Chapter 5 - Part 11 (Book 1 - Fantasy World)

For some reason, time didn't have any meaning, as though he were trying to merge into an ocean of knowledge with an unfathomable depth. While conscious of the world around him, Han's mind struggled to keep pace with what was transpiring. Slowly, there was something akin to particles floating in the air, like dust, though they glittered akin to snowflakes catching the sun's light as they lazily drifted in the air. He couldn't help but think of memories of traveling to relative houses in what felt like mystical and ancient lands, feeling far closer to being his home than where he spent most of his life, entering large storage sheds, and seeing the particles floating in the air as they interacted magically with the light. Though the dust would make him sneeze or cough, something eldritch lurked around the corner whenever he could explore the shelves and sealed containers made from some ancient material stacked on top of one another. At that age, he always imagined that someday he would discover something otherworldly, just like in the stories his grandma would tell him as she scooped rice onto roasted and salted seaweed, rolling them for him to eat, or while cutting up slightly chilled local pears, which would always explode with juices and tasted like ice cream. This would often be after his grandmother or grandfather would catch him exploring areas of the property that he was told were too dangerous, despite how they stirred his imagination.

As though focusing on the dust hovering in the air, Han slowly realized that the dust was a different color. Sometimes, it would look blue, while other times, it appeared reddish. He couldn't help but feel the emotions he had felt back when he was a child, perpetually curious about whatever secrets lay hiding somewhere deep -- waiting to be uncovered.

Han's eyes slowly focused on one of the nearby students and began to see some haze or shimmer on the female student, who hadn't noticed that he was staring at her. Redirecting his gaze to another student, the shimmer surrounding the next one was slightly more pronounced but with a negligibly different color. He struggled to understand what he was seeing, discerning that color wasn't the correct term for what his eyes were showing him.

While many of the students had a similar haze or shimmer, Han couldn't help but notice that there were slight differences, such as the shimmer being inside of them, like some kind of internal furnace that swirled about as it glittered under some unfamiliar light or was generating the illumination.

"Master?"

Blinking a few times, the haze and particles in the air faded out of focus as though he had imagined it. And just as if it had been a dream, the pressure which felt as though it were rushing into his mind vanished, just as if he had woken up and couldn't help but wonder why he was feeling emotional or experiencing a slight chill from something traumatic brought up during his deep slumber into the world of dreams. Shaking his head slightly, Han tried to clear whatever cobwebs remained inside his mind.

"Master?"

Turning his head, he saw Helania standing next to him. Her eyebrows slightly raised.

His mind slowly woke up as he realized his current situation; it took several moments for him to remember that they were making their way to the second floor of the Tower inside the Academy. He glimpsed a few students, glancing at him in confusion, whispering amongst themselves as they continued up the steps. Many of the people coming down disregarded his behavior, their worn-out expressions indicating how little they cared about what happened to him.

Brittany's eyes were tearing up as she pressed herself against him, her hands lightly grasping his clothes. "Are you okay, Master?" Her voice trembled.

"What happened?" He raised a hand to his head and pressed it to his forever as he blinked a few more times.

"I suspect that you were lost in a trance, Master," Helania calmly said as her eyes scanned Han's face, clearly searching to see if anything was the matter with him. Her lips were slightly parted as though wanting to say more, but she was unable to express her thoughts and decided to keep her worries to herself for the moment.

Queen's eyes caught the slight twitch of one of Helania's hands. She closed her eyes before slightly shaking her head. Opening her eyes, she looked at her Master, "Master, based on what I can detect, I do not believe that you were under some kind of mental attack. I also doubt that they would be able to do anything against you."

Han slowly looked at each of his creations, "I do not think it was some kind of an attack as well. There would also be no reason for anyone else to attack us." He nodded in agreement before he looked at the guide and then back to his creations. "I also do not believe the Empire would have any way to discover how we attacked one of their forces entering the Kingdom." Han sent his thoughts to the three, letting his eyes meet Queen's gaze.

The two stared for a moment before Queen bowed her head.

A part of him wanted to talk about what he had started to see, but the fact that he wasn't sure what exactly happened made him not want to cause unnecessary concern. Something in his mind alluded that the experience wasn't an adverse event but a natural process. Deciding to trust his gut instinct, he kept his thoughts to himself. But thinking of keeping things from his creations caused a sense of guilt to grow like a vine, making him wince.

"There's no need to make them worried. That's all." Han tried to convince himself.

"My Lord," The guide looked at Han, unsure what to think. "As you can see, we have reached the second floor. If you would like to progress, I am sure the Lady Knight is eager to meet such an individual as yourself."

Seeing that Han had no issues, the guide quickly scrambled up the steps to not keep Han waiting any longer.

Han watched the guide, guessing that the man believed that they were being an inconvenience to Han even though he had kept them from continuing while they impeded the flow of students making their way upwards. Following the guide, Han saw an opening in front of them with the stairs allowing them to emerge onto the next floor.

"I would hope that she would want to meet our Master," Queen muttered under her breath with a slight frown while eyeing the young man before following her Master towards the entrance to the next level.

Helania merely watched the guide as the man made his way to where everyone was gathered as they attempted to enter the crowded area in front of the stairs.

Walking up the stairs, the transition between the first and second levels was comparably different. Han could hear students having vocal discussions that cascaded down through the opening into the stairway. He didn't understand why the noise was significantly louder than the first floor, but as he stepped onto the second floor, his eyes widened to see how the area was vastly different.

While the first floor was completely open, making it feel as though they were outside even with a ceiling above them, this was entirely not the case for the second floor. The first word that came to mind was cramped, like entering an indoor mall. Though the ceiling was somewhat high, allowing the cacophony of discussions to echo against the white walls, it was likely a third of the height. On top of the ceiling was how the walls could already be seen from where they stood.

As Han gazed at the walls, he noticed something that he had glanced over due to how normal it would be for him, but now that he thought about where they currently were, the items seemed slightly alien.

"What are people doing on the wall?" Brittany pointed a finger at people fighting.

The guide turned around to face them, grinning at Brittany's question. "My Lady, what you are looking at is something that allows us to attract such a large number of students to our humble territory. Using specially crafted mana crystals, we have created a way for students to observe their upperclassmen who are currently training inside the various rooms on the second floor."

What Han was seeing, displayed readily for students to watch, was some kind of video system. On the screen were groups of students swinging various weapons, the surrounding area bathed in lights before they clashed against one another. Even without any sound, he didn't have a hard time imagining the rumbling that would be felt deep in his chest due to the blast of sound caused by such powerful forces striking one another. The sight was similar to something out of an animated movie or show. He couldn't believe how the students were clashing against each other to the point where blood was being drawn. One of the female students had a slash on her upper arm, the uniform slowly turning a dark red where the fabric had been cut. But despite the injury, her expression remained savage right before she opened her palm and released a spiral of fire at a nearby student. The fire splashed against the nearby boulders and other greenery.

"On this floor, students have an opportunity to train with their classmates in fights meant to simulate combat in the outside world." A gentle but mature voice spoke out.

Han slowly turned his head, not surprised to see Valessandria approaching him.

When she was close enough, she gave a slight bow of her neck. "My Lord, I welcome you to Illumin Academic City. I hope your trip was a comfortable one?" As she raised her head, her eyes didn't meet as she kept her eyesight below his.

There was a slight gasp before the guide began to cough, turning away to tap his chest lightly with his fist.

Around them, a few students nudged each other, their eyes round as they saw Valessandria. Several opened their mouth as if to try to call out to her, but others quickly warned those students not to show such disrespect. Some of the older students looked at Han and his group, then noticed the guide and connected the presence of Valessandria as something official and not meant to be disturbed. But despite their sensibility, it didn't prevent their immaturity from being exposed as they whispered to one another in an attempt to figure out what was happening.

Seeing the Lady Knight acting in such a subservient manner made Han crack a slight smirk. He knew the Lady Knight had learned her lesson from earlier, so he didn't detect any of the former insolence she had shown them earlier back at the inn, inside Leaf Village.

There was a slight difference from the first time he had encountered the woman that night. Whether intentional or not, Han felt his eyes focus, and soon, there was a significant haze around the woman. Compared to the past student whom he had noticed the haze around when he had developed the sight, the difference was like a candle placed next to a roaring campfire. Such a contrast only highlighted the drastic difference between experienced people like the Lady Knight and a random student.

"I must be seeing how much power they have?" Han couldn't help but reach the conclusion after thinking of the difference and what it could mean.

What he found interesting was how the haze primarily emanated inside her body. Due to there being so much of the substance billowing out like a fog and surrounding herself, Han suspected it had to do with the training that Valessandria had received as a Lady Knight. Still unsure of the connection between the whisps of fog or haze that emanated from inside the woman, Han slowly turned his gaze toward Helania.

Nothing...

Nothing was coming off of Helania.

For a second, he wondered if he had made a mistake, so he casually checked out a student nearby where they were standing and noticed the slight waving of the air around the individual. While the presence of the mysterious flow reminded him of the whispy steam that would rise off of a tundra on a warm sunny day when there was no wind blowing, the existence of the haze informed him that what he was seeing was correct. With this in mind, Han checked on Queen but encountered the same thing as Helania, not glimpsing anything radiating either off her body or from within.

Around them, the air had a strange material suspended in the air as though something had disturbed the surroundings, and now dust was drifting around them. It was to the point where he wouldn't be surprised if he were to sneeze.

Closing his eyes, the sensation he felt slowly faded away, and as he opened them, there was no longer any sign of the slight disturbance of the air around each of the students.

"At least it's becoming easier to access the new vision that I seem to have gained thanks to my ability," Han thought.

He was reminded of when he had built and redesigned the interior of The Stronghold on his first day in the new fantasy world. Even with how he had created and gifted life to his creations, it had started from his mind and exploring what he could do with his powers. But for some reason, the ability to see the dust in the air and shimmer of the students that passed him by was an experience unlike anything before.

"There is just too much that I don't know about what I'm able to do and what I can't." Han couldn't help but be reminded of the message that came with his powers. He had a difficult time as he spent more time in the new environment to truly believe that his abilities were unrestricted. "It could be why it was so painful this time?" Han continued to think to himself.

Noticing that Valessandria was clearly confused and sweat was slowly forming on her forehead, Han realized that he had yet to answer her question about his trip.

"Sorry, I seemed to have been lost in thought." Han let out a small laugh. "Forgive me, Lady Knight." He tilted his head slightly forward.

"No. No. My Lord. There is nothing for you to apologize." Lady Knight raised a hand and waved as though attempting to wave away bad air, her eyes slightly wide.

"Lady Knight, I do appreciate how understanding you have become." Han slightly teased.

Hearing Han's words, Valessandria's cheeks slightly reddened.

"I indeed enjoyed the trip from Leaf Village to Illumin. The sights were truly marvelous, though I did not realize how far away Illumin was from where I stayed. But, I guess I should consider it a blessing to be able to see the area around Illumin." Han truthfully admitted, having enjoyed the journey and watching the endless sea of grass out the carriage window and how it rippled in the wind.

While he did get to go on family vacations and traveling allowed him to see more of the world compared to the average person, none of it had a similar magical atmosphere he sensed whenever he would look outside of the window.

When the guide had mentioned how students would take on adventuring duties as part of the curriculum in order for students to gain real-world experience, a part of him was excited since it would allow him to see more of the surrounding area. Seeing the monsters being carted into the Tower made him want to experiment with his ability and see what he could do compared to those around him. He couldn't help but feel a little eager about being able to see what his abilities were able to do.

Though he could have his creations take care of any issues that could arise as he journeyed throughout the new fantasy world, he couldn't help but think that having a bare minimum grasp of what he could accomplish was necessary.

As if sensing his excitement, Han felt a slight tingling in his hands.

"My L-Lord?" Valessandria took a step back, her eyes focused on his hands. Her eyes were wide in alarm as the blood drained from her face.

Han met the Lady Knight's gaze as her eyes raised. What he saw in her eyes made him uncomfortable.

Valessandria's eyes were from someone who was like a guest at a zoo being face to face with an escaped predator, trying to understand what was happening and why such a creature was roaming loose while trying to ignore the blood dripping from the animal's mouth.

Confused by the Lady Knight's behavior, Han didn't miss that the woman didn't even bother reaching for her sword, as though unconsciously understanding how futile of an action it would be and possibly antagonizing him simultaneously.

"Master," A voice called out next to him.

Han saw Helania moving closer to him.

Helania's expression was serene, as though understanding the situation and not thinking it was significant. It gave the same feeling of a child who had dropped their newly received ice cream onto the ground. Her voice was calm as if understanding how the child would feel holding the emptied cone that had recently been acquired.

"Master, I understand you are excited after seeing the students fight and want to test your powers. Still, these beings cannot handle the pressure. Please relax your emotions."

Han heard her voice enter his mind through their connection. Raising an eyebrow, still not understanding the situation, he raised his hands. He saw how arcs of electricity flowed off his hands like he had just washed his hands and hadn't dried them from the excess water.

Placing a hand on Han's shoulder, Helania used her other hand to touch his. The arcs of electricity connect the two of them with their mesmerizing dance. There was a hum in the air with an occasional crack. Each of the tendrils of unrestrained energy reached out into the air towards the nearby students, who had now stopped what they had been doing, terror plastered on their faces as they witnessed not just the raw power leaking out from him but also how Helania was intertwining her fingers as though she were a lover who was flirting with the man she desired to be closer to, her breasts intimately pressed against Han's upper arm.

"You are okay, Master. Just think of your power being water, and you are guiding it back into a bottle." Helania's lips were close to his ear as she gently whispered her guidance.