Chapter 50 – An oath to reach the peak

"I'm sorry. I never should have jumped into the void like that."

Theon muttered weakly.

"What did you say? We couldn't hear you properly."

Elara spoke while folding her arms. Currently, Theon was on his knees, wrapped in golden chains.

"I'm sorry, ok? I was wrong to jump into the void like that. I was wrong to make you worry."

"Good. Now say it 100 more times."

Theon groaned. He did bring this upon himself. How did things come to this point? Well, it turns out Elara was planning on unleashing a sacred Walpurgis spell on Magnus. She was buying time. Then Theon made his entry like some bigshot. When Elara was about to cast her spell, Elara moved aside thinking she was about to use it on Magnus. But instead, she used it on him, catching Theon completely off guard.

Apparently, her taste for victory and strength was completely overshadowed by her anger. The more Theon tried to break the chains, the more they tightened. Since he had no idea about his current abilities, he could only endure.

Seeing this, Magnus laughed and went away, saying he would check on Theon tomorrow. And after that, it was punishment after punishment. Then, finally, Theon admitted his mistake.

Of course, he did not repeat that sentence 100 times. After repeating for around 50 times and hours of buttering Elena up, she finally released the chains reluctantly. After that, they started eating dinner. Theon was eating like he hadn't eaten for a week. Elara was standing behind him and was examining the changes in his body.

"I don't know how this is possible. I can't sense mana inside you. It's like the entire system, core, nerves, all suddenly disappeared. Whatever this ascendant is, conventional mana tier systems no longer apply to you."

Rod frowned while eating a piece of Bacon.

"If you cannot use mana anymore, then you are no different than a frail rank human now. So why does your presence feel so suffocating?"

Elara stopped her appraisal spell and spoke.

"It's not that he cannot use mana. Mana is no longer circulating inside you. But it has gathered around you in a large quantity."

Theon looked at her in confusion.

"I don't fully understand it. But it's like you are loved by mana itself. Constantly surrounding you."

"That's not just it," Rod interjected.

"Your presence feels normal now. But back then, when you stopped your grandfather's punch, it felt like the presence of 100 soldiers morphed into 1."

 Theon sighed.

"I need to figure out my current abilities. That's why I'm planning on asking my grandfather for a favor. But before that, we have something else to do."

Theon grinned. "Isn't it time we introduce ourselves properly?

He started pointing his fingers at one by one.

"Daughter of the Tower master, Elara Lucerion Wlapurgis"

"Disciple of the sword saint, Roderich Veythorne"

"Assassin queen's daughter, Veryn Noctis"

"One of the 3 saintess candidates, Marla Evensong"

"And last but not least, Grandson of the Earth Shaker, Kleines Valdrin Stonehelm"

There was silence for a while.

Then Elara spoke.

"Well, now that the cat's out of the bag, we can speak freely without worrying. And truth to be told, all of us suspected each other after all."

"Yup," Rod chimed in. "This doesn't change anything. All of you are still the same people to me."

Everyone gave heartfelt laughs and started eating and drinking while speaking about their daily lives. It has been one hell of a new year after all. After that, right before going to sleep, Theon said he wanted to discuss something big.

He started speaking about his experience in the memory dive. Of course, he didn't say anything about transmigration or regression, but talked about his decision to reach the peak and about the enemies he must face. He spoke about Reyna and Azrivel, how dangerous they are.

"Academy will begin 3 months from now. Then I will start making my moves."

First, there was silence. Then Kleines spoke.

"Theon, that's a lot to take in. You're going against the most powerful people in the world. I agree with your vision. Just like your sister, my cousin is also an avatar now. All my life, I've been his shadow. My relationship with him is pretty good. But I do want to surpass him. But-"

Rod chimed in.

"Even if we want to help you, I don't know whether we are capable right now. And just like you, we also have things we must achieve. Our own visions for the future."

Then Elara spoke,

"I wanted to surpass my father without becoming him. I, too, have many goals to achieve. Some of them are impossible. But even so, I will keep going"

Veryn also voiced out her thoughts.

"I'm sorry, Theon. We understand your ambition more than anyone else in the world. But we simply can't disregard our own dreams."

Theon sighed. "I feel like getting rejected even without confessing."

He gave a satisfying laugh.

"You lot seem to have made a mistake. I'm not asking you to join some witch-hunting crusade. I'm not asking for your help to change the world. I'm simply asking for one thing."

"Attain heights no one can acquire in this world, alongside me. Follow your dreams and visions to the very end and reach the peak, surpassing everyone. That is the world I'm trying to create."

 "After tomorrow, I'm leaving with Grandpa to train until the academy starts. I know that some of you are not planning on attending. But that's where all the talent and opportunities in this world gather."

 "It's the starting point of our dreams. And I'm not planning to lose to anyone. Not the avatars, Zeniths, or even any of you. Please think about it."

After that, Theon left for his tent, letting others think deeply about their futures.