"Clean comeback from the dire situation!*
*Host awarded with three skill points!*
*Come clean out of the dire situation!*
*Creative use of the cleaning ability. Awarding one level of creative and social cleaning without growth penalties*
*Creative cleaning is now a dominant aspect!*
*Growth cost of creative cleaning is now decreased by 1 point*
*Congratulations, host broke through the limits of the Initiate rank. Host is now of the novice rank.*
*Unlocking Novice rank feature: Force Cultivation*
*Awarding unique force: Detergent*
*Aspects of the system enriched by the force*
One by one, my vision was bombarded with a plethora of new messages, all kept in the happy tone of advancement. Not giving me any chance to actually think about what was going on, I could only stand still while enduring the barrage of new information.
*Proloque requirements now fulfilled!*
*Please advance the storyline to finish the prologue.*
Just as I thought that I finally freed myself from the burden of all those flashy letters, yet another set appeared right in front of my eyes, nearly making me back down a few steps. Stopping myself in the last moment from actually falling back, I quickly noticed that this move actually had way greater repercussions that I thought it would have.
"At this point, I can only congratulate you. There is no denying that a talent like yours… Only appears every few millennials. But… That doesn't mean you already reached the end of your road. More than that, your journey to hone your talents is only beginning!"
At this point, it was clear to me just what the heck this entire progressing storyline thingy meant. Given the speech that this female just gave, it was obvious that in a few moments she would guide me to somewhere far away, where I would join a prestigious academy for the young masters.
Obviously, to keep the matters tense, the general level of power in that place would force me to learn my place in the pecking order, initiating the long arc of reaching the top of the academy for absolutely no reason at all.
But while I knew that it was better not to provoke the system and following its directions seemed like the most reasonable way out, it didn't mean I was willing to fall into all those cliche tropes that made the life of countless naive protagonists in the novels that felt as if they served as the scenario for my current situation so annoying.
"Obviously, I can't gauge how high your true score is in this way, but one thing is certain. We found ourselves a candidate from that place. Baria, Kayle, come out."
Raising and clapping her hands against each other, the female quickly caused two balls of light to appear on her sides, only for a pair of mixed gender to come out of them.
"Take care of Hubriel. He might need some medical attention. Also…"
Right as this peculiar woman was ordering her people around, a huge commotion appeared on the edge of the crowd that so far, could only gawk at the incredibility of the ongoing events.
"What the hell is going on here? Is that how you want to greet the mighty teacher?"
Rather than strolling, it would be more accurate to say that the newcomer was making his way through the crowd without any regard for the comfort of the others. Pushing everyone away from his path with the sheer aura that surrounded him, a middle-aged man quickly reached the middle of the clearing only to see said 'Mighty teacher' already standing here.
"What is the matter, young lord?"
Smiling at the man with a clear discontent visible on her once again icy-cold expression, this highly regarded female seemed to actually mind the man interrupting her actions.
"Oh, respectable teacher!"
Suddenly realising what he just did, the man, despite all the power that could be felt dancing on his fingertips, leaned forward, lowering his head before the woman.
"I humbly seek your apologies. I came here after learning that there was some sort of commotion going on here. Given how my dear daughter was to participate in current elections, I wanted to quickly calm the situation down as for no disrespect to befall your respectable self."
With his neck still bent, the man made sure to utter his words with the due respects that this woman apparently deserved, while clearly hiding the anger that swallowing his pride made him feel.
"On that note, would you please be so kind and enlighten me whether my dear daughter managed to pass? Given lack of any real opponents this selection, should I assume that she managed to win?"
And now, the reason behind this strange clearly forced behaviour of the middle-aged man was clear. If not for his wish so that his daughter could join the academy, he would most likely never bow to such a young person as the female from the school. It was all just for the sake of getting his daughter to the academy!
"Not this time. I heard the reports about your daughter, but the winner is already chosen. There won't be any battle-royale this time."
Huh?
Piecing those words together, it didn't take long before I understood the possible meanings behind the female's decision. Combined with all the information that I still had to process from just a mere few moments ago, adding the two and two together took me way longer than expected.
Given how there could be only a single winner - something that the woman indirectly said - he would be elected through the battle royale method. I could easily see how the locals could come up with such a system. After all, just like I had my methods of living back on earth, that simply proved to be superior to most of the stuff that I saw in this world, it didn't mean locals didn't have their own ways and traditions.
"Teacher…"
Muttering silently to myself, I realised what I should do right at this moment. As if everything suddenly clicked up in my brain, connecting all the scattered dots that were given to me thus far. But how could it be that simple?
All at once, I noticed all the patterns of the situation that was going around me. In a single instance, I realised that with how immersed I was in the moment, I failed to realise yet another, huge plot hole and stupidly cliche moment. The thing is, while something like that happening in some kind of obscure book is acceptable, once it's projected on one's life…
"A winner, who could that be? I don't recall anyone that could rival my daughter in today's selection!"
It wasn't a shout of anger, but more of a… surprise? While I couldn't really tell anything about the past of this body of mine, it was clear from the reaction of the crowd that I wasn't just one out of the mass. The question was, how far could I go with pushing my luck?
"Oh?"
Suddenly, the atmosphere that the woman spread around her changed from simple cold to stinging freezing. Her brows pulled together, her eyes filled with a sudden show of her entire power.
Even not being from this world, not understanding what was really going on, nor being capable to gauge anything properly, just by looking in that woman's eyes, I saw someone completely different from the persona that appeared before me a few moments ago.
And for the very first time since I appeared in this world, I realised yet another, stinging thing. While the general way in which the events were unfolding was rather predictable and dramatically easy to solve, it didn't mean the people who lived in this world lacked their own depth. In that one moment, the character that I saw deeply within that woman's eyes forced me to accept how real this place around me was.
"How should I understand the notion of there not being any candidate outside of your daughter? How come you didn't know about this young man?"
And here it was starting. Once the atmosphere around the female changed, I could tell how the situation would develop. What���s more, there was something wrong with this entire situation.
Even though it was just a small detail, it made me feel as if the entire situation was actually a great mess of misunderstandings and unlucky events. A single thing that was stuck in my mind ever since I met another human in this world.
"Wha…?"
Puzzled by the teacher's reaction, the middle-aged man looked around, quickly finding me with his eyes. Yet, once again, there was no anger nor fury on his face, just a clear surprise!
"Let then it be known, that this young man is now accepted to the academy. As such, his family and self are under the protection of the Heavyfeather sect. If a single hair were to go missing from his family's heads…"
Hearing this clear threat, I nearly gave up on my efforts to hide my excitement. This was one of those defining moments that would kickstart my entire legend in this world. At this point, I was already sure about enough elements to swiftly decide about the course of my future. But starting my life here with a huge feud wasn't something that I was willing to accept.
"Teacher, if I may…?
Stepping forward, I stood between the female and the middle-aged man, both of them equally shocked by my action.
"I understand it might be a violation of the standard rules, but is there any chance for this man's daughter to join the academy as well?"