"Oh, Lowell-sama? Are you still sleepy?"
Louis asked Lowell while grinning.
By the way, he's on his Madman mode right now.
"N-No! I just-?!"
"Didn't I say sleep after you use the library?"
"I-I did, but.."
Lowell didn't notice that it's almost morning after she finished reading those books.
"Well, if you insist. Show me the fruits of your efforts!"
Louis starts to act as if he's a strict tutor.
I don't know why he's enjoying this..
"Y-Yes!"
Lowell crouched and placed her wand to the ground.
She gather silver mana on both of her hands and pointed them in opposite directions.
She closed her wide-open hands when the released silver mana reached the distance of two meters.
"Spatial Hole!"
Two Spatial Hole emerged.
She walked towards the one of the holes.
When Lowell reached it, she threw a stone from the ground inside of it.
Afterwards, the stone shot out the other hole.
Louis clapped his hands after seeing her daughter's skillful performance.
"Good. Now, you can completely control Spatial Hole... but I think you've enhanced the Spatial Hole already, right?"
Lowell nodded as a confirmation and started to gather silver mana again.
Spatial Hole consumes one-eighth of her total mana per use.
She threw both silver mana she created in opposite directions again.
By the time she felt that the distance is enough, she closed both of her hands.
"Spatial Hole!"
"Is that it? Nothing's ha-... What?!"
Louis looks at her excitedly with both of his eyes shining.
He looks at Lowell like a gem, but this skill is created by mixing some of the knowledge Lowell received from the Physics book.
In General Theory of Relativity, those 'Spatial Holes' are made of a certain matter, which is also known as 'Dark Matter'.
Since the space in this world is visualized as a 'dark, empty place', the color that it will show is, of course, black.
But if you can visualize it, it's true color is..
"Why is it invisible? I see both of them because of being Gaunt Tier, but I don't think of any way to see it with naked eye. This skill can be used for stealth and perfect for distractions. Tell me, how did you do this?"
Louis held Lowell's shoulders while shaking her violently.
I'm starting to get dizzy..
"D-Dad! Please stop..."
"Oh! Hahaha! I overdid it. Sorry."
He starts to laugh while giving an apology.
Lowell started to explain the details without mentioning the Physics book.
"Hoh~.. so in this 'Theory of General Relativity', the color of that 'Spatial Hole' should be 'non-existent' or 'colorless'. Well, I don't know why it's called 'Dark Matter', but I'll accept those facts since you gave me a demonstration."
Lowell noticed some suspicion, but her Dad to brushed it off.
"Now, since you discussed 'Time', I think you know how to control it, right?"
Lowell thought that she's in trouble.
Lowell tried to avoid mentioning Physics, but she forgot to avoid mentioning 'Time'.
Now that I think about it, I can't tell how 'Theory of General Relativity' works without mentioning 'Time'.. Oh well.. Let's try to dodge this topic...
"By the way-"
"Right?! Right?!"
Louis pestered her like a child.
There's no choice!
"Dad, Mom's gonna get angry at you!"
"Hahaha! To think my own child wants to scare me with my own wife! Too bad! The effects of 'Allegiance Trial' won't go off until tonight! Your Mom's adorable state would remain that way until the duration is on! Now, Lowell-sama~ tell me if you can use the 'Time' you're talking about~"
Her Dad looks at Lowell with anticipation.
Some people might think that Lowell should give in to his demand, but if this goes on...
"No way! If I use 'Time', you'll make another unreasonable request like 'use Meteor this time!'. The last time I showed my own ideas, you've tried to exhaust my whole mana! What are you thinking!"
Lowell started to act angry at him.
He still had his 'smiling' face on! My 'getting angry' act failed!
"Don't worry~ Don't worry! Dad's gonna be here if you exhaust your mana~"
"And who's the person who wants me to conserve mana and don't push myself?"
Lowell started to try acting angry again.
His smile cramped a little! His shield is down!
"Then, Use the Spatial Spell you can right now, and don't use same spells!"
Louis starts to calm down.
Lowell agreed with his proposal.
The day after her Dad started teaching her Spatial Spells, Lowell started to experiment on how to use it efficiently in combat, not just for transportation.
Since most of her Dad's teachings are using 'Dark Matter' and 'Gravity', Lowell could only use Spatial Attribute to suppress and distract enemies presently, since if she push it more than that, she'll exhaust all of her mana.
Time, in a sense, can be like that, but.. she picked one of the fresh grass in the ground.
She gathered silver-colored mana and injected it on the grass.
"Time Progression"
Slowly, it starts to wither until it crumbled by passing wind.
"Oh? This is interesting! The procedure and type of mana gathered is the same, but why is the effect different? I expected that the Spell would fail, but what is this! Hahaha!"
Louis stared at Lowell then laughs gleefully.
Lowell knew what will happen next..
"Is that all?"
Here it comes.
Louis starts to bug her again.
Really, aren't I supposed to be the student here?
Lowell looked at her Dad with a hopeless face and started to gather silver mana.
She started to get dizzy, since she almost used up three-fifths of her mana.
Spatial skill really consume high amounts of mana mana...
Lowell threw the mana she gathered towards the falling leaves on a nearby tree.
Before they reached the ground, she started to cast the spell.
"Time Shackles."
The leaves stayed mid-air for five seconds then starts falling again. Then suddenly..
"WAAAH?!"
"I can't believe it! My daughter proved one of mysteries of Spatial Attribute!"
"Whaa-?!"
Lowell was lifted up by her Dad.
Unexpectedly, his smile is a genuine one. After a few seconds, he placed her back down..
Now, I'm really dizzy.
"As I said before.. We, Spatial Attribute Fleurs, are very rare. We're very rare that our existence is being doubted by people."
Louis tried to explain the situation, but Lowell remembered something from last night.
"But, when I read the-"
"Oh, you've read 'Party Tactics' book already? That book was created five hundred years ago."
"What?!"
To think that 'Party Tactics' book was created five hundred years ago.. But..
"How about 'Dangerous Places' and 'Skill Mechanics System'?"
"Now that I thought about it.. 'Skill Mechanic System' was created before 'Dangerous Places'. Oh? You read both of them already?"
"I read the 'Dangerous Places', but most of the parts of the 'Skill Mechanic System' are hard to understand.."
"Haha! Did you became curious of this world?"
"I was curious from the start... but I didn't think it was that large."
"Hm. Hm."
Louis nods like he understood Lowell.
"Now, for the main question. Why are we so rare, that even people start to doubt our existence?"
"Why?"
"It's-!"
"It's?"
"... A secret!"
If only Lowell could, she would like to punch her Dad on the face.
"Don't think about it that much. It's much better to focus that on improving yourself at the moment. Even if I tell you, can you do anything about it?"
What her Dad said was a sound explanation.
Without strength, some things are just better left unknown. Like some people said - 'Curiosity killed the Cat'.
"Okay, Dad.. I understand.."
"Good~ Then~!"
Before her father could ask for another unreasonable request, Lowell interrupted him.
"Dad, I've already exhausted most of my mana. Can I stop here?"
"Oh yes, yes~ Then, it's my turn!"
Louis immediately agreed and started to show his skills.
"I can't execute big skills right now, so I'll give you a brief demonstration."
Louis starts to gather silver-colored mana on his right hand.
After that, he swung his hand forward.
A lump of silver mana shot out, but there is still some silver mana remaining on his hand.
Then, he gestured his right hand like a scissor and cuts his connection with the launched silver mana.
The disconnected mana stops mid-air.
When the connection was removed, he swung his hand upward, shooting out the remaining mana. After the lump of mana on his head reached three meters above him, he closed his right hand.
"Spatial Hole!"
'Spatial Hole' emerged on both directions he swung his right hand. After that, he started to gather blue-colored mana on his right hand. He pointed his palm on the Spatial Hole above him.
"Water spikes!"
Water Spikes burst out of the gathered mana.
The spell entered the hole above him, and emerged on the 'Spatial Hole' in front of him.
The nearby tree where Lowell used Time Shackles was his target.
It was hit by the Water Spikes spell. Visible damage was inflicted on the tree.
"This is how you ordinarily use Spatial Hole in battles, but do you think that this will be enough?"
"No, because it's easy to predict."
Of course, if Louis used Lowell's version of Spatial Hole, it'll be a little hard to predict, but only for Professor Tier below.
"Correct. If I were to use your invisible Spatial Hole, it'll be harder to predict. But.. I have another way to deal with it's 'easy to dodge' problem. Look, my princess, Lowell-sama!"
Whenever he says those line, he always go overboard.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Lowell tried to run away from his target.
When she was already forty meters away, he starts to gather silver mana on his right hand and blue mana on his left hand.
This time, it was three times larger than the mana he used on his previous Spatial Hole spell.
He starts to swing his outstretched fingers like a fan towards the tree.
A group of silver-colored mana surrounded the tree.
It suspended in the air like stars in the sky.
He still had silver mana remaining on his right hand.
He used it by shooting it forward.
Then, he closed his right hand and started to use his left hand's blue mana.
"Now! Spatial Mirror! Water Spikes!"
Those silver-colored mana floating mid-air starts to formed 'Spatial Holes'.
All of them are facing towards the tree.
Dad pointed his left palm towards the last 'Spatial Hole' he created.
It entered the 'Spatial hole' and..
"H-How?"
Lowell saw it.
All 'Spatial Holes' Louis created beforehand bursts out Water Spikes.
It can't be said that the Water Spikes was divided, but it was..
"Each 'Spatial Hole' created a copy?!"
Yes, all of the Spatial Holes around the tree shot out the same Water Spike spell her Dad used.
There wasn't a decrease on intensity, strength, and mana.
It isn't an illusion, since when they hit the tree, all of the Water Spikes created visible damage.
"Yes, this is one of the properties of the 'Dark Matter' you're talking about. It is 'Spell Replication'. This is one of the unsolved mysteries of Spatial Attribute."
Louis calmly explained as he saw her daughter stupefied.
Lowell tried to recall anything from 'Physics' book about this topic, but she didn't discover anything like this.
It defies the 'Law of Energy Conservation'.
Lowell was confused, but..
"Hmm?!"
Louis noticed that her daughter realized something.
"What is it?"
That's when she noticed.
All of the Spatial Holes except the last Spatial hole and another one from the bunch around the tree remain mid-air.
The Spell Replication is correct, but there is something Dad didn't notice.
It is..
"So that's how it is.."
Lowell can't say it aloud, since she knew that her Dad would pester her with questions again.
She thought of telling him later, after her Mom's original personality returns.
"Hmm? What is it, Lowell-sama?"
Louis looks at her with an inquisitive look.
That's when Lowell noticed.. that his feet are shaking.
Let's try if what I'm thinking is true.
"Dad?~"
"What is it, Lowell-sama? Why is your smile a little scary right now?"
"You've pushed yourself to your limit again, right?"
"Hahaha! Who would-?! Eh?! Don't come closer, Lowell-sama!"
Lowell started to walk towards her Dad.
Now, she's sure.. He can't move from his position.
"Hehehe~ This is payback for making me exhausted everyday!"
A brilliant smile shone in Lowell's face, a smile that could attract anyone because of her cuteness.
Louis had a cramped smile in his face as he saw her daughter's actions.
Lowell made a pushing gesture as she carefully approached her immobile Dad.
It's time to punish my crazy Dad!
"I'd rather use this than get humiliated by my own daughter!"
But before Lowell could push him, Louis made a cool gesture while both of his feet were shaking.
It looks stupid than cool.
Rather than that! He's using a skill because he does'nt want to get humiliated? How childish!
"Limit Break!"
What is that skill?!
While Lowell was thinking, Chains that are attached on the air towards her Dad's back starts to appear.
These chains starts to unbind themselves from her Dad's back, as if he's breaking free.
"Witness the power that defeated a Life Dragon!"
I'm not your enemy, though.
"Dad's cheating! Stupid Dad!"
Her brilliant smile vanished and turned into a disappointed pout,
"AHAHAHA! All is fair in Love and War!"
Now, you're talking nonsense..
Lowell tried to use 'Eye of Investigation' on her Dad while his 'Limit Break' skill is on.
『
Name: Louis Zvalle
Level: 60
Title: The Silver Adventurer
Job: Civil Worker , A-rank Adventurer
Status: Limit Breaker
Age: 34 years old
Birthplace: Royal Capital City
HP: (420/6700)->6700/6700
Mana: (200/3400)->3000/3400
Stats:
Physical Power: (262)->524
Magic Power: (1050)->2100
Speed: (501)->1002
Constitution: 7
Luck: (80)->(100)
Aptitude: High-Rank Gaunt-Tier Fleur
Attributes: Spatial(Main), Wind, Fire, Water, Earth
Special Skills: Limit Breaker(High), ???
』
Her Dad's already level 60.
Two years ago, he was still level 53.
How's that happening?
Lowell thought that when someone already reached level 50 above, it's harder to level.
Some people even get one level per year.
Is this another effect of Limit Breaker skill, or...
"Dad, aside from Limit Breaker, what is your other skill?"
"Oh? I think I know your eye skill already.. 'Eye of Investigation', is it?"
"What? How?"
Lowell became surprised, but Louis explained his thoughts.
"One of the best eye skills, only second to 'Farsight'. Its versatility and ability to know anything, from sentient beings to objects and their strengths and weaknesses is superb. As long as the owner can directly see the target, he/she could instantly use it. The only flaw of this skill is the owner's noticable change in eye color. It also doesn't indicate the target's Special Skills on low levels. It's a good skill for adventurers who want to explore the world... but.."
"But?"
"It's also useless if you can't see the enemy! Hahaha!
Her Dad move around while dodging her line of sight.
His present speed is double of her Mom's speed stat, so it's natural that Lowell couldn't follow his movements.
Suddenly, he stopped in front of Lowell and said:
"Use your skill again on me."
Lowell obeyed and used it again.
『
Name: Louis Zvalle
Level: 60
Title: The Silver Adventurer
Job: Civil Worker , A-rank Adventurer
Status: Limit Breaker
Age: 34 years old
Birthplace: Royal Capital City
HP: (420/6700)->6700/6700
Mana: (200/3400)->3000/3400
Stats:
Physical Power: (262)->524
Magic Power: (1050)->2100
Speed: (501)->1002
Constitution: 7
Luck: (80)->(100)
Aptitude: High-Rank Gaunt-Tier Fleur
Attributes: Spatial(Main), Wind, Fire, Water, Earth
Special Skills: Limit Breaker(High), Adventurer's Spirit(High)
』
"Adventurer's Spirit?"
Lowell didn't see her father activating it, but Adventurer's Spirit emerged at his stat entry.
"Yes, When activated, it triples the experience earned when battling."
What... Aren't you a cheat then?!
"Let's wrap this up then. Ultimate Skill: Limit Breaker!"
What? Dad's using Limit Breaker again? and what's this Ultimate Skii?!
Lowell became overwhelmed by sudden emergence of information and became lost in her own thoughts when her Dad unleashed another important knowledge.
"What is that-?!"
Lowell felt that her mana was restored and looked towards her Dad, who was acting cool.
When he heard Lowell's question, he looks at me teasingly.
"Eh? Didn't you read the fifth chapter of 'Skill Mechanic System'?"
"No. What's in there, by the way?"
Because when Lowell tried to read the fifth chapter, it was empty.
"Haah.. I thought so.."
"I thought so?"
Lowell became more and more curious of the fifth chapter of the book.
"I'll give you some information about Ultimate. Each Skill has an ultimate effect - or Ultimate. In my case, Limit Breaker's Ultimate makes it's effect an AOE/Area-of-Effect. Only Skills with Rank High can use it."
Lowell imagined how it works, but..
"How does it work on Uncategorized Skills? They're also shared?"
"Hahaha! Silly! Of course not! Their efficiency would just get enhanced for a while. Of couse, you can't share the trait you received from your skill."
So that's how it is. Then.. Lowell thought...
"Then, you can share your Adventurer's Spirit?"
"Of course.. but only once per day... and also.. only for one monster enemy. Sudden leap in levels aren't beneficial to one person, especially to someone who has unlimited potential, you know."
Lowell now understood why her Dad doesn't let her level with him.
Then..
"Why didn't you use Limit Breaker when battling the Mineral Boar and Green Spider-Monkey? You said your mana was depleted.. but now, you showed that you can replenish it.. And yesterday.. I thought you said your mana would stay on ten percent for one or two days.."
"Hahaha! Of course, I don't want to ruin my chance to look coo-?! Oops?!"
Lowell 'unconsciously' sent a Fireball towards her Dad's direction.
"Oh, Sorry, Dad. Will you repeat it again.."
Louis distanced himself.
"To look cool?!"
After her Dad finished his sentence, Lowell started to chase after him with random spells.
"You're not undergoing an 'Outbreak', so why are you chasing me?"
"Ask yourself, Stupid Dad!"
Lowell chased him until she felt that her mana reached its critical levels.
Lowell stopped chasing him and sat on the grass.
"Please.. don't do that again..."
Louis sits beside her while laughing.
"Yes~"
He responded like a playful child.
He was smiling at me.. until..
"Damn you, Louis! Where are you!"
They heard the angry voice of Belle from the house.
Lowell knew that her Mom's curse wore off.
Now that Lowell thought about it..
Earlier, he said on the library that it would wear off after hour hour or so.. but when Lowell tried to scare him, he said she'll return to normal by night.
I was fooled again?!
When Lowell looked at her Dad's face, she saw a cramped smile appear.
He knew he was in trouble this time.
Before he left, Lowell said.
"Dad, I really hate you.."
"Is that so? But I love you, my princess~"
He kissed Lowell's forehead before entering the house.