Isabella was more than a little peeved when Nero began to read Axel’s note right in her class, right in front of her, without any regard for paying attention to what she was saying. If it weren’t for Nero’s perfect result in the previous surprise assessment, she would have shown him what it means to cross her. Unfortunately, he did get a perfect result, thus she reluctantly showed him mercy.
Considering his relative positive result in his fight with Axel, as well as Axel’s response to his performance, Nero thought that note would not be too detailed. He was wrong. It was not a sheet of paper but an entire booklet!
Axel did not have an issue with his combat skill itself, nor did he have any issues with how Nero planned the fight out. Instead, in Axel’s opinion, Nero’s greatest shortcoming was in how he applied his Aetheric Halo.
Aetheric Halo. That was a term Nero was hearing for the first time, and for good reason. According to the notes Nero was reading, Aetheric Halo was a sort of skill that usually only became accessible at the Mystic rank minimum.
The fact that Nero had managed to somehow gain that skill ahead of time was unusual, but it did not seem to elicit any kind of exaggerated reaction. It seemed like the academy was already used to seeing odd students every now and then. Considering Isabella’s staggering growth rate, Nero somehow attaining enough aetheric control to use Aetheric Halo was still quite normal.
The concept of Aetheric Halo was quite simple. While humans lacked fine control over aether, as a result of their growth through the ranks their general control over aether increased drastically.
At the Mystic level, they would go from only being able to exert sufficient control over their internal aether to being able to influence the aether around them in a certain radius, forming a circle.
However, even if Mystics gain the ability to influence external aether, it does not automatically mean that they unlock Aetheric Halo. Being able to influence external aether, and actually manipulating it to bring about a desired consequence are two entirely different things.
According to Axel’s notes, Nero’s application of Aetheric Halo was basic and crude. Based on notes provided by Nero’s teachers, he could use his Aetheric Halo to influence people’s emotions which was a truly unique application of the skill.
However, based on Axel’s analysis, his own Aetheric Halo only worked in response to Nero’s own emotions or state of mind, which was a tremendous weakness as it would easily expose Nero’s thoughts to anyone skilled enough to decipher his manipulation. While it could also be used to feint and deceive from time to time, that was not something that could be repeatedly used. Nero needed to learn how to use it consciously instead of unconsciously.
If he could master his own use of Aetheric Halo, then it would be a tremendous boon for him in close combat, especially since this was not even the original purpose for Aetheric Halo!
This was an ability that could deprive opponents of aether, or suck out the aether of their spells forcefully, or even empower his own spells! The actual applications for it were limitless, but simultaneously, it was a skill exceptionally difficult to master.
But disregarding any other applications, the rest of the booklet was filled with examples of how he could use emotional manipulation with Aetheric Halo in combat effectively. But the one thing that the notes never explained was how to actually learn to control Aetheric Halo!
It was only at the very end, in the very last sentence, Axel left behind a hint as to how to learn to control Aetheric Halo. Or rather, it mentioned the name of the person who created this extremely recent technique: Dean Isabella!
Nero looked up from the notes in surprise, only to find a dissatisfied expression on Isabella’s face. Suddenly, Nero had a shocking realisation! He’d made the same mistake as Vilhelm! He was reading something else in Professor Isabella’s class.
"I think I’ve made a terrible mistake," Nero whispered to himself, yet no one consoled him. In fact, many cadets were relieved to see that Nero was capable of making mistakes too.
Nero was on his best behaviour the rest of the class, showing no indication of wanting to ask her to teach him Aetheric Halo at this moment. He would need to butter her up until that point.
Instead, Nero reviewed what Axel had told him in the notes about Aetheric Halo. In theory, it was a technique that could have been discovered or developed long ago. Perhaps, many famous Card Masters in history even used it. But none had done so consciously, nor had they been able to devise a system to learn how to control and apply it.
It took for Isabella to become a Mystic and then notice the peculiar traits many Mystics showed before she was able to condense so many seemingly random occurrences into one, simple discipline. External aether manipulation itself was not a new concept, but most only used it through their abilities and spells. To control the aether itself, directly, and then make it behave in a certain way without the use of spell models...
It was revolutionary. Nero was reminded, once again, that his Professor was not just a record holder for the youngest Arcanist and Mystic, but also an utter genius when it came to aether - one who had turned down the possibility of ascending to Sage status for her own reasons.
By the end of the class, Nero sighed. Although Nero constantly told himself to be humble, it would be a lie if he said he hadn’t always thought of himself as extremely impressive. But now, in the academy, he genuinely felt humbled. There were too many incredible people here, and too many things he had never encountered before.
He needed to reevaluate himself and his knowledge of the world, or he’d get caught up in some trouble before even realising it.
After class, just as Isabella was leaving, Nero quickly approached her.
"Professor, I’m sorry for bothering you, but I was wondering if I could ask you some questions unrelated to class," Nero said in a soft and amiable tone.
Isabella looked at him with clear irritation in her eyes, but she didn’t dismiss his questions.
"What do you want to ask?" she asked, almost expecting to hear about Aetheric Halo. Alex had already filled her in about his notes, so she knew what to expect. That was another reason why she was so irritated: because Nero seemed so much more interested in his notes than her class!
"During our morning drill, I encountered a case of remote casting of cards which I’ve never seen nor heard of before. I wanted to ask how such a thing was possible," Nero said with genuine curiosity.
Isabella was not expecting that question, so she paused for a moment
"It’s a fairly new technique we have learned from copying various experimental data we discovered in the Lumina ruins," Isabella informed him, adopting an instructive tone. "The exact details of how this works is beyond your current level. It involves establishing a line of connection via cables or atmospheric aether. It’s a complicated technique and isn’t fully ready to be introduced into active combat zones which is why it hasn’t been taught yet on a large scale.
"Once the technique has been fully mastered, and its obvious flaws addressed, all cadets and soldiers will undertake a small course to learn this and other new skills and abilities we have attained from the ruins. The sacrifice of so many young soldiers within Lumina was not without results, and it will usher in a new age of aetheric understanding for Kolar."
Nero suddenly felt like he was being complimented just a little, as if he had an important role to play in this. Maybe he did, for he had played a role in deactivating the last failsafe in the research building.
After that, the rest of the day went as usual. He studied about the geography of the world, learned about various new topics, and enhanced his understanding of the political situation of the world ever so slightly.
While he was paying full attention in each class, not wanting to repeat his mistake from the morning, many others found it hard to focus. Many cadets were already placing bets on the outcome of the upcoming fight between Nero and Vilhelm.
What was a simple fight between two students had somehow turned into a showdown between senior and fresh cadets, and the anticipation surrounding the event had filled the whole academy with a sense of excitement.
While one-to-one combat was not actually the primary focus of the KMA, it was still the most influential activity in terms of affecting cadet morale.
Even some professors found themselves interested in the outcome of this fight. So as the day went on, and the fight drew closer, everyone found it harder and harder to focus on their tasks. Everyone, except the two actually involved.