Chapter 80

Remnants

Every night, Aiden and River entered the mindscape and got beaten half to death by Meyer.

Because of that, the atmosphere between Meyer and the other two was usually sharply divided whenever training began.

Meyer looked ready to pour all the stress accumulated during the day into Aiden and River, while Aiden had already reached the stage of pure resignation. River, meanwhile, still looked as though he had barely survived the previous session.

This time, however, the mood was distinctly different from usual for two main reasons.

The first was the unfamiliar, floating object Aiden had brought along with him.

“What’s that?”

“I got something new. Looks good, right?”

In truth, it was not exactly the sort of thing one could show off like a new set of clothes. Meyer narrowed his eyes at the gleaming white cube floating quietly beside Aiden.

He stared at it for several seconds before speaking with genuine, rare admiration. “You made that? Liquid metal?”

“…You can tell?”

“You actually used your head for once. Equipment that can change shape freely… You can use it as armor or a weapon. What materials did you mix together?”

“Star Iron and ectoplasm.”

“You picked only the materials that are a nightmare to obtain. That must have taken some work.”

Praise from Meyer was extraordinarily rare, but the system window floating in front of Aiden made it clear that the legendary knight’s reaction was not an exaggeration.

Item Info

[ Aether ] — Special Equipment

Liquid metal created by melting Star Iron into a fluid form and using ectoplasm as its core power source. Its shape can be freely designated, and it is uniquely specialized for supernatural ability imbuement.

▶ Its physical form can be changed freely according to the user’s intent!

▶ Supernatural ability conductivity is 100%. Imbued abilities are significantly amplified!

▶ Durability is semi-permanent. Any physical damage is automatically repaired over time!

< Unique Ability >

◆ Discharge

Specialized for offensive techniques that project supernatural abilities stored inside the equipment outward. Attack power is greatly increased when using a shaping method designed to launch energy straight from the weapon.

It was difficult to call Aether merely a weapon. If anything, it felt more like a universal, multi-purpose tool.

The ability to instantly morph it into a gun, a sword, a shield, armor, or practically anything else gave Aiden unmatched flexibility in every combat situation. With even a little creativity, he could achieve results far beyond simple versatility.

The most important part was the unique ability that had emerged from the flawless compatibility between its legendary materials.

‘…Attack amplification.’

The final product had become something closer to all-purpose gear than a single weapon, but its primary use would still be destroying his enemies. As an additional effect for that purpose, Discharge was top-class.

It was also simple and intuitive enough to use seamlessly in battle.

Aiden specialized in forming compressed supernatural abilities and firing them at opponents. For him, this meant almost every single offensive technique in his repertoire could benefit from this amplification.

‘I can already think of several deadly combinations.’

Once he combined that amplification effect with the freedom to change Aether’s shape on the fly, dozens of tactical and strategic applications immediately flashed through his mind.

‘…Thinking about it again.’

There were already very few master blacksmiths on the continent capable of properly working Star Iron. The number who could seamlessly forge it with pure ectoplasm would be infinitely smaller.

Ganesha had introduced someone capable of achieving that exact miracle in a single night. Aiden had to admit the man was remarkably capable.

There had been some rather unnecessary comments attached to the introduction, though.

— “That’s right. She’s an extremely skilled artisan. A very versatile girl. Would you like me to introduce you later?”

— “…”

— “It should be an interesting experience. I’ll make sure you meet her.”

— “…No, I don’t think that’s necessary…”

— “I said I’ll introduce you.”

Aiden’s face twisted automatically as he recalled that conversation. The whole exchange carried an ominous aura that made him want to avoid meeting this mysterious artisan entirely.

Before he could dwell on it any longer, River tried to sneer from the side.

[Getting proud over something so insignificant. How pathetic. A weapon that probably couldn’t even scratch me…]

“How about dying ten more times today?”

[…]

“Since I have new equipment, testing it out on you sounds extremely useful. Agree?”

[…]

River immediately shut his mouth tight.

Meyer turned his head away from the two, focusing on the second reason the atmosphere tonight felt so completely different.

“…By the way.” Meyer spoke with obvious confusion, staring at the unfamiliar woman standing nearby. “Who is this?”

More precisely, he was asking about the woman standing right beside Aiden with a brilliant, beaming smile.

Aiden rubbed his face before replying exhausted. “Say hello, Senior. She’s…”

“Hello!”

Before he could even finish, the woman bowed deeply toward Meyer.

She wore only simple light armor. Long blonde hair fell down her back, bright blue eyes shone with unnatural vitality, and faint freckles dotted her nose.

Below the neck, however, her body carried so many brutal scars that finding a single patch of untouched skin looked nearly impossible. She had clearly crossed the boundary between life and death countless times.

Despite those violent traces of war, the smile on her face was as bright and innocent as warm sunlight.

“I’m Theresa Adelite! The man standing right here killed me once!”

“…”

“When I woke up, I was suddenly here, and he told me the Knight of Dawn was here too! I respect you more than I can possibly explain!”

“…”

“I still remember getting hit by something you created in the past! It hurt so badly I thought I was going to die! Actually, I did die from it one more time! Speaking of dying, that reminds me of the first time I ever went into real battle!”

Meyer’s expression went completely blank as he listened. Seeing the legendary Knight of Dawn make a face like that was certainly a sight to behold.

Still, no one could blame him. Anyone caught in Theresa’s overwhelming, unstoppable momentum would react the exact same way. Aiden suspected Meyer was experiencing the exact same disorientation he himself had felt the first time he tried speaking with her.

“Wow, I seriously thought I was going to die back then! The only thing that saved me was probably all the muscle memory I had carved into my body over the years! Then Aiden here told me you train every night, and while I don’t understand the situation at all, I immediately knew I wanted to try it too! So…”

“…”

Meyer slowly turned his gaze toward Aiden. Theresa continued talking beside them without the slightest sign that her sentence would ever come to an end.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Is she… the one you called the Lord Protector?”

“Yes.”

The reason she was here was simple.

Item Info

[ Soul Connector: Modified ] — Special Equipment

A bracelet containing the highest-class soul, ‘Knight of Dawn.’ It allows entry into the unique space known as the , accessible to those who have reached a certain realm. Within that space, direct contact with spirits is possible.

▶ Due to the influence of ‘Special Ectoplasm,’ you can summon a chosen spirit among those with whom you have made contact. The spirit must have manifested in the material world at least once.

★ Selected Spirit: ‘Lord Protector,’ Theresa Adelite

That was what had happened, and even Aiden had been stunned after successfully bringing her back like this.

This was the exact same woman who had once tried to tear him apart without giving him any chance to explain himself. One would expect someone forcibly pulled back from death to be disoriented or hostile, but Theresa had instead understood the entire situation, accepted it, and adjusted within a few minutes.

— “So I died twice and came back twice?”

— “…Yes.”

— “And the second time, you were the one who killed me?”

— “…Yes. I’m sorry about that…”

— “No! Now that I think about it, I was trying to kill you back then too! That means neither of us owes the other anything, right?”

Their conversation had gone roughly like that. Aiden had been the one left completely bewildered while trying to calm her down.

Now, Meyer stared at him with an uncomfortable, baffled expression, and Aiden silently met his gaze.

“She’s supposed to be a knight famous enough to hold her own title?”

“…”

“Seriously?”

Normally, would that really be the first thing someone asked? Shouldn’t Meyer have been far more curious about how Aiden had successfully brought a dead soul back into existence?

When Aiden thought about it, Meyer also had a bad habit of focusing on the strangest details.

✦ ✦ ✦

One thing was absolutely certain: Theresa was just as insane as her overwhelming, chaotic energy suggested.

“Ahahahaha! This is so much fun!”

“…”

Theresa had just experienced the mindscape’s specialty—sparring while repeatedly dying—a single time. The moment she burst out laughing and declared it fun, both Meyer and River stared at her in sheer horror.

“You come back no matter how many times you die? That’s amazing! You could get stronger insanely fast this way!”

“Right?!”

“…”

When Aiden responded with completely genuine enthusiasm, the onlookers’ expressions grew even worse. They looked as though they could not believe he had somehow managed to find another lunatic operating on his exact same bizarre wavelength.

Theresa was clearly not speaking casually either. The system window appearing before Aiden proved that much.

System Message

▶ Target ‘Theresa Adelite’ has gained Affinity toward you!

▶ You can copy 1 skill from the target!

Aiden blinked at the notification in surprise. The fact that this brief interaction had been enough to unlock a copied skill was surprising on its own.

‘Before this, I’m pretty sure…’

He had raised Theresa’s Affinity once before back when she was alive. At that time, instead of receiving a skill, he had gained a large amount of points that could be used to purchase potions from the shop.

Apparently, now that Theresa was somehow able to “live” and interact directly with him inside the mindscape, he could actually copy one of her high-tier skills.

‘So even a skill I normally couldn’t copy from a boss can be taken if I can interact directly with the soul.’

He had learned a crucial new rule about his skill-copying ability. It seemed to work as long as the target satisfied two core conditions: they needed to be “conscious,” and they needed to possess “emotions.”

In other words, as long as the prerequisite condition of Affinity could be fulfilled, the physical state or identity of the target did not matter. That apparently remained true even for someone who had died and been restored as a spirit entity.

“…”

Several terrifying possibilities immediately came to mind.

There were a few figures across the continent whose skills Aiden desperately coveted. Until now, he had never seriously considered them because those targets seemed impossible to approach or copy safely. Knowing this hidden property existed made the idea infinitely more tempting.

For example… there was that absolute monster serving as the Pontiff’s personal guard in the Holy Kingdom.

“So, Aiden,” Theresa grinned beside him while Aiden was quietly weighing those dangerous possibilities.

Her spirit body was still actively regenerating from being turned into a bloody pulp during training. They had barely known each other for any time at all, yet she was already calling him by his name with complete, easy familiarity. Her overwhelming sociability was almost frightening.

“You showed me something this fun, so I’ll at least hear you out.”

“…What?”

“You’re doing something bad to Noel, aren’t you?”

“…”

The question struck directly at the heart of his secret guilt. Aiden could not think of a single easy answer.