Chapter 11
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Episode 2 - Inverted Heaven [5]
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After class, I went back to my dorm room and headed straight to the training room.
Once inside, I heard Alice's voice.
〖Have you ever heard of my sword art?〗
Alice Von Everblack's sword art.
As the creator of this game's story, I knew the name perfectly and how strange and unique Alice's sword art was.
"She is known for her inverted mana manipulation, but it is unknown how she performs in action."
Alice's voice sounded arrogant when she said:
〖That's obvious. Everyone who sees my sword art dies, except for allies, of course.〗
With a slight sigh, she continued:
〖First, I must warn you that managing inverted mana is extremely dangerous, and I can affirm that I am the only one who can use it.〗
For magicians, inverted mana is known as Mana Reflux: instead of moving forward, the mana suddenly moves backward.
This causes internal injuries so severe that there are only three possible outcomes.
First, you will no longer be able to use magic.
Second, you die without the chance to do anything.
Third, if a high-level healer or a supreme-quality elixir intervenes, they can heal the wounds caused by the Mana Reflux.
Those are the three cases of mana reflux or inverted mana.
'Alice is, ultimately, the only character who can use inverted mana as if it were normal.'
But I wasn't too worried, and there was a particular reason why.
'I'm a player. I can obtain traits or sword arts on the first try, or simply by reading a book.'
As a player, I have the privilege of learning everything on the first try. I don't need to spend months or years training to obtain a trait.
"Well, I know that, but I don't think I'm going to die."
〖You said your own blood has almost no effect on you, didn't you?〗
"Yes."
〖Then, what gives you the confidence to do it?〗
I fell silent for a moment. To be honest, I could probably die.
However, if I learn the sword art at the right moment, I can control my inverted mana before I die or become incapacitated.
"Just trust me and I'll prove it to you."
Alice sighed and then said:
〖Okay. First, you must learn how my sword art, Inverted Heaven, is divided.〗
This time, I concentrated on her words without interrupting her.
〖Inverted Heaven is divided into six forms: the first form is Space; the second form is Time; the third form is Intention; the fourth form is Inverted Chaos; the fifth form is Eclipse; and the sixth form is Inverted Heaven.〗
Upon hearing his words, the names of the six forms left me quite perplexed.
Although the last form has the same name as the sword art, it makes sense.
After all, Alice's sword art is about cutting what cannot be cut.
For example, the first form can cut through space.
'I still don't know exactly how it's used in combat, but the names alone are quite attention-grabbing. Besides, they're confusing without any explanation beforehand.'
Putting my thoughts aside, I asked Alice:
"How do I start?"
〖Channel your mana into the sword, but with the intention of sending it backward.〗
"..."
"What does that mean?"
To be honest, I didn't fully understand it. When you channel mana into the sword, it flows forward, as you'd expect.
Besides, if you think about using mana backward...
In theory, it's impossible to channel mana into objects like a sword because it would go in the opposite direction.
〖It's simple. First, push your mana back, then push it forward without letting it go back. Think of the fish that swim against the current: they move forward while the water flows in the opposite direction.〗
I think I understand it more or less.
'I suppose it depends on the imagination.'
I closed my eyes and breathed slowly. After a few seconds, I exhaled and began to push the mana back.
"...!"
"Cough...!!! Cough…!!!
Blood spurted from my mouth in less than three seconds.
〖Don't stop; remember that you have a strong will.〗
'It's not easy at all.'
I clenched my teeth as blood began to pour out of every orifice and pore of my body.
The mana was flowing in the opposite direction; the more I pushed it back, the more I felt my veins exploding one by one.
〖Now push forward while it goes backward.〗
Following Alice's words, I pushed the mana forward even as it flowed in the opposite direction.
I immediately felt that the veins in my body were no longer bursting; however, the blood was still flowing with no signs of stopping.
"Cough...!!!"
Large gushes of blood spurted from my mouth, but I still managed to keep the flow of mana from reversing while pushing it forward.
Soon, the mana reached the sword. The sword began to absorb the reverse mana. Then, I opened my eyes.
The world around me was completely black; not even the white lines were present this time.
Still, I raised the sword and swung it in a straight line.
First form: Space.
I felt as if I were cutting something that wasn't physical, but I clearly perceived that I was cutting something, and then...
Boom!!!
White lines soon appeared in my vision, tracing the training room, and at the same time...
About two meters away,
a large crack was slowly closing in midair.
'Did I cut through space...!?'
And that wasn't all. I extended my senses beyond the training room.
I perceived the outside world; I "saw" cadets walking and entering the building.
However, I continued to extend my senses even further. Three kilometers away, a tree was split in half, and right behind it was a fissure identical to the one before me.
"Ha... no, this is too ridiculous."
〖What do you mean by ridiculous? I'm the one who feels ridiculous seeing that you mastered the first form of Inverted Heaven on your first try without dying.〗
"What are you talking about? I think... I'm losing... consciousness..."
As my mind raced, I heard a notification in my head.
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You have mastered the art of the
First Form: Space. (Mastery: Apprentice)
Second Form: Time. (Locked)
Third Form: Intention. (Locked)
Fourth Form: Inverted Chaos. (Locked)
Fifth Form: Eclipse. (Locked)
Sixth Form: Inverted Heaven. (Locked)
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***
When I opened my eyes, it was morning, around five.
I was lying on the floor of the training room.
〖You woke up faster than I expected. When I first used the first form, I passed out for a week, but you did it in less than twelve hours.〗
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry about having missed an entire week of classes or about not being able to move.
Although I could hardly move, if I didn't have the Immunity to Pain trait, I would probably be in pain and passing out constantly.
'I probably woke up so fast because I don't feel pain.'
Although I didn't feel pain when I started moving my mana, the sensation of my veins exploding...
It's still too strange and scary an experience to recall calmly.
〖Well, you succeeded on your first try, and it seems your body is recovering quite quickly.〗
Although my own blood doesn't heal me much, it's still my blood inside my body.
Besides, Adel's physique is extraordinary; he has a high recovery rate.
It's probably as high as that of the King of Immorality, one of the Five Swords.
By the way, Alice's nickname back then was "Eternal Night."
The Five Swords had nicknames that they themselves considered quite embarrassing.
"Eternal Night, he."
〖Hey, don't you dare say that damn nickname.〗
"..."
"Sure."
Two hours later, my body had recovered enough for me to move around.
After another hour of bathing, getting dressed, and barely managing to cook, I left my room and went to room B-1.
When I arrived, there were very few people there.
Among them were Lumina and Rinna, as well as Princess Clana and some people I didn't recognize.
Probably extras from the game.
In any case, when I entered, naturally, everyone's eyes, except Lumina's, turned toward me.
As I was climbing the stairs and heading to my seat...
"..."
I felt a strong gaze on my back.
When I looked back, I didn't see anyone watching me.
'My senses aren't deceiving me.'
I turned my head forward, and just then, I felt a gaze on my back again.
Without turning around, I focused my senses and "looked" back, sensing that someone was staring at me.
'Lumina... why are you looking at me?'
I didn't have to wait long to discover that it was her. Anyway, I ignored her and sat down in my seat.
'Twenty minutes until the professor arrives.'
Aside from that, I thought about what was to come.
'The first chapter is already near.'
One could say that the first week at Holy Academy is the prologue.
The first chapter begins in the second week.
Chapter One is divided into three parts, or arcs.
Two of them take place within the Holy Academy, and one takes place outside.
'The first chapter begins next week. By then, I must master the first form of Inverted Heaven and reach the Expert Mastery.'
The stages of mastery for traits and martial arts are as follows:
Apprentice, Intermediate, Expert, Master, Perfection, and Maximum.
There are six categories in total, and bringing the first form to the Expert mastery won't be too difficult.
The complicated part begins at Mastery, and advancing from Perfection to Maximum is an extremely difficult task.
'Mhm… Considering Adel's talent, I'll probably reach Perfection Mastery or even the Maximum mastery in a month and move on to the second form.'
As he sighed, the classroom soon filled with the rest of the cadets, and the professor finally arrived.
"Very well, everyone. Today will be a duel class."
Finally came the class where Lumina would prove that she is the strongest in the first year, and even as strong as the top five in the second year.