I learnt something important that morning.
Verona Valeris was a liar.
Not a malicious liar.
Not an evil liar.
Just the kind of liar that happened whenever an absurdly powerful person described something as “light training.”
Because what followed was not light.
It was attempted murder with educational intent.
The training grounds behind Verona’s estate were enormous.
Massive reinforced platforms stretched across the landscape.
Defensive barriers surrounded the area.
Entire sections of land looked as though they had been repeatedly erased from existence and rebuilt afterward.
Considering who owned the place, that was probably exactly what had happened.
Lyra and I stood opposite Verona.
The strongest woman on Earth stood with her hands behind her back.
Calm.
Relaxed.
Completely at ease.
As though she wasn’t about to traumatize two newly acquired disciples.
“This will be a simple assessment.”
I immediately didn’t trust those words.
Beside me, Lyra seemed equally unconvinced.
Verona smiled faintly.
“You may attack me together.”
I blinked.
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
“Just attack?”
“Correct.”
“With everything we have?”
“Everything.”
I looked at Lyra.
Lyra looked at me.
Then we both looked back at Verona.
Something about her expression felt suspicious.
The kind of expression a person wore right before disaster.
The System appeared.
[Warning.]
“What?”
[The host is about to make a very poor life decision.]
“I make those every day.”
[That is unfortunately true.]
Verona waited patiently.
I sighed.
“Fine.”
Space distorted.
[Blink].
At the exact same moment, Lyra exploded forward.
I appeared behind Verona.
Lyra attacked from the front.
A perfect pincer attack.
Simple.
Efficient.
Deadly.
Against anyone except Verona Valeris.
She casually stepped sideways.
One step.
Both attacks missed.
I teleported again.
Space folded.
I appeared above her.
Lyra adjusted instantly.
Another attack came from a different angle.
Again.
One step.
Nothing connected.
The gap wasn’t skill.
It wasn’t speed.
It wasn’t power.
It felt more fundamental than that.
Like we were trying to strike a shadow.
Like we were fighting someone who already knew every movement before we made it.
“Faster,” Verona said calmly.
I gritted my teeth.
Fine.
Let’s see how casually she dodges this.
Cosmic energy surged through my body.
[Stellar Impact].
Purple light erupted around my fist.
The air distorted.
Cracks spread beneath my feet.
Then I vanished.
Space folded.
I appeared directly above Verona and drove the attack downward.
The collision exploded.
A shockwave tore across the training grounds.
Stone shattered.
Dust erupted into the sky.
For a brief moment, I felt hopeful.
Then the dust cleared.
Verona stood exactly where she had been.
Completely unharmed.
My fist rested against her palm.
One hand.
That was all she used.
“Decent.”
I felt emotionally attacked.
“Decent?”
“For your age.”
That somehow made it worse.
Beside me, Lyra moved.
Silver energy flashed.
[Sonic Pulse].
A compressed wave of sound erupted across the battlefield.
The attack crossed the distance instantly.
The air rippled violently.
Verona tilted her head.
The attack missed by less than an inch.
The shockwave continued toward the distant barriers.
BOOM.
An entire section of reinforced protection shattered instantly.
Verona’s eyes brightened slightly.
Lyra didn’t stop.
The vibrations around her intensified.
The battlefield began trembling.
[Resonance Field].
The air screamed.
The ground cracked.
Every vibration within the area fell under her control.
Suddenly sound itself became a weapon.
The frequency around Verona shifted violently.
Invisible attacks struck from every direction.
For the first time, Verona actually looked interested.
“Interesting.”
That single word almost made Lyra look proud.
Almost.
Then silver energy gathered around Lyra’s blade.
The vibrations intensified.
Higher.
Sharper.
Deadlier.
The surrounding battlefield suddenly fell silent.
Completely silent.
Even the wind disappeared.
I felt my instincts scream.
A moment later Lyra swung.
[Sound Severance].
Nothing visible happened.
Then the world split.
A massive line carved through the training grounds.
Stone separated cleanly.
The reinforced platform was sliced in half.
Even the distant barriers cracked.
The invisible blade of vibration crossed the battlefield in an instant.
For the first time all morning—
Verona actually moved.
Not a casual dodge.
Not a lazy sidestep.
She raised her hand.
The invisible attack struck her palm.
A shockwave exploded outward.
The ground beneath her feet collapsed.
When everything settled, Verona remained standing.
But for the first time, she smiled.
“Excellent.”
Lyra froze.
I froze.
Did Verona just compliment someone?
The world might actually be ending.
Then Verona vanished.
And the fight truly began.
A chill shot down my spine.
Instinct screamed.
Danger.
I teleported instantly.
The moment I disappeared, Verona’s finger touched the space where my forehead had been.
BOOM.
The reinforced platform behind me exploded.
Stone became dust.
The earth split apart.
Silence followed.
I stared.
Then at the crater.
Then at Verona.
Then back at the crater.
“…That was a finger.”
“Yes.”
“A finger.”
“Correct.”
I pointed at the destruction.
“What happens if you actually punch me?”
Verona considered it.
Then answered honestly.
“You would die.”
“…”
“…”
“Thank you for the clarification.”
“You’re welcome.”
For the first time since arriving in this world, I truly understood the gap.
This wasn’t the difference between a talented Awakener and a powerful Awakener.
This wasn’t the difference between ranks.
This wasn’t even the difference between generations.
This was the difference between Heaven and Earth.
Lyra and I were fighting with everything we had.
Verona wasn’t fighting at all.
The realization was humbling.
And deeply offensive.
Mostly offensive.
The System appeared.
[The host has received valuable educational information.]
“I almost got erased.”
[Education often takes many forms.]
Lyra attacked again.
Silver lightning blurred across the battlefield.
Verona casually blocked her strike with two fingers.
Two.
Fingers.
I felt personally insulted.
Then I snapped.
Fine.
No more holding back.
Star and Space energy surged together.
[Nova Break].
Power condensed into a sphere of brilliant violet light.
The surrounding space warped beneath the pressure.
The ground fractured.
The barriers around the estate suddenly activated on their own.
Alarms echoed through the distance.
Even Lyra instinctively retreated.
For the first time, Verona’s expression changed.
Not concern.
Not fear.
But genuine interest.
“Oh?”
I launched it.
The world flashed white.
The explosion swallowed everything.
The training grounds disappeared beneath a sea of cosmic destruction.
Shockwaves raced across the estate.
The defensive barriers blazed brightly.
Several outer layers shattered instantly.
For several seconds I couldn’t see.
Couldn’t hear.
Couldn’t think.
Then the light faded.
Verona stood in the center of the crater.
Completely unharmed.
But this time there was a difference.
One hand remained extended.
As though she had actually bothered to stop it.
“…”
“…”
“That’s cheating.”
“It is not.”
“It absolutely is.”
“That attack would have killed most [A] ranks.”
I blinked.
Then blinked again.
Wait.
Did she just praise me?
The System appeared.
[The host has unlocked a new achievement.]
“What achievement?”
[Receiving a compliment without immediately causing property damage.]
Before I could respond, space twisted around me.
A dangerous idea formed.
Fine.
If overwhelming power doesn’t work—
Let’s try impossible nonsense.
Space folded.
Compressed.
Collapsed.
[Spatial Collapse].
Reality itself crumpled inward.
Stone.
Air.
Light.
Everything was dragged toward the collapsing center.
The battlefield distorted violently.
Even the barriers trembled.
For the first time all day—
Verona stopped moving.
She studied the attack.
Actually studied it.
Several seconds passed.
A faint smile appeared.
“Remarkable.”
My eyes widened.
Verona continued.
“At your current level, this ability should not exist.”
That was the nicest thing anyone had said to me all week.
Then she casually waved her hand.
The collapse disappeared.
Just…
Disappeared.
I stared.
Lyra stared.
Even the System seemed confused.
“…Did she just erase my attack?”
[Correct.]
“How?”
[The System would also like to know.]
The next thirty minutes were among the most educational and humiliating experiences of my life.
Every strategy failed.
Every attack failed.
Every combination failed.
At one point Lyra and I executed a genuinely beautiful attack.
I teleported repeatedly while Lyra manipulated sound waves to distort perception and attack from multiple directions simultaneously.
The coordination was perfect.
Elegant.
Deadly.
Verona dodged everything while reading a book.
A book.
An actual book.
I nearly cried.
Eventually she closed it.
“Enough.”
The words weren’t loud.
Yet they instantly stopped us.
I was breathing heavily.
Lyra wasn’t much better.
Verona looked completely unaffected.
Not a single hair out of place.
Not a single wrinkle on her clothing.
Not even slightly tired.
I suddenly understood why people called her a living disaster.
The woman wasn’t human.
She was a natural catastrophe disguised as a beautiful lady.
Verona studied us quietly.
Then she nodded.
“Excellent.”
I blinked.
“Excellent?”
“Yes.”
“We got de
After training ended, Verona left to handle several matters related to the estate.
Lyra headed toward the recovery facilities.
Apparently being launched across training grounds repeatedly was exhausting.
Who knew?
That left me alone.
And with an idea.
A beautiful idea.
A dangerous idea.
Possibly a terrible idea.
The best kind.
Several hours later, I found Verona inside a private study.
Books filled the walls.
Ancient artifacts occupied display shelves.
The room probably cost more than my entire existence.
Verona glanced up.
“Yes?”
“I need something.”
That immediately made her suspicious.
Probably because every time I said those words, reality suffered.
“What do you need?”
“Rings.”
She blinked.
“Rings?”
“Several.”
“Why?”
I smiled.
A slow.
Terrible.
Devilish smile.
Verona narrowed her eyes immediately.
“You’ll know soon.”
The silence lasted several seconds.
Then she sighed.
“I dislike that answer.”
“Most people do.”
“Which is precisely the problem.”
Despite her concerns, she eventually provided them.
Simple metal rings.
Nothing magical.
Nothing valuable.
Exactly what I needed.
I returned to my room carrying enough rings to concern any reasonable person.
The System appeared.
[The host is smiling again.]
“Yes.”
[The dangerous smile.]
“Also yes.”
[The smile that usually precedes property damage.]
“I prefer the term innovation.”
[History disagrees.]
I sat on the floor.
Placed a ring before me.
And focused.
Space manipulation.
The foundation of my abilities.
The source of countless headaches.
And now—
Storage.
Storage rings already existed.
I knew that much.
They were one of the most famous applications of Space Affinity.
Rare.
Expensive.
Valuable.
The problem was that Space Affinity users were absurdly uncommon.
And the few capable of creating storage rings generally spent years learning how.
Naturally, I decided to ignore all of that.
The concept seemed simple.
Create a folded spatial compartment.
Anchor it inside an object.
Stabilize the structure.
Done.
Simple.
Except it absolutely wasn’t.
The first attempt exploded.
The second collapsed instantly.
The third twisted itself into something that physically offended reality.
The fourth vanished completely.
I still had no idea where it went.
The fifth created a pocket dimension.
For approximately three seconds.
Then it imploded.
I stared at the destroyed ring.
“…”
[Progress.]
“It exploded.”
[It exploded less than the previous one.]
“…Fair.”
Hours passed.
Failure followed failure.
The floor became covered in ruined rings.
Then came attempt number six.
I finally managed to stabilize the structure.
For a moment, I felt hopeful.
The ring glowed faintly.
The folded space held.
The anchor remained stable.
It worked.
It actually worked.
Then reality disagreed.
WHOOOOM.
The room distorted.
My eyes widened.
“Oh no.”
The ring suddenly expanded.
A wave of spatial energy surged outward.
My bed vanished.
My desk vanished.
My chair vanished.
Half the wardrobe vanished.
The door vanished.
Three shelves vanished.
Silence followed.
I sat on the floor.
Staring at the giant empty sections of my room.
“…”
[The host has successfully created a storage ring.]
“I don’t think that’s the important part.”
[The room appears to disagree.]
I slowly stood.
Looked around.
Then looked at the ring.
“…Can I get those back?”
[Unknown.]
“…”
[Congratulations.]
Fortunately, after several minutes of experimentation, I managed to retrieve everything.
Mostly.
The wardrobe returned upside down.
But that still counted as success.
The accident gave me an idea.
A pattern.
Every failure originated from the same flaw.
The anchor.
I wasn’t creating a container.
I was creating a doorway.
And doorways weren’t stable enough.
The realization struck like lightning.
The entire structure changed.
I rebuilt everything from the foundation upward.
The next attempt lasted longer.
Then longer.
Then longer.
One successful ring became two.
Two became three.
Three became five.
My control improved rapidly.
The process became smoother.
Cleaner.
More efficient.
By evening another ring stabilized perfectly.
Then another.
Then another.
I stared at the collection.
My heart pounded.
It worked.
It actually worked.
I reached into a pocket dimension.
Pulled my hand back out.
Still worked.
Again.
Worked.
Again.
Worked.
A slow smile spread across my face.
Then I started laughing.
Not normal laughter.
Not healthy laughter.
The kind usually associated with people who should absolutely not possess reality-warping powers.
“Hahahaha…”
The laughter grew.
“Hahahahahaha!”
I held up one ring.
Then another.
Then another.
The possibilities flashed through my mind.
Portable arsenals.
Hidden resources.
Emergency supplies.
Artifacts.
Weapons.
Money.
Treasures.
Snacks.
Mostly snacks.
And the fact that I could probably make a ridiculous amount of money from these.
The possibilities were glorious.
“Hahahahahahahaha!”
The System appeared.
[The host is becoming increasingly deranged.]
“I’ve created greatness.”
[You are sitting alone in a room laughing at jewelry.]
“Revolutionary jewelry.”
[Most villains also describe their plans as revolutionary.]
“I’m not a villain.”
[You are currently cackling while holding dimensional artifacts.]
“…”
[You sound like the final boss of an academy arc.]
“That’s ridiculous.”
[The host literally imagined infinite secret weapon caches.]
“…”
[There is no defense for that.]
I looked at the rings.
Then at the notification.
Then back at the rings.
“…Maybe a little.”
[Finally.
Character growth.]
The next morning, I went to Verona’s office carrying several completed rings.
The maids and butlers stared as I walked through the estate.
A few immediately looked away when I noticed.
‘Seems they’ve completely fallen for my charm.’
[Or they now recognize the psychotic individual you are.]
The System never missed an opportunity.
‘You’re just insulting me now.’
[Of course not.
This is merely an observation.]
‘I hate you.’
[The feeling is mutual.]
I ignored it.
Mostly because arguing with the voice in my head made me look insane.
By the time I reached Verona’s office, I had almost regained my dignity.
Almost.
“Come in.”
I froze.
I hadn’t knocked.
“…That’s unsettling.”
I opened the door.
Verona sat behind her desk surrounded by floating documents.
Without looking up, she said,
“Why are you standing there?”
Definitely unsettling.
I walked forward and placed one of the rings on her desk.
For a moment, she barely glanced at it.
Then she paused.
Her eyes narrowed.
The floating documents stopped moving.
Slowly, she picked up the ring.
The room suddenly felt much quieter.
“Where did you get this?”
“Oh, that?”
I smiled.
“I made it.”
Silence.
Verona stared at me.
Then at the ring.
Then back at me.
“Amir.”
“Yes?”
“How long did this take?”
“About a day.”
The silence somehow became even heavier.
“…One day.”
“More or less.”
Verona rubbed her forehead.
“That’s bad, isn’t it?”
“For several people, yes.”
That wasn’t reassuring.
Verona held the ring up.
“Storage rings already exist.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Then why did you make one?”
I blinked.
“Because I wanted one.”
She stared at me.
“…”
“…”
“That is somehow exactly the answer I expected.”
The System appeared.
[The host continues to be a visionary.]
I ignored it.
Verona focused on the ring again.
“How large is the storage space?”
I thought about it.
“A little over one hundred cubic meters.”
The room became silent.
Completely silent.
I frowned.
“…Is that bad?”
Verona slowly lowered the ring.
“Amir.”
“Yes?”
“The average commercial storage ring contains between three and five cubic meters.”
“Oh.”
“The rings used by major guilds typically contain ten.”
“Oh.”
“The largest storage ring currently available on the global market contains twenty-eight.”
“…”
“…”
“Oh.”
For some reason, Verona looked tired.
Not physically tired.
The kind of tired people became after witnessing something deeply unfair.
“How?”
I shrugged.
“Space stuff.”
“Space stuff.”
“Space stuff.”
Verona closed her eyes.
The System appeared.
[The host has explained his methodology.]
“Thank you.”
[You’re welcome.]
Verona took a slow breath.
Then she asked another question.
“How stable is it?”
“Very.”
“Demonstrate.”
I reached into the ring.
Pulled out a chair.
Then a table.
Then another chair.
Then a sword.
Then a second sword.
Then several snacks.
Then a blanket.
Then another chair.
Verona stared.
“…Why do you have three chairs stored inside a ring?”
“You never know.”
“You absolutely knew.”
“Fair.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Do you know who invented modern storage rings?”
I shook my head.
“A Space Affinity Awakener named Orion.”
“Cool.”
“He spent nearly twenty years developing the stabilization method currently used across the world.”
“…Oh.”
Verona looked directly at me.
“You improved upon it in a single afternoon.”
“…”
“…”
“To be fair, it was a very productive afternoon.”
The look she gave me suggested violence.
The System appeared.
[The host has once again failed to grasp the severity of the situation.]
Verona placed the ring down.
“How many have you made?”
I happily placed the others on the desk.
The smile immediately disappeared from her face.
“…”
“…”
“…Amir.”
“Yes?”
“Why are there seven?”
“I got carried away.”
“You mass-produced a national treasure.”
“When you say it like that, it sounds bad.”
“It is bad.”
I considered this.
“Can I sell them?”
“No.”
“One?”
“No.”
“Half of one?”
Verona stared.
“What does that even mean?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then stop talking.”
I sat quietly.
For nearly three seconds.
“How much would one sell for?”
Verona looked toward the ceiling.
As though searching for patience.
Or divine intervention.
Neither appeared.
“Enough money to buy several luxury estates.”
I nearly dropped the ring.
“…Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“…”
“…”
“I may have accidentally committed economics.”
For the first time all morning, Verona laughed.
A short laugh.
A tired laugh.
The kind someone made when they realized reality had stopped making sense.
The System appeared.
[The future sends its condolences.]
I looked at the rings.
Then at Verona.
Then back at the rings.
“…Can I sell just one?”
Verona closed her eyes.
The System immediately followed up.
[The future sends additional condolences.]
Alright this is a pretty long chapter the longest I’ve written so far.
Also I apologize for not uploading yesterday.
I really want to keep to my schedule but something or the other keep happening.
But I’m getting through it