Umara’s advancement lasted several hours, through which she received tempering on the level of my own.
It seemed that whatever tempering she had gone through before with her mother wasn’t an actual tempering. In fact, her tempering was only prompted by her enlightenment.
Did Warlocks need to enlighten themselves to receive the tempering? I thought of this question and decided to ask the Duchess since she definitely knew about it.
The answer was a surprising affirmative.
“To achieve a beyond perfection understanding of one’s element will earn a warlock the right to open themselves to greater power, which we take advantage of through the tempering process. However, an enlightenment can only be achieved after one has cultivated a perfect elemental affinity through advancing their authorities.”
“Ah.”
There was the limitation. Enlightenments couldn’t be received back to back. The only reason Umara was able to get enlightened this time was because she already had a perfect affinity for Air, something that had taken her three authorities to cultivate. She wouldn’t be able to do so for Fire, her next element, until after her advancement to Authority 7.
But my knowledge would still ensure that she would have perfect advancements and achieve a perfect affinity in the first place. After a bit more discussion with the Duchess, I learned that the reason advancements became more difficult through higher Authorities was because cultivating multiple affinities actually worked against the warlock.
According to her, cultivating one element filled the world around them with a fog that was the elemental energy of Mana. At first it was dim, becoming thicker until it became a perfectly precise but ever present nebula. And, although it was precise, it still got in the way of clearly seeing the other elements.
It was like putting multiple veils in front of your eyes and being expected to make out the sights in front of you. The more veils, the harder it was, even if the veils became clearer to you in the process.
To cultivate the fourth element was the most difficult thing a warlock could do as they would have to see through three veils that all but made their final element imperceptible. In fact, it was said that the barrier to the 10th Authority was harder to surpass than the barrier to the 11th as the 10th Authority required one to glimpse a dim, barely perceptible fog behind the veils that already made it close to impossible to see anything behind them to begin with. At least an authority 11 could see a fog at all if they made it to that level.
However, there was one respite that increased the chances of one being able to start cultivating their final element. One thing that made it a tiny bit easier.
Enlightenments.
To achieve a beyond perfect understanding of an element would also make the veil it created not as blurring. Instead of seeing something that blocked the view of the rest of the world, an enlightenment would change their view into something that was a part of the world, not atop it.
They would see the element as it was in nature, not as some magical fog all around them. This made it so that their view wouldn’t be blocked and they would be able to glimpse the new fogs of other elements with greater ease.
However, enlightenments weren’t easy. A talented warlock was lucky to be enlightened once, let alone twice or three times. What Umara did with my knowledge made her nothing short of a genius that couldn’t be described by the Elite status she had earned at the Magisterium.
Even her own mother hadn’t expected this to happen for a long while, and she knew her best. The two were almost twins.
But beyond the first enlightenment, the addition of other elements made a subsequent enlightenment much harder. That was because it required not just the understanding of the second element, but required them to reconcile their knowledge with the first as well.
Basically, they had to achieve beyond perfect understandings of both and then figure out how they connected to each other, elevating both to the same level. The difficulty didn’t simply add, it multiplied.
But Umara’s chances of doing so as the daughter of the Duchess, who inherited the talent of her mother, was already high enough to begin with. There was little doubt about her reaching Authority 10, and to do so would require an enlightenment or two to begin with.
And now, with her having completed the first so early and now getting access to my knowledge, her chances were even higher.
Dare I say, if we took this far enough, she would surpass her mother. While I didn’t know about my own chances to reach such a level, Umara’s talent was already apparent, and inheriting talent from parents was already a known and regular phenomenon. It was why the noble class was such a tight knit circle. They were able to pop out generations of powerful warriors with certainty so long as certain practices were maintained.
So even if I didn’t reach that level, Umara would be able to rise above me so long as I was able to feed her the knowledge. And with my growing smarts and memory that was being perfected with every advancement, my ability to do so was rapidly solidifying.
So long as our relationship continued down a positive path, there was no reason why I wouldn’t empower my partner.
I thought of all this as Umara began to finish her advancement. By the time she was doing so, it was early morning.
I looked at her drowsily as she began to groan and calm down. My previous advancement and tempering ended with me having an energized mind that forced me back awake. But for her, it seemed that, although she was bursting with power, her mind had been drained of all its energy.
Not only that, but she ended up covering her eyes, complaining about oversensitivity. It seemed that whatever enhanced awareness of her element she gained was overloading her, not to mention being empowered with Psyka and Vigor. Her mind must feel like it was running a thousand miles per hour right now.
And the Duchess understood her plight. She scooped up her daughter in a princess carry, which was comfortable enough to cause Umara to pass out, and gave me a deep look.
“Once again, I thank you, John. To have missed out on her tempering would have been a rather disastrous disadvantage for her future. You have my gratitude.”
“I’m her boyfriend, so it’s a given. If she is to fight beside me in the future, I want nothing more than to be confident in her strength. Her power is my happiness.”
“I’m glad. Not only that you would fight for her but that you seek to empower her so she can fight for herself. I am more confident in your relationship so long as you continue to display the necessary talent. If you can’t keep up, then your chances to pursue her are automatically reduced to nothing.”
“...I understand.”
It stung a little, but I knew that was the reality. My being a commoner was already enough to cause discord, not to mention how I’m also a cold summoner, the weakest Magus there is in this world. If I were also talentless, then there would come a day where I would simply be killed for overstepping, let alone if I were also being rebellious like I recently had been.
All the cards were stacked against me, and there was yet another reason for me to focus on getting stronger. I couldn’t let my girlfriend leave me behind. How was I supposed to protect her then?
But I was still confident in myself. I was already punching well above my class and I had Maxwell to back me up. The road ahead would be trying, but I was never one to back away from a challenge or risk. Quite the opposite.
“So you know, I am already receiving pressure from several noble families whose suitors are demanding I rid Umara of your presence. She has yet to know of this pressure since I wanted her to focus on her advancement, but now that it’s over, she will be forced to deal with this. That’s her responsibility since she pursued you. Just like you must meet the standard, she must also weather the consequences of her actions. Be prepared, because as her boyfriend, you will be dragged into it.”
“I’ll take it as it comes. And she will have my full support.”
“Mm. I at least know that you aren’t a coward.”
She nodded and turned, leaving the study.
I felt nice getting a compliment like that, smiling through my exhaustion as she disappeared from view.
I heard a groan not long after, hearing Maxwell rise from his desk.
“I’m too old for this. Get out of here so I can finally go to sleep.”
“Sure thing. Thank you, also. You saved my ass.”
I expressed my heartfelt thanks as he grumbled his way to the door.
“I know. But you should be thankful that Duchess Talerria is reasonable and well mannered. She seems very open to your presence. Any normal noble, especially on that level, would have simply forbid you from so much as speaking to their child, let alone fornicate.”
“We haven’t fornicated. But yea, I seemed to have struck gold.”
“And it’ll be the catalyst for your rise or the harbinger of your downfall. Play your cards well, John, and be diligent. Fail, and your little boat will be overturned by the wrath of the ocean as it feeds you to its behemoths.”
“Or kill the behemoths.”
“You don’t need to kill them to beat them. You just have to refuse to die. So hurry up and get better. I’m giving you until the end of your time at the Magisterium to advance to Authority 5. That is around 7 months from now. After that, you’ll be released into treacherous waters, but by then, you should be capable of at least weathering some storms.”
He dispensed wisdom while leaving the study.
Beyond that, he didn’t say anything else, waving me off so he could get his beauty sleep.
I left as well. Still, I wondered about Umara.
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If the Duchess was made aware of my knowledge and understood that it could actually enhance the knowledge of a warlock, would she seek to take it? Would I have to write her a bunch of science textbooks?
I would have to be a bit more careful from now on. That, or duck under the wing of Sawn Industries faster than I intended.
……
…
“So do you want to tell me what happened?”
“Hm…”
Umara hummed as she stuffed her face full of food. She was starting to realize why John always ate so much.
If his body was enhanced like this, it was no wonder he needed so much fuel. Still, she felt better than she ever had. She could see how John had managed to perform so well just after advancing once.
Sure, she couldn’t use Vigor or Psyka, but it still gave her benefits. Small benefits, but for her who had nothing before, it felt like a transformation.
After satiating the worst of her hunger, Umara glanced at her mother, who sat at the side of her bed patiently.
Neither she nor her mother were stupid. She shouldn’t have been enlightened this fast and the only outlier was John. She had already spoken of his esoteric knowledge before, and now, Umara understood that it was far more valuable than she initially realized.
It gave her an entirely new understanding of the world around her and became the catalyst for a beyond perfect understanding of her element. It was revolutionary knowledge that could affect the entire warlock class, and if she wasn’t careful, she would put John in a bad position. And both of them already had a lot on their plate.
But she trusted her mother. Trusted her enough not to chain John up and force him to spill all his knowledge.
At the same time though, she decided that in this moment, she had the advantage.
Duchess Talerria was as shrewd as she was direct. Not just anyone could run the second most economically successful city in the Kingdom without having profound business acumen, even if they had a whole host of advisors to help them.
But she struck a balance between the economics and the militarization of resources. As the Commanding power of the Warlock Corps, she naturally knew how to demand certain things of certain people, how to simply supersede the negotiation table without degrading or devaluing the person in front of her.
And Umara, as the first born daughter and someone who inherited her mother’s psyche, had learned about all of this extensively. Her own acumen was rarely used since she was biding her time at the Magisterium.
But that didn’t mean she didn’t understand how to take advantage of the things she had.
So for the first time in a while, she started to scheme ahead.
While eating food, of course.
“Remember when I spoke to you about John’s weird knowledge?”
“After your return from your first trip, yes.”
“Well, he was telling me about some things, seeing if it would help me make some better spells. He had to explain it with some examples and a lot of flailing arms, but he got the point across and before I knew it, I figured out another way to cancel out sound.”
“How?”
“By simply redirecting it into the ground.”
She raised her hand, knocking on the wood of her bed frame.
“Sound is a vibration, and vibrations deliver force onto all tangible objects. When it vibrates the air, we hear sound. When it vibrates something solid like wood, it simply sends the force through the object. Same with a liquid.”
*Ting!*
She tapped a glass cup with her fingernail, causing the water within to vibrate.
“The fluctuations of the water are merely visualizations of sound. So, using all this knowledge, I figured out how to simply redirect the vibrations in the air into the ground. There, it would simply dissipate into the world, never to be heard by any living creature beyond or within the field I created. Even John said that he couldn’t hear his own voice, though he still felt the vibrations caused by the yelling in his throat.”
“...That is certainly interesting.”
The Duchess leaned back, pondering her words.
“Redirecting vibrations. The only issue I can see with it is how the ground doesn’t absorb all of the vibrations. Like when you tapped your bed frame, we still heard sound. The wood obviously just sent out more sound.”
“But the ground does absorb sound. My knock creating sounds was simply a release of energy caused by the impact which also caused vibrations. The vibrating wood created vibrating air which created sound. But if I force the sound into the rigid object, all that energy will be dispersed into it and anything around it, eliminating sound. Especially the ground, which can absorb limitless sound.”
“...”
The Duchess leaned back in thought while Umara began to come to her own understanding.
She was beginning to realize how John felt while explaining all of this to her. She believed in his words and didn’t have a hard time accepting it, especially how there were plenty of mysterious things about him anyway. Some knowledge about the world around them wasn’t all that difficult to wrap her head around.
But warlocks didn’t understand the world around them in words. They understood it by their feelings. Just sitting there she could feel all the sounds and movements of air around them. She recognized the oscillating waves that collided with her window, meaning there were sounds coming from the outside.
Even the breath of her mother caused sound waves to form. Some of the energy she released became movement, or as John called it, kinetic energy, while everything else turned into vibrations that propagated through the air around them.
Through her enlightenment, she was able to rectify John’s knowledge with everything she felt. But the only reason she found those feelings in the first place was because of his education.
And her mother had gone through an enlightenment for her Air element as well. She knew more than herself. But even then, she still had a hard time understanding what was being said.
It went to show how wide the gap was between the science and a warlock’s personal understanding.
Umara scratched her head. She didn’t know everything that John did. He obviously had a much deeper understanding of everything himself, so she wouldn’t be able to explain it like he did.
She had learned about all different types of energy and those associated with acoustics and gases. But she didn’t quite know why everything was that way. For now, she was simply believing in him blindly, mainly because she had verified it in her own special way as well.
“Alright, think of this…”
Umara went back to trying to explain. She even explained the theories behind her noise cancellation, not just redirection.
And it was only after some time that her mother started to understand. She could already do all of this with her spells, far more than Umara could, but only now was she finally starting to describe it in regular human terms.
And Umara did her best to make her understand not just the knowledge, but how valuable it was.
Couldn’t sell something unless the other party knew just how much it was worth.
And over time, her mother did in fact come to realize this. After all, it had resulted in her own enlightenment. But it didn’t seem like she was entirely convinced.
“I understand what you're trying to say, dear. But I don’t believe even you entirely know what you’re talking about.”
“No, not entirely. John does, though even he says that what he knows only scratches the surface. But I do know that his knowledge can help the entire warlock class. It’s a new way to comprehend the elements.”
“Maybe.”
The Duchess only nodded. Umara could tell that she still didn’t understand what she was saying.
So she sighed and gave up. For now.
John being valuable beyond his own power would mean that they could garner more support, especially from the Duchess. Umara didn’t forget how she had done nothing to back either of them up at the party, and that was intentional.
She knew her mother wouldn’t coddle her, and now that she had advanced, she would be facing the pressure of other nobles who didn’t approve of her relationship with John. So she needed to give her a reason to support them.
She hoped this would be one of those things.
And perhaps she would have to prove the worth of her knowledge using herself. That would take time, so she didn’t press the issue for now.
Finishing the last of her food, she rose from her bed and left the room with her mother.
The two went straight to a study within their mansion, which Umara had been returned to when she was unconscious.
And inside they found Duke Talerria, Umara’s father.
“Ikhor.”
“Hm? Oh, Talexia. And my Authority 5 daughter. How are you feeling?”
Ikhor stood, revealing his burly figure from behind a mahogany desk holding stacks of papers. Umara gave him a hug when he stepped out from behind it. Her father was an Authority 10 Knight and had muscles like steel. He was also completely riddled with scars, trophies from his years of military service. Rugged yet smart and wise.
“I’m feeling great.”
“That’s good. I heard that you underwent a proper tempering during your enlightenment. How are your reflexes?”
“Hm?!”
Umara jolted when she saw her father flicker, shooting toward her with blinding speed.
She was barely able to keep up, raising a hand and instinctually casting a spell.
The air in front of her was compressed, meeting his outstretched palm and exploding.
His palm stopped in its tracks only two feet in front of her face while the air was kicked up like a hurricane all around them, several books flying out of their bookshelves and dusty corners wisping out of their coves.
Ikhor smiled.
“Very good. With Psyka, your mind will operate faster. And with Vigor, your body will be able to keep up with your mind. Of course, these things will forever remain a mere supplement to your magic, another tool for survival. Keep up your training.”
“I will.”
Umara smiled, shaking her stinging hand.
Her father’s palm was an unbreakable wall, so the compressed air which was supposed to stop it had rebounded and hit her own.
Still, even she was surprised about her own ability to cast that spell. And there was one detail, or lack of it, that indicated her enlightenment.
The lack of a proper spell.
When a warlock cast a spell, they wrote the formation into the world and activated it.
But she didn’t have to for air spells now after achieving a beyond perfect understanding. In fact, air spells in general were now far more powerful as well as far less costly. There was a reason enlightenments were such a big deal. They boosted a warlock’s combat ability by several times.
Umara, despite having just advanced to Authority 5, was now on the level of a late Authority 5 warlock, if not an Authority 6. She was already able to fight above her own level, just like John did. And in time, she would grow into her new power, widening the gap between her and those of her level.
When her father pat her on the shoulder and squeezed, she chuckled and fought his vice grip, the two walking out of the study. The Duchess followed them with a smile.
They descended the mansion stairs, entering another room where a young girl was studying beside a tutor.
Seeing her family, she took the chance and ditched the book in front of her.
“Papa!”
“Look at you. Eager to study eh?”
“I don’t like books. I like training the spear with you!”
“Well you still have some time before you finally awaken. Training can only do so much before then.”
“I know. Study hard so that I can enter the Magisterium.”
She sat herself back down cutely, seeing how she wasn’t going to be training today.
Umara went over and ruffled her thick brown hair.
Feay Talerria was 14 years old and had thick brown hair like her father. But she inherited the sharp face of her mother like Umara did, giving her a fierce look. Other than that, she had the disposition of her father.
And according to the Crest that looked like a mess of vertical lines across the back of her hand, she was already determined to be a future knight, inheriting the talent of her father.
She would activate her Crest in two years and then enter the Magisterium. Before then, she had to learn enough to get in the conventional way.
Seeing that Crest, Umara remembered John’s 13 star crest. She had been told that he hadn’t even been cultivating his Authorities for a year yet, unlike them who had taken four years to get to their current level.
He had been advancing on a monthly basis for 3 Authorities. She wondered about the circumstances around that.
He told her that he came to the Capital from a village. But he hadn’t actually lived there. He had lived in that place called Earth. But then why hadn’t he activated his Crest earlier? Why had he taken so long to start cultivating his Authorities? And how did he do it so fast?
She got curious. There were too many things she wanted to find out about him.