Chapter 5: After Effects

Snippet 1: Graviton

Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.

Chapter 5: After Effects

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- Gerald -

He turned to his men and made sure to put on a strong face. It wouldn't do for him to look… afraid of what lay ahead of them.

His men were depending on him. If he was afraid then how would they feel?

They were all Knights of Inglassia who were residing at one of the outposts further out when they had felt the tremors.

Tremors that were still shaking the land ever so slightly. He ignored the chill he felt creeping up his back as he imagined just what could have caused an earthquake that was still affecting the land from so far away.

He already knew where this show of power originated from. He wouldn't be surprised if the entire damn Kingdom knew about this, such was the might that was showcased before him.

He was one of the first who felt the Magicules in the air around them begin to stir since he had attended a small lesson given by the Court Mage once upon a time.

But the others had picked up on it soon enough, no one can ignore such a vast amount of Magicules being used at once.

That single attack likely cost more Magicules than even the Court Mage was able to manipulate!

That meant that this being, at the very least, had more raw power than the Court Mage, the very same Court Mage who was praised by the Majin Razen of Falmuth for his skill with Magic.

They were dealing with a seasoned warrior here, and one stronger than 99.9% of the entire Western Nations.

He had heard that the Conqueror of Flames was in the Capital of Ingrassia. Perhaps she would be their only hope should the originator of the attack be hostile toward them.

 He took a deep breath. "Men, we have a potential Kingdom level threat here."

He could see some of his men shift nervously, such a threat hadn't even been heard of in a very, very long time.

"The forest ahead is known to be infested with Magic Beasts, a Dragon was even lurking inside it according to our earlier reports, and yet that forest is now up in flames." He waited a moment for that to sink in. "It is our solemn duty to be the first line of defense! To make sure that this being does not go on to threaten this Kingdom! To make sure that this being does not go on to threaten our families!" 

His men perked up slightly, each of them had a family to go back to, the thought that they may be the ones that end up protecting their family was motivating all on its own.

"There are already reinforcements inbound, our duty is to confirm this entity's intentions and relay it back to our superior officer." Gerald continued. "I will not sugar coat this, if this being is hostile many of us will die, but die knowing that your brother in arms shall fight tooth and nail to avenge you, die knowing that your deaths may be what allow our Kingdom to learn of this being's true intentions, saving the lives of your families."

His men were still terrified, but they had firmed up their resolve, if only for the sake of those closest to them.

He sighed, he was never good at speeches. The entire purpose of this squadron was to act as an early warning system for an enemy invasion. Yes, they were all part of the Western Nation's Council, but you can never be too safe when surrounded by other Kingdoms.

Gerald's hope was that if this entity was hostile, hopefully they would be fairly drained after using such a wide-scale Strategic Class Spell.

Whatever Magic Spell that was used, its sheer scale qualified it for the Strategic Class qualification, the entire forest wasn't destroyed but a large portion of it was, and the portion that wasn't destroyed was still affected by the blast.

"Now come, men! The Kingdom is counting on us!" He yelled.

They all clanged their boots, causing a sound that would echo the surrounding area. 

" " " Yes, Sir! " " "

They marched towards the forest that the blast came from, the temperature rising with every step they took forward.

It had gotten to a point where he was practically boiling within his armor, but he couldn't afford to discard one of his sole means of protection at this point.

Once they spotted the forest in the distance, they all collectively froze. He felt himself gasp as he looked at the… wasteland ahead of him.

Calling what remained of the forest a wasteland was being generous. Even from the distance they were at he could the land was torn up all the way to bedrock, the lush trees were no more, the very earth was melting from the sheer temperature alone, though oddly enough there were no flames in sight.

But still, what had once been a forest was now a wasteland. 

Gerald had never been to the void that was the grounds that Demon Lord Milim Nava and Demon Lord Guy Crimson fought upon, but he imagined it would look similar to what he was seeing now which terrified him.

Was he dealing with the second coming of those two monsters? The raw power was not at that level, but the sheer potential for destruction was there.

Thankfully, in the very, very far distance, he could spot a hint of green, meaning that hopefully, some of the forest could be preserved, but he couldn't afford to be thinking about the forest when his very life was currently at stake.

"M-Men! Onward!" He ordered.

Before his men could express their doubts of going further he heard a voice. "Ah, I don't think going any closer is a good idea. Your armor will probably melt, and I don't want to imagine how much it would hurt to have liquid metal surrounding your body, cooking you from the outside."

They all froze and held their weapons in a defensive stance.

He snapped his head to the right, where he heard the voice come from.

He spotted a blond-haired, blue-eyed young… boy? What was a child doing out here?

Oddly enough the boy was sitting on a rock, the grounds around them were torn asunder from the shockwave of the blast if he had to guess, and yet there was a perfectly shaped rock?

No, it was likely created with Magic. That instantly upped his wariness of the boy, the incident they were examining was caused by Magic, could this boy be an apprentice to the one who caused this?

At the very least the boy was Human from what he could tell, but he wouldn't be able to confirm that, there were many Magics meant to hide one's true nature after all.

He aimed his spear in the direction of the boy. "State your purpose!"

The boy tilted his head. "My purpose? Huh, can I just leave then? The only reason I'm sticking around is since I thought I'd have to answer some questions for the destruction I caused." The boy answered uncaringly.

"The destruction… you caused?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah, I'm an Adventurer and was on a mission to slay a Medium Dragon that was hiding out in this forest, the battle got a little out of hand and I had to use a very destructive Spell to kill the Dragon."

His mind halted for a moment. A boy that looked no older than 16 was the cause of all this destruction?

Just what were they feeding kids these days?

"I-I see. And what is your name?"

"Altair."

He noted down that information for later.

"I see, Altair then, if you would follow us back to our outpost, we can continue this conversation further."

The boy shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, it's not like I have anything else to do."

He sighed in relief, he did not want to be an enemy of a boy so monstrously powerful at such a young age.

- Altair -

"Sure, it's not like I have anything else to do."

The Knight nodded. "Good, thank you for cooperating then, my name is Gerald and I'm the leader of this squadron."

I nodded. "Nice to meet you, Gerald."

I ended up waiting for someone to come get me for a few hours, which allowed me to regenerate some of my Energy. It wasn't even a tenth of my total capacity, but everything helps.

As I followed the Knight back to their outpost, I wondered if I should have just run away.

No, the truth likely would have come out no matter what. Once Heinz heard of the situation, he would likely suspect me, not to mention Shizu's reaction.

Owning up to my fault would make things easier in the long term.

I really need to develop some kind of attack that allows me to take out stronger foes without causing mass destruction.

It was still unreal to truly comprehend the amount of power that lay within my body. I always knew that Otherworlders had an innate advantage. We had Magicules within our bodies, an advantage normal Humans would do a lot to have.

In the end, I was still terrified of being in this world, a world where Angels attack every so often, and the first damn Hero wants to conquer the entire world, a world with monsters like the True Dragons, Guy Crimson, and Milim Nava.

The worst part was that I knew enough about the plot to be terrified but not enough to be able to change a whole lot to my advantage.

I know about the Eastern Empire's invasion, as well as a little extra from some wiki diving.

Wiki diving is how I know about Feldway and Michael, and some of their motivations.

And both of them are fuck off levels of powerful, Michael wants to resurrect Veldanava, but once he is killed, Feldway just goes off the deep end and begins throwing a tantrum, threatening the very safety of the multiverse.

I don't know much more than that, but I know enough that I don't have a chance of standing before those two, nor do I really want to.

Rimuru Tempest can deal with that. I just want to live my life while making sure events go similarly enough that Rimuru doesn't get killed by the Angels instantly, which would result in the end of basically everything if what I've read is accurate.

Chloe Aubert was an individual that could attest to the fact that certain events need to happen if I want Rimuru to survive and deal with the big bads.

She had gone through countless timelines trying to save her beloved teacher, and only by a stroke of luck did she succeed.

The first step of that is making sure that Rimuru becomes a True Demon Lord.

With that ascension he gains Skills that will be essential to him later on, like Raphael, Lord of Wisdom.

I clenched my fists. Raphael, Lord of Wisdom, was made of two Unique Skills: Great Sage and Degenerate. Degenerate was the Skill of Shizu. Rimuru acquired it by eating Shizu, soul, and all.

Did Shizu really need to die for this timeline to not be doomed?

Was I letting my "vision" of canon cloud my judgment? Perhaps, but when someone much more special than me has been trying to save the world for eons, and failed every single time except for one, I think it's fairly justified for me to focus on the one timeline where everything goes well enough.

But was I content to live my life like this? I knew I was in over my head, beings like Guy Crimson, and the True Dragons would have trouble with the future, and yet I wanted to make a difference?

Well, less of a difference and more I wanted to make sure everything went similarly enough to canon. I really didn't want the entire multiverse to end because of me.

I don't know how that would make me feel. I wasn't a saint. I had selfish desires, and bad desires, but being responsible for the death of quintillions, if not more, was a heavy sin to carry.

But again, was I content with that life? Making minimal changes, hiding away so that my presence doesn't change too much. 

Hell, who could say that the time I have been in this world was not enough to completely destroy the future? I stopped Shizu from moving and getting to Ingrassia for a few extra days. I was right now influencing and changing Shizu. If I really wanted to leave the future intact, I would have to become a true hermit.

To me, that sounded like a crappy way to live, a life lived in fear. 

Could I become strong enough to actually make a difference in the future? Perhaps I could, but what would be the cost?

When I was reincarnated in the world of Black Clover, I really did want to live the standard isekai adventure life: have fun, and get a girl. But in this world, something like that would be very difficult to achieve if I wanted to keep my presence and interference to a minimum.

But being weak is a sin in this world. If I have the opportunity to become strong in this world, it's in my best interest to take it.

I was honestly getting tired of living like I was, living in fear like this was… draining.

Saving Shizu alone would change things drastically, and likely for the worse. Was saving someone as kind-hearted as her really a bad thing to do?

Then there was one thought that I had been desperately avoiding, what if the timeline I was in was one of the bad ends? If I remember correctly, the only thing that made the timeline I read about different from the rest was that Chloe had recalled some of her memories ahead of time, which allowed her to stall Rimuru when the Falmuth Invasion was occurring.

Chloe stalled Rimuru enough that Hinata had time to catch up, and then Hinata fought Rimuru while the Falmuth army slaughtered the Majin of Tempest.

Without Chloe's intervention, Rimuru would make it back in time and kick the invaders out, not becoming a Demon Lord which resulted in a bad end since he would be too weak in the future.

If in this timeline Chloe doesn't recall any of her memories ahead of time, then what can I do to make sure this timeline doesn't end?

I wasn't a perfectly good person, I was well aware that all this could be avoided if I just killed myself, but fuck that, I want to live too.

So if Chloe won't be able to fulfill her role, then why don't I fulfill it for her?

Realistically, the most key event that needs to happen is Rimuru's ascension into a True Demon Lord, after that I will have much more freedom to make changes, but that one key event is necessary if I don't want this world to be destroyed.

Yes, that can work. 

I clenched my fists. I had an achievable goal in mind that I could work towards, that alone took a weight off my shoulders.

I was fucking done hiding away, I was tired of living like that. I was still scared of this world and the beings in it, but realistically why would any of these transcendent beings bother with little ol' me?

Although I had already made significant progress towards this goal, I needed to get stronger if I wanted to be in the position to stall Rimuru long enough for the Invasion to occur.

There were some other things I needed to account for, like how exactly I could save Shizu's life without interfering with Rimuru's ascension. I was done trying to change as little as possible out of fear.

But I could plan more later. I would need a significant amount of time to plan everything out.

All of a sudden, I felt… something within me. Something that seemed to be sending me a sense of… approval?

And I had a feeling I knew exactly what it was.

Destined Guide was finally making itself known, and that alone filled me with confidence, that the path I had decided to take had the potential to work out and lead me to my happy ending, whatever that happy ending was.

As I was deep in my thoughts I heard a voice interrupt me. "So kid, you said you're an Adventurer?" Asked Gerald.

I could tell some of the Knights were rather wary of me. The amount of destruction I caused was not small, so I could only praise them for being careful of me.

"I'm an Adventurer on the side, I primarily study at the Mutual-Aid Academy. My teacher thought I was ready for the quest to slay the Dragon and so here I am."

"The Mutual-Aid Academy? That's rather fancy, only Nobles and those with extremely high levels of talent make it in there, I heard even the legendary Conqueror of Flames has taken up a teaching post there."

I nodded. "That's right, she does teach there."

Gerald sighed. "You seem like an alright kid, Altair. You haven't resisted, and you've owned up to your actions. That's something I can respect. Things aren't going to be looking good for you here, that portion of the forest you destroyed may have been infested with Monsters, but in the end, it is still the land of this Kingdom that has been vandalized. You'll likely be questioned, you seem to be pretty strong if you are the one that caused that explosion of Magic, so they may make you some offers to join the service of the Kingdom. If you end up deciding not to serve the King, then you'll probably be fined an exorbitant bill before being released. The Kingdom won't want to make an unnecessary enemy that they might not be able to subdue."

I froze for a moment. 

That wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Questioning me was obviously something I could understand, and the same with wanting to recruit me.

The bill for destroying a part of the forest might be a pain, but being a high-level Adventurer did pay pretty well.

Overall from what Gerald was saying this Kingdom was fairly reasonable, this world really did work on whoever is strongest is right. But perhaps he was biased, I'd have to wait to make a judgment myself. 

"I see… thank you for sharing this with me Gerald. Would there be any way to get out of this punishment to your knowledge?" If I could, I didn't want to pay a ton of money to an already rich Kingdom.

Shizu had said Ingrassia was one of the most well developed Kingdoms in the Western Nations, its sheer technological development was something to marvel at in this world of swords and magic.

Gerald shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe, I'm no Noble, but I bet that having some connections to someone important may help."

Shizu was important, so hopefully, I'll be fine.

"I see."

"Some of the Knight Order will be waiting for us at the camp. Just a heads up so you don't think things are worse than they are."

Was it just me, or was this guy a little too trusting? Maybe he was underestimating me due to my age? By my appearance, I was a young kid, after all.

Oh well, I won't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Gerald and I continued to chat for a few hours as we marched our way back to the outpost, at some point some of the Knights seemed to have let their guard down seeing as I hadn't done anything and began joining in on our conversation.

All of them were commoners that had worked their asses off to get to their current post.

Gaining Knighthood didn't make one a Noble, but they did get paid more than almost any other career, it was also a prestigious post so many craved it.

But it wasn't easy to become a Knight, there was a rigorous training regiment that one had to get through along with some other things.

By the time the sun was setting, I spotted the outpost in the distance. "We're almost there, men! Just one final stretch!" Gerald announced.

The men cheered as their marching speed doubled. It seems that everyone wanted to sleep in their beds tonight.

I could see a small group of armored Knights waiting up ahead. 

I could use Optical Magic or Magic Sense to get a better picture of just how many Knights were waiting for me, but my Magicule Capacity was already far below what I was comfortable with.

It may have been foolish, but I felt like I could trust Gerald. Just because some people in this world are shitheads doesn't mean everyone is. The same could also be said for my original world, Earth as well.

It didn't take us long to arrive in front of the group of Knights. The one in the lead had his helmet off.

Huh, isn't this the same guy from earlier? The guy who showed up after I saved Gard?

The Knight gazed at me. "Ah, it is you Sir Altair!"

I nodded. "Right, what a coincidence for us to meet again, Mister?"

"Ah, pardon my manners. My name is Reginald." The Knight introduced.

I nodded. Reginald turned to look at Gerald. "It is nice to see you back in one piece, Sir Gerald."

Gerald laughed. "Yeah, I'm glad too. When I saw the amount of destruction I was pretty nervous, but thankfully, Altair is a reasonable kid."

Reginald nodded. "Correct, I had met him just some time ago when he saved a Merchant of some renown."

Gerald looked at me, impressed. "Did ya know? We may have a budding Champion on our hands."

I rolled my eyes. "Maybe in the future, but pardon my rudeness. I'm pretty tired, so can I just know what my punishment is? As long as it isn't unreasonable, I'll comply."

Reginald. "Punishment? Ah, you must be talking about the damage to the forest you caused, correct?"

I nodded. "That's right."

Reginald laughed lightly. "After your good deeds, the King has graciously decided for you to remain unpunished. The Conqueror of Flames herself had vouched for you upon hearing what had happened."

The King and even Shizu already know?! News travels far faster than I expected in this world. But maybe they just used Magic to communicate? Something like that was very possible, especially with what I did. If someone as strong as me was hostile, it would be critical for word to reach the King about it as soon as possible.

"The Conqueror of Flames? I didn't know you were close to her Altair." Gerald muttered before shaking his head. "Whatever, it's your business in the end." He then turned to face Reginald. "Do you mind if we go to rest? My men are tired."

Reginald nodded. "Very well, thank you for your assistance today, Sir Gerald."

Hmm, Gerald is asking Reginald for permission when they both seem to be Knights. It seems that even within the Knight Order, there is a clear hierarchy.

Once Gerald was gone, Reginald spoke up. "We can continue this conversation in the morning, Sir Altair. You must be tired now. I have already had a room prepared for you."

I looked at him weirdly before nodding. It was pretty weird being treated like some honored guest.

It's probably just because of my relationship with Shizu, the Kingdom is probably trying to get in her good books through me.

Oh well, I don't mind benefiting from their schemes.

"Lead the way then."

Once I was settled in my bed for the night, I sighed. Today really was crazy.

Well who hasn't wanted to call themselves a Dragon Slayer? Though I'm sure, the True Dragons would laugh in the face of such a title.

–

I sat across from Reginald.

"I will not drag this conversation on Altair. The King wishes to meet you. The amount of power you showcased when slaying the Medium Dragon has him worried."

I tilted my head. "But Shizu is stronger than me, and he doesn't seem to mind her presence."

Reginald nodded. "That is true, but Lady Shizu is a well known Champion, she has built up her reputation for decades, whereas you while her student do not have that same reputation."

I nodded. "I see. That is understandable, then."

Hearing me, Reginald smiled. "I am grateful that you are being so understanding. Even with Lady Shizu's word that you would cause no trouble, the King still wished to get a measure of you."

I sighed. "I guess it's inevitable then."

Reginald nodded. "You must meet the King, Altair. Perhaps if you are lucky, he may directly recruit you into his Royal Guards, or the Court Mage may take you in as a student."

"I see." I doubted I'd take any of those offers. Being Shizu's student offered me a lot of freedom, protection, and training that few could hope to match, definitely not the Court Mage of Ingrassia.

"When will I be seeing the King?"

"You have some freedom due to Lady Shizu's assurance. You can see him whenever you wish so long as you do not take too long."

I nodded. "Got it, thanks."

"I will leave you be now, you are free to leave whenever you wish." Said Reginald.

I nodded. "Got it."

I was already pretty well rested from sleeping, and while my Energy reserves weren't at the peak it should be good enough for me to travel back to the Capital.

The roads are pretty well established, and there are guards patrolling pretty regularly.

It will take over a week for my Energy reserves to regenerate fully, and I didn't want to stick around at this outpost for that long.

My supplies were in my Spatial Storage, which, while limited in size, was large enough to hold the necessities.

As I was leaving, I took a look around the outpost. Some men were sitting on barrels playing card games. It seems they were gambling, going by the Dwarven Coins they had on the barrel in the center.

"Are you leaving now, Altair?" 

I turned to the voice and nodded. "Yes, I am Geralt. It's probably best if I speak with Shizu-sensei as soon as possible."

Geralt looked at me in confusion. "Sensei? What does that mean?"

There was only a single language generally used in the Cardinal World, so Japanese words were of course something brand new to the inhabitants of this world.

I'm guessing Shizu wanted me to call her by "sensei" due to wanting to be reminded of Japan, her home.

"It means teacher in the language from Shizu-sensei and I's home world."

Geralt's eyes widened. "So you are an Otherworlder then? I had my suspicions, but who would have thought." He shook his head. "I'm glad that you found the Conqueror of Flames then. She is known to be a gentle soul. Many Otherworlders don't have the best of fates."

"You don't have to tell me twice, and I'm well aware of how lucky I am."

I definitely didn't want to end up like Shogo or the other Otherworlders who helped Falmuth invade Tempest.

I'm sure they weren't nearly as bad as they were shown to be originally, but they were likely warped by their time in enslavement, taking out their anger at the injustice they suffered in the world.

Of course, I didn't approve of their actions, but that didn't mean I couldn't understand them.

In their eyes, the world hurt them, so they would hurt the world back.

Gerald nodded. "I won't hold you up then. Don't be a stranger if you see me around."

I nodded. "I won't."

Gerald seemed like a decent guy.

I walked out of the outpost and began my trip back to the Capital of Ingrassia.

___________________________________________________________________

I spotted the entrance to the Capital in the distance, which caused me to sigh in relief.

The journey might not have been that draining due to the absurd stamina my new body had, but that didn't mean it wasn't boring as hell.

I didn't train on the way since I didn't want to drain any Energy I didn't need to, so I was just left alone in my thoughts.

As I approached the entrance, a Knight stopped me. "What brings you to the Capital of the great Kingdom of Ingrassia, sir?" the knight asked.

"I'm a student at Mutual-Aid Academy. I was out for a quest and am now returning."

The Knight nodded. "Could I see your School ID and your Adventurer Card?"

I nodded. "Yeah, sure."

I handed the Knight my identification, he quickly looked over and handed it back to me. "Very well then, you are good to go, do be careful, some maniac was using Strategic Class Magic in the territory of this Kingdom. Though going by your Adventurer Rank I have a feeling that you won't do anything foolish. To reach such a high level so young is extraordinary."

I nervously laughed. "Right… must have been some idiot."

I passed through the gate through the side entrance, being verified by the Knight allowed me to skip over the line and just enter the Capital straight away.

I began making my way to the Mutual-Aid Association Headquarters first to report that I had slayed the Dragon.

It didn't take me long to arrive, I noticed the same woman was manning the desk as previously. "Mister Altair, Sir Heinz asked me to send you to him when you showed up."

I nodded. "Same room as before?"

The woman nodded. "Thanks." I mumbled as I took the elevator up to the floor Heinz was on.

I knocked on the door to his office. "It's Altair."

"Come in!"

I opened the door and was met with Heinz who was sitting behind his desk, looking at me with a smile. "Ah, Altair! It's nice to see you again. I've heard that you caused quite the commotion recently." He said with a laugh.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm surprised you're so relaxed about it, I heard that what I did is sorta a big deal."

"I'm used to it, Shizu used to do such absurd things as well, she may not look it, but she holds an astronomical amount of raw power within her."

I nodded. Ifrit alone was Special-A Class, something that had the potential to destroy a small Kingdom like Blummund.

"Yeah, she does, doesn't she? It seems that I got quite lucky with my teacher."

Heinz nodded. "Indeed. Should I assume that the Medium Dragon that has been causing trouble has been slayed?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I had to wipe out a portion of a forest due to how durable it was, but it's dead."

Heinz nodded. "Very well then, I will mark this quest as complete and the reward will be deposited into your Academy account."

I nodded. "Great thanks."

"One more thing, I have heard that you will be seeing the King soon?" 

"Yeah, apparently the King wants to get a measure of me since I'm pretty new to everything, I don't have a reputation so he isn't sure about my intentions."

Heinz nodded. "That does seem like him, the King is wise and Ingrassia has grown much under his rule. He will give you a fair hand so you can be at ease. I'm sure he will offer you something to get you under his thumb, but he will not force you into anything, he will likely want a good relationship with you at minimum however."

I nodded. "That's what I heard from someone else as well." 

"One more thing before you leave, you do seem a little different Altair, you seem more… open, did you discover something on your trip?"

I froze for a moment.

I seemed more open? Was I letting the weight of making sure things went right interfere with my interactions with other people?

I thought back to as many interactions as I could, and yes, I guess I was being more stiff, and more distant. I was afraid to form attachments since those attachments would likely hurt me more in the long run, like with Shizu.

If I were to let canon happen the same way which was already very unlikely due to the butterfly effect, I would still be hurt by her death.

"I-I guess I did."

Heinz laughed. "Well good, I like this new Altair more! Anyways that was all, you're free to go now, though I do think Shizu was looking at you, I would expect a lecture coming your way."

I sighed. "Right, I guess I should go face the music."

Heinz nodded. "Be well Altair."

"You too." I mumbled as I left.

As I was leaving the Mutual-Aid Association, I spotted a certain someone waiting outside the building for me.

That bastard! Heinz is a traitor! He must have told her that I was here, I will have my revenge!

I could tell that Shizu had spotted me, so I just sighed and walked towards her.

It didn't take me long to reach her, much to my surprise the first thing she did was grab me in a hug. "I'm glad you are safe Altair." I froze for a moment before slowly returning the hug.

A few moments later she pulled back and looked at me with a stern expression on her face. "It seems I have failed in my duties as your teacher if your only method of defeating the Medium Dragon was through the use of such destructive Magic."

I shook my head. "No, it wasn't your fault, it was just way more durable than I could have expected and I haven't really come up with any Spell or Art that would allow me to penetrate through its skin other than the Spell I used which vaporized it."

Shizu nodded. "A good enough Aura Slash is capable of such a thing, however that requires much training as well as evolution to increase the quality of your Aura."

"Battlewill really is something special." I mumbled. 

"Indeed it is, now come, we can talk as we walk." Shizu said as she led me along.

Shizu and I caught up since we hadn't seen each other in a few days. She may not show it but she was rather clingy with me.

Perhaps she saw herself in me? I was no psychology student in my first life, but there were some similarities in our situations, I just had a better starting point than Shizu did.

"Yuuki was also asking about you." Said Shizu.

My lips twitched. "Was he?"

"He was, he was quite excited to hear about how you managed to slay a Dragon."

"He doesn't know what happens?"

Shizu shook her head. "The Kingdom has covered it up as a fight between two Monsters, though those high up in status are aware of what truly occurred. I did not wish to spoil the surprise for Yuuki so I did not inform him yet."

Right, letting the Kingdom know that there was someone capable of destroying that much land was just walking around freely wouldn't go over well.

"I see."

It didn't take us long to arrive back at the Academy. "We will discuss everything that occurred tomorrow, I'm sure you are tired so get some rest Altair." Said Shizu.

I nodded. "Right, see you tomorrow then."

I quickly made my way to my dorm room, thankfully I didn't run into Yuuki so I was able to get in relatively hassle free.

I laid back on my bed. "What a week." I mumbled.

___________________________________________________________________

I was sitting behind a desk as Shizu began teaching her lesson. Usually we had another teacher teaching us, but it seems like Shizu had some important information to share with Yuuki and I.

I had already given her an overview of everything I did on my quest, she praised me for saving Gard while telling me here I could have done something different.

When it came to the Dragon fight Shizu was mostly silent before nodding and saying that she would increase the difficulty in my lessons so that I would have more precise but powerful attacks which was something I sorely lacked.

I could cause mass destruction pretty well as I had recently learned, but when it came to precise strikes they were fairly weak, sure I could butcher a normal Human but that wasn't anything special in this world.

I needed to increase the quality of my Fighting Spirit if I wanted to grow further, and the easiest way to do so was to evolve into an Enlightened. Unfortunately I had no idea how to do such a thing.

"Today I will be teaching you something that is a very well kept secret, do not go and share this information to others freely, if released to the public it will cause mass panic." Informed Shizu.

Both Yuuki and I nodded understanding the seriousness of what she was going to share with us.

Shizu raised her hand before chanting. A few moments later a Barrier appeared around the interior of the classroom.

"That will keep this conversation isolated." Said Shizu.

"Geez, she's going all out on secrecy isn't she Altair?" Mumbled Yuuki.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Now today we will be learning about seven beings. Seven beings that are the devils of mankind and are not to be aroused by any means necessary. I will be teaching you about the Seven Primordials."

All of a sudden I knew exactly why Shizu was doing what she did.

The Primordials were a very well kept secret, only those who were important knew of their existence and those that did know about them knew well enough how terrifying they were.

"The Primordials?" Asked Yuuki.

Shizu nodded. "The Primordials are the oldest Daemons in existence, each of them can be considered a Ruler of Daemons and each wields an unmatched level of power."

"How come the public doesn't know about these kinds of beings?" Questioned Yuuki.

"Because it is kept hidden by any means necessary. No one wants to risk someone idiotic Summoning one of those monsters and causing the doom of Humanity. One of the Primordials was once Summoned in the ancient past, and due to it two Kingdoms were wiped out."

Yuuki's eyes widened. "There's only one Daemon that matches that description." He mumbled.

Shizu nodded. "Indeed, the Lord of Darkness, Guy Crimson, is the Primordial of Red. Now listen well as this information could save your life later on."

I paid attention to what Shizu was saying, though I already knew most of the information.

"All seven of the Primordials have a color lineage they are the originators of, there is Rouge, the Primordials of Red, Blanc, the Primordial of White, Noir, the Primordial of Black, Vert, the Primordial of Green, Jaune, the Primordial of Yellow, Violet, the Primordial of Purple, and then finally Bleu, the Primordial of Blue." Informed Shizu.

"Each of their lineages share traits with their Primordials, Daemons of Black are always looking for something that interests them, Daemons of Yellow are always attempting to cause chaos and so on."

"How strong are these Primordials?" Asked Yuuki.

"Their precise level is difficult to place, but they are well above normal Arch Daemons, they do keep the Daemons of their Lineages completely subdued, and Daemons answer to strength." All of a sudden Shizu looked nostalgic. "I may or may not have faced one of them myself, I am not certain even to this day who that mysterious Daemon, Kuro was, but he was also powerful."

Ah, that's right. Shizu did face Noir once upon a time, that was what got Noir interested in Shizu and the mask too.

Shizu shook her head. "Either way, your goal should be to never interact with a Primordial." 

Shizu then went on to share each of their known personality traits, some of them were very vague though since some have never been spotted in the Cardinal World before.

If I remember correctly, the Lake Shore Dyed Scarlet Incident should happen in a few years, so not even Blanc is well known yet.

Shizu continued with her lesson, with me paying partial attention and Yuuki eagerly asking questions. I'm sure he is quite interested in the Primordials, they will likely be in the way of his goal after all.

Though he likely already has some information on them thanks to Kazalim being inside of him right now, he is likely just playing up the act of an innocent academic.

Fucking Yuuki.

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Author's Note:

I'm back with another chapter of Graviton after a long while, I forgot just how much potential this story has due to it taking place in the past. So many events can be changed by Altair's influence, canon may or may not be completely different by the time it rolls around.

Altair finally gets some character development as well! He finally realized that his presence alone probably changed things, if he wants to reach the future he wants then he needs to work towards it himself rather than relying on others. I hope his character development came off as natural and not forced, I did have some trouble writing that.

The Kingdom let him off easy so that they could form a good relationship with Altair, he is a powerhouse right now even among otherworlders so the Ingrassia definitely does not want to antagonize him.

Then we get to have another lesson with Shizu.

Anyways, thanks for reading everyone, peace.

Thanks to @Salante, @BonVoyage and @Flowerman for beta'ing this chapter.

Support me if you want to read ahead on pat reon *.com* / theogbasilisk