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nThe greatest achievement Damien had made on his own in the Severed World was his first meditation session.

nBack then, when he was desperately trying to maintain his memory, he’d shattered a portion of the sub-universe’s restriction, which made a certain force available to him again.

nThe Void showed itself when he used Devour.

nThe Breath of Nothingness that remained hidden until now came out in full force, consuming Damien’s target with all its power.

nWhat was that target?

nNaturally, it was Sia’s comprehension.

nIf he couldn’t attain it himself, he could just steal it!

nThis was the split-second decision he came to upon realizing the limits of his strength.

nTo steal someone else’s comprehension was usually impossible without injuring them. After all, it was essentially crippling their strength, ridding them of any memory of those comprehensions.

nBut it was different in the Severed World.

nHere, the comprehension one had was, in simple terms, held in a backup.

nThe restriction was able to read one’s past and revert their strength, which meant it needed to keep a memory of what to return to them when they left.

nIn that instance, one’s original strength would be added back onto what they gained in the Severed World, and any “superfluous data” would naturally override itself.

nBasically, the comprehensions one maintained from their original 2nd class state would be returned, while things they achieved within the realm would be maintained.

nDamien didn’t know anything about Sia, but he could guarantee that her comprehension didn’t come from this realm.

nIf she only recently understood her laws, she wouldn’t be able to use them with such precision and subtlety.

nTruthfully, Damien had been testing Sia for a while.

nShe didn’t act unless she needed to, but whenever he gave her a task, she was able to accomplish it perfectly.

nFor instance, when she placed a target on the Wind Spirit King’s back.

nThat precise mana control was already impressive, but when her unique law was taken into account, all the facts showed that she was an expert in the outside world.

nEven if Damien harmed her comprehension right now, nothing would happen to her in the long run.

n‘But at the end of the day, we’re on good terms, so I’ll have to make sure something like that doesn’t happen.’

nIt was just a matter of control.

nDamien was very careful in handling the Breath of Nothingness with his current strength, and though he couldn’t sense where Sia was, he made sure not to send his mana past the bounds of the wisps she left for him.

n‘I can start with these to get a feel for it and then get bolder later. Since she released these into reality, they must be low-level comprehensions.’

nGiving him high-level material from the start was foolish. He didn’t believe Sia would make such a scammer-like move.

nThe Breath of Nothingness did its job perfectly when it was given the opportunity. The wisps of strange mana were swallowed one after another, and several thoughts filled Damien’s mind, colliding and merging as if they had physical presence.

n‘This law…isn’t quite Universal Law…?’

nHe didn’t expect it to be so easy to grasp when it was presented like this.

nHe rapidly understood what the nature of Sia’s law was.

n‘Just like the Severed World, she holds an incomplete Universal Law in her hands.’

nIts rules were different and it had developed in a direction fit for an individual rather than a plane, but it was undoubtedly a partial universal law.

n‘Did she come here for the same purpose as me? To steal the Severed World’s achievements for herself?’

nIf so, she was definitely impressive. Rather than doing the work herself, she came to this point utilizing the strength of others and using every waking moment to study the realm’s laws!

nThe dedication was admirable.

n‘And it’s my ticket to success!’

nDamien was now in an amazing position.

nSia’s incomplete law was entering his head piece by piece through the Breath of Nothingness, while the Severed World’s incomplete law was displayed above for him to read whenever he desired!

nThe only problem was time.

n‘Khh…!’

nDamien gritted his teeth as he felt something entering his body.

nTendrils of the Severed World’s will entered his body through the Lunar River’s water, gripping his heart and giving him a severe warning.

nIt was fine to learn what he wanted, but only within the bounds of what he was allowed.

nThis was the message it sent!

n‘It’s **ing annoying. The damn universe started attacking me the moment I went under. Aren’t your bounds a little too strict?’

nDamien frowned, but he knew in his heart that he didn’t have the power to refute,

n‘I have at most a minute in here. I have to take everything I can in the time I have.’

nDamien once again stopped his idle thoughts and concentrated.

nHis mana spread past the tiny wisps of cosmic mana and towards where he assumed their source was.

nHe swirled his mana around the river, even devouring some of its waters, but he was never able to touch Sia’s physical body.

nNevertheless, the fluctuations of cosmic mana became denser the further he traveled into its midst, and the comprehension he received wasn’t slight at all.

nThe situation continued for precisely a minute.

nDamien constantly compared the laws above him with those in his head, forming a more complete picture of how these two entities understood Universal Law.

nBut that wasn’t enough for him.

nThe information he was currently receiving was extremely helpful, but he wanted to seek the truth!

nHe wanted to test the True Universal Law itself!

nSplash!

n“Fuwah!”

nHis head resurfaced from the deep blackness, the water dripping down his face illuminated by the pale white light from below.

n‘I guess that’s all I can do for now.’

nHe had to be satisfied with what he had.

nHe climbed out of the river and used mana to dry his body, glancing around in the meantime.

n“Huh…” he muttered awkwardly,

n“…I guess I’m the first one out.”

nHe didn’t look down on the girls, but this was the first time such a situation occurred, not just with them, but in general.

n“…”

nDamien sat down, a look of confusion on his face.

n“…what am I supposed to do now?”

nFor once, he was put in the waiting room, forced to entertain himself until the test finished.

nBut how did he do that here?

nHe could just relax, but he had enough of that in the Blessing Shrine’s blank space.

nHis eyes turned to the other side of the riverbank.

n‘Should I go feel out the competition?’

nIt was a known fact that the beasts higher up would be incredibly powerful. Preparations to deal with their strength had already been made.

nTheir number was still a problem, though.

nIf there were too many of them, preparation became meaningless.

nDamien stood up and stretched his body, flickering as he teleported across the river.

n‘It’s already been a minute, but it’s rare for normal practitioners to last even 30 seconds in there. I’m on a time crunch.’

nSure he was doing something important, but he had to be back before the girls emerged from the river.

nAfter all, he knew it personally.

nThe feeling of seeing someone one cared about patiently waiting for them to finish was too heartwarming for him to deny his women that privilege!

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