"And that is it for today; we'll continue tomorrow!" Amon stated as he vanished.
After Amon vanished, so did the students, as they all were sent back to their spaces.
As soon as Wilhelm returned, he immediately unwrapped the scroll to see what was written.
In the worn-down scroll were several diagrams with small texts scattered all around.
Each seemed to be part of a larger text with its parts scattered.
"This!" Wilhelm eventually pieced together what was written.
{The Frost Core is a special creation of mine for my student. Gather around Water and let it seep into your body. Reconverge them and freeze them into Frost. Mould the Frost into The Core and align your Internal Aether with it. The Frost Core has to be constructed in successive layers, with its complete form becoming a sphere the size of your heart. By then, The Frost Core will have completely aligned with your Internal Aether pattern, and you won't need to worry about it holding space in your body.}
That was all that was written, followed by more detailed instructions on The Frost Core.
Wilhelm carefully read through all the instructions.
Yet after reading them, he didn't immediately start and instead lay on his bed.
Within moments, sleep took hold of him, and his mind drifted to Niflheim.
"So, The Frost Core." A voice whispered to Wilhelm, causing him to realize where he was—just beside him was Polaris, seated on his throne.
"I assume you want my help in the cultivation of The Frost Core?" Polaris asked, to which Wilhelm nodded.
"All right," Polaris agreed. "I have nothing to do in this place, so I might as well help. And this Frost Core technique…it seems familiar as well," he commented as he got up.
"This technique is quite peculiar. I might even say that it's tailored for those in a state similar to yours but not identical. I have to assume that this technique is used by someone's reincarnations to promote stability throughout their lives. For them, this technique is a true treasure, allowing them to blitz through The 1st Tier and become quite powerful in The 2nd Tier. But you, Wilhelm…you're different—quite different. They lack something you possess, something that will be a huge factor in your growth," Polaris claimed.
"What is it?" Wilhelm asked, curious.
Polaris pointed to the ground.
"Niflheim. You can align your internal Aether pattern with it, draw forth its cold, and forge The Frost Core using it. By using Niflheim's cold as the central force in construction, you'll create a direct link to this place, allowing you to draw its cold and manipulate it to your skill and likening," Polaris revealed with a grin.
Wilhelm, beginning to realize the value of The Frost Core, immediately shot out a question.
"Then I won't need to construct any spells?"
Polaris shook his head.
"Firstly, Niflheim can only help with Frost-based spells. And no, you can't skip the process of constructing spells. That process is incredibly crucial to mastering the spell and perfecting its usage. Although you could approximate a spell using Niflheim, it would require immense mastery over it—and even then, the result would be unsatisfactory. After all, spells are formed from Elemental Energy and are, at their core, replicas of the world's phenomena. Niflheim, no matter how powerful, is ultimately just a cold place born from the remnants of a dead man's flickering thoughts and nothing more,"
Polaris explained, tempering Wilhelm's excitement. Wilhelmhimself had to acknowledge the truth—he hadn't been given a heaven-defying cheat; who knew what others might have?
"But," Polaris began again.
"You can use Niflheim to hasten the process of building a spell construct and also boost its base power, so that's a bonus," Polaris revealed.
Wilhelm, with his emotions in control this time, nodded.
"Then when will I begin the process of construction?" he asked.
Polaris grinned as he spoke.
"Right now!" ——————————————————————————————————————————
Wilhelm was awake in the real world, sitting down in a meditative posture and concentrating on his breathing.
"I only have to maintain a stable breathing pattern and focus on sensing my internal Aether Pattern. Nothing more, just keep breathing," Wilhelm recited inwardly over and over again.
Internal Aether Patterns were the patterns one would observe after inspecting several of their body's patterns, Aether kept the organs from degrading instantly and stabilized them
Thus, through observation of the body's internal workings, figuring out the pattern of Internal Aether wasn't difficult.
All of a sudden, Wilhelm began to feel drowsy.
"Looks like I'm on the right track," he muttered.
Yet just observing his body wasn't going to cut it. That was only a part of what he had to do.
He had to draw out Niflheim and link it to his Internal Aether Pattern.
And to draw out Niflheim, or even be able to access it, he had to fall asleep, which was undoubtedly going to happen within a few moments. Yet if he fell asleep, he wouldn't be able to maintain a stable observation of his Internal Aether Pattern.
To this issue, Polaris had given him a solution—or a word, to be more precise.
"Khafur," Wilhelm muttered as his room's temperature dipped increasingly, with icicles beginning to form as a result.
Khafur, as Polaris had stated, once held a meaning long ago yet not anymore, but that didn't mean it couldn't be used to attract forces that were inside Niflheim.
"Omanuti," Wilhelm muttered, causing strange sculptures of ice to form all of a sudden. Omanuti was a word that still held meaning and was thus more powerful than Khafur, yet to bring about Niflheim he needed something, and that something was the exact solution Polaris had given him.
Wilhelm inwardly braced himself for what was about to come.
"Khafur Omanuti!" As soon as he chanted it, a large explosion went off in his mind as his vision in his left eye began to change, with the frigid tundras of Niflheim emerging, whereas the vision in his right eye remained the same.
Wilhelm, seeing this, knew the plan was going in the right direction.
Now that Niflheim had been drawn out, he could start the linking process.
"Polaris!" Wilhelm felt an air of coolness entering his body as he began to shiver.
His breathing shallow.
His heart rate slower.
His pulse duller.
His pupils contracted.
He began to blink very slowly.
Wilhelm felt as if he was going to stop all bodily functions.
"P…o…..l ... .a...r…..i…..s," Wilhelm called out one last time as he fainted.
——————————————————————————————————————
"Wake up!" A stern shout awoke Wilhelm as he found himself in Niflheim with Polaris facing him with a smile.
"I failed, didn't I? I fell asleep," Wilhelm asked dejectedly as he lowered his head in shame, to which Polaris laughed.
"If you had failed, then the cold of Niflheim would've frozen your mind as well! But you are still here, aren't you?" Polaris spoke, causing Wilhelm to raise his head swiftly.
"That means—"
"Indeed, the link to your Internal Aether Pattern has been achieved!"
As much as Wilhelm would've loved to celebrate right then and there after that near-death experience, he could only release a sigh of relief, which didn't go unnoticed by Polaris.
commence
"Now I can begin The Frost Core?" Wilhelm asked, to which Polaris nodded.
"Alright, I'm going to start the construction! See you later!" Wilhelm instantly disappeared as he awoke.
Polaris was left there, stunned by what had just happened.
"What?"
———————————————————————————————————————
"Alright, let's see." Wilhelm quickly unrolled the scroll detailing The Frost Core and began to cultivate accordingly.
As he breathed steadily, the feeling of coolness emerged, yet it was incredibly weaker than the last time. Still, it was enough.
Niflheim's cold could now be used by him. Wilhelm felt a desire bubbling up from within him.
It was the desire for power.
But Wilhelm sensed there was something more, though he couldn't quite realize it.
"No distractions," Wilhelm recited to himself as he began to condense The Frost Core.
———————————————————————————————————————
"How is No.1's progress?" Carto queried.
[Not great; according to calculations, No.1 won't be able to participate in the planned Assimilation event,] Tharmas responded.
"Very well then, initiate No.3's recovery at a faster pace and transport them to El-Eudo for a breach. Induce severe ambition and avarice towards power in No.1," He ordered.
[Understood.] Tharmas went silent again.
"Wake me up when the First Awakening is achieved or something of similar importance occurs," Carto added.
[Added.]