Asher moved his gaze towards the fourth scripture, realizing he needed to fully comprehend the fourth one before going further.
"First Step: Mir," Asher muttered without really knowing why he did so.
[ Novice Mastery → 1.9 % ]
His novice mastery was increasing at high speed, far greater than what he had achieved in the last 7 months.
'Right leg like this,' Asher was adjusting his stance.
The red stone bridge was big enough for Asher to move around freely.
He advanced forward, but unlike the normal First Step, this new one was far more complex, as it required a specific way of mana usage and the correct timing.
Any slightest mistakes would make Asher lose his balance and most likely fall or crash into the walls like before.
Asher started from the basics as he performed the swift strike, which was perfect. There were no mistakes, but he also did the basic First Step.
His body could be seen moving from one spot to another, and for low-rank hunters, it would seem as if Asher was teleporting. But in reality, it was short bursts of mana in a highly controlled manner that allowed him to gain such effects.
Only those with heightened senses could notice his movements, but even then, they would have difficulty targeting him.
'This is lacking,' he thought, knowing there was more room for improvement.
'What is it,' Asher kept looking for it in the scriptures to find precisely what he was missing.
[ Novice Mastery → 2.67 % ]
[ Novice Mastery → 4.57 % ]
At this moment, the fog around the fifth scripture also started fading, but instead of movement art, it was sword-related.
"How does this even work?" Asher could not fully understand what the scriptures were about.
At one moment, the sword attacked, and the next moment, it was used as a defense. There was no flow present in whatever Asher was seeing right now. His crimson red eyes were trying to slowly look at all that was present in the fifth scripture, which was still covered with fog.
Only a specific part was revealed, but Asher's time was running out. At first, Asher had thought about using his Time Dilation skill to maximize the effect, but after actually using it, he knew that the skill was not something his body could handle right now.
The effects were still present in his body, and he could feel the weakening effect until now. And he still remembered the feeling of his existence being crushed by the skill, which he did not want to use right now.
Asher was correct but wrong at the same time. Even if he had used Time Dilation, it would not have helped him significantly. Although by instinct, Asher had avoided looking past the first scriptures, even if he comprehended them in a state where his intelligence was being supported by external factors, the moment the temporary effect was gone, he would have paid the price.
The system would have told Asher if he had forced himself to learn it, but his instincts helped him this time.
Gaining mastery in his sword art meant that even his basic movements would have become quite complex and mentally draining. The higher his mastery went, the higher the intelligence he would have needed to perform this.
In comparison, his sword art was now similar to how the space element worked. Those who tried to use it would pay the price of slowly burdening their brain and dying early.
Asher had experienced hours in his subconsciousness, and he had managed to finally learn 'Mir.'
[ Host has gained 'Mir' ]
Mir was the First Step, and after countless tries, Asher could finally understand the structure of this unique movement art. However, First Step now seemed like only a part of another bigger movement art.
Although he was still far from mastering Mir, he had finally taken the First Step toward learning this special movement art.
"A Mirage, then what are those?" Asher looked at the first three scriptures again.
But a strange thing happened as Asher turned to look at them.
[ Novice Mastery → 10% ]
[ Novice Mastery → 12% ]
[ Novice Mastery → 19% ]
Right now, he could feel that he had misinterpreted the meaning of those attacks. He felt that he had gained a new understanding of the attacks, but they were similar yet different from the one he glimpsed in the fifth scripture.
In the outside world, 6 gems on the crown had already faded, and the last one was also fading. In 3 more seconds, the last one faded too.
Asher turned as he saw the bridge crumbling and the fifth and fourth scriptures starting to get covered with fog.
"Is it time?" Asher could feel that he could still comprehend more, but he felt that his current self was not ready to take it in.
It was strange, but without help, Asher had only learned more than his current intelligence could handle. Although he still could not gain the particular skills or sword techniques in the fifth scripture, it was something he would acquire soon.
Asher opened his eyes and looked at the series of notifications he had received from the system.
[ Host has gained Novice Mastery in your sword art ]
[ Current Mastery Rate is at 21% ]
[ Movement Art, First Step will evolve to Mir Steps ]
[ It is a sub-skill of the Rank SSS Node Art, so it cannot be enhanced with skill points ]
Asher knew already, as everything about his sword art was something even the unknown system could not handle.
"Let's try it," Asher stood up, but his balance was slightly off.
His mind was still adjusting to the sudden leap in intelligence he had experienced. Asher picked up his sword and tried the previous swift strike, but he attempted to perform it with his new movement art.
"Swift Strike," He could already see the flaw in the swift strike due to him gaining another sword attack.
Asher's right foot moved, and he appeared 5 meters forward from his location. He could see his movement and control was better. A smirk appeared on his face as Asher looked behind him.
Before arriving at this spot, Asher had already performed the swift strike midway through. Right now, controlling the path was not something Asher could do simultaneously, but he would be able to do it soon.
Finally getting the result he wanted, Asher left the training room as he was mentally drained and needed to sleep.
But before going to bed, he messaged Alyssa to prepare to leave the World Academy tomorrow morning.
******************
"Did Helena find out somehow?" Farnus was still thinking about how Asher had found out about one of his secrets.
His best guess was Helena Raven, Asher's maternal grandmother, and the SS Rank Hunter, famous for her bloodline ability, which could read the memories of others.
But it still didn't make sense to Farnus as to why Asher would know about this. If Helena had this information, she would have used it differently to pressure Farnus.
*Knock* *Knock*
"Come in," Farnus said as Arman entered his office.
"What's with your sudden visit, Professor Arman?" Farnus asked, raising his eyebrows and maintaining his calm look.
"In the faculty council meeting, we decided to invite some people to the World Academy for a special lecture of sorts, so many professors wanted to invite people through your connections," Arman replied politely.
There were many changes, but many of them required the Principal's permission before they could go forward with it.
"Hoh, I can arrange for a joint class at the Mage Association, hmm," A sudden thought came to Farnus's mind.
"Why don't I invite Helena Raven to help you with a special lecture on Black Element?" Farnus said, but Arman became suddenly nervous.
"But a person like her would never agree!" He tried to maintain his calm.
"Why not? Her grandchildren are here as well, and I am sure she would like to meet them too," Farnus said, and Arman could only nod at him.
"I will invite her myself," Farnus said.
He wanted to see how Helena would behave in front of him if she also knew about the secret. But, of course, Farnus would take a different approach if that was the case. He could not believe Asher based on his words alone, but if even Helena didn't know about it, it meant that Asher's source was different.
"Then I will leave," Arman said as he left the office.
Farnus looked at the documents in front of him.
"So, who is the mastermind behind it all..." He started guessing some names, but until he confirmed who they were, he could not move.
"Less than four years left. It will end quickly, Asher Greville," the old man laughed slightly.
It was when Asher would graduate from the World Academy, and Farnus would be released from his restrictions that didn't allow him to harm the students while they were studying at the World Academy.
"It's a bit sad that such a talent made the worst mistake of his life," Farnus put on a sad face.
****************
The next day, Alyssa was waiting in the lobby for Asher.
She had come down a bit earlier than planned, and as usual, she was sitting in her wheelchair with her disguise on.
Asher came down after a few minutes and saw Alyssa, who was waiting for him.
They both went to the exchange portal and took the one that led to the Outer Area of the World Academy.
In a few minutes, they reached the special area used for teleporting people out of the World Academy.
Security was tight, and after having their identities checked, Alyssa and Asher arrived inside the facility containing the teleportation gate that would lead them to Soran.
"Your stay outside is limited to a maximum of one week," the staff member told Asher as they stepped into the teleportation gate.
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