The Sky, Sea, and Death - IV

Gron walked along the streets of Laquer, worrying about his future. The words of the young man from earlier aligned with his greatest fear at the moment — getting caught.

Because of a group of fourth-year students, Gron had been modding the academy's training weapons with different effects to help its users. Those fourth-year students had used these modded weapons to score higher on their tests.

Luckily, none of them had been caught.

Gron's handiwork was impeccable when it came to that.

"Hah,"

Indeed, instead of forging from scratch, Gron was better at modifying existing weapons and tools.

—Drip, drop.

Gron felt a small, cold splash against his skin. Looking up, the stars were nowhere to be seen. Thick thunderclouds loomed beyond the horizon, drifting towards the city and flashing with light.

"Is it going to rain?"

***

Within the castle, an old mage was speaking to the King of Leisha.

"...Yes, Your Highness. We did not sense even a speck of mana being manipulated. This is likely just a freak of nature."

"That is, in a way, relieving to hear. Continue with your work then."

The king's voice boomed across the hall, filling his subjects with awe and respect. They bowed and left, leaving only the King's Guard and his eldest daughter behind.

"I wish I knew what was going on." The king sighed.

Hearing the powerful thunder and watching the brewing storm clouds in the distance brought not a single ounce of relief.

—BOOM!

The hall was brightly illuminated when lightning struck one of the castle's spires.

"After the fall of the goddess, Minerva, I have no choice but to take this storm as an omen for the dark times ahead."

The King of Leisha closed his eyes to rest.

***

Floating within the eye of the swirling storm, hidden from any prying eyes, I basked in the glory of my newfound ability. The wind, rain, and lightning hammered down without mercy.

This was the full strength of the <Power of the Sky>.

Yet, I could still do more.

I held two other globes in my hands. The <Sea Globe> and the <Death Globe>, each looking like a regular snow globe with an old blacksmith working the forge.

The two looked identical to the <Sky Globe>, making me wonder about their origins, which I could barely take a glimpse of. It truly piqued my interest. Whoever this blacksmith was, was likely someone legendary.

The <Sea Globe> would've been annoying to retrieve without the <Power of the Sky>. It was deep in the city's sewers, and I had no reason to go diving for it. Without [Absolute Awareness] pinpointing its location and my ability to control the wind, fishing it out of the sewers would have been absolute hell.

"Blergh,"

I could still smell the stench emanating from the snow globe. It was, in fact, worse than the <Death Globe> which I had to steal from a grave.

Desecrating the dead was one of the few things I never thought I'd do, but alas, I wanted the artifact more.

—Crack!

Without hesitation, I shattered the two snow globes and allowed their blessings to seep into my body. A saltwater breeze blew through my left arm, and the stench of death blew through my right.

The <Power of the Sea> was truly fashioned after Poseidon. Storms, earthquakes, floods, and droughts. It was a more calamitous power when compared to the <Power of the Sky>, dealing more in the extremes.

It also blessed me with corresponding water-based abilities. Water manipulation, water breathing, and communication with water-based creatures.

As for the <Power of Death>, its blessing was more subtle. In comparison to the destructive <Power of the Sea> or the liberating <Power of the Sky>, what I gained could be said to be mysterious.

I did not learn necromancy. Instead, I gained the ability to commune with the dead, the power to turn invisible, and the power to manipulate darkness. I could also intuitively locate and control various riches, which was weird since it wasn't related to death, but to Hades himself.

All in all, the harvest was good. I got what I came for, and more.

In fact, the main thing that I wanted from the three globes was <Affinity >.

An affinity for wind-attributed mana from the <Power of the Sky>.

An affinity for water-attributed mana from the <Power of the Sea>.

And an affinity for spirits and darkness-attributed mana from the <Power of Death>.

As I was a human born on Earth, these affinities were all absent within me. Given Earth's lack of mana, I knew it was only natural.

Now, however, I had the foundations I needed to truly become powerful. The three powers could not grow on their own, after all. Their outputs would remain constant for as long as I could not supply them with my mana alone.

In short, they had a ceiling.

They weren't limitless like those who chased after divinity.

The storms of my creation would be nothing in the face of a high-ranked mage.

I still needed more.

***

The sudden storm that had engulfed the capital disappeared the next morning, leaving many residents confused.

The higher-ups, however, couldn't help but feel concerned.

Like the principal of the Academy of Laquer.

"Thank god she made it here safely," The principal heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing the news that Melia had made it to the capital. "Send Young Lady Archisse my deepest gratitude. I don't know what would've happened if we lost a light-attribute user when the true hero has yet to appear."

It turned out that, this year, five people had been tested to have an affinity for mana of the light attribute. Melia was included there. With the date of the prophecy, it was assumed that one of these five would have been the next hero of Leisha.

However, the fated moment had long passed, and there was still no news.

The Principal, Jiovanni Larkas, was hoping that Melia would have returned with the Sword of Light.

However, she arrived empty-handed, making many of the professors worry.

Was there someone they missed? Was the hero still out there, unaware of their duty to the kingdom, and to the world?

Jiovanni could feel a headache coming along as he melted into his leather seat.

Sighing, he rang the bell on his desk.

"Sir?" A maid appeared.

"...Bring me a cup of coffee,"

***

The source of the kingdom's worries was staring at a wooden stick lying on the roadside just outside the capital.

"...What the f*** are you?" He asked, incredulously, making many of the surrounding people avoid him like the plague.

[Absolute Awareness] could not see through the stick in front of him, and Aventine was beyond baffled. His senses were being blocked off from prying, and whenever he did try, his mana would vanish in an instant.

It wouldn't be drained, no. It would go poof and disappear.

Aventine was scared to even touch it.