Chapter 259: Bounded Fields and Time left
Domain of Lucifer’s Vestige
Unnamed Planet
Varona Realm
October ????
Year 717 of the 50th General Calendar.
"3/10."
"WHAT?!"
Arthur’s exclamation of shock rang out across the domain’s large training hall, garnering the attention of the rest of his family members who were nearby.
However, the boy paid them no mind and continued speaking with a raised voice, his words being directed to the master of the domain they currently resided in.
"How on Aeturn did I get a 3/10?! My bounded field was perfect! I even managed a terrain change effect too!!
Do you know how difficult that is for someone who just began comprehending the law of space less than a month ago?!"
"I could do that within a day of beginning my spatial law comprehension, and my bounded field was more refined than yours."
"Well, that’s because you were already proficient in manipulating space! You’d lived for a century before you became a transcendent and began comprehending laws!
You’d spent more than 5 times my entire lifetime controlling space before you picked up the law, it’d be weirder if you couldn’t create a better domain!!"
"You do have a point there..."
The Devil King’s vestige only rubbed his hand on his chin as he spoke, nodding to himself before reassessing Arthur.
"5/10 then."
"..."
Arthur barely held back his urge to curse out loud, taking a deep breath to calm himself before asking with a forced smile on his face.
"Do tell...how did I ’lose’ 5 points?"
Upon hearing the boy’s question, the vestige spun around and transformed his clothes, now sporting a black suit and a pair of square-rimmed glasses which he pushed up with his index and middle fingers.
"First!
Your energy network was knitted sloppily, if that human was versed in spatial magic, he may have been able to unknit your energy network and escape, even without using the law of space’s power.
Second! You had no technique, spell, or ability imbued or embedded into the bounded field.
Next..."
The Devil King’s vestige acted like a university professor listing out the reasons why a student failed his project, even going on to summon a crop in his hand and slap it on his palm multiple times.
After he was done with his explanation, Arthur just sighed and asked a very important question that he had wanted to know the answer to ever since Lucifer began teaching him how to create bounded fields with the law of space.
"Why do I even need to learn this at my stage?
It’s much more effective to use the power of space to lock the space around my target or imbue it into my sword to sever space.
Or I could even create a spatial distortion barrier around my body to make me seem invincible."
"Spatial distortion barrier? I had one of those before. Too bad it became useless against those with spatial aspects and dictums."
Lucifer spoke with a look of remembrance on his face before returning back to his normal appearance and continuing.
"Well, the reason is quite simple.
It’s the foundation of the ability that all Main Entities with a ’Territory’ or basically any existence with a ’Territory’ has."
"Domain Declaration."
"Correct, Granddaughter."
Lucifer pointed his finger towards Cattleya who answered his question as he spoke to Arthur.
"Your mother over here has a territory of her own, does she not? I believe it’s the Albelion cluster?"
"Yes..."
"Good.
In an event where she is stuck in an unfavourable environment for battle, she can declare the surrounding area as her Domain to tip the scales in her favour.
Putting it bluntly, what she’d be doing is just a higher level of Bounded Field creation."
"What?"
"Yep.
Domain Declaration is basically just creating a bounded field where space itself acts as the boundary line.
Of course, there are other things involved like authorities and law energies and so on, but the base is the same."
Arthur nodded in understanding upon hearing Lucifer’s explanation, finally understanding why the Devil King’s vestige wanted him to learn the spatial art of creating bounded fields.
"Even if I’m not on that level yet, if I find myself in such a situation, I can use a bounded field to change things up."
"Exactly.
Though, I would have had to revise your score and give you a 6/10 as the terrain change you displayed is something even I did not expect.
But that was unwise as by changing the terrain, you used up precious energy you could have utilized to expand the bounded field’s size.
So that’s a minus point again."
"ughh..."
"Why did you even call it ’Broken Expanse’?"
"It’s a placeholder name."
"Really? ’Cus it seems to me that you were trying to sound cool....and I need to inform you that you failed woefully."
"Geh!"
Ignoring the groaning boy, Lucifer’s vestige was about to say something else when his vision suddenly turned hazy and he dropped to his knees.
"What the?!"
Cattleya’s surprised voice rang out as she saw the Vestige’s body flicker dangerously like an illusion about to dissipate.
Arthur reflexively tried to use the power of the law of time but Lucifer held out a hand and stopped him before absorbing ambient cosmic energy to stabilize himself.
Diablo who was absorbed in a heated chess game with Creusery, naturally noticed this and came over, with his expression darkening upon seeing the vestige’s state.
"Your time is running out..."
"It sure is..."
Lucifer replied with a wry smile as he got to his feet, turning to Arthur and chuckling a bit before saying.
"You should know that the power of time can’t do anything to rectify my state.
Alexia already tried after all, or did I not tell you this?"
The boy’s eyes widened in shock as the plan that he had been formulating in his mind to preserve the vestige’s existence crumbled faster than a sand castle hit by a tidal wave.
Cattleya noticed her son’s expression and guessed what he might have been thinking, but she did not comment and instead asked the vestige a question.
"How large of a fragment of the original are you?"
