Noah's silent moans continued for hours on end. Sophia spent most of that time holding his hand, waiting for the pain he felt to subside. But after a few hours, she eventually fell asleep with her head resting beside his, still gently clutching his hand.
A little over two hours after Sophia had fallen asleep...
'Phew...! It's finally stopped... Huh? What is this... Ah, I think I get it...'
Once the pain that wracked Noah's body subsided, he felt something warm and comforting envelop his hand. After a moment's reflection, he quickly realized what it was.
'...Apparently, she fell asleep while watching me, because these locks I'm seeing are definitely hers. So, what am I going to do now? I can't speak, nor can I move, so obviously I can't leave this room... He said I should use this time to stabilize my cultivation, right? Well, let's see...'
Noah slowly closed his eyes, feeling a slight discomfort as he did so, though this pain was not as intense as the others; he managed to close his eyes with ease. With them shut, Noah began to meditate, and after a few minutes, he started slowly absorbing Qi into his body. Yet, fearing that his injuries might disrupt his meditation—causing him to lose concentration—he decided to absorb the Qi in small, cautious amounts so that if he lost control, the risk of further injury would be minimized.
But then a doubt crept into his mind:
'How exactly do I 'stabilize my cultivation,' anyway...?'
Time passed, and the more Qi Noah absorbed, the more he felt a growing, internal pain. However, he couldn't pinpoint the source of this discomfort since he wasn't moving, and it didn't seem to be related to his wounds. Not knowing where it came from or what was causing it, Noah continued to absorb the Qi around him, hoping that the pain would eventually lessen.
'...Damn, this is clearly not working...!'
An hour and a half had passed since Noah first began feeling that strange, intensifying pain deep within him—and contrary to what he'd imagined, it didn't subside. The pain grew with time until it was no longer a mere nuisance, but something on par with—or perhaps even worse than—his existing injuries.
And the worst part was not even the pain itself; what troubled Noah most was that when the pain intensified to match his wounds, he, for some reason, couldn't stop the Qi absorption. On the contrary, the amount of Qi being absorbed appeared to be constantly increasing.
[Warning!]
[A breach in the limitations has been detected.]
[Large quantities of Qi are rapidly entering the body of host Noah Evil!]
[Initiating the assistance process for Qi regulation!]
[10...]
[9...]
[...2...]
[1...]
[The assistance process for Qi regulation has been initiated!]
'Ah, you finally showed up, you miserable syst-!'
With little else to do, Noah concentrated solely on controlling the Qi that continued to be absorbed by his body, all the while trying to ignore the incessant pain that only grew worse, all while keeping that first chant in mind.
Since he wasn't actively drawing in Qi by his own will, he had no control over the energy until it had already entered his body; without that mastery, he couldn't channel it directly into his Dantian. And that created another problem.
The volume of Qi was so immense that, once again, Noah experienced excruciating pain from the excessive influx of energy into his system. As that unbearable agony returned, the silent moans he'd previously managed to stifle came back—only now they were so intense they were no longer silent, echoing outside the room.
Two guards were stationed outside the door of the room where Sophia and Noah were. While on duty, they clearly heard the moans coming from inside. After a few minutes, one of them joked:
— (laughs) I wonder what those two are up to in there?
The other, keeping a serious demeanor, retorted:
— Better keep those ears of yours shut before someone shows up and we all get in trouble because of your nerve.
He then thought to himself, 'That doesn't even sound like a normal moan... never mind, better focus.'
"Seriously, you're such a spoilsport... so damn annoying," the first one mocked.
After that exchange, both resumed their posts—one on each side of the door—trying to concentrate despite the strange moans that continued to reverberate.
[AMOUNT OF QI ABSORBED BY NOAH EVIL EXCEEDS THE MAXIMUM CONTROLLABLE LEVEL!]
[THIS ACTION MAY CAUSE IMMENSE PAIN!]
'Huh? Wow, seriously...? If you hadn't warned me, I wouldn't have... damn it!'
The flow of Qi and the intensity of the pain Noah had to endure kept increasing relentlessly. It hurt so much that he nearly passed out, even as he did his utmost to control the Qi invading his body— not even the chant seemed to help much.
After another half hour of enduring that torment, Noah, unable to speak yet unable to contain himself, shouted:
— Aaaaaaaaahhhh!
Unlike before, his cry came out with a strange clarity; and shortly afterward, he fainted.
"..."
[Congratulations, Noah Evil, on initiating the formation of your Golden Core!]