Chapter 67: Enlightenment

    Umara’s advancement lasted several hours, through which she received tempering on the level of my own.

    It seemed that whatever tempering she had gone through before with her mother wasn’t an actual tempering. In fact, her tempering was only prompted by her enlightenment.

    Did Warlocks need to enlighten themselves to receive the tempering? I thought of this question and decided to ask the Duchess since she definitely knew about it.

    The answer was a surprising affirmative.

    “To achieve a beyond perfection understanding of one’s element will earn a warlock the right to open themselves to greater power, which we take advantage of through the tempering process. However, an enlightenment can only be achieved after one has cultivated a perfect elemental affinity through advancing their authorities.”

    “Ah.”

    There was the limitation. Enlightenments couldn’t be received back to back. The only reason Umara was able to get enlightened this time was because she already had a perfect affinity for Air, something that had taken her three authorities to cultivate. She wouldn’t be able to do so for Fire, her next element, until after her advancement to Authority 7.

    But my knowledge would still ensure that she would have perfect advancements and achieve a perfect affinity in the first place. After a bit more discussion with the Duchess, I learned that the reason advancements became more difficult through higher Authorities was because cultivating multiple affinities actually worked against the warlock.

    According to her, cultivating one element filled the world around them with a fog that was the elemental energy of Mana. At first it was dim, becoming thicker until it became a perfectly precise but ever present nebula. And, although it was precise, it still got in the way of clearly seeing the other elements.

    It was like putting multiple veils in front of your eyes and being expected to make out the sights in front of you. The more veils, the harder it was, even if the veils became clearer to you in the process.

    To cultivate the fourth element was the most difficult thing a warlock could do as they would have to see through three veils that all but made their final element imperceptible. In fact, it was said that the barrier to the 10th Authority was harder to surpass than the barrier to the 11th as the 10th Authority required one to glimpse a dim, barely perceptible fog behind the veils that already made it close to impossible to see anything behind them to begin with. At least an authority 11 could see a fog at all if they made it to that level.

    However, there was one respite that increased the chances of one being able to start cultivating their final element. One thing that made it a tiny bit easier.

    Enlightenments.

    To achieve a beyond perfect understanding of an element would also make the veil it created not as blurring. Instead of seeing something that blocked the view of the rest of the world, an enlightenment would change their view into something that was a part of the world, not atop it.

    They would see the element as it was in nature, not as some magical fog all around them. This made it so that their view wouldn’t be blocked and they would be able to glimpse the new fogs of other elements with greater ease.

    However, enlightenments weren’t easy. A talented warlock was lucky to be enlightened once, let alone twice or three times. What Umara did with my knowledge made her nothing short of a genius that couldn’t be described by the Elite status she had earned at the Magisterium.

    Even her own mother hadn’t expected this to happen for a long while, and she knew her best. The two were almost twins.

    But beyond the first enlightenment, the addition of other elements made a subsequent enlightenment much harder. That was because it required not just the understanding of the second element, but required them to reconcile their knowledge with the first as well.

    Basically, they had to achieve beyond perfect understandings of both and then figure out how they connected to each other, elevating both to the same level. The difficulty didn’t simply add, it multiplied.

    But Umara’s chances of doing so as the daughter of the Duchess, who inherited the talent of her mother, was already high enough to begin with. There was little doubt about her reaching Authority 10, and to do so would require an enlightenment or two to begin with.

    And now, with her having completed the first so early and now getting access to my knowledge, her chances were even higher.

    Dare I say, if we took this far enough, she would surpass her mother. While I didn’t know about my own chances to reach such a level, Umara’s talent was already apparent, and inheriting talent from parents was already a known and regular phenomenon. It was why the noble class was such a tight knit circle. They were able to pop out generations of powerful warriors with certainty so long as certain practices were maintained.

    So even if I didn’t reach that level, Umara would be able to rise above me so long as I was able to feed her the knowledge. And with my growing smarts and memory that was being perfected with every advancement, my ability to do so was rapidly solidifying.

    So long as our relationship continued down a positive path, there was no reason why I wouldn’t empower my partner.

    I thought of all this as Umara began to finish her advancement. By the time she was doing so, it was early morning.

    I looked at her drowsily as she began to groan and calm down. My previous advancement and tempering ended with me having an energized mind that forced me back awake. But for her, it seemed that, although she was bursting with power, her mind had been drained of all its energy.

    Not only that, but she ended up covering her eyes, complaining about oversensitivity. It seemed that whatever enhanced awareness of her element she gained was overloading her, not to mention being empowered with Psyka and Vigor. Her mind must feel like it was running a thousand miles per hour right now.

    And the Duchess understood her plight. She scooped up her daughter in a princess carry, which was comfortable enough to cause Umara to pass out, and gave me a deep look.

    “Once again, I thank you, John. To have missed out on her tempering would have been a rather disastrous disadvantage for her future. You have my gratitude.”

    “I’m her boyfriend, so it’s a given. If she is to fight beside me in the future, I want nothing more than to be confident in her strength. Her power is my happiness.”

    “I’m glad. Not only that you would fight for her but that you seek to empower her so she can fight for herself. I am more confident in your relationship so long as you continue to display the necessary talent. If you can’t keep up, then your chances to pursue her are automatically reduced to nothing.”

    “...I understand.”

    It stung a little, but I knew that was the reality. My being a commoner was already enough to cause discord, not to mention how I’m also a cold summoner, the weakest Magus there is in this world. If I were also talentless, then there would come a day where I would simply be killed for overstepping, let alone if I were also being rebellious like I recently had been.

    All the cards were stacked against me, and there was yet another reason for me to focus on getting stronger. I couldn’t let my girlfriend leave me behind. How was I supposed to protect her then?

    But I was still confident in myself. I was already punching well above my class and I had Maxwell to back me up. The road ahead would be trying, but I was never one to back away from a challenge or risk. Quite the opposite.

    “So you know, I am already receiving pressure from several noble families whose suitors are demanding I rid Umara of your presence. She has yet to know of this pressure since I wanted her to focus on her advancement, but now that it’s over, she will be forced to deal with this. That’s her responsibility since she pursued you. Just like you must meet the standard, she must also weather the consequences of her actions. Be prepared, because as her boyfriend, you will be dragged into it.”

    “I’ll take it as it comes. And she will have my full support.”

    “Mm. I at least know that you aren’t a coward.”

    She nodded and turned, leaving the study.

    I felt nice getting a compliment like that, smiling through my exhaustion as she disappeared from view.

    I heard a groan not long after, hearing Maxwell rise from his desk.

    “I’m too old for this. Get out of here so I can finally go to sleep.”

    “Sure thing. Thank you, also. You saved my ass.”

    I expressed my heartfelt thanks as he grumbled his way to the door.

    “I know. But you should be thankful that Duchess Talerria is reasonable and well mannered. She seems very open to your presence. Any normal noble, especially on that level, would have simply forbid you from so much as speaking to their child, let alone fornicate.”

    “We haven’t fornicated. But yea, I seemed to have struck gold.”

    “And it’ll be the catalyst for your rise or the harbinger of your downfall. Play your cards well, John, and be diligent. Fail, and your little boat will be overturned by the wrath of the ocean as it feeds you to its behemoths.”

    “Or kill the behemoths.”

    “You don’t need to kill them to beat them. You just have to refuse to die. So hurry up and get better. I’m giving you until the end of your time at the Magisterium to advance to Authority 5. That is around 7 months from now. After that, you’ll be released into treacherous waters, but by then, you should be capable of at least weathering some storms.”

    He dispensed wisdom while leaving the study.

    And over time, her mother did in fact come to realize this. After all, it had resulted in her own enlightenment. But it didn’t seem like she was entirely convinced.

    “I understand what you''re trying to say, dear. But I don’t believe even you entirely know what you’re talking about.”

    “No, not entirely. John does, though even he says that what he knows only scratches the surface. But I do know that his knowledge can help the entire warlock class. It’s a new way to comprehend the elements.”

    “Maybe.”

    The Duchess only nodded. Umara could tell that she still didn’t understand what she was saying.

    So she sighed and gave up. For now.

    John being valuable beyond his own power would mean that they could garner more support, especially from the Duchess. Umara didn’t forget how she had done nothing to back either of them up at the party, and that was intentional.

    She knew her mother wouldn’t coddle her, and now that she had advanced, she would be facing the pressure of other nobles who didn’t approve of her relationship with John. So she needed to give her a reason to support them.

    She hoped this would be one of those things.

    And perhaps she would have to prove the worth of her knowledge using herself. That would take time, so she didn’t press the issue for now.

    Finishing the last of her food, she rose from her bed and left the room with her mother.

    The two went straight to a study within their mansion, which Umara had been returned to when she was unconscious.

    And inside they found Duke Talerria, Umara’s father.

    “Ikhor.”

    “Hm? Oh, Talexia. And my Authority 5 daughter. How are you feeling?”

    Ikhor stood, revealing his burly figure from behind a mahogany desk holding stacks of papers. Umara gave him a hug when he stepped out from behind it. Her father was an Authority 10 Knight and had muscles like steel. He was also completely riddled with scars, trophies from his years of military service. Rugged yet smart and wise.

    “I’m feeling great.”

    “That’s good. I heard that you underwent a proper tempering during your enlightenment. How are your reflexes?”

    “Hm?!”

    Umara jolted when she saw her father flicker, shooting toward her with blinding speed.

    She was barely able to keep up, raising a hand and instinctually casting a spell.

    The air in front of her was compressed, meeting his outstretched palm and exploding.

    His palm stopped in its tracks only two feet in front of her face while the air was kicked up like a hurricane all around them, several books flying out of their bookshelves and dusty corners wisping out of their coves.

    Ikhor smiled.

    “Very good. With Psyka, your mind will operate faster. And with Vigor, your body will be able to keep up with your mind. Of course, these things will forever remain a mere supplement to your magic, another tool for survival. Keep up your training.”

    “I will.”

    Umara smiled, shaking her stinging hand.

    Her father’s palm was an unbreakable wall, so the compressed air which was supposed to stop it had rebounded and hit her own.

    Still, even she was surprised about her own ability to cast that spell. And there was one detail, or lack of it, that indicated her enlightenment.

    The lack of a proper spell.

    When a warlock cast a spell, they wrote the formation into the world and activated it.

    But she didn’t have to for air spells now after achieving a beyond perfect understanding. In fact, air spells in general were now far more powerful as well as far less costly. There was a reason enlightenments were such a big deal. They boosted a warlock’s combat ability by several times.

    Umara, despite having just advanced to Authority 5, was now on the level of a late Authority 5 warlock, if not an Authority 6. She was already able to fight above her own level, just like John did. And in time, she would grow into her new power, widening the gap between her and those of her level.

    When her father pat her on the shoulder and squeezed, she chuckled and fought his vice grip, the two walking out of the study. The Duchess followed them with a smile.

    They descended the mansion stairs, entering another room where a young girl was studying beside a tutor.

    Seeing her family, she took the chance and ditched the book in front of her.

    “Papa!”

    “Look at you. Eager to study eh?”

    “I don’t like books. I like training the spear with you!”

    “Well you still have some time before you finally awaken. Training can only do so much before then.”

    “I know. Study hard so that I can enter the Magisterium.”

    She sat herself back down cutely, seeing how she wasn’t going to be training today.

    Umara went over and ruffled her thick brown hair.

    Feay Talerria was 14 years old and had thick brown hair like her father. But she inherited the sharp face of her mother like Umara did, giving her a fierce look. Other than that, she had the disposition of her father.

    And according to the Crest that looked like a mess of vertical lines across the back of her hand, she was already determined to be a future knight, inheriting the talent of her father.

    She would activate her Crest in two years and then enter the Magisterium. Before then, she had to learn enough to get in the conventional way.

    Seeing that Crest, Umara remembered John’s 13 star crest. She had been told that he hadn’t even been cultivating his Authorities for a year yet, unlike them who had taken four years to get to their current level.

    He had been advancing on a monthly basis for 3 Authorities. She wondered about the circumstances around that.

    He told her that he came to the Capital from a village. But he hadn’t actually lived there. He had lived in that place called Earth. But then why hadn’t he activated his Crest earlier? Why had he taken so long to start cultivating his Authorities? And how did he do it so fast?

    She got curious. There were too many things she wanted to find out about him.