VOL 2 Chapter 53: Mystical Transcendence.
At the same time, the imposing column of light that pierced the sky dimmed slightly, revealing within it the silhouette of a majestic staff that floated, defying gravity, at the center of the column. This immediately drew the attention of all the participants, including the 3 young ladies, which made Erik smile.
While all the participants were distracted, in an instant, Erik metamorphosed into an entity of pure energy with Kaiser's help, becoming a sort of human-shaped lightning bolt that held by the neck an imposing two-meter-tall wolf. And, before anyone could realize it, he hurled himself toward the column of light at a speed that defied all perception, leaving an electrical trail in his wake.
Just before Erik struck the column of light at a blinding speed, the Myst began to swirl around him, then condensed, forming a kind of impenetrable barrier that surrounded him like a halo of invisible force. Moments later, he collided head-on with the column right at its center.
With the help of the help of the Myst defense he had created, Erik penetrated the column of light, almost as if he were a divine arrow. At that moment, he took hold of the staff and continued his flight at such an incredible speed that, in a matter of mere instants, he disappeared from sight, leaving everyone present in shock and without any chance to react.
A moment later, all the participants slowly began to rationalize what had just happened, left speechless. Some stared, stunned, at the column of light that was slowly fading with a huge hole in its center, while others turned to look at where Erik had stood just a moment ago. Only to find three beautiful women who looked around with the same expression of stupefaction as the others. Meanwhile, the wolves and the dragon that had accompanied that cunning bastard were nowhere to be seen.
Likewise, some of the participants began to pick up their weapons and organize teams, casting looks filled with ill intent at the three young ladies who accompanied the cunning bastard, causing bitter smiles to appear on the women's faces. At the same time, they looked at each other wordlessly, but after nodding to each other, they quickly took up their weapons and two magic circles appeared in the air. The magic circles created a great explosion and a brilliant flash that blinded everyone's senses.
"Quick, chase them!! They are the key to recovering the staff!!!"
With the cry of a female voice, a horde of participants flung themselves into the air to pursue the three young ladies, who fled with all their might. Even in that situation, the trio did not forget to turn and throw venomous glares at the sensual blue-haired woman who had spoken, who merely smiled with confidence and coquettishness.
…
In the meeting room of the space station, all the Master-level individuals present looked at Sigrún and Eleonora with disbelief written on their faces, evidently having trouble believing what they had seen and felt. Meanwhile, the pair of sworn sisters sipped tea calmly and refinedly, as if nothing special were happening, with Seraphina serving different pastries for them with a serene and professional smile on her face.
The surprise was even more evident in Jessica, who knew perfectly well how incredibly challenging elementalization was for someone without affinities, to the point that it was practically impossible to achieve. She herself was the only known person in history to have accomplished it. What's more, when she first met the boy, despite possessing impressive power for his young age, he was not even capable of achieving elemental synchronization, the first and most basic step toward elementalization.
That was precisely what convinced her to join the Arcane Order: seeing someone who, using only his ingenuity and monstrous talent, could overcome his disadvantage of being born without affinities by taking a completely different path than hers, putting himself on equal footing with any "genius". It filled her with incredible expectations for the future because if Erik's amazing creativity and talent were combined with her own and her vast experience as a mage without affinities, what they could achieve together would be staggering.
But what she had just seen went beyond anything she could have imagined. She truly struggled to understand how Erik had accomplished something like that. Moreover, the arrogant, self-satisfied smile that Sigrún directed at her only seemed to indicate that this was the advancement Erik had reached thanks to the advice they mentioned earlier, which left her even more confused.
The great Master-level without affinities, Jessica Roa, the one who was born with nothing but obtained everything, was completely incapable of understanding how a couple of pieces of advice she gave the star-haired boy the day she met him could produce such a result in such a short time. Not only had he assimilated them in an unexpected way, but he had also taken them beyond anything she could have ever imagined.
"Not only does he master communion with the Myst, but now he even controls Mystical Transcendence. What kind of monster are you two raising?" Thalia asked, absolutely astounded, as she looked at Eleonora and Sigrún, who continued to behave calmly, as if nothing were happening.
"You're exaggerating, Thalia, it's just a little trick that my FIRST DISCIPLE managed to master after a few pointers, nothing more, just something natural for someone I personally chose." Sigrún commented in a vain, self-satisfied voice as she set her cup down on the table.
"Yes, Thalia, Erik is naturally curious, so upon meeting Master Jessica he had several ideas he couldn't help but start putting into practice. Don't make such a fuss or our disciple might become arrogant." Eleonora added elegantly, causing the others present in the room, including the director, to frown in annoyance. It was truly frustrating to see these two troublemakers calmly boasting.
"Could you both stop bragging and instead tell us how Erik is able to master 2 Master-level techniques at only 30 years old?" An astonished Adrian asked, dropping his usual polite and elegant mannerisms, which made the duo of Master-levels and the maid smile.
"It's not much, it's just that our Erik has an innate ease in mastering Mana and Myst, to the point that mana control and Myst harmony techniques aren't a challenge for him. But due to his lack of affinities, he had trouble mastering elemental synchronization. That changed when he met Jessica, as he got several ideas and now has partial mastery of the technique, allowing him temporary access to mystical transcendence." Sigrún explained with the grace befitting a Master-level of her status. Even so, the others present couldn't help but roll their eyes at her behavior.
"Don't tell me the boy already masters all the Master-level techniques?" Ryoma asked, full of surprise, while at the same time glancing sideways at his beloved granddaughter fleeing from the pursuit.
"Actually, no. We haven't wanted to talk too much about the Master-level techniques so he can master the others perfectly and build a solid foundation. Additionally, we wanted to give free rein to his great creativity to see what things he could create from what he already knew. The problem is that our disciple is very curious and ends up discovering them on his own, as was the case with communion with the Myst, which he discovered by himself even before meeting us."
Eleonora responded calmly to the question while sipping her tea with a somewhat resigned expression, as if it were truly something problematic and difficult to solve. But the small smile escaping at the corner of her lips showed what she really felt, only making the Master-levels present even angrier.
"This is impossible. I've never heard of anyone like him…" Ryoma murmured to himself, stupefied, sinking deeply into his thoughts, but he returned to reality quickly when the director spoke in a firm tone full of authority.
"Erik is a genius unparalleled in the galaxy and an asset of utmost importance to the Order, so I hope those present will maintain discretion and that this will not leave this place."
"We understand, Director. This will not leave these walls." Adrian answered on behalf of everyone present, who nodded in agreement. But suddenly Jessica asked aloud.
"Won't the information leak anyway, given how many participants saw Erik elementalize?"
"Not really. Although what Erik did can be interpreted as elementalization, it's something only a Master-level can confirm without error. No one will believe that a 30-year-old young man could do something like that on his own, so they will likely think it was the product of some magical artifact. Furthermore, our lack of action on the matter will only confirm their suspicions. If we act hastily, we would only generate curiosity in others, and that would be worse."
The director replied with a smile, then looked at Erik on the holographic screen as he wandered flying over the continent on the head of a majestic black dragon, examining the staff in his hands with a curious expression.
"The director is right. I apologize for my discourtesy." Jessica said sincerely, but she was stopped by the director, who raised a hand and commented in a relaxed manner.
"You don't have to apologize for something like that. Now you are one of us, so it's good that you ask that kind of question. Besides, it only shows that you truly feel part of our Order now."
"Thank you very much, Director." Jessica thanked him and bowed her head, and the director nodded with a smile.
…
"Hehehe, you really left them with nothing to do back there." While flying at absurd speed, Ebonique commented in a cheerful, proud tone, to which Erik nodded casually without taking his eyes off the staff in his hands.
"Well, I measured the timing well. The power of the column was weakening enough, so at the moment it reached the minimum necessary, I attacked. Though it's lucky that no one else noticed that concentrated Myst could partially interrupt its functioning, or things might have gotten complicated."
"You're too modest, Erik. None of those present have as deep a connection with the Myst as you do, so they can't perceive what you perceive or manipulate it the way you do. Not to mention that none would have been able to catch you. Elementalization is quite challenging for humans." Ebonique replied with evident pride, causing Erik to shake his head before commenting seriously.
"It's not that I'm modest, it's that the galaxy is too big, and although I have a good connection with the Myst, I have no elemental affinities. So, imagine if there were someone with perfect synergy affinities and a connection to the Myst similar to mine? I would have nothing to do against them, even if that person were weaker than me, they would still easily defeat me.
"Besides, although I can achieve elementalization, it's extremely inefficient, and I basically have to focus all my mana capacity to maintain it. I can only do it for a few minutes before my mana circulatory system becomes strained and damaged, so it's useless for anything other than running very fast; thus we must be very careful."
"Well, you're right about that. It's better to be cautious."
Ebonique commented in a calm tone, feeling that it was indeed better for Erik to remain cautious and vigilant. But at the same time, she couldn't help adding silently to herself with absolute certainty.
(But don't worry about someone matching your connection with the Myst. It's practically impossible for anyone to even equal you. You are the Myst's baby, practically its heart.)