Chapter 275: Adel Sylvain D’Aubermont [1]

Chapter 274

───────────

Episode 72 - Adel Sylvain D’Aubermont [1]

─────────────────────────────────

Four days later.

I rose from the ground, stopping my absorption of the Mana around me.

The next day, after the side effects of the Eyes of the End disappeared, I resumed training. However, this time, I decided to focus on increasing my Mana.

The reason was simple.

"Reaching Seven Stars will take some time."

How much time are we talking about...?

"It could take you six to seven months, disciple."

Sitting down as she drank some juice, my master answered after hearing my words. At that moment, she was in her human form.

I got up from the ground, stretched, and then turned toward her.

"How do you know it could take me six or seven months to reach Seven Stars?"

At my question, she answered as though the answer were completely obvious.

"First, your body absorbs Mana on its own without you having to do anything. On top of that, when you consciously focus on absorbing it, that speed increases by at least three times."

"Normally, an average Awakened would need nearly three years to reach Seven Stars. However, after observing you for several months, I’m certain you’ll only need around half a year."

"Besides, reaching Seven Stars isn’t particularly difficult. The real problem is the amount of Mana required to reach the Peak Stage within Six Stars."

I tilted my head slightly before asking:

"Ah, right. How much of a difference is there in Mana?"

"Reaching the Peak Stage is equivalent to having the Mana of fifty Five-Star Awakened."

"......"

"Well, that’s... impressive."

Thinking about how much Mana my heart would contain after reaching Seven Stars, I couldn’t help but be amazed.

If my heart were to explode, the amount of Mana released would be enough to blow up thirty percent of the Sacred Continent.

That was just how massive the Mana explosion caused by a Seven-Star Awakened could be.

Of course, the stronger you become, the more Mana you consume.

Becoming stronger doesn’t mean your Mana is infinite. On the contrary, although your Mana reserves increase considerably with each breakthrough, your attacks also consume increasingly larger amounts.

That was why I had been able to defeat the three Cardinals by exhausting their Mana.

Each of their attacks consumed an enormous amount of Mana. If I managed to dodge them, all that Mana was simply wasted.

That’s why I used Gravity.

It didn’t require Mana, but Willpower.

"By the way, master, when will I train the Fourth Form of Inverted Heaven?"

At my question, my master simply replied:

"We can start next week. Honestly, it’s impressive that you’ve mastered the Third Form so quickly."

Just as she said, I had already completely mastered the Third Form of Inverted Heaven.

Finally, it was time to begin the Fourth Form.

’After that, only the Fifth and Sixth Forms will remain.’

The Sword Art, Inverted Heaven, was honestly quite powerful.

It possessed concepts such as Space, Time, and Sword Intent, as well as the manipulation of Inverted Mana.

Each of those characteristics would be impossible to replicate without proper guidance.

Using the power of Time or Space in every attack required an extremely complex mind.

I couldn’t simply use the power of Space or Time because I wanted to.

There were multiple processes I had to perform and mentally process before I could manifest them physically.

It was extremely complex. Without a proper explanation of how each concept worked, using Inverted Heaven would have been practically impossible.

With that thought in mind, a System Window appeared before me.

——————————

Sword Art: Inverted Heaven. (3/6)

First Form: Space. (Mastery: Max)

Second Form: Time. (Mastery: Max)

Third Form: Intent. (Mastery: Max)

Fourth Form: Inverted Chaos. (Locked)

Fifth Form: Eclipse. (Locked)

Sixth Form: Inverted Heaven. (Locked)

——————————

’Mhm...’

I rubbed my chin as I slowly read through the System Window.

After a few seconds, I dismissed the System Window and sighed.

’For some reason, I feel like this Sword Art is incomplete.’

It was as if it were missing more Forms or...

Then, a strange thought came to mind.

’What if this Sword Art were actually a single Form of another Sword Art?’

The thought sounded ridiculous.

Inverted Heaven was probably the most powerful Sword Art a mortal like a human could use.

However, what if this Sword Art were actually a Form belonging to an even more powerful Sword Art?

A Sword Art capable of killing even a God.

’It’s not like it’s impossible. For some reason, there’s a saying that nothing in life is impossible.’

With that thought in mind, I decided to ask my master.

"Master, this question might sound rude, but... Is Inverted Heaven really complete, or is it actually a Form of an even more powerful Sword Art?"

The moment I asked the question, her eyes locked onto me.

She tilted her head slightly, clearly confused.

"No, Inverted Heaven isn’t a Form of a more powerful Sword Art, and it isn’t incomplete either."

"I see."

However, my thoughts were different.

I had no proof.

It was simply a hunch.

I definitely felt like Inverted Heaven was incomplete. However, I was becoming more and more convinced that Inverted Heaven might be a Form of a more powerful Sword Art.

"......"

After thinking about it for several minutes, I finally let out a sigh.

Whether my theory was true or not, I first had to completely master Inverted Heaven.

’At this rate, I might be able to master it before the first-year cadets graduate.’

That would be in about two years.

’Now that I think about it, the first day of the Academic Exchange starts tomorrow, doesn’t it?’

The Quest Window should also appear tomorrow, announcing the beginning of Chapter Four.

In any case, I still had some free time, so after finishing my training, I decided to go out for a walk.

Naturally, I changed my clothes and put on a mask before leaving.

The reason was simple.

On the Preserver Islands, everyone knew me as the Prophet.

I hadn’t gone to any of the other islands, so nobody probably knew I was here.

In any case, as soon as I left, I used a Teleportation Circle to travel to the Central Island.

That was where the Church of the Preserver was located.

Behind the Church was a small city.

Thanks to Magic and Magical Engineering, building a fairly large city took less than a month.

In fact, every structure on the Five Islands had been built in just two months.

Quite some time had passed since construction was completed, and, of course, all of the investment had come out of my own pocket.

I had so much money that I didn’t even know what to spend it on.

In any case, as soon as I appeared on the Central Island, I concealed my presence as much as possible.

Whenever I appeared in public, I was treated like some kind of celebrity surrounded by hundreds of people, and that definitely wasn’t to my liking.

So I simply wandered aimlessly through the streets of the small city.

It was approximately the same size as the city within the Holy Academy.

There was a little bit of everything wherever I went and in every shop I entered.

Ting! Ting!

Holding a chocolate coffee, I left the café and headed toward a lake located at the edge of the island.

The lake formed a waterfall that plunged hundreds of meters down to sea level.

Right beside the waterfall was a pavilion where people could enjoy an excellent view.

’Not that I can enjoy the view, of course.’

I walked toward the pavilion.

However, when I saw it in the distance, I stopped dead in my tracks.

"....."

I was greatly surprised when I recognized the person inside the pavilion.

’How did she find this place?’

I knew that ever since I saved her in Black City, she would do everything in her power to discover my identity and understand the purpose behind the words I had told her.

I had promised her that I would be the person who would always keep her safe whenever her life was in danger.

Even so, finding her here was still a pleasant surprise.

Therefore, I used Spatial Movement and teleported directly toward her.

***

Clana was enjoying the incredible view before her.

There was a wide variety of dishes spread across the table.

Each one was different from the last.

’This place has so many different dishes that I’ve never even heard of before.’

Some even had strange and difficult-to-pronounce names.

"Oh, um, this one tastes really good. I’d give it a 9.8/10... It’s called, huh... K..kim...chi Jjigae or something."

Very few people knew this, but Clana had a hobby of trying different kinds of food she had never eaten before.

Whenever she discovered a new dish, she gave it a score based on its ingredients, flavors, and other characteristics.

And so far, every dish she had tried since arriving on the Preserver Islands had received at least a 9/10. Some had even earned a perfect 10/10.

Clana’s scores were no joke.

To her, most foods had bland or unpleasant flavors.

Furthermore, every meal she ate had to be prepared according to a specific procedure.

Everything was calculated.

However, ever since she arrived on the Preserver Islands, every meal had been completely different.

It was as if they had gathered every possible dish from different cities, cultures, races, and countless other places.

And while she was evaluating the next dishes...

"Looks like you’re having a good time, Princess Clana."

".....?!"

Clana jumped out of her seat.

She turned her head and looked at the person who had spoken to her.

"Y-you... The Prophet."

He was the person she had been investigating for the past few days.

And now, he had suddenly appeared behind her while she was evaluating the different dishes.

———————

Author’s Note.

I plan to change the names of each form of the Inverted Heaven Sword Art.

I want each name to be more elaborate, original, and slightly longer—for instance, when referring to each stance of Adel’s martial art.

However, the change will be for Part Two (Volume 2)