-Asher Frostblade Viewpoint.
"I'm back."
Elizabeth entered the room. However, something in the atmosphere seemed different to her.
Encrid was deep in thought, while Asher was meditating. The atmosphere was tense, charged with something inexplicable.
But none of that mattered to Elizabeth at that moment. Steadily, her gaze shifted to Asher.
"Mmm."
Suddenly, her eyes widened. There was a reason for that, and Elizabeth knew it well. What had just happened to Asher was not a common occurrence, but she tried her best to remain calm. Still, her thoughts spilled over in immediate chaos.
"How..."
That word was the only thing that remained in her mind.
Elizabeth had left only a few minutes ago, but hearing a woman's scream, she hurried back. What she found was a slightly different environment than the one she had left.
Most important of all, however, was the state in which she found Asher.
His thoughts continued to swirl in his mind.
How did he do that?
How did he manage to reach that level.
He is truly a monster.
Soon, Elizabeth pushed those thoughts out of her mind and decided to speak up. She needed to make sure that what she was seeing was real, and not simply a delusion of her mind.
"Contractor."
"..."
Asher opened his eyes slowly and turned them towards Elizabeth.
"Mmm."
"How did you do it."
"Do what."
"Excuse me for not speaking correctly. Tell me, are you really in the first stage?"
"Yes... Is something wrong?"
"Of course there is."
Elizabeth was silent, struggling to find the right words.
Asher watched her with a cold, blank, emotionless expression. Elizabeth's words elicited no reaction from him; he simply looked at her, knowing full well what was troubling her.
Still, he was sure that Elizabeth would soon calm down, so he saw no need to explain anything further.
He closed his eyes for a moment.
"Contractor."
He opened them again and shifted his gaze back to Elizabeth.
"Mmm."
"..."
Elizabeth remained silent, not saying anything right away.
One of the rules of the fairy contract stated that the human they had the contract with had to speak in an ordinary manner. But, of course, Elizabeth was the queen.
Asher's behavior toward her irritated her, but the contract required that the two speak to each other equally, as if they were friends, with no need for formalities.
This rule was implemented because, originally, fairies were extremely arrogant with humans, and humans could not respond to them or speak to them casually.
However, although it was different with Encrid, that did not mean it was different with other people.
And yet the person in front of her was the successor to the man she respected. But, of course, that meant nothing.
"Haa..."
Elizabeth sighed, scratching her cheek as she pondered something.
Asher, for his part, continued to watch her, frowning slightly.
Finally, he calmed down. He knew Elizabeth was a queen, and queens were generally due respect.
But she had a contract with him, so there shouldn't be any problem with formalities, should there?
He rose from the floor and stood in front of Elizabeth.
She looked at him intently, frowning even more.
A smile appeared on Asher's face. Soon, Elizabeth's voice broke the silence.
"What are you doing?"
"..."
There was no response.
Asher then raised his hand, and Elizabeth watched his every move, standing firm to the situation.
"I overpowered him."
"..."
Elizabeth had a thought, but quickly dismissed it.
Is it even possible for a human to accomplish something like that? Humans are not meant to master that ability, which only fairies can use and possess.
However, her face paled, going into shock.
"How..."
She did not finish the sentence. Her eyes were riveted on Asher's mana, which was constantly changing form. They weren't weapons, they were different things: hands, crystals, and other strange shapes.
"He's not using weapon creation, it's simply mana changing at his whim."
She understood at that moment.
Asher watched her again; in that instant, he stopped and stared at Elizabeth, who was completely surprised. However, she quickly regained her composure and their eyes met once more.
"How did you do it."
"Mmm, it's complicated, but I'll tell you in a nutshell."
"Consciousness, separate world, teaching to mana."
It was three words, and Elizabeth frowned.
She didn't understand a word.
What is this human talking about?
What was the meaning of those words?
Seeing the confusion on Elizabeth's face, Asher decided to explain a little more.
"That's why I told you it's complicated for you to understand. It's something no one can understand, because I can't explain it myself. It's something no one has ever imagined or even suspected."
"..."
She was still staring in confusion at Asher.
Those words... What does he mean?
Did she discover something that no one would be able to understand, no matter how much Asher explained it?
Nevertheless, she left it at that. Although she didn't know what Asher was referring to, Elizabeth decided not to insist.
Then, her lips curved into a smile, and she spoke:
"Let's have a fight."
"..."
"..."
Even Encrid glared at Elizabeth.
Asher, for his part, looked confused at Elizabeth's strange request.
Did she want revenge because he didn't explain?
However, he soon dismissed those thoughts, and then Elizabeth spoke:
"It's not what you think. I want to test you. Your mana is stronger, I don't know why... maybe because of your first stage. I also want to see how capable you are of using mana shapeshifting."
Asher understood.
But why her?
Simply having her in front of him made Asher shiver. It was hard to stand his ground in front of Elizabeth.
She is definitely someone too strong, with a simple carelessness on her part, Asher could die if he made a mistake.
That was why Encrid stood up and approached Elizabeth.
"Are you trying to kill him?"
"No... I'm not."
"..."
Asher looked at Elizabeth quizzically, is she afraid of Encrid?
Honestly, if Encrid were alive and had his 100% power, the whole world would tremble. Perhaps Elizabeth knows Encrid's power to perfection.
However, the current Encrid is less strong than an eighth circle.
"So what are you up to? That's a strange suggestion."
"I already said, I just want to see how strong he is and test everything he's learned."
"You want to see what he's capable of too, don't you?"
"..."
Encrid was silent.
Truth be told... he also wanted to see the difference in Asher's mana. Upon obtaining his first stage, Encrid noticed that Asher's mana changed drastically and became even stronger.
However, his mana did not increase, but rather underwent some sort of evolution, making him more powerful.
"Haa..."
"Alright."
So, he agreed.
"But I'll be watching closely and watch your movements. Restrict all your power to a minimum."
"Yes... I'll keep that in mind."
"..."
Asher then looked at the two of them in a way that could only mean....
These two... They're just the same.
***
-Scene change.
-Gloriana Mengral's point of view.
"Haa... Haa... Haa..."
Gloriana was exhausted, both mentally and physically, but fortunately her training came to an end.
She managed to learn all the skills Eliza showed her, replicating every word in her head and doing the same.
However, it wasn't easy. He spent the next few hours searching for an answer to each skill in his mind. It was difficult to understand the skills Eliza showed him only once, but he managed to replicate them.
It was difficult, yes, but he managed.
Eliza, on the other hand, was still amazed.
"This girl... she has a real talent for light magic, she even possesses different elemental affinities."
Eliza thought of an answer to all of Gloriana's talent.
"The manna itself respects this girl."
It was high praise. He watched all of Gloriana's progress in such a short time.
Gloriana reached the first circle in two months, yet she was already close to the second circle and had even mastered her light magic. Her abilities were still not fully controlled and consumed incredible mana drain.
Of course, other than that, she learned everything else.
However, for the time being, Eliza explained to her that she should concentrate solely on her light magic to get used to the feel of her mana.
She could use her other affinities, but it would slow her progress in light magic.
Gloriana had understood this.
Sweat was pouring down her body, she was drenched and her face showed signs of fatigue. She even looked sleepy, as if she were sleepless.
Then, she got up from the floor and looked at Eliza with a smile.
"So... Is my training over already?"
"That's right, girl."
She congratulated her.
Truly, Gloriana deserved high praise for her determination in training.
Clank.
At that instant, the door opened.
Elizabeth walked in and looked at her sister.
"Come on, my contractor accomplished something amazing."
"..."
"..."
Gloriana and Eliza stared at each other.
What had Asher done to make Elizabeth react like that all of a sudden? That meant he had done something that even Elizabeth didn't think was possible.
The two of them walked out and followed Elizabeth. They passed down a hallway and came to a room, the same one Gloriana had been in earlier. There, she saw Asher, who was meditating and quickly opened his eyes.
"Mmm."
Then, she looked at the man standing next to Asher.
She was still wondering where he had come from, who he was, and what his relationship to Asher was. However, she remembered Asher's words; he had told her he would explain who this man was.
"What will you do, sister?"
"I will have a fight with my contractor."
"..."
"..."
They both looked at Elizabeth, dumbfounded. She was serious, why would she do something like that, much less a fight?
Gloriana worried, but quickly dropped those thoughts when Elizabeth spoke.
"Child, don't worry. It's a sparring match to test your boyfriend. I won't do him any injury or hurt him."
"Really...?"
However, Gloriana quickly covered her mouth. Why did those words come out of nowhere?
"I... I'm not his not..."
"Well, then let's go to the training room."
Again, the explanation that Asher was not her boyfriend was interrupted by Elizabeth. Earlier, she had been interrupted by Eliza, and now by her.
Is it some kind of connection because they are both sisters? Whatever it was, Gloriana could only sigh, embarrassed.
***
-Scene change.
-Asher Frostblade's point of view.
They had arrived in a large room, the perfect size for a fight.
Quickly, they both stood in the center. Elizabeth looked at Asher, and Asher looked at Elizabeth. They both stared at each other.
"I will not attack you. I will block and dodge your attacks, so attack with everything you have and don't use skills I didn't teach you, only use the skills I taught you."
Asher understood and nodded quickly.
"The rules are that you show me what I taught you."
"I understand."
They both distanced themselves, then, after a few seconds, Elizabeth spoke.
"Begin."
In an instant, all of Asher's mana dispersed throughout his body. The idea was to increase his physical capabilities with mana.
However, in that instant, he felt his body much different.
"It's strange, it's as if my mana strengthened my body much better than before. So, this is one of the changes because of the first stage."
Asher understood and then looked at Elizabeth, who was standing in front of him a few feet away, ready for any move he made.
Swhoss.
The air hissed and a curtain of dust lay where Asher once stood. His figure blurred, and in an instant he appeared in front of Elizabeth with a clenched fist.
However, she was surprised by his speed.
What the hell happened to make his speed even faster? Even faster than with the help of his darkness field ability, which allowed him to go faster than normal.
His fist whistled in a swift motion in the air, and he aimed it straight at Elizabeth's right shoulder.
However, Elizabeth's palm appeared in an instant and blocked the attack.
Starburst!
The blow resounded with a loud bang, and the air moved sharply, as if distorted by the speed of Asher's fist.
Again, however, his fist moved.
In an attempt to strike some part of Elizabeth's body, Asher quickened his pace, moved his fist faster, and then a hail of blows came into view.
However, each blow was easily blocked by Elizabeth.
There was no way to land a single blow, so Asher took distance.
"There's no way... I can't reach her."
No matter what he did, her blows were easily blocked. Asher couldn't even see his own blows; they were coming at a speed his eyes could barely perceive.
However, he knew Elizabeth was too strong and he could see the speed of her fist as if it were that of a turtle.
But then, Asher stopped and, in an instant, chains appeared everywhere, filling the room.
"Now I will use the skills I learned."
Asher thought, and then the real combat began....