Chapter 133 – Absurd but Diligent Student
Chapter 133
Absurd but Diligent Student
Date : Day 24 of Grimleaf 1024 Aethellgard Concord Year.
Silence stretched between Hyoren and Oria. The quiet was heavy—the kind of stillness that seemed to press against the ears, demanding to be filled but offering nothing to fill it with. The soft hum of the orb on the table was the only sound that broke the hush—a gentle pulse of magical energy that seemed almost mocking in its normalcy.
It took almost a full minute before Oria's sapphire eyes finally returned to normal.
"Hyoren... I already knew you were absurd. But not this kind of absurd."
She shook her head as if trying to physically dispel the number from her mind. Her silver hair swayed with the motion.
"But this..."
Her eyes drifted back toward the orb. The numbers still glowed on the glass pane beneath it—unchanged and undeniable. 125%. 125%. The figures seemed to pulse with a quiet insistence—as if daring her to look away and pretend they did not exist.
"You just broke the fundamental rules of the Law of Aethell."
She exhaled slowly—the kind of deliberate release that came from someone trying to process information that challenged everything they thought they knew.
"I could still accept your dual nature because you possess two Divine Protections. Even if both your Light and Dark attunements reached 100%, I could somehow understand it."
Then she massaged her forehead.
"But 125..."
Hyoren smiled wryly.
"Is it... really that weird?"
Oria immediately shot upright. The motion was abrupt—her small frame straightening from its slumped position with the kind of speed that suggested she could not believe what she had just heard.
"Weird? It's not just weird! It breaks the law itself!"
She pointed accusingly at the orb as if it had personally offended her.
"I don't even grasp how this is possible. Even the most blessed mortals should cap at 100%. Going beyond that… That might mean you've already transcended the limits of mortals."
Hyoren frowned slightly.
"But I still feel weak... There are many enemies who could kill me easily before I could even go all out."
Oria sighed.
"You might be weak right now. But your potential at wielding Aethell... your ceiling..."
She looked directly into his eyes. Her sapphire eyes met his dark ones—the connection holding for a moment longer than was strictly necessary for the conversation.
"If you continue training, you could wield magic unlike anyone else in this world."
Then she raised a finger.
"I'm not trying to boast, but an Attunement Level above 75% is already considered prodigy territory. Someone with 80% like me regularly receives offers to teach at academies or serve as high-ranking military mages."
She leaned back slightly.
"In the entire Silverwood Enclave, I think only three people possess attunement levels of 90%. One of them is Eleanora of the Silverwood, Silverwood Enclave's Princess. A Platinum Rank Adventurer."
A trace of reverence entered her voice.
"And the current Nature Protector of Sylvana, Elder Yennelyndra. She wield Water as naturally as breathing itself with 100% Water Attunement Level. She can Summon massive floods. Or disperse such disasters just as easily.”
Her sapphire eyes glowed.
"Then lastly, Sylvana's Gale Walker, Frenny, she wields tempest easily with her 100% Wind Attunement Level."
Oria pointed directly at Hyoren.
“Your current strength might still be small. But if you keep sharpening your Light and Dark magic… I honestly don’t know where you’ll end up.”
Oria’s revelation left Hyoren stunned.
The information was too much to process all at once—the kind of knowledge that fundamentally altered how he understood himself and his place in this world. The numbers on the orb seemed to burn themselves into his vision—125% glowing with an insistence that refused to be ignored.
Hyoren tried to compose himself. His mind desperately searched for some kind of explanation behind this absurd result.
“So what caused it, Oria? Is it because I received Divine Protection from two Goddesses? Did that somehow make me break the law?”
Oria immediately shook her head.
“That shouldn’t be possible. Divine Protection alone should not allow someone to surpass the Law of Aethell.”
She crossed her arms while thinking.
"There are recorded cases of individuals receiving dual blessings before. Especially among the Spirited Away... like yourself."
Hyoren fell silent for a moment before trying another possibility. The quiet stretched between them.
"Then... is it because I'm Spirited Away? Because I came from another world?"
But Oria shut down the theory again—her head shaking before he had even finished articulating the full thought.
"No. Spirited Away are rare, but they're still well documented."
She tapped the orb lightly.
"As I told you before, they almost always receive both Light and Dark Divine Protections. But there has never been a recorded case of one surpassing 100% Attunement Level."
The pattern was frustrating—each logical explanation crumbling under Oria's superior knowledge of magical theory and historical precedent.
Hyoren leaned back into his chair and sank into deep thought. Then what exactly made him different? He dug through his memories. The summoning ritual. The events that had brought him to this world and everything that had happened since.
Suddenly, realization struck him—the kind of insight that seemed obvious in retrospect but had remained hidden until this moment.
Right... There was something different about me compared to other Spirited Away. The botched summoning...
Because Luminara had been distracted, he had been thrown into the middle of the Forest of No Return instead of arriving properly. The failed summoning had damaged his connection to Aethell itself.
He could still level up. He could still learn skills. But he couldn't hear the Voice of Aethell. The notification which told the people of this world when they leveled up or learned new skills. The absence had been strange at first—he had not even known what he was missing until Elise had explained it to him.
Then both Luminara and Noctynara had directly interfered with his soul—twice.
The first time was when they finally repaired his connection to Aethell and granted him the Unique Skill Berserker. The second time was when Luminara fixed the problem preventing him from leveling up. And during this time, Luminara also manipulated his soul, to upgrade his Unique Skill.
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. Two direct interventions by divine beings—each one leaving its mark on the very fabric of his existence.
Hyoren slowly looked toward Oria.
"Oria... I have theory..."
She narrowed her eyes—her sapphire irises focusing on him with renewed attention.
"What is it?"
Hyoren took a deep breath.
"I haven't told you the full story about my summoning into this world yet. But basically..."
And then he began telling her everything. The words came steadily at first—organized in the way that someone presents information they have had time to process.
Oria listened silently. Her expression shifted as the story progressed—the initial curiosity giving way to something more complex. The more Hyoren told his story, the deeper her brows furrowed.
Her small figure slowly sank further into the sofa as if the sheer absurdity of his existence was physically exhausting her.
When he finally finished, she stared at him for several long seconds. The silence stretched between them. Her sapphire eyes were fixed on his face—searching for some sign that he was joking or exaggerating. Finding none, she seemed to reach a conclusion that she had been hoping to avoid.
"Your story is… completely absurd. You are absurd, Hyoren..."
Then she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself.
"A botched summoning. A broken connection to Aethell itself. Direct manipulation of the soul by Divinities..."
Her sapphire eyes snapped open.
"Twice."
Silence lingered for a moment before she slowly nodded to herself.
"Yes... now it makes sense. Having two Divine Protections alone wouldn't allow you to break the Law. Even meeting the Gods themselves wouldn't be enough. But direct manipulation of the soul by actual Divinities... twice at that... That is definitely enough to alter your very existence."
Her pointed ears twitched as her thoughts rapidly connected together.
"Yes... the two Goddesses were trying to repair your broken connection and grant you their blessings... But in the process, they may have unintentionally created someone who transcends normal mortals."
Then she shook her head slowly, silver hair swaying softly with the motion.
"No wonder your Attunement Level reached 125%."
Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"And honestly... I don't think it ends there."
Hyoren blinked. The reaction was one of surprise—he had expected the conversation to end with the explanation of his attunement, not to continue into unknown territory.
"What do you mean, Oria?"
Oria crossed her arms.
"Your constitution itself may already be different from ordinary mortals. Not just your Attunement Level."
She looked directly into his eyes. Her sapphire eyes met with his dark ones—the connection holding with an intensity that seemed to demand his full attention.
"There may be changes we simply don't know about yet. But I'm certain there's more to this... A fragment of divinity may have already mingled with your soul."
Then, unexpectedly, a smirk formed on her lips.
"You're definitely going to carve your name into history someday, Hyoren."
***
Oria’s words echoed inside Hyoren’s mind. You’re definitely going to carve your name into history someday. But he still couldn’t believe it.
He still felt inexperienced. Weak. The memory of the battle against the Goblin Knight Hifoppe was still fresh—the desperation of those moments when Elise had been struck down, the terror that had driven him beyond his limits. Back then against the Servant of Gidol, he had barely managed to protect Elise. The victory had come at a cost that still weighed heavily on his conscience.
How could someone like him carve his name into history if he could barely protect the people he cared about?
Hyoren let out a quiet sigh.
"I don't think I'm that great, Oria."
A self-deprecating smile formed on his face.
"I'm weak. Really weak."
Oria looked at him for a moment before smiling softly. The transformation was subtle—the sharp edges of her usual demeanor softening into something gentler. It was a rare gentle expression from her.
"Don't be too harsh on yourself. You were only summoned into this world less than three months ago, right?"
Hyoren blinked. The question caught him off guard—not because he didn't know the answer, but because he hadn't expected her to frame his situation in those terms.
"Strength doesn't come instantly. Be patient."
She leaned back against the sofa.
"And honestly, you should already be proud of yourself. Someone at your level managing to defeat a Servant of Gidol is already absurd enough."
Her expression dimmed slightly.
"Even if that victory came with a painful price."
Hyoren fell silent. The words hung in the air between them—a reminder of the scars that Elise still carried and the guilt that he still felt.
Meanwhile, Oria quietly made up her mind. The decision formed gradually—crystallizing from the fragments of thought that had been accumulating since she first saw those impossible numbers on the orb. She would teach him properly. Not just a few theories or surface-level explanations, but real magic. Real understanding. The kind of instruction that would allow him to fully grasp the potential that those numbers represented.
Because she genuinely wanted to see it now. This strange man who kept wearing that wry smile while insisting he was weak.
What kind of existence would he become in the future? Something greater? Something history would remember? Perhaps even—a Hero. The thought was not entirely comfortable, but it was compelling nonetheless.
Oria clapped her hands once, shifting the atmosphere entirely.
"Okay! Enough with the self-deprecating talk!"
Her sapphire eyes gleamed with excitement.
"So… How about I start teaching you how to truly wield Aethell? To use magic.”
Hyoren immediately straightened his posture. Learning magic. That was the real reason he came to meet Oria in the first place. The shock from discovering his absurd Attunement Level had completely distracted him from it.
But now his focus returned.
"Right... Oria. Please teach me."
He bowed his head slightly.
Oria nodded before walking toward one of the bookshelves lining the room.
Her footsteps were light against the wooden floor—the sound barely audible as she moved with the kind of purposeful efficiency that characterized all her actions. After scanning the shelves for a moment, she pulled out two thick books and returned to the sofa.
She placed both onto the table with a dull thud.
"This one is Basic Runic Theory."
She tapped the second book.
"And this is Basic Light Magic Spellbook."
Then she crossed her arms.
"I think you should focus on the elements you actually have an overwhelming advantage in. You should take full advantage of that absurd 125% Attunement Level of yours. So stick with Light and Dark Magic for now."
Then her expression turned slightly troubled.
"Though I don't have a Basic Dark Magic Spellbook. They're difficult to obtain in Altaria because of the persecution surrounding Dark Magic and the whole 'heretic' issue."
Her lips curled faintly.
"But don't worry. I can order one through my own channels."
Hearing that reminded Hyoren about the heretics who had ruined the reputation of Dark Magic and Noctynara.
The Voided Covenant—the organization that had twisted the Goddess's domain of ambition and knowledge into something dark and destructive. Their actions had cast a shadow over anyone who practiced Dark Magic, forcing practitioners into hiding or suspicion.
Also about the book he found inside the ghost village, which was wiped because of the Voided Covenant. The memory surfaced with clarity—the abandoned settlement, the eerie silence, and the discovery of the spellbook that had seemed incidental at the time but now took on new significance.
Without wasting time, Hyoren rummaged through his magic bag before pulling out a thick old tome.
The cover was dusty and worn from age, but the book itself remained surprisingly sturdy. The leather was cracked and faded—yet the pages beneath remained intact.
"No need, Oria."
He placed the book onto the table.
"I already have one. I found it inside one of the Voided Covenant bases during one quest before."
Oria's sapphire eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"Hoo..."
She picked up the tome and examined it briefly. Her small fingers traced the spine and cover. She flipped through several pages, scanning the contents with the practiced eye of someone who could judge a text's worth at a glance.
"Impressive. That saves us a lot of trouble then. Good. Now everything's settled. And we're finally ready to start learning magic."
***
Oria picked up the first book, Basic Runic Theory, and shoved it toward Hyoren. The motion was abrupt—the kind of gesture that came from someone who valued efficiency over gentleness when it came to imparting knowledge. The volume landed on the table with a solid thump, its pages fluttering slightly from the impact before settling into stillness.
"Now then. Before you actually start performing magic, you need to understand the basics first."
She pointed toward the open pages. Her small finger tracing along the text.
"Like I explained earlier, magic is performed by creating a runic array in your mind to form a spell."
Then she looked directly at him, sapphire eyes turning serious.
"To cast a spell, you need three things."
She raised one finger.
"First, a mental image. The clearer and more vivid the image in your head, the stronger and more stable the spell becomes."
A second finger rose.
"Second, the runic array itself. This is the foundation of the spell. You need to memorize the arrangement of runes and project it properly inside your mind."
Her hand now displayed three fingers.
"And lastly, Aethell. You activate the runic array by pouring Aethell into it. The more Aethell you use, the greater the spell's potency. But there is still a limit. You couldn't just keep pouring Aethell."
She crossed her arms.
“Understand so far?”
Hyoren nodded slowly. The concept sounded complicated, but the basic structure itself was easy enough to grasp.
“I see… Mental Image, Runic Array, and Aethell itself. Understandable.”
Oria smiled faintly.
“Good. The mental image is closely tied to the runic array. Think of runes as a language used to command Aethell itself. The more complex the spell, the more runes it requires.”
Her expression became slightly more animated as she explained further.
“And because of that, there’s a certain degree of freedom when constructing spells. Two mages with the same level of skill can create completely different magic depending on their imagination and the runes they choose to combine.”
Hyoren was still trying to digest all these information.
Honestly, he hadn't expected magic to be this complicated. The stories he had read back on Earth had always portrayed spellcasting as something intuitive—an extension of willpower or emotion that required little in the way of formal instruction. The reality, it seemed, was far more structured and demanding.
Hyoren tilted his head.
“Umm… I don’t really understand…”
Oria chuckled softly.
“That’s normal. This topic is usually taught over several academy lectures. Most students take weeks before they fully grasp it.”
She tapped her chin thoughtfully before flipping through the pages.
“But I’ll simplify it for you.”
After finding the section she wanted, she turned the book around for him to see.
“When learning magic, you essentially piece together runes to form a spell. You can get creative and create your own runic combinations…”
She pointed at the page.
“...or you can simply use established runic arrays already researched and standardized by scholars. And once you successfully form and stabilize a spell for the first time, the System recognizes it and rewards you with the corresponding Magic Skill and Spell.”
Hyoren nodded.
So that’s how magic skills are learned…
Seeing Hyoren already understand, Oria picked up a pen and quickly sketched several runes onto an empty piece of paper.
“Here’s an example.”
Oria tapped the drawn array.
“The first Water Magic spell I learned was Water Arrow. I simply used the standard runic array taught in academies.”
The drawn diagram was surprisingly simple, consisting of only four runes connected together to form perfect circle—a Magic Circle, or Runic Array in this case.
“This is the established Water Arrow’s Runic Array.”
She pointed at the first rune. Her finger lingered on the symbol—emphasizing its importance in the overall structure.
"The first rune means Water — the element itself."
Second rune. Her finger moved to the next symbol in the sequence.
"This one means Arrow."
The progression continued—each component building on the last to create a more complete picture of the spell's function.
"This one means Shoot."
Her finger came to rest on the final symbol in the Runic Array.
"And lastly, Forward. This final rune stabilizes the direction into a straight trajectory."
She leaned back slightly. The posture was one of conclusion—the stance of someone who had just finished presenting the key elements of an explanation and was now waiting to see if her audience had understood.
"So when combined together… It becomes, create a water arrow and shoot it straight toward the target. A Water Arrow spell."
Oria's explanation hung in the air. The simplicity of the final statement belied the complexity of the system it described—a framework that allowed for both rigid structure and creative expression depending on the skill and imagination of the practitioner.
Hyoren fell silent, quietly digesting everything she had just explained.
The more he listened, the more the structure behind magic started making sense in his mind. Runes. Mental image. Aethell. It all connected together like pieces of a puzzle—each component essential to the whole, each element dependent on the others to function properly. The system was elegant in its design—complex enough to allow for variation and creativity, yet structured enough to be teachable and learnable.
Across from him, Oria casually played with a strand of her silver hair while observing his expression.
The motion was absent—a physical habit that occupied her hands while her mind focused on more important matters. She recognized that look immediately. The look of a curious student who had finally begun understanding the fundamentals—and now hungered to learn more. To dig deeper. To truly understand. It was an expression she had seen many times before—in her own reflection in the mirrors.
A faint amusement appeared in her sapphire eyes. Oria had always been diligent herself. She respected people who genuinely sought knowledge instead of chasing shortcuts.
And Hyoren—he was undeniably diligent.