The blind villain of the academy

Chapter 93

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Episode 20 - Luminus Arcantel Valentina [5]

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Charlotte stared fixedly at Luminus. Luminus had already risen from where she had been sitting earlier and was now standing in front of Charlotte.

Then she parted her lips and said:

"I already warned you about the side effects of my sword art. Learning it is also dangerous, but I can see that you won’t refuse."

Charlotte nodded.

"Yes, I truly want to learn it. I don’t care about the side effects."

Luminus neither spoke nor nodded; she simply continued her explanation.

"Good, my sword art is called . I gave it that name for a simple reason."

Charlotte listened in silence as Luminus continued.

"My sword art was born from my negative emotions, suffering, losses, experiences, and actions. It is a sword art that causes pain every time it cuts or injures any living being."

"It is not a sword art that anyone would want to learn. Learning it requires the use of negative emotions. I called it ; it uses emotions as a source of power and mana for its manifestation. You understand what I mean, right?"

Charlotte nodded repeatedly, although she actually felt confused.

’How are emotions used for a sword art?’

That was what she did not understand.

According to several theses throughout hundreds of years, the use of emotions did possess some kind of power.

But no one had ever understood them enough before, or at least not enough to use them.

To everyone, emotions were simply emotions.

But for Luminus, emotions were also a source of power.

Negative emotions were an unstable source of power, while positive emotions were a stable source of power.

However, the concept of emotions was an almost nonexistent subject in the present era. Charlotte had only read a few theses about it.

At best, almost nothing.

Luminus obviously noticed Charlotte’s clear confusion and asked:

"What is it that you don’t understand?"

Charlotte came out of her thoughts and said:

"Well, I understand everything else, but I don’t exactly understand how emotions are used as a source of power."

Luminus shook her head and said:

"You are mistaken about one thing. Emotions are not exactly a source of power; rather, they would be the manifestation of something intangible. Of course, although I call it Negative Energy and it sounds like a source of power, it actually is not." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

She shook her head again, then looked Charlotte in the eyes and said:

"Manifesting negative emotions requires Willpower, or Will for short. All living beings possess at least a small amount of will. Will would be more of a concept than something like mana, but it can also create miracles like mana."

It was the first time Charlotte had heard that Will could do something similar to mana.

Like emotions, Will was a concept that was poorly understood or studied, and almost no one comprehended it deeply enough.

She looked at Luminus, and her determination increased, so she focused without interrupting her new master.

"Using Will, you can, let’s say, channel or use your emotions through the sword, magic, or anything else you desire, and then you use mana for the manifestation."

Charlotte pursed her lips and asked:

"You mean that Will would come first, then emotions, and finally mana in order to learn the Divine Art of the Eternal Void?"

Luminus smiled slightly and said:

"More or less. Will is the first thing, manifestation through mana is the second, and emotions are the last."

Charlotte nodded and asked again:

"Then how do I know whether I have a strong or weak Will?"

At her question, Luminus turned her head in another direction. Charlotte looked toward where Luminus was staring.

Then Charlotte noticed Adel. Raising an eyebrow, Charlotte asked:

"What is it?"

Luminus looked at Charlotte and said:

"Your boyfriend has an enormous Will. I can’t even tell how far his Will reaches. And if you’re wondering how to know how much Will someone has, no one can truly know. The only reason I can see it is because of a Trait."

Charlotte nodded, but then shook her head.

"We’re not what you think. Anyway, what do you mean by a strong Will?"

Charlotte looked at Adel, and no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand.

"How do you think Will increases?"

Luminus asked, and Charlotte tilted her head in confusion.

"I don’t know. It’s just a concept I’m unfamiliar with."

Luminus looked at Charlotte for a moment before turning back to Adel, who was still in "meditation."

"It’s about life experiences. Will becomes strong when you overcome different events in your life. For example, if you spend half your life as a slave and then escape and gain freedom, the trauma will still remain, but if you manage to overcome it, then your Will will naturally grow stronger."

Charlotte looked at Luminus and then at Adel before saying:

"That means..."

Luminus nodded.

"Yes, your boyfriend has gone through many things. And when I say many, I mean an unimaginable amount. It’s as if he had lived dozens or even hundreds of lives filled with trauma and suffering."

"...."

Charlotte’s thoughts returned to the first day she met Adel.

To Charlotte, this world was a novel she had read from middle school until the very last day she lived on Earth.

She knew who the main characters and the protagonist were.

And Adel and Veronica did not exist in the novel.

’If what she says is true...’

Then the person standing before Charlotte was also like her.

’But she gave an example as if he had lived hundreds of lives, and I can only think of a few possibilities.’

That thought crossed Charlotte’s mind.

’An endless cycle of reincarnation or infinite regression. Those are the only two possibilities I can think of.’

Charlotte could be wrong. Maybe Adel had simply lived a life full of trauma and suffering.

Charlotte shook her head, pushing those thoughts away.

"We can continue. I don’t want to get distracted."

Luminus looked at Charlotte and nodded.

"Good. Now, about your Will. Your Will is high enough, comparable to mine. I don’t know what you’ve been through, but let’s not talk about the past. With that level of Will, you already meet the qualifications needed to ignore the issue of how much Will you can use."

Charlotte could imagine why her Will was so high.

Her past life had been nothing short of unpleasant, and although she had a much better childhood in this life compared to the previous one, she had still experienced different kinds of suffering and trauma.

Her Will had grown throughout two lives, across different environments and hardships.

"I understand, but I don’t know how to use my Will. This is the first time I’ve ever heard about using Will."

Luminus smiled smugly.

"That’s because I’m the first one, of course."

"...?"

"Anyway, using Will only has two simple steps. First, understand the different scenarios in your life. Second, use your imagination. Believe it or not, imagination is quite a powerful concept."

Charlotte didn’t fully understand it, but she had a general idea.

If it was about understanding her traumas and the different moments of her life, then in a certain sense, she had already done that when she died.

Her entire life had flashed before her eyes. She understood what she had done, the decisions she had made, and how each of them had led her to the traumas she suffered.

’That means I just need to use my imagination... but how do I even start?’

Besides, what exactly was she supposed to seek while using her Will?

Charlotte looked at Luminus and asked:

"I already understand my traumas and all that, but if I manage to complete the imagination step, what exactly am I supposed to feel?"

"Of course you won’t feel anything. This is about using your Will. You decide whether you want to do something, think about something, or act however you wish. At its core, Will is about making decisions."

Charlotte opened her mouth, but then closed it again because she understood what Luminus meant.

So she closed her eyes and used her imagination. Even though she couldn’t fully understand it, she decided to follow her instincts.

Charlotte gripped her sword tightly and then tried to decide on a specific action.

Without consciously thinking about it, her mana began to move.

She instantly opened her eyes and looked at herself in surprise.

"What does this mean? I didn’t think about using my mana, but it moved on its own just because I decided it would..."

Something clicked in Charlotte’s mind, and she looked at Luminus.

Luminus nodded and explained:

"That is Will. Something you decide. Your decisions are not always tied to your thoughts, but to your Will. Now, let’s move on to the next step: manifestation."

Charlotte suppressed her rising emotions and fell silent again so Luminus could continue explaining.

"Manifestation is easier than using Will. Think of it like when you use your attribute abilities: you manifest, shape, and create what you need."

"That’s easy."

Charlotte had already learned that from Adel: how to use the abilities of her attribute.

It was about manifesting, shaping, and creating whatever one sought.

At first it might seem complex, but with an example, it was far simpler than Charlotte had imagined.

"Then we can move on to emotions."

Charlotte asked, and Luminus nodded.

"I’ll warn you: this part is not about whether it is complicated, complex, or difficult, but about your negative emotions. One small mistake, and you will be drowned in a sea of negative emotions. There will come a point where you would rather die than continue experiencing that."

Charlotte swallowed unconsciously.

Even though Luminus had warned her from the very beginning, only now was Charlotte beginning to understand the true weight of those words.

She trusted that she would be able to obtain the Unique Trait Paradise after completing the Memory Gate, and that was why she had not worried too much.

But now Charlotte realized that she still did not possess that Trait.

’No. I need to learn this sword art. I don’t know how powerful it is, but if it belongs to the Fallen Maiden, then it’s worth the risk.’

Charlotte took a deep breath and finally nodded.

"Alright. I’m ready for anything."

Luminus could only nod without saying much more.

"As you wish."