After finishing his conversation, Aethel was about to head to the bathroom to change into his training suit when Aurelia stopped him.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"To put on my gear," he answered, without pausing his walk.
"No need to waste your time on that."
After saying that, she snapped her fingers. Aethel was already wearing his training suit; it looked as though he had been sporting it the entire time. There was no dramatic transformation or anything that hinted at the shift; it appeared to have always been there.
"H–How did you do that?" he asked, his voice thick with shock.
"Did you forget that I am one of the most powerful beings on the planet? Switching your clothes is mere child's play. Well, now that you have finished changing, let's go."
Before Aethel could even process the event, even with his Superior Comprehension (B), the scene in front of him morphed into something otherworldly. He was standing in a vast, white-marbled expanse that stretched into an infinite horizon of violet clouds. There was no sun, yet the sky glowed with a soft, ethereal light.Aethel was simply staring when he heard his master's voice.
"This is my personal dimension. We are currently in the training grounds I just created for your sessions."
After Aurelia spoke, Aethel started to sense something with his PRIMORDIAL PERCEPTION (A). He detected the 'Void' first, as it was heavily present in the surroundings, but he also noticed something else. He began to decipher what he was feeling with his Superior Comprehension (B); although his talent was not potent enough to fully grasp its nature due to its low rank, he was able to identify it thanks to one of his affinities—more specifically, his Time Affinity.
This was one of the powers he had copied from the chosen one and protagonist of the novel, Adrian Astris. When he first mirrored the affinity, it was locked because Adrian's body was still slowly adapting to possessing the Time element. It was no longer sealed because Aethel had adapted to the 'Void' and become a Voidborn.
At first glance, this seemed contradictory. The Void Affinity is ranked EX and far surpasses the SS Time Affinity in both quality and power. So, if Aethel can adapt to an EX-rank Affinity, why had Adrian not already adapted and unlocked his SS-rank power?
The answer lies in the description of the talent:
Supreme Adaptation (SSS-):
Can adapt to anything and everything under the right circumstances, as long as it does not instantly kill you and enough time is given.
The crucial phrase is "under the right circumstances."
When Aethel obtained the EX-rank Void Affinity, he was directly exposed to its residual pressure. Even a sliver of an EX-ranked existence carries overwhelming weight. That pressure was sufficient to fully stimulate Supreme Adaptation (SSS-), forcing it into complete activation. In comparison, the strain of an SS+ Affinity was insignificant.
Adrian's situation was fundamentally different. His Time Affinity remained locked because it was not part of his lineage. What he experienced was less than even a fraction of its true power—barely a trace. Without sufficient exposure to the Time element—enough to threaten him but not kill him—his Supreme Adaptation could not fully engage.
To use an analogy: placing a single grain of sugar into a cup of tea will not make it sweet. Adrian was given only the grain. Aethel, in contrast, was submerged in sweetness itself.
The difference was not talent, but intensity of exposure.
As he sensed the time element, although very faintly, he heard his master's voice.
"This is the place where you will be trained for the next seven days. There is time dilation active here, with one day outside equal to seven on the inside. So, only a day will pass while we are in training."
When he heard her say that, he finally understood why he was sensing traces of the time element. With time dilation, there should be a dense amount of chronal energy moving around.
"Alright, let's begin. I want to test your combat capabilities, so don't hold back and strike me with all you've got."
After hearing her, Aethel was not going to act foolish and suggest he might hurt her; she could destroy this planet if she wished as a peak SSS-rank being. She had stopped time even with S+ rank presences around. All of his strikes probably wouldn't even faze her, so without overthinking it, he decided to test his new abilities and lunged first.
He could use all of his skills and traits instinctively, as they were now part of his very existence. So, without hesitation, Aethel activated the trait he had gained from fusing one of the female leads' talents—Transcendent Reflexes, born from Supreme Light Genius (SS+).
The world stilled.
To him, everything moved normally. To the world, he became a streak of light.
There was no dramatic shout. No battle cry.
He simply stepped forward—and vanished.
He crossed the distance between them in less than a fraction of a second and drove a mana-infused punch straight toward Aurelia's veiled face. It was crude, lacking technique, but packed with raw speed and A-rank mana behind a C-rank body.
He expected impact.
Instead, his fist stopped an inch from her veil.
An invisible barrier stood between them. It wasn't flashy. It wasn't dramatic. It was absolute.The collision felt like punching a mountain. The backlash was immediate.
A violent shockwave raced up his arm. His wrist snapped. His knuckles disintegrated. Micro-fractures exploded through his forearm, shoulder, and spine as the force rebounded into him. In less than a microsecond, the strain of moving at light speed with a C-rank body tore through his muscles and connective tissue.
His entire body began to rupture from the inside.
And yet—he didn't flinch.
He did not feel pain due to the Pain Resistance he gained from Supreme Adaptation (SSS) when he first copied a talent, so he did not recoil when his arm shattered.
Before he could even process the damage he had taken, Void Reconstitution (A) activated.
His shattered wrist reassembled itself with a wet, crystalline hiss. Bone rewove. Muscle fibers tightened. Skin sealed flawlessly. In less than a breath, his arm was whole again.
His body had nearly torn itself apart from its own velocity.
'Okay… that's new' ,he thought, staring at his restored hand.
The reason was obvious. He had moved at speed way beyond a C-rank body could handle. Physics—enhanced or not—still demanded a price. Luckily, he was no longer an entity that paid prices normally.
Then—
—————
–————
Aethel blinked. He physically felt it.
His bones grew denser. His skin tightened subtly, gaining resilience. His muscles compacted, becoming more efficient rather than bulkier. It was like his body had been reforged in an invisible furnace. All from one reckless assault.
He had pushed his body to its breaking point—but not beyond death. Exactly the threshold Supreme Adaptation required. He flexed his fingers slowly. They felt… heavier. Stronger. Stable.
Across from him, Aurelia finally spoke.
"You are quite fast for a C-rank," she said calmly. "In fact, your speed rivals that of a peak A-rank who specializes in movement."
Her violet eyes narrowed slightly—not in threat, but in interest.
"You are making me more curious."
For the first time since the exchange began, Aethel felt something unfamiliar settle in his chest. Not fear. Not arrogance. But awareness.
Since he was from Earth, where light speed was the peak, he thought he was at least somewhat strong in this world, but he was greatly mistaken. Instead, his own power had almost torn him apart.
And she—hadn't even blinked.
Few minutes later
The training ground was eerily pristine.
Despite Aethel's relentless, high-speed bombardment, the white marble floor remained flawless. Not a single crack appeared; not a grain of dust was disturbed. It was as if the dimension itself possessed a memory that refused to change, instantly erasing every impact he made.
To an observer, it looked like he had never even moved. Aethel was a storm of violence, yet the world around him stayed as still as a photograph.
Aethel stood a few meters away from his master. He had already lunged at her numerous times, yet not a single thing had changed. She still stood there with that unnerving smile and a look that radiated arrogance.
"You're all brawn. You have the speed and strength, but zero technique or combat prowess. A skilled fighter a rank below you would run circles around you."
Each word sent a dagger right through the confidence he had just been building up. Light speed was the pinnacle in his previous universe, so he thought he could at least achieve something with it, but he was sorely mistaken.
"Y–You did not have to be so... blunt."
"Hehe, your reaction is quite cute, my disciple," she said with a beautiful smile.
"So, the main thing we need to focus on is how to improve your combat prowess enough to at least defeat a person above your rank."
"I do have SSS-rank combat arts related to footwork, hand-to-hand, and sword techniques, but they are all useless to a person with zero combat experience such as you. So, we are going to start with the basics."
As she said that, she snapped her fingers and a training dummy materialized from thin air in front of Aethel. The doll stood 6'4", slightly taller than Aethel. It had no face, no clothes, and no distinct features. Its surface was not "black"—it was a total lack of color. It looked like a person-shaped hole cut out of the universe. From its appearance, it was easy for Aethel to see that it was crafted from the 'Void'.
"This is the dummy you will be training with until you can beat it. I made it so it has the same physical stats as you, so you have no advantage. You are not allowed to use any mana or any attack-related skill; you need to learn how to fight."
Without waiting even a moment, the dummy lunged toward Aethel and launched a fist straight at his face. Aethel had just been listening to his master's words, so he was caught off guard and was hit square in the face, sending him flying.
Aethel quickly stood up after being thrown, fully healed and glaring at the construct.
"Hehe, I thought you had faster reflexes,"
Aurelia said with a mocking tone.
"I was caught off guard," Aethel replied, as if there were nothing wrong with what he said.
"Are you going to be saying the same thing when your head is cut off or your heart is ripped from your body? Oh wait... you would be too dead to complain about it," Aurelia said, looking at Aethel like he was a complete idiot.
Just then, her teasing smile vanished and was replaced with an icy cold expression.
"Let this be your first lesson and one of the most important ones: no matter the situation, you can never put your guard down unless you want to get yourself killed."
Aethel was a bit startled by her drastic change in expression but quickly composed himself after hearing her words. He had read those words in every single fantasy and action novel, yet he hadn't applied this principle when the time came.
"I apologize; it won't happen again, master,"
Aethel said in an apologetic tone.
"Ensure that it doesn't. I wouldn't want my disciple to die so quickly."
After their brief exchange, Aethel raised his guard. Thanks to Transcendent Reflexes, he evaded the next strike with fluid ease. While the trait provided a significant boost to his speed, its true power lay in his reaction time; it allowed his body to respond almost instantly to any threat.
The only reason the training dummy had landed a hit earlier wasn't a lack of speed, but a total lack of experience. He had been caught completely off-balance. With even a shred of combat instinct, he would have been able to at least parry the blow or shift his weight to avoid the impact entirely.
Unlike a skill, his Traits required no external input like mana or stamina to activate. They weren't tools he used; they were defining attributes of his very being. Just as a person cannot simply command their heart to stop beating, Aethel couldn't "deactivate" his traits. However, he could consciously suppress them to a dull simmer. Currently, he only suppressed one; the other two remained active, utilized to the very best of his current capabilities—though those capabilities were bound to grow alongside him.
The dummy's wooden arm whistled through the air, aimed squarely at Aethel's jaw. To a normal observer, the strike was a blur, but to Aethel's heightened senses, it moved with the sluggish weight of a stone sinking through water. Without a hint of wasted effort or panic, he took a single, casual step backward. The fist swept through the empty space where his head had been a fraction of a second prior, missing him by a massive margin as he watched it pass with detached clarity.
He didn't just parry or slip the blow; he vacated the entire strike zone. His Transcendent Reflexes acted before his conscious mind could even formulate a plan, pulling his body into a perfect, wide repositioning. As the wooden limb overextended into the void he had left behind, Aethel stood perfectly balanced and untouched, the air from the swing barely even ruffling his hair.
"Stop," Aurelia's voice rang out after Aethel's dodge.
Aethel looked at her, wondering why she stopped him from continuing the spar.
"Do you know what you did wrong?" she asked in an authoritative tone.
"No." Aethel did not even bother trying to find out what it was, as he felt he hadn't done anything wrong.
Aurelia couldn't help wanting to smack this disciple of hers across the head for not even thinking it through before answering.
"...."
So, instead of doing anything, she decided to just stare at him while waiting for a real answer.
Seeing his master's gaze, Aethel felt a chill that told him she was not accepting his dismissal. He began thinking; using his Superior Comprehension, he analyzed everything he did during the exchange and caught something.
He noticed that if he wanted to counterattack the dummy after its strike, he wouldn't be able to do it easily, as his dodge put too much distance between them for a swift counter. After coming to this conclusion, he relayed it to his master.
"You are correct. You could have easily dodged just enough to make a quick counter, but you overdid it. When you fight, you should always be thinking a few steps ahead; don't only focus on one thing."
Aethel took her words to heart, and the exchange then continued between him and the dummy.
–——–—