That night passed silently without any weird dreams, so Aaran woke up well-rested. After finishing his morning routine, Aaran picked up a quick snack from the canteen and went straight to the secretary's office to get his student ID.
A middle-aged woman, dressed in a brown office dress, with her dark hair arranged in a ponytail, handed him his student ID. She didn't seem like someone who wasted her time on pleasantries, but Aaran was okay with that. After she quickly explained things and handed over his ID, he headed towards his next destination.
...
The library building was made of orange bricks with wooden decorations. Next to the entry doors stood an ivory statue of the principal reading a massive book while kindly smiling.
Inside the building, Aaran saw rows upon rows of brown wooden bookshelves. Thanks to differences in the cultivation system from this world and his knowledge from previous lives, Aaran wasn't worried he would be bored anytime soon.
Soon, Aaran spotted an elderly man sitting behind a desk, typing on a keyboard. A blue, square box was next to the monitor on the desk.
"Hello, am I to show you my student ID?"
The elder lifted his gaze upon Aaran and observed him briefly. Aaran looked like someone in junior school but lacked basic knowledge about operating the library, which made him look weird. Even more peculiar was that the elder was sure he would remember someone with such a mature atmosphere, which means that the young boy before him started school late for one reason or another.
It was rare but not unheard of, so after brushing this thought away, the elder held out his hand and introduced himself.
"Hey, I'm Willson, the head librarian. Usually, someone else handles this, but since it's the end of the year and students are preparing for finals, I'm filling in for them. Can I assume you are a new student?"
"Indeed. I just got it from the secretary's office."
After getting Aaran's ID, Willson put this card in a square box, and something popped on the monitor. After reading it for a while, he gave Aaran his ID back.
"What are you looking for?"
After thinking about which class he would choose through the night, Aaran was torn between choosing alchemy or arrays as his main subjects in senior school. Both were interesting for him, but alchemy had more direct uses, like his grandmother's health.
'Let's start with alchemy. In the worst case, I will delay the presentation for a few days.'
After being led by Willson to the second floor, Aaron thanked him. Now, being alone with Sheela, he turned toward this even more silent maid of his.
"Umbra Veil is a really impressive skill. He probably didn't even notice you. But don't you lack social interactions because of it?"
Sheela was already in the Enrooting realm, so her ability had time to gain a passive effect. In Umbra Veil's case, her presence was heavily reduced.
"Young master, you know I'm not fond of people," Sheela answered barely audibly. That's how she was when she didn't have to officially represent him as she did in front of the principal.
"Just don't forget about that technique you promised me."
Over the years, their relationship has changed many times. So when Aaran discovered how limited Sheela's technique was a while ago, he asked her not to breakthrough. Initially, she was skeptical but decided to trust her young master. Not long after, Aaran created his first technique, which was enough to prove her trust was put in a good person. Since she couldn't cultivate, she had more time to improve her fundamentals, so it wasn't like she wasted her years.
"I'm glad. This skill really fits you, huh?"
Seeing her sincerity relieved him.
He had just started on the cultivation path not that long ago, and except for some deductions, he hadn't had time to study abilities deeply. So, if that ability would make her life harder, he would be hard-pressed to help.
"Anyway, before tonight, get me as much information about the young princess from yesterday as you can without stepping on the royal family's toes."
It was one of the rare moments when Sheela's emotions were almost written on her face. With wild curiosity in her eyes, she asked.
"Young master, are you interested in her?"
"Yes, just try not to make it obvious to others, okay?"
Seeing her young master finally interested in someone other than historical heroes and weird monsters made Sheela's mind run with various thoughts.
"As you wish, young master." A second later, Sheela was already gone.
'Today, I will focus on alchemy, and tomorrow I can check on arrays. Then, I will have some basics to decide on for my main subject in school. After making that decision, I will need to check the Absolute Rebirth technique from my past life and adjust it to cultivation in this world. Maybe I will find some flaws that explain what went wrong with it.'
The rest of the day passed peacefully with Aaran having fun being in his element.
...
When Aaran returned to their room at night, he found Sheela sitting and drinking tea. One cup was prepared for him on the table, next to which was a stack of papers.
"So everything went okay?"
"Yes, young master. No one knows you are interested in the youngest princess."
Giving her a weird look, Aaran moved to his chair and read the papers.
'Zoe Primeval, a year older than me, has shown potential in alchemy from a young age. She also got an exception to senior year in a month. She should probably choose alchemy as the main subject, then, right? Well, at least it saves me the trouble of deciding between alchemy and arrays.'
After Aaran finished reading, he didn't find anything unusual.
'She certainly is an exceptional talent, but that shouldn't be enough to arouse the interest of Chiron's influence. Ah, I'm interested in how my abilities will grow. Let's focus now on bringing back my Absolute Rebirth to a usable state.'
...
In the middle of the night, Aaran stood alone on the balcony, looking deeply into the sky as if trying to read from shining stars. Last week, he used all his time to fix up Absolute Rebirth, and he was one step from making it work in the Tempering stage. Just know he had a dream where a lone silhouette stood alone in front of nine kneeling people. None of these nine people had distinctive features, but he felt them weirdly familiar. Although he couldn't understand the lone person's language, he knew it was preaching. While listening to it, he fell into an epiphany.
After waking up, he not only found the piece he was missing in completing Absolute Rebirth, but his insight in many fields became even more profound.
'It was a really suffocating feeling not to be able to cultivate, and finally, I can start cultivating properly.
Now, I must cultivate, spend time in the library, prepare the presentation, and fulfill my promise to Sheela. With my experience in adjusting Absolute Rebirth, getting something good for her should be much easier.'
Aaran took a moment to gather his thoughts before he went back to sleep.
...
After finishing his morning routine, Aaran sent Sheela to his home with a letter to his grandfather in which he asked for details about his grandmother. As for himself, Aaran went to the school's indoor training ground. Unlike other buildings, this one stretched horizontally and was made with black metal with multiple inscriptions.
Aaran noticed a few arrays but would need to study more closely to understand how some of them work.
With each day, more and more students frequented the library, which made it a little suffocating for Aaran. But now, entering the training grounds, he deeply understood, and the number of people in the library was actually minimal compared to this place.
'Because I have so many things on my mind lately, I forgot they will have their final exam next week. I heard there is a tournament after exams for everyone who passes, and they can get exciting rewards. Last year, for first place, it was the breakthrough pill for the Tempering stage, which allowed someone to have an easier time transitioning from the Abode tempering realm into the Gate opening realm. I wonder what they will bring up this year.'
After observing his surroundings for a while, he found an instructor. It was a young, handsome guy with short, messy, blonde hair. He wore jeans and a white shirt unbuttoned at the top. His half-closed green eyes and lazy posture just screamed that he was missing a good sleep.
Aaran came closer and politely asked.
"Hello, is there any free room?"
Typically, people either cultivate in their dorm rooms or train on training grounds, but sometimes, some things need privacy and aren't suitable for the fragile interiors of dorm rooms. Every school has some areas, usually around training grounds, reserved for situations like these.
Without as much as saying a word, the instructor tiredly looked around before pointing at one of the doors.
Seeing that there was no need for conversation, full of anticipation Aaran through the door shown to him.