Euri had to take a headache pill before leaving home. The training memory transplant process for Saw Serpent left a dull ache that refused to go away.
"I have to be more careful with choosing beast familiars. These headaches can't be good for my health. Frequent experiences may lead to irreparable damage."
Making a mental note to be more cautious and choosy in the future, Euri spent the whole journey massaging his head and looking up methods of treating migraines on the internet.
When Mekyle saw him striding into the classroom, his expression turned quite unsightly. For a moment, he looked tempted to stir up a scene, but he stopped himself after considering the bigger picture.
The news of Euri being 'taught a lesson' had already spread across the campus. Coupled with Euri's earlier misfortune, people's distaste towards Bennet was at a peak. The next rumor to go public could not be something even more negative.
As soon as Euri took his seat, the latest updates about the scholarship project drama reached his ears. Jaakie's wild descriptions weren't quite believable, but Euri realized that almost everyone in the class was discussing the same story.
"Last night, at a five-star hotel in the Jade-neck Sector, the whole upper management of J.J. Foundation held an emergency meeting! Principal Serique was even involved in a heated duel there. Get it? Not a fistfight; I'm talking about duels between superhumans, involving beast familiars!"
"...Okay, but what was the result? Why did you stop before the important part?" Euri asked, grabbing Jaakie by the neck. Jaakie took his voice down a notch as he glanced around them, as if afraid that someone might hear the confidential news he was about to leak.
"No one is sure what transpired, but he was basically thrown out of the meeting chamber by bodyguards! I heard the cleanup cost reached nearly 500,000 credits! I have a cousin who works in that hotel. He told me that the dueling spot is permanently ruined!"
Destroying a dueling spot was quite a difficult feat. Those stages were built to withstand damage. Unless one was using Rank-1 Silver Grade beasts at their full capacity...
But then again, why would the hotel authorities allow that level of duels in their premises? The law didn't allow superhumans to fight wherever they wished. They had to follow numerous regulations in areas populated by ordinary humans.
"Then? Was there any official explanation from any side?" Curiosity burning, Euri started shaking Jaakie by the collar.
"You bet there was! It even made the headlines! Haven't you checked the local news networks this morning?" Jaakie said while trying to extricate himself.
"And what have you been watching at home, man? Your arms are stiff as hell!"
"Ah, that's just post-workout stiffness. I've been getting beaten up too frequently these days. The least I can do is to toughen myself up!"
"Good, good, good," Jaakie said, looking impressed. "For a moment there, I was afraid that you wanted to fight back and get yourself killed. Glad to see you haven't lost your marbles."
"What was the official explanation?"
"J. J. Foundation will have a new board of trustees. It seems like the faction opposing our principal won the war. Although the names weren't explicitly mentioned, the reports said that Serique's faction was pretty much driven out of the board, resulting in the violent duel."
Euri chatted with several other classmates to get a more grounded version of the incident. The class monitor, Shenna, actually corroborated with Jaakie's narration, claiming that he had relatives close to Principal Serique who had told him the same thing.
"I didn't even know that the principal is a superhuman. He always seemed so down-to-earth and harmless in the school meetings. Apparently, when he was being thrown out of the hotel by security, he challenged the top brass of that foundation that he'd produce a batch of superior superhumans from his school within the next year. The representatives from Yellow Sun School even accepted it!"
"Grown-ass men acting like they're leading a movie, my God...."
Shaking his head, Euri returned to his seat. While he was suspicious that the depth of the matter went beyond what it appeared to outsiders, he also understood that being in a position of power did not make people smarter.
They could make irrational, emotional decisions that could be just as stupid as an addict thinking he could quit anytime he wanted to.
Just then, his miniscreen vibrated, and Euri saw a new notification from the game. Logging in, he saw something he had been waiting for a long time now. Scout Dog had reached his second cultivation checkpoint!
[ Scout Dog ]
[ Rank- 0 lifeform ]
[ Physique: 0.7 ]
[ Special Attribute: Speed (2) ]
The first breakthrough had come in about fifteen hours, he recalled.
This one came after more than two days of cultivation, including some brief gaps. Logically speaking, the next one shouldn't be more delayed than a week, or ten days, at most.
"But how many breakthroughs does it need to become a Rank-1 creature?" Euri fell into deep thought as he considered all routes.
Since Rank-1 beasts tended to be stronger than any ordinary creature of their species, it was needless to doubt that this dog's physique had to go through a few enhancements.
The pool of ambrosia could take care of that need easily. On the other hand, he still had no idea what effect its special attribute would have on its evaluation as a lifeform. Did he need to cultivate that attribute more?
Or would just feeding the dog ambrosia till it crossed a certain limit be the faster path?
"Fuck no, I need ambrosia more than the dog does. I'll just let it cultivate and see how many times it can break through before a qualitative change big enough to impact its evaluation happens."
Since Scout Dog had broken through, it meant the other four familiars would break through soon as well, except for Scavenger Rat. That little guy was constantly on the prowl for [ Common Foodstuffs ] under his orders.
In retrospect, he realized that he shouldn't have killed Scavenger Bat. With two scavengers taking turns supplying ingredients, the production of ambrosia would have been a lot faster.
Praying to the heavens for another scavenger beast within the next few hunts, Euri logged out of the game.