Hal, with bloodshot eyes, picked up a strange-looking goggle artifact with real, preserved eyes of a Pantheran. He then equipped it over his head and strapped the loose ends of what seemed to be optic nerves together. Its appearance was probably among the worst, but as long as it could serve its purpose, then Hal would be satisfied. Unfortunately, the moment he wore it... "DAMN IT!!" he cursed, utterly weary and exhausted after an entire day and night of working that only resulted in a final product that made him as blind as a bat in mid-morning instead. Yesterday and the day before, he spent the whole day crafting artifacts he could sell to Wanzin’s Arcane Emporium to warm up, mostly utility-type ones, all in preparation for today. Yet, even after more than thirteen attempts, he was still failing, though he was undoubtedly getting closer each time. The current result, frustratingly far as it appeared on the surface, was actually already quite close, and Hal had somewhat of an idea why he failed. He just needed to rest for a while and ponder some things before trying again. He was a failed attempt away from wasting all his efforts in the Savannah of Carnage and Shadow Marsh, after all... It wouldn’t be wise to throw everything away due to his frustration. Taking one deep breath, Hal left his workshop, returning to his suite with a concerned wolf companion. "Aihh...this wouldn’t do...I need to relax a bit..." And so, he did, cooking himself and Loki a nice dinner. He then granted himself a nice sleep after a warm bath. While his frustrations and tiredness didn’t vanish immediately, they were gone like the darkness of the night in the following morning. Hal was yet to figure out how to succeed, though... After a quick and light breakfast, he headed to the fitness center to move his body a bit, pondering things while lifting weights. This yielded some results, but not enough for him to use his last attempt yet. He went to the Aeloria Public Library to research after a decent workout. Hal finished around six hours later, muttering things rather inaudibly as he returned to his suite to ponder more. "Tch...the problem is that the transmission from the antenna to my brain is not working at all...I need to connect the two through the same wavelength somehow..." Hal was quite certain that the Pantheran’s eyes could already see. It just looks like his vision is simply blocked by the rather goofy and eerie goggle eyes because the sight isn’t being transmitted properly to his brain... "Why? Why can’t it just be the same as how I perceive through my [Spirit Sparrow]?" He quickly sprinted back to the library to research the spell deeply. There was a connection between the sparrow’s eyes and his brain, which makes viewing things through the eyes of the summon possible. And that connection was mana. His mana, to be exact... He got so preoccupied with the idea of using the core’s stable mana supply to transmit the sight of the Pantheran eyes from the antenna to his brain that he forgot there was the option of using his mana to meet the mana in the core and guide it towards his brain. While this would mean additional costs during battle, it was a worthy tradeoff if it translated to a fighting chance against a mighty opponent that required him to use Aethersight. In fact, Hal was now sure that a few of his previous creations would work. There was only one more thing he needed to do. He had to think of a design that would allow him to see without the Pantheran eyes blocking his real vision, as he couldn’t keep the artifact activated all the time. Something similar to a mode toggle, but could be done quickly... Around five more hours later... "Hahahaha! It’s done!" Hal laughed in utter delight and satisfaction as he raised the strange arcane artifact in his hands triumphantly. It used two Pantheran eyes attached to optic nerves that could be partially flipped up when deactivated and fixed in place of one’s eyes if needed. The straps had two locks, horizontal and vertical ones that made the entire thing look like a reversed underwear worn on one’s head. Google seaʀᴄh 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⚑𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⚑𝓷𝓮𝓽 Only the two antennas served to lessen that rather goofy impression. ’Ahh...I hope I don’t need to use this in front of Liora, though...’ Hal mused with a smile as he wore the artifact. He then adjusted the goggles to block his real vision before infusing mana into the artifact. Soon, his vision returned, but his once regular vision turned a slight yellow. That seemed to be the only change. Yet, Hal couldn’t be happier: "It worked! Jeebus Bryce! It finally worked!! Hahahaha!" Loki didn’t understand what was happening, but as long as his master was happy, then he was happy. Aethersight doesn’t give one a clearer vision, but faster reflexes surpassing human limits. And to test it, Hal had to face a projectile too fast for human eyes to see, or someone who could run circles around him with speed that is impossible to follow for human eyes. The former was naturally the easier option. Hal quickly left his workshop and headed to Deputy Headmaster Korvus’ office to ask for assistance. "A-Are you sure?" the old man stuttered at the request. "No...even if you’re sure, I wouldn’t dare do such a thing. Come, follow me." Hal shrugged, fully knowing why the stubborn old man couldn’t bring himself to shoot such a dangerous projectile at him. He was brought to the Headmistress’s Office. Naturally, Isolde was surprised to hear that he had already created an artifact with Aethersight, and she couldn’t help but doubt him a bit. It was only because she was confident of her mana control that the headmistress dared to accept. A few moments later, Hal and Isolde were standing inside yet another separate dimension, this one having nothing but a translucent purple ground they mysteriously could step on. They stood a few meters across each other. Isolde raised her arms, fully locked in so she could dismiss the spell before it hit her student. This meant that she both had to fire and stop her attack before Hal could even react. Soon, her eyes glowed a faint purple, leaving her student momentarily awestruck. "Focus!" Isolde reprimanded, snapping Hal right back to concentration. She then raised her left hand and pointed her index finger at Hal. Isolde didn’t immediately fire to better confirm the Aethersight, as the test would be meaningless if Hal simply predicted when she would attack. A second passed, then another. Hal was slowly growing uneasy, his focus slipping as his heart raced, both slightly nervous and excited. Around four and a half seconds later, a void beam as thin as a needle shot towards Hal at a rate impossible to dodge for mundane human eyes. But to Isolde’s surprise, her student was already moving, dodging the attack by quite a considerable margin. "Tch. Don’t predict when I will fire and rely on your eyes. Again." Hal was confused, and the headmistress noticed his reaction. He didn’t predict the attack at all and simply reacted to it, calculating the void beam’s trajectory and speed the moment his eyes and brain registered the attack. Hal then moved accordingly to dodge. It wasn’t that fast, so what was his master talking about... Soon enough, realization struck.