It had been a full month since Akira had entered the divine training hall.
At least, that's what he believed.
The hall shone like a boundless world, with faint starlight glowing in its marble floors. Every strike he threw shook the air; every breath he took carried upon it the weight of a man who had long since ceased being confined by human limits.
His power was at 90,000, just below the Dragon Kings.
Yet, with even such monstrous strength, Akira stared down at his hands with a troubled expression.
"Ninety thousand… but the other Dragon Kings stand at around a hundred thousand," he muttered. "And unlike me, they've fought wars. Led armies. Made strategies. I might have infinite potential, but at my current level, facing them head-on is just asking to die."
He paced across the platform, each step echoing.
"And then there's that clause… the stupid switching rule."
He clenched his fists.
"Switching between my masteries requires me to stand still for ten whole seconds. Ten seconds in a battlefield is basically suicide. Unless—"
He paused mid-step.
"Unless I find a loophole. If I avoid pushing all my abilities to full mastery, I might avoid the cool down. But then what's the point of infinite potential if every step forward comes with a blockade?"
A burst of laughter snapped him out of his thoughts.
Akira turned sharply. "Blanch?! Since when were you behind me?"
She was leaning against one of the marble pillars, her arms crossed, grinning as if she had just finished watching a comedy.
"Long enough," she replied nonchalantly. "Seriously, your brain was smoking."
Akira groaned. "You're the one who put the ten-second rule there in the first place."
Blanch lifted one finger.
"Correction, I put something that sounds like a rule.
Akira blinked. "…What?"
A smug smile slid across her face.
"The ten-second clause isn't real, kid. You could switch your abilities any time right now. I added that restriction just so the divine laws don't freak out at me about giving you too much freedom.
Akira stared, jaw half hanging. "So… the thing I stressed about for days… doesn't even exist?!"
"Pretty much," she responded cheerily.
He rubbed his temples. "Then what is the real catch? There has to be one."
"There is," Blanch said, suddenly serious. "There's an old heavenly folk tale. It says if someone achieves true infinite mastery in a single domain then every other domain they possess locks permanently. You can't even use level 1. That law is very real."
Akira's eyes widened. "…So the fake rule is just camouflage?
"Exactly," she said. "A harmless fake restriction to hide you from the divine laws' attention. Because even if you train like crazy, your power isn't tied to the fixed 'limit number' every being is born with. You don't have one. That makes you a target."
"A target… for other goddesses?"
"Yes," said Blanch matter-of-factly. "So my little trick keeps you off their radar."
Akira opened his mouth to ask more—but Blanch cut him off with a wave of her hand.
"Anyway, there's something else you never considered.
She pointed to the space around them.
"You think you've trained here for a month, right?
"Yeah. One month exactly."
"Nope." Blanch smirked. "In this hall, one day equals one year outside. You've been training for thirty years, Akira."
Akira froze in place.
His fingers slightly trembled as he raised his hand, feeling the weight of three decades of growth.
"…Thirty years…?"
Blanch nodded. "Mm-hmm. But remember—this is the heavenly realm. Time doesn't actually exist here. So even after thirty years pass, I can still summon you back at the exact moment my followers finish their preparations."
Akira swallowed.
"That's… insane."
"You'll get used to it," Blanch shrugged.
Akira let out a slow breath. His heart suddenly felt heavier.
"…I don't know why," he muttered, "but I'm feeling kinda nervous."
Blanch gave him a soft smile. "Of course you are; I'd be shocked if you weren't."
She stepped closer.
"You were a rookie politician back on Earth—just barely learning to talk in front of people. And now? Here, you are the supreme authority. You are the King. Every decision you make will shake nations."
Akira gave a weak laugh. "When you put it like that… it sounds terrifying."
"It should be," said Blanch.
Akira hesitated before asking, "Speaking of which… what about the Noble Council? Will they indeed yield power peacefully? I have never ruled anything.
Blanch snorted. "Akira. At your current strength, if the entire Noble Council joined forces and attacked you with everything they had… the combined assault wouldn't leave a scratch on you."
Akira blinked. "Wait, seriously?"
"Dead serious."
He let out an incredulous breath.
"In my world we had a saying… with great power comes great responsibility."
Blanch burst out laughing. "Are you quoting that superhero movie?"
Akira squinted at her. "How do you even know about that quote?"
She flicked her hair dramatically. "I'm a goddess, genius. I know everything."
Then, she leaned in closer, with an evil grin.
"I also know that you once wet your pants because you were afraid of going to the bathroom in the dark.
Akira turned red instantly. "BRO—WHO TOLD YOU TO BRING THAT UP NOW?!"
Blanch was laughing uncontrollably. "You should've seen your face!"
"Shut up! That was YEARS ago!"
They laughed for quite a while, the tension melting away.
Then suddenly, a golden light began to glow beneath Akira's feet.
Blanch's face changed.
"Looks like the summoning circle is activating," she said. "my followers must've completed the preparations."
Akira blinked. "Wait—only a week passed there?"
"Yep. Even though you trained for thirty years, I told you—time doesn't exist here. So even if you trained a thousand years, I could still summon you at the same moment."
A thought suddenly struck Akira's mind.
"Wait… if time doesn't exist, can't you grant wishes to the previous kings? The ones that are dead?"
Blanch shook her head decidedly. "No. We gods can't interfere directly like that. And before you ask—yes, I can see the future, but the future is almost unpredictable. Every choice a person makes branches into infinity. That's why I won't tell you what will happen. There isn't one future—there are countless."
Akira felt his body starting to dissolve in the light.
He looked down, feeling strangely hollow.
Blanch noticed right away.
"Hey," she said softly. "Why the sad face?
He looked at her with a wry smile. "This might be the last time I see you face to face. And you're teasing me till the end."
Blanch chuckled lightly. "Idiot. Did you forget what I said? There are infinite futures. In some of them… maybe we meet again. Not as dead guy and goddess, but as King and Master."
Akira's eyes widened slightly. Blanch smiled one last time. "Go. Make your goddess proud." Akira nodded. "I will." With that, he vanished from the hall—finally being summoned into the world that awaited its Dragon King.