There existed a space.
It spanned several tens of thousands of kilometers and had an environment similar to a moon. For the most part, nothing about the space seemed off, however, that was only to the untrained eye.
If one had the ability, one would be able to see the strange and chaotic distribution of the spatial layers, the unnatural movements they made, and the sheer number of spatial cracks littering the air.
This area existed on the previously budding world that had just been born. After it and it's sister-seed bloomed, they latched onto the world and immediately raised its existence level to the point where it could support them.
Now, this world was no different than a middle world in many factors.
BOOM!
An explosion rang through the empty space. In a specific portion of the Mystic Realm, space imploded and collapsed inward, forming a terrifying black hole whose suction force could instantly raze 3rd class soldiers into nonexistence.
In the middle of this black hole was a girl protected by a translucent film of mana.
"I already told you, controlling space is not a forceful process. You've been instinctually connecting with space for many years already, you don't need to change that process much at all. You just need to gain conscious control over what you've been doing subconsciously this entire time."
Damien's stern voice echoed as he waved his hand and suppressed the black hole, bringing Astoria back into the Sanctuary.
"Now, try again. All you need to do is compress the space."
Astoria's eyes hardened as she focused on the task at hand. She repeated the several lessons Damien had taught her in her head, remembering the various insights she'd gained on space in the past few months.
She slowly pushed her hands together as if she was holding an invisible basketball, trying to connect her will to the space around her.
'Focus.'
She honed in on that feeling, the feeling of teleportation that she'd essentially mastered in the past months.
It was different passing through the spatial layers. To do so, she needed to manipulate her own body more than the spatial layers around her.
Compressing space, though still a foundational level skill, was far more direct than teleportation, emphasizing control over space.
However, controlling space was a contradictory concept. To exert the greatest control, one had to loosen the reigns as much as possible and let space act as it pleased.
After all, the relationship between spatial practitioners and space itself was extremely deep, far deeper than most other affinities and their wielders.
Astoria's hands slowly came together. She visualized a massive phantom forming behind her,
grabbing space itself and mimicking her movements, crushing it into a ball.
She carefully moved the mana in her body, and gently spread it into the surroundings, however, she didn't attempt to forcefully clamp her mana onto space to mold it as she'd been trying to do thus far.
The visualization in her head was transmitted into space through her mana, and as the two forces interacted, Astoria could feel her control over the spatial layers subtly growing.
Without hesitation, she increased her speed and incrementally increased the amount of mana she was using, and eventually…
Kacha!
The space before Astoria compressed past the point it could handle, shattering into pieces and forming a large spatial crack almost the size of her body.
"I…I did it!" Astoria exclaimed, jumping into the air in excitement.
"Indeed, you did…" Damien nodded while dispelling the spatial crack.
Astoria's face lit up. It was so incredibly rare to hear a compliment from Damien that she was ecstatic receiving one now.
"…now, do it without taking ten million years to nail the proper form," Damien continued.
Astoria's face immediately fell.
"Master~! Can I please take a break now~?" Astoria begged, flashing Damien her best pitiful expression.
Damien raised his brow. "How many breaks have you already taken in the past 6 months?"
"E-ehhh~? J-just a few…?" Astoria responded while averting her gaze suspiciously.
"Just a few, eh?" Damien responded with a smile.
"We've been training for 6 months, and of those, you've spent 2 on 'breaks.' Compared to that, you've spent 4 months learning only how to teleport and maneuver through space, completely ignoring the other foundational elements. Now, tell me, why should I give you a break?"
"U-um…because I'm tired…?"
"It looks like the previous punishments weren't effective. I'll be sure to get more creative next ti—"
"Master, wait! I'll practice, I'll practice! You can just rest your mind and watch as your genius disciple achieves the impossible!"
Damien glanced at her sideways. "Okay then, my 'genius disciple,' when I was 17, I took 2 months to completely consolidate the foundation of my spatial element. How about you try to surpass me?"
"Eh? 17? That isn't much younger than me! Master, I thought you were a young man…don't tell me you're actually an old monster in disguise…!"
Astoria backed away in faux horror as she spoke, causing Damien's eyebrows to twitch endlessly.
"You brat, I'm only 30! A young 30!" He exclaimed, whacking her over the head.
"A-ah…haha…I-I see…heh…a-a young…heh heh…t-thirty…pfft!" Astoria stammered before completely failing to hold back her laughter.
"Hahahaha! Master, I didn't expect that you were actually an old man! I thought you were closer to my age! No wonder yo—"
"I understand. Let's have fun with today's punishment."
Damien picked Astoria up by the back of her shirt as if she was a kitten.
"I'm still perfecting this little power of mine, so bear with it if it gets a bit extreme."
Astoria's face paled.
"Wait, Master, you're young! You're young and handsome! You definitely don't look a day over 20, no, 18! C-calm down, we can talk this ooouuuuu—!"
Before Astoria could finish her words, Damien opened a portal nearby and tossed her in. Her voice eventually faded into the void as she was sent to a punishment realm Damien specifically created for her.
Left by himself, he was forced to shake his head wryly.
'Why did I have to accept such an unruly disciple…?' He sighed to himself in exasperation.
In the past 6 months, he'd taught Astoria many things, mostly supportive spatial skills such as teleportation, subspace creation, and other similar techniques.
When it came to these areas, Astoria truly excelled. She was like a fish in water, swimming downstream at her fastest speed.
It was almost terrifying how fast she absorbed knowledge.
However…
'She can't even seem to comprehend an ounce of any destruction-focused skill. Can there be such a skewed representation of talent?'
It was possible that Astoria simply wouldn't be able to cast destructive magic with her spatial affinity. Even when it came to compressing space, it took her far too much concentration to accomplish.
Even a normal beginner would be able to do it at a fourth of her speed.
'I might have to change my approach.'
Thus far, Damien had been trying to lay a stable foundation for Astoria before teaching her specialized magic, since it would be far easier for her to understand the nuances of the techniques, but it didn't seem like this would be the proper path for Astoria.
Rather than having her focus on fundamentals that'll merely halt her progress in the grand scheme, it might've been better to specialize her focus from the beginning and thoroughly raise her into an expert in that area.
'With the current trajectory, we have around three and a half years…it's more than enough.'
Damien immediately submerged himself in thought, structuring a new training plan for his disciple.
As for Astoria herself…
Needless to say, she was currently submerged in a hell where she was stuck in the body of a proper noble lady, unable to do anything but watch as the body's owner took care of managerial tasks day in and day out for days on end!
It was truly a torture unlike any other.
