Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 474: Intangibility

Within a few minutes, he was done with that aspect of his training. With a slow sigh, his thoughts shifted toward another area of his training he had long intended to pursue, intangibility. He had countless ideas for how to expand his Lightning affinity, but intangibility stood out among them as one of the most ambitious... at his current level at least.

The concept itself was simple in theory: he would become a living current, his body transforming into nothing but pure, complete lightning, as though he were no longer flesh and bone, but energy given form, no longer solid in the conventional sense.

In such a state, he would be able to phase through physical attacks, pass through walls, weapons, and obstacles with ease. If he trained it to an absurd, perfected level, his body could enter this lightning form instinctively, without hesitation or strain, phasing through attacks naturally without even needing to dodge. Defense would become instinctual rather than reactive.

At the same time, he understood that this particular training would be far more difficult than the stamina conditioning he had completed earlier. Intangibility was not merely about output or endurance, it challenged instinct, perception, and the very idea of physical existence. Still, he did not allow that realization to trouble him. Pain now, reward later. He would suffer in the present and reap the fruits of his labor in the future.

With that resolve, he sank back into training, all distractions vanishing as though they had never existed.

The first thing he realized was that solidity itself was a habit. An ingrained assumption. That, he suspected, would be his first wall in this training, perhaps even his greatest. Whether it truly was or not didn’t matter. He trusted his talent, and more importantly, he trusted his absurd and sharp mind.

Lightning pulsed through every part of his body as Asher pushed his control to its absolute limit. He flooded himself with lightning, attempting to brute-force his way into intangibility through sheer dominance of energy, forcing his body to comply with his will.

Without needing conscious instruction, his body resisted by default. Muscles braced. Joints locked. His weight settled firmly into the ground. Every instinct screamed to maintain structure, to meet force with solidity. That instinct had kept him alive times, but now, it was the very thing preventing the technique from coming to life.

With a breath of frustration, Asher rose to his feet once more. He took off his shoes, setting them aside, and stood barefoot within the training chamber. With a thought, he retrieved the wooden talisman Malrik had given him from his system inventory. Without pause, he summoned his Lightning element again. This time, there was no explosive spark, no oppressive pressure, only control layered upon control.

He guided the lightning first toward his nervous system, reinforcing awareness rather than strength. Sensation sharpened. His heartbeat slowed. His breathing aligned into a steady rhythm. Only then did he allow the lightning to spread outward, flowing into muscle, skin, and finally the space between.

"Release," he whispered.

The word was not a command to the lightning, he didn’t need words for that, but a command to himself.

He allowed the tension in his arm to dissolve. Not collapse, dissolution was different. Collapse implied failure, weakness. Dissolution was intentional surrender. The lightning assumed the role of cohesion, holding space without rigidity. The sensation was deeply unsettling, like standing without bones, yet somehow still standing.

The wooden talisman slipped from his hand and struck the floor a moment later. Asher stood motionless for several seconds, staring at the result.

’Too much release,’ he thought.

He drew the lightning back slightly, allowing his muscles to reclaim part of their role. Balance returned immediately. His hand closed again, fingers guiding the current. He aimed to turn his arm intangible once more, but the motion felt delayed, not slow, but unfamiliar, as though his limb were waiting for permission to move. He adjusted the lightning’s flow, tightening the loop that traced along the nerves of his hand.

He picked up the wooden talisman and raised it over his arm. With one hand, he let it drop, testing whether it would phase through. The next instant, the talisman struck his arm. His intangibility failed again.

Asher neither spoke nor grew angry. He understood that this was a form of advanced lightning application; failure was not just expected, it was required. Each attempt refined understanding, even when it didn’t yield success.

His thoughts raced through every biology book he had read back on Earth, every late-night discussion he had shared with Jennifer, searching for anything, any concept, that could shorten the process. He knew he would succeed. For him, it was never a question of if, only when.

Then, his thoughts shifted.

He extended his arm again, staring at it in silence. Not at the arm itself, but at the space his arm occupied.

With that realization, he let the lightning flow once more, but this time, he allowed it to define the space rather than fill it. The lightning outlined his arm without burdening it with weight or resistance. The muscles softened further, no longer holding form on their own.

Without hesitation, Asher raised the wooden talisman and released it.

The talisman fell through the air and passed into his arm as though it weren’t quite there. Not completely phasing through, there was still contact, but there was no resistance, no obstruction.

Asher stopped breathing for a moment.

He had found a path forward.

’This is it.’

A wide smile spread across his face at the first genuine sign of success. He had been at this for quite some time; he allowed himself that moment of satisfaction. Without hesitation, he began practicing the same method repeatedly, monotonously reinforcing the sensation and flow before gradually shifting his control.

He moved on to other parts of his body. After all, his goal was full-body intangibility, not merely his hands. With each test, his proficiency increased incrementally. As always, he practiced just enough to establish a solid foundation, mastery and perfection could come later.

Yet by the time he combined stamina rejuvenation, lightning application, and intangibility training, his allotted three hours had been exhausted. He clicked his tongue in annoyance at the realization, already dreading the thought of paying more points to this Point Sucking Academy.

He was a noble, the son of a Duke, yet this damn Academy had a way of making him feel like a poor man. With a sigh, he rose to his feet and headed toward the receptionist. This time, however, Asher had no intention of wasting time or entertaining conversation.

His training was yielding results, he couldn’t afford to slow down now.