Chapter 11
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Episode 2 - Inverted Heaven [5]
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After classes, I returned to my room in the dormitories and headed straight to the training room.
Once inside, Alice's voice reached my ears.
〖Have you ever heard of my sword art?〗
Alice Von Everblack's sword art.
As the creator of this game's story, I knew perfectly well the name of Alice's sword art and just how strange and unique it was.
"It's known for the use of inverted mana, but no one knows what it looks like in action."
Alice's voice sounded arrogant as she said:
〖That's obvious. Everyone who witnessed my sword art died, except for my allies, of course〗
With a slight sigh, she continued:
〖First, I have to warn you that controlling inverted mana is something extremely dangerous, and I can confidently say that I'm the only one capable of using it〗
For mages, inverted mana is known as Mana Reflux: instead of flowing forward, mana suddenly flows backward.
This causes internal injuries so severe that there are only three possible outcomes.
First, you will never be able to use magic again.
Second, you die without having the chance to do anything.
And third, if a high-ranking healer or a supreme-grade elixir intervenes, the injuries caused by Mana Reflux can be healed.
Those are the three possible cases of mana reflux, or inverted mana.
'Alice is, without a doubt, the only character capable of using inverted mana as if it were completely normal.'
But I wasn't that worried, and there was one reason in particular.
'I'm a player. I can obtain traits or sword arts on the very first attempt, 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'll die."
〖You said your own blood has almost no effect on yourself, didn't you?〗
"Yes."
〖Then what gives you the confidence to pull it off?〗
I remained silent for a moment. Truthfully, I could probably die.
However, if I obtain the sword art at the right moment, I can control my inverted mana before dying or becoming crippled.
"Just trust me, and I'll prove it to you."
Alice let out a sigh before saying:
〖Fine. Then first, you need to understand how my sword art, called Inverted Heaven, is divided〗
This time, I focused on her words without interrupting her.
〖Inverted Heaven is divided into six forms: the First Form, Space; the Second Form, Time; the Third Form, Intent; the Fourth Form, Inverse Chaos; the Fifth Form, Eclipse; and the Sixth Form, Inverted Heaven〗
Upon hearing her words, the names of the six forms left me quite perplexed.
Although the last form has the same name as the sword art itself, it's understandable.
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 incredibly attention-grabbing. Besides, they're confusing without any prior explanation.'
Putting my thoughts aside, I asked Alice:
"How do I begin?"
〖Channel your mana into the sword, but with the intention of sending it backward〗
"..."
"What does that even mean?"
Honestly, I didn't fully understand it. When channeling mana into a sword, for obvious reasons, it flows forward.
And besides, if you think about using mana backward…
In theory, it's impossible to channel mana into objects like a sword that way, since it would move in the opposite direction.
〖It's simple. First make your mana flow backward, then push it forward without letting it go back again. Think of fish swimming against the current: they move forward while the water flows in the opposite direction〗
I think I understood it more or less.
'I guess it depends on imagination.'
I closed my eyes and breathed slowly. After a few seconds, I let the air out and began forcing the mana backward.
"..."
"Cough…!!! Cough…!!!"
Blood came out of my mouth in less than three seconds.
〖Don't stop, remember that you have a strong will〗
'This isn't easy at all.'
I clenched my teeth as blood began pouring from every opening and even from the pores of my body.
The mana was flowing in the opposite direction; the farther I pushed it backward, the more it felt as though the veins in my body were exploding one by one.
〖Now push it forward while it continues flowing backward〗
Following Alice's words, I pushed the mana forward while it still flowed in the opposite direction.
Soon, I felt the veins in my body stop bursting; however, the blood still continued pouring out without any sign of stopping.
"Cough…!!!"
Large mouthfuls of blood poured from my mouth, but even so, I desperately held on, refusing to stop the backward flow of mana while forcing it forward.
Soon, the mana reached the sword. The sword began absorbing the reversed mana. Then, I opened my eyes.
The world around me was completely black; this time, even the white lines were nowhere to be seen.
Even so, I raised the sword and swung it in a straight line.
First Form: Space.
I felt as though I had cut something that wasn't physical, yet I could clearly sense that I had cut something, and then—
Boom!
Soon, white lines appeared within my vision, outlining the training hall, and at the same time…
About two meters away,
a large crack in space 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 kept extending my senses even farther. A tree, around three kilometers away, had been split in half, and right behind it was a crack identical to the one in front of me.
"Ha… no, this is way too ridiculous."
〖What do you mean ridiculous? I'm the one who feels ridiculous after seeing you achieve the first form of the Inverted Heaven on your first try without dying〗
"What are you talking about… I think I'm losing consciousness… ha."
As my mind spun, I heard a notification inside my head.
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You have learned the sword art
First Form: Space. (Mastery: Apprentice)
Second Form: Time. (Locked)
Third Form: Intent. (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 already morning, around five o'clock.
I was lying on the floor of the training room.
〖You woke up faster than I expected. When I used the first form for the first time, I passed out for an entire week, but you did it in less than twelve hours〗
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry over almost losing an entire week of classes or over not being able to feel my body.
Even though I could barely move, if I didn't have the Immunity to Pain trait, I would probably be suffering to the point of passing out repeatedly.
'I probably woke up so quickly because I can't feel pain.'
Although I didn't feel pain when I started moving my mana, the sensation of the veins throughout my entire body exploding…
It is still far too strange and horrifying an experience to recall calmly.
〖Well, you succeeded on your first try, and it seems your body is recovering quite quickly〗
Even though my own blood barely heals me at all, it is still my blood flowing inside my body.
Besides, Adel's physique is extraordinary; he has an incredibly high recovery rate.
Probably almost as high as the King of Immorality, one of the Five Swords.
By the way, Alice's title back then was "Eternal Night."
The Five Swords had nicknames that they themselves considered quite embarrassing.
"Eternal Night, huh."
〖Hey, don't even think about saying that damn nickname〗
"..."
"Sure."
Two hours later, my body had recovered enough for me to move.
And after another hour spent bathing, getting dressed, and barely managing to cook, I left my room and headed to classroom B-1.
When I arrived, there were unexpectedly very few people there.
Among them were Lumina and Rinna; Princess Clana as well, along with a few 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 climbed the stairs and headed to my seat…
"..."
I felt an intense gaze on my back.
When I looked behind me, I didn't see anyone watching me.
'Clearly, my senses aren't deceiving me.'
I turned my head forward again, and right after that, I once more felt a gaze on my back.
Without turning around, I focused my senses and "looked" behind me, noticing that someone was staring at me intensely.
'Lumina… why is she looking at me?'
It didn't take long for me to realize it was her. In any case, I ignored her and sat down in my seat.
'Twenty minutes left before the professor arrives.'
Aside from that, I thought about what was coming next.
'The first chapter is already close.'
At the moment, the first week at the Holy Academy could be considered the prologue.
And chapter one begins during the second week.
Chapter one is divided into three parts; more precisely, into three arcs.
Two of them take place inside the Holy Academy, and one outside of it.
'Next week, chapter one begins. By then, I need to raise the mastery of the first form of Inverted Heaven to Expert.'
The mastery stages of traits and martial arts are the following:
Apprentice, Intermediate, Expert, Master, Perfection, and Peak.
Six categories in total, and bringing the first form to Expert won't be that difficult.
The complicated part begins at Master, and going from Perfection to Peak is an extremely difficult task.
'Mhm… considering Adel's talent, I'll probably take a month to reach Perfection Mastery or maybe even the Peak level and begin learning the second form.'
As I sighed, the classroom soon filled with the rest of the cadets, and the professor finally arrived.
"Alright, everyone. Today will be a dueling class."
At last, the class where Lumina would prove that she was the strongest first-year student, and even as strong as the top five second-years.