Novel Full Chapter 1640: Breaking Barriers: The Final Trial (9)
Chapter 1640: Breaking Barriers: The Final Trial (9)
“…Seeing as he’s comprehended one of the skills he chose within a day, then it should come as no surprise that the two other skills would only take him two more days at most to comprehend.”
“Of course, if one were to consider one’s breadth of knowledge and experience widening after the first comprehension, then it would be accurate to say that the young man would only take less than two days to tackle the two remaining skills.”
“Then again, even though I say that…”
“How in the ever-loving fuck did he comprehend the two other skills to the same level in just one goddamn day?!”
Sensing his anger get the better of him as he voiced out his thoughts, Aeramis immediately paused his current train of thought, spending a bit of time to gather his thoughts and bearings before letting out a long exhale.
Then, after briefly shifting his gaze elsewhere, the man returned his attention back to the young man, whose random gestures easily called forth the total force of a roaring storm.
Bang!
Letting the aftereffects of Ataraxia’s [Eye of the Storm] subside, the man took in a deep breath as he briefly thought about what the former had done ever since returning from his break.
Considering that he was looking at the young man’s movements from an outsider’s perspective, it could be said that what Ataraxia had done so far after his return didn’t really amount to much.
To Aeramis, it looked as if the young man had gone silent at first, his expression causing him to think that the latter was pondering over the various concepts and properties he had comprehended within the barrier.
In fact, with Ataraxia tackling the two other skills after that period of silence, the man felt that it was the most likely precursor to the next sequence of events, causing him to pay even greater attention to the young man’s next move.
Yet, after witnessing how fast the young man had comprehended both [Fleeting Light] and [Eye of the Storm], Aeramis could not help but doubt himself for a bit.
After all, the level of comprehension speed Ataraxia showed him was only possible if one had incredibly sturdy foundations, as well as a wide base of knowledge one could use to speed up the interpretation process.
Although he thought that the young man’s comprehension back when he learned [Art of Greater Momentum] in one day was already astounding, the fact that the same person had comprehended two skills of a similar difficulty in that same amount of time… purely left him at a loss for words.
“…He’s definitely an anomaly,” muttered Aeramis to himself with a slight shake of his head, inwardly deciding not to think about the young man’s talent any further.
“A freakishly talented anomaly at that.”
“…Whew.”
While Aeramis had changed his frame of mind to accommodate Ataraxia’s monstrous talent once more, the young man in question made his way out of the barrier, letting out a sigh of relief as the effects of [Eye of the Storm] still lingered in his mind.
’Though it takes a while to get going, once the conditions needed to use the skill are fulfilled, [Eye of the Storm] has the potential to be more destructive than [Orb of Apyrhan] even in one-on-one combat.’
Briefly thinking about the changes he could make to the skill to improve both its efficiency and lethality, Ataraxia soon found himself standing in front of Aeramis, who looked back at him with a calm expression.
“I suppose you’re finally going to compare your comprehension against the pedestals?” asked the latter, to which the young man faintly nodded in response.
“I did say I’d do it after I returned from my break,” replied Ataraxia, a faint smile tugging on his lips. “Speaking of which, do I have to register the skills I learned with the system for the trial or could I just tackle it as is?”
“Although registering the skills you comprehended would normally be a good choice, the fifth trial merely tests your current level of comprehension against the concepts and properties that I’ve infused into the pedestals,” said Aeramis in response, giving his explanation a bit of thought.
“In short, whether or not you register the skills you’ve learned does not change the overall outcome of your test against the pedestals.”
“I see.” Ataraxia faintly nodded in understanding, only for another question related to the trial to pop up in his mind.
“Now that I think about it, how do I compare my comprehension against the pedestals?”
“If it’s one of the concepts, all you have to do is direct some of the energy from your comprehended concept towards the pedestal,” Aeramis explained, prompting the young man to note down the man’s words in his mind.
“As for the pedestals that contain the skills, you would have to circulate the skill you’ve comprehended first before sending a strand of energy towards the pedestal containing the concept of your comprehended skill.”
“Once the pedestal has confirmed that the skill you’ve infused is related to the skill it contains, you would then be asked to showcase the skill you’ve learned in its entirety, with the pedestal recording all of it for assessment.”
“Any other questions?”
Ataraxia shook his head in response. “I think you’ve answered all my questions for now.”
Spending a bit more time talking about a few other things regarding the fifth trial of the inheritance, the young man eventually entered the barrier once more, immediately feeling time speed up around him as Aeramis outside the barrier began to move at a slower rate.
Briefly glancing at the man as he sorted out the thoughts in his head, Ataraxia soon shifted his attention towards the nine pedestals, only to then recall the five he had chosen to focus on for the trial.
“I could either go with the skills first… or go with the concepts first,” murmured the young man to himself, faintly wondering whether there was a specific order to the trial that allowed him to be more certain of reaching the trial’s limit.
Seeing that he was just wasting his time by pondering over theoretical what-ifs, the young man eventually decided to trust his gut on his choices, proceeding towards the pedestal containing the first concept he had comprehended from the trial.
Whoosh!
Arriving in front of the pedestal that contained the Force of Raging Tempests, Ataraxia took in a deep breath as he tried his best to compose both his thoughts and emotions.
Then, after closing his eyes for a bit to improve his mental state even further, the young man eventually opened his eye once more, gazing at the pedestal as he tapped into one of the connections he had nurtured over the past year.
“[Intent of Raging Tempests].”