William hurried to the academy, but when he saw the walls of the academy, he chose to walk slowly, as if he were tired.

He knew that if any deep research was done, he would certainly be questioned because they could easily identify the people who were stationed in the prince's area.

He just had to look calm. If they questioned him, it was enough for him to respond calmly. He never thought that there were organizations such as crime scene investigations in this world yet.

Besides, the academy would probably prefer someone as powerful as him to an arrogant prince and his henchmen.

He threw these matters into the corners of his mind and went to give his quest.

This time he received the quest reward as contribution points. Because he had something he wanted to test.

The Evil Pig quest was only worth ten contribution points. Of course, he then went to the treasure hall to deliver the other pigs he had killed. This time he couldn't see the stupid attendant he met last time.

Again greeted by the same woman. He left, again leaving her a nice tip.

He had a satisfied smile on his face as he emerged from the treasure hall.

The total contribution score was over seventy. While that might be enough for some things, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to satisfy himself with his goals, as he couldn't predict.

He quickly went to the technique building. He wanted to replace the flame steps with a better or more useful technique.

He quickly gave his seal to the teacher, and after the check, he went to the shelves of fire element techniques.

His flame steps were useful, but not enough for him anymore. In total, he found eighteen techniques similar to flame steps. What these techniques had in common with flame steps was that they gave the user increased speed, mobility, and evasion.

None of these techniques was as flamboyant as flame steps. Most of them could even be counted as attack techniques. There were even those who focused on kicks.

William eliminated them as unfit for purpose. Finally, he has eight techniques for the fire element. In their estimation this was insufficient.

That's why he moved towards the wind element rack, which was the best in speed. There he found two techniques that could be useful to him and completed the set. However, he saw that he was insufficient in terms of contribution points.

When he made his final calculations, he could take up to five techniques. Moreover, these were all techniques that belonged to the element of fire.

The techniques he found in the part belonging to the wind element required fifty contribution points, which was more expensive than usual!

Two meant a hundred contribution points. Even this pricing was enough to explain their power and value.

He returned to the teacher with the five techniques he had picked up. The teacher was startled when he saw that he had taken all five movement techniques at once. But he spoke only after he handed over the copies.

"What are you going to do with all that movement technique?"

William's answer was ready. He expected a question like this.

"I aim to develop an understanding of this subject and to be able to use the techniques better." Said.

The teacher found this answer appropriate and positive. He just gave him a simple warning.

"Sometimes it's not good to focus on more than one technique. It might slow you down but if you know what you're doing, I have nothing to say. Just be careful."

"Thank you, teacher!" ' William bowed.

He liked his tough but protective demeanor.

After leaving the technique building, he went straight to his room. He needed to test his theory.

He calmed himself down and sat on his bed.

He lined up the techniques he had taken from his dimensional bag in order in front of him.

He touched a technique in front of him.

[Like a Volcano (Movement Technique) x1]

He had seen this before when choosing a technique. Here was the point he wanted to confirm. If he had a system that could combine, it could also work in terms of techniques, right? He wanted to try.

In fact, just the technique against him was enough for him right now. He especially liked the 'Like a Volcano' technique. He would spread the fire element on the soles of his feet and suddenly release it with a repulsive force. This was a technique that allowed him to dash long distances or perform sudden bursts of speed. It would slap his flame steps on power.

Then he touched on the other four techniques.

[Like a Volcano x1+ 4 (Movement Technique)/ Would you like to combine other techniques with 'Like a Volcano'? Y/N]

This notification made him happy. Could he correct the flaws of 'Like a Volcano' by combining other techniques?

He didn't think too much about it because he would soon learn the answer.

He slowly put his finger to [Yes]. Then again, the same white light enveloped the parchment containing the techniques. All of them slowly combined in front of him and turned into a single scroll, but what he didn't expect was severe pain in his head when writing began to appear inside the scrolls.

He experienced such pain that in just a few seconds he could not bear the pain and passed out.

Sitting in bed, he should be thankful he tried it. At least he looked like someone who was sleeping peacefully.

It took eight hours for him to wake up. When he opened his eyes, he could still feel the remnants of the pain he was experiencing. Moreover, great tiredness had descended upon him. It looked as if he had been studying math day and night.

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He put his hand to his head and then shouted the first thing that came to mind in his mind.

"System!"

[Combined successfully!]

After confirming this, he looked at the scroll in front of him. It was twice as large as before. He read it carefully. A look of surprise came over his face as he approached them.

The combine was successful in the direction he predicted!

His previous concern was that the system would robotically combine these techniques. But his worries proved unfounded. Some of the techniques he chose were related to the shortcomings of 'Like a Volcano'. The system had successfully taken these useful parts from other techniques and combined them with 'Like a Volcano'. At this time, 'Like a Volcano' was close to the top in its lane. The only thing missing was the power output.

It would take a lot of research on that. It would be best if he could find a technique that reduces the power output. However, 'Like a Volcano' would be a flawless and perfect technique. Of course at its level.

There was a reluctance in William. He even thought he had wasted so many contribution points.

Because he would advance to become a bronze rank soon after. Then these techniques wouldn't be of much help to him. As the qi stored by the qi pool in his body would grow, stronger techniques with more qi would open doors for him. Currently, 'Like a Volcano' would only be considered perfect at the iron level. The best bet was that he could use it up to the mid-bronze level.

All he had to do right now was go hunting to gain more soul stones or contribution points.

Moreover, he had to control the metal heart in the worm mountain. Finally, Baldur also needed to grab a few buckets and some anticoagulant potion before he was ready for the new mission.

It was because he was obsessed with this bloodline business. It was something that could make him strong. He needed to learn from Baldur which creatures had which bloodline powers. Before that, he would have to read the 'Black Forest Encyclopedia', which was not his turn in the library.

He would have to find the bloodline that best suited him and hunt those creatures to draw blood.

He sighed wearily to himself.

'So much to do but not enough time!'

William was a little hasty. Whenever he put his mind to a task, he would work with all his heart to finish it quickly. But he couldn't rush things. After all, this was not his old world. One small mistake could cost him his life.

First, he wanted to go to the library. Although he still had a little headache, there was no problem with his body. He got the book easily because he came to the library before everyone else, but he encountered a problem while reading it.

This technique combination work had exhausted all his mental strength!

Before he could even read the first few pages, he felt an insane pain in his head. He had to leave the book in its place and leave for breakfast.

There was no problem doing any daily activities or anything, but when he had to do anything that required mental strength, he was instantly in great pain.

After a few tests, he would neither be able to use the system nor any technique until he recovered. He just needed to live like an ordinary man. He estimated that, as the headache subsided as time passed, it would clear up in a few days.

Arriving in the dining room, he met the trio he could call 'friends'.

He ordered a nice meal in exchange for an extra soul stone and sat next to them.

He thought it wouldn't hurt to socialize as he needed to recover for a few days.

The trio greeted him with a smile. They considered William to be their friend.

Merlon started a conversation with William, as usual, the talkative of the group.

"William, you wouldn't believe what we did!" His face was excited as he spoke.

"What did you do?" William wasn't very curious, but as a good friend, he had to ask.

"We have successfully completed our first hunt!"

"Ah! Congratulations! What did you hunt?"

"One evil pig! You should have seen that evil pig, it had big red eyes. His teeth were the size of my arm. Leslie stalled him with his crossbow. With my sword, Dullan's spear, we took him down in a few minutes!"

He was very excited as he spoke. He was exaggerating so much that it was as if the trio were superheroes who saved the whole world. William did not underestimate them. Everyone started with such small hunts.

After a while, Merlon's excitement subsided and he asked.

"What did you do? Did you get a mission?"

William didn't want to answer, but thought something quickly and felt that this was an excuse that might help him.

"Yes, we got the same assignment by chance. I killed an evil pig too, but it was stupid to go alone, I got a blow to the head and I need to rest for a few days." He said with a sigh.

He was pretending to be weak. He didn't want to upset his friends.

Meanwhile, he noticed that they were also leveling up. Looking carefully, Merlon and Dullan had reached the eighth meridian, and Leslie had reached the ninth meridian. Leslie was very close to the iron level. He felt that at any moment he could make a breakthrough.

"Dude, you are absolutely unlucky. Would you like to come with us to the next hunt? Tomorrow we will hunt evil pigs again."

William politely refused. He wanted both not to show them his strength, but to be healed. He could help them hunt with his body strength, but if he faced a bad situation, he wouldn't be able to prevent it.

"Unfortunately, I have to recover first. Maybe next time." He said with a slightly sad expression on his face.

His acting was really good.

Merlon understood a little that he was usually alone. He was a somewhat antisocial person who avoided group activities. Not too much on this subject.

"Anyway, I hope you'll come one day, after all, four of us can catch bigger prey."

Meanwhile, Leslie was immersed in the conversation. "Really, I want to fight an iron rank creature before I become iron rank!"

"Maybe we can give it a try tomorrow," said Dullan, then added. "But let's still take the level where we can do the task. We cannot leave it to chance."

William examined Leslie, who was a little cold when he met them.

This kid seemed used to things. Now he could laugh widely, gaining a place in conversations. The old proud and arrogant princely air had faded somewhat. Even though he kept his air of nobility because of his blonde hair, he looked more like 'one of them' now.

When he compared the two of them with the other prince, there was a huge difference between them. If he needed to be close to anyone, he would definitely choose Leslie. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't choose the other now. After all, he had killed him.

When no one spoke for a while, there was silence. Everyone was just eating slowly. Again, Merlon could not stand it and speak.

"Did you hear? A competition will be held for us a month later."

"What competition?" William asked because he was interested. If there was a competition, he could definitely win. If the bounties met his wish, he would have no problem revealing his power.

"Fresh Blood Contest. They gave this name. From what I've heard there's going to be a fighting contest. There will be good prizes for the top three." Said. He spoke in a very low tone as if he didn't want his voice to be heard.

"Fight? What were the prizes?" William was curious. If there was a nice prize, he would definitely be there.

"This is a secret." Merlon lowered his voice even more. Everyone leaned over the table to hear.

"It's just a guess for now, but it's a huge thing. I don't know about the others, but the top three will have a chance to be the principal's student!"

"What?" William was excited. That's why he raised his voice.

"Shhh! Be quiet. This is just a guess! Nothing is certain!" said Merlon, afraid that those around him would hear him.

William nodded in understanding. The conversation between the quartet was interrupted, however. Everyone was silent and lost in thought.

After breakfast, they all left. William returned to his room to rest. Mental healing was something he could get over by just resting, without expensive potions.

He wasn't too interested in being the principal's disciple, but this man was a huge gold-ranked warrior!

He could certainly help him in some matters, guide him. If this award was real, he certainly wouldn't hesitate to fight for it.

On the second day, he felt a little better and was able to read things, albeit slowly.

First, he went to read the encyclopedia in the library. He had to be the first to arrive and finish as soon as possible. Unfortunately, his reading speed disappointed him. He could only read a few tens of pages at most. This book was an inch thick! He needed a few more days to recover.

During the recovery period, he prepared a schedule for himself. He would go to the library every morning and read as much as he could. Sometimes he would try to explore the system, but the system was just a simple program. He could not freely access its content. Except for the notifications that came to him, he had nowhere to touch.

As far as he can remember, he tried to touch some places, but disappointment was the only thing he encountered.

The days passed slowly, calmly, until he recovered.

…