The very first thing I do is eat my books.
[Will you allow Lexicon to consume x6 Academic Textbooks?]
[ Y / N ]
I click yes and the books in my hands turn to dust. I open my skill page and start skimming the text inside. The knowledge didn’t immediately integrate into my skull, but I can search for anything inside the books with just a thought. I activate the manifesting aspect of my skill.
[Lexicon?
A man-made skill that requires the user to have a sense of discovery.
After the User kills or studies a creature, it will be recorded inside the Lexicon. The user can use the Lexicon to read about any creatures that are recorded inside the Lexicon. The Lexicon can be taken out and used as a normal book.
The Lexicon can consume inferior books and store their knowledge.]
A large tome manifests in front of me, quickly transforming into the History of the World textbook. I check my skills and it looks like I can still see the information that was consumed even if I pull it out of the window. Examining the book, I can tell that it's magical, but it seems to be set to this one particular book. I reactivate the skill and instead of wanting a specific book, I just manifest the Lexicon in its entirety.
The same tome that turned into my textbook appears, this time it doesn’t change. I flip through some pages and I see everything I documented with [Scientific Insight+] and [Lexicon] skills. Monsters, skills, items, and resources, it's all there. With a wave of my hand, the book dissipates into particles as I make my way to the Dean’s Office.
~
Inside the administration wing on campus, I'm stuck trying to make an appointment with the dean. The lady at the reception is making my life difficult.
"The Dean is a very busy man, he doesn’t have time to see every student on campus"
"He doesn't need to see every student, just me."
"Sorry, but unless you have a crucial reason to see the Dean, I will have to refuse to set an appointment. You can speak to a school counselor or a teacher for any of your needs."
There was a picture of the Dean on the school's brochure, A well-groomed middle-aged man in a suit. He looked like he was a government official who got “promoted” into watching over the school. I walk back to the library and use one of the computers there to look up Dean Palmer on the internet.
I don't find anything from before he was a Dean, but I do manage to find his office phone number. I leave and stand outside of the administration wing and give it a call on my phone.
*ring ring*
*click*
“Hello, you have reached the office of Dean Palmer, of Bluefield Institute, how may I help you,” a female voice sounds out from the phone. It doesn’t sound like the receptionist so it must be his personal assistant.
“Hello, I was wondering when the Dean was available for appointments. I need to speak to him.” All this trouble because I wanted to translate some random journal.
“May I know who is speaking?”
“Ellis Vincere, I am a student at Bluefield Institute.” There was no reply for quite some time.
“Ellis VIncere, you can meet the dean right away. Turn left once inside the administration wing and go up to the third floor, you should be able to see his office.”
Strange, I make my way to the office anyway. The receptionist is too preoccupied with someone else to realize I came back in and just went up the elevator without checking in. Outside of the dean’s office is a woman who has their whole work set up right next to the door. I look at her as she looks back intensely.
“Ellis Vincere? The student with a [Skeleton] and a [Feathered Boa]?”
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“My name is Ellis, and I do indeed have both a skeleton, a snake, and most importantly a Flash Gordon.”
She looks back at me with joy in her eyes, it weirds me out completely.
“Dean Palmer tasked me with finding the student who helped the local enforcer agency with taking down a hotspot for criminal activity and rescuing the newest benefactor of the Institute. Now that you are here, my pay raise is secured!”
“Pardon?”
“A gentleman named Sir. Winkleton has donated a large sum of money to the institute as thanks for the great training this school provides to its students. Since a student was the one who saved him.”
Was I wearing my uniform when I saved him? I don’t recall wearing anything else this week except during workouts and training… I should get different enchanted clothing for casual wear.
She continues, “Also the captain of the enforcer Captain Doyle gave great commendations to an anonymous student at Bluefield Institute in an interview at the scene of the casino.
It's not actually anonymous if he named dropped the institute I go to.
“How did the school figure out it was me?”
“When you called I looked up your student information and it said that you are a tamer with three distinct tamed beasts. A Flash Gordon which was registered before the year started, a skeleton that was unofficially reported by a staff member, and a [Feathered Boa] named duchess that Instructor Wurm noted in the tamer test as ‘a predator’.”
Damn, that orc sure can work fast, it hasn't even been an hour since I left the arena.
“Sir. Winkleton didn’t catch your name but described you perfectly. With your unique tamed beasts and accurate description of your appearance he gave, I was able to match it all up after seeing your profile.”
“So… can I speak with the dean?”
“Oh yes, he is expecting you, right this way.”
~
The interior of the Dean's office feels stifling. It is what I imagine the office of a CEO of a big company would be like. Minimalist corner office with a view that has a massive wooden desk in front of a black leather chair. A large bookshelf filled with books sits behind the desk. A small bonsai tree sits on top of the desk, overlooking everything. In the room, there is a table surrounded by chairs for some reason, in case a meeting room is not enough and a large collective of people have to meet with the dean at once. I sit down in front of the dean in one of the chairs that face his desk before greeting him.
“Hello Dean Palmer, I am here to ask you a question regarding book restrictions on first-year students."
"We can talk about that in a moment. First I want to thank you for your heroics." The dean smiled warmly at me, but his eyes didn't match his smile.
"Go ahead."
"Pardon?"
"Thank me."
I don't like the government. They took away my father's laboratory after he died and claimed to 'burn' all the things inside, the only thing that was left was a few items in a safety deposit box at the bank. They also took all the money from his accounts.
After my grandfather gave the land to the people, the self-appointed government that survived the Collision took control of most of the land and implemented its own rules. Grandfather didn't care since he believed that if the people didn't like them, they would eventually get rid of them.
I still remember him saying that laws were made by the weak to limit the strong. My father had the opposite opinion, laws were made by the strong to limit the weak. Neither of them paid any taxes.
I'm willing to keep an open mind, but the Dean would never have seen me if I didn't get a bunch of money for the school. The only thing that these type of people like more than authority and bureaucracy is money.
I need to show that he doesn't have total control, so I can get what I want.
"Well thank you student Ellis for your wonderful achievement in society, I'm sure your parents are very proud of you."
He continues with, "Sir. Winkleton of the Winkleton Estates has donated a sizable sum to the institute, and since this is a government ran institution you can be assured that the money will all go to the right place."
I don't comment.
"Sir. Winkleton has entrusted me personally to hand this over to you as thanks for your heroism."
He hands over a manila envelope, it's smaller than the one Agent Nelson had that doctor hand me. I open it and pull out two things. A bond with a hundred thousand dollars on it and a deed.
I pause and look up at the dean before slowly putting the contents of the envelope back, and putting the envelope inside my inner jacket pocket.
"You can thank him for me."
"I'm glad I can tell him that we managed to reach you within a day of him asking, maybe he will donate again next year as a sponsor for the school."
Shit, if I graduate Winkleton will definitely not donate again, this dean won't allow me to go so easily. I guess I won't be asking him ways to graduate as soon as possible.
"Dean Palmer, I need a specific language translated, the school librarians said it was restricted to first years. Why?"
"All books that are restricted from student access depending on their complexity level. We don't need students to jump the gun and get discouraged when not understanding something they weren’t equipped to handle."
"I didn't have to represent the institute by wearing the uniform, can you make an exception for me?"