{Chapter 33} My disciple is a natural talent!

When Kaelis regained consciousness again, she had already returned to her shabby little mansion.

Upon waking, a peculiar nausea and queasiness gradually rose within her... but unlike the previous agonizing pain caused by death and revival, this time it felt more like mental exhaustion, her vision spinning, her empty stomach psychologically forcing continuous dry heaves.

Her small body rebelled fiercely. It took a long time before Kaelis managed to calm herself down with a large bottle of water...

Then...

She lifted her head.

“Ugh... I feel terrible now...”

The miserable Kaelis hugged her head, crouching in the corner, until the sky began to brighten. Only then did she finally recover from this extreme discomfort.

Although her face still looks pitiful, at least she could move her body now.

Even so, the fatigue in her body couldn't be concealed.

“So stinky, and so sticky...”

Kaelis felt as if she had overslept in the middle of summer, her entire body exuded discomfort.

She desperately wanted to take a bath...

While pondering this, she suddenly felt something was missing. Looking down, she noticed mud stains on her clothes?

“Huh?”

This outfit... hadn't reverted to its original state?

Every time before, after each simulation and death reset, everything on her body returned exactly as it was, without the slightest change. But this time...

Stunned for a moment, Kaelis almost immediately tore open her clothes, looking toward her prominent bosom.

The mark was still there...

That meant...

“I can actually bring things from the simulation into reality?”

Then why hadn't this worked before?

Kaelis froze, then quickly began analyzing the reasons.

Looking at the save point displayed on her system, she crouched on the ground, narrowing her eyes.

Her memory stopped at the moment she summoned the Double horned wyvern and flattened the Inquisitor into two dimensions. As for what happened afterwards, she had no idea.

“So, I exceeded my limits, fell unconscious, and the system automatically saved upon reaching the checkpoint... Does that mean I hadn't actually reached the checkpoint before, which is why I kept repeating since the beginning?”

She blinked. Suddenly, many thoughts flooded her mind, but the most important was the incident of exceeding her spiritual capacity and falling unconscious.

But Kaelis wasn't thinking about how she shouldn't risk it again, how she mustn't exceed her limits going forward... Instead, she was surprised that she could exceed them at all.

"That means spiritual energy isn't some fixed objective limit. In theory, can I push beyond it? If so, I could catch enemies off guard."

She blinked, her face suddenly showing a hint of excitement.

After testing her current ability ceiling, confirming that the power she'd gained during the simulation had also been brought into reality, Kaelis felt a surge of relief.

Her head didn't hurt anymore!

Hmm...

Well, okay, it still hurts a little.

With a casual motion, she used Inkdrop Technique to summon several hounds and hunting falcons, along with a few giant wolves, preparing herself a hot bath. Then, Kaelis continued studying her abilities.

Seriously calculating, in the three weeks of simulation, plus the prior week in reality, it had been a full month since Kaelis obtained this ability to bring drawings to life.

During this month, Kaelis increasingly realized her ability was far from simple.

Mainly because its versatility was surprisingly high.

It wasn't limited to ordinary small animals, she could theoretically summon creatures that didn't even exist in this world.

And the summoning methods were diverse...

Basic methods involved using meditation to condense ink in her hands, utilizing real pigments, or relying on pre-drawn simple sketches and detailed artworks.

These various summoning methods make Kaelis's combat style increasingly versatile.

Currently, the only drawback was the short duration... although Kaelis now confirmed that as her ability improved, the duration would also increase.

Regarding this ability... there was still much she could explore...

“It's just a pity... my drawing tools didn't come with me.”

Looking at the golden pocket watch she always carried, Kaelis sighed slightly.

After tutoring from Seren, Kaelis realized that this pocket watch given by Elena was no ordinary item, it was a high-level artifact, functioning like the spatial storage devices often seen in novels, capable of storing items.

Previously, Kaelis had only used it to store some trivial items and her set of drawing tools. But unfortunately, she never expected she could actually bring simulation items into reality... which meant her entire set of clear high-grade drawing tools hadn't returned with her.

But...

“Well, no need to rush. The next simulation is only a week away anyway...”

Blinking, Kaelis looked at the summoned creatures who had prepared her hot water, then silently began undressing...

...

A girl taking a bath~

...

“Tap tap, !”

Outside the city, in the wild fields.

The speed of wooden sword clashes grew faster and faster. After a long while, the old man suddenly furrowed his brow.

With a sudden burst of force, he pushed the girl back, stopped his attack, and plunged his wooden sword into the ground.

“I can keep going.”

Although drenched in sweat, Kaelis still excitedly replied.

But at this moment, Old Struth was hesitant.

After repeatedly examining Kaelis, he finally spoke in surprise and doubt.

“Your ability... has improved again?”

Although Kaelis had previously shown exceptional learning ability, this improvement clearly exceeded Old Struth's expectations.

Both in combat will and technique, Kaelis had improved by more than just one level!

He had thought her rapid progress was merely due to beginner's advantage, but now it seemed... things weren't as he imagined...

“Uh... sort of. I'm at stage three now.”

Facing Old Struth, Kaelis didn't hide much... After all, through their interactions, she realized Old Struth was actually a good person, just bad at expressing himself...

It was a pity she hadn't known simulations could truly alter reality before, so she hadn't fully tried to find him during past simulations, thus failing to help him retain... Huh? He has his left hand back?

Kaelis widened her eyes, staring in surprise at the old man's left hand, while Old Struth himself stared wide-eyed back at Kaelis.

The old man and the young girl almost simultaneously let out a sound.

“Huh?!”

Under the scorching sun, the air seemed to freeze...

...

“So... you're... stage three?”

Leaning against the shade of a tree, temporarily halting training, Old Struth twitched his face as he looked at Kaelis.

This was the fifth time he'd asked this question. Even Kaelis was starting to feel helpless.

“It really is... Although I haven't formed a ring yet, but... do you want to see me use my ability?”

“...No... no need.”

Hearing Kaelis's answer, the old man lowered his head and fell silent.

But after a while, he still looked up, disbelief in his eyes.

“You really...”

“...?”

Kaelis said nothing, only helplessly waved her hand.

And from her side, a ferocious giant wolf slowly emerged from the void, then quickly disappeared.

Although only for an instant, that powerful aura left the old man speechless.

“Is that proof enough?”

The old man didn't speak, only stared in amazement at the phantom beast. After it disappeared, he let out a long breath, and for the first time, bitterly laughed.

“I really... don't know what to say.”

If Kaelis's previous rapid progress could be understood as a prodigy quickly passing the beginner stage,

But now, Kaelis's performance completely left him speechless.

One week...

Only a short week!

For children with poor talent, at that time they might not even have learned the meditation method!

Yet he had personally watched Kaelis, in such a short time, transformed from an ordinary girl who knew nothing into a third-stage Ascender, a stage reached even he hadn't...

What was his lifelong cultivation worth then?

Was it just about enduring hardships?

Although he long knew the world wasn't fair, that ordinary people were merely green leaving the brilliance of geniuses,

But seeing such a genius appear right beside him, Old Struth couldn't help feeling a twinge of jealousy.

But he wasn't some hot-blooded youth anymore. After a brief moment of envy, he calmed himself and shook his head.

“Have you... shown your ability to others before?”

“...Others?” Kaelis blinked, thought seriously for a moment, then slightly shook her head.

“No.”

Although her abilities had been exposed before the patrol teams, because the contact time was short, they probably didn't know her well enough, so it didn't really count as exposure.

“Good... Although I don't know much about this world, I can tell you this, even among those called geniuses in the current kingdom, no progress at your speed...”

Old Struth slightly shook his head, looking seriously at Kaelis.

“Your level has far surpassed what even normal geniuses should achieve... I should congratulate you, but I also hope you understand, outstanding talent doesn't always bring only good things.”

As an almost sixty-year-old man, Old Struth considered himself someone who'd seen many people, experienced many things. Kaelis' speed was borderline terrifying... anyone with half a brain could sense that her improvement was unnatural... but he truly couldn't figure out the reason.

So he could only warn Kaelis: having ability was good, but don't make it public.

And Kaelis nodded seriously.

Caution was practically engraved in her genes as an instinct.

By now, the old man had finished speaking. Next, it was Kaelis's turn to ask.

“So... your hand...”

She'd only been away briefly; Kaelis wasn't so forgetful as to lose track of a person's appearance. She clearly remembered the old man... was missing a hand.

So now...

“My hand? What about it?”

The old man didn't seem to recall ever losing a hand. Looking at Kaelis, he thought she had noticed something unnatural about his left hand, so he slightly shook his head.

“Just a minor chronic ailment, which is why I didn't use it to fight you. But it's actually healed... If it wasn't for her back then, I might have lost my hand entirely...”

“Her?”

Kaelis blinked, looking curious.

The old man gave her a meaningful look, then slowly responded.

“That was over ten years ago... when I was still in the 324th Squadron....”

“Huh?!”