Chương 204: Chapter 202 - Second Ascent (VI)

Arjun pulled a bullet from his pouch, holding it steady in the air with his waves. The world around him stretched, every motion a slow crawl. A distant leaf, caught in the wind, drifted down in lazy spirals. The ripples in the lake expanded outward, inch by inch, their usual fluid motion reduced to something almost mechanical. He ignored it. His focus sharpened as he began accelerating the bullet in a tight circular motion. The energy built with each rotation, each increment of speed deliberate, measured.

The world outside moved sluggishly, but the bullet— his bullet—obeyed a different rhythm. Faster. Tighter. It spun with a force that felt effortless under his control, yet to anyone else, it would have blurred beyond recognition. His waves expanded, sweeping over the terrain in crisp, layered detail. Each crevice in the distant rocks, each shifting droplet in the mist of the waterfall became clear, laid out like a slow-moving diagram for him to dissect.

He filtered through it, locking onto his target—a single drop of water, suspended midair, flung from the waterfall's impact against the lake. The world outside lagged, still sluggish. The droplet barely seemed to fall. He exhaled, every second stretching as his mind calibrated the shot. Trajectory, force, air resistance—all mapped in perfect clarity. He released. The bullet streaked forward. To him, it wasn't a blur of speed—it was a perfect motion, a calculated arc slicing through the stillness.

He tracked it the whole way, following every frame of its path. It struck the drop dead center, fracturing it into countless smaller droplets that lingered in the air like suspended glass shards. For a moment, they hovered, catching the faintest glimmers of light before finally yielding to time's natural flow, scattering and vanishing into the lake below. A single ripple marked their end. Arjun exhaled slowly, his hand lowering. He remained still, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings as he steadied his breath.

This curse of his… if it was the price to return to his daughter, then so be it. He would embrace it. All of it. His hand moved to his sword, unsheathing it slower than usual, almost reverently. The polished steel caught the light as he raised it before his face, his own reflection staring back at him. Seconds stretched in silence. Then, he lowered the blade and moved. His stances flowed, one into another, slashes cutting through the air, thrusts striking at unseen foes.

But this time, there was no rigid discipline, no intent to refine his technique—only motion. His body, his mind, his sword, all moving as one, untethered by the need for perfection. For the first time, he wasn't practicing to improve. He was simply… wielding it. The blade sang through the air, and for a fleeting moment, he enjoyed it. The weight in his hands, the rush of movement, the way his muscles responded instinctively.

Time passed slowly as he let himself enjoy the feeling, perhaps for the first time in a long while. Eventually, his body, slick with sweat and muscles burning from exertion, signaled it was enough. He stopped. He stared at the sword one last time before sliding it back into its sheath. Then, he sat down, catching his breath as he waited. Before long, his waves picked up the presence of the person he had called.

"Captain," Ishaam greeted respectfully. Arjun looked up and smiled.

"How have the gauntlets worked out?"

"Incredible! The progress of our unit has skyrocketed. At this pace, we expect to hit the max limit on Stage Progress in less than two weeks."

"That's good news," Arjun said. It was odd, having to slow his speech so others could hear him normally. But by now, he was used to it. It wasn't the worst thing in the world.

"So, why did you want to see me in person, Captain?" Nearly 28 days on this stage already. Time sure passes quickly. I open my eyes and stand up. Status Screen Stage 1 - 6. 361% Wave control Personal Output: 4. 51 SU Assisted Bonus (Houston): 2. 31 SU Bonus from Helmet: 43% Total Output: 9. 75 SU Overdrive Full-State Output: 100% Pillar Enhancement: 24% Physical Combat 1-H Swordsmanship: 1. 28 SU Dual-Swordsmanship: 0. 97 SU Footwork: 1. 23 SU Physical Condition: 1. 714 Notable Equipment Sword: Indestructible(?) Weight increases with stage progress. EM conductivity (1. 0) King Lobster Gauntlets: Indestructible(?) Weight increases with stage progress. EM conductivity (2. 0) King Jellyfish Seven-Piece Cape: Indestructible(?) Weight increases with stage progress. EM conductivity (2. 0) Lava Dragon Leg Armor: Indestructible(?) Weight increases with stage progress. EM conductivity (2. 0) Houston removed Magnetization Efficiency and Wave/Body Synchronization since they had exceeded 99%, while adding Pillar Enhancement —thanks to Chiara's technique—and Dual-Swordsmanship. It was a shame the latter hadn't reached Siddharth's level before the boss fight, but at this point, it should be good enough. I enter full-state, and my perception expands, honing in on the technique I've been training the most these past days—the rebirth of my EM Domain or, more precisely, my Perception Domain.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. The fusion of Overdrive's heightened senses, the Pillar's clarity, and the seamless correlation of every input—sight, sound, touch, and waves—grants me a vastly improved awareness of my surroundings. But it's starkly different from my old EM Domain. I no longer compute every element in my environment or run complex simulations. It's… simpler.

Instead of ambitiously trying to visualize everything around me—something I still can't do even with my current mind—I focus solely on detecting and reacting to anomalies, to the things that move. My enhanced wave perception roughly maps my surroundings, while my finely tuned Overdrive senses pick up the slightest disturbances— a shift in the breeze, the rattle of leaves, the imperceptible vibration of a pebble rolling across the soil, the intricate ripples where the waterfall meets the lake. I take a deep breath.

With Chiara's technique, I can now sustain full-state for much longer, even push Overdrive to higher levels without the risk of burning out my mind. But the real limitation isn't my mind—it's my body. If I threw a full-strength punch right now, leveraging all my wave output and Overdrive, I could blast a hole through solid rock. But the recoil? It would shatter my own bones.

Even after Houston's hellish training, my body simply couldn't keep up with my progress in wave output—especially after Chiara's technique came into play. I sigh. If this keeps up, direct combat will eventually become impractical. Houston said he was working on a solution, but not to get my hopes up. Well, I'll deal with that if it ever comes. For now, I can still swing a sword or two without issue, and the really high levels of self-damaging Overdrive will be reserved for emergencies." I'm with Lukas and Chiara.

We can meet here when you're ready," I hear Ayu's voice in my head. So they've already met up. I check the time—still over six hours until the next boss fight. Well, might as well head there too. Nothing else to do." On my way." I consider flying but quickly dismiss the thought. That would just be showing off, and it wouldn't even be faster. I glance at my leg armor.

Now that I can accelerate both my arms and legs while also channeling on my upper body with the tendrils, I could run much faster than I could take off. That said, top speed in the air was still higher than on land—it just took much longer to reach. I keep myself on full-state Overdrive, while I use Eyes of the World to map the best path forward. I press my feet hard on the land, leaving a small crack on the ground as I start dashing.

A couple of minutes later and I reach the temporal spot they use for gatherings in the Isles.

"That was quick," Ayu says.

"I was eager to see your face," I say, taking off my mask. She smiles." We just slept together, dummy."" Seems it wasn't enough," I reply, watching as a faint blush creeps onto her face before she shakes her head, regaining composure as the others step forward.

"New boss coming up," Lukas says, the usual wide grin on his face.

"Any guesses?"

"I hate to guess—I prefer solid facts," he says.

"Anyway, we'll proceed like last time, staying near the border between the Isles and the Swamp, then adjusting accordingly after the spawn event." I nod.

"Alright, we still have time, and… oh, right—take this." He hands me a slightly oversized pouch.

"It contains personalized bullets, calibrated using your wave output values. The weight is optimized for maximum kinetic energy and penetration." My eyes widen in surprise. I remember Lukas asking me to run some tests to measure my wave output a few days ago, but I hadn't expected him to take that data and fine-tune the bullet weight. Damn, this guy.

"When we get back to Earth, I'm voting you for president." He laughs but quickly waves his hands in an 'X,' shaking his head like I just suggested a death sentence.

"Oh please, by all means— no. The moment I step back on Earth, I'm vanishing. Gone. Unreachable. Taking a lifetime vacation with zero responsibilities. No calls, no meetings, no 'Lukas, can you optimize this?' None of that. Just me, a beach, and maybe a drink with an umbrella in it. Preferably one that never runs out." He pauses, then points at me.

"And if you try to drag me into anything, I swear, I'll fake my own death."

"Fair enough," I chuckle.

"What's with faking your own death? Sounds fun," Chiara cuts in. Lukas' eyes widen slightly as he flicks me that look—the kind that screams for help. Seems Chiara is quite persistent when she wants something. Poor Lukas.

"Anyway… I was finishing up with Alonso. You guys can have your chat. I'll, uh… go check on the squads," Lukas says, already taking the first step back. Chiara narrows her eyes, her lips pressing into a thin line for a brief moment before she shifts her focus back to me.

"How was the model? Did you finally manage to stabilize the nodal alignment in the Pillar's network?" She crosses her arms.

"I ran another iteration last night, refining the excitability of the perineuronal nets around the deep cortical layers. The results suggest an interesting feedback loop between the reticular-thalamic EM oscillations and the midbrain's ascending modulation. If I'm right, this could explain the increased synchronization between voluntary control and unconscious wave activity." She tilts her head, watching me.

"But I assume you felt that already." Yeah, right. Totally." Houston?"" Eh… just say yes and move on."" You have no idea what she said, right?"

"..." I look at Chiara.

"Yep. I managed to fix it. All good." She's about to speak again— I have to stop this before I get hit with a full research paper.

"So," I cut in quickly, "feeling confident for the boss fight?" She pauses for a moment, caught off guard. Yeah, that was close—she had the I'm about to throw an entire lecture at you face.

"I… yes. I think it should be rather easy. Working together, and now that your condition allows you to use both states at once, well, I don't think it will be an issue."

"I see… well, perhaps I'm the last person who should be saying this, but don't get overconfident," I say, my tone shifting slightly more serious.

"Never thought I'd hear that from you. But sure. I know my limits. And by that, I mean I really know each and every one of them." Yeah, I bet she does. Chiara then turns to Ayu.

"How have the classes been?"

"Hm?" Ayu, who was dozing off, blinks and looks at Chiara.

"The classes? Good. Most of them can use a decent level of Overdrive by now. Imani and Wang have reached close to 30% already. And what about Arjun? I was surprised he transferred to your class."

"Arjun? Oh, yes… he's doing okay, I suppose. Between us, not the sharpest mind, but he's dedicated. I had to tailor an oversimplified version of the Pillar Enhancement just for him, but he barely manages to use it." She sighs before continuing.

"As for the others who switched after Lukas pushed to have at least one in each unit trained in this approach… well, Mei is quite good. She actually has a decent scientific education, so working with her is easier. Josh, Nikolai, and Min are half-decent, with a STEM background. Carla and Phillip? Worse than Arjun." She crosses her arms.

"I'm not sure if Lukas' decision was the best, but… well, I try to do my best with what I have." Poor students. As we talk, I notice someone approaching.

"Hi, everyone," Wang greets politely. I catch the slightest twitch in Chiara's expression—barely there, gone in an instant.

"Hi, Wang. How's the body feeling? Gotten used to it already?" she says, her smile perfectly in place.

"Much better," he replies with his usual composed tone.

"I still have much room for improvement, but I believe I am adapting well. I spoke with Lukas and requested to assist Ayu and Alonso on the frontlines, now that Arjun has transitioned to a ranged role."

"Sounds good. With your entire body now acting as a conductor for your own waves, that's basically a cheat code. I'm jealous." Wang offers a slight nod, his expression as steady as ever.

"I still have much to refine before I can claim such an advantage."

"That leaves only Lukas and Imani to be awakened in the squad," Ayu comments.

"Awakened?" I frown at the unusual word.

"Do you like it?" Ayu grins.

"I suggested the term to Lukas, and he liked it."

"Yep, it's great. Has a nice flair to it," I say, catching the hint of pride in her smile. Wang nods.

"It is good." Then, his gaze shifts to me, more focused.

"Alonso, I also came here with a selfish request. If it is not too much trouble… would you grant me a simple spar before the boss fight?" Huh?