Half a day has passed since my return. Just after my return, I had sneaked into the kitchen to get some food and made sure not to wake up Albert and Elda.
Then, after having my fill jumped straight into the bed to get some actual sleep.
And now this brings me here, sitting on the floor on my knees with Elda looking—no, glaring at me with eyes much scarier than that of an avenger I just faced.
"Where have you been for the last two days…?" She didn't shout, nor did she show even a small bit of emotion in her voice. Albert looked at me with a pitiful gaze from his seat, but I could clearly see the smirk he was hiding.
"A ghost caught me in his dreams, so I was stuck there…" I answered honestly with a straight face.
"....."
"....."
Her lips twitched as her cheeks tightened. Elda rubbed her forehead, making the awkward silence even more awkward than before.
"Haa… You want me to believe that, right? Tell me how you escaped." She asked with a small, tired sigh.
My face lit up as I already had an answer prepared.
I smiled towards her before saying,. "Oh, well, I was playing with two very polite and cute ghosts—let me tell you, they were more well-mannered than most people I knew. After that, an avenger-rank creature of beyond attacked us. The ghost initially frightened hid behind me. So, I punched the monster and also accidentally destroyed the world Ghost created."
With that, I stood up and took a seat beside Albert.
Elda and Albert, meanwhile, had no words to say in return. They looked at me as if I were a peculiar creature trapped behind bars.
"What?" I asked with a small frown, my eyes darting between both of them, but they showed no reaction.
They just looked done with me.
"Nothing, it's just that… Boss, you. Never mind, forget it." Albert's face, which had always been stupid-looking, now looked dumber. I was amazed at such uniqueness but also felt slightly offended.
"Anyway, what's been going on these last few days?" I asked, leaning back.
"Asher, well, if you are fine, who am I to worry…" Elda sighed, her eyes moving between both men who sat there leisurely
"I will go to the workshop; you should rest." With her eyes finally downcast, Elda left without making a sound.
I understand the reason for this; I truly do, and I appreciate her heartfelt worry for me. But my life was not just up to myself anymore; it had reached far and wide, touching things a human should never be aware of.
I was not saying that I am special, nor do I think of myself as being born with immense strength or fate.
But one thing I was sure of was that my life was not just up to me. Elias Walker, the Saint of Paths, has hinted at something that the current me could never even hope of gazing at. Yet, here I was wishing to reach the stars.
Albert, with his chin resting on his hand, gave Asher a gaze. After seeing a subtle smile on his face, he frowned, his eyebrows going up in curiosity.
"Boss, you do know Elda was wor—"
"Yes, I am aware… But let's leave it at that for today…" I sighed and didn't say anything else and closed my eyes. My mind was completely empty for a moment as I found myself unknowingly channeling [Kairosflow] to accelerate my thoughts.
My mind, which had been empty till now, was suddenly drifting to my experience in the Pristel mansion, where I had learned arguably more than I ever had. Learning how to use myself more than my abilities.
However, something like that wouldn't give me enlightenment. I needed to do something beyond that, but I couldn't grasp what exactly needed to be done.
So, I tried something new and dweled deeper inside my mind. My mind, which has been accelerated to twice its speed by now, moved even faster; all the sounds coming from the background started to vanish instantly.
I slowly reached thrice its usual speed; this was my comfort zone, something that I use while fighting enemies. So, I finally went further. By now my mind was like an abyss where only a single sound continues to echo further ahead.
But this place was still more than empty; a single trail of thought was not enough to fill it. I needed more of them; this was similar to using [Static] on multiple adversaries.
I needed to be aware of them to keep them frozen in time; not just knowing them but being aware of their position was the key.
Currently my limit is ten rank one at the same time if I let go of all my origin. Or equal to three rank 2 beasts under the same condition.
Using the same principle of awareness for [Static], I tried to create two new threads in my mind for different thoughts.
One will carry my current thoughts to see the split of my mental thread; the other, meanwhile, will support it by giving new thoughts on how [Static] works on multiple adversaries.
This couldn't be called totally unrelated or different, but they still held different meanings and different ideas that are related to not the same topic at the core.
Slowly I felt a slight tug in my mind, my attention expanding like a small thread was pulled from a yarn. Its texture was rough and heavy, as if each string in it was carrying the weight of a mountain.
I forced myself to pull it out; my heart started to beat rapidly as I could feel my breathing go uneven as sweat started to accumulate on my forehead.
Sensing a strong resistance stopping me from pulling it away, I forced it further; its uneven and rough demeanor was not going unnoticed as I could feel my mind getting heavier and heavier with each forceful pull.
Like an anvil beaten by a hammer, my thoughts crumbled instantly as I let out a loud coughing sound; a metallic taste soon followed as blood started to trickle down my nose.
"Boss, what happened? Why are you bleeding from the nose?!" Albert's eyes widened as he asked in worry. His hands shot forward as he touched my head and jerked back.
"Did you catch a cold all of a sudden? Why is your head so hot?" He frowned and asked with a slightly louder tone.
But I couldn't respond; my head kept pounding loudly like a drum, and my vision started to blur.
I bit my lips and said in a small whisper. "Can you not speak loudly? I am just a little unwell; please fetch me some cold water."
Albert gave a doubtful gaze but complied with my demands; he stood up from his seat and moved through the front door, which led to the kitchen.
I swiped away the blood with the back of my hand. And let my head lean back, craning it further. The blood seems to go back to my head as I let out a sigh of relief.
"I failed…" I mumbled.
Everything was going perfectly, and I felt myself capable of doing this. Yet I faced a problem that felt out of place. This was something that felt more odd the further I thought of it.
My ability… They felt incomplete, as if something was missing from them, a certain piece that I should have been given on my ascension; however, it was undeniable that something was wrong.
And like a bad joke I found it just now.
Tak—
Albert entered the room, in his hands a small towel and a bowl of cold water.
"Here, use it." He handed me the cloth. I grabbed it and dipped it in the cold water, feeling a freezing temperature over my fingertips.
Squeezing it to let the extra water go, I laid the cold cloth over my head.
"Haa… Thanks, Albert, you are a lifesaver." I sighed with a breath of relief and told of my gratitude without hesitation.
Albert watched Asher's actions with a deep silence, unable to decide if he should tease him or not. But seeing him having a good share of misfortune this week, he sighed and let those thoughts go.
"Do you need something else?" He asked.
"How is the work going? You didn't answer it before." I asked with my eyes closed.
Albert leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest and, in a tone of nonchalance, answered back. "Nothing special, to be honest; we are doing good enough for first-timers, I would even say… But I guess you want to know about Lunatrades, am I right?"
'He is getting smarter.' I smiled, a little proud, but didn't show it on my face.
"Yes, and I also wanted to know about how we were doing as well, so you are not wrong in your assumptions."
Albert nodded, content with Asher's words, and gazed back and then said,. "I have no idea, to tell the truth. I was planning to get a drink at Castor's place tonight. I will tell more when I come back."
"Alright."
I didn't say anything more and let myself get some well-deserved rest. The pain after a little bit of sleep finally came to an end.
I blinked and removed the wet cloth from my forehead.
Rubbing my head and eyes, I found myself hallucinating as I turned to look at Albert before asking. "Albert, am I seeing things wrong, or is Morgana sitting there sipping tea?"
Albert, who seemed to have seen a ghost, nodded with a tired sigh. "Yeah, she has been sitting there for twenty minutes now."