Chapter 166 - Aspect of Time and Aspect of Soul

  “The Academy alsarips to explore other kingdoms, and i years, they’ve been taking students to see the border,” Aliented as the versation tinued about what we were enjoying at the academy. At some point, Edmund and I noticed the girls getting increasingly excited about the versation, so we decided to leave them alone.

  “Hey, Nathan,” Edmund said as we walked. “I saw you sparring with Professor Beatrix that day. Yood with a sword.”

  “I manage a bit,” I replied.

  Edmund ughed. “If you say so… It’s a shame we’re only doing movement csses now, and the practical training has bee aside. Though those of us with prior training are still required to do it anyway,” he pined.

  “It’s the academy’s standard; they want to train students from scratch,” I expined.

  “Something tells me you don’t need her trainiher,” he remarked, giving me a curious look.

  We stopped and watched people passing by oreet.

  “There’s always somethio learn. But what about you? I heard your father is famous,” I asked, trying to shift the focus of the versation.

  “The old man’s a great bat mage, at the same level as the professor. He’s a tough teacher but a good one. He wants me to take over his special squad of knights iure, once I officially bee the Duke, but that won’t happen for a few decades,” Edmund replied with a smile.

  “Really? I thought they usually passed the title on ohe son came of age.” I was surprised by that. Chloe could bee the Duchess as soon as she left the academy if she wanted.

  “Your aunt is the ag Duchess, right? So, Chloe has trol over when she wants to take charge, but usually, it’s up to the current Duke to decide when he wants to retire. So, I’ll spend many years just being the ‘Duke’s son.’ At least I’ll get to enjoy life,” he said, ughing.

  “That’s actually a good thing,” I agreed.

  “Yes, and until then, I want to bee a great bat mage. We, the students of this academy, are the future of the three kingdoms, especially us high-ranking nobles. Mages aren’t numerous, and talented mages are even rarer.”

  The ratio of mages is one person in every hundred. In an army of a thousand, there would be at least ten mages. Among those ten, there would be diversity in mana categories and mage csses. Not all would be bat Mages or Shes, and each would belong to a different mana category. Additionally, the ratio of talented mages is one ien mages. This means that, ihousand people, you have a single mage at the level of Apsalon students. However, even that one mage who makes it into Apsalo pare to a high-born noble mage, naturally talented from geions of mage bloodlines.

  These figures are a general average from studies on mage births. They vary as mages marry and have families. When two mages marry, it’s certain that their children will also be mages. This is why, among the nobility, there’s a tendenarry es, especially those with great potential.

  I’ve heard of cases where nobles, upon disc that a oner was born a mage, tried to use their influeo marry her to establish a mage line in their family. After all, a noble mage would never marry another noble who wasn’t a mage. At least, that’s what those seeking to climb in the nobility think. There are limitations in power and influehat only be reached if you’re a mage.

  My family doesn’t care about such things, but the great families only marry mages. The royal family of this kingdom itself seeks only talented and mage partthen the lineage, as I’ve heard.

  “I heard they’re going to try to recruit us as a special force for their army. They want to include the high-ranking nobles in a military squad,” Edmund ented.

  “I’ll refuse…” I replied immediately.

  “I figured you’d say that. Someone who knows how to fight but doesn’t show it must have reasons to stay hidden,” he said, walking away with a ugh.

  This guy has a good eye… I shouldn’t have messed around with Professor Beatrix. At least no oruly knows what I’m capable of, even if they find out I’m good with swords.

  That same strange sensatiourned as soon as I was alone.

  Could it be?

  I moved discreetly, trying to locate the source of the uling vibe.

  ASPECT OF TIME! I shouted in my thoughts, and the world turned pletely blue. The ambient sound ceased, and even the oxygen seemed to slow down. The world was moving at a pace that felt frozen.

  “I don’t freeze time… I just make it extremely slow, to the point where it’s eternally trapped in this millised,” I murmured, still trying to uand how this ability truly worked. It aradoxical feeling, as if time expanded and tracted simultaneously. Mathematically aaphysically, it was like my power encapsuted the cept of infinity within a sierval.

  Imagine ting from 1 to 2. That interval is just one sed, but the Aspect of Time distorts that reality, stretg it indefinitely. Just as there are infinite fras between two numbers, my power prolongs that space between seds. In a way, I was suspeernally within an instant that, to others, would pass in the blink of an eye.

  I started walking through this blue-tiemporal dimension and passed by Edmund. I positioned myself in front of him and waved a hand in front of his face.

  “Truly, these Celestial Eyes are too dangerous to let fall into the wrong hands.”

  I kept running, passing by Alid Chloe, who were sitting down. I looked at the two girls.

  “Chloe… you put me in a tough spot today, making me pliment you in those provocative outfits…” I murmured as I walked past them and tinued on.

  The entire world was blue, and the sun did. In its pce was my eye. A massive blue eye occupied the pce of the sun. In that dimension, only I could move freely, and those I allowed, but I couldn’t abuse this ability.

  When I reached the in of the strange sensation, I stopped in front of a person standing there. He was an adult, dressed in clothes that covered his body and wearing a hat. I analyzed the man’s body and saw that he was someorained.

  ASPECT OF SOUL!

  The man turned pure white, and I could see his mana. This Aspect allowed me, just like Professor Adrihna’s Special Eye, to see people’s mana. From the moment I saw someone’s mana signature, I could identify them in a crowd by activating this power. The Aspect of Soul also allowed me to deteething else: if someone had a high tration of mana, I would immediately know if they were a mage or just an ordinary person.

  “He’s a damned mage…” I said, staring at the man.

  Why is a mage following me?

  His face was hidden with an arm, as if adjusting his hat, but I didn’t o see his face. With his mana analyzed, I would kly who he was, even if he wore a mask.

  “I’ll let you follow me for a while…”

  I ran bay position.

  “This ‘hangover’ from overusing the Celestial Eyes is going to be a pain,” I murmured, returning to my spot. I focused mana into my eyes.

  DEACTIVATE!

  Color returo reality, and the world resumed its normal pace.

  “Let’s py cat and mouse…”