In the chambers of the Black Raven King, a man stood in front of a full-length mirror wearing armor that looked like it had been through a lot of battles.
Multiple holes could be seen all over his body where the material of the armor had had no choice but to give way to the piercing blows it had had to endure.
Blood could still be seen on the edges of these holes, as if it had been soaked in so much of it that some had seeped into its very being.
In a way, it represented the tenacity of the warrior who had worn it and continued fighting no matter how many injuries he had endured.
That was how the Black Raven King saw himself in the mirror: bruised, battered and bloody; but holding his head high because he had snatched victory by doing everything he could.
Sadly, the image only lasted for a few seconds before being replaced by reality.
In the warrior's place stood a man who spent all his day cooped up in the Kingdom, handling various matters while fearing about the future.
Indeed, he wasn't averse to admitting that he felt fear.
As a warrior who had been through many situations which should have resulted in his death, he knew that fear was a power which spurred men and women to fight with the best of their abilities.
Many times, it was this fear which allowed one to overcome their limits to step towards new levels.
Yet, before, he had feared that a blade would cut him down, rendering all his training and dreams moot.
Now, he feared that he would be remembered as a coward.
A coward and a fool who allowed the Kingdom he ruled to be manipulated to result in its destruction.
He wished that his fears could still be averted by simply plunging the blade in his hands into the hearts of his enemies.
Alas, that wasn't the case.
Looking around one last time and putting aside the fervent dream of being back on the battlefield without any responsibilities instead of having to handle political and economic matters, the Black Raven King let out a long sigh before heading to the Throne Room.
Their Kingdom was one built on the idea that power was absolute. People revered power, and those in the military were, in many cases, the most popular and wealthy individuals in the entire Kingdom.
Now, it seemed that someone had come questioning whether the offspring of their legendary god really did give a huge boost in power as claimed.
On reaching the Throne Room and seeing the damned old man who was responsible for everything standing there as he always did like a shadow that wouldn't go away, the Black Raven King felt the anger that he always bottled up rising up to affect him.
Before, he had actually been a moderately cool-minded individual who didn't resort to getting angry at every small thing.
Now, it was that bottled-up anger that often reared its head in the presence of that old man to give the illusion that he was a hot-head who could easily be manipulated.
His day would come, he thought for the millionth time before sitting on the Throne with the enormous Black Raven above him.
The two men who had been outside before to watch the spar between the woman and the raven were in front of him. One kneeled, while the other bowed.
After they stood back up, he said, "Hmm. My soldiers would have already torn you to bits if you hadn't gathered the attention of the people. They just want to do it … publicly. Still, I've stopped them because I don't want Angaria to think that the Black Raven Kingdom indiscriminately kills those that foolishly question the blessing of our deity. I have an offer for you, but I wonder if you are brave enough to accept it."
Hearing the words of the Black Raven King, a cold sweat had formed on Elanev's back.
He had known exactly how risky this whole scenario was, but he had been banking on the renowned pride of the Black Raven Kingdom to save him.
After all, from his journey, he knew that it was only by taking risks that one could grow.
Although he did have a backup plan utilizing something he had acquired by chance after leaving Lanthanor, he thankfully did not have to use it anymore because it did not seem like he would be killed in cold blood.
Getting back the same swagger he had had when he had commented on the woman before, he said, "Unless it is something that is unfair, I am ready to take any offer that fulfills my wishes. I've traveled far and wide for this, and there's no way I'll go back empty-handed without many others hearing about it if I do."
Perception was a powerful thing. If it really became known across the continent that someone who had come to the Black Raven Kingdom seeking to find out about the specialty of black ravens was either sent back without an answer or killed, it would make everyone think that someone was right.
As a prideful people, this was definitely something that the Kingdom would be unable to bear.
Hence, Elanev's confidence was well-warranted.
Yet, what the Black Raven King said next startled him, making him almost drop the facade of a strong expert looking for a rival.
"I will personally fight you in public after limiting my strength to yours using special trinkets. I will also only use a similarly leveled Black Raven as a companion. What do you say, Challenger? The Black Raven Kingdom never backs down from a fight. It is high time the continent is reminded of this fact."
...…
[Host status updating. Please standby.
Host status:
Host Fighter Level: Human-7(22%)
Host Mage Level: Human-7(22%)
Host Body Potential: A+
Host Comprehension Level: ????
Host Condition: Nominal]
"System… why are there question marks beside the comprehension level? Playback all recent notifications."
[System does not contain enough data to assess host's comprehension level. Playing back:
Confinement completed. System congratulates host on breaking through his limit. Mageroot has broken through to the next level. Data insufficient, system is unable to assess and classify the level of host's Mageroot.
End of playback.]
Hearing the notification, Daneel's hands which had been about to plunge into the red goo to continue training fell to his side.
His comprehension had…broken through?
But how?
And why wasn't he feeling anything different?
After thinking for a moment, Daneel understood why this was the case.
Comprehension decided the ease and speed with which one could comprehend and connect with elementary particles in order to use them at their will.
The simple fact was that he hadn't cast any spells since this 'breakthrough', making it so that he had had no chance to experience whether there was any change.
Getting up, Daneel raised his hand in the air to try and conjure the same attack that he had used to defeat the Axelorian Commander: "Wood Cleaver."
Daneel was, after all, someone who had the talent of a legendary mage. Hence, although he had only seen Kellor's attack for a small period of time in order to let the system analyze it, he could still try and form on it on his own without the system's help.
The long, wooden handle which was the body of the axe was the first thing that started to appear.
This was when Daneel started to notice a difference. Usually, he would have already felt a resistance from the wood elementary particles in the air as he did not understand their patterns and behaviors as well as Kellor did. Hence, he would have had to resort to brute force, which would have ended up tiring him immensely.
Now, even as the handle was slowly being conjured, Daneel was rapidly understanding the very essence of wood which Kellor had taken years to grasp.
Although there were many aspects of wood, he understood that the one needed right now was sturdiness.
Layers and layers of particles, arranged in intricate patterns that added a resilience comparable to metal when the wood was thick enough.
Yet, just as he was about to delve deeper into the mysteries that he found fascinating, the particles that he had been guiding till now started to get out of control.
Soon enough, he realized that he would have to brute force it if he wanted to continue.
Stopping the conjuring, Daneel sat on the floor with an astonished expression on his face.
He had actually reached this point so fast!
There was only one explanation: his comprehension really had increased.
But why?
As he asked himself this, Daneel thought back to the moment before he had fainted beside Faxul in the Chamber.
Till then, he had been resisting the pressure from the entity which had wanted to destroy and consume him.
Yet, at the moment when the pressure had been removed due to the system confining it, he had felt … liberated, as if he were a flower that would only grow higher if it were stepped down upon.
That must definitely have been the moment of breakthrough.
As Daneel thought along these lines, another question appeared to him.
"System, is there any change in my training speed and time to becoming a Warrior because of this breakthrough?"