Chapter 52: Aftermath
[However, as to how long your current body can hold out…even I am not sure.]
“… What do you mean, my body?”
At my question, Sierra strokes her chin and pauses, before offering me a suggestion.
[It is said that the Hundred Gates are unbreakable, so why not give it a try, and if you are my student… you will not die.]
“Do you mean that if I do it wrong, I might die?”
[If you were one who was going to die from this, you would have died when you completely distorted the flow of mana. Why not trust me once? I wonder how many seconds you’ll last now.]
Sierra’s mesmerizing voice echoed in my head as she glared provocatively at me.
“Hmmm…”
I gulped as I looked at Sierra’s smile.
‘It seems like it’s going to take a toll on my body as I try to forcibly increase my speed…’
I could understand the skill, but I couldn’t quite grasp the pain.
‘You won’t die,’ said Sierra, the creator of Reverse Heaven.
I wondered how long I would last now, as the time seemed to increase as my proficiency increased.
“I’ll give it a try.”
I said, and stood up from the stump.
The corner of Sierra’s mouth quirked up, as if she liked my brash attitude.
[If we’re going to try it in this spot, I think it would be appropriate to cut through the falling leaves, I’m sure you can detect some of them.]
Sierra nodded and stepped in front of a good-sized tree.
Thud!
And then she pushed the tree away as the sound of falling leaves began to be heard.
There were too many leaves to cut down in one fell swoop but as soon as my eyes caught sight of the falling leaves, I immediately drew the Spectral Sword from my waistband.
Then I crossed my arms and used the index and middle fingers of my left hand to slowly sweep across the blade. This was a kind of “trigger” that I used whenever I wanted to twist the flow of mana to use Reverse Heaven.
It made it easier to momentarily distort the flow of mana and with the help of the status window, it became like a second nature to me.
Sierra had seen it before and said, “It would definitely be helpful to have that move,” but she preferred to be able to use it without it.
Since she was the one who created it, she didn’t have to go through this process so I guess I’ll have to level up my Reverse Heaven to reach that point.
I flipped through the chapters, focusing on what I needed to reverse.
Chapter 1 was space and by defying the concept of space, I was able to slice through enemies at distances I shouldn’t be able to reach.
Chapter 2 was time so I had to defy the flow of time, which was supposed to be fair to all, and make my body move effortlessly in those fleeting moments when everything slowed down.
I was nearing the end of my concentration as I flicked through my sword.
Leaves were slowly falling around me and for a moment, the flow of mana twisted.
In front of me, the leaves that had been scattering and falling in the air were now moving downward very slowly. It was so slow that it could be mistaken for time stopping, but I didn’t.
The blades of grass swayed in the cool breeze, rustling ever so slightly and I couldn’t immediately tell how much slower it was.
Normally, my physical body would also slow down in such a situation, but the spirit world seemed to take that common sense for granted.
My arm, trying to cut the leaves, was moving at its normal speed, it hadn’t slowed down at all.
In this short period of time, my perception, thinking, and physical body had become abnormally fast.
The moment my arm moved, Sierra’s voice rang out.
[Hmph… You’re doing it on the first try again, as if you don’t care. That’s quite convincing… I wonder if my apprentice will last until he cuts down all the leaves. ]
Sierra was looking around, assessing my performance but I don’t know how she can talk to me.
‘I’m wielding the Spectral Sword, and Sierra is bound to the sword, so it’s no wonder…’
Moreover, she is not a living human being, but a dead person, a spirit so she could cross the boundaries of space and time at will.
However, I felt like I didn’t have much time left so with a swift sweep of my arm, I sliced through the leaves.
With a swift sweep of my arm, Sierra was able to slice the thin leaves in half with precision and without a hint of crookedness.
I could even see the leaf crack as it met the blade but just because time slowed down, didn’t mean I didn’t cut it as slowly.
I cut as hard and as fast as I could, remembering Sierra’s provocative expression. Maybe it was because I knew I wanted her approval.
How many times did I swing my sword like that?
I was about to cut down the last remaining leaf that was still intact.
Boom!!!
Suddenly, a piercing sound pierced my ears and my vision went black.
***
“Ugh…”
I groaned as I woke up to a throbbing headache and shattering pain in my body.
For some reason, something red and huge was blocking my vision.
I tried to push myself up, but it wasn’t easy and as I struggled to pull myself up, Sierra’s soothing voice echoed in my head.
[ Wake up.]
Sierra’s voice is clear and soft, and it makes me feel like my headache is starting to go away.
Then I see Sierra’s face. Her cheeks are flushed, and she’s cupping my cheeks as if she’s happy for me.
Judging by the composition, it was Sierra’s… breasts that were blocking my view. She must have been giving me a lap pillow.
I gave up trying to sit up and decided to stay on her lap.
“What did you think?”
[ …Lousy.]
“Hah… It’s not easy after all.”
Judging from her playful tone of voice, it didn’t sound like it was really bad. Still, I wasn’t satisfied with myself.
[Did you think Chapter 2 would be so easy? There are some things that talent alone can’t accomplish. Still, it wasn’t bad for a first attempt. Just a little bit of blood…]
As I listened to Sierra’s soothing voice, I glanced at the ground where I had been standing a moment ago.
Amongst the torn leaves…I see a deep sword mark on the ground and a small pool of blood.
I sniffed my nose, still reeking of blood. It’s a process that she must have gone through too, and that’s why she smiles.
“Didn’t you say I wouldn’t die…?”
[ You didn’t die so I don’t think my calculations were wrong.]
“…”
Sierra’s right, I’m not dead, but judging by the blood on the floor, I’m pretty drained of life force.
[By the way, the bracelet the instructor gave you must be a good one, because you’re recovering so fast.]
As Sierra says this, she strokes my cheek and then sweeps her hand across my chest. She was stroking my left side, near where my heart would be.
Judging by her expression, she doesn’t have any strange intentions.
“How long have I been lying there?”
I asked, hoping to distract myself from the feel of Sierra’s smooth thigh against the back of my head.
[An hour, I suppose, until you reached your limit and collapsed, coughing up blood, but I knew it would happen, so I wasn’t surprised.]
Sierra looks at me and smiles.
I suppose she could have told me about coughing up blood.
“…How many times does time normally slow down?”
At my question, Sierra opens her mouth to explain.
[Ten times, that’s how much slower it slows down, or more accurately, you move at ten times the speed your body is fully capable of pulling off,]
“Ten times… No wonder I overloaded myself and nearly broke my body.”
[Yeah, not only does it consume more mana than Chapter 1, but it also forces the body to move much faster… It even touched your head. It is never easy to defy the rules of the world.]
Sierra said, running her fingers through my hair.
‘I thought it would be easy when I learned Chapter One…’
Chapter 2 was much more difficult.
I was confident that I would be able to use Chapter 2 once I reached level 4 of the Reverse Heaven, but that was just to be able to use it.
I don’t think I’ll be able to learn Chapter 3 anytime soon, even if I level up the skill.
As soon as I was strong enough to stand up, I pushed myself to my feet.
At this, Sierra’s eyes narrowed and she puffed her cheeks but I wordlessly dusted off my clothes and opened my mouth.
“Master… How long did I last?”
It was important to know how many seconds I could activate the skill, even if time was ten times slower as I was trying to understand my limitations at the moment.
I couldn’t fight an enemy and then go down coughing up blood like I’m doing now.
[The length of time Chapter 2 can be used depends on the user’s skill and physical condition… Skill is skill, but my apprentice’s physical condition is particularly bad…Not that it matters, as I lived my entire life with a sword.]
Sierra puffs out her chest and places a hand on her sternum….Still, I don’t think those breasts were made by swordplay.
I scratched my head and asked Sierra again.
“…So how many seconds?”
Sierra’s voice echoes in my head as she becomes serious again.
[…It was just over a minute…I’d say five or six seconds, that’s your limit right now. If we’re talking about the limit without collapsing…three seconds.]
Chapter 2 slowed the passage of time by a factor of ten… Three seconds was 30 seconds in my perceived time.
‘When I first heard about time traveling, I thought it was like turning back time.’
I think this is powerful in its own way.
It was a technique that accelerates the body and thinking tenfold but it was a sword art after all… It seemed like I couldn’t use Reverse Heaven without holding a sword.
The presence of the status window made me realize this naturally, so I didn’t ask Sierra any ridiculously stupid questions.
With that, I was ready for Varsum.
I have the Hero’s Favor Necklace and Chapter 2 of Reverse Heaven. In fact, with the necklace, I didn’t even have to be terribly afraid of vampires and undead. However, since Varsum was an unknown enemy with little information, I wanted to be more prepared.
In that sense, Chapter 2 was like an immunization shot.
I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the results at three seconds, still there were plenty of ways to improve.
I could still increase my physical strength and skill proficiency.
Skill was no problem, as I could just level up to obtain skill points but the issue was my strength.
‘It would be nice to have an item that increases the physical strength itself so that it’s less taxing on the body… I wondered if there was anything like that.’
Physique is probably related to the max health in the game.
The two skills that I have are stamina draining but stamina is very important.
If I have a high stamina cap, it doesn’t matter if I lose a little bit of stamina… As my body grows stronger, I will be able to carry a little more weight.
‘Elixir?’
That kind of consumable item comes to mind first.
For me, it would be something like a lycanthrope’s eyeball, but……I can’t stop thinking of grotesque-looking elixirs.
If you want to have more freedom using Chapter 2, I’ll need to work on that.
Consistent training will also be essential so my daily routine will increase.
I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to increase the time I can use Chapter 2 by practicing in a sluggish manner, so I decided to head back to my dorm but before returning, I had one question.
“…How many seconds was Master’s limit?”
When Sierra heard my question, she burst out laughing.
[ Fuhhh… Disciple, how dare you mock your heavenly master?]
Sierra’s eyes narrow as she covers her mouth and laughs.
Soon after, Sierra’s lips, moistened by the moonlight, open.
[Wrong unit.]
“What? Then…”
[…3 minutes and 18 seconds. I didn’t bother timing myself after that because I didn’t think it would matter. ]
Sierra’s next words made me gasp in horror.
Three minutes by simple math were 30 minutes in Chapter 2 perception.
‘Purple Moon Sierra.
The Purple Moon Sierra used to share a wall with the Sword Saint and the wall named after her was still huge and high.
‘Sierra’s sword art was created to defeat Sword Saint, so to defeat Sword Saint…’
It seems like it will be a long way.
***
[You have learned your lesson well, my apprentice, so you must feed me what I want to eat…and that is fried kraken’s legs!]
On the way back to the dormitory, Sierra grabbed my arm and pulled me along.
Gone is the seriousness in her eyes as she taught me the Reverse Heaven in the woods, and in her place is the innocent curiosity of a child.
I wonder why they’re selling fried kraken legs at this hour, and then I look around the store and realize it’s a bar.
‘I’m guessing they’re just oversized octopus legs…’
Still, I figured that if Sierra was pestering me like this, I could at least buy some fried kraken legs, so I followed her lead to the bar.
The smell of alcohol and deep-fried food was wafting through the air and my stomach lurched.
As I approached the bar and were about to place my order, I heard urgent footsteps coming from the main street.
I turned to see who was running so fast at the crack of dawn…and it was Yuri Clementine.
Yuri had a serious look on her face and was gasping for breath as she ran in my direction.
“Hah… Ha…”
Behind her, I could see a familiar platinum hair, it was Yuri.
‘Why is she…?’
I realized that this was not a good situation and immediately ran towards Yuri.
She spotted me as I was running.
“…Miss Yuri?”
“Hah… Zeto…? I need to get to Medical Officer Priscilla’s house! Aizel collapsed…! There was a wound on her stomach…”
Unable to calm her racing breathing, Yuri relayed the situation urgently.
‘A wound?’
Behind Yuri, Aizel was flushed, unable to open her eyes, and breathing heavily.
She was still wearing her clothes, so her injuries couldn’t be confirmed right now, but she looked bad.
“…This is urgent, so let’s go!”
I shouted, interrupting Yuri as I picked up Aizel.
The heat from Aizel’s body was unbearably hot.
[I don’t think fried kraken’s legs are important right now.]
Sierra, who could see Aizel’s condition, said.
Aizel, who hadn’t been seen for several days, appeared wounded and collapsed.
‘There’s no reason for Aizel, a regressor, to attack an enemy that’s so hard to defeat.’
…Healing Aizel was the first priority.