This Novel is not my Novel

After returning to my room and reading the academic journal, I understood why Professor Radvisin had told me not to try it alone.

Just what on earth had happened to that old man, who had supposedly been in his eighties at the time?

Apparently, he had forcibly squeezed out his power in a state of complete Ether depletion, and in doing so, became capable of using a second Ether.

"This is a great way to get yourself killed if you try it alone."

According to the case study, the old man barely survived thanks to awakening his second Ether. Even then, he was reportedly bedridden for some time due to the aftereffects.

In other words, if he had failed to awaken his second Ether, he would have died.

That's why, in case I failed to manifest the Sky Blue Ether, there absolutely needed to be someone beside me to administer emergency treatment immediately. And even if I succeeded, I would still need treatment to prevent lingering aftereffects.

A cold sweat ran down my spine.

I had only thought the professor postponed the experiment until tomorrow to give me time to read the academic journal. Perhaps the real reason he couldn't proceed immediately was because he needed time to prepare for a possible accident.

"Let's not get too anxious. There's no way a professor would let a student die, right?" freeweɓnovel.cøm

I muttered to myself while fidgeting with the corner of the old academic journal.

Professor Radvisin must have lent me this journal because he was confident he could save my life even if the worst happened. Otherwise, he would have hidden this information from me, since it would have been obvious I'd end up clinging to him for help.

Besides, even if I consumed Ether beyond my limits, as long as proper measures were taken within the Golden Time, it was part of this world's setting that people rarely suffered lifelong aftereffects or died.

Even in the original novel, the protagonist collapsed from Ether Exhaustion two or three times, but always recovered completely.

'Although, if someone faints and there's no one around, they're bound to die...'

In my case, Professor Radvisin would be watching over me, so there should be no problem.

I calmed my worries and turned the page.

My brow furrowed immediately at the contents that greeted me.

"It seems that to properly utilize this latent Ether, I must intentionally reach a state of Ether Exhaustion repeatedly."

The old man in the case study had personally used his second Ether and clearly witnessed that its aura was a different color from his original Ether.

However, after his original Ether recovered, he was reportedly unable to draw out that power again.

So he began training that doubled as an experiment alongside the scholar who wrote the article, so that he could use his second Ether at will.

That process was also detailed in the academic journal.

It wasn't some amazing or revolutionary method.

It was simply about handling the second Ether in a state of exhaustion and growing accustomed to the power.

An incredibly simple and brutally straightforward method.

But it was certainly effective.

At first, he could only use his latent power after completely exhausting his original Ether. But as he repeated the process, he became able to use his second Ether even when a small amount of his original Ether remained.

The ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) research, which had seemed to be progressing smoothly by gradually increasing the amount of remaining Ether, was suddenly halted.

There was no problem with the training method itself.

The problem was that the research subject was very old.

His aged body could not withstand repeated Ether depletion.

No matter how quickly he received treatment, an old man's body recovered poorly, and it was ultimately overloaded.

They had reached a stage where he no longer needed to repeatedly exhaust his Ether. But the old man struggled even with consuming large amounts of Ether, so they concluded they had no choice but to stop the research.

"Still, thankfully, the body I've possessed is in its late teens and has excellent recovery, so it should be more than capable of enduring it."

I closed the academic journal and let out a dry laugh.

This was because the method described here was one I had thought of myself.

It's a very common cliché for dormant powers to awaken after all of one's energy has been depleted.

The only problem was that I had no one I could trust with the emergency treatment.

The Austri Family had a personal physician in residence, but if I said I wanted to try this method without any grounds, he would obviously try to talk me out of it.

Then he would report it to Hárðr, saying the Young Master seemed to have come up with a new suicide method.

"I never even considered bringing it up, but a precedent like this actually existed?"

It was truly absurd.

The fact that a family as great as a Ducal Family would treat their own child as defective instead of trying to discover his latent ability.

"Could it be that my possessed body's father knew about the second Ether but pretended not to? Familiar, what do you think?"

I tapped the Familiar Egg on my desk with my index finger while talking to myself.

"There must have been at least one scholar who remembered the contents of this academic journal and visited the Ducal Family. They could have received an enormous reward as benefactors. Was Hárðr so obsessed with the family's unique Ether Attribute that he refused because he couldn't tolerate a direct descendant using a different color of Ether?"

It was only speculation.

But even if that were the truth, I had no intention of giving up on the second Ether ability.

The Buff Attribute was only a supportive ability, after all.

I needed another ability to overcome various crises on my own.

The next day.

When I visited the research lab again to return the academic journal, Professor Radvisin took it and said the following:

"Today, we will only confirm whether Mr. Karvaldr truly possesses Sky Blue Ether. We will determine its attributes once you reach the stage where you can use that Ether without reaching exhaustion. I don't need to explain why, do I?"

"No. It's because I could damage my body if I overdo it."

"Correct. The attitude of not merely answering 'yes' but adding your own thoughts is excellent. That's how a student should be. That way, if you make an incorrect inference, I, as the professor, can correct you."

When writing a novel, protagonists often arrive at conclusions through narration.

But if a situation can be handled through dialogue, it's best to do so.

Dialogue is easier to read than narration and more memorable.

So I simply said it out loud, and Professor Radvisin clapped and praised me.

"You already possess the qualities of a scholar!"

"I couldn't agree more!"

As though they had been waiting for Professor Radvisin's cue, Senior Blida and Senior Elska chimed in with exaggerated enthusiasm.

I felt this yesterday too, but those two really seemed to have no talent for acting.

Whether their advisor professor realized this as well, he slapped his forehead with a loud smack, his expression filled with despair.

"...Anyway, today is only about drawing out the Ether. If we use a Crystal Sphere that absorbs Ether, we could conduct the experiment right here in this research lab, right now."

"The way you said that makes it sound like you've thought of a better method."

"Very perceptive! Just as expected from the student I've got my eye on as a future research student."

It was best not to respond to remarks like that.

I stayed silent and merely offered an awkward smile.

Professor Radvisin tactfully returned to the original topic.

"Do you have any other plans today besides meeting with me?"

"No, I don't."

"In that case, rather than wasting your Ether meaninglessly, how about properly exhausting it through some Attribute Enhancement Training?"

In short, he was offering me a one-on-one tutoring session ahead of time.

I wondered whether this was really fair, but he must have proposed it because there was no issue.

In any case, it benefited me, so I decided to accept gratefully.

"If you would help with my training as well, Professor, I would be nothing but grateful."

"Mr. Karvaldr, your manners are excellent as well. Then shall we begin by moving somewhere else?"

For some reason, it felt as though praise followed everything I said.

Could it be because I blushed in embarrassment after receiving Professor Radvisin's praise yesterday? Was that why he assumed I was weak to praise and kept doing this?

Personally, I didn't feel particularly moved by praise handed out indiscriminately for no reason.

I sincerely hoped Professor Radvisin would realize this soon.

"To exhaust all of your Ether using your Ether Ability, 'Buff,' you'll need targets to apply it to. That's why Miss Blida and Mr. Elska will be helping."

The professor said this as he opened the research lab door and walked out.

As though it had already been agreed upon, the two senior research students followed behind us while carrying the snacks they had bought yesterday.

Seeing his students like that, the professor briefly looked puzzled before turning away without a word.

The place Professor Radvisin led us to was the practical training classroom where the 'Ether Attribute Enhancement' lecture was held.

Much like a personal training ground, the practical training classroom was equipped with a shock absorption function, but that probably wasn't why the professor chose to conduct the training experiment here.

It was likely because the place was structured like an indoor training hall.

Unlike the public training hall outdoors, being inside a building meant there would be no prying eyes watching our training.

It also provided a large space, making it easier to observe the effects of the buff.

"We need to check your physical abilities before applying the buff, so Miss Blida and Mr. Elska, please run around the lecture room until you're tired."

"...What??"

"No, Professor?! You didn't say anything about this??"

"You all know that Mr. Karvaldr's Ether Ability is a buff. In that case, shouldn't you naturally have deduced this outcome?"

The two research students were flustered and loudly protested the sudden order to run.

But out-arguing a professor who had honed his academic skills for many years was beyond their abilities.

In the end, the two of them began running with resigned expressions while Professor Radvisin started a stopwatch to measure their speed.

"May I ask a question about the report you submitted during my lecture?"

Once the two senior research students were a reasonable distance away, Professor Radvisin lowered his voice and broached the subject.

"Yes, of course."

"Your view that even among people born with the same Ether, their abilities differ slightly according to their personal inclinations was extremely interesting. Since the direct descendants of the Imperial Family and the Four Great Ducal Families inherit the same Ether for generations, I suppose you're able to gather such data."

While Ether Attributes are passed down genetically, only the Imperial Family and the Four Great Ducal Families maintain the same Ether Traits generation after generation.

Most people inherit the Ether of either their father or mother, and sometimes the Ether of a grandparent. Occasionally, someone might even inherit the Ether of a much more distant ancestor.

Even for the Imperial Family and the Four Great Ducal Families, the Ether was only maintained within the direct line. Different Ether manifested in the collateral branches.

The scholars of this world seemed to speculate that it might be related to Familiars.

Personally, I thought it was simply a convenient authorial setting that emphasized the traditions of the Imperial and Ducal Families.

'But this setting is turning out to be convenient for me too, isn't it?'

Even though a teenager had presented a theory unknown to Professor Radvisin, a man who had researched Ether Attributes for a long time, he did not doubt its validity.

On the contrary, he seemed to trust it quite a bit.