Chapter 31: Blink Step

A/N: This is an announcement for those who don't know that I have made a new ff, TBATE: CAERA. You can check my profile to find it.ARTHUR LEYWIN'S POV:For the past several weeks, nothing noteworthy happened, yet I was kept busy enough to not have time to visit my family. Disciplinary committee duties took up all of my remaining time not designated to school and training.The class I taught had a harder time than I expected when it came to "divergent training," which was what I decided to call it. The whole aspect of focusing mana into a single point proved to be difficult for all of the augmenters in the class while reabsorbing a conjured spell was an even more arduous task for the conjurers.So far, out of the augmenters, only a student named Benson managed to do anything remotely close to what I had in mind. As for the conjurers, only Kathyln succeeded in reabsorbing her spell and enhancing her body. Even then, she only succeeded in augmenting her hand. Feyrith was a close second as he was the only other student on the brink of success.My Deviant Magic Theory class had been moving along quite slowly as our professor explicitly explained that she would cover new material after we finished our mid-semester tests. Since a semester was sixteen weeks long and we'd only gone through four weeks of school, it'd take another four weeks until she'd start going over what I wanted to know.Meanwhile, at the request of the director, I've been keeping a close eye on Kathyln, Claire, Gawain, and Curtis due to the beast wills they had received from their respective bonds. I've been sparring with them regularly, pushing them to their limits, and although none of them had managed to defeat me yet, they'd taken to calling me the "DC Monster," a title that, unsurprisingly, was suggested by my ever-helpful roommate.My thoughts drifted to the progress each of them had been making in our sessions. Claire, with her sharp focus and determination, seemed to be on the brink of integrating her beast will. If she kept up her current pace, she could likely achieve it by the end of this weekend. Gawain and Kathyln, on the other hand, might need a bit more time. I estimated that they both would need another week or so before they could fully integrate with their beast will. With those thoughts in mind, I shifted my focus back to the present. The progress they were making was promising, but there was still work to be done.As I made my way through the academy grounds, I remembered the next item on my agenda for the day: a session in the private training room that the director had assigned to me.There were two entrances in the library building: one to the actual library, the other to a sort of waiting room for all of the training facilities. Opening the entrance to the waiting room, I walked slowly past some upperclassmen before arriving at the front desk. "Ah, here again for your training Mr. Leywin." The lady, named Chole had a very refined suit, reminding me of a concierge at some fancy hotel."Yes. And it seems that you are still reading a romance novel, huh?" I remarked with a smile, noticing the book she had tucked beside her.The woman, a refined figure in her tailored suit, looked up from her book and gave me a polite smile. "Guilty as charged, Mr. Leywin," she responded with a slight chuckle. "It's hard to resist a good romance, even during work hours especially being a librarian.""Ah, so that's the secret," I teased, leaning in slightly. "Is the lack of romance in your life the reason you're so engrossed in those novels?"Her cheeks flushed a light pink at my playful jab, but she didn't back down. With a mischievous smile, she responded, "Well, Mr. Leywin, if you're so concerned, perhaps you should consider becoming my romance partner. You know, to give me something a bit more... real to focus on."I blinked, momentarily caught off guard by her bold comeback. Sylvie, perched on my shoulder, gave a soft chirp as if amused by the exchange."Touché," I replied with a grin, raising my hands in a mock gesture of surrender. "But I think I'll stick to my training for now. Besides, I wouldn't want to distract you from your reading."She laughed lightly, her previous embarrassment fading away. "Fair enough, Mr. Leywin. But the offer's still on the table."I nodded, still smiling. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the room."As I turned to leave, I could still feel her eyes on me, a playful glint in them. The brief exchange had lightened my mood, and I found myself chuckling as I headed down the hall toward the training room.We reached the end of the hall where there was a large set of double doors without any handles. The doors of my training room were different from other training rooms.  "Kyu!" Sylvie jumped off my head and excitedly hopped in place in front of the double doors."Yeah, Yeah, I am opening it." Saying that, I placed my hands on the double doors. With a loud engine-like noise, the area where I placed my palm glowed as streams of light branched out. Eventually, the light dimmed and the door slid open to reveal the training room.I saw Sylvie dashing ahead into the vast training room, her tiny form almost disappearing in the large space. The room was a marvel of magical engineering—spacious, with high ceilings and reinforced walls designed to withstand even the most intense training sessions. The stone floors were etched with intricate runes that shimmered faintly, absorbing and dispersing mana to prevent any stray spells from causing damage."Kyu! Kyu!" Sylvie chirped excitedly, already exploring the room, her eyes glowing with curiosity.I stepped inside, the doors sliding shut behind me with a soft hum. The room was dimly lit, but with a thought, the embedded crystals on the walls brightened, illuminating the space with a warm, even light."Feels good to be back," I muttered to myself, rolling my shoulders to loosen up. This room had become my sanctuary of sorts—a place where I could train without interruptions or prying eyes.Sylvie was already in the middle of the room, hopping around and inspecting everything with her usual enthusiasm. I couldn't help but smile at her antics. She had a way of making even the most serious situations feel lighter.I walked to the center of the room, taking a deep breath as I began to gather my mana and unbinding the elemental seal on my wrist. Today, I planned to push myself further, testing the limits of my abilities. And my training partner was none other than 'Training Operator and Blast Inductor' or otherwise known as 'TOBI'. This machine was like a Robot, made with different kinds of runes embedded in its parts, like a computer program. Since I had no plans of holding back, other than refraining from using my second phase, I set the level of TOBI at 10.The crystal interface pulsed in response, and I could hear the faint whirring of gears and the crackling of mana as TOBI powered up.The machine sprang to life, its joints moving fluidly as it stepped forward from its charging station. Its eyes, glowing with an eerie blue light, locked onto me as it took its position on the other side of the training room. Sylvie, sensing the shift in atmosphere wanted to come, but I told her to keep playing where she was. Both TOBI and I engaged in an intense battle. I have only fought level 8 TOBI thus far, and even then I barely managed to win with all my elements at my disposal. The reason I used level 10 today was because I wanted to try something with my First Phase, [Static Void].I let reinforcement of my right hand to the core on my right shoulder only, respectively for both my left hand, right leg, and left leg. Secondly, I connected the core at my solar plexus, (which is already connected to shoulder cores) to the core above my upper pelvis region (which is already connected to the knee cores).Lastly, I used the core at my crown only to connect the core at Solar Plexus and used the mana from it to increase my Dexerity and Cognition ability. I also activated [Thunderclap Impulse] to increase my processing speed even further. TOBI swung its arm at me despite all the spells active, his attack seemed faster than level 8 TOBI. I activated [Static Void], as the colors were inverted. I didn't want to activate it for more than 1 second, so immediately I dashed forward using only internal mana appearing behind TOBI and swung my sword at him, at the same time I deactivated [Static Viod]. This all happened in less than a second. TOBI wasn't able to react because it didn't have any instinct like living things. My sword, usually more than capable of slicing through standard mana barriers, was stopped short by the intricate layering of mana plates that formed TOBI's shield. Each plate was connected, creating a flexible yet sturdy barrier that adapted to the force of my strike. It was a technique I had suggested to Gideon a few weeks ago, based on the idea of overlapping mana constructs for greater durability.Seeing it in action now, especially with the added complexity of multiple layers, was a testament to Gideon's ingenuity. The concept of layered mana shields wasn't entirely new, but the way TOBI had implemented it—adjusting and stacking the plates in real-time—was something else entirely. It was almost like trying to cut through a reinforced chainmail, each link distributing the force of the blow across the entire structure."Impressive," I muttered under my breath, a smirk tugging at the corner of my lips. "Looks like Gideon took the idea and ran with it."TOBI, despite its mechanical nature, seemed to react to my momentary pause, recalibrating its stance and preparing to counter. I could see the faint glow of mana pulsing through its joints, reinforcing its limbs for the next attack."Alright, TOBI," I said, adjusting my grip on my sword and taking a step back to reassess. "Let's see how those layers hold up under continuous pressure."I used the same technique with [Static Void] I used before, I knew I could not match level 10 TOBI's speed yet, so this was my only option. The battle lasted for more than half an hour before TOBI ran out of mana and with a loud beep, signaled the end. I sank onto the grassy field, the coolness of the ground providing a welcome contrast to the heat of the training. The exhaustion was palpable, but it was a satisfying kind of tiredness—the kind that came from pushing myself to the edge and achieving a hard-fought victory.Taking a deep breath, I released the residual mana that lingered around me, allowing the spell constructs and reinforcements to dissipate. The quiet of the training room, combined with the gentle rustling of the grass, was soothing."Kyu!?" 'How did you do that, Papa?' Sylvie bounced up to me, her tiny chirps filled with excitement, I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm.I explained to her what I did in simpler language, and decided to name this technique [Blink Step]. Sylvie chirped excitedly as I explained to her and she asked, 'Can I do it too, papa?' I smiled warmly at Sylvie's eagerness. "You should be able to do it too, Sylvie. This technique is derived from your mother's abilities. She was quite skilled with spatial magic."Sylvie's little snowy fur bristled with excitement. 'Wow! I can't wait to learn and be as amazing as her!'I chuckled, feeling a mix of pride and nostalgia. "You will be, Sylvie. With practice and dedication, maybe you will even surpass her." ~~