We found the group that had stolen our stuff only a kilometer or so from the dungeon entrance. They had pitched some of our tents as their own, and were eating from the food supplies the group had stocked up in the month before I arrived.
They, like the black and green groups, had an strip of cloth tied around their arms, but this time it was blue. They had already set up a fire, and were gleefully feasting, like they had won a great victory, instead of simply stooping to steal our supplies.
I could see the rage and violence contained within my group’s eyes, as they itched to take action against those who had tried to take advantage of our absence. Though, Az and Font seemed more eager than angry. I think I knew why.
After all, something similar had happened to me.
There was someone I disliked who constantly protected me, shielding me from all the danger he could. I determined to get stronger in order to get away from him, and pursed any chance I could to prove myself, both to him and myself. It ended in disaster, but that’s besides the point.
Az and Font simply wanted to prove to themselves that they were worth something, and the best way for them to do that would be through combat.
Unfortunately for the blue group, it looked like they would be the unwitting punching-bags for Az and Font. I doubted the rest of the group would even be able to fight for long. I gave them a reminder to not damage the goods that had been stolen while fighting though. It would be a shame to exert such effort to right this wrong, only to find that the root of the group’s anger had been destroyed.
I was planning on sitting back, and watching the chaos ensue.
Well, until I found the blue group’s teacher.
The bitch had taken my tent!
My tent!
She was likely also the one who had broken through the weak wards I had placed on our stuff, though that thought was secondary.
After all, that tent had been made out of some nostalgic materials, back from when I was only about ten years old in this body. Even if it does look nice, that doesn’t excuse you stealing it!
Well, she soon learned of the terror that is me.
Before the fight could even begin, I cast a spell by murmuring a few word foreign to this world.
Immediately, the woman shrieked and fell to the ground with a thud, the gravity around her increased by a few dozen times. The rest of the group took this as a signal to attack, and jumped out of the bushes surrounding the camp. The blue group startled badly, belatedly grabbing their weapons to defend.
I also cast another spell on the blue group’s teacher, in a childishly vindictive way.
While she was under the influence of the gravity spell, she wasn’t able to lift her arms, or really move at all. So what did I do?
I made it so the nerves on her nose would constantly irritate her.
Yeah. I made it so her nose was itching.
However, take the worse itch you’ve ever felt, and multiply it by five. Then consider that you can’t scratch it, and that it won't go away.
Very quickly, her eyes began watering, and her nose flared in a failed attempt to rid herself of the itch.
Low moaning sobs started coming from her.
As it turns out, the simplest things are normally the most diabolically effective.
If I were feeling even more vindictive, there were also other, more sensitive places I could have put the itch. She should count herself lucky that I didn’t feel like it. The tent hadn’t been damaged, so this was enough pay-back. Besides, who knows if she’s going to be a future colleague of mine? I’d rather not burn any bridges for the future. Unless someone manages to royally piss me off.
In that case, all bets are off.
I casually observed the rest of the fight, if it could be called that. The blue group, bereft of their teacher, and having not been prepared, was absolutely destroyed. As I thought, the most effective of our fighters had been Az and Font, who had caused devastation wherever they went.
It’s a shame though. Those two had gotten so caught up in proving themselves, that they had forgotten the ‘don’t break our own stuff’ rule. I could see at least two tents that had caught on fire from their fights, and quite a few more that had been trampled in the ensuing sword duels. At one point, Az had gotten really carried away, and used a finishing move type attack to cleave the hastily put together enemy ranks in two, destroying a large swath of tented land.
Looks like they’ll need a good talking to after we collect all the stuff that had survived.
Being all gung-ho is a good thing, but only when you also use your brain.
Having made sure that everyone was alright, I released the gravity spell on the blue group’s teacher, who immediately went to scratch her nose. I reactivated the spell before she could, though.
Oops, sorry for the false hope. Shouldn’t have stolen my tent.
Speaking of my tent, I went to go pick it up.
But there was a slight problem.
Where my tent had been….
That was where Az had set off his finishing move.
Gods damn it, Az.
And I was even beginning to not mind your presence.
He also got the gravity spell treatment, though this time the itch was all over his body, and a few times stronger than the one put on the lady who’s crying off to the side.
We set up camp right where the blue group had before. They had left after the devastating defeat, and the black group gave them the same going-away treatment they had the green group.
Suffice to say, we now had tents to replace the ones we lost. Unfortunately, that included mine.
A few hours after the other group had left, my mana finally got to a low enough point that I let both the other teacher and Az go free. The lady ran off, probably to both get as far away from me as possible, and to find her group. I don’t blame her—I had given both her and Az a good lecture about morals and behaviour while they were suffering under the gravity spell.
Az—without the option of running away—simply dragged himself to his own tent, which had somehow survived, and sulked for the rest of the evening. Serves him right.
I think. I mean, I’ve been told a few times that my morals are just a little twisted. I attribute it to my experiences.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
I didn’t sleep in my new tent. Partially because it didn’t feel like mine and still smelled strongly of the precious inhabitant. Though, a quick spell took care of that.
Also, I wanted to meditate. I had used quite a bit of mana with those gravity spell, and I was nearly empty at the moment. Meditating would recover it faster than sleeping would, since I consciously pulled the ambient mana around me into my body, purifying it and making it my own. Meditating also had the wonderful effect of calming my mind, and allowed me to abandon greater vengeance against Az, deserving of it though he is.
Something curious happened while I was meditating though.
The ding of a system notification sounded, and I was informed that I had advanced to level seventy four.
It was odd. Normally, people would slow down as their level got higher, but mine seemed to increase at a constant rate, like it was building up to something.
I can look forward to reaching level seventy-five, from a casual observation of what had happened when I had reached levels twenty-five, and fifty.
I gained some good skills that I hadn’t needed to use yet. When I reached level twenty-five, I had gained the racial skill〖Blink〗, allowing me to teleport short distances. For some reason, this doesn’t affect me in the same way transport runes seem to.
It was an invaluable skill that I could see saving my life in the future. The problem with it is, that it takes nearly half my mana to activate once. So forgive me if it still seems impractical in normal combat at the moment.
The skill I unlocked after reaching level fifty was just as impractically powerful.〖Storm’s Eye〗allows me to temporarily cause my body to turn to lightning, ignoring all physical attacks.
Attacks using mana do double the damage, though.
And it only lasts for ten seconds.
The best part about the skill is that it makes my lightning spells many times stronger during this time. I could absolutely annihilate enemies while under the influence of both〖Demonic Transformation〗and〖Storm’s Eye〗, since they both boost my combat potential.
I could only use them both for ten seconds, though. And〖Storm’s Eye〗, like〖Blink〗, drains my mana quite quickly. So, while both of these skills are quite powerful, they have situations they’re best in. Like when I’m about to die. Otherwise, I won't use them.
With the current trend, when I reach level seventy-five, I’ll get an even more ridiculously powerful skill.
And, after that, there’s level one-hundred to think about.
I’m eager to see what’ll happen then. I should reach that point in only a few more months as well, provided I’m allowed access to the Academy’s dungeon. I’ve heard that it’s a tier five, from all the other dungeon cores it’s been given after the Academy was opened.
So, it’s mid to late levels are probably comparable to the early ones found in the tier six dungeon in the capital.
I can also access the Academy’s library, and learn more about the whole world—Not just these three continents.
It’s odd, really, how little I can find out about the world beyond our land. Everything I’ve found so far says the same thing—That our three continents are akin to very small islands when compared to the rest of the world. I can find nothing else though.
There are no accounts of people leaving the continents and returning with more information. Or returning, period. I asked Jasper about it before leaving, and he said that strange things can be found the further away from land you go. I asked for an example, and he simply told me that it’s something that I have to find out for my own, after I get strong enough.
I hope to find some of the answers in the library. Somewhat on a side note, I felt good about my chances of finding something in this library, since it had collected a great number of books from all three continents. While it is still relatively new, both the elven and human royalty have donated a great deal to it, stocking it up completely.
They’ve even begun adding more wings to it.
Of course, access to the library is restricted to students and teachers. Some of the areas are only accessible to teachers.
That was also part of the reason I wanted to apply as a teacher and not a student, since I would have more freedom to pursue the information I desire.
Speaking of teaching, I wonder what sort of stuff Headmaster Flavius would have me do. He had said that he would start me off at the bottom, teaching the first years. I think this is impractical though, since most first years are ten to twelve years old. They wouldn’t hold much respect for a teacher only a few years older than them, no matter how powerful said teacher is. The older grade are mature enough to understand my capabilities, and would be willing to listen to me regardless of age. In fact, it might egg some of them on, seeing a thirteen year old teaching their class. Feelings of inferiority are normally a good motivator, provided you don’t give up on it.
I had a good idea of how my class would be taught as well, and it wouldn’t be conducive to good childhood experience. For older students, it would be a good opportunity to grow stronger, and to become more mature.
I’ll just have to convince Flavius to let me teach an older group, then. Maybe he’ll even give me the school troublemakers.
That would be interesting, trying to reform them into more powerful and mature versions of themselves. Plus, I like people with personality. My ideal class would be full of main characters. I would have to keep it small if that were the case, though. Too much of a good thing and all that.
For now, I should make sure that I am accepted as a teacher in this little exam. That’s the first step here, easy though it might be.
I am still a little worried about that one team without a teacher, but I suppose I’ll find them sooner or later.
Wait, couldn’t I just ask someone here?
With that very intention, I found Font, and asked him about the only team without a teacher. He answered me, with a little fear in his eyes. He had, after all, seen what had happened to Az and the blue group’s teacher, and was well aware that Az hadn’t been alone in causing damages to our stuff.
(Font) “Oh, you mean the student council’s team, right?”
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