[POV: Drax Vasiliev]
//
The host has received a mission!
Mission: Kagai-Sha's Entrance
Objective: Survive
Extra Objective: Kill assigned pursuers 0/2
Extra Objective: Kill your group members' pursuers 0/14
Extra Objective: Save your group members 0/7
Reward: 100 Skills/spells/classes will randomly level up.
Extra Reward: 3-Star Qi Talent
Extra Reward: Atom Magic. The extent of rewards depends on the number of kills
Extra Reward: Atom Aptitude
//
The mission popped out after Lin laid down Dongmei, Shinji, and Sirena on the ground. The others had gone to sleep and it was surprising to note that all magicians could sleep immediately like a flip switch. I find that the best feature about mages since I believe in sleep supremacy. Quad on the other hand is just a guy who is used to the outside environment since he is a knight. Kaitlynn seems to be asleep in her tent but... I can't precisely tell since her eyes are dead open. It gave me the chills yesterday when I woke up and tried to wake her up.
Looking through the new mission I skim through the list and widen my eyes on the extra rewards. I have never heard of atom magic in this world. I immediately thought of making a nuke then dialed down to turning copper into gold but settled to not getting my hopes up. Atom doesn't necessarily mean transmutation.
Soon enough, Shinji and Dongmei wake up but Sirena is still asleep bleeding in the ears. With panic on my face, Shinji responded faster than anyone and prepared several materials that seemed to stabilize her condition.
I sigh and look at the arsenal of spells. I didn't learn any healing spells but focused fully on Lightning and Metal spells. Damn family library and teachers, just bring healing potions they say. Of course, healing potions are much more efficient since not having Holy Aptitude will make mastering even the basic holy spells hard. Unfortunately, I didn't even get time to go out of my father's magic tower as it became a place where I had to be tutored in a variety of subjects. Apparently, being a mage isn't just the magic spells.
I, after hearing from my parents, inherited both my aptitudes from both of them making it very convenient for me to not only learn their spells and high-quality teaching but also be under their tutelage making learning anything other than what they teach based on reasoning.
If it weren't for the fact that traveling through space would be inefficient, then I would have left long ago to find more spells. If I were to make the calculations half of my time would be spent on traveling to and fro the tutor in my father's tower and the planet housing one of the largest public spell data chips in the kingdom.
Hooray for technology for having holographic data but boo to fantasy for making the current internet off-limits to spell information. Oh, how happy I once was thinking I could make a simple search but no spell popped out on the internet. The internet has been degraded to only two functions, communication, and news feeding, so I was displeased with the development.
"I've thought of this new recipe. Do you want to try it out?"
Snapping out of my thoughts, Shinji's words bring me to a new train of thought which was the quality of my skills compared to others. I could always compare the quality, output, and control of my spells to other people in my father's tower but I have never actually compared raw skills that don't use exact mana calculations.
I agree excitedly but not for the previous reason. Food is food and I want them in my stomach.
Sometime later, I smell a very delicious scent. This is better than weed, wait a minute. Are people in fantasy immune to smoking? No, I shouldn't be thinking about those. I take out a bowl and spoon and Shinji pours out a delicious curry made using the meat of some supposed monsters on this planet judging by how fresh and rich the mana in the meat is.
'This tastes delicious with a bit of spiciness. I was actually expecting a food war reaction of taste but this is still better than most food I've eaten on earth.'
Dongmei couldn't stand the spice and immediately made a flask of water appear. It seems Shinji was already prepared because he took out a flask of what seemed to be sweet like milk but didn't have the same white color. Passing it to Dongmei, Shinji said that he made a spice neutralizer through some trial and error using some outside knowledge.
The food's smell also woke up some people. If I were to make a comment then I'd say that I didn't expect Adalinda to wake up just to eat the food since even the food in the academy is better than what Shinji could make. She may just either love food or must not have eaten much but I'm leaning more on the former since she always brings a lot of rations from the academy. The rations were smaller but packed much higher concentrations of calories and such so I think she's just tired of that.
My guess is further proved by the look of bliss she has eating the curry. She didn't even forget her manners which further showed her elegance and maturity. Aside from that, I think Quad is better in terms of making the food look delicious by how much of an open book his facial expressions are when he eats. He mentions not being as good as Shinji in cooking but still gives off comments and descriptions of the food. It soon turns into a conversation that I join in.
Aside from continuously using my skills and spells, I can further their levels through teachings and knowledge.
Unfortunately, Lin didn't get to eat this since he went and left a while ago to hunt and train. It seems the pressure of the organization has got to him. I haven't thought of it...for a whole meal but I do have to increase the intensity of my spamm- I mean training.
I sigh. I've always been a procrastinator. The endless spamming gets boring and the only motivation I get is the sound of level-ups. Never mind that since I have new motivation now. I should level up my skills while asking for holy attribute spells from Audelia. I was thinking of reading the spells in the library instead for extra experience but it seems I can't delay any further.
I've always thought that it would be a breeze to have a cheat that makes you stronger just by spamming but maybe the problem is just me. Clicker games never interested me anyway but I still have no right to complain about this since without this system magic would have been 100 times harder.
I leave the fireplace made by Shinji and take out an item from my storage bag. Infusing mana into it, a tent unfolds itself and inflates. Convenient and money well spent for a lazy ass such as myself.
I sleep for a while but I wake up a few hours later after dreaming about a certain memory. I still regret not being able to accomplish that. I open up the tent to just observe the sunrise while gathering mana.
I seem to not have realized but now that I have it seems that everyone is so different from each other. Albert being a prince has a clearly luxurious tent, Adalinda too has an expensive but abstemious tent, Kaitlynn sleeps open-eyed and sitting in an open tent, and Quad a disciplined knight seems to have cultivated himself to sleep... he is also snoring, Shinji has clearly not slept a second due to making weapons... dude, and Lin is back from hunting sleeping on a tree without a care in the world.
Dongmei probably hasn't slept since she has such a high rank in cultivation that it isn't necessary to eat, drink, or sleep for a week or so.
Shinji finally stops hammering away at a sword and placed it in a liquid basin for quenching. I'd assume it is water but I can't be so sure due to my inability of discerning CLEAR liquids. I scoff at my futile attempt at guessing.
Shinji soon steps right in front of me and I say, "This is obviously bad for your health.". He denies me with a meme, "Sleep is for the weak. Here are your throwing knives. If you want to, you can just spam a ton of healing magic on me.". I look at him a bit tense but then sigh nonetheless, "Are you somewhat aware of what I can do or something? You're very scary. Even being so calm as to reveal that you're a potential danger to me.".
Shinji just smiles lightly, "Protagonists help protagonists to get by.". I furrow my brows, "Dude, I think the point of protagonists is that they don't need any help from other protagonists for being OP and all.". Shinji shrugs, "I guess that doesn't apply to this realm then.". That guy says horrifying things so casually, to think even protagonists are helpless. Wait, I'm a protagonist?
Ugh, I have reincarnated into a world where my two other earthling comrades are both scary and smarter than me. I'll be reduced to a side character at this rate.
I just sigh again and excuse myself. I'm going to train my throwing skills and wait till Audelia wakes up. Shinji comically collapses and groans. I'm sure he's doing it on purpose but I can't put my finger on why he does it. Maybe it's just a habit of being a class clown? Well, class clowns and quiet kids are scary so I'll watch out.
After an hour of throwing knives, I soon got bored and started inspecting the knives, experimenting with targets, and decided to ask Shinji for some string to tie his knives with. There were also some early birds who woke up. Lin, Quad, and surprisingly Audelia too.
Seeing Lin put on some headphones, I am left dumbfounded since no one actually does pre-recorded music anymore other than actual live performances by famous stars. Since information and confidentiality are being compromised too much on the internet, artists and musicians only resorted to going on universal tours. I chalk this up to Shinji's doing. The previous arena fight with music that strangely resembles rock music from Earth can also be assumed to be Shinji's responsibility. Well... anything strange that seems unnecessary should be Shinji's doing.
Speaking of Shinji, he stood up like nothing happened and talked with Quad enthusiastically. That guy must have all the energy in the world by sharing earth's single brain cell. I go to Audelia since my blood is boiling with spamming energy drinks. The key to killing bosses is the unlimited potential of healing potions. Wait... does the enemy have healing potions? The HORROR!
Feeling much more pressured I ask Audelia, "Audelia, according to the entrance exam. Your high skills in holy-attribute spells are not only much more important than other attributes but also that you are one of the rare students who passed the special exam designed for support mages. Can you teach me some spells? As long as I can cast one of them then it would be beneficial to me."
Hearing this, Audelia smiles brightly, "I actually have a ton of spells that I can teach you. Which one do you want to learn? [Heal Up], [Stamina Up], [Strength Up], [Speed Up], [Defense Up], [Lesser Rest], [Lesser Recovery], [Lesser Heal], [Lesser Agility], [Lesser Boost], [Lesser Strength], [Lesser Energy]..."
Just finding out how much she loves her field in magic, I smile wryly and say, "Well I'm not sure but could you explain all of them to me? I'll try to choose from there."
Shinji appeared out of nowhere and surprised Audelia, not because he jumped unexpectedly but because her skills in healing patients have told her how seriously fatigued and weary Shinji is. Well... that is what I can infer since she immediately cast healing spells while panicking, she even resorts to berating Shinji for his reckless actions.
Seeing that I'm observing her spells, Audelia explains the structure of the spell and calculations made. She even added how she always tweaks the spells according to the level of injury sustained by the patient. I finally realized that she is a monster in human skin.
It had to be realized that it is hard to memorize and visualize complex calculations while also controlling the mana in the body to create specific runic symbols. Now doing that plus tweaking the spell for specific patients of varying injuries gave me a whole new respect for her.
Even I could only do that gradually by leveling up my spells to the maximum. Once they capped, the spells could be tweaked very easily as just thinking about it. I can just imagine mages vomiting blood or something similar.
//
Gained the Spell [Lesser Rest - Lv.1]
Gained the Spell [Lesser Recovery - Lv.1]
Gained the Spell [Lesser Heal - Lv.1]
Gained the Spell [Lesser Energy - Lv.1]
Gained the Spell [Heal Up - Lv.1]
Gained the Spell [Stamina Up - Lv.1]
//
Ok... I thought it was bad but Shinji WTF?!
And so I started learning under Audelia while Shinji became the healing test subject.
------------------------------------------------------
[POV: 3rd]
While Shinji, Audelia, and Drax are having lessons Quad and Lin were doing their morning practices. If there was something different from their morning training habits then it would be that Lin wasn't practicing his sword but focused on movement techniques instead.
Quad asks Lin for a one-sided spar where the former targets the latter with a flurry of attacks. Lin happily agrees.
Dongmei on the other hand hasn't actually left the campsite but rather was watching Sirena sleep. Fortunately, Sirena had recovered a lot from last night. Shinji had assured Dongmei that Sirena would wake up in the morning.
She came back after hunting for one hour as she found how useless it is to hunt the surrounding monsters who were vastly inferior in rank to her.
While watching Sirena, she contemplated the past and thought about something that wouldn't like to think about. The possibility that she must have killed Shinji a ton of times before the trip to Planet Shamrock.
Dongmei felt suffocating and guilt piled up but she thought about how Shinji counted on her so she began to calm down and relax again. She felt the irony of everything, people relying on her all the time had worn her down but the moment Shinji relied on her, she felt like her hidden energy had come out.
But Dongmei couldn't complain nor dislike this feeling. Shinji had sacrificed an unknown amount of time, effort, and pain to find a plan that could be enacted and fulfilled. She felt like she owes Shinji more than she could possibly imagine.
"Mmmh...", Sirena's eyelids twitch as her body trembles. Her mouth quivered and her fingers shook. Soon, her eyes shot open as the first thing she sees wasn't her beloved Shinji.
Sirena frowns and rolls her body away from Dongmei which earns an eyebrow twitch from the latter. Dongmei sighs and says, "I just came to look after you. Since you have recovered then I'll just go.", she opts to leave. Sirena only looks back when she knew Dongmei was gone. the former sighs and decides to rest a bit more because of slight headaches.
It seems to be some progress since Sirena would always be the one to answer back in previous cycles but she stayed quiet this time... in a rude manner.
Adalina and Albert also wake up from their slumber, the former being wide awake while the latter feeling groggy and tired.
Albert had been thinking all night about his defeat and sulked away at his weakness so didn't get all the sleep he need. Even so, his sleepiness disappeared a second later with a new determination to surpass his limits. The Kagai-Sha is an impending doom that all royal and noble households should eradicate.
Adalina strides over to Dongmei and chats with her. With clear anger in her voice, she asks the latter to train her on the sword claiming that the former had attended solely magic combat classes but even so only learned to always keep a distance from the enemy as per recommended for mages. She soon noticed the flaws in the strategy itself and asked Dongmei for physical training.
Albert glances but diverts his eyes to observe Lin and Quad sparring. After a while, he also looks at Drax and Audelia healing(abusing) Shinji with different spells and changes his look into a determined one. He walks by Shinji and says that he'll be heading out of the camp for some training.
The spar between Lin and Quad died down as Quad took in a deep breath to regain his stamina. Lin thanks Quad saying it was a great workout and makes his way to Albert.
"Albert! You've woken up. I saw you lose to Shinji so we need to work on that scrawny body of yours, or else you'll be beaten down again.", Lin says to Albert.
Sometimes the royal families meet each other and even their younger generation has periodic celebrations. Lin and Albert have a good relationship due to their similar belief in justice but their ways of enacting said justice differ due to their personalities.
Finding it as a way to improve, Albert agrees readily and asks Lin to join his training outside. Lin asks Quad if he wants to come with but the latter declines with the notion of eating Shinji's breakfast which then earns a friendly scoff from the disinterested Lin.
Lin isn't much of a foodie and the process of gaining strength is a much more enjoyable experience for him. Albert follows with the reasoning that surpassing Shinji is much better than eating his food which could be eaten later.
.
.
.
Author's Note:
yes!YES!YEEEES! I'm back!
Do you know how much I was being tortured by my weak mortal body? For 4 days I had to live alone and in those, for days I CAUGHT A SICKNESS!!! ARGH!!!
What was worse was that I also had to be away for another day because I had to travel to another city for [Redacted]. Although important, I still wanted to sleep in my room. also wanted to touch my phone again but mainly wanted to sleep in my bed.
WHAT WAS EVEN WORSE was that I had to wake up that very next day (today) and find out we had a brownout that lasted for most of the day!
Wanna know the worst part? I already had 2600 words in this chapter and was going to finish it but I was too late and had to leave it until today.
It was eating me out (for about a day only).
anyway, here you go.