Chapter 56 Volume II - 22: Frightening Skill

Chapter 56 Volume II - Chapter 22: Frightening Skill

Ordea and caora... Two types of energy in the Lunerra universe that are different from mana. They also constitute the totality of events that take place on Lunerra.

Unlike mana, these two energies are not without attribute or color. Ordea represents 'order' in its own right and has a tendency to bring 'order' everything it comes into contact with. It also has a relaxing feeling. n0VElusb.c0m

And caora, unlike ordea, represents chaos. It erodes and disrupts everything it comes into contact with and has an uncomfortable feeling.

Of course, these two energies are not something that humans can control easily. Especially caora is problematic in this respect because it has a chaotic nature. That's why the people who can control it are not human. They are some kind of another race called 'wiera'.

Wieras are, in a way, the demons of Lunerra. They are completely intertwined with Caora, they live and grow together with it. So their bodies have changed accordingly. On top of that, they are unstable, even if their physical appearance is exactly the same as their parent race, be it human, dwarf, or elf, despite being a wiera. They have many psychologic problems because of their closeness with caora.

So, how does someone become a wiera? There are several ways.

The first is when one or both parents are wiera. It makes no difference whether the mother is human and the father is wiera or vice versa. No matter what, if even one of the parents is a wiera, their children are bound to be a wiera.

The second way to become a wiera is to be transformed into one.

Of course, even if someone becomes a wiera in this way, the wiera side slowly overwhelms the human side and again, the person becomes a complete wiera.

That is why there is no such thing as half wiera or quarter wiera.

Okay... so, with this information, what actually am I?

Each time I confirmed my thoughts by looking through the system window, I trembled and was terrified more and more.

Not being a human anymore, thinking that I am one of the wieras, which is a very... problematic race, and on top of that, being something that I'm not even sure what it is... it just made me stand where I was, desperately looking for a solution.

And still... All these thoughts were disappearing in just a few seconds, I was calming down. And this was even more terrifying because I was literally in a loop.

I was scared, stressed, and my head was throbbing, but then it was all fading away. When this happened all over again, I couldn't help feeling that I was going crazy.

I gulped, then glanced at my status window again. And this time, I noticed something else. There was a skill that I hadn't seen before in the passive skill section.

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Absolute Mind(A-)

The user is protected from all mental attacks and negative influences. This includes charm statistics, illusions, and so on.

The person is also cleansed of all thoughts and emotions that can stress them out and negatively affect their mood, no matter how big or small the impact.

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Oh... So that's why I kept calming down all the time, that's what prevented even a feeling like fear...

"I... am not human..."

The truth hit me like a slap in the face.

Even if my body is half human, can someone who cannot feel negative emotions call himself 'human'?

No...

A sensation of goosebumps seemed to spread throughout my body. The more I thought about it, the more darkness I found myself in, but then, after just a few seconds, I was calm again. My mind was quickly cleansed... just like the description of the skill says.

I... have to stop thinking about bad things.

That was what I finally decided. Because whenever I thought of something negative, my mind was cleared by the skill and I found myself in a loop.

That's why no matter how hard it is, I have to stop thinking bad things and using my skill to my own detriment.

So what if I'm not human, and I'm in a horrible situation?

This is Lunerra... There is always a way to make everything happen here. Become human again? Why not. There must be a way, even a way to get rid of this frightening skill.

The reason why I think this may be because of the skill I have gained... Still, I really believe in it. I want to believe in it.

I stood up, even though I was still shaking.

Whatever happens, I can't keep staying here. The professor will wake up in an hour, I have to clean this place.

I stumbled a bit as I walked, still thinking in a more idle way. My mind was full of countless thoughts, but with the help of the skill called Absolute Mind, I slowly recovered.

When I finally managed to order everything inside the factory after about five minutes of work, I took a deep breath.

The professor was still sleeping peacefully. And when he woke up, he wouldn't remember anything about me. So now all I had to do was leave...

I turned around and ran out of the factory, not even looking back. Then, swallowing hard, I called the person named 'J4' from the watch still on my wrist.

*******

I looked at the door in front of me, braced myself and straightened up, then took a deep breath and knocked.

"Come in."

When a strong voice from behind the door gave me approval, I entered.

The room was comfortably two or three times the size of the living room of a normal house. Decorations, paintings, especially patterned carpets, luxurious armchairs, and the table in front of these armchairs...

On top of that, everything in the room was symmetrical and in perfect harmony.

In the chair behind the table just opposite the door was a man. His blue eyes were piercingly penetrating. He was a true nobleman, with jet-black hair and the nobility and sternness of his appearance and eyes.

He was my father, even though we looked almost nothing alike.

"You called for me, Father."

I didn't break my posture at all, he was a man who paid unnecessary attention to things like ethics.

"Yes, Celine. When your academy took a break because of the preliminary, we finally had a chance to talk. I wanted to take advantage of it because I have something I want to ask of you."

"I'm listening, Father."

My father smiled slightly, yet there was something wrong with his smile.

It wasn't normal, he wasn't really smiling. It didn't have any sincerity.

"Adrian Caleo and Aiden Tenebra are two prominent names in the academy right now. Adrian Caleo is first in the direct ranking and is making incredible progress. His general level has already reached D grade."

Normally, I was planning to listen to him and leave the room, saying that I would fulfill his request as I always do, but the last thing he said made me stiffen.

Raising stats to E+ is relatively not that difficult. With consistent and well-planned work, anyone can reach that level in a few short years, but the real problem lies in getting those stats to D- level and then improving them.

E+ level stats represent the very limits of the human body, which is much more advanced in mana than it was eighty years ago. Therefore, every time someone tries to break through this level, they run into a very difficult wall.

Nobody complains, though, because the rewards for breaking through this wall are enormous, but... To reach D grade at the age of eighteen? And not just one statistic, but the 'general level', which is sort of an average of stats?

I knew Adrian Caleo was strong, but has this ever happened before in history?

"All the guilds are already making plans to get him on their side. So we need to act too."

My father paused after those words, sighing slightly as if something had occurred to him.

"And then there is Aiden Tenebra..."

He looked a little confused, as everyone who thought anything about that boy was confused.

"The boy is smart, and as smart as he is, he has very good leadership skills."

The things he did in the preliminary proved that enough already.

Father tapped his watch and then a screen appeared between us. There was Aiden's photo on the screen, or rather the photo of him during the preliminary when he used a strange skill...

His gray eyes, which normally give the impression of looking at a ghost, had turned light green in this photograph. He had a strange-looking crown on his head. Meanwhile, the purity and the amount of mana emanating from him... It was tremendous, truly magnificent.

It was clearly an ascension skill, but I had never seen anything like it before.

"Still, it's not normal for someone who ranks second to last statistically and in terms of combat power to unleash that kind of power. That boy is hiding something, and he's definitely worth something, if not as much as Adrian."

His eyes sparkled, though he looked confused. He must have believed that with these two people, he could restore the guild, which despite its size was slowly losing its position.

"Even better, these two people are friends with each other, and not only that, they have ties to Julian Virhen."

Everyone at the academy knew this, the rumor that the three were close was no secret.

"These three meet in one of the karaoke rooms of the academy on certain days of the week and they study there. They have formed a sort of study group. And what I want you to do is to join this group and make friends with them, Celine. You have to draw them to you. You have to manipulate them if you have to, but you have to get at least one of them on our side. It's a great opportunity for us that neither of them is connected to any family."

I had already expected this from the way the conversation was going, yet even I was surprised by how excited he was.

He sees these two as something of a gold mine.

"I understand, Father."

After my answer, he smiled brightly.

"I have full faith that you will save our guild... You can go now, rest well during the break and stand proudly on that stage during the award ceremony."

I bowed slightly at a perfect angle to pay my respects.

"Thank you, Father..."

I turned around and walked out of the room without another word.

When I closed the door behind me, I stood in the hallway for a few seconds.

Tricking people... It's something I've done before for my father's purposes. I'm used to it, but can I act the way I should in front of people like Adrian and Aiden? I don't know...

I am not weak. In fact, I have a talent far above my peers, I know that better than anyone, but those two... The more I see them, learn about them, and try to unravel the secrets they hide... the more they seem like 'monsters' that I will never be able to reach.

Still... My father once gave me an order, I must fulfill it.

I took a deep breath, then headed toward the training rooms of the huge house as I wanted to distract myself with sword training.