The scene within the World Energy Barrier slowly calmed down, with Damien overcoming the spatial distortions and acclimating to the feeling of loss washing over his body. Although it was easy to describe, this process actually took many minutes to complete.
And by the time it was done, Damien's perception slowly began to expand. Just like that, his spatial affinity had been returned to him.
The goal of the first trial was mainly to temper his will and body, and this had been accomplished more than just a little successfully. Damien's mental fortitude reached an all-new height, to the point where his natural resistance to illusions and mental magic reached the same level as his All-Seeing Eyes.
But Damien wasn't stupid enough to think that things would become simpler now that he regained his affinity. In fact, the difficulty would only increase.
Bang!
Without giving Damien any time to rest, the World Energy Barrier began revolving. Space began to separate as if it was being run through by a cookie cutter. But this change was only present within Damien's perception. It didn't reflect in the real world.
Swoosh!
With a sudden breeze, the space around Damien strangely twisted. In that instant, he already realized what happened. He'd been separated into a lesser plane.
This type of leaser plane was similar to the separate space-time that a Demigod's Authority could produce. It was a different dimension when compared to the Real Plane.
But even this was only the beginning. After the first separation, Damien continued getting pushed further and further into different dimensional barriers. His situation was like the smallest link of a Russian nesting doll.
The layer of space around him was tiny, only holding enough room to house his body alone. It looked exceedingly weak, almost like it could be crushed with a single touch, but this was far from being true.
'This is a dimension within a dimension within a dimension within…I don't even know how many layers there are. Now that I've regained my affinity, am I supposed to escape from this cage?'
The concepts around him were exceedingly familiar. This was the very same application of Dimensional Magic that could create isolated worlds and spaces, it was the branch of space he was planning to explore more thoroughly once he reached 4th class and gained the ability to manipulate laws.
But it seemed he was no longer given the option to wait. For Damien to continue his Baptism, he had to comprehend these esoteric concepts and free himself from the dimensional prison around him.
'These dimensions are essentially separated spaces, but they aren't that simple. To completely isolate a portion of space from the natural flow of space-time is exceedingly difficult, and to layer these isolated portions on top of each other is even more. This level of difficulty doesn't reach the same level as manipulating two, three, and four-dimensional space as one pleases, but it's still a fairly high-level concept.'
Damien's comprehension of space itself was at a peak he couldn't surpass with his current abilities. However, his understanding of dimensions didn't match up at all.
Most dimensional abilities were supportive. Whether they be sealing techniques, trapping techniques, creation techniques, or anything else, the destructive uses of this branch of magic weren't as pronounced.
Of course, that wasn't to say there was no destructive power at all. It was just that one required a foundation built on these supportive concepts to access that destructive nature.
Damien was a person who excelled in destruction. One could even say it was his main talent. The reason he wasn't able to progress rapidly on Dimensional Magic was precisely because this talent suppressed his ability to use more supportive and creation-related abilities.
Usually, he was able to make up for this difference through Void Essence, an energy particularly skilled in creation, but he wasn't given the option to use shortcuts this time around.
The Void Physique had been quiet ever since forcing his Baptism's direction. Damien wasn't able to sense it at all, nor was he able to draw Void Essence through his connection with it. He was entirely on his own.
'But that isn't a bad thing at all. This is yet another chance to rid myself of a glaring weakness I have.'
Damien didn't think he would be able to break the suppression his destruction talent had on his other facets, but he could at least weaken it to a manageable level.
Without hesitation, he closed his eyes and entered a meditative state. His awareness contacted the dimensional barrier around him and melded with the spatial layers within. He wasn't going to brute force his way out of this problem.
Damien's brow furrowed as he investigated the barrier. 'This is extremely complex. It's like the spatial layers have been woven into an impenetrable web that forms these walls. This isn't merely an application of mana onto space, it is fundamentally changing the properties of space to adhere to one's will.'
He was able to realize this much from a glance, but knowing wouldn't help him. It only reminded him of how difficult the task ahead of him truly was.
'Luckily, this is only the first layer. The complexities of this space are still at a level I can see through. But as I continue forward into greater dimensions, the structure necessary to maintain them will become more profound as well. Let me break out of here first and see how the difficulty increases.'
When it came to the spatial layers, Damien was incredibly comfortable. To finely control his mana to warp through them and meld them wasn't too difficult. Of course, this was only at the first layer.
After following the spatial web for a few minutes, Damien was able to understand its structure and find a flaw within. His mana attacked this spot, causing everything around it to unravel as well.
'Success!' Damien exclaimed. As space shattered around him, he found himself in a new isolated area that was the size of a small room. It wouldn't be a problem for ten people to fit in this area as long as they crowded together.
Damien's furrowed brows relaxed a little when he saw this. 'So I won't have to go through 800 different variations of these dimensional spaces before exiting. There should only be three or four more if the size grows exponentially like this. Although the difficulty will increase as well, this is actually preferable.'
What Damien was learning at the moment wasn't necessarily how to create these isolated spaces. Whatever force was guiding this Baptism was truly giving him knowledge on the most fundamental level.
As he noticed before, to create dimensional walls and isolated spaces was to fundamentally change the order of space. The spatial layers that usually ebbed and flowed like waves would be forced into the shape of the container created for them.
The ability Damien was learning was precisely this. To affect space on a fundamental level and gain enough understanding of it, setting up a foundation for him to affect it on a conceptual level in the future.
Damien was aware of this too. This was why even though he understood the structure of the larger room within the hour, he didn't make any moves to break through it. First, he patiently perceived the way space responded when he changed small bits of the web, then moved on to doing the same with larger changes.
In manipulating these phenomena, Damien was unintentionally learning the concepts required to create isolated spaces. Such was the beauty of understanding fundamentals. Everything else became easier from that point forward.
And once Damien felt that he gained everything he could from the 10-man room, he flicked his finger towards a certain section, using his own spatial mana to create threads that interfered with the ones already present.
Rather than shattering entirely like the first space, this new space merely cracked. A rift the size of a person appeared in the location where Damien's mana was shot. This clearly outlined the level of finesse Damien achieved through his training in the 10-man room.
And without pausing his momentum at all, Damien stepped through the spatial rift, arriving in a room nearly 10 times the size of the previous one.
It wouldn't be a short while before he was able to complete this trial.
***
Hours passed without end in the World Energy barrier. Four hours after he exited the 10-man room, he made his way out of the 100-man room as well. This time, the rift he created was more defined, almost taking the shape of a door.
Another 8 hours after that, Damien escaped the 1000-man room that followed. With the difficulty exponentially increasing, the time it took for Damien to exit increased as well, but this was only on the surface.
In reality, he could've easily broken out of the 1000-man room within two or three hours, but he consciously decided against it. Before exiting these dimensional spaces, he would reap every reward he could get.
The passage of time was forgotten under Damien's intense concentration. He even forgot about the perilous situation outside the World Energy barrier. His entire perception was submerged in space.
As the hours passed, Damien broke through a 10,000-man space and even a 100,000-man space. At this level, it was impossible for him to break through with brute force even if he wished to; he was simply too weak to do so. Therefore, he could only take the shortcut provided for him.
The method by which he opened the dimensional spaces also improved by leaps and bounds. From a single small door that could only fit his body, he was able to increase his fine control until he could change the concepts of an entire wall of the dimensional space, turning it into a grand gateway to celebrate his entrance into a higher difficulty.
And finally, after what seemed like days of effort, he was able to break through all obstacles and reach his final goal.
A dimensional space capable of housing millions of existences with ease, maintaining stability even if they collectively flared their mana.
Only after breaking through this space would Damien finally escape the prison he'd been trapped in.
