A Letter Arrives

“I can’t shake the feeling you’re implying something, Teacher Mera.”

Faced with the old loli’s outrageous claim, Ewan couldn’t help but twitch his lips. Yet, in the next instant, he was deeply engrossed in Teacher Mera’s concept.

Continuously stacking power, then unleashing it all in a single moment.

If ten times wasn’t enough, then a hundred, or even a thousand times. Just imagining it, Ewan could envision the terrifying might that would erupt when power was stacked sufficiently.

Furthermore, if it truly was as Teacher Mera claimed—not a technique, but a skill…

“Exactly. Since it’s a skill, it’s not limited to just your Thunderclap move.”

Seeing through Ewan’s confusion, Teacher Mera wagged a finger, a triumphant loli’s smile gracing her face. “This is precisely why I said it’s most suitable for you. The very definition of a ‘skill’ means it can be applied to any of your existing moves.

Whether it’s your footwork or your blade techniques, ten layers, a hundred layers, a thousand layers—you can stack them without limit, as long as you’re capable.”

‘Unlimited stacking…’

Ewan’s breathing grew ragged. Even just hearing Teacher Mera’s explanation, he understood what a terrifying power such stacking represented.

But…

‘Is this a skill I can truly achieve in my current state?’

Ewan clenched his fist. The release of power was a fleeting process.

How could one stack it instantly and then unleash it all at once? To him, it seemed utterly inconceivable.

‘Could it only be achieved by slowing time with the Everlasting Clock? Oh, wait…’

Ewan’s eyes suddenly widened as he stared at Teacher Mera. “Then you were cheating just now!”

“Do you think I need the Everlasting Clock to deal with a little weakling like you?”

Teacher Mera rolled her adorable eyes. “I achieved that just now with pure physical prowess and skill.”

‘Pure physical skill…’

“Precisely. This skill can be mastered, and it can be accomplished without the aid of the Everlasting Clock.”

Teacher Mera flicked a finger, and a continuous resonance rippled through the air.

“In fact, this skill is used in some rare martial arts. However, due to its limitations, the immense effort required yields disproportionately small returns, naturally leading ordinary people to dismiss it as a mere trifle.

But you are different. The existence of the Everlasting Clock can magnify the results of this skill exponentially.

Because the key to this skill is speed, and in a sense, the Everlasting Clock makes you even faster!”

‘Faster and faster…’

Ewan swallowed hard.

His mouth felt dry, his heart pounded with excitement.

After Teacher Mera’s explanation, he immediately understood the terrifying extent this skill could reach with the Everlasting Clock’s enhancement.

If, in his normal state, he could only manage a basic double stack…

Ten times time dilation meant twenty stacks.

His current limit of sixty times time dilation… would mean one hundred and twenty stacks.

One hundred and twenty times the power, stacked in an instant! How utterly terrifying would that be!

“Well, do you want to learn?”

Teacher Mera tilted her small head, asking with a sweet smile.

“Yes!”

Ewan clenched his fists, stating solemnly, “Please, you must teach me, Teacher Mera!”

“Heh heh, since my only foolish apprentice pleads so earnestly, I suppose I have no choice. Can you stand?”

“Of course!”

Ewan sprang to his feet, gripping Elizabeth tightly in his hand.

Teacher Mera, meanwhile, had already risen silently, once again twirling that tiny toothpick between her fingers.

“Nothing accelerates progress faster than actual combat.”

Teacher Mera smiled, her eyes openly displaying a mischievous desire for revenge. She beckoned with a finger. “I’m not one to hold grudges, so this time, I’ll let you attack first.”

‘…’ Recalling the previous brutalization, Ewan grimaced, his teeth aching. Yet, he quickly composed himself, holding his breath and focusing his mind.

In his vision, there was only Teacher Mera… and the toothpick in her hand.

“Then… here I come!”

Ewan took a deep breath, his entire body’s power surging like a tidal wave, held back not one iota.

He crouched, then shot forward like a cannonball leaving its barrel, transforming into an afterimage as he lunged fiercely at Teacher Mera.

****

The time that followed was nothing short of hellish for Ewan.

Though it was called a demonstration and lesson, Teacher Mera showed absolutely no mercy. Each time, she pushed Ewan to his limits; each time, Ewan could hear the wails emanating from the deepest parts of his body.

It felt as if she only needed to add the force of a single grain of rice to completely break Ewan.

Yet, she constantly hovered at the brink of his collapse, teasing him without ever fully pushing him over, leaving Ewan feeling utterly tormented.

However, it must be said that the benefits of an excellent teacher truly shone through here.

Despite the intense pain, Ewan could feel himself progressing at an astonishing rate.

It was a level of improvement that surpassed even the dozens of days he’d spent immersed in the Black Book, enduring hundreds of deaths.

Any incorrect movement, faulty application of force, or even a slight deviation in his blade swing would be pointed out severely, and then seared into his memory through physical agony.

In Teacher Mera’s hands, he felt like a raw, uncarved jade, being meticulously sculpted into something priceless, destined to eventually radiate a dazzling brilliance.

****

Several hours later, Ewan was utterly drained.

Even after every last trace of power from the Withering King’s flames within him had been squeezed out, he collapsed completely to the ground. Teacher Mera then dragged him, like a dead dog, into the hot spring pool they had used earlier.

The now-cooled pool water still shimmered with a faint golden hue. Ewan’s body, like a long-starved beast, ravenously absorbed the immense medicinal power from the pool, replenishing the emptiness within him.

“How do you feel?”

By the pool, Teacher Mera, radiating satisfaction from her successful ‘revenge,’ asked, “Do you feel like you’ve evolved?”

“Evolved, no. I feel more like I’m melting.”

Ewan lay back in the pool, looking at his trembling hands, and offered a wry smile.

He finally understood why Teacher Mera had said this skill was extremely useless for other martial artists. To expend so much effort and hardship, only for the results to still be underwhelming, felt like a waste of time better spent learning how to simply swing with brute force.

Moreover…

‘Ultimately, it still comes down to physical strength, doesn’t it?’

Instantly stacking power several times would bring an instantaneous several-fold burden on the body.

Coupled with the inherent burden of time dilation, if one’s physical strength wasn’t sufficient, they might explode on the spot before their attack even reached an opponent.

Therefore…

“It’s not enough!”

Ewan suddenly rose, declaring with a resounding voice, “Again! I want more, much more!”

“That’s enough, kid.”

Teacher Mera didn’t move, merely rolling her eyes. “With your current small physique, one more session and you really won’t be able to get out of bed for half a month.”

“Uh…”

Ewan slumped back into the pool. “Alright then…”

“However…”

Noticing Ewan’s disappointed expression, Teacher Mera suddenly flashed a brilliant smile. “If you’re so fond of masochism, I can certainly satisfy you.”

“Eh?”

Ewan froze, not yet comprehending.

Then he saw Teacher Mera cheerfully snap her fingers.

The scenery around Ewan instantly shifted.

He was in the air.

And beneath him… was the mirror-like calm of the Mercury Well.

“Damn it!”

Ewan roared up at the sky in indignant fury. “You old loli, remember this! If I ever get the chance, I’ll gurgle gurgle…”

Endless mercury churned, gradually submerging the raised middle finger.

****

“Oh my, to satisfy my disciple so thoroughly, I truly am a good teacher.”

Hearing the angry roars from beneath her feet, Teacher Mera stood up, patting her hands with satisfaction.

Then her expression instantly grew serious.

“Skills and moves are minor issues; given that boy’s reckless nature, he’ll likely master them quickly.

The real big problem is…”

Teacher Mera paced back and forth in the sea of flowers, her small hands clasped behind her back. With a slight frown, she muttered continuously, “Transforming death into life, transforming death into life… Is even partial transformation of death into life so difficult?”

Suddenly, her brow perked up as she looked to the side.

Space twisted abruptly, and Professor Planck’s voice emerged from within. “Teacher Meradomir, you have a letter.”

“A letter? From whom?”

“It’s…”

Professor Planck paused. “His Holiness, the Pope of the Church of Life.”