Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 4, Volume 1, page 26
About five meters in, the square hallway suddenly became less uniform. The floor continued on, providing an ivory path for us to walk on, but the walls and ceiling were now made of crude rock. The hole had brought us into a natural cave. The only light source was the ivory path that glowed underfoot, which would guide us to the exit on our way back.
“Who knew a place like this would be behind a chapel shrine...?” I mumbled, looking around a little before continuing on. The ivory path snaked through the wide curves of the cave, and it seemed we were going ever upward. There were several staircases along the way, with another one popping up after a short walk. After a while, I could almost feel how much higher up we were.
I’ve been power walking for so long... I’m going to lose my breath any moment now...
Even with all the enhancers on me, I was only as strong as an average person. And when combined with my short stature, I was getting steadily farther away from the front.
“Go on ahead,” I eventually said to the other candidates. “As you can see, I am shorter than you all, so it is hard for me to match your pace.”
I moved to the side to let an archduke candidate get by me. Wilfried immediately offered to accompany me, but I turned him down.
“You go on ahead, Wilfried. We won’t be able to return together anyway. But when you pass me on the way back, please do tell me how much farther I have to walk.”
“...Alright.”
Wilfried didn’t look very convinced, but he walked on with the other candidates nonetheless, repeatedly turning back to check on me.
I sighed, now walking at my own pace. I was sure I could have kept up with the others for a while longer, but it was getting harder to maintain an air of grace while constantly power walking down this seemingly endless road.
A short while after the archduke candidates had disappeared up ahead, I heard some footsteps coming from behind me. It was the archnobles. Their eyes wavered as they debated whether they should say anything to the lone candidate walking all on her own, so I told them what I had told the others and sent them on their way. Ehrenfest’s archnoble student looked back at me over and over again with a worried expression as he walked on, much like Wilfried had done.
I continued along at my own pace, and next came the mednobles. They gave me bizarre looks, which I simply ignored as I told them to go on without me.
“Lady Rozemyne?” came a voice.
“Oh. Hello, Roderick. You may go on ahead as well.”
I was partway through giving him the explanation I had repeated several times now when a mednoble from another duchy walking at the front of the group suddenly shouted, “Ah! There it is!”
“Hm? What?”
I turned my gaze to where the boy was focused, but I wasn’t at all sure what he had found. To me, he seemed to be staring at the plain rock wall; there was nothing special there that I could see. His eyes, however, were locked on one spot in particular. He stepped off the ivory road toward it, then reached out a hand. I could tell from how assured his movements were that he was definitely seeing something, and when he turned around again, his fingers were curled as though he were holding an invisible tube of some kind.
“Sorry, but could you make way?” the boy asked with a pleased smile. He cut through the group, then sped along the path back to the entrance, his eyes remaining locked on whatever was in his hands.
“Did he find something?” Roderick asked. “Did you see it, Lady Rozemyne?”
“No, it looked like he was holding nothing but air...”
Everyone who had seen the first person to find their Divine Will was immediately overcome with intrigue, and they slowed down to watch the cave walls more carefully. They were now moving at a pace I could comfortably keep up with, at which point Roderick and I started talking about the Divine Will and what kind of feystone it might be.
It wasn’t long before another person cried out—this time a girl. “I found it!” she shouted in a lively voice. Meanwhile, I could see another boy at the front of the group stray from the path and head over to the wall. Everyone who claimed to find their Divine Will knew exactly where to go, so there was no denying that they were actually there.
Roderick started looking around as well, driven by how many others were finding their Divine Will. It was clear from his expression how much he wanted to spot his.
“Ah!” he cried, his gaze suddenly focusing on a point farther ahead on the path.
“Did you find yours?” I asked.
“Yes! It’s shining beautifully!”
I couldn’t see what Roderick was looking at, as expected, but there was evidently something there. He smiled proudly and raced down the path, then reached toward the wall. I could tell he had touched something because his eyes widened in surprise, then he hugged the feystone I couldn’t see to his chest.
“Lady Rozemyne. If you will excuse me.”
“Take care not to drop it or bump into anyone,” I noted.
Roderick started making his way back, while I continued walking in the opposite direction. As everyone else was finding their feystones, some of the archnobles from earlier started walking back past us. They had evidently found theirs somewhere up ahead, and I could guess that my feystone was going to be even deeper in the cave.
I’m going to have to go all the way to the back of this cave, aren’t I...? I’m exhausted already...
I walked on at my own leisurely pace as fewer and fewer people surrounded me. Those who remained were steadily leaving the path to grab their feystones, so it was becoming both easier to walk and easier to see ahead. It was kind of sad seeing everyone leave one after another though.
Determined to continue, I walked, climbed stairs, and walked some more. It wasn’t long before there was nobody else with me, and the only people I saw were those coming back. An odd-looking line had formed, since the students were all trying to keep a fair distance away from each other, so as to avoid accidentally bumping into one another. Given that this was around where the mednobles had found most of their Divine Wills, I could guess that the archnobles were returning from much farther ahead.
Eventually, some archduke candidates started getting mixed in with the returning archnobles. I recognized everyone from my practical lessons, and soon enough, I saw Wilfried coming back among them.
“You’re still all the way back here?” he asked with widened eyes. “The archduke candidate feystones are way deeper inside.” He was cradling something in his hands as well, which encouraged me to pour some more mana into my enhancers. Doing this would make walking considerably easier, but I had to be careful about how much mana I used—if I used too much, my muscles would ache so badly tomorrow that I wouldn’t even be able to move.
I slowly increased my pace, aiming for the farthest point of the cave. Soon enough, there weren’t even any candidates walking back. I truly was alone, the only noise being the light patter of my echoing footsteps. I climbed more stairs, found nothing on the walls, and then climbed yet more stairs. The lack of people and repetitive scenery was boring to say the least.
“Where are youuu, my precious little feystone? I’m so tiiired...”
Of course, there was no response; my words merely echoed through the cave. The ivory path led to yet another staircase, but this one was unique—while the others had contained reasonably few steps, this was a spiral staircase that seemed to go up an entire story.
“Guuuh... Another staircase. Seriously, how far am I gonna have to walk?” I grumbled while starting to climb the white spiral staircase. My surroundings got brighter the higher I climbed, until eventually...
“Wooow.”
I exited into a white plaza. It seemed to be a dead end, since there was no longer a path going forward. The ivory floor was now circular, and in the middle was a large sculpture of a tree that seemed to be made of the same ivory substance as everything else. Its white branches covered in equally white leaves extended outward, stretching up to a large hole in the middle of the ceiling through which light was streaming down.
At the base of the tree was a feystone glowing a rainbow of colors. It was sticking straight up out of the ground and looked a lot like a vertical crystal hexagon. It stretched all the way up to my stomach.
Aah. This is it. This is my stone.
Just as everyone had said, I recognized the feystone in an instant. The sunlight streaming through the tree branches made it turn all sorts of different colors. It was like a dream, and with a sense of reverence in my heart, I started making my way toward the stone. It gleamed as I came closer.
“I’ll be taking this...”
I knelt in front of the Divine Will and reached my hands out. The second I touched its surface, it slid up out of the ground and started floating in front of me, as if asking me to take it. I hugged the Divine Will to my chest as it shone a variety of colors, then let out a pleased sigh.
“Okay. Time to go back.”
I would need to take the Divine Will all the way back to the entrance of the tunnel, and so with it firmly secured in my arms, I tried pouring more mana into my enhancers.
“Wha...?”
Any mana I tried pouring into the enhancers was immediately sucked up by my feystone. I wouldn’t be able to physically enhance myself any more than I was already, so it seemed I would need to get back in my current state. Just thinking about the long road ahead was enough to make me slump my shoulders.
Standing in place wouldn’t do me any good, so I turned my back to the massive ivory tree and started my journey back to the chapel. This time, I would be alone from start to finish.
I fearfully climbed down the spiral staircase, cradling the feystone in both arms all the while. Once again, the only noise was the echo of my footsteps. The way back was certainly easier, since I was going down rather than up, but my lack of stamina was really starting to show.
“Okay, okay. I need a break,” I said to myself. “Even with the enhancers, this is exhausting...”
Somewhere along the way back, I sat down on a set of stairs to rest with the feystone still in my arms. Everything looked so identical that I had no idea how much farther I needed to go. I leaned against the wall and let out a heavy sigh, praying that the exit was nearby, and it was then that the exhaustion hit me like a strong wave. I could feel my eyelids starting to droop, and soon enough, no matter how hard I tried to fight it, my consciousness slipped away.
“DON’T GO TO SLEEP! YOU’LL DIE IF YOU DO!” came a sudden roar. “WAKE UP! STAND! YOUR LIFE HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN!”
“Bwuh?!”
The voice echoed through the cave like thunder, making my ears ring. I shot up at once, only to see Rauffen waiting nearby, his fists tightly clenched with determination as he continued calling out to me.
“Whew! Good to see you’re back on your feet,” he said, stepping back a little to reveal the other professors standing behind him. Hirschur came forward to take his place, then explained the circumstances to me. It seemed that I had taken so very long to return that they had thought it necessary to send out a search party for me.
Hirschur had initially gone alone. She had been certain that I hadn’t gotten lost, given that this was a linear pathway, and she soon found me passed out against the wall. Since I already had my Divine Will, however, she wasn’t able to touch me. She had no choice but to try calling out to me, but I didn’t respond no matter how hard she tried.
In a panic, Hirschur had rushed back to the chapel, then returned with several other professors. Only when Rauffen, the loudest of them all, shouted at me did I finally wake up again.
“I had heard you were in poor health, and for a moment there, I was truly worried you had died,” Hirschur said.
“My apologies...”
“Ferdinand had told me you were not fully healthy again, but you seemed to be doing just fine in the Royal Academy, so I ended up letting my guard down,” she admitted while gesturing for me to follow her out.
And that was how the Saint of Ehrenfest nearly climbed the towering stairway on her journey to acquire her Divine Will. It hadn’t been my intention, but I was now the focus of yet another new legend in Royal Academy history.
My First Earthday
When I eventually made it back to my own room, Rihyarda instructed me to put my Divine Will on the bed. “I don’t really want to do this, since it might impact the feystone, but...” She trailed off with a sigh, then started peeling off my clothes while wearing mana-blocking gloves.
One would normally only bathe after filling their Divine Will with mana, but after falling asleep against exposed rock, I wasn’t nearly clean enough to get in bed. Rihyarda had said that I wouldn’t be able to get into a proper bath, but she was at least able to wipe me down with wet towels. It made me feel a lot better.
“Drink this and rest well, milady.”
After preparing one of Ferdinand’s special, awful-tasting potions for me, Rihyarda stepped back and silently waited for me to drink it. I could still move a little thanks to my enhancers, but my head was spinning and the chills were unbearable. There was no denying that I’d developed an intense fever, but I couldn’t help looking between Rihyarda and the oh-so terrible potion.
I might be sick, but I still don’t want to drink that mercilessly nasty thing...
As I shrunk back in fear, Rihyarda somehow managed to give me a judgmental look while still maintaining her smile. It was quite impressive, all things considered.
“To think you were asleep in the Farthest Hall, in this season... Even a normal child would catch a cold, or if worst came to worst, climb the towering stairway! Is it not a miracle you are even alive right now?!”
“I’m sorry for worrying you...”
Rihyarda had always been the one to panic most over my ill health back in the castle, so it was no surprise that she had started to worry when I hadn’t come back from the cave. She revealed first to Hirschur and then to all the other professors just how many incidents my poor health had caused in the past, which had made the other professors realize that I wasn’t just an unfit student who had gotten tired while getting my Divine Will; rather, I was so sickly that I had collapsed and almost died.
“Drink it all. Now, milady.”
“Okay...”
I picked up the vial and chugged the goopy green liquid that was inside. There was no point in hesitating—trying to drink it slowly would only prolong the suffering.
“Nghhh!”
It had been such a long time since I last drank one of these vile potions that I immediately had to clap a hand over my mouth to avoid throwing up. But as I rolled around on my bed, tears welling up in my eyes, I started feeling better and better. The potion really did work; it was just the drinking it part that made me feel as though my soul were being torn from my body and dragged down into hell.
“Enjoy your rest, milady.”
After confirming that the potion was gone, Rihyarda finished cleaning up my room, then swiftly exited.
“It sure has gotten smaller...” I mused while lying on my bed, looking at the Divine Will. It had shrunk enough that I could now hold it in one hand. I squeezed it tightly, and the more mana I poured into it, the smaller it got. It seemed I was absorbing it into my body as it fused with my mana.
When I had woken up after falling asleep in the Farthest Hall, my Divine Will had shrunk so much that it initially took me by surprise. Hirschur had thankfully explained that this was simply how it worked, and she had noted that I should keep pouring my mana into it until it became one with me.
Absorbing the Divine Will into oneself could only be done by cradling it, almost like a mother hen warming her egg. Completing the process would require hugging it for an entire day and night while pouring mana into it, so it was tradition for schtappe acquisition to take place on a Fruitday. This way, students could dedicate the subsequent Earthday to their Divine Will.
“Either way, I’m just glad I got back safely,” I said with a sigh, thinking back to all the fuss I had caused. Rauffen had managed to wake me up with an especially loud shout, and everything after that had been terrible...
The mana levels in my enhancers had gone back to normal while I slept, and my muscles had already started to ache, so my legs were wobbling from the moment I stood up. I had also caught a cold; my head throbbed, and while I had the chills, my body also felt burning hot at the same time. The professors couldn’t touch me, so they anxiously watched on as I hobbled down the tunnel.
“Professor Hirschur, can I ride my highbeast back to the dorm? Please. Just for today,” I begged.
Sylvester, as Aub Ehrenfest, allowed me to ride my highbeast inside the castle, and since he also owned the Ehrenfest Dormitory, this permission applied there as well. The Royal Academy itself, however, was an institution run by the royal family; I would need permission from those invested with their authority to ride my highbeast inside. It was for that reason that I glanced between the professors, hoping they would allow it.
Primevere furrowed her shapely brow and shook her head. “I can grant you permission, but you will not be capable of creating your highbeast while holding your Divine Will,” she said.
That reminded me—all the mana I had tried pouring into my enhancers had gone straight into the Divine Will instead. Even so, I was sure I could forcibly pour mana into my highbeast feystone; I just needed to hold it in my hand and focus.
“I’ll at least give it a go,” I said, then I gripped my highbeast feystone and started pouring in my mana. Half was sucked into the Divine Will, but I somehow managed to use the rest to make a one-person Pandabus. I uneasily climbed inside, then set the Divine Will down by my feet and put my hands on the steering wheel.
I could guess that the Divine Will was sucking out my mana through Lessy, and the fuzziness in my head was making my mana flow strangely. My trusty Pandabus drove on nonetheless. He was going much slower than usual, but still fast enough that we were making decent progress, which the professors were all relieved to see. They started offering their commentary while walking around me.
