This Novel is not my Chapter 26: Sky Blue (1)

After returning to my room and reading the academic journal, I understood why Professor Radvisin had told not to try it alone.

Just what on earth had happened to that old man, who had supposedly been in his eighties at the ti?

Apparently, he had forcibly squeezed out his power in a state of complete Ether depletion, and in doing so, beca capable of using a second Ether.

"This is a great way to get yourself killed if you try it alone."

According to the case study, the old man barely survived thanks to awakening his second Ether. Even then, he was reportedly bedridden for so ti due to the aftereffects.

In other words, if he had failed to awaken his second Ether, he would have died.

That's why, in case I failed to manifest the Sky Blue Ether, there absolutely needed to be soone beside to administer ergency treatnt imdiately. And even if I succeeded, I would still need treatnt to prevent lingering aftereffects.

A cold sweat ran down my spine.

I had only thought the professor postponed the experint until tomorrow to give ti to read the academic journal. Perhaps the real reason he couldn't proceed imdiately was because he needed ti to prepare for a possible accident.

"Let's not get too anxious. There's no way a professor would let a student die, right?"

I muttered to myself while fidgeting with the corner of the old academic journal.

Professor Radvisin must have lent this journal because he was confident he could save my life even if the worst happened. Otherwise, he would have hidden this information from , since it would have been obvious I'd end up clinging to him for help.

Besides, even if I consud Ether beyond my limits, as long as proper asures were taken within the Golden Ti, it was part of this world's setting that people rarely suffered lifelong aftereffects or died.

Even in the original novel, the protagonist collapsed from Ether Exhaustion two or three tis, but always recovered completely.

'Although, if soone faints and there's no one around, they're bound to die...'

In my case, Professor Radvisin would be watching over , so there should be no problem.

I cald my worries and turned the page.

My brow furrowed imdiately at the contents that greeted .

"It seems that to properly utilize this latent Ether, I must intentionally reach a state of Ether Exhaustion repeatedly."

The old man in the case study had personally used his second Ether and clearly witnessed that its aura was a different color from his original Ether.

However, after his original Ether recovered, he was reportedly unable to draw out that power again.

So he began training that doubled as an experint alongside the scholar who wrote the article, so that he could use his second Ether at will.

That process was also detailed in the academic journal.

It wasn't so amazing or revolutionary thod.

It was simply about handling the second Ether in a state of exhaustion and growing accustod to the power.

An incredibly simple and brutally straightforward thod.

But it was certainly effective.

At first, he could only use his latent power after completely exhausting his original Ether. But as he repeated the process, he beca able to use his second Ether even when a small amount of his original Ether remained.

The ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) research, which had seed to be progressing smoothly by gradually increasing the amount of remaining Ether, was suddenly halted.

There was no problem with the training thod itself.

The problem was that the research subject was very old.

His aged body could not withstand repeated Ether depletion.

No matter how quickly he received treatnt, an old man's body recovered poorly, and it was ultimately overloaded.

They had reached a stage where he no longer needed to repeatedly exhaust his Ether. But the old man struggled even with consuming large amounts of Ether, so they concluded they had no choice but to stop the research.

"Still, thankfully, the body I've possessed is in its late teens and has excellent recovery, so it should be more than capable of enduring it."

I closed the academic journal and let out a dry laugh.

This was because the thod described here was one I had thought of myself.

It's a very common cliché for dormant powers to awaken after all of one's energy has been depleted.

The only problem was that I had no one I could trust with the ergency treatnt.

The Austri Family had a personal physician in residence, but if I said I wanted to try this thod without any grounds, he would obviously try to talk out of it.

Then he would report it to Hárðr, saying the Young Master seed to have co up with a new suicide thod.

"I never even considered bringing it up, but a precedent like this actually existed?"

It was truly absurd.

The fact that a family as great as a Ducal Family would treat their own child as defective instead of trying to discover his latent ability.

"Could it be that my possessed body's father knew about the second Ether but pretended not to? Familiar, what do you think?"

I tapped the Familiar Egg on my desk with my index finger while talking to myself.

"There must have been at least one scholar who rembered the contents of this academic journal and visited the Ducal Family. They could have received an enormous reward as benefactors. Was Hárðr so obsessed with the family's unique Ether Attribute that he refused because he couldn't tolerate a direct descendant using a different color of Ether?"

It was only speculation.

But even if that were the truth, I had no intention of giving up on the second Ether ability.

The Buff Attribute was only a supportive ability, after all.

I needed another ability to overco various crises on my own.

The next day.

When I visited the research lab again to return the academic journal, Professor Radvisin took it and said the following:

"Today, we will only confirm whether Mr. Karvaldr truly possesses Sky Blue Ether. We will determine its attributes once you reach the stage where you can use that Ether without reaching exhaustion. I don't need to explain why, do I?"

"No. It's because I could damage my body if I overdo it."

"Correct. The attitude of not rely answering 'yes' but adding your own thoughts is excellent. That's how a student should be. That way, if you make an incorrect inference, I, as the professor, can correct you."

When writing a novel, protagonists often arrive at conclusions through narration.

But if a situation can be handled through dialogue, it's best to do so.

Dialogue is easier to read than narration and more morable.

So I simply said it out loud, and Professor Radvisin clapped and praised .

"You already possess the qualities of a scholar!"

"I couldn't agree more!"

As though they had been waiting for Professor Radvisin's cue, Senior Blida and Senior Elska chid in with exaggerated enthusiasm.

I felt this yesterday too, but those two really seed to have no talent for acting.

Whether their advisor professor realized this as well, he slapped his forehead with a loud smack, his expression filled with despair.

"...Anyway, today is only about drawing out the Ether. If we use a Crystal Sphere that absorbs Ether, we could conduct the experint right here in this research lab, right now."

"The way you said that makes it sound like you've thought of a better thod."

"Very perceptive! Just as expected from the student I've got my eye on as a future research student."

It was best not to respond to remarks like that.

I stayed silent and rely offered an awkward smile.

Professor Radvisin tactfully returned to the original topic.

"Do you have any other plans today besides eting with ?"

"No, I don't."

"In that case, rather than wasting your Ether aninglessly, how about properly exhausting it through so Attribute Enhancent Training?"

In short, he was offering a one-on-one tutoring session ahead of ti.

I wondered whether this was really fair, but he must have proposed it because there was no issue.

In any case, it benefited , so I decided to accept gratefully.

"If you would help with my training as well, Professor, I would be nothing but grateful."

"Mr. Karvaldr, your manners are excellent as well. Then shall we begin by moving sowhere else?"

For so reason, it felt as though praise followed everything I said.

Could it be because I blushed in embarrassnt after receiving Professor Radvisin's praise yesterday? Was that why he assud I was weak to praise and kept doing this?

Personally, I didn't feel particularly moved by praise handed out indiscriminately for no reason.

I sincerely hoped Professor Radvisin would realize this soon.

"To exhaust all of your Ether using your Ether Ability, 'Buff,' you'll need targets to apply it to. That's why Miss Blida and Mr. Elska will be helping."

The professor said this as he opened the research lab door and walked out.

As though it had already been agreed upon, the two senior research students followed behind us while carrying the snacks they had bought yesterday.

Seeing his students like that, the professor briefly looked puzzled before turning away without a word.

The place Professor Radvisin led us to was the practical training classroom where the 'Ether Attribute Enhancent' lecture was held.

Much like a personal training ground, the practical training classroom was equipped with a shock absorption function, but that probably wasn't why the professor chose to conduct the training experint here.

It was likely because the place was structured like an indoor training hall.

Unlike the public training hall outdoors, being inside a building ant there would be no prying eyes watching our training.

It also provided a large space, making it easier to observe the effects of the buff.

"We need to check your physical abilities before applying the buff, so Miss Blida and Mr. Elska, please run around the lecture room until you're tired."

"...What??"

"No, Professor?! You didn't say anything about this??"

"You all know that Mr. Karvaldr's Ether Ability is a buff. In that case, shouldn't you naturally have deduced this outco?"

The two research students were flustered and loudly protested the sudden order to run.

But out-arguing a professor who had honed his academic skills for many years was beyond their abilities.

In the end, the two of them began running with resigned expressions while Professor Radvisin started a stopwatch to asure their speed.

"May I ask a question about the report you submitted during my lecture?"

Once the two senior research students were a reasonable distance away, Professor Radvisin lowered his voice and broached the subject.

"Yes, of course."

"Your view that even among people born with the sa Ether, their abilities differ slightly according to their personal inclinations was extrely interesting. Since the direct descendants of the Imperial Family and the Four Great Ducal Families inherit the sa Ether for generations, I suppose you're able to gather such data."

While Ether Attributes are passed down genetically, only the Imperial Family and the Four Great Ducal Families maintain the sa Ether Traits generation after generation.

Most people inherit the Ether of either their father or mother, and sotis the Ether of a grandparent. Occasionally, soone might even inherit the Ether of a much more distant ancestor.

Even for the Imperial Family and the Four Great Ducal Families, the Ether was only maintained within the direct line. Different Ether manifested in the collateral branches.

The scholars of this world seed to speculate that it might be related to Familiars.

Personally, I thought it was simply a convenient authorial setting that emphasized the traditions of the Imperial and Ducal Families.

'But this setting is turning out to be convenient for too, isn't it?'

Even though a teenager had presented a theory unknown to Professor Radvisin, a man who had researched Ether Attributes for a long ti, he did not doubt its validity.

On the contrary, he seed to trust it quite a bit.