In the dimly lit underground vault, a massive flow of green light composed of universal elements swirled continuously.
Aize stood with his eyes tightly shut, holding the activated form of the Black Furnace Demon Sword, bathed in the crimson glow emitted by the Universal Crystal, appearing unusually eerie and otherworldly.
The universal elements that formed the green light stream drifted slowly around Aize's body under the pulsing red light, gradually being absorbed into him.
During this process, Aize could clearly feel his power rising.
His physical abilities were strengthening, and the stellar energy within him was steadily growing, causing an intense aura—one he had never possessed before—to emanate from him.
And around him, there remained a vast quantity of green universal ore. It was evident that this process of growing stronger would continue indefinitely.
If nothing unexpected occurred…
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Aize's brow furrowed slightly, and his eyes snapped open.
"Pause for now, Black Furnace."
He called off the Black Furnace Demon Sword, causing it to withdraw the radiance of the Universal Crystal.
The green light stream vanished instantly, and the universal elements dispersed into the surroundings like air, merging with the space around them.
Only then did Aize raise his hand and flex his fingers slightly in the air.
"My power is increasing too fast. If this continues, I won't be able to control my body or my stellar energy."
That was exactly the issue.
The rapid surge in strength was leading to a sharp decline in Aize's control over both his stellar energy and his physical body. If he continued to increase his power blindly, it would likely result in a complete loss of control.
"I need to adapt to this new strength properly before I can continue advancing."
Realizing this, Aize didn't cling to the exhilarating sensation of power surging through him. He decisively chose to stop the process.
Clang!
The Black Furnace Demon Sword suddenly activated again, forming a blade of pure white.
Just like last time, Aize infused it with stellar energy. In response, dark patterns emerged, hovering around the white blade, spiraling along its length until they sank into the crimson Universal Crystal. Only then was the sword's true power unleashed, turning the pristine blade into an absolute black.
Sensing the drain of his stellar energy, a faint smile appeared on Aize's lips.
"With my current power, even if I raise the Black Furnace Demon Sword's output to the maximum, I can sustain it for several dozen seconds now."
Back before his power-up, pushing the Black Furnace Demon Sword to full output would have only lasted for a few attacks.
Now being able to sustain it for several dozen seconds was already a significant improvement.
"But still, several dozen seconds is too short. There's no need to maintain such overwhelming power the entire time."
After thinking it over, Aize reduced the amount of stellar energy he was injecting, lowering the output of the Black Furnace Demon Sword.
In an instant, the pitch-black blade of the Black Furnace Demon Sword visibly began to fade, until it settled into a dark purple hue.
"This is probably the Black Furnace's normal state of power, right?"
Looking at the now dark-purple blade of the Black Furnace Demon Sword, Aize muttered to himself.
In the original story, after the protagonist obtained the Black Furnace Demon Sword, its power and appearance were also like this. The only difference was that he couldn't control the size of the Black Furnace, which resulted in him being stuck wielding a massive greatsword-like version in the early stages, significantly limiting how he could use it.
Now, although Aize had adjusted the Black Furnace Demon Sword's output to the same level, he could fully control the weapon. As a result, the Black Furnace Demon Sword remained a normal sword size instead of transforming into a large sword.
"Even though this is only its standard output level, the Black Furnace in this state isn't something just anyone can withstand."
The Black Furnace Demon Sword was said to be capable of burning through anything. If it were to unleash its full power, there would be virtually nothing that could survive even a light slash from it.
And even at this current standard output level, ordinary Glorious-type armaments would be severed upon contact. Only pure Stellar Glorious-class armaments of equal tier could block its strike.
"This is already more than enough."
Aize nodded in satisfaction.
"If the Black Furnace is in this state, with my current stellar energy, I should be able to keep using it for over an hour."
That was a long enough duration to allow Aize to use the Black Furnace Demon Sword in combat under normal circumstances without issue.
"With the power I now possess, I should be qualified to make it into the Book of Notable Sacrifices, right?"
That was what Aize thought.
In Asterisk, all the academies had ranking systems.
Although the specific rules varied, each academy had a clearly defined leaderboard to distinguish the strength of its students.
The ranking system at Seidoukan Academy was known as the Book of Notable Sacrifices (Zaimei Saishi-sho). There were a total of seventy-two slots on the list, and the students ranked within it were the top seventy-two in the entire academy. The top twelve, in particular, were recorded on the first page of the book, and as a result, were known as the First Page Twelve.
This ranking could only be earned through duels. As long as one could defeat a student who was already ranked, they would claim that student's position—earning a place in the Book of Notable Sacrifices, and potentially even joining the First Page Twelve.
Originally, Aize's abilities at Seidoukan Academy were merely average. Not to mention making it into the top seventy-two or the Book of Notable Sacrifices—he didn't even stand out among the general student body.
After all, Seidoukan Academy's high school division alone had several hundred students. Including the middle school and university divisions, the total student population was even larger. Even if Aize was considered mid-level in terms of strength, his rank would likely have been outside the top one hundred, possibly even in the two- to three-hundred range.
But now, purely in terms of physical ability and stellar energy strength, Aize felt that he was already capable of reaching the top seventy-two—qualifying for a place in the Book of Notable Sacrifices.
"And if I add the power of the Black Furnace on top of that… then maybe—even the First Page Twelve wouldn't be beyond my reach?"
At that thought, a sense of eagerness began to rise within Aize.
He wanted to test the limits of his current strength.
"Come to think of it… the official ranking battles for this month are coming up, aren't they?"
Aize recalled this.
In Asterisk, anyone could challenge another to a fair duel—even on school grounds.
However, under normal circumstances, both parties had to agree for the duel to be valid. If one side refused, the duel wouldn't take place.
Because of this, most students who had fought their way onto the Book of Notable Sacrifices were not eager to accept duels lightly.
After all, if they lost, their ranking would be taken.
At Seidoukan Academy, earning a place in the Book of Notable Sacrifices came with many privileges. This was especially true for the First Page Twelve, who held significant status and authority. They could even request to borrow Pure Stellar Glorious-class armaments at any time, and such requests would be approved at the fastest possible speed—unlike with ordinary students, whose applications went through strict and lengthy reviews.
The first tier consisted of the First Page Twelve.
The second tier included students ranked within the Book of Notable Sacrifices.
The third tier was made up of those not ranked—students outside the Book of Notable Sacrifices.
In the official ranking battles, a student could at most challenge an opponent who was one tier above themselves.
In other words, Aize could only challenge students ranked in the Book of Notable Sacrifices below the First Page Twelve, since he was currently unranked and belonged to the third tier.
Given that…
"Then I might as well go all out!"
Aize turned his gaze to the first name on the second page of the Book of Notable Sacrifices.
And then, he reached out his hand—and tapped the challenge button....