Time Holders: The World of Balance

”Ughh...” Aldrus grunted, lying exhausted on the grass. His forehead was drenched in sweat, and each breath sent wisps of steam into the air.

A few minutes later, he sat up and stretched his legs. The morning training had been rough, but at least it was over.

Beside him, Alice toweled the sweat from her skin, breathing heavily.

”Hey, Aldrus...”

”Yeah?”

”I’ve been wanting to ask you something... about the day of your perspective burnout.”

He grimaced, knowing this would come up sooner or later.

”Hm, go ahead. I’ll tell you what I can,” he replied indifferently.

Aldrus reminded himself to discuss the matter with Sir Ludwig as soon as he returned to the academy. Not being able to tell his friends anything was starting to wear on him.

”What Sir Ludwig told you... that thing about him not seeing you for a while.”

Ah, so that’s what it was.

At first, Aldrus found it strange that Alice had never asked him about it. After all, she had been there that day, and Ludwig hadn’t exactly been discreet.

”Oh, yeah...” He leaned closer and whispered into her ear, ”I told you about the Guardian, remember? Well, let’s just say that didn’t go very well for me. Luckily, Sir Ludwig arrived just in time. After that, he took care of me for a few days and taught me what little I know.”

She flinched for no apparent reason before swiftly leaning back and nodding.

”I-I see... It must have been painful...”

Aldrus shook his head.

”I’m sure it was, but I can’t remember most of it. Sir Ludwig froze my memories in time, so there’s only a little I can recall.”

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. He remembered more than he wished he did, though he was fairly sure Alice wouldn’t want to hear about his lungs being ripped out.

***

Not long after the training ended, Aldrus took a quick shower and reunited with his team in the designated area.

The depths of the forest were gloomy and damp from the rain. It was denser than he had expected, and everywhere he looked seemed painted in shades of dark green.

Their campsite occupied a perimeter of roughly fifty meters, while its territory extended another fifty beyond it.

The place where they would spend their nights was nothing fancy. In fact, it could barely be called more than a crude hut. However, that worked to their advantage in its own way, since a flashier shelter would only draw unnecessary attention.

Each team was somewhat familiar with the locations of the others, but navigating a place like this would be difficult no matter how rough their understanding of the area was.

After gathering firewood, Aldrus set the axe he had been using against a wooden chair Oriel had made.

The previous day, they had spent their time preparing everything to the best of their abilities. Oriel was big and physically strong, so he had been designated as their builder. The hut itself was his own handiwork.

As for the rest, each of them had been assigned different tasks. Aldrus was responsible for gathering firewood for the night and catching fish from a nearby river. Since his duties mostly kept him outside the camp, he didn’t know much about everyone else’s responsibilities, but he had often seen Seris filtering water from that same river.

Time passed quickly, and before long, all of them had gathered around a bonfire at the center of the camp.

The bonfire itself was surrounded by logs stacked on top of one another in a messy attempt to conceal its light from the outside.

”Well, the first day was rough, but at least no one has come after us yet,” Seris said in a good mood.

”They’re probably doing the same thing. I wouldn’t expect anyone to attack before tomorrow, at least,” Aldrus replied.

”Hey, do you guys think we should strike first? What are your abilities like? Do we stand a chance? Maybe we could go after the weakest team first.”

Everyone considered Sornel’s suggestion until a deep voice rejected the idea.

”No. The others might be thinking the same thing. If we go after the weakest group, we could end up walking into a trap,” Oriel said with a serious frown.

That makes sense...

Aldrus considered other possibilities but couldn’t come up with any. Judging by their expressions, everyone else seemed to be struggling to make a decision as well.

They remained silent for a moment until a sweet voice spoke up,

”Umm, how about we stand guard tomorrow and use that time to come up with a plan? We can’t do anything properly if we don’t know each other’s strengths. We should understand one another’s capabilities before going on the offensive.”

Loyu took a bite of one of the cooked fish before adding,

”Besides, it’s much easier to defend this place than it is to coordinate an assault.”

She’s right. There’s no smart way to split ourselves up and attack others. However...

Aldrus pressed his lips together.

How am I supposed to coordinate with them when I suck at everything I’ve tried?

He grimaced before turning toward Loyu,

”Fine. I think that’s our best option. What do you guys think?”

Ludwig had once told him that when a man struggles to find an answer, working under pressure often helps.

...Or something along those lines. Whatever he’d actually meant.

Anyway, that didn’t matter. Aldrus understood the core idea:

Starting now and until tomorrow, I’ll discover my own strength.

The five of them eventually agreed on their approach for the next day, and soon afterward, they went to sleep, leaving Aldrus and Sornel to stand guard during the first watch.

”Hey, Aldrus,” the boy said.

”Yeah?”

”I saw your fight with Miss Leona... and your performance in Sir Zorum’s class...” he said with an awkward smile.

”Ahh, that... Well, then you probably know I’m in a bit of a tough spot right now, huh? B-But don’t worry! I promise I won’t be a hindrance during this test.”

Aldrus forced a grin, not entirely convinced by his own words.

”Oh, it’s not that. I was just thinking... Have you tried [Visione]?”

”I have.”

”And?”

”Well, I couldn’t say for sure, since I wasn’t able to use it. No wonder, considering it requires [Motion] to begin with.”

Sornel tilted his head, looking somewhat confused.

”Hey, but if you struggle with [Motion], why don’t you try [Freeze] instead?”

”Huh? What do you mean by that?”

”Don’t you know? You can use [Visione] without [Motion]. It’s not as common, and certainly not as effective, but you can make it work by freezing your sight instead of moving it,” the boy said, pointing to his eyes.

”Listen, they don’t teach this method at the academy because it’s quite risky. The way you use perception heavily depends on your ability to control your senses, and locking your sight into the future or the past can seriously disrupt your perspective control. Since you’re forcing your sight to remain in an uncertain domain, you could potentially become trapped there until your perspective runs out and you suffer perspective burnout.”

”To put it simply, think of it like this: a car driving along a road can stop, move forward, or reverse whenever necessary. However, a car without wheels can’t return to its starting point so easily,” he explained.

Aldrus listened closely, trying to grasp the core idea. Then, a question surfaced in his mind,

”I think I understand. But if it’s unreliable enough that the academy refuses to teach it, why do you think I’ll be able to use it safely?”

The red-haired boy smiled confidently, resting his fists on his hips,

”I told you already, didn’t I? I saw your match against Miss Leona. And I’m not talking about simply watching it. I saw it.”

Aldrus’s eyes widened.

”D-Don’t tell me...”

”That’s right. I used [Visione]. Aldrus... I’m no master of it, but there has never been a first-rank student whose movements I couldn’t see.”

He paused for a moment before continuing,

”I think... I think you’re something special, Aldrus. Give it a try. Trust me on this.”