"Was... Was this Mana Sensitivity?!" Noah expressed his shock and astonishment, and it was for one reason only: because it seemed so simple.
"I thought it would be extremely difficult, requiring crazy training or a specific physique... but it's just simple manipulation of the mana field... Am I really this talentless?" Noah asked in disbelief, glancing at the system screen and pointing to himself.
[The Mana Sensitivity technique requires high precision in controlling the mana field and spreading it in waves. If the user fails at any step or does not learn the Perception and Interaction steps, it may lead to incidents like fluctuations in the energy field and instability. Therefore, Mana Sensitivity is not as easy as it seems.]
"This is reassuring. I thought I was talentless for a moment," Noah sighed in relief, pressing his hand to his chest, feeling his heartbeat.
[Due to the host's lack of talent, he may take more time than expected to master the Mana Sensitivity technique.]
"Dammit!" Noah shouted in annoyance, cursing the system in anger. He then turned toward Rael and noticed that he had started moving, jumping from tree branch to tree branch, quickly heading north.
"Anyway, let's follow him for now," Noah said to himself, and began floating toward Rael, moving like a genie. The sensation of hovering felt strange to Noah, almost like he was flying but in a different way.
"It feels like I'm walking on air instead of flying, or rather, it feels like I'm hanging by a rope that reaches up to the sky and being swayed back and forth... it's really a weird and uncomfortable feeling," Noah thought, subconsciously feeling his neck with his hand to check if a rope was strangling him.
Rael suddenly reached an open area devoid of trees, but the environment shifted from a forest to a desert. Before him was a massive hole, which appeared to be a cliffside. The area below was surrounded by high natural rock and dirt walls. Standing near the place were towering stone columns, one of which leaned on another, and such a rare environment helped Noah realize where they were now.
"That's why the sun is so blinding... this place is in the south of the Sahara Desert in Africa. From what I studied, the forest we were in appeared 500 years ago due to an unknown magical phenomenon that has yet to be identified. In this place... Rael will become famous as the youngest hunter in the empire to hunt a B-ranked monster. On this day... Rael earned the title 'The Red Hawk,'" Noah explained, then looked down at the deep hole to see a majestic monster, around 20 meters in size, but due to its ability to change its body size, its total size was unknown. It was a heap of golden sand that shimmered under the heat of the sun, with a black eye visible in the center of the sand mound, placed on its forehead, and a second purple eye on its chest. This was "Oculith" with a hundred eyes, or what some like to call "Silt".
"I wonder about this fight. The level difference between them isn't that huge, but in this environment, the scales tip in Oculith's favor... How did Rael defeat this monster?" Noah thought to himself as he hovered behind, crossing his arms, then looked at Rael to see his reaction. But all Noah saw was a broad, arrogant smile, mocking the monster and the difference between them.
"He... is smiling?" Noah thought, puzzled and confused. How could someone smile in such a situation?
The eyes of Oculith moved closer together and looked up, noticing Rael. At that moment, red eyes spread across Oculith's entire body, glaring with anger at the intruder in its domain.
Without a care, Rael jumped into the hole, heading straight toward the monster. In the air, before Rael reached the monster, Oculith's body expanded, covering the entire area. Its sandy body scattered, covering the walls of the hole, with red eyes staring with hatred at Rael, who was now surrounded on all sides by the hundred-eyed monster.
"What is he going to do?" Noah asked himself as he moved around, hovering over the area, but not getting any closer.
"Hehe, I only learned this technique to beat you up! Get ready to witness the greatness of the Emperor Veldrick!" Rael shouted confidently and recklessly, challenging Oculith boldly.
"Forget it! He was more arrogant in the past!" Noah thought to himself, unable to continue this farce, to the point where his voice faded and dried up from the annoyance.
Rael's mana field appeared around him, and gentle, delicate waves spread across the area.
"To kill Oculith, I need to find its main eyes and destroy them. They're the center of its mana, so it won't be able to regenerate even after being destroyed. Its body will disappear entirely," Rael thought to himself quietly, still spreading the waves of his mana field, while the sand monster had yet to attack.
"What is this?!... I... can hear Rael's thoughts?!" Noah exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock and surprise.
[A successful connection has been established between the consciousness of Rael Veldrick and the host, allowing the host to move through Rael's memories as an intruder, and hear his thoughts through the link.]
"This is amazing!" Noah thought to himself, astonished by this feature.
[Due to the weak connection because of the power difference, in the best case, the host will be able to feel the same sensations as the characters, hear their thoughts, and even share the same perspective.]
"You called me weak again, you bastard!" Noah yelled in annoyance at the system, then calmed down slightly and refocused on the fight below.
"I won't lie, but I'm really curious about how the 'Pages of Rebellion' work and all its benefits... but I need to focus on what's in front of me now, or this journey will be pointless," Noah thought with determination, looking down at Rael.
At that moment, sand spikes formed on the ground where Rael stood, shooting toward him at lightning speed, capable of piercing his body easily. Rael jumped into the air, flipping to avoid the sand spikes, and a red spear the size of a dagger formed in his hand. It spun rapidly in the air before he threw it at one of the red eyes, shattering it, but it quickly regenerated and appeared again.
"Tsk, I missed," Rael clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Without giving Rael any time to rest, he felt the ground beneath him shifting. He looked down and saw the sand moving as the bottom of the hole began to sink further. At that moment, hardened sand spikes, tougher than metal, began to emerge from the ground around Rael and the walls, shooting toward him like bullets.
"Dammit!" Rael cursed, with no place to escape or space to avoid. He assumed a defensive stance. The spikes scratched his body, but as soon as they touched him, they turned to dust due to Rael's strong physique. Luckily, without this strong physique, the spikes would have impaled him everywhere, and he would have died instantly.
The sand in the hole started to gather in one spot, fusing together and taking the shape of a humanoid form. Its body was a solid sandy material, with a monstrous appearance, towering like a giant. Its features constantly shifted as the sand grains that made it up moved. Its body shimmered with precise movements, as if thousands of fine grains flowed through it without stopping. Its outer layers resembled hardened sandstone, cracked and laced with glowing golden lines, pulsating with magical energy.
Its head, sharp and terrifying, resembled a helmet carved from hardened sand, and its eyes glowed with an amber molten color, giving it a mysterious aura. Its limbs were massive and articulated, leaving trails of dust with every movement. Its claws resembled sharp volcanic glass formed by the heat of unforgiving deserts.
"What the hell is this?!" Rael said, shocked by Oculith's transformation into such a form.
"Oh, yes, Oculith has the ability to shape its bodies as it wishes. In this way, they rely on hiding their eyes and try to fight until their opponent is exhausted... That's why they're called Silt," Noah thought to himself, amazed by the extravagant transformation.
Oculith let out a terrifying roar that shook the entire area, a sharp, threatening cry fitting for a monster with such a terrifying form. At that moment, a few grains of sand began to fall into the hole, as if they were a weak rainstorm.
"What is this?" Rael wondered to himself. At that moment, one of the sand grains touched him, and a sand spike pierced his hand.
Rael was stunned, leaping backward, trying to distance himself from the monster before him. He pressed his wounded hand, which was bleeding heavily, and held back the pain, then looked at the monster ahead.
"Ugh... Dammit, what should I do now?" Rael thought to himself, but despite this, he didn't feel worried. His voice sounded flat, not anxious, but tense.
Then, in a silent movement, Oculith waved its hand, and sand spikes surged upward at its command toward Rael. But Rael leapt backward to avoid them, though, unfortunately, there was no place to escape. With every step Rael took, he ended up touching a grain of sand, causing a spike the size of a small dagger to pierce his body.
Rael stopped for a moment, trying to catch his breath. The spikes had pierced his shoulders, chest, legs, and arms, but he showed no sign of concern despite this.
"you're good..." Raikel said, acknowledging that the beast before him was incredibly strong. But at that moment, Rael's mana field settled around him, and its waves spread out again. This time, however, they vanished, leaving Rael with positive results.
"But... let me show you how to use this skill accurately!" Raikel said, his usual smug smile appearing on his lips.
Then, in a split second, Noah closed his eyes, and in the next moment, he found the pit completely pierced with small red spikes extending from beneath Rael's feet, penetrating the walls and, of course, impaling the beast, pinning it to the wall. A massive spike had pierced its chest.
"W-What happened?!" Noah asked himself in shock, unable to process the speed of the event. It happened in less than a second, but the reason Noah didn't see what happened was simple—he was just too weak. At this stage, Rael was far stronger than Noah, so using a skill that relied on speed meant Noah's eyes couldn't keep up with it.
Rael began walking toward the pinned beast and extended his hand toward its face.
"You won't die unless I do this, and it'll be quite bothersome if you stop me later," Raikel said as he drove his fingers into the beast's sockets and pulled out its eyes. The beast screamed in pain, a sound so deafening it made Noah's ears bleed, but Raikel didn't care as he crushed the eyes beneath his hand. Slowly, the beast's body began to disintegrate, turning into dust.
"He's truly strong... even at this age, he's incredibly powerful... And to think that there are those younger and even stronger... It's terrifying... Meanwhile, I'm struggling for a vague goal," Raikel thought, observing the destruction he had caused.
----------
Outside, night had already fallen. Outside the dormitory for the first-year male students, stood a short boy with white hair, gray eyes, and black earrings. Kieran Rhydan had arrived at Sector 11.
Kieran entered the dorm, and without being stopped by Jarod, who simply ignored him, he took the elevator to the seventh floor, heading toward the room at the end of the hallway. Fortunately for him, the door was open.
"Did he leave his door open? Is he that careless?" Kieran thought as he entered the room cautiously, closing the door behind him but not locking it. To his surprise, Noah Grace was lying unconscious on the floor.
"W-What's this?! Did the killer get him?!" Kieran thought, rushing to Noah and placing his finger on his neck to check his pulse. Noah was only unconscious.
"He's just asleep, then... I thought he was dead," Kieran thought, letting out a sigh of relief.
"But this will only make my job easier!" Kieran thought to himself, flipping Noah onto his back.
Kieran crouched down, placing his palm on Noah's chest and closing his eyes, trying to concentrate. At that moment, Kieran entered Noah's consciousness with ease.
He found himself sinking into a dense black space, his eyes closed, unable to think. It was as if his consciousness had died. Suddenly, the place transformed into a beach with golden sand and a calm blue sea.
"Where am I?" Kieran wondered, confused. He was expecting Noah's memories and dreams to float in the air, but there was nothing here, only a peaceful beach.
"This place is so calm... He must be a good person then," Kieran thought to himself. Then, he heard footsteps approaching behind him. He turned around to see a scene that would remain etched in his memory for the rest of his life.
He saw a woman whose beauty was the kind that inspired anxiety, not admiration. Her mysterious beauty bordered on the impossible. Her silver hair, long and flowing like strands of moonlight, swayed on her shoulders like an enchanting curtain, wrapping her in coldness and serenity. It reflected the light as though stars were stuck in it, as if she didn't belong to this world. Her dark violet eyes glowed with an inner fire, casting a gaze that planted questions in the heart before reaching the mind. Her black clothing wasn't just fabric, but a dark page filled with forgotten symbols.
"W-What?! Is this... Noah?" Kieran asked himself, confused and worried. It was a logical question given his experience with invading others' minds. Usually, when he entered someone's consciousness, he found people representing themselves in their personal perspective. So Kieran was perplexed; he hadn't expected Noah to see himself as a woman.
"You despicable thing, what are you doing in this place?" The woman asked in a cold, calm voice.
"You are just an embodiment of Noah, so stay in your place while I examine his memories," Kieran said, unaware of the current situation.
"Hehe, you truly are despicable. An embodiment of that bastard? How foolish you are to think that way," the woman said with a sarcastic laugh.
"What's wrong with this woman? Could it be that she isn't an embodiment of Noah but something else? Maybe a separate manifestation... If the boy has a personality split, this could make sense," Kieran thought calmly, not paying too much attention to the matter.
"Anyway, I'd be truly happy if you tried to kill this son of a bitch. I would help you invade his memories, but this place is just chaos and madness... Also, "they" will kill you if you take another step forward... You'd be better off staying where you are if you value your life. Even if you are just the consciousness of the main person, the attack will reach you and turn you into dust. Now, leave. Shoo, shoo," the woman said, trying to expel Kieran.
"Huh? What are you babbling about?" Kieran replied, but at that moment, he blinked for a second. When he opened his eyes, he found himself awake in the real world, standing beside Noah, who was still unconscious on the floor.
"What happened? Was I expelled from his consciousness?! How is that possible?! This has never happened before?!.... Also, who was that girl? What did she mean by what she said?!" Kieran thought to himself, his gray eyes flashing with a violet glow, accompanied by a feeling of dizziness. He then shook his head and stood up, walking out of the room and into the hallway.
"Anyway, I need to tell Aria what I saw... Damn it?! I, Kieran Rhydan, was humiliated like this just by entering the consciousness of such a person! Are you kidding me?!" Kieran thought to himself, his playful persona cracking as he now felt frustrated and angry, almost on the verge of exploding over the smallest things.
Just then, Kieran saw a shadow approaching from the other side of the hallway. As it stepped into the light, he could see who it was: with his black hair and hollow, dark eyes filled with murderous intent, it was Sirius Soren.
"You... What were you doing in Noey-kun room?"