In the Time Chamber, Saruto stood in the center, his body drenched in sweat and his face etched with exhaustion. He wearily reached for the system screen before him and pressed the AutoHeal feature. A transparent green energy began to permeate his body. He breathed deeply and said in a low voice, as if to encourage himself, "I won't give up now… I must master it, even without co-consciousness."
He raised his right hand again and closed his eyes. A dark, ominous aura enveloped his body, and the astrazine formed was weaker than Side's. He whispered, looking at his aura-encased hands, "So… astrazine is dependent on a person's energy level. The higher the individual's energy, the stronger the astrazine becomes. It's very energy-dependent."
He continued training for hours on end, and each time he collapsed from exhaustion, the Time Chamber would automatically heal him, allowing him to try again. With each repetition, his skill improved slightly, until he was finally able to increase the duration of his astrazine use to a full ten minutes. After the training ended, he canceled the skill, sighing with relief. "Only ten minutes… but a good start."
He left the room and went to his own, entered the bathroom, and stood under the warm water that washed away the traces of training. After a simple meal, he fell into a deep sleep. The next morning, Saruto opened his eyes to the sunlight streaming through the window and yawned wearily. He remembered yesterday's training and smiled faintly. "Time to see how far the others have progressed."
He reached out, activating his Instant Transmission skill, and in an instant, he found himself inside the Hartz Academy. Saruto closed his eyes for a moment, focusing on the flow of energy in the space, until he caught Lucien's energy. He smiled and said quietly, "I found you."
In a flash, he was teleported to the training hall. As soon as he appeared behind him, Lucien flinched in surprise. "Didn't I tell you, Saruto, to stop appearing so suddenly?"
Saruto chuckled softly, raising his hands apologetically. "Sorry, I couldn't resist this time."
He approached him and asked, "Where are the others? The heirs… and the princesses?"
Lucian sighed and replied, wiping the sweat from his brow, "They all returned to their kingdoms to perfect the skill there. As for me, I stayed because I haven't reached any conclusion yet. And what about you? Have you found the answer?"
Saruto didn't answer directly. Instead, he suddenly released an aura of intense energy that filled the hall. Then, the black halo enveloped his body, and astrasine appeared around him. Lucian took a step back, feeling the immense pressure. "My God… this pressure…! Is this astrasine?" he exclaimed in surprise.
Saruto smiled confidently. "Does this answer your question?"
"Just as I expected, Saruto," Lucian replied admiringly. "But how did you discover it?"
Saruto sat down and began to explain calmly and in detail: "The method isn't easy… First, you have to completely envelop your body in aura, and then start pumping energy into that aura to amplify it, until the astrazine forms."
Lucian listened intently, then closed his eyes and tried to follow the steps. With a powerful surge of energy, his astrazine began to form into the body of a majestic knight covered in layers of crystalline ice, with icy shards hanging from his shoulders like wings. But suddenly, he lost his balance, canceling the skill and leaving Lucian gasping for breath. Saruto smiled and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "It's alright, that's normal on the first few attempts. You've already done it, and now you just need to practice until you have mastery."
Lucian laughed and said, catching his breath, "Thank you, Saruto, for teaching me the skill."
Saruto replied with a gentle smile, his hand on his friend's shoulder, "Don't say that, Lucian. After all… we're friends, and it's the duty of friends to help each other."