*Congrats, host. Daily Quest is completed.*
The systems emotionless, robotic voice rang out.
The night was setting, bringing along a army of white mess.
It started to snow and here I was, shirtless and lying on the ground too exhausted to get up.
But this snow felt a bit... different.
That was when I realized this was no ordinary snow but mana snow, the academy's signature snow that signals the starting of a new year, but I was too tired to appreciate that.
Although the exercises were slightly less tiring, perhaps thanks to my endurance upgrade, I still struggled with the daily quest.
I can't imagine how it would have been like if I had to do the first version of the quest.
I realized that before I claim the quest reward I should go inside to not a catch a cold.
***
Looking at the holographic screen once again inside my room, I finally decided to spin the wheel to get my reward.
There were only 7 options this time. The endurance option was removed so it looks like I can't upgrade a stat twice, from this wheel at least.
*One random stat will get upgraded*
I spun the wheel and it landed on...
Agility
*Congrats, host. Your agility stat has upgraded (Agility:F- -> F)*
*Additional rewards, Your stamina stat has been upgraded (Stamina:F -> F+) Your body has recovered and the mana capacity stat has returned back to the unpoisoned state (Mana Capacity:F -> F+)*
I was surprised "Additional rewards? What were the additional rewards for?"
*They are the result of your training. These additional rewards were not something the system granted.*
"Oh... yeah I forgot training was a real thing, dumb me."
As I began to reflect on my ignorant behaviour the bell ringing interrupted my thoughts. Who could it be at this hour?
I opened the door to see a rather lean-built man towering over me. His golden eyes fiery, his beard properly trimmed and his gaze was as if he was trying to gauge me.
"Cadet Douglas Preto." The man called out with a rather interested tone.
"Yes, sir." I quickly saluted him to show respect.
"There is no need for you to do that. I only came here to have a small chat with you. Do you mind if I come in?" He asked.
Hesitating for a moment, I stepped aside and gestured for him to enter.
"Of course, sir. Please, come in."
The man sat on the chair while gesturing me to sit on the bed.
"The mana snow, its wonderful isn't it? Have you wondered why and how we can achieve such phenomenons?"
Although it was revealed in the novel and a lot of people knew the answer to that question I didn't as I hadn't yet caught up.
"Yes, sir. It is truly wonderful and hard to believe its man made."
He nodded at my answer and stayed silent for a while.
I couldn't stand the silence and decided to ask
"But sir, why did you decide to visit me?"
The main smiled faintly.
"First off, lets start with introductions since You're probably wondering who I am." He began, his voice calm.
"I am Jerome Altham, The head teacher of Class Queens and best sharpshooter in the academy." Jerome said, showing pride and confidence in the abilities he has.
I nodded silently at his words.
"And, you? Its rude to not introduce yourself when the other person does so."
"Me?" I blinked, regaining my composure. "I'm Douglas Preto. Though I'm just a cadet, sir. Nothing special."
Jeromes expression didn't change but he started glaring at me.
"Well Mr. Nothing Special, I have been watching you for some time now and seen you do some... interesting things, to say the least."
I was caught off guard. Although I expected to have some people take interest in me, I didn't expect it to be so soon.
And what did he mean by 'interesting things' Don't tell me he saw me getting the book of Eros or training with Thrimphum.
But he can't possibly have seen Thrimphum. He would notice Jerome in the domain he built wouldn't he?
As my mind raced with countless possibilities, Jerome just sat there silently.
He seemed to be waiting for me to say something so I stopped the train of thoughts and awkwardly tried to answer him.
"So, what have I done that interested you sir?"
"You seem to have more than one 'thing' you consider would be interesting, but I will let you keep those to yourself."
Was I that obvious?
"What interested me was your way of using your affinity."
"It is my first time seeing an affinity like yours."
"In theory projectiles should be propelled by an external force and slow down under the effects of gravity and air resistance, but..."
"But?"
"What you did around a month ago in the training hall was impossible, at least according to the laws of physics."
"So... tell me, how were you able to propell yourself upward?"
He was talking about my 'Flight' but was it really not possible? I had done it relatively easily.
"I... I don't know, sir."
"As you may know, I may be the only one in history to have this affinity and this means I have to carve out my own path myself; create spells, learn how to control my affinity better and such so I tried to make something to distance myself since I am a sharpshooter."
Jerome leaned forward, his gaze not leaving mine even for a moment.
"Interesting, although I still don't understand how you managed to control yourself precisely, if you have reached a sufficient mastery in the Projectile affinity it may be possible or maybe the affinity is just better than everybody thinks."
"Either way, be careful. The academy is a place for your potential to bloom but it may also cause your demise if you're not careful."
"Thank you for the warning, but I believe I will succeed"
He lightly chuckled "Tone it down a bit, being arrogant doesn't bring you power. However, power brings you arrogance."
"So, make sure to stay humble unless you're the strongest."
As Jerome was in front of the door, he suddenly turned around and said,
"If you ever need any help, come to me."
He left with those words.