Chapter 199 - Second Ascent (III)

The library is quiet, the faint sound of waves outside the window blending with the rustle of papers on the simple wooden table between us.

“So, what’s the urgency? Chiara’s notes?” I ask, leaning back in my chair, my eyes fixed on Houston across from me.

“Notes? That’s a simple way to put it,” he sighs, rubbing his temples. “Alonso, what Chiara sent you… it’s not a small deal. I don’t even know how to describe it properly. Let’s just say it’s far beyond humanity’s current scope of knowledge, and not by a small margin. The interpretation of the Pillar as a physical entity with its own unique laws, expanding our understanding of what constitutes matter and energy—it changes everything. My entire body of research until now assumed the Pillar was like a black hole, something incomprehensible. But Chiara… she’s gone beyond that, scratching the surface and mathematically grounding its basic principles. Sure, there’s still a lot to be done, but this? This is a massive breakthrough.”

“Well, that’s great, I guess. I can see how the scientific part of me would be thrilled, but… is there any practical use? Can this knowledge help us in The Tower?”

He shakes his head with a smirk. “You’re sounding like those engineers you used to mock,” he chuckles. “But the answer is yes. And Chiara’s already put it into practice. Her so-called special technique—it’s… fascinating. Honestly, that girl’s mind should be declared a humanity-level asset.”

I laugh. “Do you hear yourself, Houston? Last I checked, you were calling her the bitch-that-shall-not-be-named and had her face on your target dummies downstairs.”

“Ahem,” he coughs, clearly embarrassed. “Well, I’m talking about the scientific part of her mind. The rest of her? Burn it, and the world would be better off. Anyway, about this technique—it’s not easy. It’s complex to maintain, and I need time to get used to it. But give me a couple more hours, and I’ll have it down. As for what it does… let’s just say it’s the Pillar-equivalent of Overdrive.”

I frown. “An Overdrive for the Pillar? What does that even mean? Does it just make the waves stronger?”

“Yes. By stimulating the Pillar, Chiara developed an inner amplification mechanism linked to wave output and perception. It significantly boosts the Pillar’s frequency output. We’re talking about more than a 24% amplification under the current setup. For reference, your normal wave frequency output and perception hover around 3.25 × 10^11 Hz. With this mechanism installed, you could exceed 4 × 10^11 Hz.”

“24% amplification? Damn.” That’s no joke.

“And this is just the start of it. The mechanism works so that the more complex the inner diagram you can maintain, the greater the amplification. Of course, the benefits diminish the more layers you add, but even the initial values and the potential as Stage Progress increases? It’s… incredible. Furthermore, I can already tell that the technique will be far more effective in Chiara’s hands, given her new condition. You can think of this as a simplified version she designed for others who lacked her unique condition—similar to how we adapted Overdrive for Ayu.”

Hmm. She went through the trouble of simplifying her skill for others to use...

“I have a feeling the next boss fight will be much easier,” I muse to myself.

Lukas’s bullets and new mask, and now Chiara’s model. Is this what it feels like to have others at your back? More like having a team of geniuses.

But nearly a 25% increase in wave amplification? How fast could I soar through the sky? How much faster would my blade be?

“Well, this certainly qualifies as good news,” I say with a smile. “So, can you maintain both states at once—Overdrive and this mechanism?”

Houston grins. “Who do you think I am? Of course I can. That said, we might be the only climbers in existence who can pull it off. This mechanism is far harder to maintain than Overdrive, precision-wise. One tiny misalignment could cause a nasty backlash. That means it’s something that cannot be managed while in a state of Overdrive that compromises your rational, calculated thought. But in our case, since I’m not under the effect of Overdrive myself and just manage it, my wave precision isn’t affected, so I can properly induce both states in you.”

“I guess I’m lucky to have you.”

“Oh, forget luck. Without me, you’d be dead. Anyway, since you’re already here, why not take another spar with Darius? He’s pretty interested in that second sword you picked up.”

Second sword? Oh…

“Alright, I’ll catch up with him,” I say, and in the next moment, I disappear and reappear in the arena.

Standing before me, already waiting, is Darius.

“So, what are your thoughts on dual-wielding? Want to give it a try?”

“I’m not sure,” I reply. “It looks cool, but… is it worth it? Wouldn’t that mean I have to start from scratch?”

“You’d need to build muscle memory for it,” he says, his tone calm but firm. “Houston can help speed that up, but you’ll still need plenty of practice to make it worth anything by the next boss.”

Dual-wielding… and with two longswords at that.

“Well, let’s give it a shot and see what happens,” I say, conjuring two identical swords in my hands.

Darius nods. “Alright.”

He steps back, settling into a solid stance.

I mirror him, though the weight of the second sword already feels strange in my grip.

He strikes without warning—a calculated arc toward my side. Instinctively, I move to parry with my main hand, but the timing of the second blade feels off, almost sluggish. The clash of steel echoes as I barely manage to deflect the follow-up strike.

“Too slow,” he says, his words curt but not unkind.

I adjust my footing, trying to keep both swords balanced. Darius circles me like a predator, his strikes coming faster now, forcing me to react. I block one blow, but my off-hand sword wobbles, throwing off my next movement.

The next strike glances off my guard, leaving a pixelated wound.

“Both hands,” he says, stepping back briefly. “They move together, not separate.”

Easier said than done.

My focus feels split—each hand acting independently, but clashing in my mind. I take a deep breath and step forward, attacking with my main blade while keeping the second ready to block.

Darius meets the strike effortlessly, turning my blade aside. His counter comes low, aiming for my legs. I manage to intercept it with my off-hand sword, but as I bring my main blade back up, both swords collide awkwardly, tangling for a brief moment before I manage to recover.

“You’re fighting yourself,” he says, stepping back again. His eyes narrow, assessing. “Let it flow. Trust both hands. Your processing power exceeds any human’s—use it. Understand the movements first, then turn them into instinct.”

Ok. I grit my teeth and reset my stance. This time, I move both blades in tandem, focusing on rhythm rather than force. Darius strikes again, a rapid flurry meant to overwhelm. I block with the second sword, deflect with the first, and counter with a wide slash that nearly grazes him.

He sidesteps, his lips curving into a faint smirk. “Better.”

But the moment I think I’ve found my footing, he presses harder. His blades blur in the air, forcing me to react faster than I’m used to. My off-hand sword clips his strike but leaves me open for a follow-up.

The flat of his blade taps my shoulder lightly, and he steps back.

“Your mind’s catching up,” he says. “But your body isn’t there yet. Practice more deflection. No offense until it’s smooth.”

I nod, adjusting my grip.

“Again,” he says, raising his blades. This time, his strikes are even faster, more unpredictable, testing every flaw in my coordination.

I block and deflect, step and pivot, but it feels like I’m treading water. Every move takes conscious effort, where it should be instinctive. Darius doesn’t relent, forcing me to adapt or fail.

Finally, after several rounds, he steps back, lowering his blades. “You’ll get there,” he says, his voice steady. “But not today.”

“Alright, people, welcome back to classes. Let’s feel young again, shall we?” Lukas grinned as he addressed the 20-plus climbers gathered before him. “As I mentioned over the waves, we’ll be dividing our approach to wave control into two schools of thought. One I call the Natural Flow—basically for those who ‘feel’ the waves rather than analyze them. And its counterpart, the Analytical Approach.

“In today’s session, we’ll have a short introduction to each of them, given by our very well-qualified and prestigious lecturers.”

Ayu stepped forward.

“Well, I’ve never taught anything before, but I’ll do my best,” she said with a slight nod to the group. Several climbers smiled and gave her a thumbs-up.

Then Chiara stepped forward. “I will be your lecturer on the Analytical Approach,” she said flatly.

Lukas clapped his hands. “So, for today’s session only, you’ll listen to both lecturers so you can decide which approach suits you better. From then onwards, there’ll be daily sessions, half an hour long, mostly conducted through wave transmissions at a time of your lecturer’s choosing. Yeah, kind of like online classes.”

He looked between them. “So, who wants to start?”

Chiara glanced at Ayu, sending her a wave transmission. “I can go first, if you want to?”

Ayu nodded. “Ok.”

Chiara stepped forward, folding her hands in front of her. “Alright. Since we don’t have a whiteboard or a projector, I’ll use mental images instead. Any questions, you can send a wave back, and I’ll either answer privately or address them publicly. For this lesson, since it’s in-person, you can simply raise your hand.

“So, where to start. Ok, let’s go back to the origin: what is a wave?”

Chiara paused, sending out a mental image of a simple sinusoidal curve, oscillating neatly through their minds. “This is a wave. It’s defined by its amplitude, frequency, and wavelength. A wave’s utility lies in its ability to carry energy, information, or both, depending on how it’s used.”

She shifted the image, showing multiple waves overlapping. “Now, let’s talk about interaction. When two waves meet, they can either amplify each other—constructive interference—or cancel each other out—destructive interference. This principle is the basis of all wave manipulation.”

Several hands went up. Chiara addressed each question quickly and precisely, but her momentum didn’t falter. She pressed on, introducing more intricate concepts.

“Now, let’s connect this to electromagnetic waves, which are the foundation of everything we use in wave control. Electromagnetic waves are solutions to Maxwell’s equations, which describe how electric and magnetic fields interact in space and time. If you’re not familiar, these equations describe phenomena like induction, field divergence, and wave propagation. They’re why we can manipulate waves at all.”

She sent an abstract mental visualization of field lines oscillating through space. “Each wave is a self-propagating interaction between electric and magnetic fields. What’s fascinating is that these fields require no medium to travel, unlike sound or water waves. Instead, they rely on the intrinsic properties of space.”

The group grew quieter as her explanation deepened, some of the climbers already looking uncertain.

“As entities capable of EM wave manipulation, what we do isn’t just surface-level interference. We’re actively generating, modulating, and interpreting electromagnetic waves far beyond human sensory perception. This requires us to reimagine how waves behave—not as simple oscillations, but as carriers of abstract information, capable of reshaping themselves through interaction with other waves and environments.”

Chiara paused, letting that sink in, before sending out a mental diagram of superimposed waves forming intricate, evolving patterns. “What you see here is a result of phase manipulation and amplitude modulation. But here’s where it gets interesting. When we add intentional wave interference into the mix, we create something more—waves that adapt based on external inputs. That’s not just manipulation; that’s engineering.”

The crowd exchanged confused glances, a few whispering to each other. Some looked overwhelmed, while others leaned forward, trying to keep up.

Chiara’s tone grew more deliberate as she pressed on. “Our abilities are rooted in this engineering, but they require something unique. Within our minds lies what I call the Pillar—well, to be fair, Alonso coined the term. It’s not just a structure; it’s the mechanism that enables this control. Think of it as both an amplifier and a processor for EM waves, seamlessly linking your neural activity with the waveforms you generate.”

She allowed that to linger, sending a faint outline of the Pillar—a network-like structure connecting abstract elements of the brain, its intricate nature both fascinating and intimidating.

“This is the reason we can emit and perceive waves at such a high level. But here’s the critical part: the Pillar isn’t static. It can be tuned, amplified, and expanded. My recent work focuses on exactly that—unlocking higher output and sharper perception by stimulating the Pillar in new ways. What I’ve developed is still experimental, but its potential is… unprecedented.”

The climbers were silent now, most wide-eyed or frowning deeply as they tried to process her words. Chiara offered no further explanation, simply straightening her posture.

“We’ll delve into the specifics of this mechanism in future classes. For now, consider this a foundation—one that you’ll need to understand before we go further.”

Without waiting for more questions, she stepped back, her expression calm and collected.

Suddenly, the sound of clapping came from behind.

“Great presentation, Dr. Lin,” Lukas said with a smile. “Brings back memories, right? Never thought you’d be—”

“Shut the fuck up,” Chiara transmitted to him privately, all while maintaining an innocent smile.

“Well, that was great. Hope you all understood something from it. Now, Ayu, ready?”

Ayu took a deep breath, nodded, and stepped forward.