Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: Divine Grace Fundamentals
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Between the sparkling white pebbles lay a hefty black rock.
I wasn't sure if it was due to the refraction of light, but the rock looked far larger than my upper body. As I stared at it blankly, Dad's explanation drifted into my ears.
I tore my gaze from the rock and looked up at Dad's face.
"To use Divine Grace proficiently, you need to get used to three things."
"Three things?"
"First is creating water."
Hearing that, I recalled the moment in the cave when I'd conjured water to hold up the collapsing ceiling.
It had felt like an extra hand had sprouted.
The sensation from that time still lingered in my hand, so I clenched my fist and then opened it. Dad gave a small smile.
"Second is moving water in the direction you want."
"And the third?"
"Shaping water into the form you desire."
"Into the form I desire?"
"Simple, right?"
With those words, Dad began using his Divine Grace.
Droplets of water he created rained down over the lake like a shower.
Then the droplets changed direction. Defying gravity, they rose and began swirling like a vortex.
Soon, the spinning droplets converged at one point, instantly forming a translucent ice spear that plunged through the lake's surface.
'Create water, move it in the desired direction, and shape it as desired.'
I slowly mulled over what Dad had said.
So that's the basics of Divine Grace training?
It didn't take long for the water droplets impaled by the spear to splash into the air and sink back below the surface, the ripples fading away.
"Should I make it rain like you did, Dad?"
"That's tough at the start."
"But I held up a collapsing ceiling in the cave."
"When Divine Grace first awakens, it's like a dam bursting, unleashing a flood of divine power beyond your capacity."
So that's how it was?
I still couldn't quite believe it, so I tentatively used my Divine Grace.
I thought I could make it rain like Dad, but all that appeared in the air were a few feeble streams of water that fell limply.
Dad burst out laughing at my flushed, embarrassed face.
"If first awakening is a flood, then your stabilized state now is like a calm puddle."
Not a river, not even a spring—just a puddle.
Me, a puddle...
"Through training, you'll build capacity and reach farther places, like flowing water. That's the nature of our Divine Grace."
"Could it grow as vast as the sea someday?"
"Yes."
"Then starting today, I'll practice hard!"
My disappointment was fleeting.
I love working out.
Meaning I'm used to repeatedly moving this clumsy, uncooperative body of mine, gradually ramping up the challenge.
Dad stroked my head as I looked up at him with enthusiasm brimming on my face.
"Shall we start by practicing how to move water the way you want?"
"How do I do that?"
"You saw that rock sunk at the bottom of the lake, right?"
"Yes."
"Lift it with your Divine Grace and pull it out of the lake."
Me... a puddle?
I furrowed my brow, doubting if my current capacity could lift something that big, but Dad lightly smoothed my forehead with his thumb.
"Actually, pulling out something big and heavy is easier."
"Really?"
"Yes. To extract something small, you need finer control over the water's power. If you can't properly regulate Divine Grace's might, you might shatter it."
That made sense once he explained it.
If it were a big, solid rock, fine—but grabbing something small and squishy like a water bird right now? Honestly, I wasn't confident I'd catch it properly.
I stared at the rock, concentrating intensely.
The cold, refreshing energy I'd felt before swept through my heart and seeped into the lake, grasping one stream of water.
'This is harder than I thought.'
The rock didn't budge, staying put.
Even so, I kept fumbling my Divine Grace, like a kid dropping a fish through their fingers.
Just directing one water stream at my will in the still lake was no easy feat.
I felt resistance from the other waters I wasn't grasping—like trudging forward against a fierce gale battering my whole body.
Finally reaching the rock, I had no idea how to grab it.
'Should I bind it like rope? Scoop it up like a net?'
Or just snatch it like picking up a stone with my hand?
If it were my body or a tool, I'd manage somehow, but this intangible Divine Grace had to be manipulated purely by thought. It was way harder than expected.
After brushing the rock clumsily with water streams several times, my competitive spirit ignited.
Fine, whatever!
Just squeeze with Divine Grace like clenching a fist...!
"Ella."
Dad's Divine Grace gently wrapped my wrist.
"Think of wrapping Divine Grace firmly around the surface like this."
Like this?
Referencing Dad's method, I tentatively wrapped my Divine Grace around the rock.
Feeling the water stream I'd grasped envelop the rock—clumsily, but intact—Dad slid his Divine Grace up my wrist.
It looked like I'd raised just one hand high. Dad nodded, chuckling as if stifling laughter.
'He wants me to do it like him, right?'
I cautiously lifted the rock wrapped in my Divine Grace.
One water stream lacked power, so I grasped another and lifted. The rock began rising bit by bit.
A little more, a little more, just a bit more...!
As the rock emerged from the water, hovering about a handspan above the surface, I beamed at Dad.
"Dad! Look at this!"
That was the moment.
As I turned my gaze, my focus scattered, and the rock I'd held slipped from my Divine Grace with a splash, plunging back into the water.
Splashing spray drenched my face and training clothes completely.
Soaked through, I groaned.
"This is harder than I thought."
"Still, lifting it above the water is impressive enough."
"Really?"
I looked up at Dad, grinning, thinking this was a solid achievement—then froze at his next words.
"Let's use Divine Grace again, Ella."
"Again?"
"You succeeded in pulling it out, so now practice gently setting it down on the ground."
"......"
"It'll be simpler than you think. Come on, one more time."
For a brief moment, Dad's face overlapped with mine when I'd nagged Dietrich, Grandpa, and Erich to train hard.
To pay off my karma, I summoned Divine Grace once more.
I won't say how many more tries it took.
I'll just say I finally succeeded after turning the vast lakeside ground into a muddy mess.
Erich had said it before.
Divine Grace circuits run along the muscles throughout the body.
'I never thought I'd feel that so viscerally.'
The day after the grueling Divine Grace training, I woke up staggering, hit with long-forgotten hellish muscle pain.
"You okay, baby Ella?"
Dietrich, who'd already trained with Dad, came to see me early in the morning, his face full of worry.
I'm fine.
I can handle this much.
Even if my legs tremble like this—endure the pain, and both my Divine Grace capacity and muscles will grow far stronger!
They say muscle soreness is the sweetest pain in the world.
"Your eyes look delirious. Should I call the physician?"
"Dietrich, from now on, I respect my little brother."
"Me? Why?"
"When you first trained with Dad, you must've gone through this tough process, right? Lifting and dropping that rock over and over..."
"Huh? Not me."
Hearing that, I whipped my head around—only to feel sharp pain.
No way, just me?
Clutching my throbbing neck muscles and staring, Dietrich replied slowly with soulless eyes.
"Father told me to get friendly with the water, pushed me into the lake, and said to come out on my own..."
We both fell silent at the same time.
And thought the exact same thing.
Dad is a demon!