Chapter 30: Professor Radvisin’s Gift

“Congratulations, Karbaldr. You’ve successfully manifested a new Aether.”

Professor Radvisin congratulated me.

Truly, this body harbored a hidden power unknown even to its original owner, and I had succeeded in discovering it.

‘Was it the excitement from that realization?’

‘Or was it the feeling of another type of Aether filling my body, which had been completely emptied when the original Purple Aether was depleted?’

My heart pounded fiercely.

The suffocating pressure lifted, and the dizziness was gone.

I was simply filled with anticipation and curiosity about what kind of attributes this Sky-Blue Aether held and what I could accomplish with it.

Just as I was about to draw out more Aether, “Stop.”

With a firm voice, Professor Radvisin’s hand gently rested on my shoulder.

Come to think of it, we had only planned to confirm the existence of the Sky-Blue Aether today.

Snapping back to my senses, I ceased drawing more Aether and withdrew even the whip I had wrapped around myself.

At that moment, a massive wave of exhaustion swept over me.

The energy I’d felt before was only a temporary sensation caused by adrenaline.

In reality, my body remained just as drained as it had been before manifesting the Sky-Blue Aether.

“Thanks to your success in drawing out the Sky-Blue Aether, you avoided fainting from Aether exhaustion, but to prevent harm to your body, you need to begin Aether cultivation right away. Here, this is an herb that helps with Aether recovery—put it in your mouth and sit down quickly.”

“Yes.”

I followed Professor Radvisin’s instructions immediately.

With the herb in my mouth, I crossed my legs and sat on the floor, closing my eyes.

By ‘crossed legs,’ I meant one of the Buddhist sitting postures, the same pose often found in martial arts novels.

This wasn’t particularly surprising.

There are quite a few Western fantasy novels where characters meditate in the lotus position, cultivating energy like mana or aura.

‘…More than anything, isn’t it a bit late to pick on the lotus posture now? If we’re talking about breaking the worldview, the mackerel braised in soy sauce I ate for breakfast this morning is a much bigger offense.’

Shaking off such thoughts, I focused seriously on Aether cultivation.

The herb left a bitter, slightly astringent taste in my mouth, but concentrating on the circulation of Aether inside my body soon made the sharp sensation fade.

‘How much time had passed?’

The exhaustion had vanished, replaced by a fullness that permeated my entire body.

My Aether had been fully restored.

Meanwhile, the herb that had been in my mouth was now gone—without me having chewed or swallowed it.

《In the Nas-e world, there’s only one plant with this characteristic.》

Aether Grass.

A blandly named herb literally meaning ‘Aether + Grass,’ this plant is commonly found in the Demonic Realm.

Because of its abundance there, its price later drops significantly.

But at this moment, when the Demonic Realm hasn’t opened, it’s different.

It’s a rare herb found only in environments rich in Aether, so it’s quite expensive.

Grateful that Professor Radvisin had given it to me without making a big deal about it, I decided to thank him as soon as I opened my eyes.

But he wasn’t here.

In my line of sight, I saw my senior research students sitting on a silver foil mat spread on the floor, opening snack bags.

“Hey, seniors…? What’s going on here?”

“Right! We thought you’d be done recovering and open your eyes by now!”

“Wow~! Our timing couldn’t have been better!!”

Neither answered my question, so my confusion remained as I felt awkward.

Just blinking quietly, the seniors patted the empty spots on the mat with their palms.

Clearly, an invitation to come sit closer.

So, I complied and asked a new question.

“Where did the professor go?”

“He said since we’re having a snack party, an old man shouldn’t crash where the young folks hang out, so he went back to the lab first.”

“But he stayed at the infirmary guarding the spot while we went to wash up, right? So when we see him next time, make sure to thank him properly. Got it?”

Elska answered my question first, and then Blida, showing respect for our mentor, handed me a wet tissue.

Wiping my hands with the tissue, I promised to thank Professor Radvisin sincerely.

Their expressions brightened, revealing how much they liked the professor.

“You reached near Aether exhaustion for a moment, but are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine.”

“That’s a relief, but don’t take Aether exhaustion lightly. Even if you don’t feel anything wrong, your body or Aether core might have been damaged.”

Blida said seriously, but honestly, it didn’t register with me at all.

To me, this body felt perfectly normal.

“The professor said the body needs time to recover, so training will happen on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. On Tuesday and Saturday, come to the lab whenever you have time. Thursday afternoon, there’s an ‘Aether Attribute Enhancement’ lecture, so training will follow right after in the lecture room—just so you know.”

Only three days a week? Isn’t that too little?

I also wanted to check the characteristics of the Sky-Blue Aether as soon as possible.

‘Maybe it showed on my face, because Blida frowned and warned me seriously.’

“Just so you know, don’t ever do today’s thing alone. There’s no guarantee it will always end safely like today, and if no one stops you, your greed will push you too far. You’ll definitely get hurt.”

I recalled the moment I manifested the Sky-Blue Aether.

I definitely lost control back then. Drunk on anticipation and excitement, I ignored the professor’s warning to confirm the attributes later.

Blida was right. Doing it alone was dangerous.

“Can’t be helped. I’ll just have to focus fully during training with the professor and get used to the Sky-Blue Aether as soon as possible… By the way, are you both okay?”

“Not at all. My whole body is sore right now.”

“But the health officer said it was just normal muscle pain and wouldn’t treat us! Isn’t that awful?!”

I suddenly remembered the seniors sprawled on the floor looking almost dead.

When I asked if their bodies were okay, Blida complained about muscle pain, rubbing her shoulder, which wasn’t related to running.

Elska criticized the negligence of the health officer.

‘I wonder if her shoulder hurts because she spends so much time bowing her head reading and organizing materials or writing papers… The health officer probably didn’t treat it because it was reasonable not to…’

Though these thoughts popped into my head, I didn’t voice them.

If I did, I’d be marked as an impertinent junior.

To show I was a respectful junior, I lowered my gaze with a pout and nervously fiddled with the corner of the wet tissue, then spoke.

“I’m sorry. You both went through unnecessary hardship because of me… And you’re in pain, but I’m perfectly fine…”

“S-Suffering? No, no, that’s not true at all! When else would we exercise if not now?!”

“It was just a bit of whining… but your eyes looked so sharp and fierce, like you weren’t that gentle after all…”

My intention seemed to get through.

Blida waved her arms frantically, awkwardly trying to convey that I had nothing to apologize for.

Elska, though less so, also looked embarrassed.

“Really, it was just a bit of whining?”

“Yeah, we’re fine. If it were serious, the health officer wouldn’t have just sent us home untreated. Our professor heard the same thing and said he expected that. We didn’t push ourselves beyond the limits of our bodies—we only ran. If we were physically superior, it wouldn’t have ended like this. In fact, he said our bodies might be weak enough that there were no major side effects.”

Blida’s long explanation proved she was truly Professor Radvisin’s disciple.

Her tone sounded natural, so it didn’t seem made up.

Though I suspected they were exaggerating, hearing there were no side effects beyond muscle pain eased my mind.

“That’s a relief.”

“Yeah, so don’t worry and just enjoy some snacks. Today’s a happy day—you discovered potential Aether you didn’t even know you had your whole life.”

Blida said warmly, handing me a juice box with a straw poked through.

If it were me a week ago, I’d have been confused seeing a juice box.

But now, I was different.

I could handle a fruit juice in a paper carton or even a soda in an aluminum can without blinking.

“Thank you.”

I accepted the juice Blida handed me and drank it.

It was peach juice, but it tasted more like artificial flavoring than pure fruit concentrate.

I decided to just let it be.

“Senpai~! Put a straw in my drink too!”

“Just do it yourself. You’re not a kid…”

“I see. So, Karbaldr still seems like a kid to you, but I feel like an adult man? Sorry for realizing this so late.”

“W-Wh-What are you saying?!”

Blida blushed furiously and punched Elska repeatedly.

Elska took all the hits, making sounds that were hard to tell if he was laughing or in pain.

They were really putting on a show.

‘Why aren’t they dating already?’

I wondered, but I wasn’t close enough to these senior research students to meddle in their romantic affairs.

So I buried my curiosity and focused on the snacks.

The variety of snacks tasted like familiar, even nostalgic, processed foods and naturally suited my palate very well.

“By the way, our junior eats so well? I thought you wouldn’t touch cheap junk food made by some unknown person.”

Because of muscle pain, Blida’s punches didn’t last long.

Freed from pain, Elska rubbed the spots he’d been hit on and looked at me with surprise.

I was glad I had invited them to share snacks.

Otherwise, Elska might have suspected I’d thrown away the snacks I received yesterday.