Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst

Seeing her own spell reflected back at her, Liliana reacted quickly, hastily creating a light barrier to intercept the attack. Although she managed to stop it, the clash between the ‘light cuts’ and her barrier produced a bright flash that overloaded her senses, disorienting her for a moment.

By the time Liliana recovered, the first thing she noticed was that she was surrounded by flying cuts and invisible arrows coming from all directions. Without wasting a single second, she quickly conjured a new, much larger spherical barrier composed of multiple layers. While frustration surged back like a tidal wave, making her feel like a turtle in a bottle, only able to defend herself.

Liliana's layered barrier successfully stopped the attacks but was destroyed in the process, revealing her in a state of shock. Meanwhile, Erik was now standing right next to her, pointing his machete at her neck with a calm and composed expression, without a drop of sweat on his body.

“Erik really read her like a book, guiding her step by step from the beginning, inducing a mistake which he then exploited to win. It's a very effective way to win against someone stronger but quite difficult to achieve.

He must have faced countless situations where he was the weaker one. You really can see the difference in experience despite the vast age gap” Sigrún analyzed with a satisfied smile as she looked at her disciple with delight.

“How can a child his age have such combat experience, Master Eldurdóttir?” Desmond asked in a dignified and elegant manner, though he couldn’t hide the surprise and curiosity in his tone.

“Hehehe, well, he just had to survive for years on an island completely alone, surrounded by hundreds of magical animals stronger than him. Believe it or not, you learn a trick or two in that situation,” Sigrún boasted proudly of her disciple's achievements, to which Eleonora added, equally surprised.

“You really didn’t exaggerate his abilities. That exquisite mana control and that refined mystical confluence are truly a beautiful spectacle to witness in someone so young… and for him to truly master communion with the Myst is on another level.”

“Hehehe, he is my first disciple after all. Something like this is the minimum requirement.”

Desmond looked somewhat puzzled at the Masters talking about advanced and master-level techniques, things neither of the two combatants should be able to master. To clear his doubts, Desmond decided to ask his master in his typical serious tone.

“Master, could I ask what you mean?”

“Fufufu, my dear Desmond, to give you an idea of what I’m talking about, young Erik is just an advanced apprentice and didn’t use a single spell or artifact during the fight.”

Desmond's eyes widened in astonishment upon hearing his master. He really couldn’t believe what he was hearing. After all, the speed and strength the boy displayed were not something an advanced apprentice could achieve, let alone a 15-year-old.

From the beginning, Desmond thought the boy was using some kind of magical artifact or perhaps a technique from the Zazen Discipline to achieve the feats he saw, but his master's words suggested something entirely different.

From what he had heard, it seemed that the boy put on such a display using only mana control and harmony with the Myst techniques, things that were supposed to be auxiliary skills used for training, spell preparation, detection, and such, not for what he had done.

“What a monster…”

Desmond’s words came out as a whisper while Eleonora smiled softly and waved her hand, causing the sphere of light covering Liliana and Erik to disappear. The young ones then walked slowly towards their masters, one with a slight smile contrasting sharply with the unpleasant expression on the face of the other.

“How do you feel, Liliana?” When they were close enough, Eleonora asked, looking at Liliana with a small smile.

“Very frustrated…”

“Fufufu, that’s a good thing. What you lacked in that fight wasn’t power, but experience. You will improve with time.”

“Thank you for your guidance, Master,” Liliana thanked her master, bowing slightly and then stepping aside with her head down, hiding her face that struggled to show innumerable emotions.

“Did you understand what you’re lacking, Erik?” Sigrún asked with a smile at Erik, who was petting his wolves that had been barking worriedly since the beginning of the fight.

“Yes, Master, I lack everything, especially the ability to cast spells like she did. I really had to study a lot with my arrows and the mana sphere.” Sigrún quickly corrected him, “It’s Ethereal Projection,” so Erik promptly corrected himself, “Right, the Ethereal Projection. As I was saying, only after studying them a lot did I get an idea of how to deflect them, but it was incredibly more difficult than with animals.”

“Hahahaha, of course it’s more difficult. After all, the structure is much more compact and organized. I must say you were a bit lucky that she underestimated you and used low-level spells. With higher-level ones, you wouldn’t have had a chance to do the same.”

“Yes, I was quite lucky. If it had been a real fight, I could have died.” Erik put a hand on his chin, considering various things before looking back at his master. “I want to start learning as soon as possible, Master. It’s very uncomfortable being a fish on a chopping board.”

“Hahahahaha, don’t rush. First things first, you need to learn the languages very well before moving on to anything else.”

Eleonora and her disciples were a bit speechless watching the conversation between Sigrún and Erik. Despite having won against someone not only stronger but also much more skilled and knowledgeable, it was clear that Sigrún was the most proud of the two for the great achievement, with a bright smile on her face.

On the other hand, the monstrous boy who did something beyond anyone’s expectations was humble and composed, deeply thinking about his mistakes and ways to improve, making the onlookers wonder who the truly mature person was between the two.

“And you also need to learn a lot of mathematics. Sacred geometry is achieved through rigorous calculations, so get ready, Erik,” Eleonora joined the conversation, hoping to see a fun reaction from Erik, but instead, the boy simply nodded and said calmly.

“That’s fine, I’ve always been good at math.”

“Hahahaha, well said, Erik.”

Sigrún smiled happily at Erik's response, then quickly approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder before continuing.

“But I think it’s time for us to go home. It was a pleasure meeting you all, and you’re welcome to visit us anytime. However, we’ll be a bit busy since MY disciple has to learn the languages from scratch, so…”

“Hey! Don’t try to escape like that, Sig. We still need to set our schedules for teaching Erik,” Eleonora cut in, looking at Sigrún with annoyance.

“Tsk.”

Sigrún just clicked her tongue in frustration and looked away, which caused a small smile from Eleonora, as it meant her younger sister had obediently conceded. She then asked casually.

“Fufufu, how about you take Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and I take Tuesdays and Thursdays?”

At Eleonora's suggestion, Sigrún reluctantly nodded, and immediately after, a large number of runes surrounded her, Erik, and the wolves. Shortly after, they all disappeared from the place with a flash.

After the group disappeared, Eleonora smiled wryly at her friend’s attitude. Shaking her head a bit, she turned to her disciples and asked with a smile.

“What do you think of Erik?”

The emotions on the young disciples' faces were very different in response to their master's question. Desmond had a slightly bitter and surprised smile, while Liliana had an annoyed and frustrated expression.

“He’s a monster, the greatest genius I’ve ever seen, without a doubt,” Desmond commented firmly, but Liliana looked at him as if he were crazy and quickly retorted.

“What genius? He’s just a pesky nuisance with annoying spells from the Zazen Discipline.”

“Fufu, is that what you think, Liliana?” Eleonora looked at her disciple with a mischievous smile as she asked.

“What else could it be? He only beat me because I let my guard down, but that will never happen again.” Still annoyed, Liliana commented while crossing her arms.

“Then let me tell you, Erik is only 15 years old and didn’t use a single spell during the fight. In fact, he doesn’t even know the languages, much less the magical systems or spells.”

“Impossible! How can he be only 15 years old? He clearly used ethereal projection, and those cuts and the way he deflected my spell are definitely spells.” Liliana looked angrily at her master, thinking she was trying to fool her, but Desmond quickly reprimanded her for her tone.

“Don’t forget who you’re talking to, Liliana.” Desmond gave Liliana a piercing look, making her jump like a scared rabbit and quickly apologize to Eleonora, bowing deeply.

“I’m sorry, Master. I apologize for my disrespectful behavior, but it’s not fair for you to mock me like this.”

For her part, Eleonora didn’t take Liliana’s outburst too seriously, finding it more amusing than anything else. With a cheerful smile, she began explaining to her younger disciple who she had faced and what an absolute monster he was.

“Fufufufu, I forgive you. I understand what you must be feeling, but I must say you’re mistaken. I’m not trying to mock you. Erik really has no idea how to cast a single spell. In fact, you just heard Sigrún say he still has to learn the languages because he doesn’t know them. So, do you think someone who can’t even study the languages can learn spells?

The feats you saw him perform in the match were nothing more than a masterful demonstration of mana control and harmony with the Myst techniques, to the point where they looked like spells to you. Also, he really is only 15 years old—his bones don’t lie.”

Incredulity was all that could be seen on Liliana’s face, as what her master was saying seemed absurd. Not even Master Eldurdóttir, the greatest genius in human history, would be that absurd, so she quickly commented, feeling a bit annoyed.

“I can’t believe it, Master. That flying cut was able to shatter my light barrier, and it’s impossible for him to deflect my spells with just harmony with the Myst. Even with the best resources and teachers, I’ve never heard of anyone capable of mastering ethereal projection under the age of 30.”