Alexander had a great advantage over the vast majority of people who wanted to learn the technique from the tome [Luminous Water Ascending Flow]: he was capable of staying on top of the water to learn from its flow thanks to the combat technique |Water Field| and |Aquatic Combat|.

  Still, even after a full week of practice, he hadn’t made any progress.

  Since the Vermilion Empire’s terrain was mostly flat, the river flowed gently.

  The problem was that something felt fundamentally wrong with his technique.

  Taking a day to read and review the tome—uncharacteristically—Alexander stopped to think about the technique’s history.

  According to the tome, the original version of this technique was created by an expert analyzing the movements of a mystical serpent with affinity for water and light. According to legend, the serpent had saved the expert’s life and later trained him.

  Thinking and rethinking about this story, Alexander ended up correlating it with a mythical creature described on Earth and had a moment of inspiration.

  Following his inspiration, Alexander went to the point where the river became deep and used |Water Field| and |Aquatic Combat| to practice his technique underwater.

  His inspiration proved right. With less than 1 hour of underwater practice, a notice appeared for him.

  Ding!

  [Technique attempt identified. Do you wish to spend (1) growth point to learn the proficiency skill |Ascending Flow|?]

  Alexander didn’t think twice before spending his last growth point.

  He even became somewhat afraid that if he took too long the notification would disappear.

  This was the technique he had the most difficulty learning up to that point.

  As soon as the information from the skill |Ascending Flow| entered Alexander's mind, he understood why he hadn't been able to learn it before.

  "It's exactly as I imagined. This technique was transcribed with an error in its essence," pondered Alexander. "Since it's a technique based on a creature similar to a flood dragon, which lives underwater, its correct name should be 'Ascending Flow in Luminous Water,' not 'Ascending Flow of Luminous Water'.”

  This seemed a simple transcription error, yet it was a gigantic error that affected the technique's very essence.

  One thing was trying to move like water, another thing, very different, was trying to move as if creating and using the water's flow to propel oneself.

  Happy to finally have learned his movement technique, Alexander decided to continue training along the river until getting closer to Twin City.

  Since he no longer needed to use the skill |Asura| to synchronize the movements of the skill |Ascending Flow|, he began using it to resume training with his spear.

  After 2 days of traveling down the river—training and stopping only to eat and rest—Alexander reached a fork and saw something that seemed surreal at first glance, even for that world. "The upper tributary leads to a floating island?"

  Alexander analyzed it carefully, but the reality didn’t change.

  The island remained there, lush and floating in the air with its "welcome carpet" of water rising diagonally.

  "Could I climb up there using that water 'ramp'?" Alexander wondered.

  Approaching the island's "welcome carpet," Alexander noticed part of the river water rose and the other part continued flowing underneath.

  Moreover, the water that rose also flowed down the other side, seemingly floating through the air.

  "This region seems to be affected by that island… Or by something on it," pondered Alexander while analyzing the water. "This interference is creating the anomaly that allows the island, as well as the water ramps, to float."

  Intrigued by the floating island and what it contained, Alexander used the skill |Water Field| and tried to climb up to it through the floating water.

  After climbing only a few meters, the water below him destabilized and he fell.

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  Frustrated at barely reaching 10 of the island's 50 meters height, Alexander changed to his goblin form and tried again.

  To his surprise, as soon as he reached about 20m height, the same thing as before happened and he fell.

  Frustrated and aching from the falls, Alexander refused to give up and used |Water Field| together with |Ascending Flow| to try to climb.

  Thirty meters. Then he fell again.

  Not giving up, Alexander used the mental power of the skill |Asura| to integrate |Water Field| and |Ascending Flow| as one and tried climbing again.

  He still fell around the 35m height mark.

  Falls from those heights were significant. If he hadn't fallen into the water, Alexander would have been seriously injured.

  Getting up, he glared defiantly at the water flowing overhead.

  Alexander drew his spear and made that location his new training ground. He wouldn't leave until reaching that island.

  After 2 more days of training with his spear, while trying to climb to the island, Alexander finally managed to increase his spear proficiency.

  Ding!

  [|Spear Mastery (Intermediate)| leveled up to |Spear Mastery (Advanced)|]

  Even after improving his spear skills, Alexander kept practicing diligently.

  Each day he became a bit better at using the spear, as well as reaching a height even greater than the previous day.

  After 7 more days of simultaneous training and various falls, his movement technique—largely due to the practice he had already accumulated with its movements previously—finally improved and he reached the floating island.

  Ding!

  [|Ascending Flow (Beginner)| leveled up to |Ascending Flow (Intermediate)|]

  When he reached the top, Alexander realized the island wasn’t very large—less than ten kilometers across.

  With little to see besides the lush, breathtaking view, he followed the river in the direction where the mana anomaly intensified.

  Arriving at the center of the floating island, Alexander saw something that reminded him a lot of an Earth myth.

  There, right in the island's center, was a large sword stuck in a stone that divided the river's course in half.

  Curious about all this, he approached the sword and tried to pull it from the stone. Yet a strange power surged out and repelled him.

  Alexander didn't expect to be able to pull the sword from the stone—there were people and creatures that could fly in this world and the sword was still there. He just didn't expect the sword, of its own will, to reject him.

  Even more intrigued and curious about the sword, Alexander used |Appraise| to see its information.

  To his surprise, it proved useless and he couldn't see any information about it.

  "This is getting quite interesting," smiled Alexander. "This sword must have, or be, something very special to resist my |Appraise|."

  Not wanting to give up on the sword so easily, Alexander held its hilt and used the new evaluation method of |Appraise|—obtained when the skill rose to (Peak) level: to feel sensations about the evaluation target.

  "This sensation is somewhat familiar to me, I can't remember from where…" pondered Alexander. "Where could I have encountered something like this before?"

  Unable to remember where he felt something similar to that sword, Alexander decided to use "brute force."

  He then placed his [Ring of the Thief God] in direct contact with the sword. It was the ring's turn to show its (Superior) grade power.

  The problem was that as soon as the ring touched it, the sword released a growing burst of wind—trying to push Alexander away from it.

  The island even began to sink.

  Seeing he wouldn't be able to absorb it with his [Ring of the Thief God], Alexander let go of the sword's hilt to stop its reaction against him.

  However, his complications didn't end there.

  Imperial guards, whom he didn't even know were on that island, headed towards the sword when they felt the strange reaction it caused and saw him before he could flee.

  If before the guards had no reason to closely guard a sword that no one could even make react for years—much less pull—his actions gave them a real reason to act.

  Frightened, Alexander used |Concealment| and |Sneak| and moved away from the area as fast as he could.

  As expected, he didn't have an efficient way to leave that island without being noticed.

  With no good options and unable to remain invisible forever, Alexander descended as much as he could down the island's side, to decrease his distance to the river, and then let himself fall.

  To minimize any disturbance, Alexander, when approaching the water, threw his dagger to break the surface tension.

  He used his feet together as a spear tip and kept his arms crossed. This measure helped decrease the disturbance he caused.

  The force of the fall was so great that his feet went through the water and didn’t stop until colliding with the river bottom.

  With no time to feel the pain, Alexander returned to his human form and changed into his academy uniform.

  He then resumed practicing underwater, knowing it was very likely the imperial guards from the island would investigate any disturbance in the water—even if minor.

  Just as Alexander imagined, it didn't take long for two presences to hover over him, ordering him to leave the river: "Whoever you are, come out of the river now and identify yourself before the imperial guard."

  Being summoned by the guards, Alexander left the river trying to look surprised and introduced himself: "I'm Alexander Ocean. An adventurer studying under the Twin Combats Academy."

  One of the imperial guards, a bird-man type demi-human, evaluated Alexander's identification and clothes, yet it was the other guard with him, a human, who gave the verdict: "I am from Twin City. The clothes are authentic."

  "What are you doing here?" asked the bird-man guard, serious.

  "Training," replied Alexander without hesitation.

  After thinking a bit, he also showed the crest Lucas gave him. "Professor Lucas allowed me to leave the academy to train in a flowing water current."

  The simple presentation of the crest greatly decreased the guards' hostility.

  But the true hostility only disappeared after the human guard analyzed it carefully and attested to its veracity. "Seems he's telling the truth…"

  "Then send him back to his academy now," replied the bird-man guard, very serious. "This area will enter complete isolation. We MUST find that individual."