Chapter 164 – The Eve (2)

Innate Ability.

Also known as a finishing move!

From what I’ve heard, it’s an ability that allows one to realize their deepest desire.

Like Hermilla’s ability to foresee the future.
Or Heinzel’s power to manipulate gravity.
Or Yuria’s control over nature.

Some unique innate abilities exist… like Delia’s control over electricity?

A rare case where all mana and magic convert into electricity.

Besides that, there’s also Luchi’s blade that can cut anything he sees, or Alex’s power to control steel.

I don’t know exactly what they wished for to manifest such abilities, but regardless, after undergoing the trials and refining their souls, everyone seems to awaken their own unique power.

But me…

“…You don’t know?”

“Yeah… Ehe.”

I don’t know.

Rather than not knowing, maybe it’s better to say I don’t have one.

Just like I explained to Rubia before, I only feel lighter, like I’ve become closer to something.

But as for an actual innate ability… I feel nothing.

It’s not like a game where I can open a skill window and check…

Actually, in the first place, games assign unique abilities based on the weapon type, so there was never a need to check.

A chilling silence.

Serr’s voice cut through it.

“Lady Hermilla, you underwent a trial as well, didn’t you?”

“That’s right.”

“Then, when your trial ended, how did you realize your innate ability?”

Hermilla tilted her head for a moment, then slowly recalled,

“Hmm… I just… felt it. That I could see the future if I willed it. Of course, it must have been the same for everyone else. They all instinctively manifested their abilities.”

“That’s quite vague… Lady Noah, you don’t feel anything like that?”

“…Nope.”

Feel it? An innate ability?

All I feel is… weird things.

“Wait, then… what about that incredible slash Noah showed before?”

Incredible slash…?

[You mean when she cut that thing after finishing the trial?]

Ah, the summoning circle…

“Th-That wasn’t an innate ability…”

Hermilla’s expression twisted.

Serr’s too…

“Then what was it…?”

Rather than an innate ability… hmm…

“I just… snipped it away…”

“Aha-ha…”

“This is not the time for jokes, Noah.”

Hermilla chuckled awkwardly, while Serr smirked as she sipped her coffee.

“I-I’m not joking… I’m serious…”

Wow, this is seriously frustrating.

How do I even explain this?

Focus my senses, find the core of whatever makes up its existence, dig deeper to its essence, then…

‘Kartia! Help me out!’

[With what?]

‘You know what I mean!!’

[They’ve never used a sword before, how are they supposed to understand? Actually, even if they had, no normal person would get it. You’re just that ridiculously special.]

‘Oh, hehe… So, I’m special?’

[…Yeah. There’s no other idiot like you.]

‘…Kartia, you smell like ginseng.’

[You little…]

“Hmm, I think Noah is telling the truth. She really cut it.”

While Kartia and I bickered in my head, Rubia nodded, backing me up.

As expected, Rubia is the only one who understands me!

“Back when we went to the eastern ruins, Hablon, I believe, Noah cut through a fortress wall.”

“Ah… I heard about that from Heinzel.”

“So that wasn’t an exaggerated rumor? It actually happened?”

“Yes. At that time, Noah had no mana and wasn’t wielding any special weapon like now. She used a cheap… well, a plain greatsword and sliced through it. I think this case is similar. Right, Noah?”

[You did that too?]

Even Kartia sounded surprised as she asked.

“Y-Yeah…! It felt just the same!”

The only difference was that… it was easier now?

Back then, every time I did it, my head would feel like it was going to split, and I’d be exhausted.

But now, it barely feels like anything.

I… I’m amazing.

“Are you sure you didn’t just crush it with brute force?”

“No. I thought the same at first, but that wasn’t the case. The cut was clean. She really just sliced through it.”

“Hah, I see… Hmm…”

Serr’s gaze, brimming with curiosity, locked onto me.

“If you weren’t my friend, I’d have loved to take your brain apart and examine it. What a shame.”

“Huuh?!”

“See, Noah? I warned you before. Magicians would dissect you if given the chance.”

“So that was… r-real?!”

“It wouldn’t be lethal, of course. And we’d get consent first. Plus, any incisions would be healed perfectly afterward.”

Serr spoke with the utmost confidence, as if such a thing were completely reasonable.

Feeling the madness in her words, I clung tightly to Rubia’s arms, wrapping myself around her.

“N-No way… No… Don’t do it…”

“Anyway, in combat, Noah cuts through magic, right? It’s probably related to her ability to sense auras.”

“Oh… Y-Yeah.”

“I always assumed cutting through magic had to do with the refinement of one’s soul, but… you did it using aura sensing?”

“Y-Yeah, I think so…?”

Serr paused for a moment, then turned to Hermilla.

“Hermilla, you can sense auras too, right?”

“Not as well as Noah, but yes.”

“Could you do something like that?”

“Hmm… I’ve never tried, but I doubt it. Aura sensing isn’t something that can be used freely like that. It’s usually only employed in dire situations, when vision is obstructed, when an enemy’s attack is unseen… Using it recklessly could cause one’s brain to explode.”

Hermilla let out a bitter chuckle, setting down her coffee cup while channeling mana into her fingertips.

Then, on the table Serr had conjured, Swish, Swipe. She began to draw.

“To put it simply, the moment you activate aura sensing, all the information in your surroundings floods into your mind. From the dirt rolling on the ground to trash, living things, non-living things, even the mana dissolved in the air.”

Around a small figure she had drawn, Hermilla added various shapes to represent trash, creatures, inanimate objects, and mana, as she described.

“And with that comes excruciating pain. But as one gets used to aura sensing, they learn to filter out unnecessary information. Like picking out bell peppers from fried rice, like this.”

Swipe, Swipe.

She methodically erased the extra elements surrounding the figure.

“Eventually, you only perceive what is truly necessary. Normally, only those who have reached this stage… excluding Masters, there are only five, no, four people in the world.”

A beautiful person clenching their fist.

A bald man wielding a halberd.

A tall figure holding a bow.

A tiny… speck? Wielding a greatsword.

And lastly, a one-eyed swordsman.

“Reaching even this level earns one immense recognition. You can predict an opponent’s movements and the flow of mana, allowing you to anticipate their next attack. But Lady Noah…”

“She goes beyond prediction; she determines the outcome?”

“From what I’ve observed in her battles so far, yes.”

Both Hermilla and Serr turned to look at me.

“Uh…”

“Noah doesn’t seem to understand, so allow this kind and generous Serr to explain in simple terms.”

With a clink, Serr smirked and extended her fist toward Hermilla.

“Hermilla. Let’s play rock-paper-scissors.”

“Huh? What are you, ah.”

“Oh… I see. That’s a good way to test it.”

“Hu-hu, I am a genius.”

At first tilting her head in confusion, Hermilla soon realized something and reached out her hand.

Even Rubia, holding me from behind, nodded in approval at the idea.

…I still don’t get it.

“Noah, we’re going to play rock-paper-scissors. Try to guess who will win.”

“Ah, okay.”

“Rock, paper, scissors,”

“Serr…!”

The moment I called out her name, Hermilla revealed her fist. Serr unfolded her hand into paper.

“…Oh.”

[Whoa, holy, Hey, let’s hit the casino.]

Rubia clapped in fascination.

Kartia, as usual, was spouting nonsense.

And Hermilla stared at me, mouth agape in pure astonishment.

“How… how did you know?”

Serr, as if she expected this, smirked knowingly.

“Uhh… I-I dunno…?”

Wait… how did I know?

“You don’t know? Then let’s try again. Hermilla, use every possible trick, micro-muscle movements, aura sensing, even foresight. Do your best.”

With a serious nod, Hermilla once again extended her hand.

Serr matched her intensity, adopting a determined look.

…Is it really necessary to take rock-paper-scissors this seriously?

Well, everyone else is focused, so I should at least try to concentrate too, right…?

I took a slow breath and visualized both of them in my head.

The shape of their hands.
The muscles beneath them.
The veins, the blood flow.
The flow of mana.

“Rock, paper, scissors…”

And then,

“Hermilla!”

The moment I spoke, the result appeared.

Hermilla’s hand stretched into paper.
Serr’s hand clenched into a fist.

Hermilla’s jaw dropped, her face twisting in disbelief.

“…How…?”

“Hermilla. What future did you see just now?”

“In that future… we tied.”

“And yet, Lady Noah predicted a different result.”

“…J-Just a coincidence?”

Hermilla’s sharp gaze locked onto me.

And then, Serr turned her eyes upward. At Rubia.

“Hermilla’s foresight had narrowed the future down to a single outcome. But just now, that outcome changed.”

She spoke slowly, deliberately.

“The power to alter a predetermined future… I believe Lady Noah’s innate ability is related to this.”