Chapter 87: SEA OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Azrael heaved heavily.
"You are faster now. Three seconds to fully deploy your domain is quite good," Jasmine said.
Held within her grasp was a wine glass, half filled with a sparkling gold wine.
Beside her, Daisy sat with a smile plastered on her face, happily eating the chocolate cookies from the plate in front of her.
Looking at Azrael’s sweaty figure, she pulled a towel from the small bag resting on her lap and ran towards him.
Jasmine watched as she went.
"Thank you," Azrael said, collecting the towel from her.
Daisy smiled then returned to her seat beside Jasmine.
"You can rest for five minutes. We continue after that," Jasmine said, rising from her seat.
She walked into the house, accompanied by Daisy who waved at Azrael as she passed through the door.
"It must have been really weird for her to only stay with her grandmother for so long," Azrael whispered.
[Maybe.]
Azrael stood up, walking towards the chair Jasmine had sat on previously.
’Pineapple juice,’ he said to the system.
The cost was deducted.
In the next instant, a glass filled with a yellow liquid appeared in his hand.
’What do you think of Raksha?’ Azrael asked.
Unknowingly, he had somehow gotten fascinated by the idea of learning to use a sword.
[Who’s that?] The system asked.
Azrael furrowed his brows. Then he set the glass on the table.
’Were you not present yesterday when I was training in my dream?’ Azrael asked.
[No,] The system replied.
Azrael blinked.
He had assumed the system was aware but had chosen not to mention it.
’Yesterday, one of the skills I got from Perfect Being, Primordial Communion, activated while I was asleep,’ Azrael explained. ’I met Raksha. He said he was the Primordial of the Oni. He even started training me in how to use a sword.’
[Maybe what Jasmine said is true. You seem to be accessing your Sea of Consciousness.]
’What is that?’ Azrael asked.
[I can’t go into details yet, but you will find out once you reach tier 6,] the system said.
’So even you can’t enter my Sea of Consciousness,’ Azrael said with raised brows.
[Yes. It belongs solely to you.]
’Then how was Raksha able to reach there?’
[The skill probably bridged the gap.]
Azrael sighed and shrugged.
’So many strange things happening lately.’
[And you are forgetting one crucial thing,] the system added.
Azrael squinted his eyes, searching his memory for whatever he had missed.
’I don’t think so,’ he replied after a quick check.
[The Original Sin Fragment that you received as a beginner gift,] the system said with a facepalm emoji.
[I thought the skill was supposed to make you smarter.]
’Oh.’
His mouth formed an O even as he said the word in his mind.
’How much did you say it costs to activate it?’
He puffed his chest slightly as he spoke.
Even if he could not afford the high end items in the system shop, he was still comfortable enough for something like this.
[Fifty thousand SP,] the system replied.
[But I would advise waiting until your free training time.]
’Obviously. With how much pain these things put me through, I know when and when not to use them.’
The system did not respond.
The five minutes passed quietly with Azrael admiring the shifting environment of the Chaos Realm.
"Even though it is dangerous to be inside, gazing at it from here actually makes it beautiful," Azrael mused with a smile.
"You have rested enough," a small palm gripped his shoulder suddenly.
Small, but the power behind it was anything but.
Azrael nodded quickly.
"Good. Now, I will warn you once. Daisy is off limits."
Her voice was cold, carrying none of the feeling one would expect from a normal person.
Azrael nodded again.
At this point, nodding felt like the only safe response available to him.
"Okay, let’s move on," Jasmine said with a smile as she pushed Azrael off the chair.
He landed face first on the floor.
He stood up and dusted himself off as though nothing had happened.
At least his life was still intact.
"Let’s see," Jasmine said, stroking her chin slowly. "What should I teach you?"
A frown began to form on her face.
"I did not plan any of this," she said, running a hand through her hair with a tired expression.
"What about the Contract and Dominance domain types?" Azrael asked.
Jasmine shook her head.
"That’s enough domain for today," she replied, not even bothering to look at him.
Azrael nodded without saying anything further.
He left the decision making to Jasmine.
After all, he had no reference point of his own.
"How about lightning training?" She asked.
For the first time, Azrael heard her ask a question about what she wanted to teach him.
And all he could do was nod.
To him, it had not sounded like a question anyway. It felt more like her thinking aloud.
"Okay then. But I don’t go easy on anyone, so you might die a few times."
Her words pierced through Azrael like the sharpest arrow in existence.
Why would anyone consider killing their student a valid teaching method?
"Don’t worry, your regeneration skill should bring you back. And if it fails, I will intervene."
She went quiet for a moment, then continued.
"I see you use your fists and legs. A strange choice, but I won’t use any weapon either."
"Huh?" Azrael looked at her.
"Don’t worry. I will reduce my power level to tier 10, but that doesn’t mean I am holding back at that level."
In front of Azrael, Jasmine performed the same oath Yvonne had taken during their race a week ago.
As the oath completed, before Jasmine could even look down, a fist was already in her face.
"Ahh," Jasmine said, face all smiles as she caught the fist with a claw made entirely of lightning.
"Lawless," she said, letting the word settle for as long as it could. "I love that."