Free Web NovelChapter 7: Astral Rifts
The world William was currently in was called the Vermilion Realm, and the Eastern Empire was among the strongest empires in this realm.
In the original timeline, the war in which he and Leon died was fought against the invading forces from an Astral Rift.
Astral Rifts were dimensional gates that connected two different realms to each other.
From what William knew, some Astral Rifts opened naturally on their own, while others were forcefully created by powerful individuals.
In both cases, William wasn’t certain about the exact mechanism behind them—why random rifts connecting two dimensions appeared, or how people could forcibly open one.
Among all Astral Rifts, about ninety-five percent opened naturally, while only five percent were forcefully created by powerful individuals.
Randomly opened Astral Rifts were different from those created by powerful individuals.
When a random Astral Rift connecting two different realms opened, it wouldn’t allow people from either realm to directly cross over into the other realm.
For example, if a random Astral Rift connecting the Vermilion Realm and the Heavenly Realm opened, people from both realms wouldn’t be able to pass through it and reach the other side.
Instead of allowing direct passage, a random Astral Rift created a small dimension between the two realms.
Through the Astral Rift, people from both realms could enter this small dimension.
Most of the time, this small dimension was filled with natural resources and dangerous monsters.
The level of resources and dangers found within the small dimension depended on its rank.
A Rank One small dimension only allowed Star Warriors to enter, as it could only handle that level of power. People whose strength exceeded that of a Star Warrior were not allowed to enter a Rank One small dimension.
The higher the rank of the small dimension, the more resources it would produce, and the stronger the individuals who could enter it.
Also, when a person killed monsters inside a small dimension created by an Astral Rift, there was a chance that the monster would drop something valuable.
It could be anything—an artifact, a weapon, some kind of medicine... anything.
William had tried to uncover the reason why some monsters inside small dimensions dropped items upon death, but even until his death, he couldn’t find the truth behind it.
He only knew that it was related to the rules governing the small dimension, influenced by the Astral Rift.
Because naturally occurring Astral Rifts provided people with resources, no one attempted to stop them. Instead, people welcomed them and even felt happy whenever a new random Astral Rift appeared.
On the other hand, forcefully opened Astral Rifts were dangerous, as they did not create a small dimension between realms but instead directly connected two realms, allowing people to cross freely.
In the future, the invading force that waged war against the Eastern Empire and other forces of the Vermilion Realm came from a realm known as the Abyss.
The Abyss forcefully opened hundreds of Astral Rifts throughout the Vermilion Realm, conquering and destroying many regions.
Other than the Abyss, there were many other realms as well, such as the Heavenly Realm, Titan Plateau, Carnage Domain, Silken Swarm, and many others.
The Heavenly Realm was dominated by angels, who worshipped the God of Light.
In fact, the Church of Light that Elena had mentioned earlier was connected to the Heavenly Realm.
Unlike the Abyss, the relationship between the Vermilion Realm and the Heavenly Realm was much closer.
As such, the Heavenly Realm was allowed to establish Churches of the God of Light in most populated areas of the Vermilion Realm.
When the Abyss waged war against the Vermilion Realm, the Church of Light fought alongside its people and provided immense support due to their exceptional healing abilities.
’If I remember correctly, there should be an Astral Rift somewhere in that mountain. It’s a Rank One random rift that connects to the Abyss.’ William’s eyes gleamed.
’If I enter this Astral Rift, I will definitely be able to complete the trial of killing monsters. Moreover, since this rift hasn’t been discovered yet, there will be a lot of useful resources inside it.’
William thought about how this rift connected to the Abyss and wondered whether he might encounter someone from the Abyss who had also entered the small dimension to explore it.
’If I meet anyone from the Abyss, I don’t mind collecting some interest in advance for what they did in the future.’
A cold look flashed in William’s eyes as he recalled his own death, along with Leon’s and many of his friends’, at the hands of people from the Abyss.
’But there is no rush. I need to at least complete the first Chapter of the Supreme Star Scripture before I enter that Astral Rift.’
From what William remembered, this Rank One Astral Rift would be discovered next month, just a day before he went through the Aether Affinity Test.
Although he wasn’t planning to wait that long, in order to avoid any unforeseen circumstances, he decided to to complete the first Chapter of the Supreme Star Scripture, which would take at most five days.
Moreover, with his current strength, entering the Astral Rift would be extremely dangerous, as he was still just a normal sixteen-year-old boy.
But once he completed the first Chapter of the Supreme Star Scripture, his strength would increase significantly, and his safety within the small dimension would improve.
’I also need to get a sword for myself.’
The first trait that William had awakened was a very powerful combat-oriented trait.
Leon also possessed a combat-oriented trait, which made both of them quite strong among people of the same level.
In fact, most of the friends William had made in the future possessed either Perfect-grade Aether Affinity or even Transcendent-grade affinity.
Only he, Leon, and a few others had Excellent-grade Aether Affinity.
Even so, he and Leon were not weaker than any of them, as their powerful traits gave them exceptional combat capabilities.
When William awakened his second trait, Wisdom, in the future, he was extremely happy, as it was an auxiliary trait that helped him understand techniques more deeply and even improve them.
With the help of this trait, combined with his combat-oriented trait, William could have definitely become one of the strongest individuals in the Vermilion Realm.
However, only a short time after awakening his second trait, he died in the war.
In fact, because of the limited time he had to use the Wisdom trait, the Supreme Star Scripture he currently possessed was incomplete.
For now, it could only be cultivated up to the Star King level.
Upon reaching that level, he would need to improve it further before he could advance again.
’Now that I think about it, the condition for awakening my second trait, Wisdom, was gaining a deeper understanding of Aether Energy and higher-level techniques. In the original timeline, it awakened after I studied many advanced techniques and gained a deeper understanding of Aether Energy. But this time...’
He went through his memories, and his heart began to pound wildly.
’This time, I already possess a deeper understanding of Aether Energy and higher-level techniques. Does that mean that once I become a Star Warrior and unlock my status window, the Wisdom trait will also awaken in advance, along with my first trait?’
As this thought appeared in his mind, William became even more excited than when he had first realized he had returned to the past.
In the original timeline, he hadn’t been able to unleash the full potential of his Wisdom trait, as he died not long after awakening it.
But this time, he had all the time he needed.
’With this trait, even if I don’t obtain new high-level techniques, I can still create some myself and then integrate them into the Supreme Star Scripture to strengthen it further.’
William shifted his attention to Samuel, who was lying on the ground, breathing heavily.
’He is already this exhausted. I wonder if he will even be able to get out of bed tomorrow morning.’
Thinking about the intense soreness Samuel would feel the next day after pushing his body too hard, even William couldn’t help but shudder slightly.
’Well, I can only hope that he will at least be able to go to the toilet by himself. Otherwise, it will definitely become his most unforgettable memory...’ He thought, a faint, brotherly smile appearing on his face.
Thinking of something, he walked over to the stone Samuel had been using and tried to lift it.
With only slight effort, he successfully lifted the stone weighing around ten kilograms using just one hand.
Moreover, he didn’t feel any strain in his arm.
Previously, when he had brought the stone for Samuel, he had still needed to exert some effort.
But after just a single session of the first Chapter of the Supreme Star Scripture, his body had already become significantly stronger.
’Now this is what I call progress.’
William placed the stone down with a pleased expression and helped Samuel to his feet.
Since he couldn’t practice the Supreme Star Scripture anymore for the day, he brought Samuel back home.
While walking back, he warned Samuel not to tell anyone about the technique he had just taught him.
A body-forging technique was something that even nobles found difficult to get their hands on.
If someone were to learn about it, it would bring them endless trouble.
Although they had only been outside for about one hour, Samuel felt as if he had been exerting himself for an entire day.
Despite having just woken up not long ago, he once again collapsed onto his bed after returning home and quickly fell asleep.
William, on the other hand, wasn’t tired like Samuel. Instead, he felt full of energy.
He would have taught Samuel the Supreme Star Scripture as well if it were possible.
But unfortunately, other than him, no one else could use this technique as it had been created specifically for him after thoroughly studying his own body and understanding his unique energy pathways.
Moreover, Samuel had only Medium-grade Aether Affinity, while using the Supreme Star Scripture required at least Excellent-grade affinity.
’Now that I have some free time, how about I go out and get myself a sword to prepare for the Astral Rift?’
As William thought about a sword, the image of a long blade with a slightly curved appeared in his mind.
’Just wait for a while, partner. I will forge you again once I have enough resources.’
