Chapter 25
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Episode 5 - Hunting Festival [5]
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"Phew, that was close."
Back in my room, I lay down on my comfortable bed.
After returning from the Golden Forest, I went directly to where Rinna would probably be.
I was lucky enough to find her, and upon seeing me, the number of expressions and emotions on her face was quite amusing to watch.
Anyway, I explained the reason, and after that, she did not say much.
At the end of the day, I returned to my room to rest.
Tomorrow, I would go hunt some wild beasts to secure a good grade for this semester.
'There are only two semesters, each lasting five months.'
I need a good grade to pass into the second semester, which is why I could not stay idle.
'Phew, I trained all of last week and drank the elixir Professor Ashly gave me.'
After a few seconds, I murmured.
"Status Window."
A screen appeared in my mind, and then I looked at the progress in the amount of mana.
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Name: Adel
Age: 18
Status: Player
Mana: ★ ★ ★ ★〖19.08%〗
■| Sword Arts
∆ Mercenary Fencing.
∆ Inverted Heaven (1/6
■| Traits
∆ True Sight (Mastery/Max)
∆ Senses of the Nine Heavens (Mastery/Max+)
∆ Weakness Detection (Mastery/Max)
∆ Mana Sense (Mastery/Max)
∆ Immunity to Pain (Mastery/Max)
∆ Without emotions (Mastery/Perfection)
∆ Beyond Limits (Mastery/Max)
■| Unique Trait
∆ Eyes of the End
■| Heart's Strength
∆ Elixir of Recovery
■| Equipped Items
∆ Bandage Beyond Reason (Rank/Mythic)
■| Runes
〖Inventory〗 〖Quests:1〗
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'I've made quite a bit of progress in a week.'
Of course, I haven't trained with mana, so that progress comes from the elixirs I've consumed so far.
For now, I've only trained physically and practiced Inverted Heaven.
Then I focused my thoughts on Inverted Heaven, and an additional screen appeared in my mind.
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■| Inverted Heaven.
First Form: Space. (Mastery: Expert)
Second Form: Time. (Locked)
Third Form: Intention. (Locked)
Fourth Form: Inverted Chaos. (Locked)
Fifth Form: Eclipse. (Locked)
Sixth Form: Inverted Heaven. (Locked)
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I wasn't far from reaching the next level of Mastery in the First Form of Inverted Heaven.
In any case, that's all the progress I've made.
'I wonder how much Lumina has progressed.'
She's probably not far from reaching five stars.
Even so, advancing to five stars takes quite a long time.
After checking my progress, I turned off the lights and went to sleep.
***
Tuesday morning.
As usual, I was heading back to Classroom B-1 to attend classes until ten in the morning.
Today's class was Summoning.
Even though I'm not a Summoner, these classes related to other specialties are mandatory.
Classroom B-1 is a massive structure divided into several sections: a library, cafeteria, classrooms for different subjects, and so on.
When I arrived, I headed straight to the Summoning classroom.
Once inside, what greeted me was, naturally, some kind of garden.
There were chairs and tables, of course, but most of the room was an enormous garden.
It contained strange plants, animals, and birds flying around.
Those animals and birds were summons, probably belonging to the professor in charge.
The professor was an elderly woman at least 160 years old; the other cadets were already inside the classroom waiting for her.
Some of them, especially the girls, were petting the more adorable summons.
'Quite the spectacle.'
I breathed in the air around me; it felt as though my lungs were being purified with every breath.
Even after receiving treatment from Rinna.
I sat down on a bench with a large tree right behind it; no one else was near that spot.
I took my seat and waited for the professor.
At that moment, several birds, both small and large, flew over and landed around me.
'Don't tell me this is the cliché scene where they start bothering you by pecking at you.'
But contrary to my expectations, all the birds rubbed their heads against me as if they were cats.
The smaller ones perched on my head and shoulders.
And the larger ones settled beside where I was sitting.
Seeing this strange scene, I couldn't help but think:
'I'm not even a Summoner, but… they're so friendly and affectionate toward me. Is there a reason for that?'
I also noticed several cadets starting to look at me, but I simply ignored them, as always.
Even so, the girls in particular couldn't stop staring at me.
"Well, I don't know why you're approaching me, but still, thanks for keeping me company."
As if they understood me, the birds nodded, blinked, or simply moved even closer.
"..."
'Well, this is pretty strange.'
Soon, the professor arrived together with her assistant, the professor named Melissa Lordren.
She smiled when she saw the cadets, then walked to the center of the classroom and said:
"You've been waiting for me for quite a while."
The cadets shook their heads.
Even though she was elderly, it was impossible not to know who she was.
Besides, she was one of the strongest professors in the Academy.
'A 9-Star Summoner.'
For a Summoner, old age is not an obstacle, since they rely more on their summons.
Of course, it is not entirely like that.
A Summoner can use the abilities and traits of their summons.
But for a 9-Star individual, an aged body is not really a problem.
'Considering that a 9-Star Summoner can live for more than 200 years, she is actually in pretty good shape.'
The summons around Professor Melissa approached her as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Except for the ones that were with me, all the other summons in the classroom returned to Professor Melissa.
Professor Melissa turned toward me for a few seconds; perhaps it was my imagination, but she smiled, and the emotion she showed was…
'Pity… what does that mean?'
Because of my True Sight, I can see people's emotions.
And the feeling of pity from Professor Melissa was quite strong.
'Does it have any meaning?'
Professor Melissa shifted her attention back to the other cadets and said:
"Well, children, today is our first class, so I'll start with something simple."
Professor Melissa raised her hand.
Almost immediately, eggs of different colors appeared in front of each cadet.
An egg floated in front of me. I carefully took it, then focused on Professor Melissa again.
"Today's class will be about hatching the eggs of different summons; the color of the eggs represents the attribute they possess, and, as you may have noticed, the attributes of the eggs are the counterpart to the attributes you possess."
That meant the egg in my hands was, without a doubt, Light attribute.
The egg looked like a type of crystal with small spikes around the lower area; the center was somewhat transparent.
Although it was impossible to fully see the hatchling inside, regardless of the egg's shape, it was possible to guess the race.
'I don't know what race it is, but judging by its shape, it looks more like a dragon's heart.'
A dragon's heart has a similar appearance; however, it is much smaller and slightly different.
Anyway.
I looked at the egg for a few seconds and then at the professor.
"Professor, does this mean these eggs are at the proper stage to hatch?"
Professor Melissa smiled calmly and replied:
"That's right. Normally, you would only need to feed it your mana, and it would hatch in less than thirty minutes, but since your attribute is its counterpart, things will be different."
One cadet raised a hand.
"What do you mean, Professor? Wouldn't that make it impossible?"
Professor Melissa shook her head.
"It's not impossible. What you have to do is simple."
"What do we have to do, Professor?"
Professor Melissa smiled.
"Just make the egg acknowledge you; if you succeed, you'll earn points. If not, minus one point."
The cadets remained silent for a long time.
Some expressed their dissatisfaction, though not too openly; others frowned, while some simply stayed quiet.
As for me, there was nothing in particular that concerned me.
'The Light and Dark attributes are known as the most conflicting.'
The egg in my hands should resist and reject my Dark attribute mana.
'Even so, I lose nothing by trying.'
So far, I have the highest grade; perhaps only Rinna is on par with me.
But in some classes that require partners, I get good grades.
After letting out a sigh, I finally allowed my Dark attribute mana to cover the egg.
The Dark attribute mana entered the egg, and instantly there was a strong reaction.
'As expected…'
Before I could even finish my thoughts…
"..."
The egg devoured my mana with great eagerness, as if it had desired it for decades.
Surprised by the egg's unexpected acceptance, I thought:
'Why does it acknowledge me? Shouldn't it resist instead of crave it?'
Clearly, the egg wanted more of my mana. To confirm it, I gave it twice as much mana as before.
Then, the egg quickly devoured it.
"..."
Confused, I stared at the egg, unable to understand what was happening.
'What the hell.'
---
The class ended not long after it began; in fact, it only lasted thirty minutes.
Normally, classes last from one to three hours.
The longest ones would be five to six hours, but those are the harshest and require physical effort, not theories or demonstrations.
In any case, the cadets left feeling distressed; most of them lost one point.
Only a few managed to earn a point.
They were also surprised when I gained a point; even for me, this was quite strange.
Before leaving the classroom, Professor Melissa spoke.
"Cadet Adel, correct? Wouldn't you like to know why the egg accepted you?"
The hatchling that emerged from the egg after it hatched was, unexpectedly, a fairy descendant.
The tiny humanoid figure slept on my head, its wings resembling those of a butterfly.
Even though I'm not a Summoner, that doesn't mean I can't have a summon; of course, I can't give it orders or borrow its power.
"Well, I am curious."
Professor Melissa smiled, then pointed to the place where I had been sitting earlier.
"Let's take a seat."
Nodding, I followed Professor Melissa. Her assistant had already left, so it was just the two of us.
As I sat down, the professor said:
"Summons can see things that we cannot see, did you know that?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
"And they can also feel things that we cannot feel. So, if we combine both abilities, what do you think they might be able to see?"
It was quite a strange question; even so, I tried to answer.
"Maybe… something special."
Professor Melissa smiled.
"Yes, that's true, but they can also see something else."
"And what is that?"
"... Fate."
"..."
I couldn't help but feel surprised.
Then, the next words Professor Melissa spoke made me think about Adel.
"My summons told me they see a Dark fate from beginning to end. What do you think that means?"
There was only one meaning for that.
"Misfortune, oblivion, abandonment, suffering, and… death."
That was what defined a Dark fate from beginning to end.