Chapter 309: Taking Instructions From Azalea
"Let’s go, Steve," I called out, noticing he was still deep in conversation with Azalea.
He glanced back, nodded quickly, and jogged over to join me.
As we walked, I looked over at him and asked, "Do you have any idea what kind of ability you’re aiming for?"
Steve shook his head, thoughtful. "Not yet. I’m still thinking it over. I guess I’ll wait and see what my class evolution gives me first. Then we can plan around that."
I gave a small nod. "Makes sense."
Turning away, I whispered, "Silver."
In response, the familiar crimson mist rose up from the core, swirling and condensing until Silver stepped out. Without a word, we both climbed onto his back.
With a sharp screech, Silver launched himself into the air. The wind rushed past us as he flew down from the floating island, banking toward the mountain range below.
It hadn’t been long since I’d last been here, only a few hours ago, I had killed the Holt family’s Master-ranked fighters. And before that, I’d cleared the entire mountain of dead crawlers.
Now, I was back... but this time, to hunt Abominations for Steve’s sake.
Silver adjusted his angle mid-air, wings slicing the sky. He picked up speed before gently slowing down and landing on a high mountain peak with a single, powerful flap.
We both jumped off his back. I found a spot near the edge of the cliff and sat down cross-legged, feeling the wind on my face.
"We’ll wait for you here," I said, settling in.
Steve looked at me, clearly surprised.
"You’re not coming with me?"
I shook my head with a slight grin.
"Nope. This one’s on you. But don’t worry, we’ll be watching your back from up here."
He shrugged, a bit amused, then nodded. Without wasting any more time, he turned and sprinted down the rocky slope, vanishing into the dense forest below.
I kept my eyes on his retreating figure, watching as he disappeared into the trees.
A small smile crept onto my face.
I truly wanted him to grow stronger—strong enough that we could stand side by side in every battle, fighting together as equals.
While Steve was busy fighting and leveling up to reach 100, I sat back on the peak and decided to focus on myself for a while. It seemed like the perfect time to check my status and go over my skills, to see what I could improve or experiment with.
Unfortunately, there weren’t any strong Abominations in this region. Nothing that could really push me toward level 200. Most of the enemies here were low-ranked, good enough for Steve’s evolution, but not for me.
But my thoughts weren’t on leveling alone. After the fight with Arkas, something had been bothering me, something I couldn’t ignore anymore.
I’d seen the clear gap between us. Not in power or raw stats. But in how we used our skills.
His [Collapsing Heaven] wasn’t just a strong move, it was a skill built on a completely different level of understanding.
It wasn’t just wind and thunder used together. It was both laws fused into one seamless, harmonized force. Each part enhanced the other, like they were meant to be one thing from the start.
I had used space and light too, sure. But my way was messy. I stacked one on top of the other. Space to lock space, then light to strike. Or sometimes the reverse. But never truly as one. I patched the effects together like connecting pieces of different puzzles.
There was no harmony in the laws I used, just force.
And I understood now why.
It was because of my Absolute Law. It allowed me to override normal limitations. I could impose my will directly, bending the laws without needing full comprehension. I didn’t need to study them deeply to make them work, I could just force them to obey.
That was my strength... but also my flaw.
Because I hadn’t been forced to understand the laws on a deeper level, I hadn’t grown with them. I could brute-force through things thanks to my Psynapse and Essence control, but it lacked refinement. My skills were powerful but not graceful. Not unified.
If I really wanted to grow stronger... I needed more than just raw power. I needed clarity. Real understanding.
I waved my hand, opening a portal that led straight to the core chamber. Before stepping through, I turned to Silver and gave a simple command.
"Watch over Steve. Keep him safe."
Silver gave a soft screech of acknowledgment, and I stepped into the portal.
The moment I arrived in front of the core, Azalea appeared beside me, just like that.
I blinked.
"Seriously? Why are you always popping up like this?"
She gave a small laugh, not at all bothered.
"There aren’t many places I can go, you know. You’re pretty much the only one here I can talk to, so... sorry, but you’re stuck with me."
I gave her a half-smile and nodded.
"Fair enough."
She tilted her head slightly, eyes curious.
"So, what brings you here?"
"I want to work on my space comprehension," I said simply. "I remember you mentioned the core can help with that. After my fight with Arkas, I realized I’ve been using my skills wrong or maybe just without real depth. I want to fix that."
Azalea’s expression turned more serious as she nodded.
"That’s a smart move. I’ve watched how you fight... You rely heavily on....something, which lets you force things to happen. But space isn’t something you can just bend to your will forever without understanding it."
I returned the nod.
"Exactly. That’s what I want to change."
"So, you’re sure about focusing on space for now?" she asked.
"Yes."
She placed a hand on her hip and sighed lightly. "Then let’s be honest, your basics with the Space Law are shaky at best. You’ve used it, sure, but you’ve skipped over the foundations."
Her words made me frown a little.
All this time, I had been pushing forward, brute-forcing my way through laws using the Absolute skill and my Psynapse. But comprehension... true comprehension... I hadn’t given it the time or effort it deserved.
She continued in a calm, thoughtful tone.
"You can think of the Space Law in three broad stages.
First is the comprehension of static space....the unmoving, structured nature of space.
Then comes dynamic space....how space shifts, bends, moves.
And finally, the third stage is the fusion of the two, where you begin to understand how stillness and motion work together."
I repeated the words under my breath, trying to process it.
"So... static, dynamic, and then fusion."
Azalea nodded.
"That’s right. Of course, these are just broad categories. Each of these stages can be broken down into smaller concepts. And as you grow stronger, when your rank increases, you’ll start refining and deepening your understanding of these parts."
She paused for a moment before continuing.
"At first, you’ll be working with what’s called a minor law, a shallow, beginner-level understanding of the law’s nature. Once your comprehension deepens, it becomes a major law. And when you master its core and touch its source, you reach the level of origin law."
I felt a strange mix of excitement and pressure settle in my chest.
"Can you tell me more about the static part first?" I asked.
"And... why is it only called basic? Why can’t I just try to understand the advanced version right away?"
Azalea let out a soft chuckle.
"Because advanced comprehension doesn’t come easily. Even if you somehow grasp it, using it properly would still require combining it with other laws. And if your understanding of those other laws is still basic, then what’s the point?"
I tilted my head slightly.
She explained further, "Think of it like this, if you try to fuse an advanced concept with something basic and incomplete, the fusion won’t work. You need strong foundations before you build anything complex on top of them."
I nodded slowly. That made sense.
She continued, her tone becoming a bit more instructive now.
"So for static space, you need to grasp five main things: direction, anchoring, presence, absence, and distance. Static space doesn’t flow. It doesn’t shift or move on its own. There’s no expansion or contraction, everything is fixed."
I frowned slightly as I tried to picture it.
"In static space," she added, "matter can exist but the space itself stays still. There’s no change in position or shape, only presence or absence, and where things are located in relation to each other."