Chapter 235: Atlas Seminar [5]

Chapter 234

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Episode 59 - Atlas Seminar [5]

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I scratched my head, feeling slightly uncomfortable under the multiple pairs of eyes staring at me.

How should I describe this situation...

’... It’s like I’m a Hollywood star.’

Even though I knew why these Spirits were surrounding me, it was still quite an impressive sight.

’I wonder what they feel toward me.’

Could this be the same experience as the one you have after sensing Mana for the first time?

The first time I awakened in this body and felt Mana for the first time was an unforgettable experience.

The Spirits probably felt the same way toward me, except continuously.

’Even so, I need to get out of here.’

Before I fully awakened, one of the Spirits mentioned that they had to take me to their Queen.

A King/Queen Spirit was the highest rank in the hierarchy among Spirits.

Spirits of that rank possessed strength ranging from Nine Stars to Ten Stars.

Regardless of how ancient they were, the longer they had lived, the stronger they would become.

’She probably has the strength of a Ten-Star Awakened.’

I also had no idea whether she would be hostile toward me, so it would be best to leave the Spirit Realm as soon as possible.

But first things first.

’How exactly do I get out?’

If I had entered this place, there had to be a way out. The problem was figuring out how.

’Unless I only entered temporarily. If Professor Ashly awakens my consciousness, I should return to my body.’

That meant it was only a matter of time.

But first, I needed to get away from these Spirits.

So I stood up from the ground and looked at my body.

My body was metaphysical, so anything physical in this place couldn’t do anything to me.

Except for the Spirits, of course.

’First, let’s send these Spirits far enough away from me.’

I raised my hand and casually moved it from left to right.

Then, all of a sudden, the Spirits in front of me disappeared without a trace.

Their voices were cut off, and their presence vanished.

I had used the Spatial Movement Trait.

It was one of the Traits I had obtained after completing the Fallen Maiden’s Memory Gate.

It allowed me to move around, much like short-distance Teleportation.

I could also move other beings.

And the farther I sent them or moved myself, the more Mana it consumed.

I had just sent the Spirits at least five hundred meters away, which cost me one-third of all my Mana.

’Good, time to leave.’

I turned around, since I had no idea how long it would take them to return to this place.

Especially since more Spirits could appear out of nowhere, as for some reason, my senses weren’t working while I was in my metaphysical body.

’Of course they don’t work, because senses function in a physical body, not a metaphysical one.’

So I turned around to run, but just then...

"Stop right there, human. Our Queen has summoned you for a meeting. Please follow me."

"....!"

Three Spirits appeared in front of me, and I immediately realized that they were Ancient Spirits.

Which meant three Spirits with Eight-Star power.

’Ah, this is bad.’

Spatial Movement didn’t work on beings that were two Stars above me.

At most, it could work on beings up to Six Stars in my current state.

The Ancient Spirits in front of me were holding spears nearly fifteen centimeters long in their tiny hands.

’Isn’t this actually kind of adorable?’

Their tiny stature, combined with their miniature weapons, would make anyone laugh.

I sighed as I raised both hands.

"All right, I’ll follow you, so put those little sticks down."

"Little sticks...?"

"I mean, those spears."

The three Spirits looked at one another and nodded.

"All right, then follow us."

The one who appeared to be the leader said that; however, the other two Spirits exchanged glances before looking at their leader.

"Before that, why don’t we...? You know."

"....."

They glanced at me while whispering something to their leader.

At that moment, the leader’s expression changed, and she turned toward me.

"Before we leave, human, could you...?"

Suddenly, her voice became quieter, and the next second, my vision went dark.

"....."

I caught a glimpse of the three Spirits’ surprised expressions in the final moment before they began to panic.

I smiled to myself.

’Thank God I’m waking up.’

Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known exactly what they wanted me to do.

’They weren’t about to ask me to do something indecent... Were they?’

***

"Cadet Adel, wake up. We’re almost there."

"....."

As I woke up, I heard Professor Ashly’s voice.

I finally opened my eyes behind my bandages, and soon, white lines began to outline my surroundings.

I turned my head from side to side before focusing my attention on Professor Ashly.

"What happened?"

The question came out naturally.

Professor Ashly immediately answered when she noticed my confusion.

"Something unexpected happened during the trip. The train entered a Mana Storm."

"...."

"A Mana Storm..."

Now I finally understood how I had entered the Spirit Realm.

A Mana Storm was a tangible phenomenon, something akin to a hurricane.

Many things could happen when you entered a Mana Storm.

The most basic phenomenon was having all your Mana drained.

Other times, if you were extremely unlucky, you could be teleported to random and dangerous locations.

And in my case, my consciousness had been forcibly sent to the Spirit Realm.

Since I wasn’t a Summoner or an Elementalist capable of separating my consciousness and sending it to a Plane outside this World.

"Yes, and it seems the Mana Storm knocked you unconscious."

I rubbed my temples and nodded before asking.

"And what happened to you, Professor?"

Professor Ashly answered.

"It drained all of my Mana."

"I see."

"Anyway, I had to wake you up since we’re only a few minutes away from arriving in the Democracy of Ordeal."

Judging by her words, I had apparently been unconscious for ten hours.

’Is the flow of time between the Spirit Realm and the outside World different?’

I didn’t know, or perhaps I had been unconscious for a long time and only entered the Spirit Realm a few minutes ago.

Either way, I leaned toward the window.

The outside world came into view, and soon, I "saw" a city in the distance.

On both sides of the railroad tracks stood the feet of a gigantic statue.

The statue was around a hundred meters tall.

Its shape was difficult to describe, since I couldn’t see it very well through the white lines of my vision.

Even so, I knew what statue it was.

’The statue representing the God Ordeal, also known as the God of Light.’

There were a total of four Gods.

The God of Light, Ordeal, had his faith centered in the Holy Continent.

The God of Hope, Theodore, had his faith centered in the Phlegra Continent.

The Goddess of Life, Omebella, had her faith centered in the Astral Continent.

And the God of Prosperity, Merlin, had his faith centered in the Ahsfall Continent.

’The Tree of Dream and Desire could be considered an Earthly God.’

But ironically, none of the four Churches of the four Gods recognized the Tree of Dream and Desire as a God.

Because, to them, a God did not appear before the eyes of humans or any other living being.

A God was a belief, something that existed beyond a mere mortal world.

In any case, those were the Gods who had followers across four of the five continents.

Not long afterward, the train came to a stop, and Professor Ashly and I finally got off.

The train station had a very religious appearance compared to an ordinary train station.

And above all, many people were dressed in very peculiar clothing. It was as if this entire place were inside a church... literally.

’They have an unhealthy obsession with their faith here. They look like members of some satanic cult.’

Professor Ashly and I left the train station, and outside, someone was waiting for us.

"Cadet Lumina."

Professor Ashly called out to Lumina, who was slightly distracted as she stared at what appeared to be a miniature garden model.

Upon hearing Professor Ashly’s voice, Lumina turned around and looked in our direction.

With an expressionless face, she raised a hand in greeting and walked toward us.

"I reserved three rooms as you asked, Professor."

"Perfect. Then let’s go right away. The Atlas Seminar starts in five hours, and besides..."

Professor Ashly turned toward me and pointed a finger at me.

"Cadet Adel didn’t prepare his thesis for the assistants’ competition, so go to his room and help him write it."

Lumina glanced at me briefly before turning toward Professor Ashly and nodding.

"Understood."

"....."

At that moment, I used my Mana Sense on Lumina. And internally, I couldn’t help but be shocked.

’S-she... awakened a Divine Body too.’

But how the hell did she do it...?

"....."

The answer wasn’t difficult to figure out, now that I thought about it. Professor Ashly had said that Lumina had been away from the Academy for the entire month.

’So she went to see the Tree of Dream and Desire...’

However, beyond my shock, something entirely different surfaced in my mind.

Because, according to my memories, in the regression where Lumina finally awakened her Divine Body for the first time, it was...

’...The 10,000th regression.’

I had finally discovered which regression Lumina was currently in.