CLEAVER OF SIN

In a quiet shimmer of silver light, Asher appeared once again in his room. Without wasting a second, he stripped off his clothes and made his way into the bathroom for a quick bath. The sound of running water filled the air, accompanied by faint wisps of steam curling past the doorway.

Moments later, he stepped out, droplets of water still clinging to his skin as he toweled himself dry. He changed into a fresh set of clothes, simple but clean, his movements practiced and efficient.

"Let's have a thirty-minute nap before I leave for training," Asher murmured to himself. His voice was calm and composed, barely above a whisper.

Climbing into bed, he closed his eyes, sinking into the soft sheets as he spoke mentally to his system. 'Wake me in thirty minutes.'

[Understood, Host.]

With that, Asher's consciousness drifted into stillness. His mind slipped away from the waking world, sinking deep into the tranquil realm of dreams.

[Host, wake up]

The mechanical voice of the system echoed crisply in his mind, cutting through the fog of sleep. Asher's purple eyes fluttered open. He exhaled slowly, running a hand over his face before sitting up. Without hesitation, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and rose to his feet.

His movements were silent, deliberate, refined through habit. He stepped out of his room, the faint hum of Virelass resonating faintly in the back of his consciousness, then exited his residential building.

At this moment, his destination was clear, the training facilities Thalric and Stephanie had introduced to them during orientation.

As he walked, his thoughts flowed calmly. 'I wonder if Virelass can evolve… I need more teleportation marks.'

Currently, Virelass's teleportation marks was limited. Unlike his teleportation ring, which allowed him to warp across vast distances with near-unrestricted range, Virelass could only teleport him to specific, marked locations. Out of the three teleportation marks available, Asher had already used two, one anchored in his room within the Wargrave Ducal Estate and the second in his Star Academy room. The third remained unused. He was saving it, as always, for battle.

Minutes passed in quiet contemplation as he crossed the Academy's sprawling campus. The scenery around him shifted from dormitories to training grounds, where the air was heavier, denser with energy.

Eventually, he arrived before a tall, imposing building. Its sleek metallic walls shimmered faintly under the midday light, and a glowing inscription above the entrance read simply: Training Facility.

Without hesitation, Asher stepped inside.

The interior resembled a grand lobby, spacious, with polished floors and high ceilings that glowed faintly with embedded Astra crystals. Behind a curved counter sat a young woman in uniform, her head bowed over a parchment.

Noticing his approach, she looked up with a polite smile. "Good afternoon. How may I help you?" she asked in a professional tone.

"I'm here to train," Asher replied simply, his gaze briefly scanning the ground floor as he observed the layout of the hall.

The woman's eyes flickered with curiosity. "What kind of training, if I might ask?" she inquired, her voice still courteous.

Asher studied her for a brief moment, noting the faint emptiness in her aura. 'An unawakened,' he thought silently.

"Elemental training," he replied calmly.

The woman nodded briskly. Reaching beneath the counter, she retrieved a small crystal orb that shimmered faintly with white light. "Please take this and stand over there," she said, pointing toward a marked circular platform near the wall. "Once you insert the orb into the slot, you'll be teleported directly to the appropriate floor for elemental training."

Asher nodded once in understanding. Taking the orb, he walked toward the indicated area. In the wall was a small indentation, smooth and circular, lined with faint markings. He placed the orb within it.

Instantly, the marks glowed brightly, flaring to life as the orb pulsed with energy. A white light enveloped him completely, and in the next instant, his form vanished from the lobby without a sound.

The receptionist blinked once at the fading light, then sighed softly. "Another one," she murmured lazily before returning to her parchment filled with images of handsome men.

When Asher opened his eyes again, he was standing in another wide room, spacious and clean, though less ornate than the lobby above. Behind a wooden desk stood another woman, this one exuding a different air. Her posture was relaxed, her smile teasing rather than polite.

"Well, well," she said, noticing his arrival. "A first-year student coming to train already? You must be Rank 1 or Rank 2."

Her tone was playful, but her eyes were sharp. There was no trace of the restrained politeness of the receptionist downstairs, just a casual confidence.

"I'm Asher Wargrave," Asher introduced himself evenly. "Rank 1 of the first-year students."

The woman raised an eyebrow, a slow smile curving her lips. "Ah, a big shot then."

Asher's expression didn't change. He neither smiled nor responded to her teasing. His demeanor remained composed and unreadable, his purple eyes steady and indifferent.

She exhaled softly, shaking her head in mock exasperation. "You Wargraves really are like stones. A little smile wouldn't hurt, you know," she said, her tone lilting and sweet.

Still, Asher said nothing. He merely observed her in silence.

"Tsk. Fine," she said, clicking her tongue playfully. "What element will you be training, Mister Rank 1?"

"The light element," Asher replied immediately, his tone calm but firm.

"Alright," she said, leaning slightly against her desk. "And what classification do you wish to train under? We have three, basic, intermediate, and advanced."

Asher paused for a moment, not responding right away. He didn't know what the classifications meant. Sensing his uncertainty, the woman chuckled softly.

"I forgot, you're a first-year and this is your first time here," she said. "Let me explain."

"Each elemental training chamber is attuned specifically to a single element. This fine-tuning allows the environment to resonate with your energy, enhancing your synchronization and increasing your training speed dramatically.

"For example," she continued, "if someone possesses the fire element, the chamber they enter will be extremely hot, filled with pure elemental essence. The heat helps them strengthen their connection to the element, like refining steel in a forge."

She paused briefly, letting her words sink in before she added, "You can think of it as temporarily increasing your natural affinity and talent for that element."

Her tone shifted slightly, becoming more instructive. "Now, as for the classifications, basic, intermediate, and advanced, they represent the degree of elemental attunement. The higher the classification, the more extreme the environment. To use the same fire example, a basic room would feel like standing near a bonfire, while an advanced one…" she smiled faintly, "…would feel like being inside the heart of a volcano."

Asher blinked, momentarily taken aback. 'The heart of a volcano?'

He couldn't imagine any ordinary student surviving such an environment, no matter how strong their physique or presence was. But, the way she said it suggested that there were indeed students capable of withstanding such conditions.

At the same time, Asher couldn't help but think of the danger. If someone overconfident, or foolish, stepped into an advanced chamber without being ready, it could easily lead to death.

'How does this attunement even work?' he wondered briefly, curiosity flickering through his mind. But soon, he dismissed the thought. It wasn't his concern. He hadn't come to study the mechanics, he was here to train.