When I woke the next morning, the sun was just peeking over the horizon.
I felt different. Better, even. It took me a moment to figure out why—then I felt it. My mana had returned to normal. No longer split, no longer channeling either affinity.
I couldn't maintain that balanced state while asleep. Not yet, anyway. It'll be a while before I can do it subconsciously. For now, I gathered all my mana into a single ball and split it into two again. I channeled both affinities, and that cold, heavy feeling returned.
I was about to get up and get dressed when a thought hit me. Did I still need to keep my space mana in an orb?
I stopped maintaining the orb, and the space mana flowed throughout my body—just like before. It wrapped around the gravity orb but didn't mix with it.
"Okay... one less thing to focus on. Let's try this," I muttered.
I willed the gravity orb to split—and it worked. No splitting headache, no collapsing concentration. But when I tried to stop the two gravity orbs from merging back together so I could push them against each other... everything crashed again.
"So I just can't do three things at once, huh?"
Still, it was progress. One step closer to being able to cast the skill while channeling both affinities.
I got up, got dressed, and headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I'd already bathed last night.
The sinks were carved from grey marble, jutting from the wall like smooth, shallow bowls. Above each one floated a small orb of water, unmoving.
I stared at it for a second.
I didn't have a toothbrush, so I tried willing the water to clean my teeth. Nothing happened.
Then I switched tactics.
'Can you clean my teeth?' I asked in my head.
The orb responded. A smaller sphere of water broke off and floated toward my mouth.
"This is way too weird. I need a damn toothbrush..."
After that strange little ordeal, I headed to the dining room for breakfast. The food was laid out... but the room was empty.
I guess they eat before sunrise
Once I finished eating, I made my way toward the training grounds.
As I passed through the stone archways, I spotted the princess standing in the center—not staring at the sky like usual. This time, her gaze was on the ground. On the boots Joe had turned to ash with his skill.
Surprisingly, her first words weren't about the boot.
"Start," she said.
"You're not going to ask about the boot?"
"I saw what happened last night," she replied.
So either she'd been nearby… or she could see through the entire castle.
Probably both.
"How high is your Perception stat?" I asked.
"Two hundred eighty."
"...Goddamn."
"And how does Perception actually work?" I continued.
"It boosts your senses. All of them. But that's not what lets me see the whole castle. When your Will becomes high enough, you'll be able to spread your mana outside your body. The affinity you channel will affect how you perceive through it. For me, I sense everything light touches—it creates a 3D image in my mind. My mana can spread far beyond the castle. That's how I saw your friend use his skill. When your Perception gets high enough, you'll be able to sense other beings' mana too—unless they're shielding it. I will teach you that as well. So your attacks can't be predicted."
"Everything light touches? So... every speck of dirt? Even particles in the air? Wouldn't Rayleigh scattering screw that all up?"
"Rayleigh... what?" she asked, visibly confused.
"Never mind. How accurate is the image? Aren't you overwhelmed by all the input?"
"My Will lets me focus only on what I want, when I want. The image is perfect—just no color."
I frowned. "Why are you even answering my questions? I thought you hated me."
"I do," she said flatly. "Which is unnatural for me. Probably because of your Title. But I've been assigned to train you, and I'll do it to the best of my ability. If you're going to be on the battlefield with me, you should know some of my abilities."
Huh. Fair enough.
"Might as well take advantage while I can," I muttered.
"How did you get through the gaps in my dome? The ones from my skill. Did you turn into light?"
"Yes."
I blinked. "...Then you're broken. How do you even struggle to kill things if you can literally move at light speed?"
"It's not that simple. A lot of things can interfere with light."
"Sure, but how many can react to light speed? You should be speed-blitzing everything."
"My Perception isn't high enough to react at those speeds."
Oh.
"Then how do you move around like that?"
She sighed, clearly annoyed. "Last question I'm answering today."
She raised a hand. "I extend my mana outward in a straight line. I stop it at the point I want to travel to. Then I convert into light and travel across that line. It's controlled."
"Now stop asking questions and continue."
I returned to training, trying to cast the skill again. And again. I kept failing—but my mind raced with questions and possibilities.
She said the way you perceive through mana depends on your affinity. If that's true, then theoretically, I could have the best senses in the world. I'm one of only two known beings with Space affinity.
But what about the Rift? There could be more. Hidden. Waiting.
And how would Gravity mana let me perceive the world? What about channeling both Space and Gravity at the same time?
Would I be... omniscient?
When the hell am I going to get to fight some monsters? I need to level up already.
I continued to fail. Again. And again.
Over and over, my mana collapsed. I kept trying anyway—until suddenly... it worked.
So suddenly, in fact, that I didn't even react.
A soft ding echoed in my head. The system notification snapped me out of my trance. I opened my status window and saw it:
[Will +1 → 10]
[Intelligence +1 → 13]
[Maximum MP increased → 36]
I blinked.
Ten Will. That was the requirement. I'd done it.
"What are you waiting for?" the princess asked, her voice sharp. "Cast your skill."
I nodded, took a breath, and pushed the two orbs together.
The moment they touched, I willed the skill to activate—and pain rippled through my body. Not sharp, not searing… but pressure. Heavy, crushing pressure that made my bones creak.
I was sitting on the floor. Slowly, trembling slightly, I stood up.
One second. Two. Three...
The pressure intensified for a moment before fading away.
Five seconds.
The skill ended.
"Good," the princess said coolly. "You achieved that faster than I thought you would. Now we can move on."
I sighed in relief—but her next words slammed into me like a brick.
"You will do this every day. All day. Nonstop. Cast the skill until your mana runs out. When it regenerates, you'll cast it again."
She wasn't done.
"And you'll be doing physical training at the same time."
I know where this is going.
"Cast your skill again, and run."