An hour later, I found myself sitting down in an uncomfortably sterile office, accompanied by nothing but painfully awkward silence and Sera's overpowering gaze. After being dragged around everywhere, I can understand why she'd be fed up with me. Still, I'd rather her say something about it than hold me at gunpoint with her glare.
A little earlier, we met with a Confessor staff member named Miss Aria, who (seemingly begrudgingly?) introduced the two of us to an optometrist. She scowled after hearing Sera mention Professor Alfred's name, but lent us her help anyway.
Dr. Vanya, the optometrist, had to leave momentarily to put in a request for a specialized pair of glasses. Apparently, ordinary glasses weren't enough to compensate for my poor eyesight, especially when the cause responsible for it was misuse of a skill.
Fortunately, the cost of medical treatment in any capacity is expensed by the school. Less fortunately, that means my condition is so bad I need an arcanum to see properly. It isn't so much an actual decline in the capabilities of my eyes, but the lingering side effects left behind by 'Eyes of Heaven' that prevent me from seeing clearly. In other words, I should be able to recover my eyesight eventually. Key word here is "eventually".
Out of curiosity, I called up the status screen. I wasn't sure how well I'd be able to see it, but to my surprise, it was completely visible. Maybe it's a mental construct as opposed to something that manifests in reality, which makes sense given that others can't see it.
It's a bit disorienting to have something so vivid in front of me when everything else around is so blurry. After my fight with Galen, I had some things I wanted to check.
[Status Window]
Name: Ilyin Gray
Titles: [Arbiter of Passion], [Adherent of Hela]
▷ Primary Stats // [VSL: 4.4] [DEX: 6.2] [PRJ: 4.3] [PSY: 5.2] [PE: 4.8] [ARC: 5.5]
▷ List of Skills
▲ Synchronization (Incomplete) [LV. N/A]
▲ Hela's Authority (Weakened) [LV. N/A]
▲ Voice of Nihility [LV. N/A]
▲ Arbiter's Ardor [LV. N/A]
▲ Eyes of Heaven (Weakened) [LV. N/A]
—
Besides a 0.1 increase to my dexterity, psyche, and arcane stats, there weren't really any gains from that fight. Unlike the fight with the haginn, 'Arbiter's Ardor' didn't take effect. I guess he just wasn't that strong, or maybe the skill works in a way I don't understand. There's also the possibility that using 'Eyes of Heaven' made the fight too easy, even if I felt like I was walking on a tightrope towards the end.
Speaking of 'Eyes of Heaven', I have yet another skill that has no quantifiable level and is in a weakened state. Is this normal? I'll have to ask someone else to find out, but I worry that doing so would reveal too much information about myself. Generally speaking, it's a bad idea to give out your status information.
[Eyes of Heaven (Weakened)] ▲
A derivation of the 'Divine Eyes' skill, modified by the use of 'Truth'. When activated, the user's sight is explosively enhanced, allowing them to see even the finest grains of mana from a far distance. Can be used to identify weak points in mana-based constructs or entities. In addition, this skill passively rejects low-level corruption and bestows minor divinity.
Currently in an unusable state. The user's capabilities are insufficient to draw out the full power of this skill.
Additional Note: Don't trust her, Ilyin.
—
I was expecting it to explain how I can get my eyesight back, similar to how 'Hela's Authority' has a line about increasing synchronization, but I guess not. More importantly, I need to figure out what this last line means.
"Don't trust her"—who? The only two girls I know are Sera and Irene, but is that warning something that needs to be communicated through a skill's description if it was either of them? Surely it could be sent as a message...
Right, there's one other person. I was under the assumption that the person warning me was Hela, but she's never communicated anything in such a roundabout way. Is it possible that this warning isn't about Sera or Irene, but Hela? But who has the authority to interact with the system in such a way besides a divine?
Wait...
In addition, this skill passively rejects low-level corruption and bestows minor divinity.
Minor divinity? If that's something I've had throughout my resets, does that mean I can interact with the system in the same way divines can? And if so... was this message left behind by a previous me?
I feel incredibly uneasy. If the one person that I could sort of trust turns out to be suspicious, what am I supposed to do now?
"Why did you ask him to make you his disciple as a favor? You could've just taken his class."
I nearly jumped at Sera's sudden question. She's been so eerily quiet that I forgot she was there for a moment. I pondered a bit on how to answer her.
"I figured that the difference in treatment between a student and a disciple is significant. Considering that a disciple of Professor Alfred is an adept of Viole Justiciary, I thought that receiving direct training from him would help me get an edge over others, especially since I suffer from mana reversion."
She went silent. I can't tell what she's thinking at all.
"Well, you're right about that," she finally replied. "Just know that he'll drop you if you can't keep up. You'll need talent."
"And do I have talent?"
Sera seemed surprised by my question, but took a bit to think it over. I was genuinely curious as to how capable I am compared to others, considering I've had nothing to reference besides Galen, who would've beaten me if it weren't for 'Eyes of Heaven'.
"How long have you been training?"
"A month or so."
Her gaze suddenly intensified, to the point where it felt like she was trying to burn holes in me with her eyes. "Didn't you clear the Ark of Passion a month ago? You didn't train before then?"
"Mhm. Only after I got out."
She sighed. "I can understand why the guildmaster is interested in you. Your swordsmanship and arcana aren't anything special, but growing this much in a month is impressive."
I frowned. "The guildmaster?"
"Irisviel Celestine, the leader of Viole Justiciary. She personally asked me to keep an eye out for Merlin's markbearer, and it turns out that that person is you. Over half of the markbearers out there are hardly worth talking about, so I didn't think much of it. So tell me, how did you end up in the Ark without any experience?"
I clenched my fists, recalling the chaos incurred by the calamity.
"I didn't have a choice," I said sternly.
She didn't immediately respond. Instead, she grabbed my wrist and tapped on my PDA. Of course, I couldn't see what she was doing, but I didn't want to resist and incur her anger.
"Irisviel's private contact information. I was told to pass that on. I couldn't care less about giving that pointless recruitment spiel, though. If you're actually a rookie, none of that is gonna mean anything to you. I was going to confront you about it on Friday, but this saves me the trouble."
"Are you sure about this? Didn't you say my skills were average?"
"I'm just doing what I was told," she said in an exasperated voice. "Call her or don't, I don't care. And have you been training in seclusion or what? Can't you evaluate your own capabilities?"
Her sharp tone made me tense up a bit. Over the course of my training, I was more or less isolated from other people. The only time I got to see other arbiters was through videos online, but those were of top-class arbiters, not newbies like me. Heflin was strict when it came to monitoring my progress, and only ever said that my skills were barely enough to make it in Lionheart.
"Kind of to the first question, no for the second," I replied.
I can't see her expression, but I can tell she's giving me an "are you serious?" kind of look.
"...There's a clear difference between learning a skill and applying it. There are plenty of able swordsmen more skilled than you who don't know how to do squat in a real fight. That, or they only know how to fight against other swordsmen. It's almost impossible for me to believe that you drew up that plan against the haginn or managed to overcome Galen's magic with your skills with so little experience. Your skills are average, but you fight like you have plenty of experience. The fact that you were able to optimize your practice device's battery so accurately and take advantage of his weaknesses adds to that."
My first reaction was, "Wow, she actually talks a lot, huh?" but I didn't say anything.
Anyways, I thought about it briefly during my fight with Galen, but there was some unusual, familiar feeling I get whenever I focus in combat. An instinct dedicated solely to fighting, one that I can't remember developing. The way Sera talks about me only further convinces me that this is the result of 'Synchronization'. While the return of my skills has been slowing down, it seems that I've subconsciously been able to draw on the experience that comes from countless resets.
Just as I thought about it, a blue pop-up appeared in front of me.
[The skill 'Returner's Insight' has been awakened and added to the list of synchronized skills.]
[Returner's Insight] ▲
A unique passive ability designed by a previous Ilyin Gray with the aid of Hela. 'Synchronization' will prioritize restoring combat sense and ingrained instincts if the arbiter's current capabilities are insufficient to perform advanced physical skills or arcane arts.
—
[Synchronization rate: 18%]
That... was an awfully convenient notification. The system works in mysterious ways, but considering that the previous me's might've been capable of manipulating the system through 'Eyes of Heaven', maybe this outcome was intentional.
"Anyway," Sera continued, "if you're done bothering me with questions, I've got one more thing to settle with you."
I felt a chill down my spine. "And that is?"
"Originally, I was planning on beating you down in a spar for lying to me, but the guildmaster will became a pain in the ass if I do that. Besides, if you become Master Alfred's disciple, I'll have more than enough opportunities to for that and I won't get in trouble."
Right, so she didn't forget about that. I was hoping she wouldn't remember after all that's happened.
"Instead, you owe me something else."
"What if I don't want to?"
"Don't find out," she snapped at me, immediately clamming me up. "Besides, I'm not about to ask you for something crazy."
"Which is...?"
"All Lionheart students are require to form circles of six at some point during the vocation classes, with the sixth being either another Lionheart or someone from a different sub-school. Anyone who doesn't have one will be forced into randomly decided groups. Before that happens, I want to guarantee I have a circle that won't hold me back."
"Aren't you one of the most popular freshmen on campus? You could recruit anyone, so why me?"
"You're decently competent, and you've got interesting skills. Plus, from the incident with the haginn, I can tell we work well together."
"Together? I always took you for a loner," I blurted out. I accidentally swapped my thoughts with my words. Fortunately, she didn't seem to think much of it.
"I'll admit that I come off as asocial, but that's just because everyone's scared of me or too parasocial about me to treat me like a normal person. While I couldn't care less about being friendly, I'm as interested in other people as anyone else. If others can't put up with that, then I don't want them as friends. I refuse to bend for anyone that isn't myself. Besides, what I want to accomplish needs a competent circle that can work as a team. I can't do it myself."
That... was surprising, honestly. "Unfriendly" is far too an understatement for how fiercely she glared at me or Galliard... but now that I think about it, I think she only ever does that whenever she shows interest in someone. She stopped looking at me that way after hearing I had mana reversion during the practical exams. Her personality is definitely as thorny as I initially thought, but she's not as scary as I made her out to be.
Her offer was definitely beneficial to me. In fact, I can hardly believe there's anyone in Lionheart willing to recruit someone like me. There was zero reason to turn down a top student, especially now that I know she isn't actually hostile to me.
"I have no reason to refuse, so sure. Do you have anyone else in mind?"
"You're actually the second person I've recruited."
I was taken aback. "...You work fast. Who's the other one?"
"Galliard. I watched his practicals, and I heard about how he singlehandedly stalled a haginn until help arrived. He's smart and easy to get along with, and it seems like you're already acquainted with him. I asked him back when you ran into us on move-in day."
Galliard? That's a pretty big catch if you ask me.
"How convenient. Anyone else you have in mind?"
I suddenly felt a sense of uneasiness for reasons I can't explain.
"Speaking of convenient... you're roommates with the hal'Byrne, right?"
"Please no."
"You don't have any right to refuse. I'm the leader, so I'll recruit who I please. While I personally think he's revolting, I know full well the capabilities of a hal'Byrne. Adding a mage like Galliard and a tanker like the hal'Byrne would help make our circle more well-rounded. The both of us might be vanguards, but your various abilities make you more flexible than me, so there's no issue there."
I groaned. Of course a development this convenient for me couldn't be perfect. "Fine. That makes four. Have you found a fifth?"
"No, but if we can convince the hal'Byrne, my bar for the fifth won't be as high. Any role is fine, but someone who specializes in recon or diversionary tactics would help. To compensate for the hal'Byrne, it has to be someone who isn't unbearable to deal with. As for the sixth, Miss Aria can help me find a Confessor."
A recon... hm. I know of one, but right now, I don't want anything to do with her, so I'll keep my mouth shut.
"If you're finally done with questions, I'm going to leave now. The doctor can take care of you, and I'm hungry. Also, I already exchanged our contact information when I put the guildmaster's on your PDA."
I nodded. "Thanks," I said.
Without another word, she turned and left the room, leaving me alone in the office. I let out an exhausted sigh, almost falling off the stool because I tried to lean back in it.
Somehow, all that training with Heflin was infinitely less draining than everything that's been going on today and yesterday. It's hard to believe that I only just moved in the day before. Maybe it's because I've been overwhelmed with so much social interaction that I'm completely spent. I can't even fathom how much more exhausting it'll get when it's time to put together circles.
Ugh. And I have to ask Callen about joining ours. What a pain in the ass.
...
Just one more week until classes officially begin.