Chapter 4: Heaven-Swallowing Physique |
"It shouldn't be that simple, Elaine. No matter how brave these lowly male servants are, they shouldn't have the courage to trouble their masters. I think this problem stems from Apprentice Isabelle," A silent Senior Witch inserted.
Her opinion quickly received nods of agreement from the others before another Senior Witch said, "Now that Charlotte mentioned it, I recall that Apprentice Isabelle is quite the licentious person, sleeping with many of her male servants."
"There was also a rumor circulating around the academy about Apprentice Isabelle seeking out Servant Vaan after hearing about his skills, only to be rejected on several occasions. Today's event was probably caused by jealousy," a bespectacled Senior Witch added.
"Unbelievable. This is unbelievable! How can a woman be so indulgent in carnal pleasure? Men are just accessories to be worn! We are proud women, for god's sake!" Elaine thundered in anger before shooting Servant Luwg a look after snapping her fingers.
The truth-speaking mind spell was quickly dispelled, returning clarity to Servant Luwg's eyes before his face paled from the flashback of memories.
"Lady Elaine, I was just—"
Puchi!
Servant Luwg was swiftly decapitated by a Mana Blade before he could finish speaking.
Shortly after, Elaine spoke indifferently, "Someone, come and dispose of this body for me."
Shortly after the fresh corpse was taken away, Elaine instructed a group of witches-in-training to clean up the library ruins before shooting Apprentice Isabelle a cold look.
"Apprentice Isabelle's punishment will have to wait after she recovers. Nevertheless, her punishment will not be light. Such a pompous brat to disrespect and challenge a Senior Witch's authority, hmph!"
"She has been spoiled rotten, but she is still the City Lord's daughter, nonetheless. I'm afraid we can't punish her too hard to avoid political disputes between the City Lord and the academy." Charlotte frowned.
"Right…" Elaine pinched the center of her eyebrows with distress before stating, "We need to deal with the B-rank threat first…"
…
Blackmoon Academy's dumpsite.
After Vaan's lifeless body was tossed into this wasteyard filled with broken tools, old clothes, and materials among various other things thrown away, his body rolled down the mountain of garbage and landed at the bottom.
The two young Apprentice Witches left promptly without realizing that Vaan's punctured chest was closed up, and his heart resumed beating once more.
Shortly after, his eyes snapped open with a sharp glint, full of alertness, before they were replaced with confusion.
"Is this the academy's wasteyard? Why am I here?" Vaan muttered with doubt before patting his spotless chest with surprise, "My fatal wound has been healed without a trace?"
"What happened while I was unconscious?" Vaan's quickly narrowed his eyes before his thoughts were suddenly interrupted.
Ding!
<System synchronization completed>
<Analysis and auto-recovery processes completed>
<Display basic information very shortly>
<…>
<…>
<…>
Ding!
=====
[STATUS]
Name: Vaan Raphna
Race: Human (90%)
Age: 20
Unique Physique: Heaven-Swallowing Physique
Cultivation: N/A
Skills: [Basic-level Weaponcrafting] [Basic-level Heavenly Massage] [Basic-level Hand-to-Hand Combat] [Intermediate-level Cloud Evading Steps] [Expert-level Mental Focus] [Expert-level Magical Foundation] [Expert-level Mana Application] [Expert-level Mineral Interaction]
=====
After being stunned for a moment, Vaan's eyes lit up with a pleasant surprise. Although the system activated a bit late, it was better than never.
Vaan glanced at his skills before muttering with a nod, "My practical skills are quite weak, but my theoretical knowledge is very high as I would expect. It was worth the grind..."
"But when did I become 90% human? And what is a Heaven-Swallowing Physique?"
Vaan's brow quickly knitted with doubts before asking himself, "And what can this system do for me exactly?"
These were things he needed to figure out quickly if he wanted to change his fate as a man in this female-dominant society.
Ding!
<Heaven-Swallowing Physique: A Heaven-grade Unique Physique born from the interaction of life and mana>
<Trait: Possesses a universal subspace capable of containing all things in existence>
While Vaan was wondering about the Heaven-Swallowing Physique, the system notification rang in his head directly.
"A universal subspace capable of containing all things in existence, huh?" Vaan muttered.
"According to the original memories of the host, before I transmigrated, the body had always been weaker than most Witches' Offsprings. In fact, the body could have been taken for a completely normal human..."
"If there's any correlation between the reason why I could not awaken the ability to use Aura like other Witches' Offsprings and the Heaven-Swallowing Physique, it will most likely be due to the existence of this unknown subspace, huh?"
In other words, he suspected that the so-called Heaven-Swallowing Physique had devoured all the mana integrated into his body since birth.
"But then, if the Heaven-Swallowing Physique gobbled up all the mana I was born with, I will never be able to awaken as an Aura User. Is that how it is going to be?" Vaan frowned at his plight while getting off the ground.
The notion of manipulating mana did not cross his mind. It was an established fact that only women were capable of performing.
Only Aura, which was mana-infused blood that is part of the body, can be freely manipulated by men upon their awakening as Aura Users.
Creak!
Suddenly, a piece of broken equipment was deformed underneath Vaan's feet, causing him to be temporarily stunned before he removed his feet to inspect the deformed object.
"This is a broken pot made of ordinary steel...? It shouldn't have been so easily bent from simply getting stepped on, especially by me..." Vaan muttered with doubt, suddenly having a vague suspicion in his heart before picking up the broken steel pot.
Crack! Crunch!
With a slight exertion of his strength, the broken steel pot was quickly deformed and scrunched into a ball of scrap metal.
"I seemed to have grown physically stronger—to the point of being comparable to Rank 1 Aura Users if I have this much strength. And it is done without Aura Reinforcement? Is this due to the system's doing?" Vaan pondered with a pleasant surprise.
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