章 84: Chapter 84: An Overwhelming Power

Chapter 84: An Overwhelming Power

"Oh? What's on your mind?"

Stone seemed quite interested. After all, as a mentor, it was his duty to guide his students.

"It's like this..."

Alex carefully thought about his words as he began to explain.

"In another world, I unintentionally acquired a new ability, but I'm finding it difficult to control... I don't understand why."

"Oh?"

Hearing Alex's words, Stone's curiosity piqued. He looked around before leading Alex behind a large rock.

"A new power?"

"Yes."

"…You're a lucky one, kid."

Stone clicked his tongue in amazement at Alex's response, then squinted as he carefully examined Alex.

"Hmm… but honestly, aside from looking a bit bulkier, you don't seem any different. I don't sense anything unusual… How about this, use the ability and let me take a look."

"Alright."

Alex nodded and looked at Stone. In truth, he really did need someone to help him understand what was going on. The power of time was undoubtedly a mighty force, something Alex had already experienced firsthand. However, there were times when it felt strangely fragile. Like when he faced that bald-headed mage—despite Fina saying the mage was only a three-star, roughly equal to Alex in strength, Alex still couldn't accept how easily his time manipulation had been broken by him.

He needed to figure out how his time ability functioned in this world, but this wasn't something he could discuss with just anyone. Stone was the perfect person to ask.

Moreover, Alex wanted to test whether this ability had any effect on someone of a knight's rank.

With that thought, Alex took a deep breath, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword, and focused on Stone standing before him.

In the next moment, the power of time unfolded.

However, to Alex's shock, as soon as his power enveloped Stone, it felt like he had been a bird soaring through the sky, only to be violently sucked into a tornado. His entire body trembled, and he instantly lost control of his time ability. The frozen time around him resumed its flow, and the backlash surged back into Alex's body, making him feel as if an invisible fist had slammed into his organs.

"Ugh!!"

A mouthful of blood spewed from Alex's lips as he clutched his mouth, feeling searing pain all over his body. For the first time, Alex understood what internal energy backlash, as described in martial arts novels, truly felt like.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just a minor injury..."

Alex wiped the blood from his mouth, casting a healing spell on himself. He hadn't expected this outcome—he couldn't even affect Stone, and his ability was shattered almost as soon as it was activated.

"So, Mentor, any thoughts?"

"Hmm..."

Surprisingly, Stone didn't answer immediately. He furrowed his brow, staring at Alex, deep in thought. After a long silence, he finally spoke.

"…I don't know if I should say you're lucky or unlucky, but… well, I'd say your luck is definitely good."

"…Mentor?"

Stone didn't elaborate further. Instead, he gestured for Alex to sit down beside him on a large stone.

"You should know that on this continent, aside from those transcendent beings, the most powerful individuals are legendary warriors. Now, what do you think makes a legendary warrior so powerful?"

"Well…"

Alex was caught off guard by the question and shook his head.

"I'm not sure."

"It's simple."

Stone smiled as he spoke, pointing to himself.

"If a legendary warrior were standing here, even a hundred of me and a hundred Maltes wouldn't stand a chance against them."

"That can't be..."

Alex was stunned by Stone's statement. He understood that legendary warriors were far more powerful than masters, but this seemed a bit exaggerated. A hundred of Stone and a hundred Maltes wouldn't be enough? Surely sheer numbers would exhaust the opponent?

"Haha."

Seeing Alex's expression, Stone chuckled.

"You'll understand once you see it for yourself. The fact is, at the level of legends and transcendent beings, numbers lose all significance. It wouldn't matter if there were a hundred of me or even a thousand—against a legendary warrior, we'd just be lining up to be slaughtered. Do you know why?"

Alex shook his head. He had only heard about these rankings from Williams' memories, but he had no real concept of how powerful a legendary warrior was. Williams, after all, was a low-level cultist who hadn't even met someone like Stone, let alone a legendary warrior.

"It's simple."

Stone stretched out his hand, gripping the air as if he were grasping the sky itself.

"Because every legendary warrior possesses the power of a domain. In their domain, they are like a general, a king, with absolute control over life and death. Unless you also possess such power, it's impossible to resist their presence. Even I would stand no chance in a battle against a legendary warrior who controls the domain of wind. I'd lose miserably."

Stone turned to Alex and smiled.

"Understand now?"

"…What you're saying is…"

Alex wasn't slow to catch on, realizing that Stone wasn't just telling a story.

"You're saying I have the power of a domain?"

"More or less."

Stone nodded at Alex's question.

"Once, I had the honor of meeting a legendary warrior and receiving his guidance. I experienced the power of a legendary domain firsthand. And just a moment ago, when you tried to use your ability, I felt a similar sensation. Of course…"

Stone gave Alex a playful look.

"…compared to that great warrior, your power is far weaker."

Oh, come on!

Hearing Stone's response, Alex rolled his eyes.

Now he finally understood what Stone was getting at. When he thought about it, his power did resemble the domain Stone described. In previous battles against weaker opponents, Alex had been able to instantly overwhelm them without breaking a sweat. Even if there were a hundred of them, it wouldn't have mattered to him.

This aligned perfectly with what Stone was saying.

The problem was… the gap in their levels of power was astronomical.

Alex also understood why Stone had said he was both lucky and unlucky. He was lucky because he had access to a power only legendary warriors could wield—domain power. But he was unlucky because the reason only legendary warriors had this power was that only they were strong enough to truly control it!

It was a harsh reality.

If Alex's time ability was like a massive, sharp sword, then he was just a child. He might be able to swing it around a bit and strike some poses, but if he faced an adult, no matter how sharp or big his sword was, his lack of strength would eventually lead to defeat.

And the only way to fix this flaw was… to become as strong as his enemies!

But until then, his power was probably only useful for bullying weaker opponents.

Realizing this, Alex was left speechless.

This was a trap!

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