"The voice came from the winding creek.
It spilled down here through a hole in a rock.
That very hole had been eroded by this twisted, sloping watercourse.
The mentor and I followed this dark path.
And returned into the world of light,
Without a moment’s rest, nor caring, we climbed up together.
Until through a round hole,
I saw the beauty and brilliance revealed in the heavens,
And so we walked out of here, to see the stars in the sky again."
"Why am I... looking for this trouble for no reason?!"
Lying on his bed, Ronald gasped as he recited the closing lines of the ’Hell Chapter’ from the ’Divine Comedy.’
And with the end of these ’incantations,’ familiar magic power began to fill his body, and Ronald once again felt the strong and vigorous physical quality after the enhancement.
It wasn’t that he had been through any special battles, nor were there any exceptional circumstances.
The reason he had to reapply this ability was simply because Ronald had earlier canceled the effect of the spell.
— The reason was simple.
The experiences within the original trial had made Ronald feel that he might still encounter some tricky situations, where he could find himself unable to use magic spells.
To prepare in advance, he devised a daily fitness plan.
Although his goal wasn’t absurdly ambitious, like aiming to be an athletic champion, he still wanted to ensure he had enough stamina to successfully complete a long run.
After finishing today’s exercise, Ronald only felt like he had been crippled with fatigue.
His body had not been exercised in a long time. After that workout, he didn’t even want to move around normally in his room, let alone go downstairs to eat.
"I’m never exercising again!"
He lay paralyzed in bed and proclaimed this resolution. After resting for a bit and regaining his strength from the enhancement, Ronald finally got up to go to the bathroom for a shower.
By the time everything was over, it was noon.
After enjoying lunch alone, Ronald packed up and left the boarding house.
His destination today was still the ’Literary Society.’
After the original trial had ended, presumably because of Ronald’s status as an original holder, Obernheim strictly honored his promise.
Just a few days had passed when Ronald received a letter from ’Wis University.’
The content was roughly an invitation for Ronald to go to ’Wis University’ and then engage in book repair work in the library, within a week of receiving the invitation.
At the end of the letter, Obernheim also seriously requested that Ronald dress properly and ensure not to lose his decorum ’during work.’
In this very formal manner,
Obernheim subtly informed Ronald.
And this concerned the ’Prophetic Spell,’ namely the whereabouts of the ’girl’ Lumiel.
Needless to say, Ronald took it very seriously.
Having washed up, he switched into brand-new clothes and even uncommonly hailed a rental carriage at the roadside.
Just like that, Ronald set off for ’Wis University’ in the carriage.
Since springtime began, the temperature in Springs had been steadily rising.
Even while sitting in the carriage, Ronald could feel the rhythm of the city changing.
Although they had entered the ’Steam Era’ and even glimpsed the dawn of the electric age,
Many people’s lifestyles here still carried shadows of the past.
As far as Ronald’s experiences went, the most obvious was seeing a special profession on the streets.
These people worked every spring.
Their specific job was to concoct a mixture of honey and herbs, which they would then sell for people to use in their baths. It was said that using this concoction could expel the cold that lingered in the body from winter.
Besides this, there were also changes in clothing and diet.
All signs were telling Ronald that this was a human Civilization with its own culture and history.
Feeling this spring spirit, Ronald looked down at his wrist and murmured softly,
"Spring has arrived..."
He certainly hadn’t forgotten.
In his hands, he still held an original slab called the "Rain Mist Divine Hammer."
This relic he had obtained at the beginning of his travels held the powerful ability to control lightning.
Regrettably, due to weather conditions, Ronald had not had the opportunity to use it.
The occasional snowfall of winter would turn into spring rain.
With this in mind, Ronald would truly have the chance to use this tome, which theoretically possessed the most direct offensive power within his current grasp.
Lightning strikes didn’t care about the great sins of Hell, nor did they risk exposing one’s spells to onlookers.
Once Ronald had identified the enemy and locked on the target,
What would follow was the purest descent of lightning.
Although many films and entertainment works feature lightning spells or superpowers, allowing for back-and-forth battles,
In reality, lightning strikes were no joke.
Being directly hit by lightning, aside from the negligible probability of a chosen one being transported to another world, meant death for anyone else.
Ronald remembered reading an utterly ridiculous report once.
It stated that only about ten percent of people struck by lightning died each year.
—That was pure misinformation.
The reason the death rate was so low was that most lightning strikes were indirect.
Lightning might hit an object nearby or strike the ground and bounce to someone at a distance.
This allowed those who were struck by lightning a certain chance of survival.
Directly withstanding lightning with one’s body?
That would likely be reserved for the nonsensical cultivators found in novels.
Even in Ronald’s case,
Even though the "Angel" had extremely strong defensive power in the "Divine Comedy," he had no intention of using it to resist lightning.
The books in the "Book Research Society" were not read in vain.
They contained clear records and suggestions for future fighters to avoid aerial combat during thunderstorms because not even the original scripture holders had survived being struck by lightning so far.
While imagining how the "Rain Mist Divine Hammer" might perform in battle,
Ronald’s carriage had arrived at Wis University.
Thus, the driver stopped the carriage,
And carefully asked Ronald,
"Sir, the carriage can’t go inside."
"Shall I drop you off here...?"
Ronald got out of the carriage, paid the fare to the driver, and nodded as a matter of courtesy,
"Thank you for the trouble."
Then he straightened his collar and ensured his appearance was impeccable.
Only after did Ronald step into Wis University.
Today, he was to face something that required the utmost rigour.
He couldn’t afford to be unprepared.