Chapter 65
Joshua was immersed in trying to reach the next level of Magic Spear Arts, and he didn't even realize how much time had passed.
Within the Avalon Imperial Academy, there was a minor ruckus. It hadn’t even been a month since the welcoming ceremony for the new students, but a rumor had already spread across the Imperial Academy.
Count Sten was insulted by the successor of an obscure noble family!
Outraged, Count Sten's second son, Amaru bron Sten, challenged the other party to a life-and-death duel. Thanks to Professor Kane's intervention, however, the life-and-death duel was downgraded to sparring.
Rumors were sure to be exaggerated to the point of absurdity.
Not to mention the fact that the party in question was Amaru bron Sten, one of the most well-known members of the Imperial Academy's undergraduates.
The academy cadets' initial reactions to the rumor were classified into three categories.
Some found it astonishing, some found it absurd, while some were enthusiastic about it.
The cadets of Avalon Imperial Academy were thrown into a furnace of excitement.
Life at the Imperial Academy was usually tedious and monotonous.
Whether they liked it or not, they had to attend classes for six years. They couldn't experience any type of pleasure and fun, especially in the Imperial Academy that kept on hammering them with knowledge about the battlefield.
Whenever the chance appeared, the only form of entertainment they had was flocking in droves to watch students similar in ranks fighting it out.
From their perspectives, a ruckus like this was extremely rare.
What right did a descendant of an unknown noble have to disrespect Count Sten's son?
In Avalon, one’s family was everything.
It was suicidal for a child from a powerless family to quarrel with a child from a higher-ranking family.
After all, they would also implicate their entire family aside from harming themselves.
As a result, when a child from a powerless household faced such a scenario, it was only natural for them to lower their head and beg for forgiveness.
However, someone from a lower-ranked family actually dared to insult one of the five Masters of the Empire.
"Is it today? I mean, the sparring between that nameless kid and Amaru bron Sten?"
"A sparring? I thought it was a life-and-death duel?"
"Eh? Either way… is he inside? He's gonna end up dead"
"Who? What was his name again? Is it Freddator or something? Have you heard of it?"
"It's Frederick… not Freddator, and no, I've never heard of them."
They attended their classes today as usual, but the lower grades' swordsmanship practical lesson was about to start.
The sparring between Ash pen Frederick and Amaru Bron Sten had been a topic of debate for undergraduate students since early in the morning, and some cadets even let out a sigh of disappointment.
"This sucks! I'm not gonna be able to see the fight of the century…"
"Yeah, and this class is boring as well…"
"Should I just skip today's class? It's not going to affect graduation, right?"
Undergraduate students often get themselves into a lot of trouble, but even they knew that the beef between Ash pen Frederick and Amaru bron Sten had to be resolved as soon as possible.
Even if the parties involved weren’t willing, it had to be settled sooner than later.
"Did that kid show up?"
"You think he’ll run away?"
“Since it’s Amaru bron Sten, perhaps he realized the heavy consequences of what he did and decided to run away? But what will happen to his family? Is he even prepared to let his family accept the burden of what he did?”
"Yeah, I think he ran away."
The undergraduates were taken aback, but they all agreed on one thing.
Even if Ash ran away, the Stens would still not tolerate the insult.
They would surely get their revenge one way or another.
"Damn it; it seems like there will be no fight."
The undergraduates who had congregated around the main auditorium started dispersing after hearing a fellow cadet mumble about what would most likely happen to the sparring.
Meanwhile, Joshua finally woke up after three days.
***
‘How long has it been?’?
Joshua’s tightly closed eyes finally opened. A sliver of lightning flashed across his eyes as soon as he opened them.
'It's done!'
Joshua's face lit up with delight.
A faint vibration could be heard, and the surrounding seemed a bit more monochrome, or was it only Joshua?
His vision was a little blurry, but his body felt exceedingly light.
There was also a tremendous amount of energy in him.
Joshua was extremely familiar with this energy.
‘Magic Spear Arts Level 3.’
In the third level of Magic Spear Arts, one could mold their mana in whatever they wish and envelop their weapon with it.
There was also a significant difference in one’s mana density depending on their class.
In his previous life, at Level 3 of the Magic Spear Arts, he could already defeat an intermediate-level B-Class Knight.
'But now… everything is different.'
It was unmistakably different from anything he had ever accomplished.
Joshua could only imagine the possibilities now that he was on a higher level.
There was an unprecedented power infused in his mana.
"..."
Joshua closed his eyes and inspected his own body.
The weird lumpy energy, which was like water and oil, could no longer be seen. It wasn't perfect, but a different energy embraced the two and strangely intertwined their auras.
'I possess this kind of power now…'
Joshua muttered under his breath with fists clenched.
It was flawed but controllable, and it was made possible by the Primordial Stone.
Bronto really saved his life this time.
Who could have guessed that Bronto had such a mysterious ability?
"Ah!"
Joshua exclaimed as if he had remembered something.
Now that he had reached Level 3 of the Magic Spear Arts, he could finally use ‘it’.
Joshua took a quick look around to see if he could put his ideas into action.
"It’s… gone?"
The object he was looking for was missing.
The object that was as important as Joshua's heart and brain wasn't here. His dear Lugia.
- Are you a moron?
"...!"
Joshua's eyes widened when he heard a child's voice from around the corner.
He looked around and saw a long object casually swimming in the air in front of him. It was a glimmering silver rod emitting a weird light.
The child's voice kept echoing in Joshua's head as he muttered, “Lugia?"
- Your stupidity must be on a whole new level, how could you sleep for three days in a place where the enemy could attack you at any time?
"Three days?" Joshua blankly muttered.
The voice clicked its tongue and chuckled.
- Thank and adore the greatest companion in the world, the great Lugia! This one took care of you while you were sleeping like a log in the past three days!
"Wait!"
Lugia's voice constantly buzzed in Joshua's mind, making him frown.
Something was off.
He knew Lugia would undergo changes as he became even stronger.
Lugia had gone through some changes in Joshua's former life as well.
Reaching Level 3 of the Magic Spear Arts meant there would be some distinct changes.
One of those distinct changes was the introduction of 'subspace.' One’s artifact could enter and exit the subspace on its own.
Only extremely rare artifacts of antiquity could use subspace magic, but Lugia had its own subspace magic as well. However, the ancient artifacts with their own subspace magic were mostly tiny artifacts like rings and necklaces.
There were almost no weapons with their own subspace, especially a weapon as huge and as heavy as Lugia. As such, it was safe to assume that Lugia was a unique case.
A tremendous amount of mana was necessary to generate a handful of space, so to create a subspace, one required a dimensional space that was already twisted. Joshua enjoyed using Lugia's own subspace during his previous life.
Joshua recalled that back then, Lugia could appear and thrust at an enemy from any place and at any time amidst the battlefield. On the battlefield, Lugia was like a grim reaper from hell.
Another distinct change was Lugia’s ability to alter its appearance, similar to what Joshua had shown the Duke. It was only after he returned that he realized Lugia had the ability to change its own shape.
Lugia usually took the shape of an iron rod.
Joshua loved the skill. After all, Lugia's distinctive appearance easily attracted people’s attention.
And the last distinct change…
'This ability confuses me the most…'
Joshua's brows furrowed even deeper.
Lugia was a conscious weapon with an ego. As such, it could now talk. This had happened once shortly after Joshua returned, so it didn't surprise him now.
But...
'I felt like I was dealing with an uptight middle-aged man at the time, but now, I feel...'
- Are you seriously telling me that you think I look like a child?
"Like I’m dealing with a child—"
Joshua's eyes widened when he realized that he had unwittingly said what he was thinking out loud and that Lugia had responded to it before he could even complete his sentence.
"What was that—"
- Are you done being surprised? Don't be such a wimp and underestimate this weapon that had just awakened, okay? I can read minds if you're not aware of it.
"..."
When Lugia's eerie voice reached Joshua’s ears, he instinctively shut his mouth.
- Surely you're not forgetting something important…
“What are you talking about?"
- Haaah… Worry about yourself first before fighting your foe. Are you even sure that you’re fine right now?
"Well—"
Lugia approached Joshua slowly through the air, and Joshua's face stiffened, which made him unable to continue speaking.
- Want me to tell you something?
"You know something?"
- The stone you got before… you’ll be a fool if you believe that it’s a stone with nothing but the power of an ‘attribute’ in it.
"There’s more?"
Lugia rolled its imaginary eyes and calmed down before responding to Joshua’s words.
.
- With that little knowledge, I'm not sure how much research humans have done on Primordial Stones, but their true powers are different.
"..."
- Do you want some examples? The Primordial Stone Magma has the power of annihilation… meaning it will devour everything with its scorching flames. Aqua has 'regeneration,' Gaia has 'harmony,' and—well, it doesn't matter right now, but in short, the Primordial Stones have their own unique properties.
Joshua couldn’t help but think of Lugia as a delinquent with its manner of speech.
- What’s really important right now is the kind of power Bronto has.
Joshua thought about Lugia’s words for a long time.
'I have the thunder attribute, which is known for its destructive power, but I'm curious if it’s truly more than what meets the eye. No… If that's the case, its ability would be the same as Ulabis' red Primordial Stone.'
- Consider your options carefully. The answer to this problem can help you find the quickest route to complete your objectives.
Lugia talked lightly as if it had no intention of telling the truth at all. At that, Joshua raised his head. He was about to say something at the floating Lugia, but—
- Remember your plans? The revenge?
Joshua's eyes widened.
"You…!"
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