Returning to his dorm after the inauguration, Leon stood still in the silence.
"..."
His gaze was locked on the drawer by his bedside. With careful steps, he neared the drawer and opened it. Nestled inside the drawer was a small box.
Taking out the box, he carefully placed his hand over the box where a white glow formed.
Click—
Only then did it open to reveal its contents. Nestled deep within the box was a black chalice.
An old and antique one.
The contents within the chalice were empty, but there was a strange allure about the chalice that captivated Leon's sight.
He could hear faint whispers in his mind as he looked at it.
They felt disturbing, and his heart quaked.
"..."
His eyes closed and memories he had kept hidden resurfaced in his mind.
A burning mansion.
The desperate screams.
The ominous, shadowy figures that pursued him relentlessly.
....And the cold, yet warm hand that reached out to him.
"Huuuu."
Leon drew in a deep breath, sealing the box within his grip. When he opened his eyes, an icy coldness spread across his face as he quietly mumbled,
"They've found me."
***
Tak—
I stared at the book dropped in front of me and looked up. Delilah sat with her back against her chair. Staring at her, I felt my ear twitch. Recalling the moment when she whispered, 'Come to my office after this' into my ear back at the inauguration ceremony still gave me chills.
Thinking about it, I had the sudden urge to tickle my ear.
'Damn it.'
I forced those thoughts away and looked at the book.
"....What is this?"
"Your reward."
Reward?
I leaned forward to get a better look at the book. I noticed a small chocolate bar beside the book, and I felt the back of my hair stand when my hand hovered over it.
Thankfully, it disappeared the moment I picked up the book.
"Mana Synthesis?"
What a peculiar name.
"Your biggest weakness right now is the fact that your mana reserves are low. You're outstanding in everything but in your mana control and reserves. Although it isn't much, this is a Blue-ranked manual. It should help you accumulate more mana and speed up your progress."
Blue-ranked manual..?
I was a little surprised by the gift. There were many ways one could increase their strength and jump to the next Tier. One such method was through certain manuals that one could practice to increase their mana reserves which would help one push toward the next Tier.
Manuals were ranked as follows; Green, Blue, Orange, Red, and Black.
Black being the highest.
The Academy provided each cadet with a Green-ranked manual at the start. Being a Barony, the one my family provided was also Green-ranked so it wasn't much of a difference.
Therefore, I was a little taken aback by the sudden gift.
Not that I didn't appreciate it since I didn't hesitate to take it.
"You're still currently injured so I suggest you memorize the contents of the book before you start practicing. From what I'm seeing, ever since the start of the institute, there has been no progress in your tier. I believe this should help you in that matter."
".....Thank you."
Indeed, I was still stuck in the same spot I had been from the start.
In the two weeks I had been in the Academy, besides unlocking a spell, the only progress I had made was in the Emotive field.
I had tried practicing the Green-ranked manual provided by the Institute upon entry, but I struggled to make much progress given that my priorities lay elsewhere. Mainly, in the unlockment of my first [Curse] spell.
But I knew things couldn't go on like this.
I was still lagging behind the other cadets. I needed to make more progress. At the current pace things were going, I wasn't sure I'd be able to survive.
....I needed to pick up the pace.
"Make sure you don't lose it. I'm only lending the manual to you for now. Once you memorize it, I would need you to give it back to me. The Institute... Is rather strict about these kinds of things."
"Understood."
I quietly nodded my head before asking,
"Is there anything else that you need me for?"
"No."
"Then..."
"You can go."
Delilah dismissed me while unwrapping the chocolate bar and eating it.
I stood up from my seat and lowered my head slightly.
"....Thank you."
But just before I left, my feet came to a pause and I hesitated.
"Julien...?"
"I..."
Whatever.
Turning around, I pointed at my mouth.
"Your mouth..."
***
Clank—!
Staring at Julien's departing back, Delilah felt her lips twitch as she wiped them with a tissue.
She tossed the tissue to the side right after she was done.
Then, she closed her eyes.
'Have I done the right thing...?'
She was unsure. However, this was necessary. With time, it became clearer and clearer to her.
Julien...
Outside of the Emotive field, he wasn't very talented. A gap would form between him and the current cadets at the current rate that he was progressing.
He may have been able to stand out because of his strong mind and Emotive abilities, but how long could that last?
A month? Two months...?
He didn't have much time, and as someone who had personally vouched for his position, Delilah felt compelled to interfere a little.
A Blue-ranked manual wasn't much to the Academy. However, it was an important asset.
The manuals couldn't be read as many times as one pleased. A certain mana flow was imbued into the book which would decrease with each read.
It wasn't an infinite resource.
Unless someone wrote the manual again, it'd be gone forever. And the higher the rank of the book, the harder it was to create.
It was for this reason that books that were ranked higher than Green were so sparse.
Simply put, the demand for them was too high, and the supply was too low.
"....."
Drumming her fingers over her desk, Delilah closed her eyes. Even now, her mind wandered back to the tattoo on his arm.
The more she looked at him, the more confused she became.
'Is he an enemy, or an ally?'
There were signs that pointed him to be an enemy and signs that said otherwise.
Which one was the right sign?
Chewing on her thoughts, Delilah's eyes slowly opened.
".....I'll only help you out this much."
***
When I returned to my dorm, the first thing I did was sit down and open the book.
"I'm supposed to do this, right...?"
I placed my hand over the book and channeled my mana over it.
Swoosh.
A pathway appeared in my mind. Seventeen channels, all leading toward the abdomen where my mana core was. The area where my mana gathered.
'That's five more channels than before...'
I immediately put the manual into practice.
As expected, this was a lot better.
∎| EXP + 0.01%
The notifications appearing in front of me served to prove that.
∎| EXP + 0.01%
For every five minutes that I followed the channels, a new notification would appear.
∎| EXP + 0.01%
It went on like this for precisely one hour until I could no longer continue and stopped.
∎| EXP + 0.01%
Drip... Drip...
My clothes were soaked and my breathing was rough. Even so... I could feel myself progressing. It was unlike anything I had experienced before.
I had managed to progress more in an hour than in the two weeks that I had been in this world.
"A pity."
I wanted to continue practicing, but recalling Delilah's words, I knew that I had to stop.
Further than this and I was risking my life.
"Haaa..."
I lay on my back and stared at the ceiling of the room.
....I felt a little tired.
It had been a little more than two weeks since I had been in this world, and so much had happened.
It felt as though several months had passed when in reality, it was a lot less than that.
My mind was exhausted and I wanted a little break from everything. However, I knew that it was impossible.
Even now...
I was blindly chasing a goal I had no clue about.
The more time passed, the more confused I was. What exactly was I supposed to do? Did I just have to get stronger and slowly unravel the clues that were laid out?
My path...
It felt like a dark road with no end in sight.
I was just going on a blind, hoping that things would turn out for the best.
But that wasn't good enough.
I needed more.
"But how...? How exac—Uh?"
[The Rogue Professor: You have overcome the First Event.]
A message flickered in my vision and I abruptly sat up.
"What?"
Another message flickered the next moment.
[Leon has realized he has been found and that he doesn't have a lot of time left.]
∎| Game Progression EXP + 1%
Game Progression : [0%-[1%]————————100%]
∎| Character Progression EXP + 12%
Exp : [0%——[28%]——————100%]
"What is this...?"
A warm current suddenly invaded my body. Just briefly, I felt the mana inside of my body flow smoother and become thicker.
The feeling was the same as the one from a few moments ago, but it was a lot thicker and more evident.
I sat there dumbstruck by the sudden development.
But as if that wasn't enough...
[ ◆ Main Quest Activated : Prevent the Calamities from awakening or dying.]
Calamity 1 : Slumber
: Progress - 0%
Calamity 2 : Slumber
: Progress - 2%
Calamity 3 : Slumber
: Progress - 0%
Another window flickered in my vision and I felt my eyes widen.
"This..."