Point-of-View: Ilex Sarralot

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"Uh, sorry about this...he kinda forced me to come here," I said to Mysst, as we entered the room and shut the door. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Oh, you don’t need to apologize. He’s always like this, it’s a waste of energy to fight him on stuff like this," She sighed in exasperation.

"Alright, there’s no time to waste...with that in mind, let’s get started, you two!" Declared Lynks, as he began messing with the air conditioner.

"Hey, quit that, I’ve set it to the perfect temperature, so stop," Frowned Mysst, clenching her fists.

"Really? It’s kinda cold for my taste..."

"Well, it’s MY room, so I’ll keep it at the temperature I’m comfortable at, thank you very much!" She huffed indignantly, as she smacked his hand and set the temperature back to where it was before he changed it.

"So, uh...what exactly are we doing? I have no idea what I’m in for here," I spoke up wearily.

"Seriously? You couldn’t even explain that much to him?" Mysst frowned at Lynks in exasperation.

"Right, I’ll explain. Mysst’s Soul Weapon is a unique and rather unusual one, and it’s extremely powerful. As you know, most Soul Weapons are stronger and more durable versions of normal weapons, some have special abilities and some are more unusual and unconventional, like yours.

But hers is a step beyond that, we’ve never seen anything like it. It’s called Dimension Gate, a weapon that allows her to create various, separate dimensions and trap people inside of them. Though, people who have similar or greater Mana capacity in comparison to her can forcibly break out if-...," He explained.

"Wha-...hey, don’t go revealing the weaknesses, you asshole!" She cut him off, smacking the back of his head with an exasperated look on her face.

She’s got it pretty rough, huh? Still though, this is fascinating, I’ve never heard of a Soul Weapon like this. It sounds so overpowered...so long as her opponent has a lower Mana capacity than she does, she can literally seal them away?

Well, I guess it depends on how immense her own Mana capacity is. Mine’s pretty high, last I checked it had just crossed the 700 mark. While I can’t cast Spells, continuous use of my Soul Weapon, which uses Mana as fuel for its attacks, has ensures that my capacity has steadily grown every time I use it.

"Oops, sorry, my bad. Anyway, as long as she can clearly visualize and imagine how it works, she can create any kind of dimension she wants to. A while ago, the Commander asked her to make a dimension inside of which time flows more slowly, for the purpose of training. You can use that to work on mastering your Soul Weapon Ascension!" He surmised with a grin.

"Let me be more specific. Pay attention, because I won’t repeat myself. I call that one the Chronal Dimension, one hour out here equals one day in there, and while you’re inside, you won’t age.

Additionally, things like fatigue and hunger will be paused too, all your exhaustion will disappear once you’re in there. Not aging means your body won’t change, or in other words, it’s not suited for physical training where you try to strengthen your body.

However, it’s well suited for mental training, like training relating to control and balance. Also, while you won’t feel sleepy or tired while inside, once you come back out, exhaustion proportional to the effort you expended inside the dimension will hit you like a truck, you’ll most likely lose consciousness immediately after exiting.

In other words, it’s quite dangerous to spend too much time in there at a stretch without a break. Say you spend several hours in there, you’ll be hit with exhaustion worth that number in terms of days, and depending on how high that number is, you could even die once you come out.

You shouldn’t spend more than five hours at a time, to be safe. Hm, wait, you look like you’re already fairly exhausted...I’d say two, or at most three hours, should be the limit for you if you’re really going in right now," She informed me.

"Okay, I think I get it now...with no fatigue, I’ll be able to train nonstop for days while in there, in what’ll just be a few hours in reality. Yeah, that sounds great...though, if the True Nobility attack the town while I’m in there, I’ll be useless since I’ll be hit with a wave of immense exhaustion the instant I come back out, right?" I pointed out warily.

"The power of my Soul Weapon isn’t omnipotent, there are limits to my creation of dimensions. Particularly, I can’t break the laws of physics without there being side effects. This Chronal Dimension is a perfect example of that, a dimension in which time flows faster where one day is just one hour out here sounds ideal for training, but such a disparity resulted in the side effect of being hit with exhaustion once you come out.

It’s not just exhaustion, it’s also hunger and thirst, though to a lesser extent that exhaustion. Three hours in there equals one day worth of hunger and thirst, and three days of fatigue. Spend too much time in there, and the piled up fatigue, hunger and thirst that builds may even be enough to end up significantly weakening you physically," She surmised with a sigh.

"Yeah, but the goal is this is for you to master the use of your Soul Weapon Ascension, getting a bit weaker physically in the process is a fair payoff, if you ask me," Remarked Lynks, as he leaned on my shoulder.

"U-uh...I guess so...? Alright, I’ll do it. Not like I have much of a choice, anyway. We barely came out of the last attack alive," I replied after mulling it over.

"Okay, great. While you’re in there, you’re gonna find it difficult to keep track of time. So, I’m gonna set an alarm for three hours from now, I’ll let you out then," Responded Mysst, as she picked up an alarm clock and winded it.

"Alright...please make sure to let me out in time, okay? I’d rather not die of exhaustion the instant I come out," I frowned warily.

"Don’t worry, I’ll set an alarm for myself too, I’m a pretty light sleeper, so I’ll come and wake her up if she sleeps through her alarm," Lynks assured me with a thumbs up.

Not gonna lie, I have a number of doubts about this. I’m basically putting my life in their hands...but as I am now, if we have to fight another battle like today in the near future, I could end up dead. So...I’ll take this risk.

"There, alarm’s set. Now, Manifest Soul Weapon: Dimension Gate," She chanted, a staff forming in her right hand with a wide square at the top of it, with what looked like miniature metal gates on it.

"Good luck, man," Lynks lightly punched my shoulder, as Mysst pointed the weapon towards me.

"Here I go...now, open, Chronal Dimension," She chanted, as a bright light enveloped me and began to swallow me up...

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