During the introductory swordsmanship lecture, I didn’t even glance in Vigdis’s direction.
Is it because of this attitude that trust was formed? Or is she simply performing her duties as a professor?
The swordsmanship professor guided me quite diligently.
Since I’d never learned to wield a sword anywhere before, she had to start by teaching me how to hold one, which seemed rather troublesome for her.
‘At this rate, I shouldn’t have any problems attending the introductory swordsmanship class… The next lecture is Aether Attribute Enhancement, right?’
The “Ether Comprehension and Application” lecture I attended yesterday, on Wednesday, excluded the unique attributes each person possesses and focused on using Aether as a single energy source.
Then, why exclude attributes?
Because when you filter out the attributes and compress the Aether, it gains physical force.
By utilizing this, you can create a shield to block attacks.
You can also reinforce a weapon’s durability by coating it with compressed Aether, or sharpen it to enhance its cutting power.
‘Some people even layer Aether imbued with attributes over that compressed Aether… but that’s got nothing to do with me, since I have Buff Attribute Ether.’
If I were to coat my weapon with that, the opponent would just get stronger when hit by my attacks.
The maximum boost from the Buff depends on my own capability, so they wouldn’t get infinitely stronger with every hit—but still, there’s nothing good about powering up your enemy, is there?
Anyway, to return to the topic of the physical force of attribute-filtered Aether—
It can be used like telekinesis, to move objects without touching them.
Though the Aether consumption is high and it drains your mental strength severely, making it very inefficient, it’s still an extremely useful technique if used well.
‘Actually, the field that utilizes pure Aether as energy the most is Aether Engineering, but… well, it’s not like I’m going to become an engineer, so I’ll gloss over that!’
As for today’s “Aether Attribute Enhancement” lecture—just from the name, you can probably guess what it’s about, so I won’t bother with detailed explanations.
This class is, quite literally, aimed at strengthening each individual’s Aether attribute.
As I mentioned earlier, the maximum effect of my Buff depends on my own capabilities.
So if I improve myself, the ‘maximum boost’ will grow as well, won’t it?
According to the original story, Karbaldr forms the Einherjar Team after graduation and becomes active, so the Buff ability is extremely important.
‘That’s true, but my real reason for taking this class is different. Since my ability has already awakened, it’ll grow as long as I keep practicing.’
If this possessed body does indeed have Sky-Blue Aether, as I hope, then I might be able to discover it with the help of the professor in this lecture.
I’ve been looking up related books in the Academy Library whenever I have time, but so far, I’ve come up empty-handed.
Even if I get information about the second Aether, it’s best to get expert help to identify and strengthen its attribute.
‘When you awaken, your abilities are automatically registered in your skill window, but if an ability hasn’t blossomed yet—even if it has potential—it won’t show up, according to the setting…’
Because of that setting, I judged that it would be hard to discover and develop the second Aether ability on my own.
Even though only Buff and Whip Technique were registered in Karbaldr’s skill window in the original, I can’t give up hope because of that same setting.
Maybe the Sky-Blue Aether is just a fantasy or illusion created by that hope.
If I come to that conclusion even after receiving the professor’s help—
Then, I’ll ask for help in finding a way to use the unique Aether attribute of House Austri, the poison ability.
***
“Nice to meet you all. I didn’t have any first-year lectures last semester, so I suppose this is your first time seeing me? Let me introduce myself first. I’m Radvisin Prodrake, and…”
The professor in charge of the Aether Attribute Enhancement lecture arrived exactly on time.
And as soon as he came in, he started spouting TMI about himself.
He rambled on about what research he’d done so far, what achievements he’d made, and how he ended up focusing on Aether Attribute research, and so on.
I couldn’t remember all of it, nor did I feel the need to, so I just let it wash over me.
Anything important was already listed in the faculty directory anyway.
Still, since I’ll be visiting him often for help, it’s a hassle to keep calling him “the Aether Attribute Enhancement professor,” so from now on, I’ll refer to him as “Professor Radvisin.”
“Um, professor? When does our lecture actually start?”
“Eh? Ah, goodness! An entire hour has passed already? I still have so much left to say… Well, my lab is always open to students, so if you want to hear more, please feel free to drop by.”
Thanks to the intervention of an extra student who couldn’t endure the boredom any longer, Professor Radvisin’s TMI dump finally came to an end.
To think he could talk for a whole hour and still have more to say.
The students looked fed up at his words, but also relieved that it was finally over.
But I couldn’t feel relieved, since I’d be visiting his lab soon enough.
“Now, it’s time to hear about you all—especially your Aether attributes. For me to help enhance your Aether attributes, I need to know about them first. But with over twenty students, there isn’t enough class time to listen to everyone’s story. Plus, some of you may not want to reveal your abilities in detail to others.”
With those words, Professor Radvisin handed out several pens and stacks of paper to the nearest student.
The meaning was obvious.
The extra who received them started distributing the pens and paper to the other students.
Of course, I received a writing tool as well…
‘So they have click pens here, even without caps?’
After having ‘Swirl Omelet Kimchi Fried Rice’ for today’s cafeteria meal, a mere pen isn’t enough to surprise me.
Rather than being baffled, I decided to be thankful for the convenience of a click pen.
All the pens I owned in this body were fountain pens—if I ever visit the shopping district, I should buy some stationery.
“Did everyone get a pen and paper? There’s only three hours left in the lecture, so it’s a bit tight, but please write as detailed an account of your Aether attribute as possible and submit it. If you need more paper, come to the front for more… Ah! This will also serve as attendance, so don’t forget to write your name at the top.”
Maybe because he’s someone who can ramble for an hour just introducing himself, he must think students can write about their Aether abilities for three hours straight.
But the students who received their pens just looked lost.
“There’s not that much to write about…”
“If that’s the case, think of this as a chance to deeply explore your own Aether ability, and wrack your brains.”
To the extra’s grumbling, Professor Radvisin chuckled in response.
It was his way of saying he wouldn’t accept half-hearted submissions.
“You may not realize it, but I’m sure you all know your own Aether attribute well. There’s no way you could use your Aether ability without understanding its attribute, right?”
I guarantee most of them have no idea.
As proof, students would scribble something on their paper, then look up and glance around after only a minute.
If there’s a student with a fire attribute Aether, he probably just wrote “I can make fire” under his name.
I didn’t peek at their papers, but I could easily imagine it.
“If you’re worried about your ability information leaking out, don’t be. After I memorize all your ‘reports,’ I’ll burn them right away. I won’t go around telling others, either.”
Whether he truly understood the students’ predicament or not, Professor Radvisin subtly hinted that he wanted reports at the level of short essays.
That was a truly impossible demand.
Even I, who’d seen Karbaldr’s skill window through the original, didn’t have much to write.
By the way, the only reason I could see that skill window was because the original protagonist, Leisir, had a second Aether with the Truth-Reading attribute.
Author Senna once mentioned that this ability was inspired by ‘Odin’ as the protagonist’s motif…
‘Since the story unfolds from a first-person protagonist perspective, the author needed a convenient device to describe the abilities of villains and supporting characters in detail.’
That’s right.
Though it was grandly called “reading the truth,” it was basically the ability to freely view the status and skill windows of others.
It was definitely useful.
You could even read information about objects.
It even displayed information about non-awakened people right before your eyes.
By the way, you could only see it with the right eye, which had turned silver, and at present, the protagonist couldn’t control the ability.
That’s why he wore an eyepatch.
Because the skill was always active, it made his vision dizzy and constantly consumed Aether.
‘Would it be possible to learn about my own possession through that ability? Or is that the one truth that even Truth-Reading can’t reveal?’
Anyway, skill descriptions in novels shouldn’t be too long.
Especially for characters who aren’t the protagonist.
If they’re too detailed, readers just skip them. So, they have to be as concise and focused as possible.
That’s why, even knowing what was written in Karbaldr’s skill window, there wasn’t much to write.
It was memorable because it was brief, but that also meant there was a limit to how much I could expand on it.
‘You can increase the target’s physical abilities and mental strength.’
After that line, there was a note: ‘Physical abilities here refer to strength, stamina, agility… (etc.)’—with a few explanatory lines.
‘Aside from Buff, there are also Buff skills that can be stacked. To use these, certain conditions must be met, and I suspect these conditions are closely related to my personal disposition. Because… (etc.)’
When writing this part, I just made up various hypotheses, pretending I’d figured them out from experience.
Even after writing for what felt like ages, there were still two and a half hours left in the lecture.
Looking around, I saw the other students had already put down their pens and were zoning out.