Beneath the mid-morn skies, a black-haired young man walked along a wide, red-brick pathway, seemingly deep in thought.
One of his worries, or more like curiosities, was what would happen to his subordinates when there was no mission assigned to the Chaos Platoon.
He was glad to know that they had been assigned a small training hall to themselves in the Imperial Wizard Army’s Aeloria Headquarters.
Until the Magna Prospect they were serving was assigned another mission, they were to train and make themselves stronger and more suitable to be the long-term subordinate of a possible future Magna.
They would also be granted additional training resources that would expedite the process.
It was great knowing he could visit them anytime and even train with them occasionally to deepen their bonds and improve the platoon’s synergy further.
With this matter out of the way, Hal asked his master about the limitations of human reflexes.
It looked like Isolde was pleased that he asked this question, as it gave her information about her student’s current level as a combat wizard.
Perhaps a part of her delight was the mere fact that Hal was already asking this question at such an age.
Isolde herself encountered this bottleneck in her mid-twenties, after all, and she had been a Magna, though only for a few years due to some personal vows.
Still, the disparity in growth rate was massive, and since the Headmistress was far past the age of comparisons and hot-blooded competition, she was simply glad that another small pillar had begun to rise, helping hold up the skies of the Imperium and the human race.
How fast Hal could get through this bottleneck, however, was a different story.
Isolde’s mana affinity was at a high eighty-seven percent, and she wielded the power of the void.
Hal, on the other hand...
’Damn this one percent affinity!’ he cursed inwardly.
As per his master, the usual way a human breaks through this genetic limitation is through the help of mana, nourishing one’s body.
While they would forever be inferior to the Fellkin in this matter, they would at least be able to give themselves a small fighting chance once the human eyes and brain evolved, obtaining what the experts called Aethersight.
This was the natural way for human wizards to break through the reaction time bottleneck.
Most elite wizards already have Basic Aethersight, while the masters’ ranged from Advanced to Superior.
As for the Magnas, the awakening of their crests would automatically grant them Superior Aethersight, at the very least, with the more blessed ones in history—Kalna, for one, claiming that theirs were a tier higher, ultimately being called the Transcendent Aethersight, even though there was no way to measure and confirm it except for their borderline invincibility in combat.
No one dared doubt Magnas, anyway.
They could claim whatever bullcrap they wanted, and everyone would still believe.
It was also a fact that they’ve reached levels that only an extreme few had, and even then, their specializations differed.
As for Hal, his one percent mana affinity would never allow him to develop even Basic Aethersight in this lifetime, so Isolde suggested a workaround that applied to him, though it could only get him so far.
He would have to become a Magna and awaken his crest for him to truly step into the next level without relying on what could be called "crutches."
These crutches are utility-type artifacts that would grant him up to what could be considered the standards of Superior Aethersight, although barely, depending on the quality of the artifact and the skills of the Grandmaster Arcanist who made them.
The problem was, these utility-type artifacts are of the Unique-tier at the lowest and cheapest, with only the Legendary-tier ones made by Grandmasters granting the much-yearned-for Superior Aethersight.
Even then, artifacts of such usage and quality were almost nonexistent.
The reason for this is that they are contradictory.
Successful and mighty combat wizards did not need such artifacts, while the weaker ones wouldn’t be able to gain enough money and influence in their entire lifetimes to purchase Superior Aethersight.
Only the desperate failure of a wizard from the mightiest, richest, and most renowned among the aristocratic wizardry clans would request the creation of such an artifact.
They would do it for the sake of maintaining their dignity and to cover up their incompetence.
Hal was perhaps the only case of a combat wizard with limitless potential to ever need such an item in the long and rich history of the Imperium.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t from a rich and powerful clan.
He probably wouldn’t be able to earn enough gold coins to purchase one for himself soon.
And so, he has decided to craft them himself, but to do that, Hal believed he needed to obtain more arcanist tomes from the system’s questlines.
He would’ve had an idea how to make them by now, otherwise.
While he had a rough idea of the materials needed, the knowledge he currently has seemed insufficient, and even then, there were a lot of high-tier and complex materials he needed to obtain through a variety of methods—each more difficult than the last.
’Aihh...’ he sighed, slightly stressed out.
There was a lot for him to do to step onto the next level as a combat wizard...
Until then, he wouldn’t have the confidence to claim he could contend against the likes of the Fell Hag.
’Nothing will come out of being overwhelmed...I should make a mental list of what I should do and in what order...’ he pondered, thinking long and hard as he walked to the Chaosbringers Coven’s Union Chamber.
He arrived before he knew it, and unfortunately, he would have to temporarily drop the matter regarding Aethersight for now.
It seemed that the union chamber was still as bustling as ever, with a lot of members entering and exiting, despite his lengthy absence.
The worries in his heart eased a bit at the sight.
Making assumptions was far less efficient than seeing things for himself, however, so Hal strode closer with anticipation.