Chapter 91: Preparing for Elyndor

The next morning, the family was already preparing for Elyndor. The official evaluation requirements had arrived shortly after breakfast, and everyone had gathered around the table while Reinhard displayed the document in front of them.

Emily read through it carefully, her expression becoming more serious as she reached the later sections.

The evaluation would cover her Mana capacity, Mana control, physical ability, combat ability, Gnosis characteristics, ability stability, and overall combat potential. Her previous achievements would be acknowledged, but they would not automatically restore her old classification.

She would have to demonstrate what she could do now.

Emily reached the section concerning Gnosis stability and stopped.

"This might be a problem."

Reinhard looked over at the document. "The stability test?"

Emily nodded. "My Gnosis is powerful, but I still don’t completely understand it. The fusion between Space and Time is especially difficult."

Yuna leaned closer to the document and read the section again before looking at Emily. "Then that should be our priority."

Maki nodded. "Your strength isn’t the problem anymore. You need to know how to use what you already have."

Emily continued reading.

There was another section that caught her attention.

The combat evaluation would not simply be conducted privately by a single examiner. Because of her history, her evaluation would be observed by senior members of the Elyndor Awakener Authority, professional teams, and representatives from organizations interested in recruiting or sponsoring promising Awakeners.

Emily’s eyes narrowed slightly. "So it will be public."

"Not completely," Reinhard said. "But there will be observers."

Emily stared at the document for another moment.

That changed things.

She had spent years being known as one of the strongest Awakeners of her generation. There would be people in Elyndor who remembered exactly what she had been capable of before her Gnosis shattered.

Now she was returning with the same name, the same weapon, and an entirely different Gnosis.

Yet her official classification was still D-Rank.

Emily slowly closed the document.

"Then there will be a lot of people waiting to see what I can do."

Reinhard looked at her.

"There will."

Emily smiled faintly. "Good."

Maki looked at her in surprise. "Good?"

Emily nodded. "If they’re going to watch, then I might as well give them something worth watching."

Reinhard smiled. He had been unusually quiet while everyone discussed the evaluation. Then the familiar notification appeared in front of him.

[Investment Opportunity Available.]

[Target: Emily Ashcroft.]

[Current Rank: D-Rank.]

[Current Value: E+.]

[Objective: Help Emily prepare for the Elyndor Awakener Evaluation and Trial.]

[Difficulty Grade: C.]

[Success Probability: 60%.]

Reinhard’s expression remained unchanged.

Sixty percent.

The probability was higher than the previous C-Grade mission he had received, but it was still far from guaranteed. More importantly, the objective was different. The system was not asking him to make Emily stronger.

It was asking him to help her prepare. That meant the answer wasn’t simply another powerful reward or another increase in strength.

Reinhard looked at her. "Then let’s prepare properly."

Emily smiled. "Alright."

...

They started with the Fighter Mannequin. The construct stood in the middle of the training area while Emily faced it with Aeon in her hand.

Reinhard stood several meters away, watching carefully. "Start with what you’re comfortable using," he said. "Don’t force the new abilities."

Emily nodded and then the mannequin activated. It moved immediately. Emily stepped sideways, using a small spatial distortion to avoid its first strike. She followed with a slash from Aeon, but the mannequin twisted its body and blocked the attack.

Emily continued.

Her movements were smooth, and her Mana reinforcement was precise. The restored Gnosis gave her options she had never possessed before.

Space allowed her to control distance.

Time allowed her to alter the timing of attacks.

Mana reinforcement strengthened her body. Aeon gave her a weapon capable of turning even a small opening into a dangerous attack. For several minutes, Emily fought without difficulty. Then she tried to combine them.

Space distorted around her.

Time followed.

Mana surged through her body while Aeon’s blade began glowing. The moment the abilities overlapped, her Gnosis reacted. Purple and black light violently twisted around her body.

Emily immediately stopped.

The pressure disappeared.

She took a slow breath while Reinhard walked closer. "You felt it."

Emily nodded.

"Again."

She tried and this time, she combined Space and Time for only a moment before separating them. The instability appeared again.

Emily frowned. "My control is fine when I use them separately."

"But not together," Reinhard said.

"No."

She looked at her hands. "My old fighting style doesn’t work anymore."

Reinhard remained silent.

Emily continued, "Everything I learned before my Gnosis shattered was built around the way it used to work. I know how to fight. I know how to control Mana. I know how to use Aeon." She looked toward the strange purple and black energy surrounding her. "But this isn’t the Gnosis I had before."

Reinhard nodded. "That means you need to learn a new fighting style."

Emily looked at him. "Not rebuild the old one?"

"Not yet." Reinhard smiled slightly. "I’m sure you can regain your previous one later. But for now, wouldn’t it be more fun to try out something new?’

Emily stared at him for a moment and then she smiled. "Fair point."

...

They started again and this time, Reinhard had Emily break everything into separate parts.

Space came first.

Instead of using it offensively, she practiced using it to control distance. A step became several meters. Several meters became almost nothing. She learned how to reposition herself without wasting large amounts of Mana and how to create small distortions that could redirect incoming attacks.

Then came Time.

She stopped trying to freeze large areas.

Instead, she focused on smaller targets.

A hand.

A weapon.

A single movement.

A fraction of a second.

The results were much more stable.

Mana came next.

Reinhard made her pay attention to exactly how much Mana each technique consumed instead of simply releasing whatever amount felt necessary.

Emily quickly discovered that she had been wasting far more Mana than she realized.

Her new Gnosis gave her enormous possibilities, but having access to those possibilities did not mean she needed to use them at their maximum strength every time.

Then came Aeon.

Emily began incorporating the sword into her new techniques rather than treating it as something separate. A short temporal slowdown delayed the enemy’s reaction. Mana reinforcement increased the speed and strength of her strike.

Aeon finished the exchange.

The techniques were individually less destructive than the enormous fusion she had attempted before.

But they worked.

More importantly, they remained stable.

Emily finished another exchange and stepped backward.

Reinhard smiled. "That’s better."

Emily nodded. "I think I understand." She looked toward the training mannequin. "I don’t need to use everything at once."

"Yeah, only a little but it will get better."

She nodded before asking. "How strong do you think I need to be for the evaluation?"

Reinhard considered the question. "Strong enough to dominate of course."

Emily grinned, that was exactly what she wanted.

...

The training soon became a family activity.

Maki began watching Emily’s movements closely and pointing out habits she had developed during her previous career.

"You keep shifting your weight before using spatial powers," Maki said. "It made sense with your old fighting style, but now it gives away your movement."

Emily paused. "You’re right."

She adjusted her stance and tried again. This time, the movement was nearly impossible to read. Yuna helped monitor her Mana consumption and immediately stopped her whenever she began pushing herself too far.

Lily volunteered to spar with Emily.

Everyone stared at her. "What?"

Maki sighed. "You know you’re going to lose."

Lily crossed her arms. "That doesn’t mean I can’t try."

Emily laughed. "Come on, Lily."

The moment they started, Lily charged forward.

Emily stepped aside.

Lily missed.

Emily gently tapped her shoulder with the flat of Aeon’s blade. "Dead."

Lily froze. "That was unfair."

"You attacked me."

"I thought you were supposed to be getting used to your new powers!"

Emily smiled. "I am."

Lily pointed at Reinhard. "She learned that from him."

Reinhard looked offended. "I would never teach someone to cheat."

Yuna raised an eyebrow. "You absolutely would."

Maki nodded. "Without hesitation."

Reinhard placed a hand over his chest. "This family has no respect for me."

Emily laughed.

The training continued.

...

The final test began with the Fighter Mannequin activating at full intensity and immediately closing the distance between them.

Emily moved first, using Space to control the distance and forcing the mannequin to constantly adjust its position as it tried to reach her.

When it finally managed to close the gap, Emily used Time to slow its movement for a fraction of a second, creating just enough of an opening for her to step through and bring Aeon toward its core.

The mannequin managed to block the strike and immediately counterattacked, but Emily reinforced her body with Mana and slipped past the incoming blow by the smallest possible distance.

Rather than wasting Mana on an overwhelming attack, she continued moving and waited for the next opening, allowing each ability to serve a specific purpose.

Space controlled her position, Time disrupted the mannequin’s movements, Mana strengthened her body, and Aeon turned every opening she created into an attack.

The mannequin gradually adapted to her movements, but Emily adapted even faster. When it attempted to protect its core, she created a small spatial distortion beneath its guard and used Time to slow its reaction for an instant. That brief moment was all she needed. Emily stepped forward and brought Aeon down against the mannequin’s core, causing the construct to freeze before its body returned to standby.

Emily remained standing in the training area, breathing heavily as she lowered Aeon to her side.

Reinhard watched her carefully before asking, "How do you feel?"

Emily tightened her grip around Aeon’s hilt and looked back at Reinhard. "I’m ready."

The notification appeared immediately.

[Investment Objective Completed.]

[C-Grade Investment Successful.]

[Calculating Returns...]

[Reward Granted.]

[Legendary Reward Granted: Heavenly Mana Foundation.]

[Effect: Permanently increases the user’s Mana capacity, Mana circulation efficiency, and ability to withstand high-density Mana.]

[Additional Reward Granted: Body Tempering Essence.]

[Effect: Permanently strengthens the user’s physical body, including muscles, bones, organs, and overall physical resilience.]

[Additional Reward Granted: Mana Compression.]

[Effect: Permanently increases the density of the user’s Mana, allowing greater power to be contained within the same amount of Mana.]

[Additional Reward Granted: Meridian Reinforcement.]

[Effect: Permanently strengthens the user’s Mana pathways, increasing the amount of Mana the user’s body can safely circulate while reducing strain caused by high-output abilities.]

Reinhard remained still for a moment and then he felt it. His Mana started to become denser and smoother. The energy moved through his body with less resistance, flowing through his pathways as though they had been widened from within.

Then the physical changes followed.

His muscles tightened. His bones grew denser. His organs strengthened and his entire body seemed to settle into a more stable state.

Reinhard slowly clenched his fist and felt that the sensation was different from receiving another ability.

Lily noticed first. She walked over and stared at him. "Did you get stronger?"

Reinhard looked at his hand again. "Of course."

Yuna studied him for a moment. "Your Mana feels denser."

Maki nodded. "And your physical presence changed too."

Emily looked at him with a small smile. "You’re stronger."

Reinhard shrugged. "Seems that way."

Lily grinned. "Then we’re going to be even more annoying together."

Reinhard smiled. "I was already planning on it."

Emily looked toward the Elyndor invitation again. This time, there was no uncertainty in her expression.

She had tested her new Gnosis and discovered its weaknesses. She had learned how to control it without trying to become the person she used to be.

She had trained with her family. She had learned how to fight alongside her new abilities instead of forcing them into the shape of her old fighting style.

And Reinhard had been beside her through all of it.

Emily picked up the invitation. "Then let’s go."

The journey back into the Awakener world was about to begin. And this time, Emily Ashcroft wasn’t returning as the woman everyone remembered.

She was returning as someone the entire city would have to judge for themselves.