Chapter 29

Today, it’s raining a lot.

Thick raindrops soak the earth, and the strong smell of rain makes my nose tingle.

The sky is dark with clouds.

The mixed-downpour thunderstorm is loud and close enough to irritate sensitive ears.

The rain-loving trio is outside making a ruckus, but Miho, the fire fox, seems to be in a bad mood, practicing magic with a sullen expression.

Lacking motivation, she slumps and mutters runes.

Belva sits quietly beside Miho, eyes closed, watching something.

Probably that.

Tyranno.

A monster of an absurd size, over a hundred meters long.

Seeing it, I felt shock.

And then excitement.

A mix of thrill, discomfort, and competitiveness.

At first, I didn’t understand the feeling, but looking back, it seems like it was about protecting my territory.

A territorial fight.

It’s kind of funny, like becoming a primitive human, a primitive creature.

What did Belva feel seeing that?

I’m curious for no reason.

What does the world look like through the eyes of a Watcher?

“I’ll be back.”

After saying goodbye, I went outside.

Belva drowsily opened her eyes and nodded.

Behind the Academy building, there’s a clearing where all the trees have been cut down.

Some were cut for use, some struck by lightning, but most were felled by my technique.

Lately, I’ve been practicing every day without fail.

A new technique.

A way to elevate my stagnant state.

[Be careful. If you miscontrol it, it could reach here.]

“I know.”

I’ve actually been in danger a few times.

Closing my eyes, I extended my Dimension Power far.

Using all my Dimension Power, it covered the entire Academy and still had room to spare.

In that state, I rotated the Dimension Power clockwise.

The axis was me.

A typhoon seen from a satellite looks like it has a hole in the middle.

If there were a satellite detecting Dimension Power, my vicinity would look the same.

Slowly, I compressed the Dimension Power inward.

As the size of the Dimension Power storm decreased, its density increased, and its rotation speed rose.

It was as if space-time was warping… or not.

I slowly opened my eyes.

Even in the violent flow, the surroundings were calm without a breeze.

Ordinary people wouldn’t feel anything even if they stood within the rotation radius.

Dimension Power itself has no form or physical force.

But if I could impart even a little physical force.

If I could form an aura at a point in the rotating Dimension Power.

First, I created a small aura on my finger and carefully released it.

Instantly, the aura stretched out, forming a pure white circle around me.

It felt like watching a time-lapse of stars from a science project.

Or like Saturn’s rings.

I took a deep breath.

Now, focus.

I expanded the Dimension Power outward again.

Maintaining the aura’s resonance, the white circle expanded accordingly.

I could feel the incredible speed contained in that tiny point.

Speed equals power, right?

Then, that was the greatest physical force I could produce.

Dozens of trees were sliced in an instant.

The horizontally extending aura’s rotation at eye level drew a serene horizon above.

Raindrops evaporated by the aura’s heat turned into thick steam and settled heavily.

But soon, they dispersed and disappeared due to the thinning density and rotation speed.

It was a disappointing result.

“Disappointing…”

I stored the Dimension Power back into my body and made a judgment.

Still incomplete.

The destructive power was sufficient.

But the duration was roughly 3 seconds.

And that would surely decrease if I moved or if there were obstacles.

The preparatory process required for casting was too lengthy, and maintaining peak concentration for a long time was necessary.

Unless prepared in advance, it’s not a method usable in real combat.

Let’s squeeze out some creativity.

Ultimately, the core of the technique is combining Dimension Power with Magic Power.

Imparting physical force to something without it.

And to maximize that, I used the increase in rotation speed through Dimension Power compression, which succeeded.

But the problem is, the aura can’t adapt to the changing rotation speed as the density thins.

…What if.

Maybe I was thinking backward.

Adjusting the aura to the slowing rotation is impossible with my current skill.

The aura, like a bead tied to a string, keeps trying to accelerate, and just holding it is a burden.

But adapting the aura to the accelerating rotation might be possible.

Once again, I spread the Dimension Power wide and slowly rotated it.

Then, I summoned a fist-sized sphere of aura at the end.

That’s not a complete aura.

Except for the hotly burning core at the center, it’s just a loosely formed mass of Magic Power.

But the important thing isn’t the aura’s completeness,

It was about the presence or absence of physical power.

I slowly rotated the heavy aura sphere along with my Dimension Power.

Whoosh-

A scorching heat that felt suffocating was transmitted.

As the rotational force compressed and rose, the aura sphere gradually reduced in size.

By shedding the shell of Magic Power surrounding the core.

And that shell left behind a trail of fiery sparks in the air.

The spiral-shaped flow of aura flared around me.

Now, precisely at the end of my reach.

At the distance where the Dimension Power was maximally compressed, the aura core, now stripped bare, was rotating, emitting immense light and heat.

I had already taken the leap of awakening.

Even so, the core of the aura was moving at a speed almost impossible to catch.

Now, this is the end.

It feels good.

All I have to do is time it right and explode it precisely in the intended direction.

Crack-

“Huh?”

Wait. Is it breaking now?

Now?

It’s much earlier than expected.

Gritting my teeth, I twisted the axis of rotation and sent the sphere flying upwards.

I felt like a hammer throw athlete.

Fortunately, the sphere exploded towards the sky as expected, radiating a massive amount of light and heat forward with a tremendous roar.

────!!

Thank goodness.

I couldn’t hear properly as my eardrums were immediately blown out, but I could see the explosion process.

The light and heat emitted by the core. The total amount of energy spread. The principle of the process that led to the result.

I thought about all of that and whispered softly.

Oh. Wow. Damn.

I almost died.

What is this.

This is such a risky technique.

Originally, the energy would have spread evenly in all directions, but due to atmospheric pressure, it leaned to one side, barely maintaining stability.

If the explosion had been closer, if I had miscalculated the timing and it hit the ground, if I hadn’t twisted the axis of rotation at the end.

If even one thing had gone wrong, I would have had to bear the full brunt of the impact.

Even now, sparks are still falling from the sky.

Not ordinary fire, but flames created by compressed aura.

Even I, who had fully adapted to the heat, felt a stinging warmth all over my body.

With more practice, I might be able to freely control the timing, power, and distance of the explosion.

Though I don’t know how long that will take.

Returning to my place, small flames were crackling and sticking to the transparent barrier surrounding the outside.

Did I do that?

After brushing them off one by one, I went inside.

Belva, drenched in sweat and exhausted, looked at me, panting heavily.

“What on earth, what did you do…!”

That’s strange.

I know the power of the technique I just unleashed.

I know it’s a dangerous technique with sufficient lethality.

But it shouldn’t have been enough to penetrate this distance and deliver a meaningful impact.

As I said that, Belva staggered and collapsed to the floor.

It’s not like she was shocked by my words.

She’s just tired.

Too tired to even stand.

When I asked why, she said it was because of the flames that stuck to her.

The flames are the cause?

When I asked again, Belva explained the nature of the flames she had identified.

Listening to her, I could understand why she reacted like that.

The aura core I exploded created over thousands of aura flames.

And they poured down like rain due to gravity.

That much is fine.

It’s nothing special.

However, the problem is that the process of the technique I used included resonance with Dimension Power.

My Dimension Power, even unintentionally, induces changes in surrounding living beings.

I only found out today, but it seems that this applies not just to living beings, but to anything that can resonate with Dimension Power.

So, the flames were given properties.

Not just one, but quite a few.

First, they stick strongly to the surface of the target.

In that state, they burrow towards the most prominent heat source, i.e., the center.

Once they burrow in, they absorb the Magic Power there and reignite.

The only ways to extinguish them are to block the surrounding Magic Power, remove the flammable material, or continuously lower the temperature of the flames.

That’s a bit terrifying.

Fortunately, it didn’t spread much due to the rain, but on a clear day, it could have turned into a massive fire.

It’s a technique I can’t use unless it’s a day with heavy rain like today.

Swallowing my disappointment, I said to Belva.

“Sorry.”