicated the strength of a rank 1 cultivator, rank 2 if they did it for rank 2 cultivators, and so on.
They were then further divided in low, middle, and high tier, depending on which state of that rank they belonged to.
If Noah was to create an inscribed item with the liquid "Breath" of a rank 1 dantian, he would obtain a rank 1 product in the middle tier.
His sabers, the ones obtained in Eccentric Thunder's inheritance, had precisely that power.
"Why just liquid? You can surely push for a forging with solid "Breath"."
Noah snorted at Ivor's complain.
"I want to exercise in the method first. I'd rather take it slowly than risk my mental sphere because I attempted to create something that surpasses my ability."
According to the notes of the previous practitioners of the Elemental forging, a cultivator should always try to forge something less powerful than his dantian.
In Noah's case, that meant that he should stop at the liquid "Breath".
However, those notes never considered the case of a cultivator having his sea of consciousness stronger than his dantian.
'Since I am now a rank two mage, accumulating "Breath" that equals the solid stage of a rank 1 dantian should be doable, the problem lays on its actual power.'
Noah wanted to create something that increased his battle prowess, having an item on the same level of his weapons was useless.
'With the solid "Breath", I might be able to forge something useful but it will still only reflect my current level, which I don't really need. I have an idea that might actually give me a rank 2 weapon but I need more experience on the method to be sure of it.'
The products of the Elemental forging were the strongest among the various inscription methods.
If Noah really managed to create a rank 1 high tier weapon, he would have an inscribed item that neared the second rank of the dantian in power.
Nevertheless, he had already access to a similar power through his spells due to his recent breakthrough, that's why he wanted something stronger.
"You need a bigger house which should also have a reinforced room or basement. The unstable products of our method tend to explode."
Noah nodded at Ivor's words and pondered for a while with the academy token in his hand.
He was searching for facilities that met his requirements.
'There are rooms that I can rent but they are quite pricy. Money really isn't a problem but I'd rather not waste it if I can get what I need for free.'
He had more than one hundred thousand Credits left but he wanted to preserve them and accumulate a big sum in order to buy more spells or techniques.
After all, with just one visit at the inventory, he had spent almost all the profits he obtained in the Royal inheritance.
'It seems that I only have that choice left.'
Noah put away the token and approached the door in order to exit his lodging.
"Where are you going? I know that the alchemy division is quite experienced in explosions, they should have what you need."
Noah shook his head.
"There would be too many eyes on me. Maybe I can't prevent the news about my breakthrough from being disclosed but I'd rather keep my creations a secret."
"That is wise. So?"
Ivor approved his line of thought, it was always better to have some hidden card under your sleeve.
"Daniel, a guy that graduated once he became a rank 2 cultivator, joined the alchemy division which means that he had practiced in that field for a while."
Ivor didn't understand and opened his mouth to speak but Noah interrupted him.
"He had the best accommodation in the academy and, according to the information in the token, that house has a large underground basement completely reinforced with inscriptions. It should be the best environment where to practice."
"That's wonderful, right? What do you have to do to occupy that house?"
Noah sighed, lightly smiling at Ivor.
"I have to beat the current strongest student in the academy."
Ivor showed a surprised expression but then his brows furrowed and he drank from his usual jar.
"You are a rank 2 mage, aren't you the strongest student?"
"I should be, but I wanted to avoid becoming too famous. Well, I need the Credits and the reinforced room so I can only completely give up to my anonymity."
He was already known by the students as the one that broke Daniel's record but since he spent most of his time isolated in his accommodation, only those in his class remembered his facial features.
'I should first pass my tests though and I need the third Kesier rune from the inventory. Also, I need to test my new strength, I might kill the student in Daniel's lodging if I'm not able to control myself.'
He made up his mind and exited his house, his direction was toward the left side of the academy.