With the sudden power-up appearing before his eyes, Jackson realized that he was no longer Hyourin’s match. The overpowering feeling of a liquid-like manifestation of Hyourin’s intent meant that she could simply will it to happen, and it would indeed occur.
Whatever that potion was, it was special.
Yet despite the dire situation and the possible failure of his initial plans of cultivating the {Nest of Evil}, he still smiled.
This was enough. To have pushed Hyourin this far, the investment was worth it.
—Swaaaah!
In just a moment, as the torrent of cyan rushed towards him like a tide of blades, Jackson vanished.
Hyourin’s attack continued forward, swarming the purple gleam she had seen earlier. It was now clear to her what it was.
An egg, oozing with malevolent vibes and the stench of corruption. It shone a soft purple, like bioluminescence.
—Crack!
Its beauty was of no concern to Hyourin.
The thorned rose that was the egg would yield only harm to those around it.
She could not allow the {Nest of Evil} to fully ferment. Especially now that she had drunk that potion.
—Vwhoom!
A pulse of energy burst out of the egg, however the cyan swarm of pine-scented vapor washed it away.
Peace returned to the underground catacombs.
And Hyourin sighed in exhaustion, with blood dripping out of her nose.
***
“I may have brought the storyline forward, but Professor Hyourin must have had quite the conversation with her old crush.”
A sadistic chuckle spurted out of Athelei’s lips.
“...It’s a worthwhile exchange for a much better room.”
Now, at least, he had his own bathroom.
Athelei couldn’t be happier. This was the result of being just the right amount of greedy. As long as he had a way to back up his greed, all was well. Empty claims would be his downfall.
Athelei sighed.
From a short chat with the beautiful Chloe Sinclair, Athelei discovered an unfortunate happenstance — he was the last Artist among all the freshmen.
“To think that they were also the reckless type…” Athelei shook his head.
Their laughter and pure joy as they trudged through the orchard.
Their curiosity and beautiful naïveté.
The simplicity of their desire.
Athelei was actually looking forward to interacting with his fellow Artists.
Unfortunately, they went to fight the {Evil}, dying valiantly in battle. Well, as far as valiant could be used to describe them.
From what Athelei experienced last night… it must have been a massacre. Those unranked Artists wouldn’t have stood a chance.
Now, he was alone amongst a pack of wolves.
[Name: Athelei]
[Identity: Lewis Kava (Enforced)]
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
[Title: Ambrosia, □□□□□□ □□ □□□ □□□□□□]
[Age: 16
[Level: 1]
[Class: Artist]
[Rank: 0
[Traits:
Moreover, the moment he started practicing drawing his mystic pattern…
Athelei received a notification.
[Your trait,
[You can only study mystic patterns by drinking tea from a teacup.]
Thus,
[
[Rune Knowledge » Purchasing Beautiful Robes: 2/100]
[Meditation » Rearranging Bookshelves: 12/100]
[Mystic Pattern Studies » Drinking Tea from a Tea Cup: 6/100]
The list had grown, and so did Athelei’s annoyance with its existence.
***
Three days later.
I was sipping tea as I read a random book from the library, fulfilling my identity as Lewis Kava.
[Your trait,
[Your trait,
To be able to learn about mystic patterns while doing nothing… I couldn’t help but feel that my traits somehow had emotions. It was a tad bit disconcerting.
Nonetheless, I was enjoying my peaceful student life as an extra. Going about my day, arranging bookshelves, reading, and sipping tea. Nothing more, nothing less.
That’s right.
It was peaceful.
Given Lewis Kava’s disposition, the algorithm of the universe didn’t seem to target him as much. That one night with the {Evil} was payment enough. Perhaps that was the reason why my insignia gave this identity to me in the first place…
No, I doubted that.
Tragedies were natural calamities that were less akin to typhoons, and more reminiscent of volcanic eruptions. Regular eruptions do damage to the area, sure, but when a long-time dormant volcano erupts, an unbelievable amount of chaos would ensue.
The longer I went without experiencing hardships, the more likely that something really bad would happen to me. Peace was a sign of impending doom.
[
[Rune Knowledge » Purchasing Beautiful Robes: 2/100]
[Meditation » Rearranging Bookshelves: 26/100]
[Mystic Pattern Studies » Drinking Tea from a Tea Cup: 30/100]
Looking at my current growth, I felt somewhat satisfied. I was diligently working on learning more mystic patterns by drinking tea like it was water. For each ten points from Unrelated Accumulator, I gained a basic understanding of a new mystic pattern.
Aside from [Quiet] which I learned on my own, I now had [Reinforce], [Haste], and [Barrier]. All of which were foundational mystic patterns to give way to more complex spells. They were like the simplest of print commands in a programming language.
“Lewis? Are you there?”
Suddenly a whisper reached my ears. The librarian’s voice was hushed yet well-directed. I closed the book I was reading and gently placed my tea cup down. The half-finished tea experienced a ripple upon its calm surface.
“I need help with this new batch of books, please!”
…It was time to go back to work
***
Eventually, the official start of classes arrived after one whole week.
Athelei had done nothing but adhere to his routine in the meantime. Although in his heart, he desired more, there was only so much he could do with
There were so many special entities that he could’ve monopolized, but alas, he was bound by Lewis’ image. The other freshmen had also caught on, cementing his place at the bottom of the social ladder.
“Look, it’s him!”
They would say in hushed whispers, gawking at his presence as he walked towards his class.
“This is why Artists aren’t valued. They think that they can achieve greatness by just sitting around all day.”
“Indeed. Dumbasses who only know how to read… They lack the art of application.”
“What a waste of space.”
“Tsk, at least he knows his worth. I heard that he never even dared to appear in the Freshmen Duels. The first thing he did was apply as an assistant to the librarian.”
The words of the masses were venomous. Even more so when it came from young teenagers who had yet to experience the vicissitudes of life.
Athelei took these murmurs in stride. Standing in front of his assigned classroom, he took a moment to compose himself.
“One day,”
He was a patient man.
“I will have the last laugh.”
Their screams would be a symphony he wouldn’t miss. His pursuit for such perilous indulgence would never cease.
With such thoughts, it was time for a new beginning.