My classes for the day had ended. I had several pages worth of notes already, and my books had multiple comments written throughout many of their blank spaces.
A short essay was already due next week, and it was for my Martial Theories class.
I sighed.
Being in school again... I felt a conflict of emotions whirl within me. It was nostalgic, yet also quite the burden.
Thankfully, every topic that they taught was interesting. Even if a professor or two were subpar, the things they talked about were enough to interest me. I was absorbing information like a sponge.
All of these things were important to my path to power.
Thus, when I returned to my room late in the afternoon, I fell flat on my king-sized bed.
"Haaaaaaaah,"
Thankfully, I wasn't sadistic enough to remove the concept of comfort in this world.
To be honest, I was tempted. But my gut told me that if I went too far, I would regret it in the future. And oh boy was I glad to have followed my gut.
I melted into my bed for an hour, motionless and simply indulging in meditation. I kept absorbing mana in the atmosphere to strengthen the mana in my body. I did it whenever I was free.
Images of the duel re-entered my mind as I meditated. Mana Vision had allowed me to watch the flow of Julius's mana, therefore showing me what his next moves would be.
Whenever he wanted to slash me with his sword, the mana in his body would always be riled up and fiery.
Whenever he wanted to block, his mana was as stable as a rock.
Whenever he wanted to doge, his mana flowed like a river.
It was thus very easy to adapt to his every move. Coupled with a pinch of Foresight—both the power from the goddess Lappei and my general mental capacity—it was impossible for him to hit me. While my fists would land each time.
I had also practised Explosion (Conical) so many times in the past month. The basic F rank spell was very easy for me to cast. My talents had blessed me with speed in spellcasting, as my mana obeyed my every command.
It was truly a one-sided beatdown that I found wonderful. It was unfortunate that I wasn't able to use Silent Being that much as it wasn't an assassination.
But yes... This was how I spent my time. Reminiscing and meditating.
Until my doorbell rang.
Ding dong—
Instantly, I sprang to my feet, energized. The reward I had requested from Deuzetai had arrived.
With excited footsteps, I made my way out of my bedroom, through the living room, and arrived before my door. My door then opened up with a click.
"For Mister Phricius." A hooded wizard handed me an envelope as if he was dealing me some suspicious contraband.
Add on the fact that we were both hiding our faces, and you indeed had a suspicious-looking picture.
Nonetheless, I accepted my prize.
"Thank you," I said with a slight bow, and the wizard bowed after me.
"No, thank you. You performed well and kept the High Professor's reputation nice and clean."
The wizard then turned around without saying another word. A book had appeared in his hands from out of nowhere as he busied himself with his studies.
Smirking at the wizard's diligence, I went back into my room.
I tore open the envelope and pulled out a familiar piece of fabric. Yes, what I had requested from Deuzetai was a spell.
A rare one, in fact.
[]=[]=[]
Spell: Sight-Sent Senses
Mana Consumption: Heavy
Number of Mana Programs: 4-9
Description: Grants one the ability to sense things in an area within one's vision. At low proficiency, Sight-Sent Senses can only sense things within a three-metre radius from the focal point of one's sight. At higher proficiencies, the range and quality of one's senses will increase.
[]=[]=[]
Throwing my senses. That was the gist of this spell. If I looked at a faraway tree, I could feel the tree with my sense of touch, smell the scent of its bark, hear the sounds in its vicinity, and even taste the air that flowed around it.
It was an amazing spell that was unfortunately incredibly inefficient. Each mana program cost quite a lot. And since it was a spell that one would want to keep active for a large period of time, it just was not worth it.
But I didn't have that sort of barrier to deal with.
...
"AAAAAAH!" I screamed inside the bathroom as blood poured out of my eyes. Engraving spells onto every other part of my body never hurt as much as this. I was reminded of the time I engraved Mana Vision, and it gave me a wave of PTSD.
Nonetheless, I didn't stop.
Program after program was seared into my optic discs, branding it with its enchantments. My curses rained down without end as the floor of my shower was stained red.
It seemed like I was growing masochistic tendencies. The fact that I even considered doing this to myself was insane.
I kept at it until all of the required programs had been branded onto my eyeballs. When I was done, it was pretty late at night.
Seven moons were shining close together, separating themselves from the other six. The faint smell of the nearby willow tree circulated throughout my open-air room. I could hear the hum of enchantments emanating from my curtains, facilitating the flow of air.
My stomach growled, and I realised that I had yet to partake of a meal for dinner.
But... I had an appointment for tonight. I was to meet with King downtown. He had made a request to meet me for some reason, and I actually did not know for sure why.
Vague was the letter that he sent me.
Thus, as I booked a cab and headed out, I thought about it.
I had this instinctive feeling that it had something to do with the royal families that I had mentioned to him last month. The gossiping rascal had likely gotten himself entangled with them after all the hints that I had given him.
I smacked my lips as I alighted from the taxi and pulled my hood low. A tall tower built out of blue-stained glass rose into the sky before me. It reflected the beautiful sights of the night like an astral pathway into the heavens.
My eyes flashed, and instantly, I could hear the voices of the people on the topmost floor. I could smell the food and taste their wine.
"He should be here any minute, so don't worry. He's someone with the ability to see the future. We can ask him for help."
A familiar voice said.