Chapter 7 : A Hug

Chapter 7: A Hug

Inside Arcane Veil, Anira was holding Conrad's hand from behind as if they were one entity standing in eternal darkness for ages. Conrad's eyes were shining, seeing some progress.

So this is Brahman. Really, there is nothing better than a good—no, an excellent teacher.

Conrad felt a sense of happiness inside him. This was the first time he felt this much joy after coming to this dangerous world. There was a sense of excitement and achievement he felt deep within his heart. Then he noticed something that made him a little uncomfortable.

Clearing his throat, he said, "Ahem, Anira, you can let go of my hands now."

"Yes, my lord." She waited an additional few seconds before letting his hands go.

Inside the space that was darker than night and larger than eternity, Conrad and Anira were the only two beings standing there in pure silence.

"Anira, this space, how do you like it?"

"Huh? I don't understand, my lord."

"I mean to say, do you like this place?"

"Do you like this place, my lord?"

"That is unfair. I asked first."

"I don't have any likes or dislikes. Now it's your turn, my lord."

Conrad gave her an odd look and replied: "Honestly, this place is a little lonely. I can't live here forever, or I will go crazy just from the emptiness. Also, there is only mist everywhere. Nothing interesting to look at."

"I can try to summon something, my lord, if you wish."

"Oh, you can do that also? Please summon something!" Conrad's eyes grew bigger in excitement.

Two empty thrones appeared in the middle of the place, surrounded by dense mist. A long crimson carpet lay before those thrones, extending to infinity. Along both sides of the carpet were six chairs.

What is this? It looks like a throne room. Is it from the past? Is there a king for this place? Wait, Anira said it was a gift from me. Am I the king of this place?

Conrad's thoughts were racing when he heard:

"This is based on one of my past experiences while traveling throughout the world. I saw this place in a little boy's house."

Little boy? Conrad thought to himself.

"Who was that?" Conrad asked with anticipation.

"He was a courageous little kid who always cried. He was one of the few who could see me. I don't remember exactly, but I think his name was..." Anira paused for a moment, then opened her pale crimson lips.

"Alexander Gustavo."

Conrad's eyes widened. Sweat formed on his forehead as if he had heard something forbidden.

Fuck! Who are you?

Conrad didn't hide his surprised and horrified looks from Anira. Frankly, he couldn't hide them—that would be the better way to say it.

Alexander Gustavo was the most powerful man in the Fifth epoch, known as the Age of Conquerors. He single-handedly unified eight dynasties at that time. The Northern and Southern continents combined made up most of the world's landmass, and it was ruled by just one person: Alexander. He never lost a fight in his entire life. It is said he died not in battle but due to an unknown illness. He died at least 6,000 years ago. Wait, Anira called him a little kid. How old is she?

"Ani...ra?"

"Yes, my lord?"

"How old are you?"

"My lord, it's not proper to ask a lady her age, right?"

Conrad was stunned to hear this. He never thought a girl like her would say such things.

A smile appeared on her face. "I learned this statement from an old lady."

"Old lady?" Knowing her, it will be some ancient being.

"Yes, my lord. She couldn't see me, but she could hear me. She told me I would meet my end when the vision of destiny came to me."

"Vision? You mentioned that before. What is that?"

"It primarily happened to people from the space and time domain who have the mind domain as their second domain."

Why do you always talk in cryptic language? I don't get any of it. But that's okay for now. I'll keep that in the back of my mind.

"Anira, erase this throne room. Let's focus on training."

"Yes, my lord."

Mist that was swelling around like a living entity shook and boiled as they engulfed the thrones and six chairs. To an outsider it looked like all the objects were dragged into the abyss by some entity that shouldn't be seen by anyone. World's most taboos were hidden inside those darkness only separated by a dense mist. 

"My lord, Brahman is fixed inside our body as it is the very thing that maintains our existence. But we lose consciousness if we constantly use it; each activity involving Brahman expends some of it. Generally speaking, how much Brahman we have at any given moment is fixed, but it can grow or shrink depending upon age and current physical condition. Some people in this world do have a huge quantity of Brahman, but it's not by a large margin. Essentially, it's the efficiency in how we use Brahman that matters most. We can, in theory, use all our Brahman at once doing a simple task, but that would not be very efficient."

She continued, "My lord, you must remember this one rule: Brahman efficiency increases as scale decreases."

Mathematically speaking, it's an inverse proportional relation,Conrad made a mental note.

"Yes, I understand that's also written in the book, but my question is: Anira, what should I practice next?"

"Next, you should calculate how much Brahman you have."

"How?"

"There is no definitive answer as we know it changes depending upon the situation. Usually, people test this for a year or so and average out their total usage, but if you permit, I can use a faster method."

"Faster method? Yes, let's use that. We don't have a year to just figure out how much Brahman I have."

Anira hesitated for a brief moment. Then she vanished instantly to appear right before Conrad. Conrad was surprised for a brief moment when he felt something touching him.

What the...

His back felt slender gloved hands on it. His skin felt a little warm inside the captivation of two arms. A head was resting close to his heart, hearing a growing thumping sound. Anira was hugging him with her eyes closed. Conrad's hands were hesitant but then started to move toward the beautifully exposed back of the lady who embodied the darkness around her. The mist danced around them like children holding hands and playing a game of encirclement.

In an instant, Conrad's mind went numb as if he had lost control over his thoughts. The Brahman that was around him disappeared. He was gasping for air, but after a few seconds of struggle, Conrad—no, Anira—opened her eyes, holding her body in her arms.

Ability: Entity possession

"Mist Sword," Anira's voice, spoken through Conrad's mouth, was a deep male voice filled with dignity. Blue eyes were sharp enough to pierce through the sky. Holding her own body, she extended her hands outward.

Anira in Conrad's body looked like a mage who had a profound understanding of the world and dignity of a nobel Prince. 

A dense mist started to shake. It was pulled upward towards her hands. A sword as dark as a starless night materialized, its hilt crimson as blood. A silver chain made of mist hung from the sword's hilt. It was a katana of the most refined quality.

Ability: Mist Sword Yoru (artifact level - unknown)

Just as the sword touched her hands, Anira swung it to cut the surrounding mist in a downward cross motion. Then she pushed the sword to her side. It floated in the air as if following her elegance.

She walked slowly toward the infinite distance inside the eternally quiet Arcane Veil.

At 2:00 AM, Conrad woke up suddenly, finding himself in a place surrounded by darkness. His mind was disoriented as if he had experienced a long nightmare but couldn't recall it. His gaze shifted around with lingering fear in his eyes. A pair of deep crimson eyes looked at him with a solemn, worried face.

"Are... you alright, my lord?" Anira asked worriedly.

"What happened?"

"I used one of my abilities that can possess living beings."

Holy fuck. You've got to be kidding me. No, this is extremely dangerous. How would one fight it? I didn't get any chance to react at all. I can't let my guard down for a second.

Remember Conrad: 'In a fight between Essentarii, never let your guard down.'

Conrad made a mental note.

"Okay..."

"Are you feeling alright, my lord?" Anira repeated the question.

"I am fine. No worries. I may not look like it, but I am stronger than other men around me" Conrad said, raising his arm to show his biceps.

"So did you figure out the total quantity?" Conrad asked calmly.

"Yes, my lord. It's 198 BU," Anira replied.

"That doesn't sound so high. I was hoping maybe at least over 9000 or something."

Conrad mused. Then he asked seriously, "Anira, what's your total amount?"

"It's 200 BU, my lord."

Holy cow! That much. Wait, I am also close. Right. What is the average in this world?

"Anira, what is the least and most you have encountered till now?"

"My lord, I haven't encountered many entities in my travels as most of them couldn't even see me, but I did face some who were extremely powerful."

She continued, "Regardless, it's almost impossible to guess anyone's total BU if it's not recorded or explicitly stated by the person themselves. I did use entity possession ability on two people to gain some insight on them as a favor for helping me in the past"

"One of them was Alexander?"

"Yes, my lord. He was just starting out on his journey back then. He made a bet with me that if I could guess his total amount correctly. He wrote a contract stating that if I lost the bet, I would have to go on a date with him or something like that, and if he lost, he would give me his most prized item."

"Let me guess—you won."

"I lost, my lord."

"..." Conrad was left speechless for a moment.

Alexander really was amazing. To win against Anira in anything is a miracle.

"My lord, after some careful thought, I would suggest not taking all of these concepts at once, rather focus on one step at a time."

Anira is right. I was just thinking of defeating an Oddity when I'm not even a trained Essentia. I was just overestimating myself. I'm not some protagonist that has a cheat ability and can master the unnatural fundamentals of this world that were crafted through eons in just one or two nights. It will take me years before I'm anywhere near Anira.

Sigh! Reality really does hurt. All the novel heroes are cool from the get-go, and here I am just starting by learning concepts theoretically.

"Anira, what do you think I should practice tomorrow all day?"

"My lord should start with core principles of tier 0. It is said to be the common tier that is the same for all beings. This stage works as a foundation that will shape future development. Principle number one includes sensing, channeling, and manipulating Brahman. These should be your priority. Remember to practice to increase efficiency not scale."

"Okay then, let's end here. I'm already getting sleepy."

"Oh, Anira..." Conrad called out, wanting to ask something.

"Yes, my lord?"

No, I was just going to ask her if the hug was necessary to activate that ability. But I guess it must be, otherwise she wouldn't do such things.

"Never mind, let's go home."