Chronicle of the Eternal: Volume 1 (5 page)

“I also have rations that
you can eat to boost mana recovery when you run out of mana for your Divine
Arts.”

The students completely
forget about the teacher in the next moment and move to each area to practice
their skills. Lining up along with all the other students facing the east wall
of the gym, Regal takes his gun out from his personal inventory and equips it.
He currently doesn’t have a gun holster that will suit the revolver so he is
forced to store it in his inventory whenever he isn’t using it.

With the weapon in one
hand, Regal upturns the palm of his other hand and focuses on the knowledge in
his brain imparted by the skill and activates ‘Ice Bullet’.

A small circular
alchemical formulae materializes over his hand, not any larger than his palm,
with a dim, icy-blue radiance. A few patterns and equations form within the
ring that is the alchemical formulae. As this is only a Tier 1 Divine Art, the
formulae are relatively simple. Every subsequent tier of Divine Arts along the
same skill branch will have the same base Formulae, only with an additional
layer per tier added to it.

Having four skill
branches, the ‘Ice Heart Alchemy’ has four different base formulae for its
alchemy. The Over-Tier Divine Art of each base formulae is when it is at its
most advanced with eleven layers of patterns, symbols and equations. Despite
the skill being ranked as an ordinary alchemy skill that beginners will learn,
these Over-Tier Divine Arts are all incredibly powerful.

Regal focuses on the link
between his mana and the single layer alchemy formulae over the palm of his
hand. Despite ice crystallizing over the formulae and creating a .38 bullet for
the ‘M3 Simple Revolver’, he can’t gain any comprehension of the Divine Art and
skill at all. To Regal, the formulae isn’t a puzzle to solve, but something
completely incomprehensible.

Being unable to understand
even the first step in the skill is not uncommon, but Regal never had this
problem when comprehending ‘Future Sight’. When he focused on his inherent
skill, Regal could see through the skill and slowly start to learn its
mysteries right from the start.

Creating five more ‘Ice
Bullets’ and loading them into the revolver, Regal’s mana drops to seventy
points left. Despite staring at the alchemical formulae five more times, he is
still left not being able to comprehend the logic behind the phenomena.

Regal is currently unaware
of it, but the difference between comprehending ‘Future Sight’ and ‘Ice Heart
Alchemy’ is simply the difference of talent.

The other three Soulless
students, Astore, Kilde and Veronica, also have some difficulties in
understanding the new skill and their Divine Arts. Despite this, they still
have more progress than Regal. To them, the first step of comprehending the
Divine art is very similar to an itch tugging at the corner of their minds.

Temporarily setting aside
his attempts to understand his Divine Art, Regal fires all six ‘Ice Bullets’ at
the target ahead of him. Rather than the sound of gunpowder exploding, the
bullets are fired off with the noise of ice cracking. Three of six bullets hit
the target, leaving a small frosted section around each bullet penetration
point.

Repeating the process of
creating ‘Ice Bullets’ and firing them at the target, Regal constantly tries to
analyse the alchemy formulae used to create the bullets until he is out of
mana. Despite his efforts, he still lacks the slightest understanding of the
skill.

Regal approaches the
teacher and is given a small blue bar called a ‘Mana Ration’. It is only a low
quality supplement, but it is the perfect supplement for beginners to recover
mana.

Mr. Razor also gives a few
words of advice to Regal before attending to the next student approaching.

“Regal, use the time that
you’re mana is regenerating to study the formulae. The higher your comprehension,
the faster it will level up.”

Regal returns to his
position in the largest group of people and sits on the ground while chewing
the ‘Mana Ration’. After finishing the small bar of food, his mana regeneration
increases from one point every two minutes, to ten points every minute. This
effect will last for ten minutes before his mana regeneration returns to the
normal speed.

With no current insights
into his alchemy skill, Regal turns his gaze to look at the other Soulless
students, who he considers to be friends. Astore Jone is one of the few who
learned ‘Ice Gauntlet’. He is currently sparring with another student as they
clash their gauntlets together to not only train the skill, but also become
more accustomed to wielding the gauntlets.

Kilde Fen chose the
‘Frozen Spear’ Divine Art, a considerably strong attack that has caused half
the wall on the other side of the gym to become covered in frost. He is
currently sitting down while recovering mana but Regal witnesses the
formidability of the Divine Art from the student next to him, who fires an ice
spear at one of the practice dummies.

Veronica Hayfare chose the
fourth Divine Art from the ‘Ice Heart Alchemy’ skill, ‘Chilling Wind’. As the
Divine Art has no attack power and is simply a control skill, she and the seven
other students are currently casting the skill on one another. Even those
sitting down to recover mana are no exception to being targeted.

Regal’s mana completely
recovers after a ten minute rest and he resumes creating ‘Ice Bullets’ and firing
them at the targets. Half the morning is spent in this cycle of using his
Divine Art and then replenishing his mana with ‘Mana Rations’. Despite all his
effort, he still has no comprehension of the skill.

Mid-morning, Mr Razor
stops everyone using their Divine Arts so as to have them start practicing the
second alchemy skill they learned, ‘Vigorous Earth Alchemy’.

He also says a few words
to encourage the less proficient students, “Everyone who had difficulty
comprehending the profoundness of ‘Ice Heart Alchemy’, do not let it get you
down. Some people who aren’t skilled in ice alchemy are skilled in other
elements. There has never been a person who had no skill in all of the alchemy
elements.”

“Next we will practice the
‘Vigorous Earth Alchemy’. It will be a little different this time however.
Those who learned ‘Stone Wall’ will pair up with someone with ‘Rock Cannon’.
‘Quagmire’ and ‘Stone Skin’ students will also form groups of two and move into
the yard for practice. Any students who are left can join an already formed
group or self-study.”

All the students move
about in an incoherent mess. They hurry to find someone with the opposite skill
for them to pair up with. The four Soulless students gather together and are
surprised that all four of them chose separate Divine Arts. This also makes it
incredibly easy for the students who others avoid to form pairs.

“Regal, big sis Veronica
will take care of you today,” Veronica pulls on Regal’s cuff as they head
outside the gym to practice in the yard.

The reason these groups
are practicing outside the gym is due to ‘Quagmire’ requiring natural earth to
be the target. The metallic floor in the gym is too hard and would cause the
skill to fail.

Despite it raining
outside, the students cheerfully run across the wet and muddy ground. The wind
has a slight chill to it that makes a few shiver, but exorcise quickly warms
their bodies.

Veronica has long amber
hair that has a slightly wild appearance as it flows down her back. She wears a
couple of clips in attempt to keep it under control, but it has little effect.
Her eyes are amber like her hair, only more vibrant. While not being as
beautiful as Piora Flameheart or Hazel Marquis, her impeccable face has a charm
of its own. If she was not already labelled as a Soulless, most of the class
would have already approached her to make friends.

Veronica’s academy uniform
is kept in pristine condition, but at the moment the rain is causing it to
stick to her body, revealing the still developing womanly curves. Two mounds
have begun taking shape on her chest that will attract the eyes of many men in
a few years. She is 4 foot 7 inches tall, two inches above Regal and one of the
taller girls in class.

“Veronica, didn’t you also
have ‘Chilling Wind’? Why did you pick two control Divine Arts when one would
have worked?” Regal asks her in puzzlement, thinking her choice of Divine Arts
doesn’t make sense.

“So I can respond to any
situation. I am going to focus my alchemy on control Divine Arts to be prepared
for any situation. Also, I can use both skills on one enemy to have an
increased effect.”

“I understand now. Sorry,
I didn’t see it before.”

“It’s fine. We’re friends
so we will have to form a squad when we get the chance. I will hold back
the enemy while you quickly kill them.”

“I look forward to it.”

As the conversation
between the two finishes, they both prepare to use their Divine Arts. Regal
uses ‘Stone Skin’ first, feeling his skin tighten and become more robust.
Moving the body with ‘Stone Skin’ on is actually more difficult compared to
without. This makes Regal’s actions seem stiff and uncoordinated. His speed has
also dropped by a fraction as well.

Veronica casts ‘Quagmire’
in the area Regal is currently in, causing the earth to become boggy and have a
suctioning effect. Due to the wet weather and ground already saturated, the
effect of the Divine Art is increased. Regal’s feet would normally sink about
an inch into the ground to slow him down, but he has currently sunk all the way
to his ankles.

With the restraint from
both ‘Quagmire’ and ‘Stone Skin’, Regal drags his feet as he walks in circles
around the inner perimeter of Veronica’s Divine Art. She finds his helpless
struggle to be a sign of his weakness and decides that in the future, she
will be there to protect him. Being a Soulless, there is no questioning the
decision or second thought; it is a logical choice that instantly becomes a
part of her.

Regal is unaware of
Veronica’s decision and simply continues trudging through the mud.

Mr. Razor comes out of the
gym several times to check on the progress of the students in the yard and
ensure there is no bullying occurring. He hands out ‘Mana Rations’ to the
students when outside, but otherwise Regal and the others are forced to go back
inside to get the supplement. While their mana is regenerating, the students
sit beneath a covered area, protecting them from the rain.

During the lunch break,
every student plays in the open field while casting their new alchemy upon one
another. Of course, those with offensive alchemy Divine Arts fire then at the
ground or the academy wall, which fortunately doesn’t break, to show off.

Nearly every student is
forced to sit on their knees in the academy hallway as they are saturated and
covered in mud from ‘Quagmires’. A few who ended up being the targets of
‘Chilling Wind’ are shivering with running noses. These students receive a
small and round anti-cold pill to prevent them getting a negative status
effect.

The afternoon followed the
same procedure as yesterday with the students duelling one another. Guns were
permitted as not every student had an offensive Divine Art, but Martial Skills
are banned.

Yesterday’s first match
included Piora, one of the two geniuses recognized by the other students in
class four. Today, Hazel is in the first duel. Her opponent was another girl by
the name of Gertrude, a student who had shown some talent in both ice and earth
element alchemy.

In contrast to Piora’s
fiery red hair and equally explosive temper, Hazel has light blue hair, braided
and hanging down over her shoulder. Her personality is also much more docile
compared to the former. When placed together, they are like the opposite sides
of a coin.

The duel begins and
Gertrude begins by casting ‘Chilling Wind’ and ‘Rock Cannon’ at Hazel. The
control Divine Art is unavoidable and Hazel’s entire movement is slowed down
accordingly. With a sluggish wave of her arm, the formulae for an alchemy skill
that no other student has learned materializes. This is her inherent skill
‘Mountain Pond Alchemy’.

In front of Hazel, the
Tier 2 Divine Art activates and creates a waterfall. The ‘Rock cannon collides
with the heavily flowing water and without enough power to penetrate it, is
swept away by the current. Frustrated, Gertrude draws her training revolver and
shoots at the waterfall. The bullets have much less power than the ‘Rock
Cannon’ and are obviously too weak to penetrate the defence.

Had she focused all six
bullets on a single point, she would have been able to create an accumulative
effect and break through the defence. She is simply too young and inexperienced
to be able to think of such a plan.

A small hole two inches
thick opens in the curtain of water and a ‘Frozen Spear’ flies out and stabs
Gertrude through the chest, causing her to bite her lip in pain as tears form
in the corner of her eyes. Despite the miserable expression, she forces herself
to keep fighting in the duel hoping to hit Hazel at least once or twice.

The waterfall eventually
ends and so does Hazel’s indomitable defence. She also uses her revolver to
fire several rounds at Gertrude, but the other girl effectively dodges, and is
only hit by a single bullet.