CHAPTER 123: AIR, WATER, BLOOD AND LIGHT

A/N: Hollow Knight SilkSong is almost released. Stop reading novels for a few days and enjoy peak :]

And remember: GIT GUD!!

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In the depths of water, all I could feel was the movement of my body, but I didn’t know what was happening in my surroundings.

With my spatial awareness, I could only know that I was covered by something, but that was all about it.

I couldn’t know the difference between a fish and water — they both were objects in space, and with water covering the entire place, I couldn’t use the fish shape to detect it.

And knowing the color was an entire problem itself. How could spatial awareness show the color?

As I hovered in the water, my sense of danger suddenly alarmed me of something coming.

In an instant, I moved my head to the side and started swimming away, not knowing if I dodged an attack or not, and not knowing where I was swimming to.

The only reason I knew I was actually moving was by noticing the distance between me and Glutton.

As I kept swimming, I asked inwardly:

’Any ideas? What does the exit even look like?’

[An exit in the middle of water... maybe a spatial gate? Like the one we used to enter the test.]

I thought deeply for a moment; the idea seemed possible.

But that would make it even harder. That time when I entered the test through a wall, my spatial awareness showed it as a normal wall.

That was really a problem.

"...!"

All of a sudden, I felt a sharp pain in my hand as my sense of danger was slower this time.

Immediately, I shook the area around me , causing whatever bit me to die... probably.

All I knew was it stopped biting, but whether it was still alive or not wasn’t known.

Out of nowhere, something bit me harder this time beside my neck. Immediately, I shook everything around me again causing it to stop.

I gritted my teeth as I felt a strange sense of powerlessness. Was simply putting me in the middle of water enough to make me unable to dodge a fish?

Though I could fight at close range so well, my real focus was long-range combat. I wasn’t supposed to let my enemies come that close let alone biting me!

But what was I supposed to do? Attack randomly until my aether and mental power were drained?

[Ah! Something bit my wing!]

’Shut up, Glutton! I’m trying to think!’

First, I released all types of pressures I had.

Whether it was fear pressure, gravity pressure or even bloodlust, I unleashed all of them.

There were no people here. Unleashing my bloodlust wasn’t a problem anymore.

[I’m still here!]

Unlike the normal pressure in which I could choose its targets, I couldn’t do the same with bloodlust.

It didn’t care about allies and enemies, attacking both their minds equally and it was affecting my emotions a little, so I was avoiding it.

[It’s affecting me!]

But this time I had to worry only about myself...

[Hey!]

... So I didn’t hold back anymore.

’Glutton, don’t dare to use anything beyond lightning and space magic, not even your pressure!’

[Yes yes...]

Now that I had a mental barrier, the fish would think 2 times before getting close to me, and some of them would restore my mental power, so I only had to think for now.

’First, what is the difference between air and water?’

I could easily sense anything outside water, but inside, I couldn’t.

Didn’t they have to be the same? Wasn’t the space outside the water filled with air? Wasn’t the air an object too?

’Fuck! Not again!’

Another bite in my leg. This time, I felt the sharp teeth piercing my leg.

Instantly, I sent currents of lightning out of my body until it stopped.

At the same time, I made some wind blades slash everything around me just in case.

At this moment, the realization hit me.

’Then what about wind blades and blood?’

[Oh! I understand it now!!]

In the air, whenever I shot wind blades, I could still sense them even though they were barely noticeable.

By that logic, wasn’t it just normal to sense blood inside water?

Both being liquid didn’t matter. So long as they weren’t the same then there was no way one of them could erase the presence of the other.

I finally understood.

It was the density!

I was always used to the air density in space, so I only detected anything that didn’t have the same density as the air.

But the air itself had its own density, so naturally, I could detect it too.

Now, I had to only replace the image of the air with water, and adjust my spatial awareness to it!

[I did it! HAHAHA!!]

’What!’

I froze once I heard Glutton. What did he do exactly?

[It’s actually simple! Just imagine the water as air then you will sense anything that doesn’t have the same water density. I can already sense the fucking fish swimming around me!]

"...."

I began to do as he said, trying not to think about the fact he learnt it before me.

I began to imagine the water as air.

Now, I wasn’t floating on the water, but in the middle of the air after just decreasing my weight.

I wasn’t swimming, but using the wind to move myself in my weightless state.

Slowly and gradually, the image in my mind changed, until I could finally sense everything around me.

The lives swimming everywhere in the water, the blood surrounding me, Glutton’s body and even the fish that was charging at me.

’Hehehe, I can see you now!’

Immediately, I grabbed the small fish before it could bite me, fingers digging on it as I sent a small current of lightning.

This time, the fish died without wasting much Aether.

But even though it was dead, I didn’t let it go.

’Now, how to know its color?’

[I understand it now!]

What were even the colors?

I didn’t know too much about physics — since I didn’t continue my education — but weren’t colors just how the light was reflected?

If I remember well, it was starting with red and ending with purple. Meanwhile the yellow or the golden were in the middle.

So I just had to sense the reflected light.

I wasn’t strange with sensing the light rays — I was used to sensing the divine rays that Aria was shooting — but the challenge this time was sensing the thin reflected light.

[I got my first golden fish! HAHAHA!]

’What the fuck!’

I was stunned for the second time. Just how did he learn that fast? There was no way he was smarter than me, right?

... Right?

I swallowed my pride and asked inwardly while killing what seemed to be a shark.

’S-so how do I sense the colors?’

Glutton didn’t answer for a long moment, then his voice finally echoed in my head.

[Say please.]

’Fuck you! I still have all the crystals and mana potions, remember?’

[Are you threatening your... your son?]

’I’d even threaten my father if he was alive!’

Glutton didn’t say anything for an entire minute. As I began to think about a way to punish him, he finally sighed and spoke again.

[Fine. There isn’t much light to be reflected here, so just use your own light.]

’My own light?’

I understood immediately.

I had an affinity that could make light!

The lightning affinity could easily make light, so more light for me to practice and more light for the fish to reflect!

Immediately, arcs of lightning began to dance around me. I didn’t focus on them, but in the light they were producing.

With every passing second, my focus sharpened as I kept trying to feel the light ignoring the Aether consumption.

After a moment, I finally sensed its density.

’Haha! I did it! I can sense the light!’

That was a huge breakthrough.

Now I could sense the changes in even light around me!

If I was sleeping, I’d wake up instantly the moment I sensed some light entering my room. That was a really huge improvement in my senses.

After getting used to sensing the purple light, I looked at the fish on my hand.

As expected, I couldn’t sense anything.

I made some lightning dance around my hand, then fortunately, I sensed the reflection.

Now the next step was obvious.

’Get as many fishes as possible and compare the light reflection. Wait, how did you do it this fast, Glutton?’

[I’m just that good. You are the only one who needed all this time to figure this out and sense some light!]

"...."

Swimming to the closest fish, I wondered if I had a talent for this.

I took too much time just to sense the light of the lightning.

Lunara was probably disappointed.

•••

[Lunara’s POV]

"How?!"

Inside my office, my eyes widened as I observed my new students’ performance.

And I had to admit, their learning speed was just insane!

I never planned to let them pass this test. I put them in this situation just to let them feel powerless and decide to work harder the next week.

I was supposed to take them out of water by now and start explaining how they were supposed to sense in water first.

I... didn’t expect them to learn this on their own... and even move to the next step.

Watching Raylin as he finally got a golden fish, a soft laugh escaped my mouth.

’And they call me genius? I needed a month to reach this far.

Now I’m looking at not only a first-year student learning all that on his own in 20 minutes, but also a small adorable spirit doing the same thing in 5 minutes!’

At first, I planned to spend only half an hour teaching them, but now? I might increase it to an hour.

Teaching them would be really interesting.

And... I really wanted to pat that raven.