Arnold and Lauran returned to his dorm room.
"Ugh. I'll never get used to teleportation," he looked at Lauran, "You don't seem tired at all. Doesn't the spell use a lot of MP?"
"MP?"
"Mana."
'I always forget that magic power isn't a thing with these people.'
"Professor taught me a way to minimize the amount of mana I use."
'This girl is growing too fast. At this rate Luke won't even be able to catch up.'
"I've been meaning to consult a mage but haven't found anyone yet…" he changed the subject, "Is it possible for you to use a divine spell?"
Mana and divinity were vastly different properties of magic. Divine power operates differently than magic. The source of divine power are the human gods, whereas magic is gained from the amount of mana inside a person's body. Magic involves "the use of means that have supernatural power over natural forces. Divine magic is magic granted from prayer to the gods. Practitioners of divine magic are known as divine spellcasters or simply priests.
The Pontiff Maximus(Augustus) was allowed to access the highest and most powerful forms of divine power. Whereas the Archmage was capable of casting the highest(17th rank) form of "arcane" magic.
The problem was that one couldn't cast magic different from their origin.
But an Archmage could cast all forms of magic. That was why Arnold decided to probe Lauran.
"I haven't tried yet, but I think I can." Lauren simply answered.
'Well, it wasn't a no so it means that she can cast if she tried to.'
If Adrianna heard her simple answer then she would be freaked out. No arcane mage had the ability to cast magic outside their natural capabilities.
No, maybe Adrianna might even be happier if she heard this.
"Why do you ask?"
"Ah, I was just curious." Arnold decided that it wasn't yet time for him to make the Cherubim mature. He was only making sure he had a second option in case he needed her magic in an emergency.
His first option is to just wait for 69 days. Since he wouldn't be facing an opponent as strong as Lancelot with his pure divine skills, there wasn't any need to be hasty.
The important reason why he even sought for one was so that he wouldn't be weak against any forms of divine power, especially Luke's aura which is divine-type aura.
Lauran looked outside the window, "It's getting dark. I should be going. Is there anything else I need to do?"
"No, you can leave."
By the sound of her tone she was fed up with Arnold ordering her around even though they were told that students at the academy were equals.
Still, she could've said no many times. It wasn't like Arnold could force her to do anything.
Lauran headed towards the door with a yawn before leaving the room.
When she was gone, Arnold went towards the couch that was in the middle of the room.
'It's rather spacious for just one room.' He looked around.
Oddly enough there were two beds next to each other. There was a small kitchen with a table for two people as well.
"Why don't I have a roommate?"
His question answered itself when he remembered the things he did a few months back.
He killed a noble. He also caused a few others to go to prison for their crimes.
Even if all his actions were justified, a bunch of kids wouldn't see it that way. From their perspective he must've seemed like a monster who would kill people without mercy.
He was no better than the delinquents of the academy.
Arnold took out his hologram card and gazed at his status.
"Will I be able to level up faster when I enter that dungeon?"
His goal wasn't to kill the boss of the 100th floor but he could at least kill a few monsters on the way. He didn't have to face the other bosses since the dungeon itself had hundreds of entrances. All he had to do was find suitable places to farm.
Assuming he could learn and use the pure martial skill immediately, Arnold might be able to farm before he leaves the dungeon. He would ensure this way that he can level up on his own before leaving the dungeon.
His goal this time was to reach level 50.
"My first priority should be to equip myself with suitable armor. I have two very powerful swords already."
Although his aura barriers were very effective even against martial artists who could use Ki, it was better to buy good armor that could enhance his defense. Arnold—at base form—could stop an average copper sword's blade digging into his flesh because of Sebastian's hellish training but that didn't mean he would let himself be pierced by a weapon so easily.
His AP was insanely high so he could use that to his advantage in a fight of attrition. He just prayed that whatever he will face in that dungeon won't be that insanely powerful.
That living armor Knight of Selia was the strongest being he had seen thus far if he excluded Lancelot. He couldn't quite gauge Selia's power since she wasn't giving off any killing intent.
She seemed like an ordinary high school girl if you just ignored her sharp teeth and red eyes.
'I'm pretty certain that I'd be able to hold my own against two of them but more than two would be suicide. Especially if that big guy is in the mix.'
"That aside, I should plan my next course of action once I clear the dungeon."
That being the School Arc's main event: dating.
Arnold himself was happy with Victoria alone but there were many benefits to having a wife who was of high birth.
Everything didn't just revolve around money. He would have plenty of that in the future once his crystals sell on the market.
If he remembered correctly, there were more than 20 potential love interests for the Hero. Luke walked out of this academy with six of them while Arnold stole the rest.
Of course, each of them served a purpose in the story and weren't just randomly selected. Arnold wasn't hoping to play cupid and find these women so that they could get together with Luke.
Luke had to stand on his own two feet and not rely on others to help him.
"Where is that guy anyway?"
Had Luke heard about what Arnold said about the dungeon then there was no doubt that he would believe it. He would've tried his all to gather a rescue team to save all those people from the dungeon.
Arnold was kind of glad Luke wasn't there to hear all that. He had the tendency to stick his nose into troubling business.
Part of the reason why he considered ordering the destruction of a city of the empire was because he wanted Luke to stop being so complacent and realize that his power is needed by the people.
The Star Beast itself was also vulnerable to his power.
If Luke could fight full power then he would be able to win even if the hordes of offspring really do attack.
As mentioned before, Arnold was hoping to use this chance to get stronger by killing the monsters while disguised as Nova. Not only would he be able to increase his strength but also be able to make a name for himself, thus making the Guild recognize him more.
There were many secrets in this world that no one other than the Adventurer Guild's executives had access to. They only revealed these so-called high-level secrets to their highest ranked adventurers: the SS-rankers.
If Arnold could somehow get the ranking—which was probably unlikely so soon—then he could be exposed to a broader understanding of this world. As mentioned before, he didn't know the story completely past the middle. Most of his knowledge towards the latter half was from hearsay and reading internet forums.
The game had a plethora of endings. What mattered was which routes you took to achieve the good endings. Arnold von Berkley and the Demon King dying could be considered a good ending but were the losses of Luke's friends, comrades and lovers really worth it just to achieve that ending?
No. If things were different then Arnold von Berkley and the Demon King could've helped Luke battle the Star Beast and win without making sacrifices.
"I'm worrying too much about the future," he stood up, took off his shirt with his blazer and kicked off his shoes before jumping into bed, "My life will get busy from now on so I should focus on my grades before anything else."
He was much too lazy to change his clothes so he just said "whatever" and embraced sleep.
His journey to becoming stronger starts tomorrow.
◇
◇
The next morning. There were two people standing in front of Arnold's door. He had just been busy reviewing original Arnold's past notes from the past and going through the textbooks before there was a knock on the door.
"Uh, what did you say…?" Arnold asked the servant in disbelief who was holding a piece of paper out to him.
He heard her but he just couldn't process what she meant.
"Yes, this will be your new roommate, sir Arnold von Berkley."
Saying so, the servant girl pushed the back of a girl with abnormally long black hair who was covered in baggy clothes from the neck down. Her academy uniform seemed to be two sizes bigger. She was wearing tights even though it was hot and her academy jersey was also very large that her hands couldn't even fit through.
She looked completely silly that it made the students who passed by her laugh at her while pointing.
"H-H-Hello." The girl curtsied gracefully.
One could tell right away that she was from a noble household.
"State your name, class and age, miss." The servant whispered but Arnold could clearly hear that.
"Ah!"
'Is this girl so antisocial that she doesn't know how to introduce herself?'
"M-My name… is Lizette… I-I am 17 and I'm enrolled in the necromancy and alchemy courses! P-Please call me Liz."
"Hmm…" Arnold looked her up and down. He couldn't quite feel that this mysterious Liz was a dark magic user.
To add context to his confusion; experienced dark magic users are always surrounded by an aura of dread, death and suffering. This was because the subject required students to always consume corrupted miasma but in small amounts that could let them get used to necromancy.
In necromancy there was a lot of side-effects if one were to make contact with the dead, make pacts or control them.
Of course, the miasma exposure wasn't fatal so long as there was a priest helping them.
But this Liz girl didn't have any ounce of the presence of a dark magic user.
"How far have you gotten with your magic, miss Liz?" Arnold asked a completely out of context question while they were standing in the hallway.
"I-I can control the dead… and read their minds by using their soul as a catalyst…"
"Ho, impressive. You must be very talented in the field to not suffer any side effects as a result of practicing the magic."
Although it sounded odd and unpleasing to normal folk, there were a lot of people born with the talent to control the dead. Some go by learning the art without even suffering the side-effects.
"T-Thank you…"
Arnold turned to the servant who was still here, "I'm not being rude but why is a girl assigned to my room? This dorm is called the male dormitory for a reason, right?"
"We couldn't find a place for her in the female dorms. All the single rooms are filled as well."
"How inconvenient. This is why you shouldn't apply so late in the year," Arnold glanced at the girl who kept bowing her head, "This is temporary, right?"
"Yes, the headmaster of the dorms told me that they will see if they can turn one of the storage rooms into a bedroom."
"I see. Well, I guess it's not a problem as long as it's temporary."
'It's a little unexpected but I can live with it for now.'
He looked at the girl, "Don't misunderstand my words. I'm only saying so because it's morally wrong for males and females to be alone in a room together. I've been accused of a lot of things, laying my hands on another girl from the academy will only complicate things further."
"Yes, yes…"
"Thank you for your understanding, sir," the maid bowed, "I will deliver her things later today. She brought quite a lot with her besides her own luggage."
The maid bowed again before jogging down the hallway.
"Come inside."
"O-okay…"
Arnold helped her to carry her bag inside. He didn't close the door though since he thought that she would be uncomfortable if he did that.
"I won't be able to be here most of the time besides in the mornings so can I ask you to look after the room while I'm gone?"
He had to prepare himself to go dungeon raiding after the situation with the summons concludes. He would use the chaos and confusion to sneak out of the academy. The academy would be closed anyway since a disaster would occur in the empire which would make going to classes dangerous.
No one would notice that he was gone so long as Liz kept her mouth shut as well.
Liz nodded her head twice to imply that she understood.
"You can choose whichever side of the room you want. Oh, I used that bed last night but you can use it if you want to from now on," he pointed at the right side of the room.
His clothes were messily strewn on the ground so it looked like a pigsty. His books were also laying on the floor, some open even.
He was in the middle of studying before he was disturbed by the knock at his door so early in the morning. Cramming was never his strong suit, but he wanted to gain some insight on what to expect from this academy.
"You can store your food in that cabinet as well but remember to label what's yours so I don't accidentally eat it and vice versa."
"…." She nodded.
'It feels like I'm talking to a wall.'
"What family are you from? Calling you by your first name is a little…"
"Um… I-I'm…"
Arnold sighed, "Forget it." He grabbed his magic bag and slung it over his left shoulder.
"You should get to class. Homeroom should've begun by now."
"Ah!" She hurriedly ran towards her luggage and pulled out her textbooks and stationery.
"You can take the keys," Arnold threw the keys onto the table.
"A-Are you coming back late today?"
"Probably. I have a busy day ahead of me," Arnold turned towards the door and was about to leave.
The girl seemed like she wanted to say something but closed her mouth just as Arnold left.