IDLE MAGE: HUMANITY'S STRONGEST BACKER

by Kideo11

They said they came from out of nowhere. There were no signs of their arrival nor there were any loud sounds. One day, Humanity woke up and was forced to accept their existence...along with the destruction they brought with them. Ashton West, a orphan and a transmigrator from Earth. He woke up in this near-apocalyptic world without anyone else to rely on aside from himself. Than

Chapter 1

"Ash, sweetie. Wake up, now. Come on!"

"..."

"Really, wake-up already. It's the Awakening Day, you can't be late."

"..."

"Ai, you kid. Alright, I'll return after 10 minutes. After that, no more extensions okay?"

"..."

A fair woman who wore a nun's attire got up from the corner of a child's bed and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Moments after she left, the child inside the room opened his eyes and looked warily at his surroundings.

"...this isn't hell...this isn't heaven either." The child muttered.

He scrutinized his surroundings with a doubtful gaze. Looking at the room, he realized that it belongs to a kid, a really down to earth kid.

"...ahem, ahem...yeah, that's my voice alright." The child then looked at his hands and said: "These hands aren't the ones I remember either."

"Where the hell am I?"

"More importantly, what is going on? I...I thought I died?"

Ashton is really confused now. He has no idea what to make of his current situation. He didn't know where he was and why he appeared to be in a different body.

Unable to figure out what exactly was going on, he decided to stand-up and look around this room. He thought that maybe there are clues around that could help him navigate this situation.

His eyes then landed at a plate card that's on the table. There seems to be words written in them.

"...it's not written in English." He murmured, "Nor in any language that I remember but, strangely enough, I can understand what it says..."

"Millibeth's Orphanage." He uttered which surprised himself since he didn't speak in English. He spoke in a different language altogether.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!"

All of a sudden, a sharp headache hit him. It felt like there were needles poking his skull. It was quite unbearable and caused him to collapse on the ground while clutching his head.

In Ashton's mind, a storm was raging. There were so many things going on that he couldn't keep up. It felt like he was breezing through several perspectives of him doing something he doesn't remember doing.

His headache persisted for a good while until it slowly subsided. Ashton could feel hot tears pouring from his eyes. Whatever he experienced was so painful that it made him cry.

He didn't suffer for nothing though, the headache might've been really painful but it did leave him with something important.

"Transmigration...isekai...oh, hell. This is certainly unexpected."

In his daze, Ashton didn't even realize that he just spoke with this world's language.

Yes, indeed. Ashton had transmigrated into a different world.

According to the new memories he acquired, he's in a world called Blue Planet.

Specifically, in a land called 'Last Bastion' - also known as humanity's last piece of land.

"A dangerous world...crap, I'm not really looking forward to this." Ashton got up from the floor and sat on the edge of his bed while pondering things.

Ashton...this is still his name even in this world. According to the memories he inherited from the old one, he was an orphan.

Apparently, his parents unceremoniously dropped him off at the doors of the orphanage and peace'd-out. It's unknown if they're still alive. Frankly, Ashton thinks that they're dead, if not he's just really unwanted. Either way, he doesn't actually mind.

Old Ashton is very much like him. Well, a little more on the weirder side but still, more or less the same.

The old one was a quiet one. No, he wasn't forced to be quiet nor was he abused by the other kids or the Nuns. It's his choice to remain silent so much to the point that he gives off an impression that he's mute.

Old Ashton isn't mute. He just didn't want to be seen, that's all. He isn't timid, just being careful. He didn't trust anybody aside from himself, so he mostly kept everything he knew to himself. He didn't like to be in the spotlight and would very much rather fade into the shadows, making his presence really weak.

Despite all of this, old Ashton was a clever and smart kid. He's very critical towards people despite his young age. He knows what to do and how to act in order to avoid being noticed. Hell, even the Nuns don't know what to do with him.

Fading into the shadows and refusing to interact with people certainly gets lonely, not old Ashton though.

The kid's imagination was extremely colorful. With just a thought, he can create a world centered around him. He can breathe life into things and get immersed into his world. Of course, only he could see the things he created. After all, his imagination is his world.

Because of this, old Ashton never truly felt lonely.

Despite his strangeness, there are many couples who attempted to forge a bond with him. Believe it or not, he was once the child that is most sought after by the couples who are looking to adopt.

Unfortunately, Ashton didn't like the idea of that. On the outside, he appeared very timid and afraid. On the inside, he just hated it.

He didn't trust them one bit. One look is all it takes for him to discover some bad signs and he always trusted his judgment.

Ashton couldn't blame the kid for being too critical, especially after knowing that this orphanage is located in the slums of the city where there's a lot of shady people around.

The kid didn't even trust the nuns, how can anybody expect him to trust strangers?

One might say that the kid had some serious trust issues but then again, it kept him alive and safe didn't it? So, is he really doing something wrong?

Anyway, there's actually another reason why Ashton didn't want to be adopted.

Old Ashton thinks-no, he's certain that he was sick.

For some reason, the kid had this premonition that his days are numbered. He always believed that he's going to die young.

He didn't know what kind of illness he had but he's so sure that he's going to die. Heck, he even predicted the day of his death.

One month after his 13th birthday. This was the concrete guess he made when he turned 10 years old.

And would you freaking look at that! The kid's a prophet! He's like...Nostra-dumbass or something!

He was right! His death indeed occurred one month after his 13th birthday - which was yesterday at midnight.

It's quite funny actually, Ashton felt so familiar with the kid. They both had the same attitude towards their approaching death.

They were already over it even before it happened.

Old Ashton didn't cry, didn't ask for help, and didn't tell anyone. The moment he was sure that he's going to die, he just accepted it. He just spent his everyday life according to how he pleased and he moved-on peacefully.

He perished silently.

The old Ashton probably didn't expect that someone would come to occupy his body. Even if he did, he probably won't care.

"...this is so weird." Ashton murmured as he continued reviewing the memories he inherited from the kid.

"Why do I feel like I'm missing something?" He whispered, "Like...I'm forgetting something? Ah, whatever!"

Ashton scratched his head and looked around his room in wonder.

"So...what now?" He asked nobody in particular. "I guess this is my new reality now. I get to live again."

"But really, I don't feel particularly happy about this." He grimaced.

Ashton can't just ignore the fact that this world is dangerous, much more than earth since there are legit monsters here.

Granted, humans can fight them because they possess powers too. Actually, the reason why that nun from earlier woke him up pretty early is because he's about to go in an awakening process to get this power too.

This world took the fantasy novels from his old world and made them real. It's absurd knowing that he now has to live in a world like this.

Speaking of which...this was a trope on those novels in his old world. The transmigration/isekai tropes. He had read some of them in the past but the trope grew out of proportion and there were too many of them. Most of them were just straight-up hot garbage but they're fun!

He remembered tuning-out most of his mental faculties whenever reading them and they were a good way to spend and idle afternoons.

"Uh...I guess I have nothing to lose. Transmigrating into a world of fantasy is already crazy in itself. Might as well try where the limits are..."

"So um...where is my golden finger? System? Are you there?"

"..."

"A'ight! Good attempt, let's never do that again-"

[System Functions, Loading...]

"Sun of a beach!" Ashton exclaimed but hurriedly calmed himself down. "It really worked! That's awesome!"

Ashton couldn't believe that this was possible too. Hell, he really got the Transmigrator's Package!

He didn't believe it at first since he doesn't remember talking to a Random Omnipotent Being and being offered with this but who would've thought that he would actually have it!

"Geez..." Ashton chuckled upon looking at the progress bar steadily creeping up to full. "I guess I'm on my way to becoming a protagonist huh?"

A smile can't be wiped away from his face as he impatiently waited for the system to boot up. It took a couple of minutes until it was full. As soon as it was done, Ashton saw a window appearing in his view.

[System Download: 100%]

[Greetings, Host. Welcome to the Idle System!]

[Notice: All System Functions are currently locked. Detected that the Host's body isn't suitable to support the System's existence. To unlock the System's Functions, a mission is issued to the Host.]

[Mission: Awaken!]

Join the group of people who're scheduled to leave today and undergo the Awakening Ceremony.

Rewards: System Functions: Unlocked. New User's Gift Bag(x1).

Punishment: None

Time Limit: Before the day ends.

Chapter 2

"Oh..." Ashton was quite disappointed after seeing the state of the System.

Then again, it's not like it was an impossible mission, in fact isn't this a free-giveaway? What's there to be disappointed about?

"Ash, sweetie. Are you up?"

He was startled by the voice of the nun from earlier. Ashton nearly answered out loud but he managed to stop himself from doing so.

'Oops, nearly f-ed up there. I can't do that, it's out of character. Note to self, conceal, don't feel. Don't let it go.'

Ashton didn't answer. Instead, he did his best to mimic the way the old ash behaved and luckily it was natural for him.

He noticed that the door opened and an old nun suddenly came into his view.

"Oh, good! Exactly 10 minutes." She said softly, "Ash, it's the Awakening Day. Have you got everything prepared?"

Ash looked at the foot of his mattress and saw an old bag filled to the brim with things. He then looked back at the nun and nodded softly.

"Very good." The nun smiled and reached out to pat his head. "Ah, I'm going to miss you little one. Polite and obedient kids like you are rare. If you'd just speak out more than you would've already been adopted. Alas..."

The nun had a regretful expression on her face. It's as though she's truly feeling pity for him but...

'Yeah, I don't know if this is me or the remnants of old ash's instincts, but I don't trust this woman at all. She's shady as hell.'

Ashton truly couldn't bring himself to trust this nun. He can't explain why exactly, just something about her unnerves him. It's all confusing still so he decided to just throw it at the back of his head.

It won't be long before he's out of this place anyway. By then, he wouldn't have to worry about this.

"Alright, since you pretty much ready, all there is left is for you to take a good bath. Do you need help with that?"

Ashton couldn't stop the shiver running down his spine at the mere thought of this woman bathing him so he hurriedly shook his head in refusal.

"My..." this Nun had the audacity to chuckle. "Look at you, being so shy. I could still remember the days when you used to come to me to help you bathe yourself, now you're already a big boy and so independent." 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝑟𝘦𝘢𝒹.𝘤𝑜𝓂

Ashton couldn't look her in the eye, he truly can't. It didn't help that he's getting real-time flashbacks of those happening. Sadly, he couldn't really protest since he didn't want them to suspect anything.

'It's fine, just endure it. I'll be out of here soon. Real soon. I won't have to see their faces ever again. Just. Endure.'

"Okay then, I'll leave you to it." The Nun stood up and walked towards the door. "Come down after you finish your bath, make sure you scrub your body real good so that you'll smell good, you hear me? I'll sniff you later and if you stink that I'm going to make you return there and bathe you myself, understood?"

Ashton nodded furiously.

"Come down once you're done, we'll eat, brush our teeth and wait for the transit. Alright, move along."

After saying this, the nun left and closed the door behind him. Ashton scrambled to his feet and locked the door, heaving a sigh of relief once she's gone.

'Damn! She's so shady! I hate it! I hate it so much! Ugh!'

Ashton's brows were furrowed in annoyance. He truly didn't like that nun from the very depths of his heart. Something about her was creeping him out and he didn't like it one bit.

It took some time and a couple of deep breaths for him to calm down. He looked at the door and saw that it's locked properly. He then went towards the showers to be over with this.

As he absentmindedly bathed and scrubbed his body, his mind wandered about all the possible things that would happen after this.

The most important thing is the Awakening Ceremony for obvious reasons. One, this will determine what he's going to do in the future.

See, this is a world of fantasy. In old ash's memories, there are people who were called Knights and Mages, and apparently everybody strived to become either one.

Perhaps it is because he lives in the slums that his education was mediocre at best. Even for someone who was just thrown into this world so abruptly without any warnings, he could tell from a glance that what he knew about this world - no, even just in this city alone is very insufficient.

Due to this, Ashton could only fill up the gaps of his knowledge using his old world's standards.

The terms Knights and Mages struck a certain familiarity with him. In his head, he already has some images of what they look like based on the stereotypes. At the same time, he's also aware that he shouldn't base everything he knows with just this.

'So, swords and magic huh?' He thought to himself, 'So what, is this like an RPG based world then? Will I have a 'Class' and stuff? Wait, what would I be? A knight or a Mage? Is there a way to figure that out?'

'Ugh, this is so dull! I don't have enough material for reference!'

'I guess I'll learn about it there, huh? Oh well, whatever.'

'Ah, that's right! I also have to worry about my living expenses after this. This is my last day in the orphanage after all.'

For teenagers, Awakening Day signifies a start of a new life. Especially for an orphan like him.

The Awakening Ceremony will determine whether he's going to be a Knight or a Mage, this is what the old ash knows. After becoming either of those two, one would be considered as a citizen of their city...a semi-adult, if you will.

The orphanage can't support them forever. It's already burdensome for them to raise children with meager support from the government and just by waiting for donations.

This is why when a child reaches 13 years old and had their Awakening Ceremony completed, they will be...well, there's no other way to say this, they will be kicked out of the orphanage to fend for themselves.

Now, since Ash is someone from Earth, this sounds cruel to him. Especially considering the fact that he comes from the slums.

The idea that they're going to be thrown out into the fire just like that makes him uncomfortable. Alas, he can't do anything about it. It's the rules. He has to accept them.

Still, it isn't all bad news...the government isn't that cruel.

The orphans will be given a chance...a lifeline per se.

Once they are deemed as an Orphan, they'll receive support from the government depending on their 'results' or 'potential'. The brighter their future is, the better the investment will be.

At minimum, they should receive a decent apartment, supplies and allowance that can last them for an entire year. Again, this is at minimum. The rates can change especially if one signed a contract from a sponsor.

Of course, nothing's free. Even the minimum support from the government wouldn't last forever. If the officials determined that the child doesn't have the ability to be independent enough to support themselves, they could only say sorry and cut off the support. Turning those kids homeless and miserable.

This meant that once Ashton received his stipend from the government, he had to tighten up his belt and if possible find a part-time job in order to support himself.

Again, his comfort will be decided by his aptitude which will be revealed once the Awakening Ceremony is done.

'Darn! So much to worry about, it hasn't even been a day since I got here, what the hell?'

Ashton sighed and could already feel the headache coming. He could only hope that his system would be of help in this.

As his thoughts flew, Ashton finished bathing. He dried himself and changed into a new set of clothes. He sniffed himself and shrugged. Well, he doesn't smell bad so that old lady shouldn't have any complaints later.

After changing, he grabbed his bag and went downstairs to find a generous feast on the table. Well, 'generous' in the slums' standards.

The other nun saw him coming down and smiled at him. They guided him to the table and told him to eat and then brush his teeth afterwards. They also inspected him to see if he looked presentable at least.

Seeing they have no complaints or whatsoever, meant that he passed at least.

As Ashton peacefully ate his fill of bread and porridge, he noticed that the other kids were starting to come down as well. As things got hectic for everyone, his presence gradually weakened even more to the point he felt that he turned invisible.

Of course, Ash didn't mind that. He even preferred it that way.

Once he's done with his meal, he silently stood up, brought the dishes with him on the sink and washed them. He then brushed his teeth and went outside to wait for the others.

Chapter 3

Including Ashton, there's five other kids who are also coming to the Awakening Ceremony.

Just like him, they too are 13 years old. The oldest amongst them was 13 and five months old. And while it's arguable that some of them could've had their Awakening earlier, the Orphanage is poor so they could only follow the arrangement of the Orphanage to have their Awakening.

The six teenagers as well as three nuns are now waiting for the transit to arrive. Ashton was hiding behind them, trying to make his presence really weak so that nobody would dare to talk to him.

The transit arrived just in time according to their schedule. Its appearance actually surprised Ashton since he originally was expecting something more...ancient?

Like a carriage or something - with horses and all. On the contrary, he saw a bus - which in hindsight, should've been the first thing he thought of upon hearing the word 'transit'.

'Huh...I guess this world is more modern than I originally thought.' He mused inwardly.

Really, he should've known since the signs are everywhere. Concrete roads, funny-looking traffic signs, hell there's even a TV - or at least he thinks it's one. These should've been enough for him to tell the technological level of this place.

"Old Hag!"

"Old Man!"

The transit driver and the head Nun greeted each other at the same time. They laughed and even hugged each other like good friends but Ashton knew better...

'That is so fake.' He mumbled to himself.

Judging by the way how strained their faces were as they hugged, it's already obvious that these two aren't really close like they're showing.

Once they separated, the old man looked at the kids and asked: "Oho? Are these the young'uns who'll be awakening this time?" 𝑙𝒾𝒷𝘳𝑒𝑎𝒹.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"Yes. Don't they look heroic? I'm looking forward to their results. I hope that the next Hero comes from one of them."

Oddly enough, to Ashton's ears, these lines sounded rehearsed. Like the two of them said this so many times already that they could even recite it in their sleep.

"Haha! We could only hope!" The old man laughed uproariously. "How's it? Are you kids ready to go?"

The other kids nodded in excitement and anticipation, only Ashton remained silent and unbothered by their enthusiasm. He would've stuck out like a sore thumb if it weren't for the fact that his presence was so weak right now that the driver hasn't even looked at him once.

"Well, what are we waiting for then? Come on! Get in the transit. I'll drive you to the Federal Center."

'Federal Center?' Ashton raised a brow. He mentally took note of that name and followed the others inside the transit.

'Yep. It's a bus alright. The same one as I can remember. Ooh! There's air conditioning too, nice!'

Ashton fought the smile threatening to break out on his face as he chose a seat.

He wasn't expecting this world to have public transportations vehicles similar to the ones from earth. Well, they don't look exactly the same. He can see some strange details here and there but overall, this is a bus and he's just happy to be in it again.

It feels somewhat nostalgic.

Ashton sat on an empty aisle. Most of the kids are bunched up in front along with the Nuns, nobody really paid attention to him which was perfect. He looked outside and saw that the transit was already moving.

He gave one last look to the Orphanage and murmured a soft farewell before it disappeared from his view.

"Ahem. Ahem! Eyes in front kids." One of the Nuns was currently standing while the bus was moving. She appears to be holding a mic that looked somewhat different from the ones on Earth,

"Now, since the transit is already moving and on the way to the Federal Center, we think that it's about time for you all to learn everything you need to know about the Awakening Ceremony."

'Oh! A lesson in the middle of a trip? This is so nostalgic. And it's about something I'm genuinely curious about too.'

"Now, if you all can remember, we used to tell you a lot of stories about Heroes." The Nun smiled as she spoke: "We used to tell you that there are two kinds of Heroes in this world."

"One is a Knight and the other is a Mage."

"We also used to tell you that one day, you will all have the chance to become just like those Legendary Heroes from the tales. This day, your Awakening Day, is the day you get the chance to finally become that."

Ashton could hear the excited gasps of his fellow orphans as they listened attentively to the Nun.

"Our destination is the Federal Center. What is the Federal Center you ask? Well, it is a hub that was built by our government - the Morning Sun Federation, in each city."

"As City M, our city, is included in the list of cities under the management of the Federation, they have a branch center here which is the Federal Center."

"The Federal Center is where everyone who reached 13 years old could go for their awakening."

'Ahh...I see. So that's how this world works.' Ashton nodded inwardly.

"The Awakening Ceremony is held once a month. I know what some of you are thinking and we're sorry about that but know that our Orphanage is short on funds most of the time so we could only maximize the effect of what little currency we have in order to survive. I hope you can forgive us."

"That being said, we're already on the way there so no need to worry about it anymore, okay?"

The other orphans nodded their heads and didn't look sad about the delay. Well, they're innocent and have no idea that the Orphanage held them back but even if they knew about it, what can really do?

"Now, going back to our main topic. The awakening." The nun cleared her throat. "When we arrive there, us adults will lead you to the center, remember to not run around or else we will lose you and you might not get the chance to be awakened."

"The Awakening Ceremony is divided into three stages; awakening the Spiritual Root which will define what suits you the best - knight or mage? And also define your potential.

The next stage is awakening your Physique - if you're a Knight, or your Magical Artifact if you're a Mage.

And the final stage is awakening your Providence."

"Once you've awakened these three things, you will be formally acknowledged as a Young Hero! Isn't that exciting!?"

The orphans nodded eagerly while Ashton just looked unimpressed.

Ashton was listening intently and taking notes mentally. There are still some things that are not clear to him so he could only wait to learn more.

"After that, we'll accompany you to register your identity to the Federation's Records. Then you will receive your monthly stipend from the government as well as your new homes!"

"Kids, let me tell you something." The nun's expression turned serious but kind. "Once you've awakened your potential, it means that you're already considered an adult."

'A semi-adult actually but go on...'

"You have to be independent from now on. We won't be there to watch over you anymore since you guys are already big and strong enough." The nun explained.

The other orphans looked sad and hesitant but none of them said anything.

"What happens next will depend on you." The nun continued. "If you want to walk the path of Heroes, then you could enroll in primary school or even try your luck in the Academy!"

"If you don't want to, you can always look for work. City M is enormous, there will be people who're willing to hire you. If you have a job, you can continue living normally. Who knows? Maybe one of you can become a millionaire in the future. If that happens don't you forget about us, yeah?"

The nun chuckled upon seeing the orphans nodding eagerly.

"Alright, that's about it. Do any of you have questions?"

'I do. I have lots and lots of them. But of course I'm not going to raise my hand. Gotta keep the act you know?'

"Okay since there are no questions, we can relax for the rest of the way. Old Man, can we watch something to entertain the kids?"

'Oh!?'

"Hahaha! Sure, sure! Here ya' go. Enjoy kids!"

Ashton watched as a hologram...yes, that's a hologram right there, appeared in the air and started playing something.

It showed a man and a woman garbed in gorgeous looking armors glaring at something. Following that, the perspective switches and reveals what's in front of them.

It looked like some sort of shadow monster with bright crimson eyes. It was menacing and it kept roaring at the two of them, trying to scare them away. Then the perspective zoomed-in at the man's huge sword which flower with a white light while the woman started floating in the air.

The man roared at the monster and swung his massive sword. The screen blacked-out and something dropped from above.

...it was a bottle filled with green colored liquid. The label on it reads:

'Mountain's Essence. Buy one, take one. Only 4.95. Grab one at your local grocery stores.'

'F***! It was a darned commercial! Are you freaking kidding me!?'

Chapter 4

Ashton was speechless, he wasn't expecting something like that. What a ridiculous commercial that was!

It isn't just that too...the following commercials after that are just the same. It was bad and cringy, yet for some reason, Ashton could tell that this kind of marketing might just work in a world like this.

Mildly disappointed, Ashton secretly shook his head and instead looked out of the window. What he saw out there was more pleasant than those commercials at least.

He saw the transit entering some sort of tunnel, it was dark at first but after they exited the tunnel, Ash was greeted by a sprawling city filled with vibrancy and colors.

Now he understands why the area they were at previously was considered 'The Slums'. Comparing that area to what he sees right now...there's just no competition.

He saw skyscrapers with enormous crystals flashing with vibrant lights. He saw weird people riding flying vehicles like; swords, Pegasus, turtles, cars, he even saw a house floating above ground.

The city proper looked very modern if not, more advanced than what his old home has. There are sky-rails here, all kinds of vehicles, holograms...people came in all sorts of sizes and shapes, there's even animals on the leash - types of pets he had never seen before, he even saw several people flying around without the help of any apparatuses.

There's so much in here that he doesn't understand and he can't wait to know more about them. Whilst he understood that this world, being this advanced and magical as it is, contains unimaginable dangers, he couldn't help but be interested about it.

The transit moved-along and Ashton's attention was completely captured by what he could see outside. He tried guessing things by their appearance but he wouldn't know if he's right or wrong since this is his first time seeing them.

He could read some of the signs but he can't make sense of them just yet. He figured that he shouldn't pay much attention to that since there will come a time when he'll understand them later.

Time passed and after four hours, the transit finally arrived at its destination. The driver announced that they're already at the Federal Center and the Nuns told the kids to get-up and get ready.

Just like before, Ash remained behind the group. It looks like they completely forgot about him. It should be fine since they're already here, he just needed to follow them anyway.

'Hmm, smaller than what I was expecting.' Ash thought as he looked at the building in front of him.

The Federal Center was smaller than he initially thought it would be. It's about...six? Seven-storey tall? It's because there are skyscrapers surrounding it that this place looked out of place.

Still, the building looked very modern. There's glass windows, sliding doors...he even saw some type of authentication device being used by the employees, it was awesome and fresh. 𝙡𝓲𝒃𝓻𝓮𝙖𝒅.𝙘𝓸𝒎

The Nuns looked at the kids and rounded them up. They kind of surrounded them since there were a lot of people around. Seeing as most of them are kids at his age, they're probably here for the same reason as them.

Ash saw Sister Millibeth whispering something to the other nuns. When thee nodded, Millibeth then walked up and talked to the guards.

They had a brief discussion and then Millibeth returned to them, Ashton then heard her say:

"Right on time, we must enter now, we can't delay them or else they'd kick us out."

Ashton raised a brow but didn't say anything. And just like he expected, the Nuns told them to enter the center.

Upon entering, Ash's first impression was 'Woah, it's cold.' Because it is indeed cold here. He instinctively searched for AC's but he couldn't find any.

Though, when he followed the direction where the wind was coming, he saw some kind of blue-ish...ritual circle? Something like that. The wind was coming from there. His first thoughts were how? But then again, he also thought that it's useless to think about this so he threw the question at the back of his mind.

He looked at his surroundings and inspected it closely. What he found was, the whole 1st floor of this building seems to be dedicated for receiving people.

Majority of the area is filled with chairs, there's a desk at the very front with pretty women talking to kids his age. On top of their desks, there's stacks of paper and some sort of mechanism that kids stuck their index fingers in.

Ashton saw them wincing for a bit and when they pulled out their fingers, the ladies would give them either a candy or a lollipop.

'Uh, that reminds me of Dentists. These women aren't Dentists, right?'

"Alright kids, listen up." Sister Millibeth gathered their attention which woke Ashton out of his stupor, "See those chairs right there? Go there and sit next to the last person. Observe how the line progresses until you reach the pretty sisters in front okay? Don't be afraid, we will be here."

The kids nodded at her and the oldest naturally took charge. They walked towards the chairs and the oldest sat next to the last person on the line.

Ashton's eyes nearly popped out of its sockets when he sat down.

'Holy hell! What was that!?'

No he wasn't hurt nor his butt was poked by any pointy implements either. He was just surprised by how soft and comfortable this chair was.

They look unassuming at first glance but the moment he sat down, he felt his butt sinking into a cloud or something. Judging by the looks of his fellow orphans, it wasn't just him who was shocked about this.

One of them even looked like he was contemplating if he could steal this chair.

'What is this made out of? Memory Foams aren't as soft as this, that's for damn sure. What the hell?'

All of a sudden, the line moved. People started standing up so the orphans also followed them. The line moved in a snake-like pattern. And judging how fast the line was progressing, it shouldn't take long before they're turn is up.

Ashton looked around as he waited, he inspected the 1st floor in curiosity, trying to make sense of the things he could see.

From observing people, he figured out some neat things about this place. For example; apparently, vending machines are also a thing in this world.

They looked so different that he initially thought they were supposed to be TVs but no. He saw someone walking up to it and it automatically lit up. Then he saw the person pressing it and then feeding paper bills on the slot on the left side of the screen. Then, an opening showed up and spat the man's drink.

'That was cool.' Ashton wanted to get up and try it himself but he remembered that he actually doesn't have anything on him, not even a single cent of money.

Ash also discovered signs leading to some other areas such as the comfort room, the employee-only room, he also saw the elevator that will take them up to the next floor...

Ash continued looking around and taking notes of his surroundings. The line steadily progressed and by the time that it's their turn next, Ashton focused in front of him.

He didn't wait long until the women in front of them gestured 'come' to them so they stood up.

As soon as Ashton sat down, the woman in front of him gave him a friendly smile and asked:

"Good morning, my name is Apple. May I know your name?"

"Ashton." He replied. Yes, he chose to talk this time, he didn't want to make things difficult for this woman after all. Her job already does that he assumed.

"Alright Ashton, today is your Awakening Day! Isn't that exciting?"

'Building up rapport? CSR much- Ahem!'

Ash merely nodded causing things to get a bit awkward. Still, since Apple was a professional, she didn't let it get to her.

"Okay so Ashton, this is how the process is going to go. Here, I will ask you questions to fill up your Profile. This Profile will be submitted to the government so I'd appreciate it if you can answer it as detailed and as truthfully as you can, do you understand?"

Ashton nodded again. Yeah, this process is really taking him back to the good old days.

The woman then asked him several questions about himself, which Ashton answered as smoothly as he could. Once the form was filled-up, the woman went through it with him to check if everything written there was correct. After that, she said:

"Okay Ashton, we're at the last step in the registration process." Apple then gestured to the device next to her and continued: "This device right here will take a blood sample from you which will be added on your profile as well."

"Insert your index finger please, you will feel a slight prick but that's normal, don't be shocked."

Ashton nodded and did what she said. He felt the prick but it wasn't as bad as he thought, it didn't hurt, not enough to make him wince. He then withdrew his finger after Apple said that it was done.

"Awesome! You took it like a champ! That's impressive! Here, have a lollipop."

Ashton fought the urge to laugh at this.

"Okay, so we're done here. You see that Big Brother over there? The one with the weird tattoo on his left eye? Go to him and he will take you to the second floor where your awakening will occur."

Ashton nodded and stood-up from the seat.

Chapter 5

Ashton went towards the mean-looking man that Apple told him about.

As he drew closer, the man noticed him and huffed, he then pointed behind him and said: "Stand there."

Ash nodded and joined the rest of the orphans in the elevator. The elevator they're in was a circular one, it's big too. It can probably carry at least twenty people in one go.

He didn't see any weight or number limit though so he could only guess.

When there's about 15 of them in the elevator, the mean-looking man pressed some buttons and away they went. The ascend was gentle and they could see the outside at the back so it was quite an experience especially for the orphans.

The ride didn't last though, they reached the 2nd floor quickly and there they were greeted by a group of men holding tablets. They wore formal suits which made them look slightly intimidating.

"Step out of the elevator, kids. Come here." One of them said, The kids followed their orders.

"Alright. When I call your name, step forward and go to where I point you okay?" The man stated. "We'll start right away. Marcus Collins?"

A kid stepped out, the man then pointed at the man standing behind him, the one that is at the very left. The kid walked up to the man and then another name was called.

The man in charge kept calling out names until Ashton was called, he was pointed to the man at the very right along with other kids. The orphans were separated but none of them seemed to mind.

"Okay, now that's over. Kids, you follow the men I pointed to you okay? Listen to their orders and behave." The kids nodded and the man nodded at his colleagues. He then said: "Move out."

"Alright, you five. Follow me. Don't touch anything and don't go astray, I won't be held responsible if you break something here."

The man in charge of Ashton's group sounded kind and gentle. He smiled at them before walking towards them. Of course, the kids followed him behind.

They walked until they arrived at a room. The man stopped before they entered and faced the kids, saying:

"This is the room where the awakening process will happen. Only one person can enter at a time. There are other people inside that will guide you to the process, just follow their orders and your potential should be awakened properly. Do all of you understand?"

The kids nodded, the man then said: "Alright, let's start with you. Come on, don't be scared. It won't hurt." 𝓁𝘪𝑏𝓇𝑒𝑎𝑑.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Just like that, the first one to awaken among their group was chosen. The others sat down and waited for their turn.

While others were feeling nervous, Ashton on the other had felt excited.

He's about to awaken. Not too long from now, he'll discover whether he's fit to be a knight or a mage. Truthfully, either one is fine with him. He just really wants to know more about this world and experience what it's like to live with powers.

More importantly, his system should come online after this. This is what excites him the most. He really wanted to figure out what this system of his could do.

He could remember it briefly introducing itself. It called itself the: 'Idle System'.

That didn't really give him much but it did give him clues. He just really has to wait and see it for himself.

In his daze, he didn't notice that it was already his turn. The call of the man startled him a bit. He also didn't notice that the other kids didn't go out of the room as well.

When Ashton entered the room, he was greeted with a sight of three people wearing lab coats looking at him. On the side, there are another bunch of men in suits standing stoically.

He inspected the room he was in. The very obvious one is the large platform in the middle of the room. There's a lot of devices connected to it through wires which display graphs and words.

Ashton also noticed that he couldn't see any of the other kids in here.

"Good morning...Ashton, is it?" He nodded and bowed at them. "Hi there, Ashton. My name is Shay, call me Dr. Shay. Next to me is Dr. Stevens and Dr. Myers. We will help you with your awakening."

Dr. Shay is an old man who looked kind, he wore glasses and his back was slightly bent. Dr. Stevens is a fine lady who wore a tight fitting red shirt underneath her lab coat and finally, Dr. Myers looked like a kind uncle next door.

"Come! Step up on this platform, let's wake you up as soon as possible." Dr Shay urged.

Ashton had no complaints with that so he did what he was told. Upon stepping on the platform, it made a loud and pitchy sound which startled him for a bit.

He then felt a movement behind him so he turned around. Ashton saw the middle part of the platform opening up. From there, a stand with a mounted crystal ball rose up and reached right about his chest in height.

"That right there, is a crystal ball which will determine if you're a Knight or a Mage." Dr. Shay said to him. "All you need to do is to touch it."

"If your whole body lights-up, that means your Spiritual Root is your body. You have a Physique fit to be a Knight."

"If it is the crystal ball that lights up instead, that means you have a Mageroot, a sign that you're suited to be a Mage."

"Either way, the crystal ball will also help us determine the grade of either your Physique or Mageroot. Do you understand all of that?" Dr. Shay asked, to which Ashton nodded.

"Very good. Touch the ball whenever you're ready."

Ashton took a deep breath and lifted his hand. Now he's feeling nervous but he's already here so it's too late for that. Once he touched the ball, a reaction occurred.

The ball lit up with a bright blue shade. Ashton looked in awe. He also noticed that there seems to be something forming in the middle of the crystal ball but he couldn't guess what it was. It's just a bunch of colors that he sees.

"Congratulations Ashton, you are suitable for the path of Magic. You can remove your hand on the crystal ball now."

He did that and saw that the crystal ball started going down again. He stepped back a bit in order to not get in its way.

Ashton looked up and saw that Dr. Shay was writing something down on his clipboard. He wanted to ask something but he was interrupted by Dr. Myers.

"Alright, Ashton. Next, we will awaken your Magical Artifact." Dr. Myers looked at him gently. "A Magical Artifact is something all Mages have. It's the crystallization of your soul and will prove to be very useful in your future, should you decide to pursue the path of a Professional Mage."

Dr. Myers waved his hand and all of a sudden, the platform opened up again. This time, no crystal ball showed up. It was a chalice placed on top of the pedestal this time around.

Ashton looked at it and saw that the chalice contained some sort of sparkling water. The weird thing is that it smells minerally.

"That artifact right there, is a Soul Awakening Chalice. It produces dew that can awaken your soul and your Magical Artifact. A fair warning though, it doesn't taste good but it's good for you so I advise you drink it all."

"If you're ready, you can start drinking it." Myers told him.

Ashton nodded and looked at the chalice first. After a couple of seconds, he raised it and drank all the water it had. He tasted the water and boy, Dr. Myers wasn't kidding, it does taste bad.

But since he was advised to drink it all. He did it. Once he was done, he returned the chalice back to the pedestal and looked at the doctors. He was about to say that he doesn't feel anything different but that's when he suddenly felt cold.

All hairs on his arms and legs stood up from fright. He looked on in horror as he began releasing fumes of black smoke.

"Not good! Isolate it, now!" Dr. Myers roared and Dr. Stevens immediately pressed a button which raised a barrier surrounding the entire platform.

Meanwhile, Ashton was still horrified. He was releasing fumes of black smoke all over his body, he's even releasing it through his orifices which made him feel absolutely disgusted.

This kept happening for five minutes until it stopped. The black fog then suddenly swirled and funneled in front of Ashton. The commotion was a bit strong and caused Ashton to retreat and shield his face.

When he noticed that the commotion had died down, he opened his eyes and saw something floating in front of him.

It was a thick black book bound with chains and a weird looking lock. It is surrounded with a murky black aura as it floats in front of him.

Ashton then heard a hushed gasp of Dr. Shay.

"A Cursed Artifact."

Chapter 6

It wouldn't take a genius for someone to know that what happened to Ashton was bad-no, terrible.

Yes, he isn't really injured, just a bit uncomfortable but judging by the way they didn't hesitate to 'isolate' him and then whispering the words 'Cursed Artifact' with such a thick horror on their voices, it is too obvious that this situation was bad.

Despite this, Ashton didn't really know how to react. There are so many things that he still doesn't understand in this world. Hell! It hasn't even been a day since he arrived here yet even he can tell that he's in a sensitive spot.

Ashton heard Dr. Shay clearing his throat which prompted him to look at them.

"Ahem, excuse us Young Ashton. We were just shocked by the sudden development." Dr. Shay squeezed out a smile and told him.

'Yeah right!' Ashton snorted inwardly but he didn't let it show. He just nodded faintly.

"You don't have to worry, there's nothing wrong with you. We can see your vital statistics here and it says that you're still very much healthy." Dr. Shay continued, "Plus, your Magical Artifact is already awakened. If you concentrate deep enough, you should feel your connection with your Magical Artifact. You will also learn about its name. Try it."

'So they don't plan on telling me what hell this 'cursed' thing is all about? Some doctors these people are. Hmph!'

Ashton just sighed and ended following the doctor's advice. He looked at the floating book intently. He really didn't know what he was doing but he could feel a strong sense of familiarity coming from this book, it's as if he's looking at his own hands.

Ashton heard faint whispers in his ears which caused him to flinch. He instinctively looked around and found that there's nobody who did that. So, his most logical guess was that it was coming from the book itself because...well, having someone tell you that a Book is the crystallization of your soul is already crazy as it is. Hearing hushed whispers from it isn't really that special compared to that.

He concentrated on those voices, and the more he focused, the more he could tell that the whispers were getting louder.

"...Cursed Mystic Book." He says after a while. He opened his eyes and looked at the doctors saying: "It's called the Cursed Mystic Book."

Dr. Myers then started writing on his clipboard. Afterwards, the doctor gave him a strained smile and said: "You did well, Young Ashton. Now, it is time for you to proceed to the next awakening process. We will discover your Providence next."

"Excuse me." Ashton interrupted him before he could continue speaking. "What is a curse?"

The doctors looked at each other, seemingly arguing silently on who should explain things for the Young Ashton. In the end, it was Dr. Stevens who relented and started explaining.

"Young Ashton, we can't really explain it to you now since it is still too early for you to know. However, to simplify it, a curse is some form of a shackle. A limitation, per se. It will make things very difficult for you in the future but so long as you work hard and persevere, you can achieve greater things in life."

"If you want to know more about curses, I suggest enrolling in a school. There, the Professors will explain to you what Curses are in detail and...who knows? Maybe they can also teach you how to remove it."

'I shouldn't blame them for explaining this in a roundabout manner. After all, I'm currently a kid. I imagine that they won't be held responsible for breaking my heart.'

'Well, at least they've given me a great clue this time. As it turns out, there are schools here as well. That's good, if I go there, then I can learn more which is my goal anyways.'

Ashton nodded and sighed, he then murmured: "Maybe this is why my parents abandoned me. Oh well."

He said this on purpose. Why? Cause he felt like being a little mean. Seeing the discomfort shown on the faces of the doctors made him a bit smug. Admittedly, guilt-tripping someone isn't really a good behavior but Ashton didn't care.

He's cursed after all...whatever that entails.

"Ahem! Moving on..." Dr. Stevens took over the operation. She did her best to remain professional and said: "The next step is to Awaken your Providence."

"What is Providence? To put things in a simple terms, Providence is the amalgamation of your luck, fate and destiny. If we go into detail here, I'm afraid that we'll be here all day, so just like before, if you want to know more about what Province is, you might want to enroll in a school. The Professors there will tell you more about it."

'...sounds a lot like plot-armor. You know what? Fine, I'm here for it.'

"Providence comes in many forms and we can only measure its bounty." Dr. Stevens explained. "To Awaken your Providence, we will use another tool."

And as if on cue, the platform beneath Ashton opened up again. This time, it brought up a full-body mirror.

"To proceed with the Awakening, touch the mirror and focus on it. You can proceed whenever you're ready."

Ashton nodded again and looked at himself in the mirror. He then realized that this is actually the first time he looked at himself ever since transmigrating.

To his absolute surprise, he looked like his younger self in his previous world. Short black hair, hazel eyes, greek nose, plump cherry lips, defined jawline, and a relatively thin body frame. He wore loose clothing, hiding his nearly underweight body.

It wasn't so bad, plus he's in his puberty and if it's kind to him, then he can grow up to be a real head-turner.

After briefly paying attention to his appearance, Ashton took a deep breath and braced himself. After what happened during the Magical Artifact Awakening, he couldn't help but be wary of what's coming next.

Still, he raised his hand and touched the mirror just like they said. He focused on it and after a few seconds he felt some kind of warmth coursing through his body.

He was initially surprised but it didn't feel terrible and he hadn't heard the doctors telling him to stop so he kept his hand on the mirror.

The feeling wasn't really bad. It felt like he was basking under the warmth of a morning sun. It wasn't hot, just warm.

When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to discover that his entire body was covered in a golden radiance. He looked in the mirror and his reflection. He looked holy and benevolent.

"Impressive, Young Ashton." Dr. Stevens' voice pried his attention from the mirror, "It seems that despite being cursed, you're still very blessed. You may remove your hand on the mirror now."

Ashton dumbly nodded and followed their suggestion.

"Alright, way to go Young Ashton. You're Awakened now. How do you feel?" Dr. Shay asked.

"Weird." He replied.

"Right?" Dr. Shay laughed loudly, "Don't worry, that's just temporary. By the end of the day, you should feel normal again. In the instance that this feeling lasts for more than three days, don't hesitate to go to a doctor, okay?"

Ashton nodded and noted his words mentally.

"Okay, since we are done here it's time for you to complete your registration." Dr. Shay continued, "Looking at your profile, we see here that you are an Orphan. This means that you are eligible to receive the Federation's Welfare Support, a monthly allowance and supplies if you will." 𝑙𝘪𝑏𝓇ℯ𝑎𝒹.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Agent Theta, please come here." Dr. Shay called out and one of the men in formal attire stepped forward and walked towards them.

"Young Ashton, this is Agent Theta, he will bring you to the 5th floor where you can complete your registration. He will also help you with other things so listen to him, okay?"

Ashton nodded once more and bowed at the Agent. The good doctor handed the clipboard to the agent. The agent saluted the doctors and looked at him. He then said: "Follow."

He pursed his lips and began following the man. They went to the other end of the room, opposite to where Ashton entered. The man then lifted his badge and all of sudden, the walls opened up, revealing an elevator behind. The agent stepped inside, gesturing to Ashton to do so as well.

Once inside, Ashton saw the agent pressing the button for 5th floor and the ascent began. That's when Ashton heard strings of notifications which almost made exclaim in shock.

[Detected! Host finished his Awakening Ceremony]

[Quest Cleared! Rewards: System Functions: Unlocked, New User's Gift Bag]

[Would you like to open the Gift Bag?]

Ashton took a deep breath and gave his mental consent.

'Yes.'

[New User's Gift Bag: Opened. You received: Forged Inheritance Badge, Cultivation Manual, Magic For Beginners (Book), 10,000 Federation Dollars, 1000 Mana Crystals and a Random System Skill Stub.]

[All items were automatically placed in your Inventory. Check Inventory for more details about the items.]

Chapter 7

[New User's Gift Bag: Opened. You received: Forged Inheritance Badge, Cultivation Manual, Magic For Beginners (Book), 10,000 Federation Dollars, 1000 Mana Crystals and a Random System Skill Stub.]

[All items were automatically placed in your Inventory. Check Inventory for more details about the items.]

'Okay, wow! How generous. Uh...Open Inventory? Ooh! It works!'

It's really hard to divide his attention. He has to make sure that he doesn't look suspicious as he explores his System so he has to control his facial reactions but at the same time, he's excited to know everything he needs to know about it.

As he did his best to multi-task, Ashton looked at his Inventory and inspected the items placed there. He focused on the first item he saw and its description showed itself to him.

[Forged Inheritance Badge]

: Show this Badge to Agent Theta and say that this is something that was left to your person when your parents left you at the orphanage. This badge will give you handsome rewards.

'Eh?' Ashton was confused. This was a weird item. It was cryptic which made him doubtful but at the same time, he wants to try it.

'I'll inspect the other items first.'

[Cultivation Manual - Treasure Glazed Nine-Refinements Sutra]

: A Consumable. Use this item to instantly learn about the cultivation technique.

: Warning! Use of this item might trigger a mild to moderate headache, please be careful when consuming it.

'Oh, thankfully there's a warning there otherwise I would've recklessly consumed this thing. I'll do it when I'm at my new home I guess.'

[Book: Magic For Beginners]

: A beginner's book for learning the basics of Magic. A consumable item.

: Warning! Consuming this item might trigger a mild to moderate headache, please be careful when consuming it.

'That's great, that should get me started at least. A cultivation technique plus this? Should be enough to educate myself into an alright level I guess.'

As for the currencies, they're left at the bottom part of the Inventory window. There are numerous statistics of them listed in there.

'So, System. Can you teach me how to take out an item from my Inventory?'

[Host just needs to think about the item he wants to take out appearing in his hands, the System will do the rest.]

'Sounds easy enough. Let's try it.'

Ashton was literally about to take out the Forged Inheritance Badge out from his Inventory when all of a sudden, a ding shook him out of his stupor.

They arrived at the 5th floor already.

Ashton then had to fight the urge to act but then he had an idea. He removed his backpack and opened it while walking beside Agent Theta.

He then shoved his hand inside, pretending that he's searching for something inside but in truth he was taking something out of his Inventory.

And just like the System advised, he just imagined the badge appearing on his hand and not even a second later, he was already holding it.

"E-excuse me, Agent Theta." He called out meekly.

"What is it?" The man replied without pausing his movements.

"Does this have any value?"

That's when the Agent looked at him and the badge he was holding. The agent stopped in his tracks and looked at him as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"The Nuns at the Orphanage I was in told me that I had this in my crib when I was left at their doors. It's the only memento I have but it seems useless. Do you know if it's valuable? If it is, can I sell it? It would be nice to have more money to use."

"..." Agent Theta was speechless. He took the badge from the kid's hand and inspected it a bit. After finding nothing wrong about it. He sighed and said: "This thing can't be sold. But it does have a lot of value. Come, follow me. We're nearly there."

'Yeah! It worked! Holy shit I'm such a great actor!' Ashton sighed in relief.

Honestly, he was really nervous about this. The system gave him the general ideas of what he can say as an excuse to use this item but the execution was something he had to figure out for himself.

Thankfully, the Agent seems to have been convinced about his story.

'I wonder what the badge is for though? It says inheritance but that could mean anything in this world.'

"We're here." The Agent stopped in his tracks.

The two of them are currently in front of an office. The agent pushed the door open and entered with Ashton following him from behind. Once they're inside, they were met with another office lady in front of a desk with a bunch of clipboards stacked on top of it.

"Agent Theta, Good Morning. You too, child. Good Morning as well." The lady greeted me.

"Good Morning, Ms. Jones." The agent greeted back while Ashton just bowed to the lady.

"Come here, child. Sit down on that chair." She urged, she then asked: "How can I help you both?"

"We're here to have him registered." The agent replied on behalf of Ashton. "Here's his profile. Also, this."

Agent Theta handed the clipboard he took from the doctors as well as the badge that Ashton gave to him.

"Oh my, how rare." Ms. Jones gasped upon seeing the badge. She then looked at Ashton briefly before smiling. "Sure, I can help you with that. Give me just a moment here."

Then, Ms. Jones waved her hand and suddenly a hologram appeared in front of her.

Ashton saw her hands blur as letters began appearing on the hologram. He was of course shocked, this lady's hand is moving so damn fast that it's leaving afterimages! How is this possible?

Then he remembers what world he's in and all of sudden, he thinks that this makes sense. But it doesn't mean he'll get used to this right away.

"...okay, the Profile is more or less done at this point. Just a few details left and we're good to go." Ms. Jones then looked at Ashton and asked him: "Ashton right? Do you know what this badge is?"

"Um...a badge?" Ashton scratched his head.

He could've sworn that Agent Theta's lips were twitching. On the other hand, Ms. Jones laughed merrily and said:

"Indeed! You're right. Of course it's a badge, what was I thinking?" She laughed again. "My bad, I guess I shouldn't beat around the bush huh?"

"Ashton, this badge is what you call an Inheritance Badge. In some ways, it's a memento but more importantly, it is a proof of your identity. Just to be sure, can you tell me where did you get this from?"

"The Nuns told me that they found it with me in the crib. They gave it to me when I was old enough to think, they said it's something that my parents left for me and that it might have some value. Is it really precious?" He asked innocently.

"The badge itself isn't." Ms. Jones shook her head with a smile, "But what it represents, certainly is. But before we proceed, we need to test if this is truly yours. Put your hand here please."

Ms. Jones gestured to a device on her desk. It's some sort of mousepad, pitch black in color. Ashton did what he was asked and the moment his palms touched it, the mousepad lit up in some circuitry way. Ms. Jones then placed the badge on the mousepad as well and then a green light flashed.

"Alright! It's confirmed, this is indeed yours. You may take your hand away." Ms. Jones stated. Ashton removed his hand and then she began explaining:

"Ashton, this badge is proof. It lets you inherit the things that your parents left for you before they disappeared." 𝑙𝒾𝒷𝘳𝑒𝑎𝒹.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"Your parents left you a total of 500,000 Federation Dollars and 100,000 Mana Crystals. Not only that, there are also some important books and letters contained inside which I highly suggest you read."

"Additionally, your Inheritance makes you a 3-Star Citizen of City M which grants you a total of 25,000 Federation Dollars and 1000 Mana Crystal for your monthly allowance which will last for two years."

"Two years!?"

"Yes. You must've heard that the monthly allowance for orphans only lasts for a year but since your parents made you a 3-star Citizen, it's extended. And it doesn't end there."

"There's more?"

Ms. Jones giggled and nodded her head: "Yes. There's more. You will also own a house provided by the Federation. There are a few available for you to choose from. Here's the list and the locations of the said houses along with what they look like. Take your time to choose."

Ms. Jones then showed a list of houses to Ashton which he inspected a bit absent-mindedly.

Now he understands why Agent Theta looked at him that way earlier. He must've thought that Ashton had some dogs*t luck to have something like this. And Ashton couldn't really blame him for that.

'My god. This is what the System means by 'handsome rewards'? Dayum! I'm loaded!'

Chapter 8

Ms. Jones guided Ashton on how to navigate the hologram in front of him. That being said, Ashton still doesn't recognize most of the things written in it.

He could read yes, but barely. The Orphanage never really focused a lot when it comes to the basic knowledge. Old Ashton was the one who worked really hard to make sense of things.

There are terminologies in there that he can't quite grasp just yet. That being said, navigating the hologram was quite simple, it's touch-activated just like smartphones back in his home world.

Still, Ashton has never been one to understand maps thoroughly. There's too much on the screen that doesn't completely make sense to him.

"Uh, Big Sister. Can you help me?" He asked.

Ms. Jones seems amused by how Ashton addressed her but she doesn't seem to mind. She asked: "Is there anything you don't understand?"

"Uh, a lot actually." Ashton didn't bother lying about that. "I can barely read the words written in here. But that's not it. Um, I need help in choosing a house."

"I see." Ms. Jones seems to understand where he's coming from. "Tell me then, do you have anything in mind that you want for a house?"

"Uh, I saw the houses here. They look pretty much the same on the inside and out, if they are like that and they're that big, I don't really have any problems with it."

"But um...is there a house here that's close to a school? And maybe a supermarket? I would like to see it if there's one." Ashton requested.

He then saw Ms. Jones looking at him in interest, which puzzled him a bit.

'Clever child.' Ms. Jones thought to herself. 'It's hard to think that he's an orphan like this. Or maybe it is because he's an orphan that he's this clever? Either way, it's good. At least, he'll be fine on his own.'

"Good thinking!" Ms. Jones recovered, she then waved her hand and filtered the list according to Ashton's requirements. Ashton then saw the list shrinking, leaving only one.

"You came at a great time. If you're a little bit late, this house would've been taken by someone else."

"This location right here fits the requirements you asked for. It is close to a school, The Mystic Academy in fact, it's probably the best school there is in City M. If you can pass their examination, you'd be golden and since this house is close to it, you can save-up money for vehicle fares."

"This area right here is actually a commercial space. Basically, it is rather famous and populated, there are a lot of stores around this area where you can go to purchase your needs. Just a walking distance away."

"The security is top-notch, there are Knights and Mages always on patrol so criminals wouldn't even dare to think about causing trouble there. So? What do you think?"

"Mn! This is the one. I'll choose this, thank you Big Sister!" Ashton didn't dare to waste time thinking about it. This location is already really good based on her description.

He didn't doubt the woman since she's a government employee, plus Agent Theta is beside her. In addition to that, Ashton felt that she's trustworthy so he believed in her.

If it turns out that his instincts are wrong...oh well, at least there's an inheritance for him, right?

"Okay! Since you have chosen, we can finalize your registration." Ms. Jones didn't dally either. She finalized Ashton's profile and updated his address and his citizenship.

After a few minutes, she stopped. Beside her, a couple of cards appeared as well as some documents. She took them and passed them down on Ashton.

"Here, this one will be your Federation ID, have it with you at all times since most of the facilities around your area will require you to show that. This one would be your Credit Card, this card can access your inheritance money and you can use it to pay for the things you'll buy without needing to carry paper bills."

"As for these papers, these are important documents about your profile. Keep this secured since there are times where people will ask you for this. For example when you enroll in the academy and have your interview, you will need to show that to the professors there."

"Never lose these things, alright? At the instance that you lost them, immediately contact us and report it okay? You have to protect your credentials. Do you understand?"

"Yes. Thank you very much. I'll be careful, I promise." 𝓁𝘪𝘣𝘳ℯ𝒶𝘥.𝘤𝑜𝓂

"Good boy!" Ms. Jones smiled, she then looked at Agent Theta for a bit and then back at Ashton. "Since we're done here, you can leave with Agent Theta. He will take you to your new home. Be good and stick close to him okay?"

"I will. Thanks again Big Sister." Ashton nodded and stood up.

"Alright, bye Ashton. I hope you have a nice day ahead."

"You too, Big Sister. Bye-bye." Ashton waved and then exited the office along with Agent Theta.

The Agent didn't say a word, he just expected the kid to follow him around like he's supposed to do. Ashton then saw him fiddling with his watch for some reason and he doubted that he was adjusting the time.

They entered the Elevator and once inside, Agent Theta pressed the button for the ground floor. They rode the elevator in silence.

Once they reached their destination, Ashton was surprised that they weren't on the first floor. Instead they're at the parking space where there are cars as far as the eyes can see.

Agent Theta seemed to have noticed his surprise, he then asked: "Did you want to say goodbye to those who took care of you?"

He's referring to the Nuns. Admittedly, Ashton was a bit torn. While it's true that he found them shady as hell, at the end of the day, they still took care of him. He grew up in their Orphanage, they fed and clothed him when in truth, they didn't have to do so.

"Does the Awakening Ceremony cost money?" He asked instead while he followed the Agent.

"500 Federation Dollars per person." He replied.

"That's 3,000 in total since there's six of us who came with the nuns." Ash counted, he didn't see the surprised expression of the agent when he realized that the kid can do math.

"Can I use this to make a donation to the orphanage?" Ashton asked.

Agent Theta recovered from his surprise and said: "Yes. How much are you thinking?"

"15,000." He replied, "Also, if I can leave a message with the donation, that would be great."

"I'll arrange it for you." Agent Theta nodded and he began fiddling on his watch.

Ashton then saw a hologram appearing in front of the Agent, he swiftly did his thing and not even a minute later, a form was already ready.

'Oh cool! So that's like a smartwatch! Maybe I can buy one for myself.'

"Millibeth's Orphanage, right?"

"Yes, that's the one."

"What's your message for them?" He asked.

"Thanks for taking care of me. Use this money however you like." Ashton replied.

"Pass me your Credit Card."

Ashton did that and he saw the Agent tapping his credit card on the hologram. After doing that, a green light flashed and some notifications showed-up on the side which the Agent dismissed right away.

"It's done." Agent Theta passed the Credit Card back to him. "They'd be receiving that within three to five business days."

"Thank you, Agent."

"...I know that you donated that much to repay the favor but Kid, be wise on spending your money. You might think that you have a lot of it but if you get careless, all of your money will disappear before you know it."

"I understand. I'll be careful."

Inwardly, Ashton couldn't help but snicker. Of course he would know how to handle his money. If the industry works even slightly similar to that of Earth, Ashton has no doubts that one slip and he'd be homeless before he knew it so it's already given that he'd be careful.

"Anyways, here's our ride. Get in, I'll drive you to your new home."

Interestingly enough, cars here look similar to that of earth so he didn't really have problems adjusting to it. He sat on the back while Agent was obviously in the driver's seat.

Ashton instinctively looked for the seatbelt but he didn't find any so he just let it go. The seat on the other hand was heavenly. The interior of the car was sleek and handsome. Weirdly enough, he didn't see a steering wheel, instead there's some sort of a circuit board in there which confused him.

Agent Theta of course understood how this thing works. Ashton saw him pressing things here and there then all of a sudden, the engines started. By the time he realized it, the car was already moving without the man doing anything.

'Auto-pilot? Wow!' Ashton was really impressed. And the surprise didn't end there. Once they're out of the Parking Area, the agent's seat suddenly rotates and is now facing him.

"A few things for you to know before we arrive at your new home..."

Chapter 9

Ashton still couldn't get over the fact that the front seat just twisted like but he had to since the man has something to tell him and it seems important.

"You've heard this from the doctors before. You are cursed." Agent Theta didn't beat around the bush and instantly went into the sore spot. "While the doctors told you that it will make your life difficult, I don't think you truly understand what that entails."

"I'm not them, I won't mince words with you." Agent Theta looked straight into his eyes and said: "If people around you know that you are cursed, there is a high-chance that they will avoid you. In some cases, they might call you names or even go as far as to hurt you."

Ashton winced upon hearing that. In truth, he already had premonitions that this might be the case. He's afraid that the stigma of being 'cursed' will have a great effect on him.

It's like racism actually, now that he thought about it. On Earth, that has been a very sensitive topic. Typically, this comes with oppression and sometimes, hate-crime. Ashton isn't really excited to experience all of that.

"Boy, this world is crueler than you thought." Agent Theta shook his head, "You might think that you have it nice thanks to your inheritance but in truth, that barely amounts to anything."

"While it's true that, as a 3-star Citizen, you have more privileges and rights. Believe me when I say that humans, when motivated, will always find a way to drag you down."

"I'm not saying this to deter you or scare you." He shook his head again, "I'm telling you this so that you can be prepared."

"Be an on-guard boy." He warned, "Take everything at face-value. Do not easily trust people just because they look and sound nice. Always come prepared and observe how you and they act. That's the best way you can protect yourself. Do you understand?"

"I...I guess? I don't fully understand it yet but I can tell why it's important. I'll remember your words and I'll be careful, I promise."

"...good enough at least. Next, Education." Agent Theta didn't bother repeating himself, the boy seems sensible enough in his eyes anyways.

"You said that you plan on enrolling in the Academy, but you also said that you can barely read. That won't do." The agent shook his head, "That's nowhere near enough to pass, and with your status as a Cursed Mage? Not a chance."

Agent Theta then touched his watch and suddenly images of thick books showed-up in their holographic forms.

"Kids who grew up 'normally' studied these books. Those who are attempting to enroll into the Academy have them even memorized by heart. If you want to stand a chance, you have to reach their level or even surpass it."

"It's the second week of February today so you have at least three months to catch-up to their level of intellect. The written exams begin in May, around the second week so you have to be prepared. If you pass that, then you can study there and pursue the path of a Professional Mage."

"Memorize what these books look like, later when you adjust to your new home, go to a nearby library and borrow these books. Study them thoroughly. If you're meticulous enough, you should be able to understand all of it by yourself. If you can't, you can always hire a tutor. Up to you. Do you follow?"

"Yes!"

"Remember, the matter about you being cursed, your identity as a 3-star citizen, be careful when to reveal it and whom you'll reveal it to. You have no one but yourself at this point, you gotta act more sensibly. Be wise with your money and work smart."

"I understand." Ashton nodded solemnly.

"Also, don't even think about practicing magic before you enter the Academy or any school for that matter. One wrong move and you will kill yourself. Do it under professional supervision. You won't go wrong with that."

"Right."

"That's all I have to say. We'll talk again once we're at your home. You rest there or get familiar with the environment."

After saying that, Agent Theta unceremoniously turned his seat again and paid attention to the road, leaving Ashton slightly speechless.

Well, he can't really complain now. After all, this man just gave him some important advice despite them being complete strangers.

Ashton will admit that he had been complacent. He was too distracted by all the new things he was seeing, experiencing and having that he completely forgot that this world is just as dangerous as it is mysterious.

Agent Theta was right. Since knowing that the inheritance was that rich, he thought that his life would be much easier and more comfortable than before.

Honestly? Who can blame him?

He's 13 yet he's already a home-owner, not only that, his bank account is fat as hell. And with the addition and excitement of becoming a true mage? Who could stay indifferent from all of this?

Not to mention, he got it for free! What could be better about this? If this was Earth? Oh, he's set. All he needs to do is to find a decent job and a girlfriend and he's golden.

Sadly, this isn't Earth. Earth is gone. He should seriously remove all remaining attachments he has on that place since he's never coming back. Earth is not coming back. He has to accept that and live this new life he was given.

It is thanks to the efforts of the Old Ash that his mistakes were minimized. He didn't speak much nor reacted like a kid on a sugar-high. Old Ash being a skeptic and doubtful of everything helped him a lot so he owes it to him to live this life in a fitting way.

'Alright. Let's take everything seriously and start some real plans shall we? There's a time to play and there's a time to work seriously. Let there be a clear distinction between the two.'

'Darn, I was so busy that I haven't even explored what my System could do yet. Hey, System. Do I have a...Profile Page that you can display?' 𝓵𝓲𝓫𝙧𝓮𝙖𝙙.𝒄𝓸𝙢

[Affirmative.]

[Profile]

Host: Ashton West

Race: Human

Aptitude:

Mageroot: Nature-Light Mixed (5th-Tier Human Rank)

Magical Artifact: Cursed Mystic Book (Rare-grade)

Providence: Five Golden Rays (Bright Saint)

Specialization: [None]

Rank: [Awakened]

Cultivation Technique: NA

'Okay, this is mostly understandable except for the Specialization and Rank part. System, can you explain those to me?'

[Negative. Host will have to discover them on their own.]

'Got it. System, what are your other functions?'

[Spells List: 0/0]

[Inventory]

[Grinding Spots: 0/1]

[Sign-in Opportunities: 1]

'Uh, okay. Some of these I can recognize but what is this...Grinding Spots? Sign-in Opportunities?'

[The Grinding Spots and the Sign-in Opportunities are the unique functions of the System Host.]

[The Grinding Spots is a place where you can send a piece of your consciousness to form an Avatar. In there, the Avatar will begin to practice Spells you want. When the Spell chosen leveled-up or the Host chose to halt the grind, the Avatar will dissipate and return to you including all of its gains and understanding about the previous Spell that it grinded.]

[Note. Grinding Spots are limited and costs Mana Crystals to activate. Host could also choose to accelerate the process by charging more Mana Crystals for the Spell of your choice. Unlocking more slots also requires Mana Crystals.]

'So that's where the Idle thing comes from, I get it.' Ashton nodded to himself, 'Well, what about the Sign-in Opportunities?'

[This world is rich in Spirituality, it is for this very reason that things like Magic exist in the first place.]

[Time and Space remember Legends and History, they are branded to where they happened, invoking that specific place to be rich with Legendary or Historical Providence.]

[The purpose of the Sign-in Function is to encourage the Host to seek these places and leave his mark as a way of saying: 'I was here' in virtue of Signing-in.]

[In truth, Host can choose to Sign-in at any place he pleases but places which have witnessed history and are rich with Providence will be a much better place to leave your mark.]

[By Signing-in you will receive random rewards specific to the place where you signed-in. Places that have richer Providence will rear you better rewards.]

'So, a proof of existence that goes beyond the 'I think therefore I am', got it. Oddly poetic and romantic. I like that.'

'Ooh, darn! Now that I think about it, Signing-in at the Federation Center would've been really nice. Missed the opportunity to do that, oh well. I'll just do it when the chance presents itself.'

'Ah, right! I still have that, don't I?'

'System, use the Random System Skill Stub.'

[Random System Skill Stub, consumed.]

[System Skill: Identify, unlock.]

'Ooh! The staple skill for all Systems! Description please.'

[Identify (System Skill)]:

Identify any targets within the Host's line of sight.

Details displayed may vary depending on the level difference between Host and the Target.

No cooldown.

'Interesting. Let's try it.' Ashton then used Identify on Agent Theta and a screen displayed itself to him.

Chapter 10

Name: Norman Reid

Alias: Agent Theta

Rank: Lv.8 Warrior

Current Thoughts: 'Take this kid to his new home, guide him a bit, leave and be done for today. Maybe I can have a drink after the shift's over.'

'Oh, so it works this way. Good to know. Sorry, Agent. It's been hard on you, don't worry you can have a drink when you go home. You deserve it.'

[Identify] will surely be useful for his everyday life, Ashton can already see it. While its range is limited to his line of sight, it shouldn't pose a huge problem for now.

'Oh, System? Can Identify be placed on the Grinding Spots?'

[Negative. Host can only use the Grinding Spots for Spells.]

'Then how do I level-up Identify ? Wait, can I level it up to begin with?'

[Host can increase the level of skill: Identify through normal means. Using it often to increase your proficiency with it.]

'Ah, I see. Okay, that shouldn't be hard. I can tell that I'd be relying on it a lot anyway so it should be fast...at least I hope so.' 𝒍𝙞𝙗𝒓𝒆𝙖𝓭.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Once he was done with testing his new skill, Ashton paid close attention to his Profile Page. If had checked the documents on his hand, he would've noticed that the details written on it are the same as what the system currently displayed. Which is how it's supposed to be.

'Mageroot...although I still don't know much about it, just by looking at what's written in here, I can tell that my potential seems to be bad.'

[Mageroot Grades: Human (5 tiers), Mystic (3 tiers), Treasure, Earthen, Heavenly, Ancient, Mysterious Rainbow.]

'Yep, as I expected. Mine's at 5th-Tier Human Rank. Lowest of the low. Damn. Also, there's the cursed Magical Artifact.'

[Cursed Mystic Book (Rare)]

Reading speed +100%

Curse of Mediocrity - the bearer of the curse will not be able to use any Intermediate Level Skills or above.

[Battle Spirit/Magical Artifact Grades: Simple, Rare, Profound, Epic, and Legendary.]

'So the grade of my Magical Artifact is a bit better...but that curse...'

Ashton couldn't help but feel bitter when he read the description of that curse.

Reality really has a way of slapping somebody to wake them up from their fantasies, doesn't it?

Just as he dreamed about the prospects of one day, calling down a fat meteor from who knows where to smite his foes, fate decided to show him the middle finger, cursed him and told him to deal with it.

'That's somewhat depressing isn't it? I only get to use Basic Spells. Well, I don't know what is considered as a Basic Spell just yet, I just hope that it isn't just some smoke and mirrors or misdirection-type 'Spells'. That would be too sad...'

'Hey, System. Do you have any idea why I'm cursed?'

[System advises the Host to figure that out himself.]

'Can the curse be removed?'

[Negative. Host is too weak.]

'That means, it's possible once I'm strong enough?'

[Indeed. Good luck, Host.]

'Alright, I guess I can work with that. For now, I should focus on getting used to living in this world and catching-up with the latest events while also getting my education level up, that way I can at least plan out what I'm going to do.'

'I can't put the Cultivation Manual on the Grinding Spots either, can I?'

[Negative.]

'Thought so...alright. It is what it is. I should chill for now I guess.'

Even though Ashton was eager to explore the different uses of his System, he doesn't really have anything to work with right now so he could only wait patiently.

Without anything to do, Ashton looked at the scenery behind the windows. He can see that it's already around noon. It's bright outside and probably hot as well but a lot of people are still out doing their own business.

He noticed that this specific part of the city's really populated and active. He also noticed that the congregation of modernized buildings are really concentrated in this area.

Ashton guessed that this is probably the commercial area that Ms. Jones was talking about. If he's right, then they should be near his new home already.

About 10 minutes after that, Ashton noticed the car slowing down. He looked at the surroundings and saw his new home. The car stopped in front of the house and Agent Theta wasted no time to get out of the car. He opened the door for Ashton who jumped out and looked at his new home eagerly.

"Welcome to your new home, Kid."

"Oh, wow! It is much bigger than I thought it would be!" Ashton uttered in pure awe.

Compared to his house on Earth, this one wins without even a single doubt. It's about the size of a basketball court. It has a garage, a nice looking yard, two-storeys high.

Honestly this is too big for a single person to use, much less a teenager. But can you hear Ashton complaining? Hell, no!

"Satisfied?"

"Very! I'm looking forward to starting my new life here." Ashton replied enthusiastically.

"Let's go inside then, I'll give you a tour." Agent Theta walked forward and approached the doors with Ashton trailing behind him.

Just before entering, the Agent stopped and faced Ashton.

"See this?" He pointed at the rectangular mechanism attached to the door. "This is the Security Module of your house. Since this is the entrance, it will scan all people who are approaching."

"Right now, your profile is already uploaded to this. It was Ms. Jones who encrypted it so this should recognize you and allow you to enter. As for me, I'm just a guest and I can only enter with you."

"Later, you will learn how to change the settings of the Security Module so you can personalize it according to how you like it. For now, stand beside me and let us allow this thing to scan us."

The two of them stepped forward and when they entered a certain spot, they heard a mechanical voice right ahead.

"Pause for Identi-scan."

A red light then started scanning them from head to toe, after that the light turned green and the mechanical voice sounded again.

"Welcome, Home Owner Ashton and Guest." It said as the doors swung open.

Ashton's mouth was gaping and he didn't even try to hide it.

'That was so freaking cool!' He gushed mentally. These kinds of things are those that he read in novels or saw in a movie which had the sci-fi genre.

He never imagined that there would be a day when he would get to experience it first hand. Oh, life is good. Life is truly good.

The entrance of the house was a bit narrow but it led to an open space. There, Ashton saw a cozy interior that followed a beige-theme as its base. There is furniture readily available, glass doors leading outside the yard and the pool!

He has a swimming pool!

There's a big TV on the wall, the one that is as big as those at the cinemas. At least he thinks that's a TV, he could be wrong though. Apart from that, he also saw doors that lead to the other parts of the house as well as stairs leading up to the second floor. To top things off, everything looks clean as well.

Beep! Beep!

"Wha-!" Ashton was surprised. He saw something approaching them. He's about to ask what that thing is but Agent Theta was already explaining it.

"This is a Butler-bot. A caretaker and housekeeper in one. It works for you and will attend to your needs but you must know that it can't do everything on its own. Having it shouldn't be a reason for you to get lazy."

Beep! Beep!

The Butler-bot was standing in front of Ashton, twisting and turning eagerly. On its head, there is a small screen that displayed a smiling face and text-bubble saying:

'Welcome home, Master Ashton. I am your Butler-bot, please call me Jerry. Nice to meet you!'

"Oh! Hello, Jerry. Nice to meet you too. I'll be in your care."

Jerry flashed another smiling face and the text-bubble changed to: 'I got you, Master. I noticed that your bag seems heavy and full of clothes. May I take them to your room first?'

"Oh, uh...sure. Here you go." Ashton handed his bag to Jerry and the bot merrily rolled away carrying his stuff towards his room.

"Alright, let's get on with the tour." Agent Theta spoke this time.

Ashton then followed him as he introduced the different areas of the house to him. There's the receiving area, the yard and the pool. There's also the kitchen, the dining area, the spare rooms on the ground floor as well as comfort rooms and bathrooms.

Most importantly, there's a door that has another scanner that only allows Ashton inside. This door leads to the Training Room which took half of the space.

Apparently, practicing skills, spells or even just breaking through the next level causes a lot of commotion which is why this place is built and heavily fortified to endure the abuse.

Afterwards, they come to the second floor.

Chapter 11

The first door on the second floor is where the Master's Bedroom is and where Jerry is currently at, arranging and folding Ashton's clothes for him.

He has a king-sized bed, a bedside table, lamp, a projector instead of a tv, and walk-in closets. It's a bit excessive for Ashton but he complained. Of course not. There's also a pretty bathroom in there with toiletries already available for use.

Aside from the Master's Bedroom, there's a veranda at the second floor for recreational activities as well as three empty rooms that Ashton could freely modify according to his needs.

Agent Theta also showed him a small compartment where the house's security system is installed. He told him to not touch it unless he is a certified mechanic at least or else he'd just damage it.

That about it for the house actually. It is so much more than Ashton could truly ask for but he's very thankful to have it. He even whispered a word of thanks to the system since without it, he wouldn't have this.

"...Jerry could sustain himself but it wouldn't hurt to bond with him from time to time. Although he's a bot, he can get lonely too. If any accidents happen and Jerry starts malfunctioning, you can call for mechanics to take a look at him."

"Jerry can teach you how to use the electronics here so I'll leave that to him. Buy a decent smart-watch as soon as you can since that would help you a lot and remember all the things I told you before. Do you have any questions?"

Ashton was silent for a bit, seriously thinking if there are any questions he needs to answer for.

"...I think I'm good." Ashton replied after a moment of consideration.

"Well, if you have any concerns, Jerry will be there to answer you. If he can't then you're on your own." Agent Theta stated, he then sighed and said: "Well, that does it for me. I'll be leaving now. Stay safe, kid. Have a good life."

"Thank you so much for all your help so far, Agent." Ashton bowed and escorted the man out of the house.

Agent Theta got in the car, gave Ashton a last wave of goodbye before driving away.

Once he was gone, Ashton finally felt everything settling-in. He took a deep breath as he looked into his home.

"So, this is it. My new life." He murmured.

He was filled with some optimism as he looked around. He couldn't believe that he had gotten the jackpot on day one. But then again, he had to ground himself here.

Ashton reminded himself that this world is different from what he's used to. For the ignorant him, this might be much but what about the real professionals of this world? He can't compare to them so it's best to keep humble for now.

Beep! Beep!

Jerry's cheerful beeps woke him up from his daze. The bot rolled-up to him eagerly with a new text-bubble on his screen-face.

'Do you need my help for anything, Master?'

"Hmm...uh, I actually feel a bit hungry right now. Can you cook?"

'Yes, I can!' The bot replied, 'Here's the list of options I can make for you with the stock we have available.'

Jerry's screen face then displayed a long list of menus he could create for lunch. Ashton was a bit surprised. It seems that this butler-bot of his could do just about everything which is neat.

"Uh...let's see...ooh, I wanna splurge a bit to commemorate my new life here so I guess I'll go with...fried rice, medium rare steak, sunny-side up eggs and a bowl of salad. For drinks, a lemonade will do. But uh, weird question...Do you need to eat?"

Jerry replied with: 'No Master, but I do need to charge for at least four hours per week to maintain my optimal state.'

"Ah, of course. I should've known." Ashton was a bit embarrassed but oh well, just making sure you know? "Yeah, if you can make those dishes for me, that'd be perfect."

'Very well, then. Please wait for at least 15 minutes.'

"Ah! Actually before you go, I need your help with something."

'Ask away, Master.'

"How do I...turn-on or like, use this thing?" He asked, pointing at the big-ass TV in the wall.

'It's a simple Master. The Cinematic TV is hooked on voice-command. Mr. Security already recorded your voice so you'll only need to say 'Turn the TV on' out loud.'

"Oh! Alright...well then, here it goes. Turn the TV on!"

"-BRINGING THIS NEWS LIVE FROM CITY B, I'M YOUR HOST, DEVON! STAY TUNED FOR MORE!"

"#&%&#*#!"

A string of curses flew out of Ashton's mouth. That scared the sh*t out of him. He didn't expect this thing to be so damn loud. The sound was literally reverberating all over the room.

"Tone it down!" He exclaimed unknowingly.

Surprisingly, the volume did decrease to an alright level. It seems that the system of this house is pretty intelligent since it understands his intentions.

Beep! Beep!

Ashton looked at Jerry and saw him telling him something.

'Changing the channels is as easy as waving your hand. It is also connected to online so you can access some of the things being posted there. To get more use out of it, I recommend you hooking it up on a smart-watch.'

"I see. Thanks for letting me know." Ashton smiled and patted Jerry's head. "Alright, I'll be fine here. I'll trouble you to prepare food. Call me up when it's done."

'Yes, Master.'

And just like that, Jerry merrily rolled away towards the kitchen leaving Ashton alone in the receiving area.

Ashton sat at the sofa and once again felt his butt sinking into the clouds.

'I really need to know what materials they use for these things.' He inwardly mused, 'Wait! If the sofa's already this soft, then what about my bed? Ooh I can't wait to try, but I'll do that later.'

Ashton's attention went to whatever's playing on the TV. He still finds this a little bit ridiculous but he's slowly getting used to this.

The current channel is filled with news. The show is named 'Today Bastion', it focuses on all sorts of events, rumors and important people living inside the Last Bastion.

The structure and general theme of the news programs are quite similar to his old world. In hindsight, he should've expected this when he was trolled by that commercial on the bus earlier this day.

It would be weird for him to say this, but this world's news channel is actually pretty entertaining...that or he's just really jubilant about his current situation, either or really.

'Ah right! I nearly forgot about this. Ahem, System. I'll use my Sign-in Opportunity here.'

[Host signed-in to his new home...]

[Congratulations! You are receiving a house-warming gift package from the System.]

'Eh?' Ashton raised a brow. He opened his Inventory and found a new item in there.

[House-warming Gift Package (Consumable).]

The item has no other descriptions aside from that which is actually quite confusing for Ashton, nevertheless since it comes from the System, he might as well see what's inside right?

'Consume the House-warming Gift Package.' 𝓁𝘪𝒷𝘳ℯ𝘢𝑑.𝒸𝘰𝑚

[House-warming Gift Package, consumed.]

[Host received: [S-watch 9000], 50% Discount Coupon, Library Pass, Butler-bot Upgrade Chip.]

'Ooh! Dayum! Another jackpot! You're too kind to me!'

Ashton couldn't help but grin upon seeing the things he received from the package. He then began going through each item to know more about them.

[S-watch 9000]

: A recent piece of technology. Very helpful.

: Comes with a beginner friendly manual.

[50% Discount Coupon]

: It does what you think it does.

: Can be used at any stores.

[Library Pass]

: Allows access to Public Libraries.

: Valid for lifetime.

[Butler-bot Upgrade Chip]

: A little gift for good ol' Jerry.

: Give this to him and he'll know what to do with it.

'Ooh! Got me a smartwatch! I don't have to buy it anymore since I got one for free. Free things! Yay.'

'The rest are good. Very practical for my current situation, especially that Library Pass. I guess I'll visit the nearest one tomorrow.'

'As for the upgrade chip, maybe I should delay it for now. I gotta make it look like I bought this outside to hide the existence of the System as much as possible. Can't go wrong with being careful.'

Once he inspected his gains, he kept the Inventory away and returned his attention back to the program.

A couple of minutes later, he heard the whirring sounds of Jerry approaching him. He turned to look and Jerry said:

'Food's ready, Master!'

Ashton's eyes lit-up and stood-up. He issued a command to turn the tv off and went to the dining area with Jerry.

The scent of good food whetted his appetite. He smiled as he sat down on the table. This will be the first time this body will experience the joy of having good food.

"Thanks for the meal." Ashton grinned and began cutting through the steak.

As he chewed on his food, he heard Jerry's whirring sounds next to him.

'Should I prepare a warm bath for you, Master?'

"Ooh, yeah! That would be really nice."

'Alright! Please, enjoy your meal.'

"Thanks, Jerry."

And as the bot rolled away, Ashton happily consumed his food whilst thinking to himself:

'Today is truly a good day.'

Chapter 12

"...are you ready to begin with your tests, Master?"

"Yes, Jerry. I am. Let's begin."

"Okay, the timer starts the moment you pick-up the papers."

Ashton nodded and didn't hesitate to pick-up the pen and the paper to start the test.

It's been roughly two weeks since Ashton began his new life and all things considered, he's living pretty well. He's not lacking in anything except for education, which he's trying his best to remedy as time goes on.

Ashton had been to places. He went out as many times as he could these past few days to familiarize himself with the neighborhood and learn about the similarities and differences of human lifestyle here.

Surprisingly, for the most part at least, it isn't much different to Earth. Although this world is more technologically advanced compared to his old world and there's magic involved, the common trends of life are still being followed here.

Just like earth, one day here is equivalent to 24 hours, each hour is composed of 60 minutes and bla bla bla...7 days a week, the names of each month are the same, there's a sun, moon and stars, electricity is a thing and all that jazz.

People go to work to provide for their needs, seeking entertainment here and there, entering relationships, getting married, having kids, etc. These are all similar to what he's used to but just in a different setting so it wasn't that hard to adjust.

Now, this of course is on the 'normal' side of things. As for the 'magical' side, well...he has no idea just yet.

See, he asked around, probing for information (he would've liked to know more by himself but the materials aren't just available to him) but as it turns out, the society of the 'Cultivators' - as they were referred to by the common folk, are extremely secretive.

Now as for why that is, nobody really gave him their opinions so he didn't ask, but he did have some guesses of his own.

The information available on the news channels and online are also filtered as well. For the most part, it's all just mundane things. They didn't really hide the existence of the 'super-powered' or 'magical' society, he caught them explicitly saying that they are real and they are around but for the detailed explanation of things, he guessed that those information are either classified or being filtered to another channel that he can't access just yet.

This was all well for now since there are other things that he wanted to pay attention to anyways. Mainly, catching up to the intelligence level of kids his age.

For the past two weeks, Ashton already borrowed the books that Agent Theta recommended to him and began ready. On weekends, he asked for Jerry's help to test himself.

Each week, he will set-up a small goal for himself. He'll read and study several chapters or topics from the books he borrowed. Then, he will tell Jerry about the parts of the books he learned and ask him to make a questionnaire to test his knowledge.

Ashton figured that this works the best for him, chipping the contents of each book until he's done with them. Yes this might be slow but he's learning steadily.

Plus, it was effective. Ashton had learned so much from this book that he had to thank Agent Theta again for recommending these books to him.

The things that he learned are considered as the basics of things since these books are for beginners. Still, they are incredibly helpful.

It's the first week of March, more specifically, March 03 9022.

Yes, 9022. Ashton also thought that he read that wrong but apparently he didn't.

Just like any other people like him would do - aka Transmigrated ones, he started reading the history to see if they are really in a different world or were just in an alternate version of the future.

Well, there's no surprises there. He is indeed in a different world. Which is silly on his part since he witnessed the Earth being destroyed but oh, well...

What's funny is that, World Wars also happened here except that it's humans versus aliens. Yes, aliens.

According to the history book he had, 'They' came from the north and the south without warnings. 'They' started wreaking havoc on everything humans held near and dear and 'They' even nearly pushed humanity to the brink of extinction.

In fact, Humanity suffered so much from 'Their' onslaught that they were pushed to a very small part of the world and could do nothing but to rebuild there and hide for as long as they could.

This small part of the world is aptly named: 'Last Bastion' as it is the last habitable place for humanity to settle down and live. Right now, it is said that the Federation is doing everything that it can to produce more Heroes capable of defending their homes to keep them safe and the book even encourages young people to grow-up well and do the same.

That military propaganda isn't even trying to be subtle.

But see, here's something that Ashton couldn't wrap his head around.

This thing in the book implies that the Last Bastion is only a 'small' part of the world and the 'last' habitable place for humanity to live in. 𝙡𝙞𝓫𝒓𝙚𝒂𝓭.𝓬𝒐𝓶

Ashton had been watching TV almost religiously. He had seen the scales of cities Last Bastion has. (He even finds it slightly hilarious that the names of the cities are incredibly uninspired. City A, City B, City C and so on, he's living in City M by the way and apparently, the 'M' stands for 'Mystic'. Why? He has no idea.) And each city is big! Like really big.

Also, he had seen the map of the Last Bastion and to his surprise, it looked similar to that of Earth. The continents are a bit closer to each other and there aren't any countries. All is united under the same banner and is governed by the Morning Sun Federation.

Getting back to the point though, judging by the similarities in the map and the scale of each land...Last Bastion is huge!

Last Bastion is literally Earth squeezed together, still surrounded with water but also protected by a large invisible dome above (but that's a topic for later).

If Last Bastion is considered as a 'small' part of the entire world? How freaking big is the Blue Planet then!?

More importantly, how freaking strong are those aliens? To be able to push humanity this far despite their technological level? What kind of horrors are out there?

Ashton calls them 'Aliens' for now since he really has no idea what else to call them. The book he read didn't specify these antagonists, it just referred to using 'They' 'They' or 'Their'.

There's a vocabulary here and the 'Monster' is included in it. But since they didn't use 'Monsters' to describe them, then it's obvious that 'They' are something else.

The history books also told about the tale of the 'First Hero'. They're not named in this book but they are significant to the History of Humanity.

The First Hero isn't actually someone who ended the war and invasion of the aliens like what happens to the stories he had read back in his home world. Instead, the First Hero should be called the First Guardian instead.

The First Hero was alone, when the aliens started wrecking havoc, they did so in armies and the hero couldn't possibly take on that by himself. The First Hero is the first Awakened amongst humans but he didn't reach his full potential due to the crisis.

Instead of eradicating the aliens, the Hero instead found opportunities for Humanity to continue. They were the one who found the location of today's Last Bastion and brought humans here.

The First Hero was the one who taught humanity how to survive their new lives and brought the news of the change. He protected Humanity and helped out on raising the next generation of Awakened Humans before sacrificing himself for the sake of protecting his race which in turn formed the 'Dome' over the Last Bastion.

At this point, many other Heroes followed the First Hero's footsteps and sacrificed themselves to strengthen the Dome, as such humanity remained safe and was able to rebuild and recoup their losses.

That's basically the summarized version of Humanity's History so far, but make no mistake, the battle for survival is far from over.

Why else would the Federation keep convincing people to join the army? More importantly, if it's truly over, is there a reason for the Federation to exist?

Just from this, it's easy to guess that the battle is far from over.

Indeed, Ashton was right on the dot when he guessed that this world was a lot more dangerous than he initially thought.

One hour passed swiftly since Ashton began answering the questionnaires and when he heard the beep from Jerry, it's 'pens down' signal.

He submitted the test papers to Jerry and the bot rated it on the spot. A few moments later, Jerry let out whirring sounds and said:

"90/100 points. Excellent results, Master."

"Yes!" Ashton cheered, "Alright! Let's have a little celebration! Jerry, prepare a feast for me!"

"As you wish, Master."

Chapter 13

"The exams for the Mystic Academy will happen around the 2nd week of May. I still have some time to study more to prepare myself for that." Ashton murmured.

"If I go with this current pace I have, finishing the beginner books should be done by the 2nd week of March. I just need to refresh my memories and I'll be good to go. Still, learning more wouldn't be too bad either."

Judging by the schedule he built for himself, Ashton had plenty of time to not only catch up but maybe even surpass the intelligence level of kids his age about this world by the time the exams for the Academy Exams occurred.

His studies are progressing fast due to the fact that he's an adult mentally. Most of the things he's learning right now are the basics of knowledge which honestly are not very hard for his intelligence level. Plus he developed a healthy habit of studying constantly in his past life so it's understandable that being studious comes naturally for him.

The only thing that Ashton still hasn't done much of at this point is his Magic Practice.

He's studying magic. The system gave him the book about beginner's introduction to magic and he's been reading it for an hour before he sleeps.

The book tells him about how magic came to be. It also has records about people who discovered Magic and who discovered what. It was fun and enriching to know more about these things because at least he's having something completely new.

If this book was on Earth, people would call the author of it a lunatic. But in this world, this book is a well of knowledge that everyone has to know.

The history of magic began basically the same time as the Invasion of the Aliens began. It is said that the First Hero was the first one to use Magic but since the idea of magic wasn't even an idea back then, they didn't know what to call it.

It is also worth mentioning that Ashton's 'norms' about magic and stuff stemmed from Earth - a world where those things are nothing more than a pipe dream. So it goes to say that when he discovered that the First Hero wore heavy and shiny pieces of armor and carried a sword, he immediately thought of him as a 'knight' and therefore had nothing to do with magic.

Later on, he rectified this since, this standard comes from the RPG's he had seen and played on Earth. This isn't Earth. Earth knows nothing about magic so he should seriously stop thinking this way. It was when he stopped this way of thinking that things started making more sense to him and he's able to have an easier time understanding the contents of the book.

Anyways...

History of Magic, yes. It started back then and while the First Hero neither confirmed nor denied the fact that they used Magic, just by the descriptions left by the authors back then, it's pretty much confirmed that they indeed used magic. Although there are still debates about it, it's whatever...

But while magic already existed back then, it wasn't until the rise of Filianore Winchester - the Lunar Princess, that the term 'magic' was coined and officially became a field of study.

Fillianore was born roughly 600 years after the death of the First Hero. Back then Humanity was still in dire straits and was still recovering so things were a bit difficult.

She grew up physically, and although she had the aptitude of a 'Hero' - that's what they call Cultivator back then, she's sickly and can't do physical labor.

But then, Fillianore held a secret that nobody knows aside from her. They didn't know that her strength rises up depending on the phase of the moon. She is blessed by the Moon itself and she could even do weird things using Moonlight.

Long story short, Fillianore's secret was known because of an emergency, she was branded as a witch which forced her to be on the run but her parents protected her and let her escape in exchange of their lives, she was devastated, exiled herself from the Last Bastion to live along the dangers of the outside world.

Miraculously she survives and gradually discovers the extent of her powers and even masters it. She successfully turned into a Hero, saved humans and established the school of Magic upon her return.

After her, more and more people discovered the charm and wide uses of magic and refined the knowledge even further and that's how the Mages came to be.

As for the difference between a Knight and a Mage, in truth they aren't so different. Both use mana at base, they just use it differently.

Knights use Mana to refine their Physique even further so that they can become stronger and fight longer while Mages use mana to enhance their intelligence and seek even more knowledge.

Both use spells to fight, it's just that one preferred wearing armor and one preferred cloth, that's about it really.

The book tells him about the divergent path that Knights and Mages had to walk in the path of cultivation. Apparently, this difference will only apply while they are still considered as Mortals but by the time they get rid of their mortal shackles the path they have to take converges into one.

It's the more advanced things so the Book didn't go into detail but that basically confirms that there isn't really much difference between the two.

The most important thing that this book mentioned is the existence of Mana. 𝑙𝑖𝘣𝓇𝑒𝒶𝘥.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Apparently, it was the aliens who brought Mana to the Blue Planet. For some unknown reason, the planet reacted to their arrival. Sensing that they are leaking Mana, the planet uses it as a medium to complete its spirituality and become conscious.

It was the spirituality of the Blue Planet that helped the First Hero awaken and discover their abilities. Later then, the Spirituality of the Blue Planet filtered the foul mana into something that humans can use. Which caused a mutation to the succeeding generations of humans and made them Awakened as well.

Spiritual Roots, Martial Spirit, and Providence were the gifts of the world to humans. These are tools that could help them recover and fight back against the aliens. Up until now, Humans are still relying on them to fight back.

Ashton is still not done with the book but he's at an interesting part. There are actually exercises in the book about Basic Mana Control like sensing it, absorbing it and circulating it to one's body.

He had been reading this thoroughly and memorizing the exercise by heart since it would prove helpful for when he eventually tried to do it himself.

Ashton's not going to lie. He's curious and wants to try out magic as soon as possible. While sensing Mana and controlling it isn't really considered as 'magic' is still the basis of things and he'd be lying if he said he isn't dying to try it out.

Hell, he had the Training Room prepped and ready for him to use but as of now he still has to step foot in it since he doesn't know a thing about magic. The room takes half of the entire space he had and it's not even being used. That's a waste.

But really, he's just curious. That's all there is to it.

You can just tell someone has the ability to wield magic and not expect them to try it out. That's stupid.

Yes, Ashton did remember promising Agent Theta that he won't be reckless about magic. And he's not being reckless if he's memorizing the way how to do it properly right? So it's good.

Plus, that cultivation manual's sitting on his Inventory. The time he's wasting was potentially time he could've used to get some advantages before he officially becomes a student of the Academy.

Speaking of Academies, Ms. Jones wasn't lying when she said that the Mystic Academy is the most prestigious school in City M. In fact, it is the only Academy around.

There are schools and colleges around but honestly, those couldn't hold a candle to the Mystic Academy.

The education system in this world's a bit different from what he's used to. Basically, the knowledge that he knows wouldn't even amount to the Elementary Level of education.

If wants to know more, he had to enroll in a Primary Education Facilities or Elementary Schools since that's what they do, they offer Primary Level of Education. If they want a more advanced level of education, they need to enroll in High-School next and a College after that. Masters and Doctorate Degrees can only be studied in an Academy.

Mystic Academy works as all of these things, they offer Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Masters/Doctorate Level of Education. Which basically means that if he gets accepted there, he's golden.

This is why Ashton's working hard on educating himself. He would really love to become a student of the academy since everything would be available there.

Who knows? If he works hard enough, maybe he can even apply for a scholarship?

Chapter 14

Three weeks passed since Ashton came into his new home and it is only today that he's entering the Training Room.

He hadn't stepped a foot in this place since he had no reason to before but now he does. Ashton finally feels a bit confident about starting his new exercise.

This new exercise has something to do with Mana of course. If it were any other regular exercise, he wouldn't have to do it in this room specifically, he can do it in his yard.

"Pause for Identi-scan." The cold mechanical voice Mr. Security sounded in his ears and Ashton did what it said.

After he was scanned, his identity was confirmed and the doors to the Training Room were unlocked to him.

Stepping inside the room, Ashton paused to survey his surroundings. Much to his surprise, this room is quite different from what he imagined.

Being in a world where magic is real, Ashton had a different image in his head when he heard of the words 'Training Room'. He was expecting more of Dojo or like a dark room filled with pots, ritual circles and stuff, since...you know, he's a Mage and all. But what greeted him was different.

The area was clean and looked very techy. The floors are made out of square tiles each 10x10 in measurement. There are a bunch of apparatuses inside which he doesn't know of and there are blinking green lights off the corners of the room.

It's like he's inside one of those time-chambers, and it doesn't look bad actually.

By instinct, Ashton used [Identify] to the things he saw and he was greeted by rows of information which helped him understand what this room is capable of.

[Reactive Tiles]

Extremely Durable.

Can turn soft or solid, can also change colors and project images through the main controls.

Self-Repair Enabled.

[Dummies]

Made out of extremely durable materials and can withstand some serious abuse.

Each Dummy is connected to the Control Panel, the user can program them by changing their settings.

It's a good sparring partner.

[Strength Measuring Slab]

It does what it says, just punch it or something.

Details shown can be modified through to the Control Panel.

[Rack of Weights]

For the Gym Rats.

[Meditation Altar]

Must be activated through the Control Panel first.

Costs Mana Crystals to function.

Usable only for those who are at Warlock Stage and below.

[Control Panel]

This is where one can change the settings of the Training Room.

It is recommended to view the tutorial guide first before using the Training Room.

Ashton deactivated the skill and didn't hesitate to walk towards the Control Panel. As if sensing him, the screen suddenly activated and it greeted him through words. It then gave him options which Ashton obviously considered. He started with the Tutorial Guide first.

It took at least fifteen minutes for him to know more about the Training Room and its function. Now, all his complaints about this room occupying half of his lot are gone. He now understands why.

There are many things that he can do in this Training Room. For example, with the help of the Control Panel, Ashton can edit the ambiance of this room.

If he wants to feel like he's in the middle of the forest while he's here? He can do that. If he wants to feel like he's underwater? He can do that. If he wants some inspirational background music blasting through the speakers as he fed his muscles? That's possible too!

He can insert schedules, alarms and so on. He can make the ground unstable like being on top of a trampoline, make it soft like mud, make it sloped...etc. He can do so many things that the possibilities are quite endless.

Of course, things like changing the flow of time and stuff are completely out of its reach but what it has is more than plenty for his own use.

Ashton tried several pre-sets for the theme and to his delight, it worked like a charm.

The pre-set he used was named Nature's Serenity. It changes his surroundings to a riverside in the middle of a lush forest. He can hear the sounds of a waterfall nearby and also the chirping of the birds and the crickets around. Hell, the air smells incredibly fresh and moist like he's actually there. It was bizarre

The realism of this theme was astonishing. If it weren't for the fact that he could see the Control Panel and the other apparatuses around him, he would've thought he's actually in this place.

"Well, this is awesome. I'd use this one for now. I'll try the other presets later."

Ashton didn't use the other apparatuses for now, he didn't even use the Meditation Altar although it would be very useful for him.

Instead, he found a spot near the river where he could hear the crisp sound of flowing water. He took a deep breath and he could feel himself relaxing already.

Even back on Earth, Ashton always liked the sound of flowing water and rain. In fact, he habitually plays the sounds of rainfall on a loop as he sleeps since it helps him sleep better and longer so this is very nostalgic and relaxing to him.

"Alright...I've never done this before but here it goes. I hope it goes well."

Ashton sat with his legs-crossed loosely, he kept his back straight but not stressed and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and began emptying his thoughts.

He was trying to meditate for the first time ever.

According to the book he read, every cultivator must know how to do this. Those who can't will never be able to use Mana efficiently in their lives. It's kind of a prerequisite at this point.

The weird thing that Ashton discovered was the art of meditation in this world was simpler than he initially thought. Back on Earth, there are many 'rules' about meditation like; one's back must be ramrod straight, one must fold their legs into a pretzel, breath in a square - whatever that means and so on...

And the fact that doing all of that doesn't really seem to achieve anything, makes it really hard for him to believe that it's worth even trying even for the memes.

In this world though, the instructions are more flexible. The act didn't require too many restrictions for him since the real difficulty of the art happens in one's mind not their form. 𝑙𝒾𝒷𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Well, add this to the things that he shouldn't judge according to Earth's standards. Seriously, he should really stop comparing the two worlds. That would make his life easier.

In Meditation, emptying one's thoughts is just the initial challenge. It's just a prerequisite to enter the 'Meditative State'. Still, this is hard to do.

In the book - Beginner's Introduction to Magic, it described human's minds as 'Monkeys whose tails are on fire'. This basically means that a person's mind is incredibly active, more than one could even imagine.

The flow of thought is ceaseless and instinctual. There has never really been a time where a person's mind is void of thoughts. Even in sleep, a person's mind is active because of dreams. Not having a dream isn't a sign of emptiness either since it's most likely that one's mind is preoccupied with something therefore it can't produce a dream.

This is why muting the flow of thoughts in a person's mind is far more difficult to do than one might expect. Everyone's so used to thinking about something consciously or subconsciously that the activity turned to an instinct.

The act of voiding one's mind off thoughts, is stopping an instinct. Thus, its difficulty could only be imagined.

Still, this is something that everyone who wants to be a cultivator must be able to do. There's just no way around it. Ashton will have to do this one way or another and since that's the case, he might as well begin on his own terms.

The Meditation Altar would've been a great help for this. One of the benefits of the Altar is to help someone get through this process much quicker but Ashton decided to not rely on that for now.

It is pride that compels him to do so. Yes. But it doesn't mean that he doesn't trust the machine or disdains to use it.

He just wanted to test things out by himself for now. He wanted to see how far he can go without any assistance for now. Additionally, Ashton knows that the Meditation Altar wouldn't be by his side at all times so he doesn't want to build any reliance on it.

And just as he expected, it's really hard.

In the span of ten minutes, Ashton repeatedly caught himself being swept away by a train of thought sub-consciously. It's somewhat frustrating but the very feeling of frustration is a distraction too which can lead to another train of thought which is another trap.

Still, it's not like this is enough for him to give-up on it. Believe it or not, Ashton felt the signs of him doing it right, it's just that he couldn't keep his focus that he lost the feeling but at least it's something.

The funny thing is, he thinks this seems like a lot of work for the simple act of sensing mana.

Chapter 15

It should be of no surprise that Ashton failed his first attempts at sensing Mana. In fact, based on his experience and what he knows, he's not even close but that's fine, he has time anyway.

In his first Meditation attempt, he was more focused on staying at the Meditative State since that's the requirement to make sense of Mana more accurately. Unless he gets better at Meditation, he shouldn't even think about Mana Sensing for now.

Though he had to admit...if only his System acknowledged the Meditation as a thing that can be used for the Grinding Slots, this process would've been way faster. Alas, he can't have them all. He should be thankful that he has a system to begin with.

Speaking of the System, Ashton admitted hadn't found a very good use of it as of now. Well, the sign-in function is the thing he uses the most and he actually accumulated a lot of nifty things from it but as for things that would actually make him stronger, well there isn't a lot of that.

But he did get something though...

[Military Combat Tactics (13th Army Edition)]

A list of Close Quarters Combat Techniques practiced by the Military Forces of the Morning Sun Federation.

This Technique is released for public use and is free.

Learning it will prove to be useful on certain occasions.

The Military Combat Tactics is a set of kickboxing techniques created for Soldiers who will brave the dangers of the outside world.

It has 13 forms each having various stances that were refined by the Military throughout the years. The one he received is the latest edition which is refined by the '13th Army' which Ashton doesn't recognize for now at least.

What's interesting is that each form of the technique is named after animals; Bear, Tiger, Swan, Pangolin, Snake, Ape, Mantis and so on...it really reminds Ashton of those Kung-Fu movies he watched in his previous life.

Ashton already learned this technique. All the forms and executions were imprinted on his mind but it doesn't mean that he has mastered it. Sadly, the System doesn't work that way...would be nice if it was but it wasn't, oh well.

He has to practice each stance and form individually and master them all by himself...for now at least. He could hire someone to teach him but it's unnecessary as the System imprinted every little detail on his brain perfectly. With time and constant practice, he'd fix those mistakes on his own. 𝙡𝙞𝓫𝒓𝙚𝒂𝓭.𝓬𝒐𝓶

Ashton initially thought that this technique isn't that bad. The forms and stances are complicated enough and it's actually painful to do them properly but then he realized that, that's actually the charm behind it.

As this technique is made for Military use, it is created with the thought of instilling discipline to soldiers, which is a very important aspect of theirs. Pain is also a good motivator in some ways and if one does the forms and stances correctly, this technique can sculpt their physique and make it stronger and healthier.

To that extent, Ashton didn't mind learning and practicing it.

He's mostly free during the day anyway. Staying idle all-day long will deteriorate his physical strength which is bad. Just because he's a mage, it doesn't necessarily mean that he has to be physically fragile.

Ashton already added this to his daily routine and he's been at if for a week now. He always practices the technique every morning at the Training Room, going through all forms and stances, making sure that he's doing them properly.

After sweating, he'd sit down and practice Meditation. He found out that it was easier for him to stay in the Meditative State when he's a bit exhausted. It works so he's not going to question it. Once that's done, he takes a shower while Jerry prepares his breakfast. He studies after all this.

Just like this, Ashton is falling yet again to another routine, which doesn't really sound bad. The routine he had is a healthy one and will just improve his longevity in the long run so why not?

Third week of March...

Ashton could be seen sitting in front of his massive tv, watching the shows that he liked and right now, one of those channels he was following is showing something that made his jaw agape.

It's an official spar between a Mage and a Knight.

And unlike the one that he had seen on the bus, this one isn't a sham nor a commercial. This is the real deal.

Ashton couldn't give a single f about what they're fighting for nor he's in any state to care. All he knows is that what's happening on his tv, is so freaking cool.

The fighters were fast, so fast they're a blur. Thankfully this is a replay and it was slowed-down for the audience to see what's going-on.

The fighters in question are Roland Cassidy and Nelson Higgs.

Roland is the mage. A Lv. 8 Archmage and Nelson is a Lv. 9 Veteran Knight.

Ashton watched the two as they wrecked absolute havoc on their surroundings. Roland threw all sorts of spells from fireballs, icicle shards, boulders and sharp crescents of winds towards Nelson - who moved like an agile hawk dodging and defending against all the projectiles being thrown at him while also managing to counter-attack.

From what he heard from the newscaster, Nelson's Physique is called a Sky Ram which strengthened his poise and endurance greatly. Nelson was a big and beefy dude, wearing a full set of armor that looked incredibly heavy yet he's still able to move and carry them with ease.

Meanwhile, Roland's Magical Artifact is an Elder Wand. A pretty common one for mages but it gave him a very rare skill called: Multi-Casting which is self-explanatory.

At the start of the battle, Nelson was harassed greatly by the endless projectile bombardment from Roland. All he could do is to mind his footing, dodge and defend against the attacks.

Nelson was skilled, but so was Roland. Again, Ashton doesn't really know why they're fighting and frankly he doesn't care but it looked like they were adamant about ending each other's lives.

The Veteran Knight carried a sword and shield with him, a typical Knight stereotype if you ask Ashton but hey! He isn't complaining. And following this theme, Roland is wearing a hood over a cloth tunic which glowed with what looked like a bunch of runes.

The fight was intense, the two threw a plethora of skills and spells against each other. And as this channel was rated PG-13 (which is kind of the legal age in this world) the fight wasn't censored so Ashton saw blood flow.

There were a lot of times where the camera crew nearly paid the price for their audacity and foolish bravery, hats off to them really. If Ashton was there, he would 'nope' the hell away from that place as soon and as far away as he can.

The fight ended with Nelson's victory. Although Roland put up a great fight and abused the hell out of Nelson by properly spacing himself during the fight. In the end, Nelson's endurance was much higher than Roland.

Nelson was, after all, a level stronger than Roland. More importantly, his Physique is perfectly suited for drawn out fights which gave Nelson an edge for this battle.

Still, magicians never run out of tricks and trinkets. Just as Nelson was preparing to capture Roland, the mage used some kind of tool which teleported him away from there. Nobody knows where he is now but he survived. Nelson looked visibly upset but he didn't give chase. Instead he just looked at the camera crew and walked away like a badass.

That was a thrilling fight. So refreshing and real too. Ashton didn't doubt the legitimacy of that broadcast since this world has that for real. The injuries they sustained in that battle were real too.

Ashton needed some time to recover after watching that fight.

That in itself proved that his thoughts were indeed right. This world is indeed dangerous. Just imagining all sorts of people who had the power to blow-up anything on their sight should they want to, frightens him greatly.

While he knows that there are certain laws that regulate all sorts of these events, at the end of the day, they are humans. And humans are fundamentally flawed creatures.

If Ashton wanted to have any chances of standing-up against these people, he was going to have to do some serious work because this is just ridiculous!

Those people are more terrifying than nuclear weaponry! They're literally a world-ending threat on legs! Just imagine the damage they can cause if they went ballistic...

Of course, this is Ashton preparing himself for the worst and maybe being a bit judgmental of people. He knows that the original purpose of cultivation is to protect Humanity from extinction but internal conflicts are a thing. Who knows what happens within the shadows?

"But that mage was really cool..." Ashton murmured to himself.

Then, his smile turned into a self-deprecating expression as he said:

"Unfortunately, It's impossible for me to do all of that. I'm cursed after all..."

Chapter 16

Ashton felt like he was floating...

It always feels like this whenever he's deep in his Meditative State. It feels like his body was just leaving his body - astral projecting unconsciously but in truth, it's not. His body and soul are firmly rooted on the spot.

The lightness he felt is probably due to the fact that he's freed up so much of his mental faculties. In the meditative state, he mostly kept his thoughts empty and the longer it stayed the way, the lighter he felt overall.

The weird thing is, in that same state, Ashton felt like his mind is capable of reaching for so much more. He got this feeling of freedom which tempted him to try so many things. But then again, he knew that this was a trap since the moment he tried to do something impulsively, his train of thought would resume and he'd be ejected out of that state.

It's finicky to be in this state, yet it also feels addicting. Ashton can say that he at least understands why many people do this and why it was required before attempting to sense mana.

Speaking of Mana Sensing...Ashton had some success with that.

It was during one of those idle mornings where he was following his routine. He meditated without any expectations and without even thinking about trying to sense mana. He just did because it was a part of his routine by now and he grew to like the feeling of being in state.

That morning, Ashton did well. He usually meditated for two hours, constantly trying his best to stay in the Meditative State within that time period and on that day, he did it.

The sensation was still fresh in his mind...

Around thirty minutes in his session, he found unprecedented calmness and peace. Then Mana revealed himself to him.

It was crazy. It's like seeing air particles with his naked eyes. He could see these tiny wisps floating around him, tentatively jumping and bouncing around him like curious little things.

Mana behaved rather weirdly. Though they mostly stayed afloat, it seems that they can freely flow through anything as if they were nothing.

When the books he read said that everything around them contains mana, they weren't lying. Ashton saw it himself despite having his eyes closed. Mana was everywhere; in front of him, on top, beneath, behind...mana is also present in him as well. It was really everywhere, even mechanical things!

Ashton knew that he just can't look at the world the same after this. If living for more than a month hadn't already convinced him that any of this is real, then this will do it.

This world is so much different than Earth since none of this was possible there. If it was, it had never been Ashton's turn to know about this so he still preferred this.

And while Ashton was jubilant that he unknowingly sensed mana at that point, he really didn't do anything with it. He just observed its behavior and watched it behave normally.

He knew that he wasn't ready to siphon mana from his surroundings just yet. He had finished reading the book but he knew that he still wasn't ready due to numerous things.

First and foremost, he sensed mana through sheer luck. He didn't go into his meditation fully cognizant of the fact that he will sense mana. This just happened by chance and he's already lucky enough to experience it for as long as he could.

The other thing is, the act of absorbing mana to convert it for an individual's own has to be done with extreme care and consideration.

There is a reason why it is recommended for everyone to not try this without supervision from an expert. This could get very dangerous and could potentially end a life if done incorrectly.

Ashton values his new life so he isn't in any rush. Getting into the Academy is a sure-fire way to have someone supervise this process, that way he'll have extra security.

Of course, he'd still attempt it once or twice, and if he can't really do it on his own, well he'd just have to get into the Academy right?

So, there was really no reason for him to do anything at that moment so he just relished in that feeling and enjoyed it.

Ashton ended up extending his meditation to four hours because of that. His legs were absolutely numbed after that and his butt hurts from all the sitting but it's fine. He felt extremely refreshed and accomplished anyway.

"...do you have a membership card?"

Ashton shook his head. 𝑙𝒾𝒷𝘳𝑒𝑎𝒹.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"Alright, that'd be 150 Dollars."

Ashton took out his credit card and allowed the machine to scan it. After the bill was deducted from his account, he received the receipt and picked up the grocery bags and headed out of the store.

This feeling truly doesn't get old...he didn't expect that the idea of grocery shopping this way would be the same for this world as well. Even the membership cards are being offered the same way as well.

Yeah, sure. He could've done this all online and had it delivered to his house. In fact, he already did that once but still, it's nice to actually roam around the store with a good ol' grocery list and personally collect the stuff to be added on his cart.

By the way, the design of the carts are a bit different but they function the same.

Besides, going out of his house is nice every once in a while. Don't get him wrong, he closely adhered to the way of the hermits and mostly stayed indoors but that doesn't mean that he didn't like going out every once in a while. In fact he did that quite frequently in his past life too.

The funny thing is, even in this huge city where there's tons of people, Ashton didn't have a single person that he can actually call a friend.

Sure there is that kind grandpa, Mr. Guard and his alcoholic belly, the lovely grandma who's always giving him cookies, that elder sister who frequently runs laps around the area and of course, Jerry. But none of those people are actually his friends. At most, they're civil and kind to each other but that's about it. Jerry is a special case of course.

Just like his previous life, his neighborhood is filled with adults or old people in general, which he finds odd and quite hilarious actually.

Still, it would be nice to have a friend or two. He doesn't want a lot, just enough to add a good dose of chaos in his life to make it more fun you know? Alas, it seems that he wouldn't find it here.

He guessed that he'd eventually meet some when he became a student of the Academy.

Speaking of the Academy, Ashton finally knows how to get there. Yes, it took him this long to actually get the address of the place.

While the agents did tell him that his home was close to the Academy, they actually never told him where it was exactly. The weird thing is that there isn't any available information about the exact address of that place online either. When he tries to ask people about it, it's either they don't know where it was because they didn't pass the test or they just told him that he'll know eventually.

Thus, he dug deeper online, searching for any clues and he actually found it.

...believing this to be real though, now that's more difficult to do.

Apparently, the reason why this Academy doesn't have an official address is because it's not in this city...at least physically.

The Mystic Academy is located on a so-called 'Grotto-Heaven', in other words - a freaking Pocket Dimension.

Now isn't that just great? Who'd believe that sh't?

But remembering what this world is. Now it doesn't sound impossible anymore isn't it? In fact, it would totally make sense if that's the case.

With how much people glorified this Academy through word of mouth, its origins must be really grandiose, right? And it's not like it's any normal Academy either. It's an Academy that teaches people magic and cultivation! Of course it has to be dramatic!

Therefore, it would totally make sense if it's within a pocket dimension wouldn't it?

Ashton needed a nap to process this apparently. His whole world was shaken so much upon learning the fact that the place he's trying to get into is located in such a dramatic location.

In turn though, it just made him even more fired-up. Now, he has more than enough reason to make it in. He has to!

It's a freaking Pocket Dimension, man!

This was his ultimate fantasy daydreams come true! He hasn't even been there yet he's already geeking out. Who wouldn't want to take a look at that?

Well, if he wants to get in, he has to work even harder. The Academy's initial exams will take place online and it's a written exam based on what he has already known. He'd best prepare for that if he truly wants to take a look at what the academy is like.

Chapter 17

Ashton's sweating and looked constipated.

He sat in the middle of the Training Room which had been transformed into what looks like an endless white space where no sound could exist.

In that silence, Ashton suffered by himself. Feeling a stinging pain all over his body. The veins on his head were bulging and his face was red and full with sweat. Still, there was a determined expression on his face.

On the surface, it looks like he was suffering from a very bad fever but if one would look closely, it would be obvious that something else is going-on.

There are very faint blue lines swirling around him. They were thinner than threads and almost impossible to be seen with the naked eye. These threads seem to be funneling towards Ashton's forehead and disappears in there.

Inside his body, a momentous chance was occurring.

Ashton's Mana Circuits are being baptized with his absorption of mana. Veins that were previously blocked by impurities are being cleared and being expelled out of his body. 𝙡𝓲𝙗𝒓𝙚𝓪𝙙.𝒄𝒐𝙢

This is a painful process of course. Ashton feels like there's a needle swimming through his bloodstreams. He had to endure this kind of pain while maintaining his state or else he will risk or down right fail this attempt.

Ashton's ears were ringing, he's in so much pain and everything was distracting. He could hear voices whispering to him, telling him to give up for now and just do it next time. Promising that if he gave up now, he won't be in pain anymore.

And while these whispers were tempting, Ashton fought it. Had this been any other kid, they would surely give in to these and lose their chance but Ashton was different. He has the mentality of an adult and he knows that this is something he can resist due to his matured mind.

Yes, it is indeed painful. He has never experienced this kind of pain before but Ashton already knew that this was a necessary process. The book he read stated this multiple times, it will be painful and that's normal. This happens naturally since the body isn't really a suitable vessel for mana just yet and this pain will always be a part of this.

The sweat that drenched his body are actually the impurities he's releasing from this process. And while he can surely just give-in and continue the cleansing process later this will seriously affect his foundations and he can't have that.

Ashton's talent is already bad as it is. On top of that, he's cursed too. These are enough to limit his expectations on this path he's trying to take. He's not happy about it but he can't help it, this was how it is and he can't change that. But this doesn't mean that he'd just give his remaining advantages just like that.

If he has the ability to make things more normal for himself, why wouldn't he do so?

Giving up on building a stable foundation is the same as giving up on this path before even starting it. That's stupid. Ashton wouldn't do something like that if he can help it.

And really, Ashton had been preparing for this for a good while now. He had studied his materials over and over again until the day arrived that he was finally ready.

He learned about the complex network of Mana Circuits present in every human there is. He had memorized the diagram, had some comparisons with the knowledge he had on his old world about this and psyched himself up to do this all in one go like how one's supposed to do it.

Mana Circuits are these so-called Meridians if this would be on Earth. But unlike the Ancient Medicinal Knowledge he only heard a few things about, Ashton figured a few key differences between the two.

For one, Meridians are pathways that are more complex than Mana Circuits, what little he knew of them were practically useless here since they're different from one another.

Meridians follow a network of its own within a person's body while Mana Circuits are closely tied with a person's blood vessels and veins.

In fact, a person's Mana Circuits and blood vessels network swirled together and formed a helix pattern, making them inseparable. This means that wherever blood flows, mana is there to follow as well.

And that makes the process of unblocking the Mana Circuits even more painful than necessary. Imagine having to go all through those complex networks carefully to prevent risking damage to one's blood vessels as well. No wonder the book said that it would be better if someone was there to watch over the process.

Today's actually the first week of May. It took him this long to get the confidence he needs to start this process altogether.

Ashton made sure that every step he took was taken carefully. He really didn't want this process to be more painful than it already is. Had he not been so careful, he'd probably be injured by now.

Despite the pain and the whispered temptations, Ashton held on. There was a sense of urgency because he's so close to succeeding, he knows that this is a trap, hurrying this process will increase the risk of failure so he fought the urge and steadily continued the process.

He guided the mana to clear his circuits, not forcing them but guiding them. Forcing mana is probably the stupidest thing someone could do in this stage.

And while Ashton still felt pain all over his body, he also felt so light. There's this unprecedented level of comfort he's feeling which he can't explain in words. It's like he's flying, this is probably the best way he can describe it.

Time steadily passed just like this and Ashton's suffering is nearly over. There's just a final inch of impurities left that's stopping him from connecting his coils and he'd be done. Still, he couldn't help but feel that this mere inch of impurities were making his life more difficult than it already is.

The impurities are taking way longer than usual to clear up. It may be because it's the last one or he's just really exhausted. Either way, Ashton's not about to give up now. Not when he's this close from succeeding.

After what it seems like forever, Ashton finally did it.

As the last dirt crumbled and expelled from his body, a huge burst of air exploded from his body, slightly ripping his clothes apart but Ashton had no time to care about that.

He was entranced, basking in this marvelous feeling of being immersed with his surroundings. He never felt so peaceful and calm in his entire life, at the same time, he felt like he's bursting with energy as well, like he could lift a huge boulder with one hand or something.

It feels addicting...

At the same time, Ashton's vision started swirling. Visions blurred from his surroundings and by the time he realized it, he was standing in front of an empty space looking at a large copper coin which was even bigger than him.

Under his gaze, a faint blue outline started surrounding the copper coin. The blue color didn't fill the outline completely, it stopped about a third of the way through.

'If I'm correct, then this huge copper coin should be my Mageroot.' Ashton thought to himself, 'And the faint blue outline around it must signify me stepping on to the Apprentice Mage Stage, but I just fell short of turning Lv.1'

This is indeed the case. This is Ashton's first look of his Mageroot and the first time he experienced cultivation.

The Apprentice Mage Stage is composed of 9 Levels. Each level represents a Magic Array forming around a person's Mageroot. This is what that outline stands for.

Ashton barely making it to Lv.1 isn't a big deal either, in fact it'd be more surprising if he did reach Lv.1 on his first success. If it weren't for the fact that he stuck with the process and endured the pain, this outline wouldn't be filled as much as it is now.

Another important note to be made is the fact that the expulsion of impurities is far from over.

The idea behind the beginning stages of cultivation is to turn a person's body into a proper vessel for Mana. Impurities will make this impossible so more needs to be expelled, the ones in the Mana Coils are actually the smallest amount that can be expelled for now.

This doesn't mean that Ashton had to go through this painful process over again though. All he needs to do is to continuously refine his Mana Coils as one would do and consistently increase his Mana Reserves by filling up his Mageroot with it.

The intensity of Mana or its radiation will do the trick, forcing the impurities out of his body and making it a more fit vessel for Mana.

For now though, he just made a successful endeavor. He made his first step towards the path of cultivation and this needs to be celebrated.

[Noticed! Host succeeded in his first Mana Circulation Attempt without the System's assistance. Achievement rewarded.]

[You received: Providence Re-roll Stub, 5 Spell Cards, System Skill: Cleptomancy - unlocked, 20,000 Credits, 1000 Mana Crystals]

And it would seem that his System wants to join the celebration as well.

Chapter 18

[Noticed! Host succeeded in his first Mana Circulation Attempt without the System's assistance. Achievement rewarded.]

[You received: Providence Re-roll Stub, 5 Spell Cards, System Skills: Cleptomancy - unlocked, 29,000 Credits, 1000 Mana Crystals]

This notification woke Ashton up and pulled him down from his high. He stared at the notification just to see if he's seeing things correctly and in fact he was.

"Huh...I guess this can happen too." Ashton mused to himself.

Still, the things he received from the System made him incredibly happy. He went to his Inventory to learn more about the items of course.

[Skill Cards](x5)

Gain one random skill per car when consumed.

Notice: Curse was detected. Spell acquisition is limited to Basic Spells.

'Ugh...I haven't even performed actual magic yet I'm already suffering because of this curse. Whatever I guess.'

[New System Skill: Cleptomancy]

Effect: Killing or Eliminating a target with a spell will cause them to drop an item.

Notice: Drops may vary depending on the Mastery of this skill. Drops are only visible to the Host. Upon the death or elimination of the target, the drops will automatically appear to the Host's Inventory, there's no need to pick them up. 𝘭𝑖𝘣𝑟𝘦𝒶𝘥.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Notice: System Skills are unaffected by the Curse Host.

'Ooh!' Ashton cooed internally, 'I get drops by killing things? Now we're talking. With this, my RPG life is more complete.'

And last but definitely not the least. This one...'

[Providence Re-roll Stub]

This consumable item can allow hosts to change their Providence grade but at random.

Notice: Should the Host get a bad roll, the Host may choose to keep their original Providence instead.

'Holy crap...this item was possible too?'

Ashton already had a guess upon reading the name of the item but knowing what it truly did, didn't lessen the shock he felt. Re-rolling Providence? Isn't that the same as defying the Natural Order?

Well, the System's existence is already Heaven-defying itself but still, this is absurd.

And as funny as this sounds, this gives Ashton some hope for his future.

The fact that the Providence Re-roll Stub was an item that can be given to him by the System, it wouldn't be wrong of him to expect something like a Mageroot Re-roll Stub or a Magical Artifact Reroll Stub to appear as well wouldn't it?

If his theory is correct (and god he hopes that it is), then is it possible for him to get rid of this curse once and for all? Maybe this is the method that the System acknowledged as a way to get rid of his curse? Well, he can't say for sure but so far, these are all just theories anyways.

Unless a time comes when he actually receives these items, he wouldn't even think about it since everything's just speculation right now.

'Now that I have these Spell Cards...at least I finally get to see how the Grinding Slots actually work.'

'But should I use them now?' Ashton hesitated. 'Do I have the patience to wait until the rest of my Aptitude is re-rolled before using them? Most likely not.'

'I can't wait for that long. I'm not even sure if it's possible. I can't let my future be decided by something unclear like that. It's probably for the best if I use them immediately and get some actual edge before I start my magical studies.'

'Besides, the Basic Spells are required to build a steady foundation. Learning some, whatever I get, will not really harm me, it shouldn't harm me especially since it came from the System. I should be fine.'

After thinking things through, Ashton felt that his logic was sound and didn't dally any longer...

'System, consume all Spell Cards please.'

[Spell Cards(x5), consumed. You received New Spells: Mana Bolt, Mana Shield, Mesmerize, Cleanse, Force Push]

'Yep...these all sound like Basic Spells alright.' Ashton commented inwardly. He then went into his Profile Page and looked at his Spell List which is now filled with the new Skills he received.

[Mana Bolt Lv.0]

Send a bolt of mana that inflicts damage to the target.

Max. Projectile Range: 5 meters

[Mana Shield Lv.0]

Form a shield made out of mana to defend against incoming attacks.

Can defend against both Physical Attacks and Offensive Spells.

[Mesmerize Lv.0]

A Basic Illusion Type Spell.

Form a link through visual contact with an enemy to feed them harmless Illusions.

[Cleanse Lv.0]

Rids oneself or an ally of a Debuff

Can be used once every hour

[Force Push]

A Basic Psychic Spell

Emits a strong Force that pushes back enemies or projectiles away from the Host.

'Huh...' Ashton wore an expression of pleasant surprise. 'None of these sounds bad actually. They suck for now but that's because they haven't leveled-up properly just yet. I'm sure that if I increase them to Lv.9 at least, I should be more than capable of protecting myself.'

Through his studies, Ashton learned that Spells, Skills, Techniques and so on can increase their effectiveness by leveling them up just like how one would do it in games. Increased the Mastery of the spell requires both study and understanding of the spell of course.

Ashton didn't know the level cap for each skill, he didn't read about it in any materials available to him nor if the concept is even a thing in the first place.

As for what he knows, Spell Levels cannot be higher than the user. For example; Someone who's a Lv.9 Apprentice Mage can't have any Lv.10 Spell. They can have a Lv.9 Spell but not Lv.10 because they're physically unable to do so.

Ashton knows that with his current aptitude, it is impossible for him to reach the levels of those masters no matter how hard he tries. And in truth, Ashton never really thought about doing that, he just wanted to learn more about Magic and also have the ability to protect himself, that's all.

These Basic Spells don't seem bad. While he was expecting something like a Fireball or Water Orb or something to appear, as those involved elements in their formula, they must've not been considered as a Basic Spell.

Or maybe it was and he just wasn't lucky to roll for them but still...he can be satisfied about what he has right now.

And really, he should be excited at least. Now he gets the chance to see how the Grinding Slots worked!

But this actually reminded Ashton of something.

'So, System. You said that I got these gifts because I did Mana Circulation without your assistance. Does that mean you could've helped me all this time.'

[Yes and no, Host.]

'...explain.'

[To help the Host in Mana Circulation, Host was required to at least know of one Spell and had it running under the Grinding Slot.]

[If Host's consciousness arrives there without any success in his Mana Control, there will be a step-by-step assisted walkthrough for Host to experience under the guidance of the System. With it, Host's chances of succeeding in the activity will increase.]

[Once the Host is ready, the Spell Grinding will officially begin.]

'...'

Ashton was speechless. He obviously didn't know that. He also is certain that the System never mentioned this to him. Had he known he would've used it already instead of wasting time psyching himself up for weeks.

Alas, there's nothing he can do now. What's done is done. Besides, he got rewarded for his achievements anyway so there's really no need to be upset.

'Oh well, a heads-up would've been nice but whatever. At least I proved something to myself and got rewarded for it so it isn't really that bad.'

'But System, can you at least rate my performance? How did I do?'

[Although there is plenty of room for improvement, connecting all your Mana Coils in one sitting is a worthy achievement. You did better than expected, Host.]

'Alright. I'll take that.' Ashton nodded in satisfaction. At least he has bragging rights.

Ashton was pondering if he should give the Grinding Slots a go but decided against it.

'I'll do it after I use the re-roll stub. Plus, I am a wreck right now, my clothes are torn all over the place. I may even postpone it until tomorrow.'

'For now though...System, use the Providence Re-roll Stub.'

For the first time ever since having the System, an animation appeared right in front of him. A System Window displayed a huge color-coded wheel. It has Black which occupied a large portion of the pie chart, Blue which took quite a sizable part, Orange which has a smaller portion compared to previous color, Red which is even smaller, and finally Violet Gold which occupied a mere strip of the whole chart.

Ashton knows what these signifies. The smaller the dedicated spot is, the rarer it is. The arrow was placed at the top, following the usual spin the wheel mechanics, this arrow will determine what kind of prize he'll get.

He found a crane handle which he held onto. Ashton took a deep breath and sincerely hoped the RNG-gods heeds his plea and bless him with good luck.

Then, he yanked the handle down and the wheel started spinning.

Chapter 19

Fingers crossed and inwardly chanting the names of all Saints, Gods and Deities he knew of, Ashton watched in bated breath as the wheel, that may just change his destiny, gradually slowed down.

Although he didn't know if it's possible for him to receive something like this stub again, Ashton still treated this as if it's the only lifeline he had.

He never wanted to be so lucky in his entire life.

Ashton nearly hyperventilated as the wheel slowed down to a crawl. The arrow's still on the black color and he could already feel the dread creeping up to his heart.

Then again, the wheel persisted with its final movements. Slowly but surely, under Ashton's stressed and hopeful gaze, it approached the next color but it had become really slow that the momentum it carried didn't appear to be enough to push it to the next color.

'Come on, come on, come on...'

Ashton was like those gamblers who're watching a racing competition with their bets on the line. If his stare was just powerful enough, it might've been enough to give this darned wheel that final push to get this over with, unfortunately it doesn't work that way.

However...

Through a sheer stroke of miracle, the last tick of the spin pushed it just beyond the black color to the golden on before it finally stopped.

Ashton felt his soul leaving his body. He felt lightheaded for some reason. He was so relieved and jubilant. It landed on the Violet Golden color which is the thinnest strip in there! This means that he hit the jackpot, right?

[Providence Re-rolled! Congratulations! Overwhelming Luck blesses the Host. Your Providence changed from: [Five Golden Rays (Bright Saint)] to [Fey Emperor's Blessings (?)] Please check your Profile Page for more details.]

Ashton only read up until he saw the new Providence he had. He didn't hear the last part since something happened to him.

His consciousness mysteriously turned dull. His body suddenly levitated a few meters above the ground and strong fluctuations emerged from his body.

The surrounding Mana became agitated as the fluctuations touched them. Mana reacted erratically forming a whirlpool with Ashton at its very center. Ashton was subconsciously absorbing large amounts of Mana on his Mageroot and shocking changes were happening to his body.

Ashton had no idea of what's happening since his consciousness was somewhere else but apparently, the fluctuations he's releasing was so great that it is alarming the experts all around the City and even beyond.

Someone who's reading the movement of the stars jolted out of their stupor and whispered in shock:

"This...is impossible! This can't be!"

There's one who's peacefully adapting to the Hermit lifestyle. They were feeding some goats when they felt the fluctuation too. This person looked up to the general direction of where it was coming and said:

"Oh boy...this will be problematic."

At the depths of the abyss, a faint shadow was peacefully slumbering, curled like a fetus. The shadow's eyes trembled open upon feeling the similar fluctuation and a deep growl sounded from its throat.

"Another one! Kill!"

Up above the stars, in a castle hidden behind swathes of golden clouds. A presence could be seen watching the scenery below. Their eyes are currently combing through every layer of the soil, trying to pinpoint where this fluctuation originated.

"It escaped? No. That shouldn't be. Nothing escapes my sight before. I refuse to believe that."

"..."

"So it's hidden then? Hmm. That makes more sense. Either way, they sure moved fast. No matter, I'll let them be happy for now."

All sorts of people reacted to the fluctuation that Ashton involuntarily released. As for Ashton himself, he couldn't control any of this sadly since he's not really in the right mind.

Thankfully, the System already responded to this outcome...

[Detected: Host's Transformation alarmed powerful individuals.]

[Scanning...Detecting Killing Intent towards Host.]

[Searching for available solutions...]

[Error! Error! Error!] 𝘭𝑖𝑏𝘳ℯ𝑎𝑑.𝒸ℴ𝘮

[Troubleshooting...]

[Anomaly Detected! Please Stand-by!]

[Anomaly Deciphered; Due to Host's change in Providence, his Mageroot and Magical Artifact benefited and mutated. Profile, updated.]

[Mageroot: Mysterious Rainbow]

[Magical Artifact: Cursed Book of Infinity (Legendary)]

[Detected: Fluctuations resulted by the Host Transformation might garner unwarranted attention. Searching for apt solutions...]

[Solution Found: Initiating 'Host Isolation Protocol']

A long line of notifications rang from the System but none of it reached Ashton. The message windows didn't go away and they're recorded so he can always see them later but for now, the more important thing is to stop Ashton from alarming really troublesome people.

For this, the System personally acted. With a light Swoosh! A curtain of light enveloped Ashton for the briefest of moments and the fluctuations magically disappeared.

With the fluctuations confined, the source was gone. The people who were alarmed by it lost their lead and couldn't track it down either.

There were some who tried to use other methods to search for Ashton but failed miserably. Whatever the System did, it's nothing short of impressive and effective. This ensured that Ashton's life will be preserved and that he won't be disturbed.

As for where Ashton's mind is right now. Honestly, he had no idea.

Blurry images passed through him and he's really out of focus. He couldn't pay attention since he was too caught up with the moment. All he could do is feel but even the sensations he felt gave him mixed-ideas.

He feels like he's soaking in a warm tub of water but at the same enjoying the cool breeze of an open forest...which really doesn't make sense. He wasn't hurt though, oh no.

It's quite the opposite actually...

,m He never felt so comfortable in his entire life...this one and the previous one.

As Ashton's mind drifted away from all sorts of senses, time passed by. Gradually, Ashton's visions became clearer and clearer and he started seeing-well...remembering would be more accurate.

[Content Warning: Depictions of Sexual Harassment and r*** ahead. You may skip this part if you're uncomfortable. The title of this chapter should make it easy to connect the dots. ]

It never occurred to him that there was something locked away at the very depths of his memory...

He never thought that it was possible but he really should've known. After all...this world revolves around Magic.

He thought that when he transmigrated, he adapted to this body's identity perfectly the moment his and Old Ash's memories were fused. He never thought that Old Ashton actually had some sealed memories hidden away at the deepest recesses of his consciousness and now...because of this transformation, it's all revealed.

As it turns out...Old Ashton was indeed right when he suspected the Nuns of the Orphanage. There is a reason behind it and it isn't because he's just naturally untrusting towards people.

Poor Old Ashton...his innocence was robbed from him mercilessly because some people couldn't keep it in their pants.

Ashton felt unbridled rage coursing through his body as the memories played themselves out for him, which he doesn't feel very often.

He couldn't believe that the predecessor of this body suffered something like that...both from the Head Nun of the Orphanage and that disgusting Bus Driver.

They treated him like he was their precious toy. A young kid who hasn't even hit puberty, used to be like that...Ashton was trembling with rage and indignation that he couldn't help but shed tears.

And after they used him, they tampered with his head, sealing the memories away to keep the kid unsuspecting in hopes that he won't run away.

The sad part is, despite Old Ashton being careful and keeping his thoughts to himself, he really couldn't fight against their methods.

Had Ashton knew that the Old Ash suffered from this, he wouldn't have made that donation. He could've just left without saying goodbye and whispering: Good Riddance.

He can't report this to the authorities either. He had no evidence! Everything was erased since those two old foxes were too meticulous on their operations.

Plus, that area was the slums...all kinds of nastiness are in there. Reporting it might even backfire so he was really helpless. .

Still, this was so f-ing sad and infuriating! Ashton wished that he hadn't seen this at all. He was happy and comfortable living his new life, now he had to deal with this too?

'The saddest part about this is that...if it's still the same kid, he'll probably let this go. He's just going to forget about it and live far away from that mess. He's so like me but...this isn't okay.'

'This is where I draw the line...'

'Kid, I don't know if you're out there somewhere. I don't know if you can see me or even hear my thoughts. But on the off-chance that you are...know that this isn't over...'

Ashton felt the world warping around him. The righteous indignation he felt was like a fire that burned his memories and reduced them to ashes. He'll never forget about this. In fact, though he's technically not the same person, he'll suffer from this too.

Him and the Old Ashton might've been considered as birds of the same feather but there are key differences between the two of them. As an adult, Ashton had a strong opinion about what's right and what's wrong.

'I don't know if you'll like me after this but they're not escaping this one...'

'They will pay...and I can't guarantee that it won't be painful.'

Chapter 20

'I'll put this matter on the back burner for now. Currently, there are more matters that I need to attend to...'

'I...what happened to me exactly?'

This was the part where Ashton finally opened his eyes to see what changed about him.

The very first thing that he noticed is the fact that the world looked more vivid to him than before. He thought that it might just be his imagination but he also can't shake the feeling that it's real somehow.

The colors are more vibrant, the atmosphere is clearer and the Mana...

'Yes, the Mana! I can sense it! But how? I'm not in meditation!'

Ashton was astonished. He never expected something like this was possible too. He could actually sense mana clearly as if he's in meditation! Before, he needed to get into the Meditative State before having this sensation and that usually takes him around five or so minutes but now it's different.

'And the sensation isn't going away either! What's going on?'

Ashton then looked in front of him and his eyes nearly popped out with the amount of system windows panned out in front of him. He shook his head and went through them one by one.

As he read the notifications, Ashton paled visibly.

He dodged the bullet right there.

He never expected that the effect of his transformation would be so great that it actually alarmed some monsters that were hiding within the vicinity. (When he said monsters, he's actually referring to the real powerful people within the world.)

But what really caught his attention was the domino-effect that happened with his Aptitude.

'System, show me my Profile Page please.'

[Profile]

Host: Ashton West

Race: Human

Aptitude:

Mageroot: Mysterious Rainbow

Magical Artifact: Cursed Book of Infinity (Legendary)

Providence: Fey Emperor's Blessings (?)

Cultivation Technique: None

Specialization: [None]

Rank: [Apprentice Stage Lv.0]

'Uh...okay. My Mageroot just straight up became the Mysterious Rainbow then? Isn't it to be a grade of the Mageroot, not the Mageroot itself?'

'...'

,m 'The System isn't answering. Well, I guess it won't be called a 'Mysterious' Rainbow for nothing. Guess I have to figure this one out myself. That's fine.'

'Right, let's see this Magical Artifact then...'

[Magical Artifact: Cursed Book of Infinity (Legendary)]

Unique Skill: [Aspect of Infinity]

Removes the lock of Spell Proficiency Limits per Cultivation Rank. (Spell Level can exceed the Host's Level.)

Curse: [Hex of Mediocrity]

Forbids the user to learn any Intermediate Level Offensive Spells and above.

'You know what...? I'll take that actually!'

'Mn! That sounds way better! The curse still sucks since it eliminates the possibility of me hurling a giant meteor at my enemies but staying in the back and keeping my allies in full health doesn't really sound bad!'

'In fact, if I'm good at it, I'd be a hot commodity! In RPG's there is no lack of damage dealers, the hardest to find in parties are healers. If this works in this world somehow, and I have a feeling that it does, then my future could still be exciting! This is fine! I like this development.'

'And that's not even mentioning the fact that I can increase the level of my skills higher than myself. That should synergize with my Grinding Slots, right? Ooh! I'm excited!'

Really, Ashton didn't mind this at all. While the curse is still around, it didn't limit him as much as it did before. Now that he had something to work with, at least there's much to look forward to for his future.

'Alright, then we go to the reason for it all. My Providence.'

[Providence: Fey Emperor's Blessings (Grade-?)]

: You have been blessed by the Fey Emperor, granting you numerous benefits such as;

[Focused Mind] - lessens the probability of you failing to cast a spell. Greatly increases intellect.

[Fey Emperor's Majesty] - increases your beauty and charm, raises your Physical Strength, greatly increases your familiarity with Mana.

...to be unlocked.

'Ohh!'

'So that's why I can feel the flow of Mana even without being in the Meditative State!' 𝘭𝑖𝑏𝘳ℯ𝑎𝑑.𝒸ℴ𝘮

'And like...it raises my intellect too? That's nice.'

'There's also the beauty and charm. Am I more handsome now? I need to see myself again in the mirror to make sure.'

'And it looks like there's more. Maybe I'll unlock it once I'm stronger. That's usually how it goes right?'

[Affirmative.]

'...now it answered. Alright, fine. But yeah! This is great! I've so much to work on. Unfortunately it's exam week next week, I'll be a bit busy but I should be fine.'

Ashton finally stood-up from his seat. His lips twitched when he heard his bones locking in place as he did so. Yeah, he might've spent a little too much time sitting on the same spot. Strangely enough, he didn't feel numb all over which usually happens after each session.

'Probably has something to do with my new Aptitude.'

Ashton shook his head and deactivated the cultivation layout of the Training Room. When everything returns to normal, he then sees that it's already twelve in the afternoon. He had spent his whole morning inside the training room.

He walked out of the room only to find Jerry standing there with a stack of clothes on his arm.

"Are you alright, Master? I saw that your clothes exploded while you were training."

That woke him up. Right, he actually forgot that, that happened. If it weren't for Jerry's reminder he would've not noticed it until it's time for him to take a bath.

"Right. I'm fine. In fact, I feel much better than before. I had a little breakthrough but shh, it's our secret okay?"

Jerry made an 'okay' sign with his fingers and said: "Yes, Master. Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

"Good, boy." Ashton chuckled. Jerry's been a much better companion after he installed the chip he received from the system to the bot. Also, he can speak now. He sounds like an obedient child.

"I've prepared your bath, Master. Also, here's a change of clothes. I shall prepare your food while you take a relaxing bath after a hard day's work. Should I increase the amount of food to make?"

"Yes! I haven't eaten breakfast and this little breakthrough deserves a feast. I'll leave it to you, Jerry."

"Got it! I will make sure to prepare a scrumptious feast for you."

Ashton took the clothes from Jerry and the bot cheerily waddled towards the kitchen. He smiled and went his way towards his bathroom on the second floor.

Before jumping into the tub, Ashton looked at himself in front of the mirror and was surprised by what he saw.

"Holy crap! I look fine as hell! What?"

His short black hair became more lustrous, had more volume, his skin became smoother and elastic, his pupils had a strong gleam in it and the shape of his face became sharper in a good way.

He also noticed that the fat scattered here and there on his body disappeared, replacing it with a more sculpted frame. He also appeared to be taller than before and his voice became one octave deeper.

'Is this because of my Providence? What the hell? This is possible too?'

Ashton felt surprised but also a bit embarrassed. He felt a little bit narcissistic but he does look hot. He looked like one of those teenagers who were bullied by puberty. He's like the popular kid in those high-school dramas that had all the girls thirsting over them.

'Surely with this face, finding a girlfriend shouldn't be hard, yeah?' Ashton thought to himself but then, he shook his head and said: 'Whatever, that's not really the focus of my life right now.'

'What are girlfriends for where there's Magic to learn? A waste of time, that is.'

Deciding to no longer think of this, Ashton took off his ruined clothes and hopped into the tub.

The temperature was good enough, just like how he likes it. He could already feel himself relaxing here.

'...'

'I can now learn stronger spells, well Supportive and Auxiliary Spells but still...had I known that I'll change this much, I wouldn't have spent those cards earlier. Maybe I would've gotten a rare one.'

'I said that the Basics are still important and I still stand by that, but still, learning cooler spells would've been much better. Ugh, the irony.'

'Oh, that's right. System, can you explain to me what the 'Host Isolation Protocol' does?'

[The 'Host Isolation Protocol' prevents people from knowing the Host through the means of prying into the Heavenly Secrets.]

[With it active, Host can set the bar on how strong he appears to the eyes of others to prevent suspicions. To put things simply, this is the System's way to keep the Host safe.]

'Oh...thanks. That's certainly very helpful. I'm glad that's in there.'

'Is there a time limit for this protocol?'

[None. Host can deactivate it anytime he pleases.]

'I'd like it to remain as it is, thank you.' Ashton didn't hesitate.

This function is so useful like this so why would he even think about deactivating it? Unless he went absolutely mad, he won't turn this function off.

'Hmm...'

'Now, since I have Spells to practice. It's time to see the magic of these Grinding Slots.'

Chapter 21

Mana Bolt, Mana Shield, Mesmerize, Cleanse, and Force Push...

These are the spells that Ashton had to work with for now, every single one of them are Basic Level Spells so they aren't that strong but they should be more than enough to get him used to casting a spell.

'I'll try it out with Mana Bolt first...'

'System, I'd like to charge Mana Crystals to grind the Mana Bolt Spell.'

[50 Mana Crystals deducted from Inventory to raise the Spell: Mana Bolt to Lv.1]

[Estimated Time of Completion: 24 hours.]

As soon as his order was acknowledged, Ashton felt a slight pull coming from within him.

He felt his vision blurring for a bit and he started seeing something different. He found himself standing in an empty space faced with a training dummy with a target pain on its head and body.

When he blinked, he found himself inside his bathroom again.

The sensation caused him to shake his head in confusion but then he remembered how the Grinding Slots work.

'Oh right! Idling. The training will happen in the background while I go on about my day. How convenient.' Ashton chuckled to himself.

As he began scrubbing the dirt away from his body, he remembered something...

'How much would it cost me to open up another Grinding Slot?'

[The next one will cost you 500 Mana Crystals, Host. Reminder: The price will increase the more slots are opened.]

'How much would the total be if I want to open 4 additional slots?'

[A total of 5,000 Mana Crystals, Host.]

Ashton felt pained upon hearing that. He pursed his lips and opened his Inventory to check how much wealth he accumulated so far...

[Federation Dollars: 500K]

[Mana Crystals: 450K]

Admittedly, it's a little ridiculous for Ashton to feel pained for paying 5000 Mana Crystals to open up spots when he has 450K in his Inventory. The thing is, Ashton is quite stingy when it comes to spending money.

He wouldn't hesitate to spend when the situation calls for it of course but it doesn't mean that he feels good about doing it.

The only reason why he amassed quite a bit of wealth without actually doing anything is because of the Sign-in Function...

More often than not, Ashton would sign-in at his home and he'd receive some wealth as rewards for doing so. He would've added this to his bank account but it would be troublesome to explain how he got it so it stays in his Inventory for now.

That being said, the amount displayed in his Inventory isn't counting the cheques and coupons he had in there. He's keeping those for emergencies.

'Fine. Open-up four more slots, System. Register the rest of the spells I have while you're at it.'

[5000 Mana Crystals were deducted from your account to open up +4 Grinding Slots.]

[2000 Mana Crystals were deducted to your account to train spells: Mana Shield, Mesmerize, Cleanse, and Force Push to Lv.1]

[Estimated Time of Completion: 24 hours]

'Alright, all of the spells should be finished around the same time tomorrow. I'll relax for the rest of the day for now. A lot has happened after all.'

After registering the spells to the Grinding Slots, Ashton decided to let it run on its own as he relaxed. Truly, a lot has happened today.

He succeeded in his Mana Circulation, learned five Basic Spells, his Aptitude changed dramatically and the memories sealed within him had broken free.

Exam Week is approaching...

There's a lot for Ashton to think about right now and honestly, he just didn't want to deal with them right now. This is already too much for a single day. He deserves a break.

After cleaning himself up and feeling refreshed, he dried his body and changed into a new set of clothes. He inadvertently looked at his reflection in the mirror again and couldn't help but to click his tongue in wonder.

"Dayum...hot guy alert!"

Ashton chuckled at his ridiculousness and stopped paying attention to his face. He went down and joined Jerry to enjoy a sumptuous feast.

Next day, around 1pm in the afternoon...

Ashton was relaxing on his bed, reading some study materials in preparation for the exam week when all of a sudden, continuous System Notice flashed past his vision.

[Notice! Spell: Mana Bolt grinded for 1 day and has now become Lv.1]

[Notice! Spell: Mana Shield grinded for 1 day and is now Lv.1]

[Notice! Spell: Mesmerize grinded for 1 day and is now Lv.1]

[Notice! Spell: Cleanse grinded for 1 day and is now Lv.1]

[Notice! Spell: Force Push grinded for 1 day and is now Lv.1]

[Would you like to claim the Experience?]

Ashton blinked and stared at the notifications for a good five seconds before realizing it.

'Oh yeah, I did this yesterday. I actually forgot about it.' Ashton chuckled to himself and shook his head, it seems that he had been a bit immersed in his own leisure that he completely disregarded this after doing it.

And since it's running in the background, he didn't really remember it until the System notified him.

'Do it one at a time so that it won't be confusing. Starting with the Mana Bolt first.'

[Transferring Mana Bolt experience to Host.]

Ashton then felt his mind warping for some reason. He lost his focus and a stream of information suddenly started making its way to his brain.

The funneling was a bit disorienting at first but his mind adjusted to it rather quickly.

He then saw himself performing the act of casting Mana Bolt over and over again. Once, twice, thrice...it went on until he lost count. He appeared to be a tireless machine constantly dishing Mana Bolts and never running out of Mana to do so.

With every succeeding attempt, the form and stability of the Mana Bolt steadily increased until it finally resembled a proper projectile that did damage to the Training Dummy, the accuracy and precision of each shot was acceptable too. Of course, it could be a lot better.

This feeling was sensational. Ashton was fully cognizant that he didn't work this hard to reach this stage but he felt like he did it. The experience was immersive too, he completely familiarized himself with flow and emission of Mana for the spell to work. It's as if he was actually there doing all the practicing himself. But in truth, he was not.

At some point, the experience transfer ended and Ashton could feel his body heating up. It's like he did yet another work out just now.

Unable to help himself, Ashton jumped out of his bed and went down to the Training Room.

Upon entering, he began going through the information he received and conjured a Mana Bolt with his hand. He aimed it at the training dummy in the room.

As a result, he did it on his actual first try. He didn't feel weird. Actually, he thought he'd be excited about succeeding but no, he just felt calm. It's as if he's used to it. Which kind of makes sense since he had experienced casting this spell many times in a row already.

Ashton did notice a few things though...

'Casting time is around 5 seconds...' He murmured to himself, 'I don't know if that's bad but if I am in the heat of a battle, it most certainly will be. I wonder if I could shorten that by leveling this up?'

'It also doesn't spend as much Mana as I assumed.' He continued while staring at his hand. 'I'm not Lv.1 yet but I managed to cast it. This should be proof that the benefit I received from my Magical Artifact is working.'

'At most, I need to cast 5 Mana Bolts in a row before I'm completely drained. And that is weird on its own. There shouldn't be any Lv.0 like me who can do something like that.'

'This means my Mana Capacity increased and I only noticed it now. It's probably due to the changes in my Aptitude.'

'As for how this change is going to factor in my progress...I guess I'll just wait and see. For now, I have other spells to gain experience from.'

'System, do the Mana Shield next.'

Upon Ashton's orders, the System funneled the experience of Mana Shield to him. And this led to Ashton discovering more peculiarities about the Grinding Slots.

Well, it should make sense but the training methods for each spell will vary depending on its type. Since Mana Shield is a defensive type of spell, in his training he's inside a room where there's a mechanism that will fire projectiles at him.

His Avatar casted Mana Shield over and over again. At first it shattered, and on the second attempt too but as it continued, the shield grew more solid and managed to block the projectile shooting at it.

The change in training methods also applied to other spells. In Mesmerize, he was given a live target, a squirrel to confuse. On Cleanse, he was given all sorts of animals with debuffs to get rid off. For the Force Push, he was given a ball which he had to push around without using any physical means...

This meant that the Grinding Slots would adjust to any kind of spells he placed in them and set-up a training method to increase its efficiency using the best method.

'Yep, the System is really awesome!'

Chapter 22

With the following days, Ashton continued on his own routine. However, due to the changes that happened to him, some things were never the same...

The first thing he noticed is the fact that he was physically stronger than before. It was a strange feeling if he's being honest. His body looked more or less the same from how it was previously but his strength rose to a whole new level.

Jerry, his faithful butler-bot, weighs around 150-160 kg. Yet Ashton could pick him up using one hand without feeling strained. His raw strength increased so much including his endurance and his stamina.

The usual exercise routine he used to follow before his transformation? He could do them all without even feeling tired or out of breath.

And this wasn't the end of this of course. To emphasize just how much he changed, one had to remember that the weakest increase that he gained from his metamorphosis was on his physical strength.

We're still not factoring the increase in his intellect and his sensitivity to mana. So let's talk about it...

The description of the System was quite vague. When it said that his Intellect was raised significantly, he felt like it turned into a genius.

First and foremost, Ashton had an easier time studying now. Not like he found it difficult before but it's clearly simpler and easier thanks to the increase of his intellect.

The reading speed perk he received before was gone but it did not matter. Not when Ashton could easily remember everything he had read so far down to the punctuation marks.

He found it so easy to get immersed in studying that it started troubling Jerry. Of course, Ashton made it a point to rectify that and exert some sense of control over himself.

Most importantly, his sensitivity to Mana.

Oh boy...Ashton got really hooked into Meditation at this point. The fact that he could enter that state within half a second and even go deeper into it where he felt like he's swimming along with Mana? Ashton finds it quite addicting.

It's much easier for him to absorb and circulate Mana now. In fact he's gotten so used to it that often found himself done before he even realized it.

Speaking of Mana Circulation, Ashton finally decided to learn the Cultivation Technique that has been sitting on his Inventory for quite sometime now.

'Treasure Glazed: Nine-Refinements Sutra' that's what it's called.

Ashton had no idea how strong this technique was since the System never gave it a grade but he still decided to learn it. If he found something better than this, he could just always switch to a new one anyway.

However, that doesn't seem to be necessary at all. Especially after he discovered what this technique can do.

The Treasure Glazed: Nine-Refinements Sutra, allows him to refine his cultivation a total of nine times. Making his foundations deeper and more solid, unshakeable even.

As an example: Ashton's currently at Apprentice Stage Lv.0 right now. Inside his consciousness, his Mageroot doesn't have a single Magical Circle that is filled to the brim.

If he starts cultivating this technique, he has to first fill this magical circle completely making him Lv.1, after that he fills it again and then refine it, using the accumulated mana to strengthen the foundations of not only his Mageroot but also the Magical Circle as well.

This will revert his progress, yes but he's not necessarily losing strength in this. It will slow his progress by a lot but it's a good investment, no?

Once he fills it up again, he can refine it again, going all the way up to a total of nine refinements before he becomes Lv.2, then he does this all over again.

This is the idea behind the technique...

Ashton would agree that this technique sounds very strong, downright overpowered even. Then again, strong doesn't necessarily mean easy isn't it?

In order to fortify his foundations and make it truly unshakeable, he had to work extremely hard for it. And just like what was mentioned before, this will slow his progress down by a lot.

He can already see it; others flying through the levels while he gets left behind. This might even become a problem academic-wise since he doesn't really know if the professors will pressure students in the cultivation speed.

To top this all off, this will definitely get expensive. 𝙡𝒊𝓫𝓻𝓮𝙖𝙙.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Cultivation is mostly free, yes. There's Mana around and it's now owned by anyone. The problem is its volume. The Mana Density isn't really constant around the city. There are places rich in mana while there are places that have the bare minimum.

Ashton's lucky since he had a nice home with a built-in Training Room. If he wants to, he can always use the Meditation Altar and charge it with Mana Crystals to convert it for his own use, but then again the amount he has on hand is finite.

Just think of it this way, Ashton had to refine each level a total of 9 times. As his foundations grow deeper, it will certainly require more mana to stabilize it. It's already going to slow him down, now it will also make him broke.

That's the price of strength, right there.

And this isn't even factoring his use of Mana Crystals to grind spells. Those will get really expensive down the line as well, he's sure of it.

The 450k he had on his Inventory might sound a lot but in truth, that's far from enough if he wants to see some real gains.

If there's one thing those novels he read in his previous life had in common with this world, it'd be the fact that cultivation can get really expensive. Wealth is a strong asset for a bright future, this applies for cultivators as well.

"Hmm..."

Ashton's currently using his smartwatch to surf online. He had been reading some articles here and there that had no real credibility, trying to gauge if their contents had some truth behind it or not.

He can't really find any article about Magic that has some read credibility here since most of those are hidden. He had to pass some requirements first before he could access them so he could only make them for now.

"...I've read through at least 15 Articles at this point. All of them confirmed that Dual Casting is indeed only possible once you get strong enough or if your Magical Artifact has it as a perk."

That's right, Ashton had been reading about Dual Casting Articles, anything that's related to it as well and so far, they all said the same thing.

It's a pity. Ashton wanted to see if there's a way he can study that on the side since he's practicing real Magic now. Dual or Multi-Casting is an asset for any mages. This mastery alone can increase their lethality sharply so Ashton couldn't be blamed for wanting to try it out.

"Ah, well. I'm probably getting way too ahead of myself." He chuckled. "I need to chill. I legit know nothing so far. These few spells that I have aren't worth mentioning."

"I probably shouldn't even think about this for now." He murmured, "Before entering the Academy, all my focus should be centered around studying. I'll try to apply for the scholarship as well."

"...it should be possible even for a cursed one, right?"

Ashton bit his lips and felt quite distressed.

He couldn't help but feel anxious whenever he gets reminded of this. Until now, he still has no idea how he was cursed. He tried searching online about curses but all he got was just awful comments or pity from strangers.

Nothing really helped him understand anything. Where did it come from? Can it be cured? Does it get worse? Are there people he can talk to about this? None of those.

On the surface, it doesn't look bad actually. And that's precisely what made it even more worrisome for Ashton. He didn't trust that. Why else would a government agent, out of all people, warn him about it?

Ashton felt like a lot of things became possible the moment he became a cultivator but at the same time, there are still things that are unreachable for him. Which is totally normal of course, but it feels quite restricting.

Of course, he's aware that he just has to relax for now and take it one step at a time but still, feeling a sense of urgency is something that he can't stop.

"I'm stressing out way too much about this." He whispered to himself, "this is what happens when there's nothing to distract me."

"As expected, I am in need of a good dose of Chaos in my life. Friends to be more specific but...eh..." Ashton grimaced, "I'm surrounded with old people here, it doesn't seem right to act all buddy-buddy with them."

"...that'd actually look weird now that I think about it. Ugh..."

"Oh well, whatever. I'll just focus on what I can do for now. People will come later, for now I have to get into the Academy. I need to study some more."

Chapter 23

It is currently Sunday, the last day of the exam week for City M's Mystic Academy.

Ashton already took the exam, it happened on Wednesday since that's his schedule and he finished it within that day as well. Now he's just waiting for the results and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't anxious cause he is.

This really takes him back to his student days...

The exams weren't that hard in Ashton's opinion, just as he expected and as he was told, the exam covered basic knowledge. The books he borrowed really helped him with that.

,m But of course, since it is an exam from a prestigious academy, there are traps and pitfalls scattered all over the exam. If one doesn't pay close attention, they'll get caught up to it which could possibly cost them their chance.

He didn't have much problems with it since the time given to them was generous anyways. It is actually kind of absurd now that he thought about it. Examinees are given 10 hours to finish all the exams and they can break this schedule up to have some breaks in between, they just need to submit a request for it.

Well, granted that there's at least 1000 items to answer in that exam, it kind of makes sense but Ashton's just not used to that and he's not really in any position to ask.

The segments which the questionnaire was broken up to were familiar to him as well; multiple choice, identification, fill in the blanks, etc. He didn't really have a hard time getting used to it since he's quite familiar with them.

All in all, Ashton's quite confident that he at least passed. Whether he gets the scholarship or not, well...he'd have to wait for the announcement.

Speaking of that, since this is the last day of the exam week, the result should be released today as well.

Ashton's quite nervous actually. He had been sitting on pins and needles ever since waking-up. He still adhered to his routine but it was clear that his mind wasn't present during that.

That's what exams do to a person, isn't it? Making them doubt themselves even though they know how well they performed in the first place.

Ashton really doesn't have much to do for today. Currently, he's just chilling on the balcony, eating some snacks and enjoying an idle afternoon.

The Spells are currently on the grind. Training them to Lv.2 will take at least a week to finish and each spell costs 100 Mana Crystals.

It seems that Ashton was right after all, this will get really expensive as time goes on. And these are just for the Basic Spells for now. He still doesn't know what will happen if he learns Intermediate Level Spells and above.

He thought about going out for today but in the end he decided against it. He doesn't really have any destination in mind, at most he'd just wander around for a few minutes until he decides to go back home.

Ping!

Ashton jolted in surprise as he heard that sound. That's an alarm from his smartwatch.

"I have to turn that down." Ashton shook his head. The notification sound was really too loud for his liking but he can do that later.

He checked his inbox and the message left there...

'You received 1 e-mail from M-Academy!'

Ashton's eyes comically widened in shock. He sat up properly and went to his emails to check what it's all about.

'Oh, there's a video attachment.' Ashton raised a brow before deciding to play it.

A hologram window appeared in front of him, revealing a middle-aged man who wore glasses and had a few strands of white hair. He has crinkles at the corner of his eyes and he wore a suit which made him look like a professional.

"Greetings, Everybody! My name is Jordan Schnee. I am this year's Exam Supervisor on behalf of City M's Mystic Academy."

"If you received this video, chances are you were one of the people who took the examinations in hopes of being a student at the prestigious Mystic Academy. That's very brave of you and since you are watching this, you will soon know whether you made it or not. But before we get into that, there's a few things that I must tell you first..."

"This year's examinations occurred just in time. 2nd week of May, this around the time where the Mystic Academy's Examinations begin. Each year, the examinations roughly work the same. But of course, if it were that easy, then how come not all people were admitted to the Academy?"

The man smiled and continued:

"The reason behind that is the unique way of screening methods that the Mystic Academy applies every time the examination week begins. I can't really explain it in great detail but know that not just anyone is allowed to take the examinations."

"The exams had a total of 1055 Questions to be answered. Everyone's given 10 hours to complete it. Adjustments to the said schedule are permitted even to ensure that the students will be able to have enough to give each question enough thought and provide answers."

"Only those who answered 1000 questions, doesn't matter if their answer is correct or not, will have their test papers graded."

Ashton's eyes widened in shocked,

"Additionally, those who took more than two days to complete the exams are hereby eliminated as well."

"Of course this includes those who were caught cheating or attempted to cheat. Even the simple act of asking someone a question that is included in the exams when they're still not done with it will count as cheating."

"All examinees were being actively monitored as exam week went on so we have proof. Anybody who wants to dispute this can report directly to me to be slapped with the cold-hard truth..."

"-ahem, sorry for the strong language just now."

Ashton's mind was reeling. He didn't expect this at all. He knew that there should be a catch on this but he wasn't expecting it to be this big.

"All of you should be curious as to why the mechanics of the exams work this way and why we kept it a secret from you."

"I, for one, believe that you all should understand this by now but just in case, I'd still explain it..."

"The Mystic Academy doesn't lack talent nor resources. It doesn't lack prestige, fame or anything in particular. With the professionals willing to share their knowledge to people for the sake of the greater good, the least you can do is to show some honesty and sincerity."

"Cheating is self-explanatory. As for the Time Restrictions...come on kids, are you seriously that slow? Any normal person could finish that exam within a day - hours, even! Two days is already pushing it but three days!? Hell no!" 𝒍𝙞𝙗𝒓𝒆𝙖𝓭.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Taking three days to finish an exam that could be done within hours is a sign that you're not taking the exams or the academy seriously. Now, knowing this, why do you think you deserve a chance? Why would the Academy waste their precious time and resources on you?"

"Even the City Lords have to pay enough respect to the Academy itself, the Federation personally acknowledged its methods. If you still think that you're special, well you're wrong so get-off your high-horse and learn some humility. Trust me, it'll go a long way."

Ashton finds it amusing that this guy dropped all pretenses at this point. He started out sounding so professional in the beginning but now, he's not even bothering to hide his verbal tics and habits.

Still, Ashton understood what he's trying to say. Now it all makes sense. Of course, he was already expecting that something's up but everything was reasonable so far.

It's like what he said, the Academy didn't lack fame nor does it have any need for it. What they lack are good students who are willing to be educated. A small showcase of sincerity is a non-negotiable requirement if students want to study there.

"This year, almost 200,000 teenagers took the exams. That is quite a lot but in reality, this is normal considering how many people live in City M."

"Of course, not every single one will manage to pass. If so, then what are the exams for? Although I said that the Academy doesn't lack talent, it does have standards."

"Alright, I've babbled enough at this point. Let's get back to the main thing..."

"The passing mark is 950 points. Those who fail short of that, I'm referring to examinees who scored a minimum of 890 points, will get a chance to be interviewed by academy's personnel who will determine whether to let you in or not. Bribes are forbidden kids, don't even try."

"As for over-achievers...I mean those who were gunning for the scholarship, only those who scored 1000 points will be considered, anything less than that we can only apologize for, you should've tried harder."

"The kind of sponsorship the Scholars will receive depends on you since you'll be interviewed as well. Expect someone from the Academy to contact you within three to five business days."

"Okay, I've said everything that needs to be said. I will now show the list of the Mystic Academy's Students of Batch 9022!"

Upon hearing that, Ashton's heart began pounding on his chest...

Chapter 24

Ashton was really nervous.

The list shown was long and filled with names. Of course he had no time to care about other names aside from his. Thankfully, the list is in alphabetical order which made it easier for him to look for the area where his name would be.

'West, West, West...' he murmured to himself as he scaled down the list of names.

The longer he didn't find his name the more anxious he got. But then...

"Yes! Where!"

He made it. He found his name on the long list of students to pass.

'West, Ashton. 1045 Points.'

'Ten points off from a perfect score. That's not bad. At least I qualify for the scholarship.'

'...I'd qualify right? That guy didn't say anything about cursed people not being eligible for scholarship so I should be fine...right?'

Ashton pursed his lips and couldn't help but feel uncertain. It's really hard to not be informed about this. He doesn't understand why the hell did the authorities withhold so much information about cursed people, he kind of understands that it has something to do with magic being potentially dangerous on untrained hands but can't they at least release some information that would help?

Honestly, he's growing sick of it.

Well, not that it matters now. He's about to learn everything about it when the school year stars anyway. He just needs to wait. But this doesn't mean that he's fine with being ignorant about what's happening to him. He'll never like that idea.

'Ah, that reminds me...'

'That guy said something about sponsorship right? And if I can remember correctly, he implied that it has something to do with Scholars? Wait, let me check...'

Ashton played the video again and skipped to the part where he heard Jordan talking about the sponsorship.

'Huh...'

'That's interesting...so it seems like the benefits scholars would receive will depend on someone's decision and not the Academy itself or the Federation.'

This is how he understands it at least, of course he could be wrong too.

He based this off with the information that there are these so-called 'Talent Agencies' that are prominent around each City or in Last Bastion as a whole.

Whenever it's the Awakening Day, some Agents will be sent to the Federation Centers to scout some talented kids.

And by talented, they meant those who awakened a high-level Aptitude. Agent Theta is one amongst many Agents who were there to scout as well.

The moment someone with a high Aptitude was discovered, the Agents will try to rope them in towards the agencies they're working for. If they sign the contract, the agencies will become their sponsors and send them stuff to help them with their growth.

He read about some testaments here and there and it's actually incredible how much money these people are willing to invest for a single person in the sheer hopes of getting them bound under them.

Of course, signing the contract means agreeing to the terms of these companies. Sign with the wrong agency and you become their slave. There were many articles who had repeatedly warned the viewers to read their contracts carefully before signing away.

He assumed that these people were those who regretted their decisions back then.

Ashton read about this online and the article has some credibility in it. In any case, he doesn't need to be reminded of this. Ashton is quite familiar with contracts himself since he had a share of his own experiences with them.

He knows his way around it and knows better than to be blinded with momentary wealth and comfort in exchange for a lifetime of slavery.

Ping!

"Hmm?"

Ashton checked his smartwatch again and saw that he had another email. This one was also sent by the Academy to him. He opened it and it reads:

'Greetings, Ashton West!'

'This is Alicia Selner, Head of the Teaching Faculty of the Mystic Academy. First, I would like to congratulate you for earning 1045 Points on our entrance examination. This is an impressive feat even for Young Heroes such as you, you should be proud!'

'With this impressive feat, we at the Mystic Academy, see you as a worthy candidate for a Scholarship! We will send Ms. Angelica Kendrick, one of our personnel, to your address tomorrow. Please vacate your schedule around 9-10 am tomorrow morning as she is expected to arrive around that time.'

'To set your expectations, Ms. Kendrick will inform you about how the scholarship and sponsorship works. There is a fair chance that you might receive multiple offers from various Agencies. Please go over them carefully and choose wisely. You will be given ample time to make your choice so no need to be in a hurry.'

'Down here is the list of all Agencies who established close ties with the Mystic Academy.'

Black Thunder Agency

Crimson Crusaders

Crossford Inc.

White Corona Group

Holy Spiriters Agency 𝙡𝙞𝓫𝙧𝒆𝙖𝓭.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Blue Skies Empire

'Do note that these are the list of long time partners. Each of this group had kept close-ties with the Academy for decades now. There is a chance that you might also receive offers from groups who aren't included in this list.'

'Your choice will ultimately be up to you so do give it some thought.'

'Last but not the least, your Student Uniform and credentials as well as your Freshman's Guidebook, Campus Badge and Pass will be delivered to you by Ms. Kendrick as well, do make sure to check them out and if there are corrections, don't hesitate to inform us right away to prevent complications.'

'Thank you for your time and I wish you a pleasant day ahead.'

' - Alicia Selner. '

"Oh? Tomorrow already? That's fast." Ashton was quite surprised. He kind of expected it to take some time but then he remembered something important. "Ah right, my address is supposed to be close to the Academy. I guess that's why."

Yeah, him being close to the Academy should've made it more convenient for the personnel as well and honestly, that works for him. The earlier he can settle this down, the better it would be. At least if he had to prepare for something else, he'd have more time to do it.

Still this email brought relief to him. It seems that he is indeed eligible for a scholarship despite being cursed, it's good to know that the Academy isn't prejudiced against this because if it is, Ashton wouldn't really know what to do.

Knowing that there will be a visitor tomorrow, Ashton informed Jerry to make sure the house is spotless. The least he can do is to be a good host and show his best foot forward.

Pretentious, yes he's aware. But this is like a job interview actually. Although he had no idea who gave him an offer as of now, it wouldn't hurt to show some kindness and politeness to the person who's going to show these offers to him.

Who knows? Maybe she'd even report back to him. If he's convincing enough, he might even receive a bonus! He wouldn't be opposed to that.

'Alright, since I got the scholarship mostly secured at this point, I guess I should do some research about the agencies right? It's only natural for me to know more about them since I might work for them in future.'

Thinking about this, Ashton immediately went online and began looking up information about the agencies. He of course started with those listed in the email first.

There were sites dedicated to these agencies. They are professionally made and specially created to highlight the fancy things their agency could do.

'Marketing strategies...they never change no matter what world it's in.'

He should've expected this to be honest, especially when he's someone who used to work as an admin for these sites. Still, Ashton read through them one by one as came back inside the house.

The agencies differ from the other, they have different things to offer and also differ in how they work.

Take the Crossford Inc. for example...

Crossford Inc. is a conglomerate empire centered around technology. They are the ones who invented the smartwatch series in this world and the sole hegemon when it comes to technological expertise. Because of this, it is expected that their agents will be equipped with the most modern type of gadgets and trinkets. Plus, their power isn't limited to City M, they're all over the Last Bastion.

It's because of this that Ashton had to read through them carefully. Again, he still has no idea who amongst these groups sent him an offer or if there's even one but it wouldn't hurt to know more about them so that he knows what to expect.

Still, these sites don't really show the whole picture. It shows their good sides but what about the ugly part?

Well, it's a good thing that Ashton doesn't have to worry about that.

Because if there's a place where people can freely express their opinions without being afraid of implications, it would be the internet.

And boy do they have a lot to say about these agencies...

Chapter 25

Woosh! Pew!

Ashton ducked and evaded two bolts of arrow coming his way. Using the momentum of his previous action, he turned around and swiftly scanned where the people who shot him were.

One was hiding on top of a tree while one was standing inside the bushes.

Ashton's palm glowed with a blue radiance as he condensed a Mana Arrow and shot it to the one hiding on top of the tree.

Missed!

'Tch.' Ashton clicked his tongue and once again ducked to avoid another arrow coming his way, then performed a combat roll and hid behind a tree for a brief moment of respite.

He took a deep breath and focused. He sensed their movements, he can hear movements on his right and it's somewhat above him and he's also hearing a movement closing in on his left, this one was close to the ground.

'They're trying to restrict my movements.' He concluded.

Ashton immediately responded by supplying mana to his palms and raising it in front of him. A thin layer of rectangular-shaped shield appeared before him. This is Mana Shield, with this he can at least defend against the next projectiles they'll aim at him.

As expected, a few breaths later, two more arrows came from his right and right. Ashton decided to move the barrier behind him and faced his left side.

He performed another combat roll to avoid the arrow shot close to him while the arrow behind him was blocked by the Mana Shield. Before performing the roll, Ashton's palms were already condensing a Mana Arrow which he immediately shot at the person on the ground level.

Chak!

'Got him...' He murmured inwardly. The sound of the Mana Arrow piercing through that person was unmistakable. The dead guy suddenly vanished into a shimmering blue light as Ashton faced his last form.

Alas, it seems that the last guy was smart. He used the time when Ashton was occupied to find another hiding spot. Ashton couldn't tell where he was.

'Dude's probably going to wait until my Mana Shield's duration runs out.' He concluded, 'How do I find him then?'

As Ashton thought about this, he didn't stop moving. He walked slowly and close to the ground, trying to make as little noise as possible.

He focused on his senses too and tried to track the last enemy down. He paid attention to the sounds, the scent and searched for tracks that were left to follow.

Out of nowhere, alarm bells on his head went off. He sharply turned around in reflex and placed his guard-up only to receive a solid blow on his body. It didn't hurt a lot but Ashton nearly fell from impact, thankfully he caught himself and prepared for a beat down.

'You should've kept your distance my guy.' Ashton jeered inwardly as he rushed his enemy down.

With fists and feet glowing blue, Ashton engaged in close quarters combat with the last guy alive.

Using the techniques he learned from the Military Combat Tactics, he employed the Virtue of the Python.

He intercepted his opponent's fist and swiftly rotated it behind him as he himself used the momentum of the strike to wrap his legs around his enemy's body to lock it in place. With a sharp tug, Ashton heard the sound of joints disconnecting and the painful cry of his enemy.

But, Ashton wasn't done. He didn't let go of the limp arm, instead he uncoiled it and gave it a strong tug to drag his enemy's body close to him as he met it with his knee.

The blow caused the man to buckle down, Ashton then raised his leg and wrapped around the neck of the guy, then used his upper body strength to slam the guy's head onto the ground. And with his final move, Ashton got up and used his hand to twist the guy's neck, effectively killing him.

He then stood up and said: "You really should've kept your distance. Had you done that, you'd be safer from me." 𝒍𝙞𝙗𝓻𝙚𝒂𝓭.𝒄𝙤𝙢

The guy disappeared into shimmering wisps of blue light. Ashton took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

Moments later, his surroundings warped and reverted into the usual appearance of the Training Room.

Yes, Ashton was fighting against dummies in the Training Room. He figured that it's about time for him to learn how to defend himself and get used to combat.

As someone who rarely engaged in conflicts in previous life, Ashton didn't really have a sense of battle. He wasn't a Martial Artist or something, he read about them, sure but that's not the same.

This part of training is usually reserved for his afternoon training session. Since he no longer has to study for now, his schedule is more or less free so he's spending his time wisely.

However, for today he included it in his morning routine since he'll be occupied later.

Today's the day that he'll be interviewed for the scholarship. He'd have a lot to think about so he freed up his afternoon.

Ashton glanced at the clock and saw that it's already 8:15am.

'Alright, this should do for today. I have a visitor coming. Gotta look presentable at least.'

Thinking about this, Ashton left the training room and as usual Jerry was waiting for him outside. Jerry told him that his bath is ready and asked him what to prepare for breakfast.

After choosing the menu, Ashton went to his room and took a bath. He changed into a new set of clothes, the newer ones he bought which looked good on him. After that, he went down to eat breakfast and waited until the visitor arrived.

Around 9:30 am, Ashton heard his doorbell ringing.

He got up from the couch and looked at himself in front of a mirror to make sure he looks presentable at least. When he's satisfied, he went to the door and opened it to see a woman standing there in business attire.

"Hello, my name is Angelica Kendrick. I'm from Mystic Academy's HR Department. Are you Mr. West?"

"Yes, I am Ashton West. Please, come in."

Ashton gestured for the woman to enter, which she didn't hesitate to do.

Angelica looked like someone in her mid-twenties. She wore glasses and had fair skin and she had this noticeable mole on the corner of her lip. She was elegant and sounded very kind. Like she's someone who's easy to talk to.

Ashton led her to the receiving area which was sparkling clean thanks to Jerry's efforts.

"Would you like some beverages?" Ashton offered.

To which Angelica shook her head and said: "Thank you but that's not necessary."

"Alright." Ashton didn't insist. He sat down in front of her and then she began talking...

"I'd assume that you've already read the email we sent to you yesterday, no?" Ashton nodded to confirm that. "Good, that makes things easier for us."

"Once again, I'm Angelica Kendrick. I'll be the one who will arrange your Scholarship details and I would very much appreciate it if by the end of this, I can help you find the best offer you can have."

"I also have your student credentials with me but we'll leave that for later. Right now, let's begin by reviewing how the Scholarship works."

Ashton nodded and Angelica continued:

"Scholarships are a form of investment through one way or another." She stated, "Agencies and the Academy itself are willing to support the growth of any talented students that we see."

"The support we offer comes in many forms; financial support, resources, certain privileges, personal coaching, etc. Depending on the agency you choose, the support you'll receive may vary so choose wisely."

"But of course, we're not doing this for nothing." She said after a brief pause, "In exchange for our support, it should be understandable that we will expect something from you."

"For the Academy's side, we're going to give you a set of Academic Requirements and Behavioral Expectations. So long as you perform according to the bars we set, you'll be good. You'll see the requirements later when I start showing you the contracts."

"For the Agencies, their requirements will vary. Not all agencies will expect the same thing out of you. I'd advise you to read through them carefully and weigh down your options."

"Because once you sign-up the contracts, you'll be bound to them. What's going to happen afterwards is something that you'll deal with yourself. Again, do choose wisely."

"I'll give you the rest of the day to ponder about your options. Just submit the signed contract to our e-mail and you'll be given the printed copy of it delivered to your address along with the first batch of supplies agreed upon according to the contract."

"..."

"In the event that the offers you receive aren't up to your liking, you may also refuse the Scholarship altogether. Don't worry, you won't be in trouble for rejecting the offers, it is an option open for you as well so we'll understand. Of course, if you refuse to sign any contracts, then you wouldn't get the additional support at all."

"Alright, I've said all that I have to say. Now, I'll show you the offers you receive..."

Chapter 26

Angelica pulled out a briefcase out of nowhere which surprised Ashton, though he didn't show it in his face of course.

From the briefcase, she took out stacks of papers, all neatly arranged and placed in their respective folders. She laid them out on the table in front of Ashton and said:

"Mr. West, you've received 5 offers for your sponsorship. 4 of them are from our long-time partners and the last one is from one of our private clients."

"Private Clients?" Ashton was confused.

"Yes. Private Clients are people who don't represent any agencies and prefer their donations and identities a secret. Most of the Private Clients offer sponsorship to students they take interest in and their contracts often work the same as the agencies do, only instead of answering to an entire company of people, you'll only answer to one should you decide to take the offer of our Private Client."

"As for their legitimacy, no need to worry about that. Every Private Client had their backgrounds checked and monitored by our Academy. If they turn out to be bad people and cause harm to students, the Academy will personally step-in to the students aid, given that enough proof is provided."

"I see..." Ashton nodded in understanding. He then looked at the folders in front of him and asked: "Can I...?"

"Go ahead." Angelica nodded.

Ashton then picked one of the folders and started reading through them.

The first thing that he noticed is the huge logos printed at the top of the contract. One was a royal blue crest with a golden frame and has a capital 'M' embedded at the very center.

Ashton had seen this before, this is the crest that represents the Mystic Academy. This crest was also present on the exam papers he answered.

The crest of the academy was on the leftmost side of the contract while on the other is, presumably, the agency where this contract is from.

The icon was a capital 'C' which is made out of some fancy font. It is golden in color and really unique.

'Crossford Inc.' Ashton murmured inwardly upon recognizing the logo. He did some research last night and remembered the logos that agencies used.

Ashton then began reading through the contract. He took his time and analyzed every single clause included in them. It took him around 10 minutes to finish this one. Once he's done, he released a breath and analyzed what the contract was asking in exchange for their support.

'Alright first and foremost, the sponsorship is shared between the Academy and the Agency. The support I'll receive is divided into 50:50 between them. Each side has an expectation from me and I have to do my best to follow them in order to keep their support.'

'For the Academy's side, they're expecting me to have an A-rating on my Major Subjects. I also have to make sure I don't violate the rules too much and always be present in class.'

'I'd also get a bonus if I reach the Honor Roll. I get more bonuses the higher my ratings are and any unique academic achievements will be rewarded as well.

'Everything is understandable and it doesn't sound hard but with the inclusion of other requirements from the partner agency, things can become hectic.'

'Crossford Inc. requires me to work as an intern on their Academic Branch. They said that my schedule is going to be flexible but I don't trust it, I've seen this pattern before. If I signed this, they'll have my shift start as soon as my school schedule is done. They didn't say how many hours I'd have to work for each day and that's mighty suspicious.'

'Though their offers are quite good though. Basically, if I sign this contract, I'll have a massive boon technologically wise. They'll update every piece of technology I have in this home to the most modern one for free and this includes vehicles too. I'd also receive their newest product, also for free.'

'Additionally, the monthly allowance I'll receive from them would be 1 Million Federation Dollars and 500,000 High-Grade Mana Crystals. Which is insane if you ask me.'

'There's also an additional clause saying that if I graduated with a spotless record, they'd offer me a new contract and they will hire me as one of their 'Private Inspectors', whatever that means.'

Clearly, these numbers are too, too big. Especially for an orphan like him. That's so much money! More than he knows where to spend it on.

Yet Ashton, despite being impressed by their generosity, cannot be fooled by this.

'Nah, it's way too suspicious. I can smell a trap here. This is a slave contract. They want me to be an intern yet they couldn't even be bothered to add how many hours I need to work everyday? They included at least ten paragraphs here glorifying their history and expertise yet they can't even jot that down?'

'They also said that they'd 'hire' me after I graduate? I don't get to choose then? Nah. Nah...no way. I'm not signing this shit. Thank you next, b*tch.'

Ashton's inner voice was snorting in disdain yet on the outside, he looked like he's just thinking. Yep, at this point this can be considered as a talent already.

He picked up the next folder and read through just as carefully as he did on the first one. Once he's done with that, he moves on to the next one and then the other one...all the way until he finishes reading through all five of them.

'The expectations of the Academy towards me are the same for each contract. They just want me to be an exemplary student and that's it. The better I perform the more bonus I'll receive from them.'

'As for the Agencies...Crossford Inc. is a no for me. The others are White Corona Group, Crimson Crusaders, Blue Skies Empire. Their requirements are very different from each other.'

'Starting with the Crimson Crusaders, they are expecting me to join their Academic Branch as well but instead of an Intern, they want to train me as a Peddler.'

'Apparently, the Crimson Crusaders are like the Adventurer's Guild of this world. They want students like me to know more about the trade since one day, if I decide to work for them, they'd take me outside for Adventure.'

'First of all...no.'

'More specifically...no!'

'You want to train me as your lackey? Excuse me. Your offer isn't even as good as Crossford Inc. All you offered me was money, mana crystals and training. That's like...nothing so, no thank you.'

'Alright, moving on.'

'White Corona Group, oh boy.'

'In my research, I learned that these people are the 'Church' of this world. They are all about kindness, generosity, salvation and all that...'

'They call magic 'Miracles' which is just...no.'

'They want to train me to become a 'Holy Child' which is just a fancy term for a Priest. The work's mostly volunteer work and the schedule's flexible enough, they even allowed me to allocate the work hours myself.'

'It sounds good and all but it's still a no for me.'

'There were many incidents reported of these groups taking it too far in their Worship of their 'God'. The articles he read came from a reliable source too so it has credibility in it. And frankly, I just don't want anything to do with that.'

'Their offer for me is also a no. '

'I mean, they said that they will teach me all sorts of 'Miracles' to perform which is tempting but still no. I appreciate the offer really, but I refuse.'

'Next, Blue Skies Empire.'

'Now this offer looks very sincere to me.'

'Just like the first two, they also require me to join their Academic Branch. The difference is that the Blue Skies Empire is also closely related to the Morning Sun Federation. Which means their business has something to do with the military.'

'Working for them is more like enlisting. I'll receive Military Training from their Academic Branch which honestly doesn't sound too bad. Receiving this kind of training will help me survive the dangers of this world so that already sounds attractive.'

'If I complete their training while also keeping my records clean, they'll upgrade my citizenship to 4-stars, which is a very attractive offer since that will give me more privileges in the future. Plus once I graduated, I'd work for the Federation itself.'

'It sounds dangerous but that's the training's for right? Also, they'd teach me all kinds of skills and spells for free which is neat.

'According to what I heard, they're also a rowdy bunch. There are frequent tournaments within their Academic Branch and winning these tournaments will grant me bonuses as well. Which is kind of okay.'

'The monthly allowance they'd give me is the same as the Crossford Inc. was offering, just minus the upgrades part. Which is still a lot. But that also means that the training is going to be hard.'

'Honestly, I'm really leaning towards this but...'

Ashton bit his lips as he stared at the last folder he read. This one came from the Regal King and honestly, their offer sounds extremely tempting as well.

'Knowledge about Magic...'

Chapter 27

'The Regal King...I'd assume he's a guy for now.'

'His offer is too tempting for me to pass-on.'

'800,000 Federation Dollars and 500,000 High-Grade Mana Crystals for the monthly allowance. Along with the requirements of the Academy, he wants me to work for the Academy as a Librarian.'

'While the other offers required me to join their Academic Branch, this person wants me to work for the Academy instead. Plus, he's also offering me a bonus the better I perform at school which is nice.' 𝓵𝓲𝓫𝙧𝓮𝙖𝙙.𝒄𝓸𝙢

'The work schedule is also included in this. My working hours will be flexible and I just need to work for 3 hours every weekday, which I can also squeeze in between classes if I want to.'

'Being a Librarian allows me access to all sorts of knowledge and spells, I just need to apply for a Higher Level Clearance from the Academy to get access to move up the ladder.'

'Again, it really doesn't sound too bad. But the thing that really exceeded my expectations is that the Regal King will personally observe my progress and will coach me as well. So I'm also gaining a mentor for this.'

'Now, I don't know how strong the Regal King is but if he's a Private Client of the Mystic Academy, he should know what he's doing right?'

'In terms of the material support, the offer's a bit on the lower side compared to the other offers but in truth, it's still a lot of money. Add the fact that I'm getting a mentor out of this and access to Magical Knowledge which I really, seriously, badly need at this point, makes this offer truly irresistible.'

'Ugh...I have two choices here. The Blue Skies Empire or the Regal King. Who do I choose?'

Ashton really felt conflicted. Both options had their own merits. They also showed great sincerity for someone like him.

He had no doubts that these people already knew about the fact that he's cursed. It wouldn't be surprising if they've already run a background check on him since that's expected out of them. And yet, to think that he'd still receive generous offers like this is already astounding on its own.

"It seems that you're in a pickle."

Ashton looked up and saw Angelica looking at him with a teasing smile on her face. Ashton gave her a helpless smile and said:

"What can I say? This is my first time dealing with something like this. Everyone's offer is quite dazzling for me, making it difficult for me to choose."

Angelica chuckled softly and said: "You can ask me questions, you know."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She nodded, "But beware though, my opinions would be neutral at best. The decision will still be up to you regardless of my words."

"Then..." Ashton hesitated for a bit and asked: "I'd learn more about Curses at the Academy right?"

Angelica paused, clearly quite surprised by that question. She was expecting that he'd ask something he wanted to clarify in the contracts but it seems he has a different idea. Nevertheless, she still answered him...

"Yes, of course. In fact, I can guarantee that aside from the Academy, there's no other place in this City where you'll find a lot of information about Curses."

"Great!" Ashton looked visibly relieved upon hearing that, "Do I get to learn about them right away or would I need to finish some course before I could?"

"You'd have to clear the Basic Courses first, especially Major Subjects. The course is usually offered to 3rd Years but if you can get permissions through several means, you can learn about them earlier."

"Okay. That's good to hear." Ashton nodded, looking more and more at ease. "Uhm, okay last question. Can we, students, apply for Military Training?"

Angelica chuckled at that question: "Mr. West, you studying at our Academy is considered as Military Training already. Think about it, we are teaching you to become a responsible walking disaster, for what exactly? Isn't it to make sure that our home can be protected?"

"That being said, I know what you mean. And that answer to that is yes, it is heavily recommended if you plan on joining the Federation in the future. We have several clubs established just for that, you can pick one if you want and if you perform well, you might even be scouted early by the Federation to join them for real."

Ashton nodded. Angelica doesn't seem to be lying so he chose to trust her for now. If it turns out that she's spouting lies and got him in trouble, he can always use her words against her and the Academy, after all their conversation is being recorded by the Security Module of his home.

Of course, this is a back-up plan. Ashton doesn't want to go this far either so it would really be for the best if her words turned out to be the truth.

Anyways, she raised several points in there which made him speculate more things.

First and foremost, even though he's signing a sponsorship, it doesn't really mean that he's already considered as part of them, at most he's a prospective member but nothing more. There will be a different contract for that, one that doesn't include the Mystic Academy he assumes.

Next thing is Military Training. Yes, that was quite dumb of him. In hindsight he should've realized that already. Studying Magic can already be considered as Military Training as well.

He got muddle-headed there for a second, thankfully Angelica clarified it to him.

Now, the offer of the Blue Skies Empire seems lackluster. If anything, it's just a special permit and nothing more. And in some ways, he's kind of expected to finish the training if he wants the financial support to continue. Which isn't really bad on its own but it kind of restricts him in a way as well.

Still, that's to be expected isn't it? It's the Military after all. They wouldn't be called that if they're not strict with discipline.

The offer still sounds great and sincere for Ashton but he already made a decision.

"Where do I sign?" He asked after a brief moment of silence.

"I just need your signature over your printed name on the bottom center of each page of the contract you chose. Also, I'll need to have your palm print to seal the deal. Once again, I'll remind you. Once you've signed a contract, there's no turning back. Do you want to sign one now?"

"Yes. I've already made my decision." Ashton nodded in certainty.

"Alright. You may begin signing your chosen contract now."

Ashton picked up the folder that has the contract with the Regal King and started signing it.

Yes, in the end this choice was inevitable. This was the best one so far and he'd be a fool to not take it.

With him being a Librarian, he'd have access to plenty of Magical Knowledge. He'd receive a mentor and he'd get a generous amount of monthly allowance so long as he continued performing well. He'd also get a bonus if he performs above the expected which is a nice addition.

All in all, this is a solid choice. Of course, there are some restrictions to him but they're not too concerning. He's not allowed to tell anyone who his sponsor is, which is weird but acceptable.

He's allowed to say that someone's sponsoring him, he can say that it's a Private Client but he's not allowed to say that it's the Regal King.

Whoever this Regal King is, it seems that he values his privacy very much and that is respectable so Ashton had no problems with that.

And while Ashton didn't see anything in the contract that will cover his post-graduation matters, it's fine. At that point, Ashton would presumably be already knowledgeable about the world enough that he would know what to do so he's not worried.

Ashton finished signing the papers. After he's done, he double checked each page to see that it was all signed before handing it to Angelica, who in return asked for his palm print using a unique device.

He then saw her imprinting his palm print on the back of each paper on the contract, which is weird, but he didn't say anything about it.

Next, Angelica placed the folder back to her briefcase, after a few seconds, the briefcase lit up with a green light. After the light was gone, she opened it and to Ashton's absolute surprise, there were two identical folders.

'Wait, that also works as a photo-copying machine!? That is so extra and cool! I love it.'

"Here's your copy of the contract. Do keep it safe and secured. There might be a chance that you'll need it in the future." Angelica handed him his copy. "Also, this."

A stack of items appeared out of nowhere and arranged themselves on top of the table.

"These are your Student Credentials, uniforms and guidebooks. Check them all and if there's anything wrong, inform us right away, is that clear?"

"Yes." Ashton nodded.

"Great!" Angelica then stood up, "Well, since my job here is done. It's time I move on to the next scholar. Thank you for your time Mr. West. I hope our Academy can help you achieve your goals in the future."

She said as she mysteriously disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Chapter 28

It's been a few hours since Angelica left.

Ashton had been checking the stuff he received to see if they're all okay. Most of them seemed fine since upon using his Identify Skill on them, the description didn't say that they were damaged.

[Mystic Academy Student ID]

[Campus Badge]

[Campus Pass]

[Mystic Academy Student's Guidebook]

[Mystic Academy Student Uniform]

a Enchanted to automatically fit the wearer, adjust the temperature to ensure comfort, can conduct Mana and could automatically clean and repair itself to an extent.

Only the uniforms had a description on them and it doesn't say that they're damaged so he should be good.

The ID looks the same as his Citizen's ID, only with the background being the Mystic Academy's logo. The Badge is just the crest of the Academy that also has some other functions which are currently locked. And the Pass is just a Green Card with his student details written in them.

The uniforms were great in his opinion. It was a set piece of a high-collared white polo shirt with the crest of the academy embroidered into the left pec area, a pair of black pants and royal blue robe with golden linings with the Academy's Crest embroidered at its back. The robe also comes with a hood.

In addition to this, he also received a utility belt which can shrink items he placed in it. They have limited spaces, a little bit durable but still needs to be taken care of since if it gets destroyed, all the items stored inside will be destroyed as well.

His Inventory is still way better but he couldn't tell anyone of its existence so this will have to do for now.

He tried it on and was satisfied with how he looked, now he just needs to shop for shoes and probably a tie and he's good to go. Since the uniform could automatically fit into his body, he didn't need to apply for a re-sizing. The uniform felt comfortable too and it stretches with his movements which added to the level of comfort it has.

He tried casting spells with the uniform on and felt that everything was working properly. Since Mana can flow through this uniform, it didn't impede his spell casting at all.

After trying the uniform on, he then began reading the student's guidebook to learn more about the do's and don'ts of the Academy. 𝓵𝓲𝓫𝒓𝓮𝙖𝓭.𝒄𝙤𝓶

It's basically what he expected. Just don't do something crazy or insane and anyone would be more or less fine. They are expected to be present in their classes, behave and focus on learning.

The Academy followed the rule of three when it comes to punishment. Do it once, you'll get a warning, do it twice and you're going to have a talk with the Guidance Counselor. Do it thrice and that will be left as a permanent stain on your record.

After that, there's another rule of three; Do it once and you'll be in Detention. Do it twice and you'll be suspended for a month. Do it thrice and that's it, you're out, you'll be expelled from the Academy and with that kind of record? Good luck finding any school that will be willing to accept you.

Again, these are all something that Ashton already expected to begin with.

There isn't much about the good deeds here since everyone's expected to do that already. But the guidebook did say that Achievements will be handsomely rewarded by the Academy.

Aside from that, the guidebook also contained a full map of the Academy - which was outrageously large by the way. From what Ashton can tell, this place is way bigger compared to Harvard.

In fact it's almost as big as that fictional school of magic he read about back in the day...what was that again? Something like...Hogwarts? Or something like that? Ashton can't remember it anymore.

Judging by the size of the campus, one would definitely need a vehicle to go to places. It is just too damn big, hopefully it is not a maze inside or else Ashton's going to have a hard time navigating it.

Don't mistaken, Ashton has a sense of direction. It's just that, it's weak that's all.

Looking at the map, Ashton's eyes naturally gravitated towards where the libraries were. He saw a few of them scattered all over the place but there's one which is called the Grand Library.

Ashton doesn't know if he's going to be working there but that place seems to hold the real deal, it would be really nice if he can visit that place early.

According to the guidebook, as a Freshman, there are a few areas restricted to him for now. The list of restricted areas wasn't in the guidebook and it doesn't look like it's missing a page so he concluded that someone from the school would inform them about that instead.

At the end of the guidebook, there's a long list of names. These lists are the current personnel of the Mystic Academy and their positions. He also saw the event calendar of the Academy which was nice.

Once he was done reading the guidebook, he kept it on the bedside drawer along with the rest of his ID and other stuff. He already gave the uniform to Jerry in order to wash, which is completely unnecessary since it could clean itself but he didn't like the smell of it and would much prefer it to smell like his fabric conditioner so he had Jerry wash it anyways.

Once that's all said and done, Ashton sighed and thought to himself:

'This is it.'

'I really am going to school that teaches magic.'

'It feels absurd and unrealistic but here we are. This isn't a drill anymore. I really am doing this.'

'Oh gosh, I'm excited.'

It truly feels surreal. Only a few months passed since his reincarnation and too much already happened that he could hardly believe it. He became a homeowner, played with magic a little bit and now, he got accepted into a school which will actually teach him more about it.

It's truly exciting. This world has way too many things to offer unlike his previous one. He likes it more here even though it's more dangerous. Well, this might change in the future but for now, he's liking this world a little too much.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Ashton checked his watch and saw that there's alarm.

"Oh...I forgot to cancel the alarm for my afternoon training."

He didn't plan on the afternoon training for today since his mind is too preoccupied with thoughts about what happened today and he wouldn't be able to focus.

Speaking of training, Ashton's about to reach Apprentice Lv.1

It is taking some time but that's only because he's only cultivating in the afternoon and not for a long time either.

While his talent got an upgrade and his body became stronger, he still exercised caution when it comes to cultivating. Once the school year starts he will double down on his efforts in cultivation.

After all, he'd be stuck in Lv.1 since he had to refine his foundation 9 times in total. This will surely take some time and some real grind but it's fine.

He'd also probably stop using weights and instead replace it completely with using the Military Combat Tactics. Practicing that technique will bring more results compared to a plain weight training, plus it would also hone his combat instincts so it's just better.

Once he's exhausted, he'll cultivate while resting then he'll do another round of these before concluding it. The same will be followed on his afternoon training. Then again, once school starts, this schedule will certainly change again so this is just temporary. At least until the school year starts.

Other than that, he'd continue getting used to casting spells. His goal is to make it so that he can cast them as fluidly as he could. Due to the perks of his Magical Artifact bestowed to him, he'll be able to cast a higher level spell than his own so he can continue grinding them.

Of course, higher level spells will have a higher mana cost but Ashton's already working towards expanding his Mana Reserves - which will also be boosted as he continues cultivating so he should be fine.

Currently, all of his five spells; Mana Bolt, Mana Shield, Mesmerize, Cleanse, and Force Push are Lv.2

He can only cast a Lv.2 spell once and that would leave him with just enough Mana to use in other ways. Ashton can of course cast Lv.1 versions of the spell since he's already experienced with them but in his training, he's casting the Lv.2 versions to get more used to them.

Raising them to Lv.3 will cost 60 Mana Crystals and will take at least a month of grinding to complete.

Ashton could increase the speed of the grind at the cost of more Mana Crystals but for now, he didn't see any reason to do that since he can't cast a Lv.3 spell anyways.

All in all, Ashton is more or less ready to start his student life. He just needs to be patient and it will come.

Chapter 29

Ashton is currently laying on the couch while playing with a palm sized crystal. It's royal blue in color which turns darker at the center. Even just by holding it, he can feel the sheer density of mana contained in this crystal.

This is a High-Grade Mana Crystal. It's the first time he received something like this.

Mana Crystals are graded depending on the density of mana they contain. The Mana Crystals he'd been playing with before are considered as the lowest grade and contained an acceptable amount of mana in them, of course there's also this Mid-Grade ones and the High-Grade Mana Crystals...

According to what he knew so far, Mana Crystals can be mined. Usually the mines appear at places that have a high concentration of mana. It takes years, decades even to form but the wait is worth considering how much they'll get in return for doing virtually nothing but waiting.

It is said that the closer the miners are to the core of the mine, the higher the grade of Mana Crystals they can mine. Of course, mines naturally have their dangers so usually the mining team brings in a Cultivator to watch over the process.

Since this is a strategic resource, there is a tight market surrounding it. He read somewhere that the discovery of Mana Crystal Mine could potentially get dangerous given that nobody knows how much influence greed can have on a person.

Still, that's not really the important part.

Ashton had this High-Grade Mana Crystal because the Regal King already sent him the first batch of supplies.

,m There's this package that arrived this morning and it contained a vessel that only he can open since it is locked to his palm print.

When he opened it, an audio recording played. He can still remember what it said:

"If you're hearing this audio recording, then I'd assume that you are Ashton West. If you are not him, then do ignore this recording as it is not directed to you, the package is yours if you can open it, though I doubt that you would be able to."

"But if you are Ashton West, then good day to you. I am the Regal King. Just address me as such for now, I am a bit protective of my privacy so I'd apologize for not meeting you in person. There might come a time when we will meet in person or not, it really depends. For now, that's not important. Let's get into the main topic, shall we?"

"You must have a lot of questions as to why I chose you. I can understand if you're doubtful about my intentions because I am refusing to show you my face as a way of showing some sincerity. I don't have anything to say if that's the case, just know that I am doing this for my own sake."

"I don't mind if you don't like me. Frankly, I couldn't care less. I offered you support not because I find you interesting or talented. I merely did it out of sheer curiosity."

"I am interested to see how far you can go despite your instances."

"I'll teach you everything I know. Once you start attending classes, I'll be watching your progress closely. No, I am not monitoring your activities 24/7, that's just creepy. And I sure as hell am not bored or sick enough to do something like that."

"Just know that if it has something to do with your cultivation matters, I'll know about it and I will constantly give you advice on how to progress. However, I won't be holding your hand. I'll give you hints, the rest is up to you to discover."

"Frankly, my expectations of you aren't high. In fact, giving you the position of a Librarian is something out of necessity not out of consideration, the Academy needs more librarians so I recommended you should you sign my offer."

"You can quit if you want, especially if you feel like the work is hindering your progress. I don't particularly mind. I am just here to observe."

"With knowledge and resources given to you, it should be impossible for you to not make any progress. Don't feel pressured, just do it at your own pace. Don't worry about my expectations because I have none, though I wonder if you can say the same about yourself. Do you have any expectations of yourself?"

"If so, then answer that. Not to anyone else. Yes, this includes the Professors of the Academy as well. If they start bothering you, just tell them that I won't be happy to hear them yapping, that should shut them up."

"Mn...I like the sound of that. You have my permission to do so. Don't be afraid."

"Be warned though. This offer will only last so long as you keep my attention occupied. If you turn bland and boring, then nothing personal kid, I'd pull out."

"While I do have a lot of money to spend, I don't particularly like wasting it on things I'm not interested in."

"But if you do get very interested, well..."

"Just know that I tend to get invested real quick. The more interesting you become, the more things you'll receive from me. But that's up to you though."

"Before I end this recording, let me give you a fair warning..."

"While I understand that you will inevitably get curious about who I really am, do not, and I mean 'DO NOT' try to investigate my identity."

"I've said this once and I'll say this again. I am very protective of my privacy. Don't test me, kid. You're not worthy of that just yet. It'll only end-up with you being miserable. You wouldn't want to, would you?"

"Alright, I've babbled enough."

"That package contains the amount according to the agreement. Technically, you shouldn't receive that much but, meh...I already packed it and I'm too lazy to be bothered so have it anyway. Consider it as a signing bonus."

"I'll send you the resources every 1st of each month so expect them to come. If you didn't receive it within the 1st, tell me. My contact information is included in the package, don't spread it around."

"Well then, Ashton West. Today marks the start of something. How it will end-up will solely depend on you. I hope you become an interesting, young man."

*** 𝓁𝘪𝑏𝑟ℯ𝒶𝑑.𝑐ℴ𝘮

The Regal King was eccentric, alright.

Ashton was flabbergasted by how haughty he sounded. Also, the voice he heard on the recording was edited. It sounded like those cursed, and hauntingly deep voices that are commonly used to mimic the sound of demons back on earth. It was really unsettling.

But yeah, there's that.

Ashton had to admit that he feels a little bit insulted by how the Regal King treated him. But then again, he isn't really some hot shot anyways so, eh...

This world is weird, he shouldn't be surprised that there would be eccentrics around.

Despite that though, Ashton knows that the Regal King wouldn't go back on his word. He's betting on the king's arrogance.

'He said that if it has something to do about my cultivation, he'd know.'

'Does this mean that he knows I've already learned 5 spells? That I can use them at Lv.2?'

'Probably...'

'Would he know about my Aptitude then? He shouldn't, right? After all, I'm being hidden away by the System. Even if the Regal King is strong, he shouldn't be that strong to see through this...'

'No, I can't think of it that way. I'm putting the System on a pedestal.'

'The System is indeed unfathomable but is it omniscient or omnipotent? It shouldn't be right? It's unhealthy to rely on it too much. It would assist me greatly for sure but it wouldn't dictate my path.'

'Same goes for the Regal King, and to everyone else probably...'

'I should be the one to decide what I want to be.'

'If, in the process of this, the Regal King got bored of me, then I can only apologize. The support is really nice but in theory, with or without the sponsorship, I'd be fine.'

'I should take the Regal King's word with a grain of salt.'

'He said that he's protective of his privacy and I believe that. The haughtiness could just be a facade he's using to add a layer of protection to his identity. I can respect that.'

'Anyways, rich people really do live differently huh?'

'I can't believe he sent me the full amount just because he couldn't be bothered to re-do it. How generous.'

'Well, that could also be just an act. But still, I benefited from this. With this much money, this should last me for a year. And I'd be receiving the same amount every month? That's just...'

'Nope...I shouldn't think of that either. Cultivation will get expensive. I still don't know how much school expenses would be. I shouldn't jinx myself.'

'...but I may have already done that. Ugh, oh well, whatever.'

'Either way, this would really help out a lot. I have the Regal King to thank for that. I'd try to impress him but not too hard. I wouldn't want my life to become troublesome after all.'

Chapter 30

June 01 9022 landed on a Sunday.

Ashton received an email yesterday reminding him to attend the welcoming ceremony for new students. They even said that they would send someone to pick him up, which was weird.

Still, since the email was an official one, he must attend. Plus, he wouldn't miss the chance to finally see what the Mystic Academy looks like and how to get there exactly.

Currently, the clock's about to hit 10am, Ashton's already wearing his school uniform with his stuff placed on a utility belt on his waist. It's weird to not carry a bag going to school but it's more convenient this way.

He had spent the last ten minutes telling Jerry what to do while he's gone. And after giving him some instructions, he heard his doorbell ringing.

Ashton went to the door and opened it to see a man wearing a suit. The man greeted him with a small nod and said:

"Hi, my name is John. I assume you're Mr. West?"

"Ah, yes. How can I help you John?"

"I'm sent by the Mystic Academy to be your chauffeur for today. I'll take you there. Are you ready to leave?"

"Oh! Ah, give me one second to double-check my things." Ashton left the man at the door for a brief moment to check his stuff once more, making sure he has everything he'll need.

After confirming that he indeed has everything, he bid Jerry goodbye and left for the door.

"I'm ready." He said to John.

"Great!" John then took a step backwards and waved his hand.

A rectangular light appeared out of nowhere and slowly moved forward, leaving a frame of a vehicle at its wake. Ashton was astounded seeing this.

After a few seconds, a motorcycle appeared. The type that looked badass. John went to it and made the engine purr which jolted Ashton awake.

"Hop on in!" He said, "Don't worry, I'm a good driver. You won't be in danger."

Ashton gulped and thought; 'Why am I scared?'

Still, he approached the motorcycle and hopped on its back. John then reared the engine and they took off which surprised Ashton greatly.

"Wait, we're not wearing helmets!" He reminded me.

"Oh, there's no need for that! This baby right here is built with a safety module. If we have an accident, the mod will activate and protect us. Just hang on tight, we're going to go fast!"

"Oh, dear..."

It turns out that Ashton's instincts were correct. There is a reason for him to be scared.

When John said that he was a good driver, he didn't specify his words. He is indeed a good driver.

A very good race car driver that is.

John didn't have to tell Ashton that since it's too obvious by the way he drove this thing. He zipped through the lanes while flames trailing the tires due to how fast he was driving.

Weirdly enough, nobody seems to be disgruntled about his reckless driving, well Ashton is but aside from him, nobody was. He had passed through several traffic enforcers already but none of them stopped him on his tracks.

'How is this okay?' Ashton screams internally as he holds on for dear life.

This dude is going like...500 mph on a densely populated city, cutting through lanes and squeezing through other vehicles like they were nothing but still objects and nobody's telling him off. What is going on?

Thankfully though, the ride didn't last long. Ashton's home is close to the academy in truth, there's no need for a chauffeur - if you can even call John that.

Ashton's mind was still rattled by the time they parked the vehicle. He didn't see much of the road, much less memorize how to get here with how fast they were going and how afraid he was.

"We're here." John dismissively said.

Ashton took that as a sign to hop off of the vehicle. He felt a little bit dizzy but he could endure it. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. He looked at John to see that his motorcycle already disappeared. He stood there as if nothing happened just now.

Ashton took a moment to recover, he checked himself in a mirror just in case he looked wretched because of that ride, thankfully he wasn't. Just a bit pale but fine for the most part.

This is when Ashton finally surveyed his surroundings. He found himself in front of a massive gate, around 40 to 50 meters tall. The gate is connected to tall fences surrounding a huge patch of land just ahead of them.

He saw other students around him. Some of them were the same as him, looking around, while the others were already going through the gate.

It was then that John spoke from behind:

"Just enter the gates. The welcoming ceremony will start around 10:30 am, you should be there."

"I understand. Thanks for taking me here." Ashton nodded. He then walked away, leaving Johnny behind.

Ashton felt strange upon entering the gates. He felt like several gazes landed onto him the moment he did so but he didn't see any so he just tossed it back to his mind.

A wide span of mowed grass plain greeted him the moment he entered. There were a few patches of bushes with flowers growing in them scattered here and there.

There's a plaza in the middle that also has a fountain as its center-piece. Around him, he saw several wooden benches with students sitting on them. He can also see tall trees here and there which provide a decent amount of shade within the area, he even saw some students sitting or sleeping under them.

He also saw signs which told him where to go. It all leads to the north so he followed it for now.

Interestingly enough, he also saw several stalls here and there. He even went close to one and found out that this one was selling snacks. They remind him of the school-side street vendors back on Earth.

'I guess some things don't change huh...'

Ashton had no interest in buying any food for now since he just ate before leaving for school. 𝓵𝓲𝓫𝙧𝓮𝙖𝙙.𝒄𝓸𝙢

Eventually, his foot led him to where most of the students were around.

There was a zone in there where several tables were arranged. He can see students forming lines in front of these tables. He also saw some students holding some sort of a stub which he didn't have and made him curious.

Before he could ask anybody, he saw something at the corner of his eye. There's a sign-in there that he seemed to have missed for some reason. It says:

'Attention to all Freshmen:'

'Form a line and approach your Seniors, they'll be sitting on the tables right up front.'

'Show them your student credentials to get instructions on how to enter the academy proper and some meal tickets. They will also tell you where to go from there.'

'May the blessings of Mana be with you.'

There's even an emoji at the bottom of the sign, which is weirdly adorable. Still, it's a good thing he saw this early.

'...but there's like five lines in here.' He muttered to himself, 'I guess it shouldn't matter where I go right?'

Since this area was reserved for freshmen, he didn't need to worry too much. He spotted the shortest line and decided to follow that.

He didn't need to wait too long for his turn either since the progress was fast, when it's his turn, he's already holding his student credentials.

"Good Morning! Your name please?" The kind looking girl in glasses asked.

"Ashton West." He replied.

The girl then searched for his name in the database with her smartwatch. After confirming that he's indeed there, she asked for his student credentials which Ashton handed to her.

After inspecting it for a brief moment and confirming that it was the real deal. The girl smiled at him and said:

"Thanks for coming to the welcoming ceremony. Here you go, some meal tickets, just a small reward for your attendance."

Ashton received the stubs he had been seeing on the other students. Then the girl continued saying:

"Now, see that hall over there?" Ashton followed where she was pointing and nodded his head, "Great, just enter that hall and you'll see some guards wearing armors in there and huge magical circles."

"Just approach the guards and show them your ID, Badge and Pass. They will activate the magical circle for you that will take you to the Academy proper."

"Fair warning though, you might feel dizzy on your first teleportation. It's a normal thing and you'd get used to it in time. Just try to relax and don't panic when the transfer begins, that should minimize the dizziness."

"Once in there, just walk forward until you enter the giant castle. There will be people there who will tell you where to go next."

"I see. Thank you." Ashton gave her a brief nod before leaving the line.

Ashton released a sigh and looked at the hall, trying to calm down his anticipation, he walked towards it to see what the Mystic Academy truly looks like.

Chapter 31

The great hall Ashton entered had a Greek theme.

There's white columns and golden linings everywhere. He could also see a lot of murals and statues, all had an ancient feel to it which gave off an awe-inspiring atmosphere.

Ashton took his time, he looked around and stared at the murals and statues around. Interestingly enough, these statues are filled with a huge amount of mana that he felt small within their presence.

In addition to this, the murals and paintings here don't have faces but it's easy to identify their general identity. Those who wear majestic armors should be Knights and those who are wearing robes with the hood on should be mages.

The statues are arranged in a way where some of them are facing the exit while the others form a semi-circle. Beneath the latter are the magical circles where students should go to enter the Academy proper.

Ashton thought that there'd be only one magical circle but it turns out that there are multiple. Thinking about it, this makes sense due to how many students needed to be transferred constantly.

After taking a look around, Ashton saw everything that caught his interest for now. He figured that it's about time for him to go and see the academy.

He followed the line of students who were waiting to be transferred. Based on his observation so far, around 20 students could be transferred at once.

The line progressed quite fast so he didn't need to wait that long until it's his turn. The guards in there checked their credentials first, after confirming it. They were allowed to move-on. Before stepping to the transfer circle, he recalled the advice given to him by the senior earlier.

He did his best to calm down and relax. He didn't want to vomit on his first transfer and make an embarrassment out of himself.

As soon as he's done calming himself down. The transfer circle lit up and Ashton, along with the other students with him, disappeared from the hall.

While transfer went on, Ashton felt his world spinning so fast like he was traveling at mach speeds. He could vaguely see and hear the students around him panicking and screaming in fear as well.

As for him, he forced himself to not resist nor move since that's just going to make things worse. And surprisingly, it wasn't too bad all things considered.

The transfer was over the moment they realized it. With a snap, Ashton comes to realize that he's already standing in the middle of another grass plain.

The very first thing he noticed wasn't that though...

Instead, the one that got his attention the moment his focus returned was the sprawling castle right in front of him.

It was huge, grand, majestic and archaic. It was everything that he imagined what the Academy would be like.

It's as though he traveled back in time where Earth is still young and people are just starting to discover the other parts of the world. Where the most common type of weapons were cold steel.

It was like he's living in a world where Arthur Pendragon and his Knights of the Round Table were real.

What a surreal feeling...

Unfortunately, his moment was ruined by the other students vomiting their guts out shamelessly around him. Ashton frowned in disgust and put on his face mask as he walked away from there.

The castle literally filled his vision. It gave off an impression of being so tall and huge that it was blotting out the skies itself.

Ashton also discovered that the density of Mana here is immense. He could feel its weight even as he walked around. With how much mana that's in here, even the simple act of breathing is considered as cultivating already.

As he looked around him, he saw students like him going towards the castle in droves. From a glance, it is so easy to spot who the freshmen were since most of them were admiring the look of the castle while the other students didn't even pay attention to it.

When he's close to the entrance of the castle, he saw several armed guards wearing full armor standing there. Ashton was impressed, those armors looked heavy. And with how long they have to spend standing there, he can already feel how tiring their jobs were.

The guards didn't impede the students, they just stood there like statues, looking at a distance with a strict look on their face.

Ashton wanted to ask them questions but they looked intimidating so he didn't bother.

Additionally, someone already approached him anyway...

"Hi! You look new! Are you a freshman?"

Ashton didn't even see where this girl came from, she just appeared in front of him without any warnings. He thought that she should've used a spell for that but at the same time, he didn't see any glow that indicates that so he could only toss it at the back of his head.

"Ah, yes." He nodded in reply.

"I see. My name is Lyca, I'm the Secretary of the Student Council. Do you know where to go from here?" She asked after introducing herself.

"No. I was actually about to ask someone but then you appeared. I'm Ash by the way." He replied.

"Well, it's a good thing I approached you then." Lyca smiled in a friendly manner, she then turned around and pointed at a location. "Go there and you'd see a tunnel which will lead you to the courtyard where the Welcoming Ceremony will occur."

"You shouldn't get lost so long as you follow the small statues of a child holding the crest of the academy. Once you're in the courtyard, you'll see a lot of seats there. Just sit anywhere you like and wait until the ceremony begins."

"Ah, I see. Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'll see you around."

As soon as she said that, she disappeared into a wisp of smoke which somehow confirmed that she indeed used a spell to approach him just then.

Ashton shook his head and proceeded to follow the direction she pointed to him.

'Secretary of the Student Council huh...' Ashton mused to himself as he walked towards his destination. 'So the educational system of this world, or this academy at least, closely resembles that of Earth. If that's the case, then it shouldn't be hard for me to adjust.'

'Then again...it's been years since I attended school. I almost forgot what it's like. I guess this would be both nostalgic and a fresh experience for me.'

As he thought of this, Ashton continued navigating his way to the courtyard. What Lyca told him was correct, he wouldn't miss it. As soon as he made a turn for the tunnel, he could already see the statues she was talking about - which all have dense mana in them as well, strangely enough.

He followed the row of statues until he arrived at the courtyard.

The courtyard was in fact a large open-air auditorium or gymnasium. The seats are arranged in a similar pattern as well. There's a podium at the very front where he guessed the school administrators will appear later.

Ashton found himself a seat in the middle. He sat close to the aisle to make it easy for him to leave as well.

He checked his watch and saw that the ceremony is still 10 minutes away from starting. With some time to spare, he decided to kill time by browsing online using his smartwatch.

Yes, there's internet here. Don't ask.

"Idiot! Like I'm telling you, it's better to improve the strength of your arms! You'll be able to do stronger slashes that way!"

"No! I don't think so! I still believe that I have to work on my legs so that I won't accidentally trip or fall during battle."

"But if you can stab your enemy before you trip, wouldn't that be better? Therefore arms all the way!"

"Ugh, you're impossible! You just don't understand do you! Mary, can you knock some sense into this guy?"

"Oh, please. Spare me. I'm a mage for crying out loud. Don't include me in your muscle-headed nonsense."

"Fine! Let's go ask someone else then!"

"...hey, brother."

Ashton hesitantly raised his head and met two pairs of eyes bursting with fiery passion and immediately felt weirded out.

"You two!" 𝒍𝒊𝙗𝓻𝒆𝓪𝙙.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Bonk! Bonk!

"Ow!"

The girl who's sitting in the middle of the two owners of that gaze, raised her hand to smack their heads.

"Can't you ask without giving him those creepy looks!? Class hasn't even started yet you two are already being weird."

"Do we?" The 'arm' guy, asked in a mildly terrified manner. He then looked at Ashton and said: "Sorry about that, Bro. We didn't mean to weird you out."

The 'leg' girl also uttered a faint sorry as well.

Ashton smiled wryly and replied: "It's fine. Just turn down the energy next time. It's a bit scary to be honest. But uh...how can I help you?"

"Ah right!" The 'arm' guy instantly recovered and asked him: "What do you think is better to improve? Arms or Legs?"

"Uh...sorry dude, I don't know. I'm a mage you see.."

Chapter 32

"Ah, darn! Asked the wrong person!" The 'arm' guy took a glance at his robes and said: "I should've known, you're wearing robes after all."

The uniforms of Mystic Academy varied depending whether the student is a Mage or a Knight but not that much. Mages will have a robe and knights will have a royal blue cape with golden epaulets. It's impractical but looks cool so who wouldn't want to wear it?

"I swear if you try to ask another person I will smack you again." The girl who's sitting in the middle of the 'arm' guy and the 'leg' girl threatened. She looked at Ashton and said: "Sorry about them, they can be a little bit rude. I hope you don't mind."

"It's fine." Ashton waved his hand. He then looked at the 'arm' guy and said: "As for what's better well...isn't that why we're here? To figure out how to become stronger? Why don't you two wait until the start of the class then you can ask a professor about it. I'm sure they'd be able to tell you which is which."

The arm guy looked shocked and said: "Oh, yeah. You're right. Dude! You're like...smart or something! That's awesome!"

"Nah, you're just an idiot." The girl in the middle interjected again. "And rude too. You didn't even introduce yourself yet. I'm Mary by the way. This idiot guy is Blake and this timid one is Alice."

"Hey! You stole my chance to introduce myself! You can't tell me I'm rude. Plus, I was planning on doing it anyway!"

"Nah, you're fine. Your name is Blake and you're an idiot, there's not much to say. I did it for you and for free so you're welcome."

"Grr..."

As the two bickered with each other, Ashton looked at the girl named Alice and nodded at her.

Alice shyly nodded back and fiddled with her fingers, it seems that she's not used to talking to strangers since she obviously looked uncomfortable.

Ashton guessed that these must be childhood friends or at the very least neighbors. They seem to bicker a lot and it looked natural on them so they must be very close.

'A loud idiot, the haughty one and the timid one. What an odd set of friends.' Ashton mused inwardly.

They seemed to have completely forgotten about him already which is fine. Ashton went back to browsing online using his watch.

A couple of minutes passed like this until the clock hit 10:30am.

Strangely enough, the courtyard suddenly turned silent. A tense air filled the surroundings and anticipation started rising up from the students' hearts.

At the very front where the podium is, a flash of light made itself visible. An orb of golden glow appeared before the students and from it, several figures emerged.

Ashton felt the wild fluctuations of mana on his surroundings. It's times like this where his sensitivity towards mana backfires since this was making him feel uncomfortable.

Thankfully, it didn't last long. When the last figure stepped out, the fluctuations of manna ceased and a row of adults presented themselves before the students.

One of them stepped forward and cleared his throat...

"Welcome to Mystic Academy, Freshmen. Thank you for attending the Welcoming Ceremony we prepared for you. My name is Yohan Muller, I am the Events Administrator of the Academy and will be the spokesperson for today."

Ashton didn't see Yohan wearing a mic or something to amplify his voice but strangely enough, he sounded clear to him and he didn't look like he was screaming either. It must be the work of some spell.

Yohan then proceeded to give his welcoming remarks for the new students and started introducing the important personnel of the Academy.

The Head of the Teaching Department is Alicia Selner. On her right is the head of the Knight's Department - Ludwig Sawyer and on the left is the Head of the Mage's Department - Julius Chrome.

There's also the Head of the Disciplinary Committee - Charles Randall and Academy Guardian - Jeeves; the Giant Stone Gargoyle. Fun fact: the statues he had been seeing all this time are Jeeves' children and all are connected to him in a tight web that allowed the gargoyle to see what's happening all over the Academy.

Then there's the Headmaster of the Academy - Siegfried Armond III. He's a tall man with long golden hair and eyes. He looked kind and scholarly but Ashton knew that this guy was someone nobody should mess with. He can't see through him but that's natural given the disparity between them.

He already knew about these people thanks to the guidebook. Their faces are in there as well but it's different when seeing them in person.

Yohan continued his speech about the Academy and told them about its brief history, all of which were boring and mostly ignored by students. Ashton thought so as well but he at least spared some attention to it since it could prove useful in the future.

According to Yohan, the place where the Mystic Academy is right now was once a hostile dimension filled with invaders. This used to be a dreaded place, one that ended many lives of humans but as Heroes rose, humans managed to get this place under their control, wresting it away from the invaders for their own benefit.

All of the threats that once walked this dimension are long gone. None will come back and that is assured by the fact that the Academy stood tall in this place for almost 3000 years without facing any kind of threat.

Yohan ended the boring lecture then since he seems to have noticed that the majority of the students are ready to fall asleep.

"...as part of the Welcoming Ceremony, we prepared an event that will help our students determine the most suitable path for them to follow."

This part caught Ashton's attention. Not only him, the bored students are now paying attention again.

"With the rich history of Humanity's Cultivation. It is safe to say that we have come far. The knowledge we possessed had been refined and tested by time. We've come up with plenty of methods to improve and ensure that we can become strong enough to reach the apex."

"The said methods include what we now call 'Specializations'."

Ashton's eyes widened upon hearing that. He focused and made sure to listen to whatever Yohan was about to say next since he had been waiting to figure this one out.

"Not everyone follows the same path. In fact, when it comes to cultivation, one's own understanding will differ from another. What works for you, works for you. It is neither wrong nor right, it all just boils down to preference."

"Still, there are certain aspects of physiologies we are born with that makes us resonate with a certain 'way' or 'path'. To put in simpler terms; not all Knights are comfortable using a sword and shield, some prefer Spears, or other types of cold weapons."

"Some mages find it difficult to cast the Fireball Spell but find casting Water Orb Spell or the Icicle Arrow Spell much easier to do."

"This is all due to our 'Specialization' trait. Finding the path that resonates with you will make it easier for you to perform certain spells or skills." 𝒍𝙞𝙗𝒓𝒆𝙖𝓭.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"In the end however, where you end up will ultimately be decided by you. Specialization will only help you figure out what path is most suited for you to follow. It's a recommendation at best. Whether you decide to follow it or not, that will be up to you."

'Ahh...so it's the Class/Job System in RPG's. I should've known.' Ashton mused inwardly.

Yes, it is exactly as he said. Although there's a specific way on how this system works for this world, in the end it basically follows the same idea which made it easier for him to understand thanks to his familiarity with it.

[Specialization knowledge received. A Quest had been issued to the Host.]

'Hmm?' Ashton was surprised. He divided some of his attention to the system to check what his new quest was all about.

[Quest: Determine your Specialization Path!]

Host has received knowledge about what Specialization is. Now is the time to discover which path suits you the most and whether you'll decide to follow it or not.

Rewards: ?

Time Limit: Until the end of the current week.

Punishment for failure: Specialization Function permanently locked.

'Uh...'

Before Ashton could even think about the implications of the Quest, his attention was once again caught by Yohan.

"Since all of you attended today's Welcoming Ceremony, the Academy decided to reward you with the one time assistance of discovering what your Specialization is, free of charge."

Ashton was gobsmacked...

"But before we proceed to that event, let me just remind you all again that this is just the initial stage of your Specialization. This might change in the future depending on your actions so it's almost certain that you will have to go through this process again."

"Don't think that today's result will be a permanent one, alright? Just work hard and you'll carve your own path just like the Heroes before all of you did."

'Okay, I guess I'll discover what my specialization is before this day ends.' Ashton mused inwardly.

Chapter 33

The crowd of students were led towards another area in the Academy.

Their next destination wasn't far from the courtyard, in fact it's just right next to it which was very convenient.

From the outside, it looked like some sort of a fortress, it's like a place where you can expect guards to be around spending their break time or something.

Much to Ashton's surprise however, the interior was completely modernized, in fact this looks even more modern than his own house. The huge iron doors were completely automated, it even had a security module installed in it since he could hear that familiar mechanical voice when the instructors entered along with the students. 𝓁𝑖𝒷𝑟𝘦𝒶𝑑.𝒸𝘰𝘮

This place was big enough to fit them and still has some room. Everyone got seated and Yohan spoke to them once more:

"Alright students, we will begin the Specialization Assessment shortly. This process might take some time since there's a lot of you here but know that this is the last event for today. Once you're done, you guys can go home. We'll be seeing each other tomorrow when the classes officially begin."

Ashton nodded to that and Yohan began gathering students to go on the assessment. It looked like he's gathering around 50 students at a time, which is a lot but considering how many students are here, it will take some time before they could go through everyone. Not to mention, he still doesn't know how long the assessment will occur so yes, this might really take some time.

Since he had no idea how long this would take, he decided to distract himself in the meantime. Had he known that they would pick students from the front to the back, he would've come closer this time around. Alas, he had no way of knowing that and he's in the middle-end of the bunch so it will take some time before his turn comes.

Ashton simmered on his own thoughts...

'Specialization, aka Class/Job...change? No, wrong. Can't call it Class Change when I don't have a Class to begin with. Is a Citizen considered as a class? Well it's definitely not a job either but taxes- brain! Come on! You know what that's not the point here.'

'Anyway...Class/Job Identification...hmm, that works I guess. Right, that. Uh, I wonder what I'll have.'

'Well, what classes are there to begin with? That I don't know. This is the first time I'm hearing something about this so yeah, that's natural.'

'But, I guess I can make some guesses...'

'I mean...yeah, I guess being a Mage or a Knight can be considered as a Class. But this Specialization thingy should be referring to the finer details of that.'

'For example, Knights that specialize in swords. Those can be called Sword Knights. Other iterations could be Spear Knights, Guardian Knight - which could be the 'Tank', Magic Knight - the dual cultivators and so on.'

'As for Mages...uh...'

'Huh, weird. I can't think of any right now. I mean, I should know something and I'm just not remembering it. Hold on...'

'...are Alchemists considered as one? There's this one game I remember where that's a class but I guess that's pushing it. Uh...'

As Ashton thought about it deeply, he felt someone tapping his shoulders. He looked to his left and saw Mary tilting her head. She then spoke him:

"Sorry, you look like you're plotting something evil. Are you planning on conquering the world?"

Ashton chuckled and said: "Yeah, but shh. Keep it between the two of us. Once I succeed, I'll give you money."

Both of them had a laugh with that, then Mary proceeded to ask: "What were you thinking so hard about anyway?"

"Uh, nothing much." Ashton scratched his cheeks slightly, "Just wondering what kind of class-I mean, Specialization I'll get and what are the types there is."

"Ahh!" Mary had an enlightened expression, she then sighed and said: "And here I thought you were thinking about something completely puzzling."

She pursed her lips and called Alice who was arguing with Blake once more.

"Hey, Alice! Come here."

Ashton raised a brow at that.

Alice saw them and walked towards them, of course Blake followed as well.

"Oh, hey. It's you again, smart guy." He greeted them as they came.

"Right. I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Ashton. Nice to meet you all." He gave them a curt nod.

They shared short pleasantries and then Alice proceeded to ask Mary why she called her.

"It's like this; this guy doesn't know what Specialization Types there are. I was wondering if you can tell him. I mean, we're already students of the Academy after all."

"Oh, is that so? Yeah, sure I can do that." Alice nodded, she then faced Ashton and said:

"Uh, so it's like this. Typically, I shouldn't be telling you this since we'd be informed about it anyway but since we're already students of the Academy, that ban is lifted."

"Ban?" Ashton raised a brow again.

"Uh, the filters I mean." Alice clarified, "You look smart so I guess you should've noticed. The Federation doesn't allow knowledge about cultivation to be published without permission since it can be dangerous in the wrong hands. That's the ban I was referring to."

"Oh! So that's actually a Law. Now it makes sense." Ashton looked enlightened.

"Uh huh." Alice nodded as well, "But since we'd be learning about it here anyway the ban should no longer apply to us. But just to be safe, it's still better to be careful especially if the information is too great or sensitive. Thankfully, the information about Specialization isn't like that so we're good."

"I see."

"So, uhm...there's actually tons of Specialization Types. But in each profession, there's three basic ones that the majority of us start with."

"For us Knights, we have; Sword Bearers, Shield Bearers, and Bow Bearers."

"For you Images, there are: Red Mages, White Mages and Black Mages."

"These are the most basic ones at least but there are tons of them out there. There are even rarer types which offer a completely different kind of fighting style."

"Each person can have an affinity for one type or multiple ones. You can only pick one of course and you're set with that so choose carefully. You can also pick none for now if you don't like your choices."

"Also, just like what Mr. Muller said before, this can change in the future. It all depends on your future development. You can also consult Professors if there's a specific Specialization Type you're aiming for, they can help you with that."

"Uh...yeah, that's about all that I can say for now at least." Alice concluded.

"I see." Ashton nodded, "Thank you for that. I'm surprised you know a lot about this."

"Oh, uh..." Alice chuckled shyly and said: "My parents are licensed Cultivators, that's how. They have a lot of books around and they made me read those that I could."

"Ah, I see. That's convenient." Ashton nodded, he somehow wished that he had something like that too but oh well, he still prefers his life now.

"So? Now that you know, what do you think you'll get?" Mary asked curiously.

Ashton smiled wryly and said: "No idea. I don't even know what those types do to begin with. I can understand Knights but for Mages, I'm clueless. And I'm a mage too."

That's a fat lie. Ashton does have an idea of what those classes could do.

When he heard about them from Alice, he instinctively wanted to smack his face for not even considering those options.

Of course they'll base it off of colors, why wouldn't they?

Moreover, those classes are familiar to him too since he had played games on Earth where those classes are the base types.

Red Mages are those who deal damage. White Mages are healers and Grey Mages use hexes or curses to make it easier to defeat enemies. It is so simple but they are effective, also they really fit the Specialization description. Then again, that knowledge is from Earth. It could work differently here, who knows?

"You look like you'd be a Red Mage or a Black Mage." Mary commented.

"Do I?" Ashton raised a brow. "But what does a Red Mage or a Black Mage do?"

"...we'll keep that a secret for now. Just to stay safe, I hope you can understand."

"Of course!" He nodded, "I get it. I already know enough for now at least. But how about you, what do you think you'll get?"

"I'd be happy if I could be a Red Mage. Of course I'd be happier if I can receive a rare Type but that's very unlikely."

"I see." He then looked at Alice and asked: "And you?"

"Sword Bearer I hope." She replied, "But if I can't have it, then anything is fine."

"And you?" Ashton looked at Blake.

"If I don't get Shield Bearer then forget about it." He scratched his nose. "I love shields way too much, I can't help it."

Ashton nodded, Mary jeered at Blake for his statement which was then followed by Alice and just like that, they're at it again. Ashton silently withdrew from their argument and started thinking to himself...

'I wonder what specialization I'd get.'

Chapter 34

The wait for his turn continued, there's still a few students to go before it comes to him so Ashton has some time to think.

What Alice told him earlier was helpful. At least now, he could anticipate which one he would possibly be. But then again, there's also a chance that he might get a rare class which wouldn't be too bad.

Well, there's also a fact that he might just be stuck with an undesirable one. Or maybe none at all, who knows? Alice didn't mention the possibility of not having a specialty but who can say that it's impossible to occur?

'I wonder if my curse has an effect on this...'

This is really the most concerning part in this. Since he doesn't know much about Curses, he will constantly worry that it might have an effect on everything that he does.

He could ask Alice about it but he still remembers Agent Theta's warning to not tell anyone unless he's completely sure.

"Hey, you look like you're plotting something again."

Ashton looked up and already recognized that it's Mary who talked to him. For some reason, Alice and Blake are arguing again and now Mary's attention was on him again.

"Don't mind me, that's just how I am in general." He replied.

"Is that so?" She raised a brow, "Oh well, don't worry about it too much. Like Alice said the initial assessment hardly means anything since it'll change soon anyways. Just take it with a grain of salt. If you don't like what you got, you can walk away from it, do something else and come back later, maybe you'll have other options."

"I get that." Ashton nodded, "I just can't help it, you know. Kinda new to the whole thing."

Mary looked at him intently and said: "I see. Well, take your time. We're here to learn anyway."

"Are your parents licensed cultivators too? You seem to know as much as she does." Ashton asked, referring to Alice in the latter part of his sentence.

"Kind of?" Mary replied while tilting her head. "Their job forces them to work with cultivators so it's inevitable for them to not know anything. They don't know everything of course, they know enough and that's it."

"What do they do for a living anyway?...if you don't mind me asking that is."

"I don't mind." Mary chuckled and waved her hand, "They're Psychologists...Therapists in other words. Most of their clients are Cultivators, if not, people who worked closely with Cultivators, that's why they know some and they told me."

"Ah. That sounds incredible." Ashton nodded, "Their job must be hard. After all, Cultivators aren't really the same as regular people."

"Right?" Mary readily agreed, "We can't use the regular standards for them because of that. Their 'tendencies' that might appear as borderline Psychopathic to us are just them behaving as expected, it's weird but I kinda get it."

"Plus, the pay is incredulously high from what I observed so far, so I can't really blame them for continuing that line of work."

"I can see that." Ashton replied, "I mean, I can imagine that being the case. After all, a mentally ill Cultivator can be potentially dangerous."

Ashton never really expected to have a decent and intellectual chat with someone from his age. Well, he's an adult on a kid's body but still...

Well, the fact that Mary grew up surrounded by professional doctors might also contribute to that of course.

Amidst their conversation, he couldn't help but be distracted by the other two arguing so fiercely at the back. He turned to Mary and asked:

"Are they always like that?"

"Uh huh." Mary nodded, not even needing to look to know who he's referring to. "That's them in their natural habitat. It'd be weird if a day passed that they didn't argue."

"Honestly?" Ashton raised a brow. "Sounds exhausting..."

"I know right, ugh." Mary rolled her eyes, she sighed and continued: "But well, them arguing means that they're alright. If they don't do that, it means that they're either mad at each other, asleep or distracted by a common enemy."

"By 'common enemy' are you perhaps referring to yourself?" Ashton raised a brow.

Mary gasped and covered her mouth; "How the hell did you know?"

Both of them had a good laugh out of that. They then noticed that the line was progressing so they followed as well.

With the seats changed, Blake is now seated beside Mary, beside her was Blake and then Alice.

"Oh, it's nearly out of turn." Blake noticed, "Gosh, I'm so pumped! Please, please! Lemme get the Shield Bearer!"

"I guess you can get nervous too. I thought you only had to state: dumb and dumber." Alice snorted on the side.

"Hey, that wasn't nice. What did I do to you huh?"

Ashton smiled wryly, with the seats changed, he's much closer to the chaos. Even if he didn't want to pay attention to them, that would prove quite difficult since they're close.

"Gosh, sometimes I wish I could cast a Silence Spell on the two of them to shut them up." Mary rolled her eyes once more.

"That spell works that way too?" He was intrigued.

"Who knows?" Mary shrugged, "I only based it off of the name. I don't really know how it works. What I said is more like an expression you know."

"Oh, is that right?" Ashton chuckled.

"But seriously, I'm so excited to start my studies here. I always dreamt about learning in this place, you know? This is like, the most famous Academy in City M, maybe even Last Bastion in general."

"Have you been to other cities before?" He asked.

"Mn." She nodded, "But I can't remember much from it since I was too young. As far as I can remember it should be City C...or Z, I really can't remember at the top of my head but I wasn't so impressed by it."

"Now that I think about it, that's probably why I didn't remember it. Whatever City it was, it's lame and forgettable. We only came there due to my parents' work, we only stayed for three months at most then we returned here."

"Ah...was it far?"

"Can't remember...but it shouldn't be." Mary looked as if she's trying to recall the memory. "I mean, there's dedicated routes from City to City and traffic is strictly regulated there so everyone will arrive fast. The travel time can distract you from the actual distance so I can't really say."

"Oh yeah. I can relate to that." Ashton pursed his lips, "Just this morning there's this guy who brought me here, he drove so fast that my soul had to catch up to my body."

Mary let out a laugh and said: "Whoever that was, they're most likely a professional racer. Those guys can ignore the traffic laws due to their license, and if they're working for the Academy, they're practically untouchable."

"...you know what, that makes sense. After all that guy wasn't even apprehended even though he was clearly driving past the speed limit." Ashton was convinced. "But that's a problem for me since I still don't know how to get here on my own. He said that he'll be my chauffeur for today, not permanently. Plus, I don't know how to get home. I don't even know if he's going to give me a ride back home."

"Oh, you wouldn't need to worry about that." Mary replied to him, "You'll get home just fine."

"How can you tell?"

"I just know." Mary looked confident, "Trust me, don't stress out too much about that. You'll be fine."

'...so she doesn't want to tell me. Probably because she's being careful about the law. Understandable.'

Ashton nodded and paid attention to his front. Just in time to see that the line was progressing and coincidentally, it was already their turn for the assessment.

"Ooh, gosh. Here we go." Alice murmured but the rest clearly heard it.

Their group was escorted in a room past the hallway. Inside, there are ten transparent chambers, each has a small podium built inside.

"Alright, kids. One room for each of you. Don't bother choosing, it wouldn't change the results anyway. Now, go." One of the consultants told them as soon they entered the room. 𝓵𝒊𝒃𝙧𝙚𝒂𝓭.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Let's go and be done with this." Mary took the lead and stepped forward to pick.

Ashton was just as swift as her. He didn't bother choosing due to what the consultant said. Once he entered the room, somebody followed him inside.

"Alright, Young Man. Don't be stiff. Relax and place your hand on the crystal over there. You'll feel a slight tug inside your body, don't worry that's the mechanism drawing your Mana to read it. It's nothing harmless. If you're ready, go ahead."

Ashton nodded and took a deep breath. He lifted his hand and placed it on the large crystal that's placed on top of the podium.

He felt the tug but he didn't resist. But that wasn't all...

Much to his surprise, there's another pull. This one is fiercer and it forced out his Magical Artifact.

Just as the Book of Infinity flew out of his body and unfurled its pages right above him, the crystal on top of the podium glowed intensely...

Chapter 35

The Book of Infinity is a Cursed Magical Artifact.

The guy who entered the same room as Ashton and guided him through the process, knew about this the moment he laid eyes on the said artifact. This person had been working here for years now and he had seen this situation so many times already, that's why he wasn't caught by surprise when this happened.

His eyes were instead fixated on the crystal on top of the podium as it is his duty to tabulate the results that will come out of that. The surprising part comes from that...

'...what is going on?' 𝒍𝓲𝒃𝙧𝓮𝙖𝒅.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The reading was a bonafide mess. Even with his tenure, he can't make sense of what's going on.

Typically, this crystal will read the student's mana and will show a Specialized Glyph which he then could analyze to discover what kind of Specialization a student has. That's the process and the one he's used to seeing.

What's happening at this very moment however, isn't something like that at all.

The crystal glowed brightly, flashing with different colors. Multiple glyphs appeared and disappeared in quick succession so that the man couldn't get an accurate read out of them.

The longer he watched, the more it didn't make sense since he could see several familiar glyphs, representing basic and rare Specializations, flickering in and out of existence. It's as if the crystal can't decide which one suits this student the most.

It had to be known that this crystal has been here for a while now. It has been used by many students and it never acted this way. The man's also certain that it's not malfunctioning since part of his job is to provide maintenance to this crystal after each use. He's good at his job so he's confident that this isn't the fault of the crystal.

This is due to the student who's using it...

However, before he could say anything or even think about reporting this to his superiors. The crystal flashed with a pure white light which almost blinded him.

It softened within a few seconds and when his vision adjusted, he saw that there's a single glyph being displayed on the crystal.

A crystalline, pure white glyphs, unblemished from any kind of dirt, impurities or corruption.

Now, this one is something he's familiar with.

Ashton also regained his consciousness at this point. When he opened his eyes, he saw that his Magical Artifact flew out of his body and is now floating in front of him, much to his surprise.

He also saw the glyph on the crystal but he doesn't know what it represents. Which prompted him to look at the man with him with a curious expression.

"What you see in front of you is a Specialized Glyph that represents something. The number of glyphs represents how many paths are open to you currently and the language that the Glyph spelled out represents what kind of Specialization you got." The man started explaining.

"...based on the results shown, you have a single path open to you currently. As for what this Glyph means, it spells out the word; White."

"Young Man, you have the potential to become a formidable White Mage." He stated.

"Huh..." Ashton was surprised, he looked at the glyph in wonder and then back at the man. "May I know what White Mages do?"

"Sure, it's no big deal." The man shrugged, "White Mages are often referred to as 'Healers' but that doesn't mean they're completely stuck with just Healing Spells."

"See, White Mages specializes in 'White Magic' - a branch of Magic that deals with the preservation of life and purification of evil. It is also one of the Principal Constructs that keeps the balance of our world."

"It is said that the Last Bastion was once an inhabitable land for Humans and that it is White Magic that purified it and kept it this way, allowing us shelter and protection."

"You'll learn more about White Magic as you continue your studies here. For now, I ask you, do you intend on pursuing the Path of White Magic?"

Ashton didn't reply at first. He submerged on his own thoughts since this will be an important decision.

'So I have an affinity for the Support Class huh? And it looks like it's the only one.'

'It doesn't sound bad...' he thought to himself, 'It fits my personality and style. Plus it also somehow harmonizes with my curse. I'm guessing that White Magic doesn't really focus on hurting people. My curse somehow prevents me from hurting people as well so it works just fine.'

'Plus, with my System. It shouldn't be hard for me to do my job properly if it's just for providing support. Yeah, I think I can work with this for now. This might change in the future but I'll let future me decide what to do with that.'

He took a deep breath and looked at the man, before he agreed though, there's something he wants to know first...

"Did this have anything to do with the results?" Ashton pointed at his cursed magical artifact.

The man was at a loss for a brief moment. In the end, he sighed and said: "To tell you the truth, I have no idea."

"Curses aren't really my specialty. But I have seen many kinds of Cursed Magical Artifacts and Cursed Physiques in my time working here."

"I'd say yes if we're strictly talking about intervention. You see, the curse always rear their heads whenever the Specialization Assessment happens, that must mean something right? Why else would they come out if they don't without your consent for nothing?"

"But there's an irony in you." He said, "Curses fall into the category of Black Magic. But your result leads you to the path of White Magic, isn't this weird and mysterious?"

"Therefore, I can't really say if your curse tampered with your results or not. We can only leave it to speculation for now. If you want, you can ask a Professor to analyze it for you if you really want to know more."

"That, plus a chance of learning more about curses in general. I'd appreciate it if you can tell me some ways to do so."

"Well you have nothing to worry about then." The man replied, "Considering that you are a bearer of a Curse, it is most likely that you're already eligible to enroll in a Special Class for that. You should see the available subjects you can take tomorrow, your Class Advisor should show you that."

Ashton heaved a sigh of relief at that.

"Thanks. I'm tired of remaining ignorant about this curse." He said, "Oh and uh, yeah. I'll be studying White Magic."

"Good to hear. I'll add your name to the list. 'White Magic 101' is the name of the subject. You can choose your preferred time-slots tomorrow."

"Thank you." Ashton gave the man a curt nod.

"You're welcome. You can leave, I have to prepare the crystal for the next user. The people outside will take you home."

Ashton nodded once more and stepped out of the room.

He coincidentally exited at the same time as Mary, Blake and Alice. Ashton noticed their expression and could vaguely guess the results.

Blake looked excited while Alice looked relieved. From their looks, it seems that they got what they wanted at least.

Mary looked lost. Which made Ashton unable to guess what happened. It is possible that she didn't get what she desired but it could also be because of another matter.

Maybe it'd be better if he asked her about it instead.

"How the tables have turned." He said softly upon reaching her side, "Now, you're the one who looks like you're plotting world domination."

"Shut up, I'm going through my emo phase."

"What phase?"

"Emo phase." She repeated. "I'm like...so emo right now, you don't get it."

'I kinda do. I went through that phase back then too you know. Ugh, memories I could forget.'

"Why? What's wrong?" Alice looked visibly worried. She even held Mary's hand. Blake also looked serious.

"I didn't get the Red Mage." She replied.

"What!?" Blake and Alice looked shocked.

"Wait, I'm not finished." Mary interrupted them before they could ask more questions. "I meant to say, I didn't choose the Red Mage. It was there. Don't panic."

"Then what did you pick?" Alice asked.

"...Magic Archer." Mary visibly sagged after saying that.

"Bruh..." Blake whispered. Alice covered her mouth in shock.

Meanwhile, Ashton was confused. To him, Magic Archer sounds like a rare class. If that was within his options, he'd choose it in a heartbeat. He didn't understand why Mary was sad about this.

That being said, he didn't comment. He figured that this must be due to personal reasons and he's but a mere stranger so it would be inappropriate to pry further.

"It's fine. I can handle it. I'm old enough to make a decision for myself. For now, let's go home. I'm a bit tired."

Blake and Alice nodded. Mary looked at Ashton and smiled wryly at him. Ashton waved his hand, signaling that he doesn't mind.

It was then that the consultants gathered them around, told them some important things and casted a spell that sent them directly to their home.

Chapter 36

Ashton was teleported home by the personnel of the Academy much to his surprise, only then did he realize why Mary seemed confident that he didn't have to worry about it.

He also got an email from the Academy that contained directions on how to get there on their own. The instructions were clear and precise so Ashton didn't have to worry about commuting anymore.

When he got home, Ashton still felt surreal. He sat down on his sofa, thinking about what happened earlier. The Mystic Academy was so much more than he expected it to be and honestly, he liked it a lot. He's really excited to open up a new chapter of his life like this.

For now though, there is something else that requires his attention...

[Host's Specialization, Identified. Mission Cleared! Rewards: 5 Spell Cards (White Mage Edition), A Lonesome White Mage's Diary(x1), 100,000 Credits, 50,000 Mana Crystals. See Profile: Specialization, for more details about Host's Specialization!]

'Show me my Profile please.'

[Profile]

Host: Ashton West

Race: Human

Aptitude:

Mageroot: Mysterious Rainbow

Magical Artifact: Book of Infinity (Cursed - Legendary)

Providence: Fey Emperor's Blessings (?)

Specialization: [White Mage]

Rank: [Apprentice: Lv.1 (1x Refinement)]

Cultivation Technique: Treasure Glazed Nine-Refinements Sutra

[Spells: 5]

[Inventory:]

[Grinding Spots: 0/5]

[Sign-in Opportunities: 0]

[Mission Board: 0]

A few key details changed in his profile.

First and foremost, he's already a Lv.1 Apprentice and also experienced his 1st refinement - meaning that he already dropped his cultivation once, experiencing Lv.1 twice.

The first refinement wasn't difficult, he did it in one sitting. It wasn't painful either but that's just because it's still too early in his refinement. He already knows that the following refinements would be harder and more painful than this and he's ready for that.

His Aptitude tab is still the most impressive part. He truly lucked out on that ticket which caused a chain reaction for him. But his attention wasn't focused on that, it's on the new information added to his Profile.

[Specialization: White Mage]

He focused on that and all of a sudden, another panel popped-out in front of him and displayed the necessary information about it.

: A type of mage who provides excellent support for their comrades. White Mages specializes in Buffing allies to increase their fighting capabilities, they are also proficient in Healing, Cures and getting rid of Corruption. Their offensive capabilities are rather weak but it doesn't mean they're useless, in fact they are extremely vital for operations.

Doubles the Boost Effect and Duration for Supporting Spells.

'Yeah, that's about what I expected it to be.' He murmured inwardly.

It is comforting to know that he could still use his old world's standards to gain some insight of what's happening around him.

Just as he thought, White Mages are indeed the support class. In other games, White Mages are often called as: Priests, Medics, or just Healer. No matter which game it is, White Mages are the dedicated healers of a team since Healing Spells could only show their full potential in their hands.

It isn't as cool as hurling mini-suns to your enemy or changing the weather itself, but keeping your teammates topped off and healthy doesn't really sound so bad.

But, see here's the thing...

Typically, White Mages had to rely on their teammates to survive. Yes, White Mages might be able to keep them alive but the moment someone dies, the pressure would be too great for the White Mage.

White Mages aren't even considered as Glass Cannons, they're just straight up glass. And if we're following the typical RPG clichés here, White Mages would definitely be extremely vulnerable to Assassins.

And Ashton could already see that coming...

The moment that he sees an Assassin on the enemy team, he should already know that he'd be their target. That's just the way it is.

'But that doesn't necessarily mean that I have to make it easy for them to kill me.' He stated inwardly, 'If they want me dead, then they have to put in the work. I'm not just going to stand still and topple over once they come close. Who knows, maybe I could even kill them instead.'

'But in order to do that, I'll need more spells than what I currently have.'

'Thankfully the mission came through. 5 new Spells, all under the White Mage category. Alright, let's see what I'll have.' 𝓵𝒊𝒃𝙧𝙚𝒂𝓭.𝓬𝙤𝙢

'System, consume the Spell Cards.'

[Spell Cards (White Mage Edition)x5, consumed!]

[Congratulations Host, you received: Warmth, War Cry, Haste, Fortify, Stun Bolt]

'Alright, let me see what they do.' Ashton then opened up the Spell Panel to check the new spells he got.

[Warmth - Lv.0]

Cast an orb of light that heals injuries over time. Only effective on minor(common) injuries.

Lasts for 1(2) minute(s)

AOE: 1(2) meter(s)

Minimum distance: 2 meters

Max distance: 5 meters

Can only have 1 orb at a time.

[War Cry - Lv.0]

Release a rallying cry that encourages allies, mildly(noticeably) increasing you and your team's strength and endurance.

Lasts for 5(10) minutes

AOE: 5 meters

[Haste - Lv.0]

Summon a blessed gust of wind that mildly(noticeably) increases you and your team's speed and reflexes.

Lasts for 5(10) minutes

AOE: 5 meters

[Fortify - Lv.0]

Commune with the Great Earth and receive its blessing, mildly(noticeably) increasing you and your team's defenses against physical and magical attacks.

Lasts for 10(2) minutes.

[Stun Bolt - Lv.0]

Release a fast and solid bolt that stuns the enemies in place.

Stun Duration: 1 second

Range: 3-5 meters

'Those inside the parenthesis...are they the effects of my Specialization?'

[Yes, Host.]

'Not bad.' Ashton commented to himself.

The spells he received looked useful enough. He didn't get the White Mage's bread and butter spell which is 'Heal' but 'Warmth' is good enough for now.

Still, it seems that his luck is bad today. He didn't get any rare spells. All he drew were Basic Spells still, which is fine but he really wanted to see what kind of effects Rare Spells has.

Oh well, it seems that he'd have to wait for a while to see it.

'System, replace the current spells on the Grinding Slots with the new spell I got. Are the rates the same?'

[Yes, Host.]

'Do it then.'

As soon as he gave the other, the System switched the spells he's currently grinding to the new ones.

He received some feedback from the older spells but they weren't incomplete as he took them out before they were completed. He didn't mind it of course, plus getting the older spells to Lv. 3 will take a month to finish, he wouldn't be losing out too much if he got the newer spells to catch-up first.

More importantly, he doesn't have enough mana to cast a Lv.3 Spell so pushing it that far is useless.

'Alright, now that's out of the way. What the hell is this book all about?'

[A Lonesome White Mage's Diary]

To his curiosity, Ashton took out the book from his Inventory and started reading the beginning at the very least.

[...I need a girlfriend. If possible, I want one at this very moment since I seriously am about to lose my sh*t.]

'Woah, starting off a bit strong, aren't we, brother?'

[Why did I pick White Mage? No, seriously why? I had a Rare Specialization available to me during the assessment! I should've picked that instead. But no...me and my dumbass brain thought that it's too difficult and troublesome to pick that so I chose White Mage instead!]

[Had I known that they would look down on me because I'm a White Mage and would even brand me as a loser, I wouldn't have picked it in the first place. Now, my chances of scoring a beauty is visibly lower. What am I going to do?]

'Uh...'

[1:03pm: You know what? Forget about it. I'm happy to be a White Mage! Being a White Mage is love, being a White Mage is life. Nobody could convince me otherwise. I'm so lucky to be here!]

'I bet he met a girl who's going to be his classmate and it just so happens that she's incredibly hot and totally his type.'

[1:10pm - So, her name is Mia. That name totally fits her. It's synonymous to beauty, fairness, gentleness, kindness and all sorts of wonderful things. Ah, is this it? Am I...am I in love? Oh...what a great day this is!]

'Seems that I'm right and holy hell, Dude! Chill! Why don't you calm down and touch some grass or something? Seriously? You just met her today.'

[1:15pm - Her voice sounds like an angel's song. Seriously, I could listen to her talk all day and I'd be fine. Come to think of it, what was she talking about again? I can't seem to remember but, oh well. That's fine.]

[But yes, she's insanely attractive. I can't believe that we'd be classmates from now on! Hell, she doesn't think that I'm a loser! She's even talking to me! Seriously! This day couldn't get any better!]

[5:00pm - Never mind, everything sucks. Mia who? Don't know her.]

[Bruh, she's taken. And my crusty ass won't even come close in comparison to the dude he's dating. Life sucks! I wanna die.]

'Oh buddy...'

Chapter 37

The diary was entertaining.

Most of it was about the owner's struggle to find someone to be his lover and most, if not all, of his encounters were hilarious to Ashton.

At first, Ashton was confused as to why the System gave this to him, but as continued reading it, he finally understood why.

Despite the owner's hilarious failures in his love life, this diary contains useful information about White Mages.

There wasn't much but the owner did record his experiences as well the tips he learned from his seniors as he continued on his studies.

The subjects that he took, the questions he didn't answer correctly during the exams, his setbacks in his learning...all of this are recorded in this diary.

Despite the owner's initial dislike with his Specialization, he grew fond of it over time. Ashton read through the diary as if he was watching how the boy turned into a man with his experiences.

The owner lost a lot of people dear to him; family, friends, brothers-in-arms, women who rejected him...all because of the cruelty of life and invaders of this world.

Although the identity of the owner never really revealed his name in the diary, Ashton could tell that he was famous. He grew to become an exemplary White Mage of his era, he even had disciples worshiping him according to what Ashton read.

There is more information in the diary that he couldn't understand for now since he still lacks basic information, but even if that's the case, this diary is still a very useful reference to him.

He figured that he would check it from time to time to see how far he's come. Maybe he'd even make one for himself, who knows?

But that's not really the focus of today.

It's July 02 9022, Monday. It's also the official start of the School Year.

Currently, Ashton is commuting towards the Mystic Academy.

He noticed that he was being stared at a lot on his way though, which came as strange to him. Last time he checked, which was like - five minutes ago, he didn't look weird, he didn't smell bad either nor did he really do anything to be stared at so this was confusing to him.

But it really didn't take him long before he understood why he's being stared at.

There's this confident lass who walked right up to him and asked for his contacts. She even complimented him and asked him if he was already dating someone. 𝓁𝘪𝑏𝓇𝑒𝑎𝑑.𝑐𝘰𝑚

That's when everything clicked for him. He politely rejected the girl's advances and smiled wryly to himself.

That was really new, he had never experienced something like in his previous life. But at the same time, he should've known. Had he just looked closely or attuned his ears, he'd figure out that most of those who were staring at him were girls around his age. They're even discussing how he looked so dashing and heroic in his uniform.

There were no more attempts after that which made him sigh in relief. He reached the Academy without any hitches and with time to spare.

Yesterday, he was informed that there will be a bulletin board at the courtyard where he'd find the list of students. He'd find which class he's in and where the classroom would be.

Upon arriving at the courtyard, he saw what they're talking about.

Ashton walked closer to search for his name and he found it.

"West, Ashton. Class C-1. West Wing: 5-13."

Ashton hummed upon seeing that. It seems that he's a part of Class C-1.

Class C-1 should mean 1st Year, Class C. West Wing should be the area or the building where he should go. More precisely at the 5th floor of the West Wing Building, at Room 13 is where his classroom would be.

Ashton understood it enough. He checked his guidebook since there's a map in there he could use to locate where the West Wing is.

"There." He murmured.

The West Wing is quite far from the courtyard. If he just relied on his legs, it'd take him hours to get there. Thankfully, he didn't have to.

There were Flying Transits parked just outside of the courtyard. Students can use these freely to get to places.

Deciding to not waste time, Ashton rode one and waited until it set off.

From his observations, he noticed that the bus only waited for a set amount of time from the moment the first student came in. Full or not, it'll leave within five minutes in order to save time. Also, there's no driver. The buses seem to be controlled by magic.

Ashton marveled at the sight outside as the bus flew, this was the first time he rode a flying bus so it was an experience for him. Despite being bulky in size, the bus was quite fast.

The bus seemed to be programmed to stop in places to drop the students off. Ashton's destination; West Wing, would be the next one.

When the bus arrived there, Ashton got up and got off of the bus. He then saw the environment around the West Wing.

The West Wing is surrounded by a sprawling forest. There's a paved road which people can use to get to the tower in the middle of this forest. He also saw some benches and street vendors around the area.

It truly seems like this place is a school on its own but it's only a part of the Academy itself. It has such a large space that Ashton didn't even know what its use was for.

He followed the road until he came close to the tower.

It was massive and tall. It looked ancient, made out of stone and bricks but Ashton could clearly sense the sheer density of mana in this place. There also seems to be some writings on the wall but when he looked closely, they weren't there so his eyes must be playing tricks on him.

There's mounted statues outside of the tower. Four Gargoyle Statues sat at the very top, their eyes seem to have ruby crystals embedded in them and they are all looking down at their surroundings.

Knowing that there's a sentient Stone Gargoyle in this Academy, Ashton didn't doubt that these statues are alive.

Ashton entered the tower. As expected, despite it looking ancient on the outside, the interior is modernized.

There were shiny tiles which you can almost use as a mirror. There's also air conditioning inside, computers, escalators and elevators as well.

Ashton saw that there's a small rectangular board on the front which says: West Wing. This meant that he's in the right place.

He used the elevator which can have at least 50-60 people with how big it was. The elevator runs on magic, just like the one he used on the Federation Center before.

When it stopped at the 5th floor, Ashton exited it and proceeded to search for his classroom. It wasn't so difficult to find it since the rooms are arranged in numerical fashion.

The real surprise was when he entered the classroom.

'This...is a Training Room?'

Indeed. The sight that welcomed him the moment he entered was something he was familiar with, only much bigger than what he had at home.

At first, he wasn't convinced so he used the skill: Identify, in the room but the results confirmed it. The room was indeed a large training room.

"Ashton?"

That prompted him to look towards the origin of the voice and found a familiar face.

"Oh, hi there Mary."

Yes, Mary's in this class too. She beckoned him to sit beside her since there's nobody there and there's only a few of them so far. Once he sat down, Mary said:

"I didn't expect you to be here."

"Yeah, I didn't expect you either." He replied.

"...that's not what I meant."

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Mary shook her head. "But this is nice. At least there's someone I could talk to."

"Yeah, I feel you." Ashton nodded, "Are Alice and Blake classmates too?"

"I don't know yet." She shrugged. Then her watch pinged, she checked it briefly and told Ashton: "What a timing. Apparently, they are."

Ashton chuckled and looked around. He then said: "I didn't expect our classroom would be a Training Room."

"Yeah, me neither." She replied.

The two of them proceeded to talk to each other. They've discussed random things as time passed and more students came in. Around 10:00 am, Ashton began looking around. A professor should've arrived by now according to the schedule.

That's when the door opened once more and revealed a cute little girl.

She wore a pair of oversized eye-glasses, a pink tutu and pink rubber shoes with striped pink-white socks. Her hair is similarly pink as well, in pigtails and she has a heart-shaped choker on her.

All eyes on her as she carried a tablet while walking in front of the students. She jumped and stood on top of the table and looked over the students.

"Ah, excuse me. I don't think you're supposed to be here, little girl." One of the students said while smiling.

"Call me Little Girl again and I'll break all the bones in your body." She snorted, she gave them a cold look and said: "Good morning Class, my name is Aisha. I'm your Class Advisor and your Professor on Magic 101."

"Eh!?"

Chapter 38

Nobody could believe what they just heard.

Well, that's not really surprising. After all, a pink-haired girl in pigtails wearing a pink tutu and shoes saying that she'd be your teacher is something that doesn't happen everyday.

Sadly, her adorable face doesn't appear like she's lying.

"I know, I know." She said, "It's unbelievable, yes I get it. Stop looking at me like that. But I am telling you the truth. I really am a Professor here and from this day forward, you'll be my student so can you guys stop making my life harder than it already is?"

She said those words with a serious face but the way she sat down at the edge of the table while swinging her legs is so adorable that most of the students still have a hard time believing her.

Aisha rolled her eyes and sighed: "I guess I have to convince you some more huh? I really should change my ways, this sh*it is getting old."

With a wave of her hand, a large rectangular hologram appeared before the students. It showed them her Professional Profile.

Name: Aisha Greenfield

Age: Omitted

Rank: Sorceress Lv.6

Occupation: Licensed Mage/Mystic Academy Professor.

Once she showed that, the students are now more or less convinced. These details looked real and thinking about it, there's no way that some random kid could just barge into the Academy for nothing.

But just to make sure, Ashton still used his system skill: Identify, to Aisha. The results showed this:

Name: Aisha

Age: ?

Rank: ?

Occupation: Licensed Mage/Professor

Current thoughts:

'This Class looks like a bunch of losers. Why am I so unlucky with drawing lots? Ah, whatever. A deal is a deal. Someone has to look after these poor kids.'

Not even the system could show him her actual age or rank. It might be because the level of the skill is still too low or Aisha's just too strong. Maybe even both.

"And just to seal the deal. I'll display a fraction of my strength to you all. I hope there's no doubting me after this.

After saying that, Aisha lifted her pinky.

All of a sudden, all the students found themselves suspended in the air. They didn't even notice when they got there. Nobody was able to react, they were completely at Aisha's mercy.

Just as they started freaking out, Aisha lowered them down and placed them according to the way they were seated before. Everyone sighed in relief and all sorts of doubts disappeared from their minds.

"Alright, now that's over, let's do this again." She cleared her throat and said: "Hello, Class. My name is Aisha Greenfield. I am your Class Advisor and your Professor for Magic 101. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Professor Aisha." The class greeted each other in unison.

"Mn. That's more like it." She hummed, she then took her tablet and began using it while she talked: "Since you all are now formerly students of the Mystic Academy, I'll go as far as to say that we will be expecting great things from you."

"Though, I hate to be the one who brings down your anticipation, I am your Class Advisor so it's my responsibility to keep you in check and set your expectations." 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝑟𝘦𝘢𝒹.𝘤𝑜𝓂

She then looked at her students one by one with a dull face and said: "How far you go depends on you."

"The Academy has everything you'd ever need to assist you but in the end, your path belongs to you. We will never force you to do anything, all we'll do is to point you in a direction. Whether you go there or not, that depends on you."

"Well, I say that but in the end, you guys made it here. Your expectations are to yourself and not to anybody else's. Whether you achieve it or not, that depends on your effort."

Aisha paused and looked at the students again.

"...there's a lot of you here. Which is to be expected since we've only just begun. That being said, I know someone in this class will eventually quit. I can already see it happening."

"Don't be surprised. This happens every time. What? You're expecting this to be easy? Hell, no!"

"To that specific someone...or some people, when this happens, don't bother doing a dramatic exit, yeah? Just silently pack up your stuff and leave. Never think that you are special because this Academy will repeatedly slap you to the reality that you're not."

Aisha's words were ruthless. Ashton could already see his classmates tensing up because of her words. That being said, he can understand why she's saying this.

He knows that this is Aisha's way of priming them for what's about to come. To wake them up from their delusional dreams that everything will be just rainbows and funsies so that when reality hits them, it wouldn't be as bad as expected.

"Alright, moving-on." She said, "Now, I know some of you here might be confused. You think that you shouldn't be in Class C because your score on the entrance exams were high. That you should be in Class A or something."

Aisha scoffed and said: "And well...you might be right, but there is a specific reason why you guys were here. This is the Mystic Academy kids, we don't do things without any purpose. That's not our style."

She paused for a bit before revealing the reason...

"We all are cursed."

That statement shocked the living daylights out of Ashton. But before he could think of anything, Aisha already beat him to it.

"Class C-1...it can also stand for the Class of Cursed First Years, but that is ugly and undesirable so we should just use Class C-1 instead."

"I know I just outed everyone's secret just now and I do apologize for that. However, it is also important for you to know that there are people like you and in this case, everyone around you is like you as well."

"I'll say this though...this is a Class Secret." Aisha warned in a serious tone. "I revealed it to you for the sake of transparency but if we discover that someone from this class revealed this information without permission, you'll be subjected to Academic Laws. Trust me, you don't want to be in that position."

"Plus, it's a basic form of Human Decency. If you can't even keep that to yourself, you might as well stop being a human altogether."

"There will be a time when people will eventually find out about this. No secret will remain a secret forever. I just hope that when that day happens, you all have grown strong enough to not care anymore because trust me, Curses might seem scary but it doesn't make you less of a human as others do."

The students looked at each other, clearly uncomfortable still but somehow relieved that nobody seems to be judging them since everyone's on the same boat.

"That's also the reason why I became your Class Advisor." Aisha stated, "If you haven't noticed it by now, I am the bearer of a curse too. I hope none of you seriously thought that me being in this form is just some random fetish because if you do, I'll gouge out your spine while you're wide awake and show it to you afterwards."

The students shivered uncontrollably under Aisha's threat. At this point, nobody dares to doubt her words. Especially after her display of power.

"My curse is Eternal Youth." She stated, "I stopped aging after six years old, that's why I look like this. My body never developed further than that which means that I never experienced what it's like to have my period, I never got taller and my voice didn't even change."

"Don't mistake it for Immortality though. Immortality is just a Legend, nobody proved that it is real yet. I am just as susceptible to danger as you all are. In fact, because of my under-developed body, I'm in even more danger than you all."

"I only aged mentally which sucks. It also sucks that nobody treats me seriously since I look like a kid. I can't even buy alcohol for myself since who in their right mind would see them as a kid? It's tiring to prove myself over and over again so sometimes, I just don't even bother."

"Still, I'm alive and well. Those who knew me personally gave me the respect I deserve and needed."

"What I'm trying to say here is that being cursed really sucks but it's not the end of the world. Things will get better eventually."

"The Academy can help you figure out possible ways to combat your curse but whether you can cure it, alleviate it or neither, will ultimately depend on you. Again, we won't force you to do anything. Every result that you'll get here will be decided by your own efforts."

"Alright, enough about curses. I'm not your Professor for that so let's move on to another topic."

Aisha snapped her fingers and instantly, a stack of papers appeared right before her. She waved her hand and distributed the papers to each student.

"Those are lists of Subjects you can enroll into, Majors, Minors and Electives. Give it a look."

Chapter 39

The paper landed on Ashton's desk.

He picked it up and read its contents. Just like what Aisha said, this list indeed contains the subjects available for first years like him and to his surprise, there is a lot in here.

However, he also noticed that there were already marked ones on the list. These subjects are the ones that he's already enrolled in; Magic 101, History, and Inscriptions. 𝑙𝒾𝒷𝘳𝑒𝑎𝒹.𝑐𝑜𝓂

These three subjects are already marked black, meaning that he's already enrolled in it. Aside from that, there's also subjects that are marked with red, this means that they are strongly recommended. The others are unmarked, these subjects could be taken if the student is interested in them.

"In case some of you still can't follow, let me explain..." Aisha said, "Those subjects that are marked black are subjects that you are already enrolled in and included in your schedule. The ones marked with red are the strongly recommended subjects. You can take them or not, it depends on you, we're just making a suggestion. As for the unmarked ones, they're available to you but again, it's up to you if you want to enroll in them."

"Homeroom and Magic 101 will be handled by me. Our schedule is every Monday, 10:00am - 12:00pm. The first 30 minutes will be Homeroom and the rest will be for Magic 101."

"History will be for Tuesdays, 10:00am - 11:30am. A colleague of mine will be handling that so I'll let her introduce herself to you."

"Inscriptions on Wednesdays, 10:00am - 11:30am. You'll meet your Professor for that, so just wait until then."

"As you observed so far though, your schedule is extremely lax. If it remains like this, you only need to attend school three days a week. That doesn't really sound bad. And indeed it's not. But I'm telling you right now, if you plan on taking it easy, then there's no way you'll last until the end of the school year here."

Aisha played with her hair and crossed her tiny legs.

"Those who are interested in enrolling to more subjects, pick one schedule and mark the circle next to it. Give me the paper later and I'll take care of the registration. You'll be notified through email once the process is finished."

"I'll give you 15 minutes to make your decision. I'll return once the time's up. And we'll proceed with today's Magic 101 lesson."

After saying that, Aisha suddenly dissipated into white mist and disappeared from their view.

It was evident that some students were awed upon seeing a spell casted right in front of them but not Ashton of course. He had seen that disappearing act once or twice at this point, he's already getting used to it.

He once again turned his attention to the subject list on his hands and looked at the ones recommended to him and the other ones that are available as well.

'Not much when it comes to the strongly recommended ones. I only see Basic White Magic, Basic Black Magic, Herbology, and Crafting 101.'

'As for the rest, well they don't really look important. I should be fine without taking them.'

'But this one...Combat 101. I should take this. The diary said that this subject would prove extremely useful, especially for White Mages like me.'

So, I'll get all the recommended subjects plus Combat 101. My schedule would be busy, especially since I have to work for at least 3 hours every weekday.'

Ashton pursed his lips and then thought: 'It's fine. The schedules looked flexible anyways. I can scatter the subjects throughout the week. There isn't much to begin with.'

He did some mental calculations while marking the subjects he chose as well as his preferred schedule. By the end, his schedule now looks like this:

Mondays: Magic 101, 10am-12pm. Crafting 101 1pm-2:30pm.

Tuesdays: History, 10am-11:30am. White Magic, 1-3pm.

Wednesdays: Inscriptions, 10am-11:30am. Black Magic, 1-3pm.

Thursdays: Herbology, 1pm-3pm

Fridays: Combat 101, 10am-12pm.

Sat - Sun: Off.

Yeah, this doesn't look bad to him. If he wants to, he can begin his shift before or after his classes. The Regal King said that the work schedule is flexible so he should be able to do that.

"That's quite a tight schedule you created for yourself." He heard Mary saying beside him.

He looked at her and said: "Ah, it shouldn't be that bad. They look interesting anyway."

"Eh? White Magic is recommended to you? You're a White Mage?" She looked surprised.

"Yes. Did I not tell you?"

"No you didn't. I kind of left in a hurry last time, remember?"

"Yeah, I recall but...weird, I thought I told you three about that. Whatever." Ashton replied.

"Then...why Combat 101?" She asked, "I mean, since you've picked White Mage, that doesn't seem suitable for you. Weren't you guys supposed to heal?"

"Hmm..." Ashton looked ahead, "Learning some way to defend myself doesn't sound bad. I mean, just because I'm a healer, it doesn't necessarily mean that I have to be fragile as well, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Mary nodded.

But Ashton could clearly see that she's not convinced. This made him think that a cliché must be in play here. He wouldn't have thought about this if not for Mary - whose parents are closely related to Cultivators due to the nature of their work.

Nevertheless, he didn't really need to reconsider his choice just because Mary doesn't seem to agree with it. This is his decision anyways. This doesn't mean that he trusts the owner of the diary more than Mary.

The one he trusts is the System since it has never done anything to fail him yet.

"Well, how about you though. Mind if I see your schedule?" He asked.

"I don't mind. Here you go." Mary shrugged and gave the paper to Ashton.

He then saw that Mary also had Black Magic on her list on top of the already available ones. She has Archery 101, Espionage 101, and Hunting 101 as well.

Her schedule seems action packed based on the names of the Subjects she chose. Ashton also noticed that Herbology is recommended to her as well but she didn't pick it. The ones above plus Magic 101, History, and Inscriptions are the subjects she chose for herself.

Ashton returned her paper after seeing it once, he didn't say anything about it since he's really in no position to do so.

"Really, you have nothing to say?" She asked.

"Well, that's your choice. My opinion's unwarranted anyway." He shrugged in reply.

Mary seems to have something to say but a disturbance prevented her from speaking any further.

The disturbance was Aisha.

She returned to the classroom with a drink and her pink sunglasses on, it's as if she just returned from her vacation.

"You done, Kids?" She asked.

The students felt weird being called 'Kids' by her but still, they nodded.

Aisha flicked her wrist and the papers suddenly floated on their own and flew towards her. They stacked neatly on top of each other and the professor kept them in a separate folder before whisking it away.

"Alright, with the remaining time let's briefly discuss Homeroom before we go to Magic 101 proper."

Aisha once again flew up and sat on the edge of the desk, she took off her sunglasses and crossed her legs.

"Frankly, as your Class Advisor I don't really expect much." She said, "If you can be a decent human being, then that's all I could ever ask for. Respect me and the other professors, respect your fellow students and expect to receive the similar kind of respect given back to you."

"Attendance doesn't really matter to me. So long as I see one student present during my class, I will teach. If you want to be excused due to a certain event or activity, inform me ahead of time. If you just want to skip/cut classes, fine with me. Like I said, I don't really care."

"Just know that results are what matters to me the most." She took a brief sip of her drink, "I will inform you ahead of time if there will be tests or exams so you can prepare. Once it's done, it's done. Don't bother asking me for a retake. If you're eligible for one, I'll inform you."

"I'm already sounding like a broken record here but let me emphasize this one last time. Your results depend on your performance. Should you fail my subject, don't come crying to me. That's your fault."

"If you have any concerns related to academics, come to me first. I'm your Class Advisor for a reason. Especially when it comes to breakthroughs."

"If you feel like you're going to have a Breakthrough soon. You have to inform me. If I notice that you attempted a breakthrough without my knowledge, I will instantly give you a mark down. Trust me, you won't escape my senses."

"Also, before we end today's schedule. I'll be needing to talk to each one of you in person before I let you go so stick around. It wouldn't take long, don't worry."

"Okay! That's Homeroom done. Let's move on to Magic 101."

Chapter 40

"So...Magic."

"What is Magic? Can someone share their opinions with the class? I'd prefer it if you answer based on what you think magic is. Anyone?"

Aisha didn't waste too much time and went straight to her lessons, directly throwing the students into the fire by asking a complicated question.

One student raised her hand and Aisha nodded at her. The said student stood up and said: "Magic is something we use to fight against those who are trying to kill us."

"Interesting outlook. Anyone else?"

Another student raised their hand and answered: "Magic is the path towards evolution."

"Good point. Anyone else?" Aisha looked around.

Nobody raised their hand anymore so Aisha decided to pick one herself.

"How about you?" She asked, looking directly at Ashton. "What do you think Magic is?" 𝓵𝒊𝒃𝙧𝙚𝒂𝓭.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Ashton of course knew that she was talking to him since there's nobody behind him.

"Magic is the utilization of Mana." He replied.

"Excellent answer." Aisha nodded.

Some students looked surprised. They were probably not expecting that.

"Class, here's the thing...the truth is the public's opinion about Magic is completely overrated."

"See, while Magic can indeed pave a path towards evolution and is a fantastic tool for self-preservation, at its base, Magic is as simple as that...utilization of Mana."

"Be it Magic, Technique, Skill, Spells...etc. everything is ultimately tied together by a single source and that is Mana. If we don't know how to harness the potential of Mana, if we don't know how to use it properly, then what's the point of having it?"

"In the end, it's just useless. Magic wouldn't exist if we didn't discover how to use Mana to begin with."

"Of course, this is not to say that Magic is unimpressive. Believe me, it is. The things we can do with Mana are endless. You've seen how our society works, we wouldn't have been able to go that far if we didn't manage to discover how to use Mana in the first place. You'd do well in remembering that."

"Magic is just as simple as that. It's the utilization of Mana. But just because it is simple, it doesn't mean that it cannot go far. Sometimes, the answer to things doesn't have to be so complicated."

"Magic 101 is all about that as well. In my class, I will teach you all how to properly utilize mana in a way that won't hurt you. I will show you how to form a steady and reliable foundation for your cultivation so that you can achieve your goals."

"In a sense, Magic 101 is where you kids get to play with Mana. You know, get to know each other better, be best friends or something...that way, when it's time for you to absorb it to increase your strength, it won't fight you nor kill you."

The students seemed convinced with her explanations. She then told all of them to stand up, so they did. Aisha snapped her fingers and the chairs vanished. Another snap of her fingers and the atmosphere around them changed.

Previously, they were at the base look of the Training Room but now, it has changed into a cliffside.

Some students were surprised but managed to calm themselves down. Ashton was used to it since he had experiences of his own.

The temperature dropped, causing some students to involuntarily shiver. It wasn't so bad since their uniforms were slowly adjusting to it as time went on.

Aisha stood in front of them and said: "Since today's the first day of class, I decided to prepare a simple activity."

"Some of you probably already know what's about to happen but for those who don't, listen up closely." Aisha placed her tiny hands on her tiny waist and continued: "I want you all to Meditate right now and sense Mana. That's all."

Some students couldn't help but let out a groan upon hearing that.

"I know, I know. 'But prof, meditation is so boring blah blah...' I get it. I understand where you're coming from but you all can't really escape this. This is a process that everyone needs to know how to do and do well of course."

"The idea is that...well, since you want to be best friends with Mana, then why don't you get to know each other first? Sensing Mana is the first step towards performing Magic. It's like introducing yourself to Mana."

"Now, stop complaining and just do it." Aisha waved her hand after telling her students what to do.

The students moved. Some of them directly sat on their spot, others got up and distanced themselves from the group.

As for Ashton, he found a rock formation nearby and sat against it. He rested his back on the giant rock, pulled his hood up and stretched his leg. He then crossed his arms and lowered his head, then he closed his eyes.

Mary, who had witnessed that, was somewhat perplexed. In her head, she went like: 'Is this guy for real? Does he really plan on sleeping in front of the Professor?'

She was at a loss. Her conscience told her that she should at least convince him not to sleep but the other part of her brain says that it's none of her business. If Ashton gets in trouble, it's his fault for doing so.

Mary didn't know what to do so she was kind of stuck. That's when she heard a voice behind her saying:

"Uh, excuse me Professor. That guy's sleeping."

She froze and looked behind her in alarm. Now, everybody's looking at Ashton - who didn't seem to have heard what the other guy just said. She felt some panic and tried to do something but Aisha's voice echoed in their ears.

"No he's not."

"Eh?"

The class was perplexed. They didn't expect that from their Professor.

"He's not sleeping." Aisha shook her head, "He is meditating already."

"Seriously? That's meditation?" The previous guy asked, but he didn't look particularly convinced.

"Yes." Aisha nodded in a bland way. "Meditation is a way to attune the mind in order to communicate with Mana. Sitting down cross with your spine straight and legs folded into a pretzel is the recommended way for beginners to perform Meditation."

"Once you're used to it, Meditation can be done in any posture. Wasn't this in the Entrance Exams? If I remember correctly, all of you answered that specific question correctly, so why do you guys look unconvinced?"

Majority of the students placed upon hearing that. They felt that they just got exposed all of a sudden so they didn't bother replying. This goes especially well for the one who reacted the strongest earlier.

He's so embarrassed that he wants to find a hole he can crawl into and never show his face to anybody ever again.

"And why are you all still standing around?" Aisha placed her hands on her hips again and said: "Didn't I tell you to Meditate? Go on, stop bothering your classmates."

The commotion was quelled just like that. Mary who had been worried earlier was now relieved but also in slight disbelief.

'This guy...' She sighed as she looked at Ashton. 'Had me worry there for a second...still, I should really learn to mind my own business.'

She shook her head and began her Meditation as well. Just like the others, she chose the usual way of Meditation since she's admittedly not an expert on it yet.

As for Aisha, she spared a few glances on Ashton as well.

'...impressive for a brat. But not just yet. Can't praise him too much or else he'll become the public enemy of this class.'

As a Professor, she of course knew about Ashton. She knows that he's a Scholar and who his sponsor is. She is even aware of the fact that he's already Lv.1 when others still aren't.

She'll talk to him after class to check on his foundations but she can already tell that he was fine. She guessed that he probably had someone to assist him in breakthrough but a little reminder won't hurt.

As for Ashton himself, he of course heard the commotion earlier.

Meditation doesn't put him to sleep, if anything it even elevates his senses when it's already as high as it is. He even predicted that something like this was going to happen and was already prepared for it.

Though it was also relieving that Aisha was there to clarify things for him. It saved him from the useless confrontation with a stranger.

Unorthodox Meditation is already something that he's close to mastering thanks to his heightened senses. He can instantly enter the Meditative State but there are still ways to improve it of course.

He did think about doing it the same way as them but he really didn't particularly like that position, it's harsh on his legs. He can achieve the same result in any position he likes anyway, plus they're bound to know anyway so it truly doesn't matter if did it now or later.

For now, since the Professor told them to meditate, that's just what he's going to do. He won't go wrong so long as he followed instructions anyway.

Chapter 41

The rest of the period was spent with all of the students meditating.

Near the end, about ten minutes before class ended, Aisha woke the students up gently from their meditation and gave them some tips and tricks to improve in this particular activity.

The students still have to improve a lot if they want to even try absorbing Mana, in this area, Ashton was far ahead of them since he's already level one. But considering his cultivation well...the rest will bound to catch up eventually. 𝑙𝑖𝘣𝓇𝑒𝒶𝘥.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Aisha didn't really discuss a whole lot on the first day, much to the relief of the students. Then again, she also already updated their profiles and would later develop some form of plan for each student she has.

After their brief discussion, Aisha proceeded to talk to each student just like she said earlier. This caused the students to stay beyond the allotted time for the subject but it's fine since this is a one time thing.

Ashton was one of the last students to be interviewed. He won't lie, this will be weird for him. Even though he already accepted the fact that this...woman, is his professor, that doesn't make it less weird.

"Ashton West." Aisha said once he sat down in front of her.

"Yes, Professor. That's me." He replied.

"You're Lv.1 already? Care to tell me how this happened?"

'As expected, she knows.' Ashton mumbled inwardly. He took a deep breath, thankfully he already anticipated this.

"It happened a few days after my awakening. Back then, I had this feeling of fullness when I woke up. I've read in the books that this might be a sign of a breakthrough. I called for an assistant and they guided me with the process."

"He said that during my Awakening Ceremony, my 1st Magical Circle was almost filled completely so it was only natural that even if I didn't do anything, the breakthrough would occur. He said that I was fine since I already made my breakthrough ."

"I see." Aisha nodded. "You did good on that part. Remember that the initial stages of cultivation are dangerous. Unless you are forced to by circumstances, it's best to have someone's assistance in this process."

"Given how diligent you are, I'd assume that it wouldn't take long before you can reach a stage where this isn't necessary anymore, but never be hasty. Go at it at your own pace."

"I understand." Ashton nodded. Inwardly, he's relieved that his excuse seems to have worked out for the best.

"Alright moving on." Aisha's face turned dead serious. "This might get a little uncomfortable with you but as your Professor, it is my duty to know. Will you tell me what kind of curse you bear?"

"I know that I'm overstepping my bounds here, but I am your Professor. I am bound by my Oath to never reveal this information to anyone else without your permission even in death. So you can rest assured that your secret will be safe with me."

"Of course, if you're not ready to tell me yet. I can understand that as well. I just hope that before this year ends, you'll find it in you to tell me since that would make it easier for me to search for a way to help you."

'Ah, so that's why she wanted to talk to us in person.' Ashton nodded inwardly.

Ashton also understood why Aisha looked solemn at this point. The topic of curses is sensitive.

He shrugged and said: "Fine with me. I'd like to know more about this anyway, any help would be appreciated."

"My curse is called the Curse of Mediocrity." Ashton revealed, he even showed his Magical Artifact to Aisha - the Book of Infinity.

"It prevents me from learning and casting Intermediate Level and above Offensive Spells."

"Strictly Offensive Spells?"

"Yes." Ashton nodded, "That's what I learned anyway when I got this. I never really had the chance to see any Intermediate Spells yet so I can't say for sure."

"I see..." Aisha nodded while writing something. "That would surely make things inconvenient for you. To be honest, one of the ways to pass the Practicals of the Final Exams is to perform an Intermediate Spell or above. But since I am now aware of this, I can make an exception for you once we confirm things later."

"Thank you, Professor." Ashton was seriously grateful for that.

"If you don't mind, may I take a closer look at your Magical Artifact?" She asked.

"Sure." Ashton nodded.

He willed the artifact to move closer to Aisha and she squinted to inspect it closer.

The book was currently in its 'sealed' state, as Ashton would call it. The Book of Infinity is usually wrapped in thick chains with a circular lock in the middle.

The lock was unique for it doesn't appear to have any keyhole in it.

The book's outer shell is covered in faint intersecting lines which should be 'Inscriptions' if Ashton's guesses were correct. He couldn't make sense of them just yet but now that he's learning in the Academy, it shouldn't take long before he gets some clues.

There were a few occasions when the book would break out of its chains. Ashton never knew how to trigger it consciously and he didn't know what that signifies either.

"This Magical Artifact..." Aisha frowned, "The Curse is firmly suppressing its full potential. I can feel that it's very impressive. You must've received some benefit along with its awakening, can you tell me what it is?"

Ashton nodded and said: "It's called Aspect of Infinity. It basically allows me to cast spells that are at a higher level than me."

"So, that means you can cast a Lv.3 spell even if you're just Lv.2 or Lv.1?"

"Yes, that's how it should work, I think. I haven't had the chance to play with spells so I still can't confirm it."

"That's fine. We have time." Aisha nodded, "If our guess turns out to be true then this is probably the best way to off-set the effects of the curse. You may put it away now."

Ashton nodded and did what she said.

"I'm not going to mince words with you, West. Your curse will be troublesome to get rid of. I can already tell." Aisha revealed after a brief pause. "That Magical Artifact of yours carries a lot of potential. If the curse was weak, then it wouldn't have adhered to your Magical Artifact at all."

"...but it shouldn't be impossible to get rid of it. Is that what you're trying to say, Professor?"

"Indeed." Aisha nodded. "But this is going to be an uphill battle for you."

"You will need to do a lot to get rid of this thing. A lot of effort, hard work, resources, knowledge...even luck included."

"From my initial impressions of you so far, I can tell that you're eager and a hardworking student as well. I know that you are determined to get rid of this curse. And since you're like this, as your Professor, I'll give you a hand. It is my duty after all."

"I know that you've chosen the Regal King as your sponsor. That fella is hella rich from what I could tell so far. So long as you seem interesting, they wouldn't mind bathing you in riches."

"You gotta take advantage of that. I'm saying that you should be a clown or a mascot or something. Just show them your will and efforts and you won't fail."

"Also, the Academy offers a lot of opportunities that you should definitely watch out for. I'd tell you about them in the future and ahead of time so that you can prepare yourself."

"So long as you accumulate this early, in due time you'd be able to break out of this curse and be free unlike the majority of us. But remember, this will depend on your own hard work. I'd only give you recommendations and suggestions, the rest is up to you."

"I understand, Professor." Ashton nodded.

"Good. You may leave for your work. The Grand Library is at the Castle Main, head to the 20th floor of this building, 3rd door on the left. You'll find a transportation circle there. I already told them about you so you shouldn't encounter any troubles."

"Thank you. I shall take my leave then." Ashton nodded once more.

Aisha called in the next student as he exited the door. As for Ashton, he went straight to the Elevator and hit the button that would take him to the 20th floor.

It is rather convenient that there's a transportation circle here which would take him directly to where he needed to go.

As he rode the Elevator, he could've sworn that he saw Mary waiting for him outside of the building. But then again, he must've been seeing things again since when he blinked, she wasn't there anymore.

Ashton decided to throw this matter at the back of his head. Once he stepped out of the elevator, he entered the 3rd room on the left so that he could report to work already.

He's late on his 1st day but that should be fine. He had a valid excuse anyway, right?

Chapter 42

There wasn't much fuss in the process.

The personnel of the 20th floor were already waiting for him so he immediately was able to use the teleporter as soon as he arrived.

Literally, in a blink of an eye, he found himself standing in a completely different place but he knew that he was where he's supposed to be since he's surrounded with bookshelves.

"Hmm...I'm not expecting a student...ah! Are you the new guy?"

Ashton looked behind him and saw a tall man with a bearded face and a monocle standing there, inspecting him from head to toe.

"Ah, hi. My name is Ashton West, I am here to report to work. Sorry if I was late, Prof. Aisha extended the class for a bit."

"Ashton West. Yes, I do recall this name. The Regal King's chosen."

"He is the one sponsoring me, yes. May I know your name, Sir?" Ashton asked.

"Oh, please. Don't call me Sir. Leon would do. I'm the Chief Librarian here. Come, Young Ashton. Let me show you around."

Leon was a 7 foot tall guy, Ashton had to literally strain his neck just to look at his face. He wasn't just tall either, he was built like a truck. He had rough facial features, sporting a vertical scar that starts from his right eye down to his chin, that's also where his monocle is. But his voice sounds calming and gentle. He also has sun-kissed skin.

He wore the same uniform as he does but white instead of the royal blue collar. He also wore a lot of badges, one of them had an open book etched into it.

Leon then took Ashton for a brief tour of the Grand Library.

According to him, the Grand Library is located on the 5th floor of the Castle Main. The main entrance looked like two sliding doors which are different from regular classrooms so it shouldn't be too hard to distinguish them from others.

Apparently, a lot of students always underestimate just how big this place truly is because it's outside appearance is too deceiving.

The Grand Library is where all the records and books that the Academy uses are kept. There's multiple copies of each book, sometimes a single version of a book can fill multiple shelves depending on the demand of course.

Leon said that a powerful mage who graduated from the Mystic Academy folded the space several times over in order to fit this massive library into one room. An extremely impressive feat especially considering how it hasn't collapsed yet.

"We're not usually busy here." Leon said to him as they walked in an aisle. "Even with how many books there are here, only a few students truly come here. Even scholars barely spend time here. They said that the smell and sight of books were bad for them."

"That's a little ridiculous if you ask me, but well, it's not like we can force them anyway." Leon chuckled wryly.

"The only reason why we requested for more people is because it is quite difficult for us to maintain the place with just us." Leon stated, "There's only 14 of us here, you're the 15th. Our task is to just maintain the peace and serenity of this place. Also to keep it clean...which is the hardest part."

"Since this Library is so big, it is too difficult to keep all the books clean and free from dust. Due to the lack of man-power, there were always books that were aging faster than expected. This results in them deteriorating too much and eventually turning into dust."

"The Academy then had to commission new requests for the same books which meant more money to spend. It's truly troublesome. This is why we need more people working here."

"Uh...the books age? I don't understand..."

"Ah, right. Sorry about that, let me explain." Leon cleared his throat and said: "You know the policy that filters the release of information to the public, yes?"

"Yeah."

"That applies to pretty much everything. As you can see, we are surrounded with books containing all sorts of knowledge pertaining to Cultivation. This can't be leaked to the public without permission therefore a bill was passed to control textiles as well."

"The materials used for these books are designated to have a limited lifespan. In other words, they aren't meant to last forever."

"The minimum is 5 years, the maximum is 100 years. All books here fall under that condition and all books here are just copies of the original ones held by the Federation."

"To explain it in a more relatable way, all of these books are photocopies and are programmed to delete themselves when met certain conditions."

"Such conditions are either reaching the limits of their life expectancy, or if they are taken outside of the City. The 'death' of the book will also be triggered once it automatically finds its way to the wrong hands to prevent our knowledge from being stolen. Do you still follow?"

"Yes." Ashton nodded.

"Good. Now, there are certain books here that are quite unstable, either a) because knowledge contained in them are too powerful or sensitive, or b) they're a bad product."

"Either way, the unstable ones will often need a lot of care to be maintained. Leaving them as is would just cause them to deteriorate faster which also shortens their expected lifespan."

"These are troublesome books, and the reason why we need so many people to maintain them." Leon pursed his lips, "They're also expensive to boot so if we don't take care of them, the academy will need to buy more copies of them sooner."

"Oh, I see." Ashton nodded.

"This is where we come in, Librarians." Leon stated, "Our task is to man the Library and keep the books in their peak condition so that when the students or Professors need them, they will be ready."

"I won't talk about salary here since the Regal King is already paying you. I do want to say that if you become a Librarian, the majority of the books here will be available to you."

"So long as you're doing your job properly, I wouldn't mind you reading the books you are interested in. Keep the peace and serenity of the library, keep it clean and make sure the books are in their best condition, this will be your job here. It shouldn't be difficult right?"

"Yes, it doesn't sound complicated but it also doesn't mean that it's not going to be challenging either." Ashton replied honestly.

"Indeed." Leon sighed, "There's just too many books here. Sometimes, I even get overwhelmed. But I'm sure that once you've adjusted to it, you wouldn't mind it anymore."

"Looking forward to that." Ashton softly replied.

"Alright, the tour's over. Let me bring you to your station." Leon smiled and led Ashton to another place.

The Grand Library is composed of at least 10 floors, each floor was huge on its own.

Leon brought Ashton to the 3rd Floor of the library. At the end of the staircase, just a few meters away from it, there's some sort of a receiving area.

Ashton saw a few rows of wooden tables and chairs, behind those is a station which looked like the receptionists tables at hotels. He saw someone in there but that person doesn't seem to notice their presence.

"That's Aria." Leon stated upon arriving there. "She's like you as well, but from a different sponsor. She's a sophomore so you can ask her questions. You two are in-charge of the 3rd Floor."

Ashton nodded, then they finally reached the station. However, the girl named Aria still doesn't seem to notice their presence.

"Oi, you lass!"

"Eep!" Aria jumped from her seat like a frightened rabbit. She was so surprised that her round glasses nearly fell off. "O-oh, Chief! I didn't see you there, hello!"

"Yeah, we noticed." Leon snorted. "Anyways, this is Ashton. He'd be working with you since you're horrible at your job. Teach him everything you know. If his performance is terrible, you can say goodbye to your job."

Leon didn't bother waiting for another reply and just promptly disappeared, leaving the two awkwardly face to face.

"Uh, hello. My name is Ashton. Nice to meet you."

"Ah, yes. Hey. I-I'm Aria. You don't have to be so polite, we'd be co-workers now so let's get along."

"...yeah, let's." Ashton felt really terrible.

Aria doesn't seem to be a bad person but she's too horrible in communication. That line she said earlier sounded so rehearsed. She can't even look at him properly while saying that, she just kept fidgeting where she stood.

The awkward silence lasted long enough so Ashton decided to take the initiative again and asked: "So, uhm...if you don't mind, can you tell me what to do here? I mean, Chief Leon briefly talked about it but I don't still don't know what I'm supposed to do exactly."

"A-ah! Yeth."

Aria's eyes widened. 𝙡𝓲𝙗𝙧𝓮𝒂𝒅.𝙘𝓸𝒎

"..."

Ashton blinked and watched in amusement as Aria stood there, blushing like a ripe tomato. He literally saw the moment she realized that she lisped and can almost see her soul leaving her body.

Unfortunately, he doesn't really know what to say to diffuse this situation.

Chapter 43

Ashton was truly at a loss.

The girl looked like she was about to cry any minute now. She was so red and looked absolutely mortified. He could almost relate but he's also fighting the urge to giggle at the same time.

Still he forced himself to calm down. He took a deep breath and maintained a straight face. He knows that he has to talk now or else, the long this awkward silence goes, the more horrible both of them will feel.

"...right? Is there anything I need to know or...?" 𝙡𝙞𝓫𝒓𝙚𝒂𝓭.𝓬𝒐𝓶

"A-ah, uhmm..." Aria jolted, she probably wasn't expecting him to just shrug that off. "S-so uhm...basically uh...y-you uhm..."

"Hey, hey. Chill." Ashton said, he took a step backwards and continued: "Listen, just take a deep breath in and out. Relax. Yes, just like that. Do it one more time? Right, that's it. Okay. You good?"

Aria nodded.

"Cool. Stay that way. Do you know sign language?" Ashton asked. To which Aria nodded.

He then raised his hand and started signing to her: 'We can talk like this if you want.'

Aria nodded and signed back: 'Thanks. And I'm sorry. I made a fool out of myself just now.'

'Don't worry about it. Happens to the best of us.' Ashton replied. 'Anyways, so...work. Care to teach me some things?'

'Yes.' Aria nodded, 'What Chief Leon told you was the jist of it and it's not really that difficult. Here, watch.'

Aria looked more relaxed now compared before. Ashton guessed that she probably has social anxiety - something that he can relate to since he's also like her in his past life.

Due to that, Ashton maintained his distance but watched her actions slowly. He did it as a sign that he's respecting her personal space. He didn't want to overwhelm her since he's aware hoe terrible it feels.

She lifted a finger and caused them to glow with a blue light. On her other hand was an old looking book. She placed her glowing fingers on it and suddenly, the books started shimmering as well.

Ashton watched as the book gradually turned glossier and more fresh. It was a bizarre sight, it's as if he was witnessing sometime rewind time.

When she was done, Aria looked at Ashton and signed: 'I used a Spell called 'Repair', it's like the Healing Spell but for items instead. It has certain limitations but it's more than enough to help us do our work here.'

'We will take turns roaming the 3rd Floor, going through every single book in the shelf, checking their durability percentage. See this thing right here?'

Aria lifted some sort of a scanner on the table and showed it to him.

'This is the tool we use to scan how much durability or lifespan a book still has. It's user friendly so it is not difficult to use. Just point the end to the barcodes of each book, just like this.'

She then demonstrated it to him.

'See? The scanner glowed green, if you look at the screen here, it's showing how much is left on the durability. Here it says 90% which is pretty high still.'

'Because of that, we can return this book on the shelf and check it again periodically.'

'We only use Repair when the durability hits around 70% or lower. As long as we keep all books here in that state for as long as we can, then we will be fine.'

Ashton nodded in understanding.

'Uh, I should probably teach you the Repair spell huh...'

'No need.' Raven signed and shook his head. Before Aria could ask any questions, he lifted his fingers and showed her the same spell she was using just now. 'I already learned it, thanks.'

Aria looked shocked. She couldn't help but ask: 'Did you learn this after seeing it once?'

'...not really. But let's just say that I learned from you. After all you're supposed to teach it to me anyways, right?'

Ashton indeed learned it just from seeing it once, but since he doesn't want to tell to much, he figured that it would be better if he put it out this way instead.

'...yeah. I supposed you're right.' Aria didn't bother asking any further than that.

It seems that she's sensible enough to nor pry so she didn't.

'Oh, and by the way.' Aria remembered something, 'Whenever you're going to do rounds of repairs, make sure that you bring this with you.'

Aria showed him another item.

'This is a Clip Drone. It can record videos. You have to make sure you record yourself doing it. You mustn't forget it or else it will troublesome.'

'Got it.'

'As for the division of work, let's just alternate each day. For example, today you'll be at the station while I'll do the repairs, then tomorrow we'll switch. Something like that...'

"Uh..." Ashton scratched his head, he then signed: 'My work schedule will mostly likely not be static. You know, on top of the regular schedule and all.'

'Ah, don't worry about that. I uh...kind of live here.'

Ashton blinked and tilted his head in confusion.

'D-don't ask. I-it's complicated. Just know that that you'll pretty much always see me here. Let's just put it that way.'

'Ah, you're a full time Librarian?'

'...yeah. Yeah, something like that.' Aria replied.

'Okay, got it. Oh, my schedule is three hours every weekdays. Just letting you know.'

Aria nodded and signed: 'Got it.'

Ashton then proceeded to ask Aria more things about work. To summarize everything, it's simple enough.

As they are just working students here, there are placed that they're not allowed to be in. 7th Floor and above are restricted area, they couldn't be caught around there or else they'll be punished.

Librarians are not allowed to leave their area of responsibility unless they were requested to do so. If they do, they have to be off-shift first.

Also, just like how it works on Earth, Libraries are meant to be a place of reading...it's mean to accommodate couples who just want to make-out in private. It is also not a place that's supposed to be filled with noise.

There's a strict surveillance around each floor and the one manning the station must check them periodically throughout the shift in case of shenanigans ensuing.

Aria also taught Ashton how to assist students who wants to borrow books, how to clock-in and out, what to do in case of emergencies, and etc.

As it turns out, Aria was talkative, just in an unexpected way,

While it's debatable that she's just like this because she's teaching Ashton work duties, it was obvious by the way how she initiates conversations now unlike before. Yes, they're still using sign language but that's perfectly fine.

Ashton was just glad that Aria doesn't look so constipated right now. His guess was pretty much spot-on to be honest.

Aria do suffer from Social Anxiety, why? Well that's something that Ashton has no way of knowing right now and of course, being someone who can relate to her closely, he knew better than to ask. So he just let it be.

After their discussion about work, an hour and half already passed by. There's not much left before Ashton's out of here. Since this is his first day, he doesn't need to clock-in just yet so there's nothing to worry about.

They spent the rest of the time applying the things Aria taught to him. During that time, nobody really came around so they weren't disturbed.

Aria was impressed, Ashton did everything perfectly on his first try. He's a fast learner which made it easier for her teach him things. He's a bit slow, yes but that's to be expected since it's first time. He just need some experience and he'll get used to this real quick.

Along with the things he learned from her, she also told him about the fact that nobody really comes to Grand Library, which is a bit disappointing.

Leon briefly talked about it but it was Aria who told him why that was the case...

As it turns out, most of the students who got accepted here are mostly from well-off families or heirs of licensed cultivators.

Because of that, the books that the library can offer are something they already probably own themselves therefore they just don't see the reason why they need to come here at all.

If they will pay a visit, it's probably to borrow books that are located at the 7th Floor and above. They have no need for the common books.

Ashton wasn't surprised. It's a bit saddening but it's kind of expected.

The two of them talked to each other until Ashton's allotted time is up.

Aria saw him off. Ashton made sure to pass by Chief Leon's station to let him know he's leaving as well.

Once he's out of the Grand Library, he looked at the entrance and reminded himself of its image. Then he walked out of Castle Main and boarded a transit that can take him back home.

Just like that, Ashton's first day at school ended.

Chapter 44

It's Tuesday today and Aston's already at school.

Once again, he's 30 minutes early and is already at the classroom. Mary isn't here yet so he was spending time on his own, reading a book that he borrowed from the library.

The book was nothing too special. It doesn't talk about magic at all, instead its topic is about the career options for cultivators. He knows that its still too early for him to even be concerned about this but a little bit of advance knowledge wouldn't really hurt.

He passed time like this as his classmates slowly arrived. When there's only five minutes left before class started, Ashton kept his book and stretched in his seat. That's also when Mary arrived and sat next to him.

"Yo, cutting it real close there." He greeted.

"I blame those two." Mary sighed in a tired manner, she's of course referring to Alice and Blake. "They're still not used to getting up early yet they're the ones insisting that we go to school together. I swear if this happens one more time I'll just leave them behind."

"They'll get used to it. Relax."

"Yeah I hope so too." She sighed, "But I've been friends with those two for practically all my life. I know that's a tall order for them. They won't learn unless they suffer."

"Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that." He replied.

"Yeah."

The two of them talked to each other until the professor arrived. When the clock hits 10am, Ashton felt a sharp sensation coming in front of them. He felt a presence which made him look there.

All of a sudden, an old man appeared in front of the class.

He was bald but there are some strands of white hair still attached to his scalp. He sported a long gray beard and he had the appearance of a kind grandpa. His back is already bending downwards and he has a cane which he used to stabilized himself

The old man was wearing a loose green shirt with the Academy's badge on the right chest side. The shirt is tucked inside his white pants and he's wearing a brown leather boots.

His eyes were closed, but Ashton could feel his gaze. The old man had this kind smile on his face as he scanned the class. He cleared his throat and said:

"Good morning 1st year, Class C. My name is Aleck Hamilton, I am your Professor for History. Nice to meet you all."

"Nice to meet you too, Prof. Hamilton."

The old man looked pleased as he nodded. He then slowly tapped his cane towards where his desk is. He pulled out the chair but instead of sitting in front of the desk, he place the chair in the middle of the aisle in front of the students.

"Whew. I hope you kids don't mind me sitting here. Old me can't stand for long periods of time. But don't worry, I can still do my job just fine." The old professor smiled and sat on the chair.

Ashton blinked and his gaze briefly glanced at the rest of the students. Well, as he expected, at least half of them are bored. It would seem that History is going to be one of those subjects huh...

"Okay, before we start the class. Let me tell you a few things about me. I know some of your aren't interested in that but if you can humor me for a bit, please do listen."

The old professor then brought up his profile for everyone to see.

"As you can see, again my name is Aleck Hamilton. I am 97 years old this year and I have been a professor here for about 40 years now."

'Holy hell, that is mad...' Ashton exclaimed inwardly.

He couldn't believe that this old man is 97 years old already. He hasn't met anyone this old before and he still looks like he has a few more years left for him. This is insane!

Not to mention, 40 years of tenure? Holy crap, that is some made loyalty right there.

"I used to be in charge of Modern Technology and Advanced Science but I've gotten too old to handle the activities meant for those subjects and it became stressful too. That's why I got transferred into History and Alchemy now."

"Moving on to my style well...I require nothing from you kids. My subject should be easy enough so as long as you pay attention you should pass. I'll be informing you about tests and examinations ahead of time so that you can prepare."

"I'm not strict when it comes to attendance, so long as there's a student in this classroom, I'll teach. I'll only record the results you'll give to me so if you fail, it means that its your fault, not mine."

"The only thing that I request from you kids is to never resort to underhanded tactics in order to make yourself look good."

The Professor opened his eyes for the first time and looked at the students. His kind smile also disappeared.

Much to their surprise, the old man's eyes were pure white, which made him look freaky and intimidating.

Ashton felt goosebumps on his arms when he sensed the gaze of the professor.

"You see, old me never really liked cheaters."

The weight behind those words were not to be taken lightly. It might sound like a warning but in truth, it's a threat.

Before the students realized it, the old man's expression already changed. His eyes closed again and his kind smile returned.

"...ah but well, that's just for old me's preference. Just don't do it, okay?"

The students nodded and the professor looked pleased. Then he started checking the attendance. He said that he's only going to do it once since he's good at remembering names and faces. He said he's glad that not even his old age affected his memory.

After everyone's called, the old man moved-on to the lesson properly...

"Now, now. Since most of you here passed the entrance exams, I'd assume that you know the brief history of our world." He said, "You might've heard it from us adults or read it through books..."

"The story of how our peaceful world suddenly got invaded by Foreign Races who pushed us to the brink of extinction. The rise of the Heroes and the eventual establishment of the Last Bastion. To summarize, that is our History." 𝒍𝙞𝙗𝓻𝙚𝒂𝓭.𝒄𝙤𝙢

The students found themselves nodding in agreement with the old man.

"But of course, this is just the summary." He said, "There's so much more to the story. Most of these information are too sensitive to be included to what the public knows. But since you all are here, you must know it."

"Because in order to ensure the longevity of our race, we must not make the same mistake again. Well, that's the goal anyway but for all we know, History just repeats itself sometimes."

"Still, it's good to know how far we've come. Looking back to our past isn't a waste of time. We do it for reference to ensure that we're walking at the correct path."

"Now, if we're going to start looking back to our history, it is only proper that we must start at the very beginning, no? So, let's go ahead and do that."

Professor Hamilton raised his cane and stabbed it on the floor. All of a sudden, a curtain of light enveloped the students.

Their surroundings started warping around them, it was as if they were truly going back in time. This went on for a few minutes until it stopped.

Everyone then found themselves surrounded with an endless blanket of ice but they weren't cold. As they looked around, snow filled their vision as well as the gloomy skies above.

,m "Before we continue, I must let you kids know that this is just a depiction of what happened back then." The old professor said this to grab their attention. "As we never really developed a machine that allows us to observe the past in a safer environment, we can only use these kinds of tricks."

"Anyways...welcome to the extreme north - the place where it all began. As you can see, the environment here is harsh. No regular humans can survive in this place, but surprisingly, there are tribes here. Let's have a look at them shall we?"

Their surroundings warped again, it's as if they were zooming in to somewhere now. And they were.

Beneath the snowy mountains, there are several establishments that appeared. Said buildings were covered with snow but they are visibly noticeable.

The students could see people around, wearing clothes made out of animal skin. They are thick and covered in fur. These tribesmen are holding pre-historic weapons and the craftsmanship was obviously horrible.

As the class observed closely how the tribe lived, Ashton sensed movement at the corner of his eyes. He could've sworn that a shadow passed by and he felt uncomfortable.

He felt his senses alerting him as he involuntarily tensed up.

Ashton blinked one time and when he opened his eyes, he saw the shadow standing in front of them as it dug its sharp claws to heart of a human who never saw it coming.

Ashton swallowed down hard and thought:

'That went from zero to a hundred real quick.'

Chapter 45

The students paled upon witnessing such a cruel display.

They literally just blinked and before they knew it, a shadow already manifested in front of them and killed someone. They didn't even know where it came from.

Ashton at least sensed it, but it doesn't mean that he's any better since he wasn't able to react in time.

,m The victim of that shadow didn't even had the time to cry out in agony before dying. They were perfectly assassinated by the shadow, leaving the rest none the wiser.𝘭𝘪𝑏𝑟ℯ𝒶𝑑.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The class watched as the shadow phases through the ground, turning into a pool of black goo which moved at a blinding pace. From the direction it was going, anyone could tell that it's searching for more victims.

They were right to assume that since what followed was simply a cold-blooded slaughter.

One by one, the shadow killed the tribesmen until it was finally noticed. However, instead of turning its tail to run, the shadow just stood in front of the furious tribesmen, opened its maw and screeched so loud that it echoed across the snowy plains.

The surroundings rumbled. Ashton thought that the creature just caused an avalanche but it turns out that he was wrong.

It called for back-up.

Shadows of all shapes and sizes manifested from beneath the ground and bared their fangs at the tribesmen, someone from the tribe couldn't help but feel so unnerved that he started running away, that's when the bloodshed began.

For the sake the students sanity, the slaughter was greatly blurred out, yet the harrowing cries of the tribesmen weren't silenced. It filled everyone with encompassing dread and helplessness.

These humans were completely unprepared for this event. Their weapons weren't good enough to even hurt the creatures attacking them. They might've been able to hunt down the predators lurking around their tribe but these shadows are on a completely another level.

Next, the class witnessed how these shadows converged into a single solid mass. They took the shape of a sphere that is surrounded with wide mouths and razor-sharp teeth.

The sphere started to roll like a ball, it left a trail of black goo wherever it passes and it went around devouring the corpses of all tribesmen that were killed, nobody escaped. Even the houses weren't spared. Everything eaten by this monster.

When it has consumed everything. The spherical monster stopped on its tracks. It stayed still and after a few minutes, a great change occurred to it.

The sphere seemingly melted on the ground and started spreading everywhere. The mouths disappeared along with the teeth, all that's left is a pitch black goo on the ground.

Moments later, they saw a hand clawing upwards at the very center of the black pool of goo.

The arm bent in a way as if pulling itself back-up.

Next, a tall and extremely frightening figure came out of the pool of goo. Its head was big and has large coiling horns. Its eyes lit up with a ghastly green color, it has the torso of a human and the lower body of a horse. It also held a fiendishly long spear on its hand.

'Is that a f-ing Centaur?' Ashton's eyes widened like saucers as he saw the creature in front of him. But it didn't end there.

Creatures that were familiar yet unfamiliar to him started emerging from the pool of goo: Harpies, massive centipedes and worms, insects, imps, etc.

All of these creatures have horns in them and they marched purposefully in all directions, some went to the land while others were headed to the sea, some even took to the skies. Wherever they went, they always leave a trail of that black goo which in turn expands its original size even more.

Ashton felt his skin crawl since their numbers didn't show signs of stopping anytime soon.

This was when the scenery switched up. The students once again felt like they were being transported somewhere else. It didn't take long before they arrive but to their surprise, they were once again seeing nothing but an endless blanket of snow.

"This is the Extreme South." Professor Hamilton stated.

And just like before, they saw yet another tribe.

The difference is that, this tribe seems to follow a very strict religious doctrines. Ashton could see several totems and statues of what looks like an animal but he can't be too sure. But he did saw the tribesmen worshipping them even amidst the raging snow.

They then saw several men who wore a different kind of clothing compared to the rest of tribe which kind of signified their importance.

In the middle of their worship/ritual, these men took off their garbs and they completely naked underneath, their private parts were censored of course...along with the part where they slit their own throats after reciting some sort of a prayer.

As the students reeled in shock due to the sheer madness of what they had just witnessed, a strange development took place.

The tribesmen didn't mourn those who died, in fact it seems that they couldn't care less. The corpses that are losing heat suddenly emitted a strange golden brilliance.

When the tribesmen saw that, they all went mad. They scream, cried and knelt down, their eyes were fixated on the glowing corpses as if they were witnessing a miracle.

Someone let out a incomprehensible words, then she stood up and walked toward the glowing corpse. She got rid of her clothes and embraced the corpse while letting out whines.

All women followed her lead and their actions just caused the golden glow to become stronger.

As the men, they prostrated deeply. Not minding the cold that's literally killing them. They repeatedly uttered prayers that nobody in the class could understand.

That's when a strong explosion erupted that wiped out all humans there. Flesh and blood were scattered everywhere. The scene was so gory that almost everything was blurred out.

It was then followed by some kind of a hymn. A sound that irritated Ashton down to his bones.

All of a sudden, the gloomy clouds above parted and a strong ray of sunlight manifested. From beyond that light, golden creatures emerged.

To the class, they appear to be just golden shadows with crimson eyes. They trickled down slowly until they completely populated the vast and snowy fields.

Then bigger golden shadows appeared, when those descended, the little ones made way.

The big golden shadows walked slowly. They glanced at the fleshy bits that are scattered everywhere. They opened their mouths and started sucking them in.

The siphoning force was so strong that large patches of land were being pulled out as well. When the siphoning stopped, the golden shadows wriggled and slowly transformed.

To the student's surprise, they now took the form of the dead tribesmen, they could even hear them speaking their language. Together, they utter a loud prayer accompanied by the hymn that irritated Ashton.

Then, from above them, the dark clouds suddenly disappeared completely, replacing golden clouds that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Ashton could also see something behind that could. He saw a shape there or something but the scene switched so he didn't get to make sense of it.

The golden shadows then started to march in every direction just like the dark shadows before. They also left that golden trail wherever they went.

The next thing the students saw, the scene warped and zoomed out of their planet. Time was sped up and they saw how the gold and black clashed in the middle of the planet. That's where the scene ended.

"We weren't prepared for their arrival. Nobody was expecting that they would come just like that." The old professor stated.

"Although you might argue that the tribe from the Extreme South summoned them, studies show that they weren't in the right mind when they did. From the reports we gathered, it is said that they were lulled by something and it changed them, robbed them of their sanity. They were used as a tool to open up the gates from their world to ours."

"Our disaster started from here. We were never built to take on them. They were too strong and they had methods that completely surpassed ours."

"Because of that, our race suffered greatly. Mountains of bodies and rivers of blood were formed from Humanity's corpses. We were pushed to the brink of extinction and we never stood a chance."

"Not until the First Hero came."

A silhouette of a gallant man appeared behind the professor.

"On his arrival, our counter-attack officially began. Although he couldn't achieve much since he's the only one at that time, he walked so that we could run."

"We owe so much to him. If it weren't for him, Last Bastion wouldn't have existed in the first place."

"Before we end the class, let me remind everyone that what you saw is just a depiction of what actually happened. There is a way to witness what truly happened to them, it's just that we don't have the technology available to let us do it safely."

"Once you kids are strong enough, you'll get the chance to see it for yourselves."

"Alright, that should be enough for today." The professor looked at his watch and slowly got up from his seat. "Next class, we will be discussing the Story of the First Hero. We'll also have a short quiz so prepare for that."

"Goodbye, I'll see you in the next class."

Chapter 46

After the History Class, Ashton has an hour and half break before the next class which will be the White Magic at 1-3pm.

Through email, Aisha already informed the class that their schedules were already updated and is effective as of this day, meaning he has to report to class in order to make an impression at least.

Right now, Ashton really doesn't know where to go.

The Mystic Academy is so big and it has so many places he can visit yet somehow, that also mak3e it difficult for him to decide where he should go.

"Hey, where do you plan on spending your break?" Mary asked as they left the classroom.

"Actually, I don't know." Ashton replied while shrugging. "I might just go to the Cafe's nearby and use the lunch tickets I received last Sunday."

He wasn't really hungry since he ate something before he left his house. An hour and a half break isn't that long but isn't short either so he thought of spending it at a relaxing place so that he can be refreshed for the next class.

"Why don't you come with me? I'm having lunch with Alice and Blake at Rosie's." She offered.

"Would that be okay? I wouldn't want to intrude..."

"Nah, you won't be, it's fine. They know you're okay so it shouldn't be a problem." Mary waved her hand.

"Alright." Ashton agreed, "But what is this Rosie's you're talking about?"

He could've sworn that he heard Mary gasping. She looked at him in a scandalized manner and said:

"I can't believe you don't know about Auntie Rosie's Pastries! That won't do! Come, let's go! It's time that you learn about the good things in life."

Ashton blinked and allowed himself to be dragged by Mary out of the building. He doesn't have a clue as to why she's acting this way, it's not like he asked a weird question in the first place.

The two of them arrived at the transit stations and boarded one of the transits. As they sat down and waited for the transit to fly off, Mary said:

"I'm surprised you didn't look shaken from what Prof. Hamilton just showed us. It still gives me the creeps you know..."

"...it's not like I'm unaffected though. I mean, it's definitely freaky but I just kept telling myself that it's just a video at best, plus the gory bits are censored, that really helped out a lot."

Ashton didn't really feel fazed if he's being completely honest. He doesn't particularly know why too. It's not like he had killed someone before or did anything remotely close to that.

He guessed that it's probably because he truly saw that whole thing as just a well made short movie in VR. If it's because of something else, then he truly doesn't know.

"You know, my parents call them Imps and Pigeons." Mary casually stated.

"By 'them' are you referring to the black and golden shadows we saw?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded, "Of course that's just how they call them, that's not what the actual name of their race is. But yeah, Imps and Pigeons. I don't know why but somehow, I can see why they're called that now."

"Really?" Ashton doubted, "I can somehow understand the Imps but...I don't remember pigeons being golden..."

"No, not like that." Mary shook her head and sighed, "You know what, never mind. It's weird, let's just say it like that."

This was when the transit finally flew after a couple of minutes.

"My parents used to have a lot of clients that suffered heavily because of those creatures. One of them was their close friend who became my Godfather as well. He used to tell me some vague stories about them as a means to consistently tell me that they're bad."

"How did your parents react to that?" Ashton asked.

"They never really knew. I never told them." She admitted, "I was the one who kept begging my Godfather to tell me stories since he usually took care of me when my parents were on a business trip."

"He filters the stories a lot, oftentimes he makes it light hearted and has a good ending, but as I grew up I gradually learned that he was lying to me."

"He did that to protect you, I guess." Ashton commented.

"Yes. He did." Mary sighed, "It's been a while since I last saw him. I miss him."

"Why, where did he go?"

"He works for the Federation. Got stationed in the Broken Badlands - a place located 1000 miles away from the Last Bastion." Mary sounded concerned when she said this.

"That's dangerous. But he shouldn't be alone right?"

"Yes." Mary nodded, "He's a Squad Captain. He's alive and well, I'm still receiving letters from him so I know that he's still out there."

"Letters?" Ashton raised a brow. "Are they not allowed to use their smartwatches while on duty?"

Mary looked at Ashton and said: "Humanity's technology doesn't work outside of Last Bastion."

Ashton was shook when he heard that. Now that was something that he completely didn't know.

"...all of them?"

"Yes. All of them." She nodded, "From Transits all the way down to the most basic of firearms. None works. For some reason, all of them become useless the moment you step out of Last Bastion. But if you take them back inside, they'll work properly."

"This is why cold weapons remained popular. It isn't because people preferred it, it's just that we don't have any other options." Mary stated.

Ashton learned another valuable thing from Mary. This will surely affect his decisions in the future.

"So that's why you can only receive letters from him."

"Yeah." Mary sighed, "Many people tried to make our technology work out there but all failed. Hopefully he finishes his mission soon, I'm really starting to get worried about him."

"..." Ashton didn't say a word. He didn't know what to say to begin with anyway. 𝒍𝒊𝒃𝒓𝙚𝙖𝙙.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Then a mechanical voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

"Passengers, we are now at the Castle Main. If this is your stop, please be prepared to get off of the transit."

"It's here. Come." Mary stood up, Ashton followed suit as well.

They got off the transit and found Blake and Alice already waiting for them at the stop.

"Oh hey! They're here." Blake told Alice when he saw them.

When they got close Blake nodded at Ashton and said: "Hey, man. What's up."

"I'm good, you?"

"As handsome as always." Blake struck a pose, which caused Alice and Mary to mock vomit at the side.

The corners of Blake's mouth twitched in annoyance but he ignored them. Of course, the girls wouldn't let that pass that easily.

"Come, let's go to Auntie Rosie's before I puke my intestines out." Alice snorted, "Seriously, some people really had vanity etched in their bones."

"Gross, right?" Mary joined in as well. "Thankfully we know better. Come, let's go."

Blake blinked and felt betrayed, he looked at Ashton who threw up his hands and said: "Don't look at me, they are your childhood friends, not mine. Plus, you were the one asking for it."

"Darn, you're right." Blake sighed and followed behind the girls. Ashton walked beside him.

They then walked for a couple of minutes, going inside a tall building which was in fact, a mall inside. There were several stalls and shops inside and there's a lot of students roaming around as well.

The group entered a fairly populated area, they made a turn and entered a place which looked like a fast-food chain.

'Auntie Rosie's Pastries' is its name.

"Right, it's Ashton's first time here. He hasn't tasted any of Aunt Rosie's pastries." Mary told them.

Ashton blinked and saw how Alice and Blake looked at him as he just committed a heinous crime.

"Nah, bro. That won't do." Blake shook his head.

"I don't want to agree with that buffoon but he's right. That really won't do."

Ashton looked at Mary who just shrugged at him, he then felt Alice and Blake pushing him from behind.

He sighed and just accepted his fate. By the time he realized it, a pretty lady was already asking for his order.

"A slice of strawberry cheesecake please." He said.

He could swear that he heard the three humming in approval from behind him, but he decided to just ignore them for now.

"Drinks?" The pretty lady asked.

"Iced-Tea."

"Got it. Please choose a room and wait for your order to be delivered."

Ashton paid for the food using his ticket stub and waited for the rest to order as well. Afterwards, they entered one of the empty rooms inside the shop.

The room was cozy. It has warm lighting, not too bright or too dim. The chairs were classy and extremely comfortable. There's also a tv inside, gaming consoles and a stack of pillows as well.

'Oh, so it's that kind of place huh...'

It didn't take long before a server knocked on the door with their orders. They gathered in front of the table and Ashton couldn't help but smile wryly since the three were clearly urging him to eat first.

So, with that in mind, Ashton took a slice of his cheesecake and ate it...

Chapter 47

"It's good." Ashton said as he took a sip of his tea.

Of course, he didn't miss the disappointed faces of the three due to his lack-luster response.

"...he's a weirdo, confirmed." Blake stated.

"Yep, I too confirm." Mary followed. Alice also nodded.

Ashton rolled his eyes and ignored that instead.

"It doesn't make sense bro. Auntie Rosie's Pastries are one of the best things life has to offer. Those who don't feel happy eating her products are either depressed or psychopaths." Blake added.

"Yeah, we don't make the rules sadly." Alice hummed in agreement.

"I didn't say that it's bad." Ashton countered.

"Yeah, we know. But still, your reaction is so dull that it kind of kills the whole vibe you know. What's up with you? Are the taste buds working properly?" Mary asked.

"They're working just fine." Ashton replied while smiling wryly, "I'm just not very emotive I suppose."

"Yeah, we figured." Mary nodded.

To be completely honest, Ashton wasn't really impressed. The food tasted good but it wasn't mind-blowing. It tastes the same as he remembered it back in his old world and those were still fresh to his memories so he wasn't really surprised.

"Anyway, what's your next class after this?" Alice asked Mary.

"Archery for me. 1-3pm"

Ashton could've sworn that he heard a thick dread on Mary's voice when she said that.

"Oh, I have Swordsmanship at 1-3pm as well."

"Shield Lessons for me." Blake added.

"White Magic, 1-3pm as well." Ashton replied.

"Oh, you're a White Mage?" Alice looked surprised. Blake too.

"Yes. Mary didn't tell you?" Ashton asked.

"No she didn't. That's surprising. We thought you'd be a Red Mage or a Black Mage." Blake shrugged as he continued eating his meal.

"Ah, well. I only have an affinity for White Mage so I picked it. Also, it doesn't sound so bad and I was interested in it anyway."

"From what I heard, the White Mage classes are boring." Blake commented.

"Yeah, my parents said that it's difficult and boring as hell. That's why many people failed the class." Alice added.

"Don't you worry about this guy. For all we know, that might just be right up his alley." Mary stated.

Ashton refrained from commenting and just smiled instead.

The four of them then spend their breaks together, talking about the most random things they could. Most of it ends up with the three of them arguing with each other while Ashton stood on the side and just nodded from time to time.

These three were so chaotic yet Ashton remained sane amidst their arguments. They tried dragging him into their conflict but Ashton expertly deflects the topic somewhere else to escape from it.

Nevertheless, it was fun. Ashton didn't talk much but he had fun hanging out with these three. They're a little bit ridiculous and their never-ending arguments give him a headache but that's fine.

Eventually, their break is over. They went out of the shop and separated to go to their respective classes.

Since this class is about Specialization, Ashton wouldn't be with his classmates nor use their regular classroom.

The White Mage Class will take place in the Castle Main, more specifically at the area near the Academy Hospitals.

Following the directions, Ashton came across several huge white tents near the clear lake at the back of the hospital building. At first he was confused but he discovered that the directions he followed truly lead him here, which means that he's at the right place.

'WMA-1C' is the classroom he is supposed to enter. From looking around, he discovered that 'WMA' stands for White Mage Apprentice, and the tents erected here are truly where their classrooms would be.

He found the 1C tent and entered. He discovered that he's the first one to arrive so it was a bit boring. There's still ten minutes before the class started, so he used his smartwatch in the meantime while waiting for the rest of his classmates.

Time gradually passed and eventually, his alarm rang. At the same time, he sensed someone entering the tent where he's at.

A woman in her prime entered the tent. She was tall and curvaceous. She has long blonde hair, a pair of soul piercing blue eyes, fair skin, plump lips and has a beauty mark at the left of her mouth. She wore a white doctor's robe that had golden flames embroidered at the seams.

She looked kind, especially with that smile on her face. When she saw Ashton inside, she tilted her head and said: 𝑙𝑖𝘣𝓇𝑒𝒶𝘥.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Oh, you're here. That's great."

"Uh..." Ashton was flustered but he managed to recover just in time before he embarrassed himself. "Good afternoon. My name is Ashton West."

"I know, I got your profile with me." The lady chuckled softly. "My name is Jeanne Clark. I'll be your mentor for the White Mage Profession. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Professor." Ashton performed a curt bow. He then looked around at the empty seats beside him and asked: "I-It seems that my classmates are late."

"No, they're not Young Man." Jeanne chuckled. "You're the only one in this class."

"Eh!?" Ashton was shocked.

"Yes. You heard me right." Jeanne adjusted her glasses. "I only have you as my student for this class. Surprising I know, but that's just the way it is. Not many students pick this Specialization after all."

"Uhm...are there any classes aside from this?" Ashton asked.

"Yes, there is." Jeanne answered readily.

That made Ashton think. It didn't take long before an idea formed in his head which made him ask: "This is about me being cursed, isn't it."

"My, how sharp of you." Jeanne looked pleasantly surprised. She nodded and said: "Indeed. It's because of your status as a cursed one. But don't take it to heart. Your curse isn't going to get in the way of you learning the duties of a White Mage."

Ashton nodded and released a sigh.

Well, this is weird. He wasn't expecting something like this to occur. Still, this isn't so bad. At least he'll get a one on one tutelage. He can use this to his advantage.

"Alright, let's get the formalities out of the way." Jeanne caught his attention. "Again, my name is Jeanne Clark. You may call me Professor Jeanne or Professor Clark if you want. Teacher also works fine. Up to you."

"I am a Licensed White Mage and an educator here at the Academy. On top of that, I also work as one of Medics in the school."

"Since it's just going to be the two of us here, I can give you my full attention so that you'll learn everything about this profession in the best way possible."

Ashton nodded in understanding. He's already expecting this.

"Due to our unique set-up, I decided that I'll teach in an unorthodox manner." She stated, "Don't worry, the workload isn't going to rise. We'll just use a different approach compared to how it usually goes when there's multiple students involved."

"This may hasten or slow down the time it'll take for you to finish learning everything you can from me. In the end, it'll boil down to your own efforts and since you're my only student, I offer me no other choice than to observe your progress closely."

"I'll try my best to not disappoint you, Professor."

"Good. That's what I like to hear." Jeanne beamed. "Alright, so first things first. I want to know what your current thoughts are about White Mages. Don't be afraid to speak your mind. There's no wrong answer."

Ashton thought for a bit before answering...

"It's a Specialization that suffers from common misconceptions." He answered.

"Care to elaborate?"

"Well...just before I went here, I was hanging out with a group of friends and when they learned that I was a White Mage, they were surprised. They then said that they heard that the classes are bound to be difficult and boring, that's why a lot of people tend to stay away from it. And those who did end up taking it, failed."

"I think these are nothing more than rumors. I don't know where they came from and how legitimate it is, but it is visibly harming the image of the Specialization. At least that's what I think."

"Would you say that these rumors are baseless then?"

"No." Ashton shook his head.

"Interesting. Can you tell me why?"

"I mean...as far as I know, White Mages are synonymous with Healers. That means we dabble with life itself. One mistake could possibly bring us to the opposite spectrum of what a Healer should be."

"If we want to save lives, then we should know how it works first. Human Physiology is already full of mysteries, add the fact that Healing itself is a sensitive topic that needs utmost care when being performed, I couldn't imagine learning it to be easy."

"So I wouldn't say that the rumors are baseless. It makes sense why they would say that. Still, that doesn't make it any better of course."

Jeanne beamed happily and said: "It is exactly as you said. Great job. With your current mentality, it wouldn't be too hard for you to do what others can't."

"Come closer, I need to show you something..."

Chapter 48

Ashton got up and went closer to the professor. 𝙡𝙞𝓫𝙧𝙚𝓪𝒅.𝒄𝒐𝓶

As he approached, the professor took out a large rectangular glass container. It's divided into two, one part has a pitch black soil in it while the other has golden sand it seems.

He didn't know why but the moment the professor took that container out, Ashton felt all the hairs on his body standing up. He visibly paled and froze on his tracks. He felt a primal fear stemming from the roots of his soil as well as a strong nausea just by looking at it.

'What the hell!?' He exclaimed inwardly.

The way he unconsciously reacted came as a shock to him. He couldn't control this feeling at all and that really threw him out of the loop. Just what are things?

"...your sensitivity towards these is sharp. That's good. No wonder your affinity towards White Magic is high." Jeanne commented.

"What are those, Professor? Why am I feeling a strong disgust and fear by looking at it?"

"Nothing much..." Jeanne stated, "It's just some soil we collected at the Badlands. These two are the most common types of soil you'll find out there."

"Soil? Are those really just simple soil?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yes. At least in the standards of the world outside of the Last Bastion, these are the common soil. As simple as that." Jeanne replied, "But it is different when it comes to us. You already felt it, your instincts are screaming at you that these simple soil are extremely dangerous."

"The footwear we have can't be used to traverse the ground outside of our territory. The moment it does, it'll just melt. If any part of your skin touches the ground out there, there is a high chance that you will die."

"The pitch black soil will crawl up and digest you while the golden soil is similar to quicksand, it'll swallow you up in no time flat."

Ashton was shocked. His mind reeling from this information.

'It's that dangerous outside?' Ashton exclaimed inwardly.

He didn't expect that the world outside their little bubble is so unfriendly that even the ground is out to get them. It's so dangerous that nobody's even allowed to step in it so casually.

"Don't be mistaken. We have developed certain ways to nullify the effects of these soil. There are techniques, skills and spells you can learn that allow you to not be affected by these things."

"Still, that doesn't make them any less dangerous." Ashton blurted out.

"Indeed." Jeanne nodded, "the reason why I showed this to you is to discover how sensitive you are towards these things. We're already done with that. The next reason is to show you the true value of White Mages especially in expeditions out of Last Bastion."

Jeanne then lifted her hand and hovered it over the container. Her palms glowed with a warm white light.

Under Raven's observations, he saw the soil within the container sizzling. He could also swear that he could hear agonized cries but it was faint.

In a span of seconds, the soil transformed and became regular ones. The kind that Ashton was familiar with.

Ashton guessed that Jeanne used some kind of White Magic to purify the soil, turning it to something safe for humans to interact with.

Jeanne then opened the container and grabbed a fistful of soil. She showed him that it's now safe and just like any regular soil one would find inside the Last Bastion.

"So it's true then?." Ashton murmured, "The reason why Last Bastion became a habitable place for humans is because of White Magic?"

"Oh, so you've heard about that." Jeanne adjusted her glasses and cleaned her dirty hand, "Yes, it is indeed as you say. White Magic is the reason why we managed to carve a piece of the world for ourselves."

Ashton nodded, now that's confirmed, he could now say that White Mages are indeed important for Last Bastion as a whole. They're an integral part of the system.

"The name of the Spell I used just now is Purify." Jeanne stated, "To learn it, you must first learn and master the spells; Cleanse and Warmth. Those two are basic spells that I'll teach you next week."

Ashton nodded. He didn't say that he already knew these two spells since he wanted to keep his secret safe. Both Cleanse and Warmth are already Lv.3, but Jeanne said that in order to learn Purify. He needs to Master the two prerequisite skills first.

Well, that's not going to happen anytime soon but it should be achievable so long as he has enough funds.

"In every expedition that takes place outside of the Last Bastion, the presence of us White Mages are always needed. No team will depart without a White Mage on the team since we can raise the team's survivability by 40% just by doing what we're supposed to do."

"Skilled White Mages are even more valuable, they are treated no less than a Saint by the crusaders. A Skilled White Mage will not only ensure the safety of the team but will also increase their profits. More often than not, they receive the highest cuts in expeditions."

"That being said, we White Mages are the most vulnerable link of the team." Jeanne sighed, "Our enemies outside aren't dumb, more often than not, we are their first target."

"Add that to the list of reasons why our number is too little compared to other Specialization Types." Jeanne stated, "It's quite ironic how we raise the team's survivability but in case of accidents, we're the first ones to fail."

"I looked at the subjects that you enrolled into and I am pleased when I saw that you enrolled in the Combat Class. I was going to recommend it to you but I guess I don't have to anymore."

Ashton nodded at that. As expected, his decisions were on point up to this point. He knew that he could trust the things his System suggests him to do.

"In addition to our classroom discussions, when we get to the point where you're mastery over some White Magic reaches a level I'm quite satisfied at, you'll follow me around the hospital to gain a first hand experience in works that doesn't require you to step outside of Last Bastion."

"Don't worry, they will be nothing too difficult. You'd just accompany me for the most part as I explain things for you."

Ashton nodded to that. It should be counted as work since it'll only happen during the White Magic period, and as Jeanne said he's just there to observe closely so it shouldn't be too difficult.

"Alright, that's really all that I have to inform you for today. You may now go."

Ashton's eyes widened in surprise. He glanced at his watch and saw that only 30 minutes had passed since the class started. White Magic Class was supposed to last for 3 hours.

"Uh...only 30 minutes have passed so far."

"I know." Jeanne nodded as she kept the container. "But like I said, my teaching style would be different since you're my only student. I still haven't finished my plans for you and there's really nothing for us to discuss for today since you understood everything that I was about to explain anyways."

"This is good for both of us, no? You and I can go to work much earlier so that we can go home much earlier as well. Isn't that right?"

Ashton really couldn't refute that. So, he simply shrugged. He stood up and bowed: "Thank you for your time Professor."

"Mn. You too. See you next week." Jeanne didn't say much and exited the classroom followed by Ashton.

Jeanne went towards the hospital to clock-in to her shift. She's one of the medics in the hospital as she said earlier so it would make sense why she'd go there.

As for Ashton, well, he took the long way around the hospital. Passing through the other white tents that serve as classrooms as well. He briefly glanced at the windows and saw that their class was still on.

Ashton felt really weird but he didn't hate this. The unorthodox manner of teaching was to be expected since he's the only student around. He had faith in Jeanne's decision since she's the one that's more experienced in this area compared to him.

But just like she said, this works for him as well.

He's now headed to the Grand Library to clock-in to his work as well. The earlier he finishes his work, the earlier he can go home. Ashton likes that idea.

Still he wasn't on the rush. He made sure to commit every scenery on his way to memorize the route towards the Grand Library, this should help him not get lost due to the scale of this Academy.

When he arrived at the Grand Library, he saw the Chief Librarian Leon and greeted him. He went to the 3rd floor and greeted Aria as well, then he clockedin.

Today he was tasked to be the one repairing the books so he started his rounds as soon as he got all the tools he needed.

Chapter 49

Since Ashton started coming to school, he had to adjust his training schedule.

He spends most of his time in the mornings sparring with training dummies at his home and as time passes, he's becoming more and more experienced in dealing with them.

No, he hasn't been able to defeat even a single one in a real spar since at base, the Training Dummies are more durable than him and the techniques they execute are programmed to perform skillfully.

This of course didn't bruise his ego too much. He knows that he still has a long way to go. He only needs time and he'll eventually get there, especially with the help of the System.

Speaking of time...

The Inscription Class is about to begin at any minute now. Ashton was already in the classroom waiting for the professor to arrive.

As the clock hits 10am, Ashton sensed the familiar sensation of someone appearing in front of them. 𝑙𝘪𝑏𝓇ℯ𝑎𝒹.𝒸𝘰𝓂

This time, their Professor is someone that Ashton was familiar with.

"Good morning, 1st year Class C. My name is Leonardo Cestus. I'll be your Professor for Inscriptions. Nice to meet you all."

Leon showed them his profile and the class greeted their new professor.

Ashton was quite surprised. He didn't know that Chief Leon was going to be his Professor on top of being his supervisor as well. Why didn't he say anything?

Their gazes met for a brief moment and Ashton could've sworn that Leon was teasing him. Whether this is true or not, he'll know later when his shift starts.

Leon placed his stuff on the table and took a seat. Because he's so tall, Leon still towered over the students even while sitting. His looks were quite intimidating too especially with that scar on his face, nevertheless he's soft-spoken which calmed the students down.

"Following the traditions of my colleagues, I'll be setting your expectations about how I will handle your class." Leon stated, "It's basically the same as them."

"I will not force you to do anything, not even attending my class for that matter. So long as I see a student inside this classroom when I arrive, I will teach."

"Results are the thing that matters the most here. I'll record what you guys give me so don't blame me if you fail, I did my job and you didn't so it's your fault."

"Due to the nature of our class, I will be strict when it comes to Practical Activities. I'd say that I will do you good to pay attention to my class but that depends on you anyways. Since I'll only be recording your results, don't blame me if you get stuck in your cultivation since that's on you."

"Just reminding all of you, unless you pass my class and the other two, you won't be able to enroll in other subjects since these are your basics."

"With that being said, let's proceed to our discussion shall we?" Leon adjusted his monocle again.

"Inscriptions are one of subjects that is forced upon you to learn along with Magic 101 and History. Does anyone have any opinion on this?"

Beside Ashton, Mary raised her hand. Leon nodded to her so she stood up and answered: "It is because Inscriptions are an integral part of cultivation."

"Excellent." Leon smiled and nodded. He adjusted his monocle and said: "Such is indeed the case."

"But does anyone here know that Inscriptions have become important when it comes to cultivation?" He asked. "In your own opinion class, why are Inscriptions important for cultivation?"

This time, nobody could answer. Not even Ashton knows why this was the case. He noticed this earlier but he never got the answer.

"Nobody?" Leon looked around once more. "Alright, that is fine. It's understandable that none of you knows since this is not something you can learn from books that can be released in the public."

"The reason why Inscriptions are closely related to our Cultivation is because Inscriptions are considered to be the 'Language of the world'. It is something that could accurately represent all parties that involve the very existence of the world."

Leon stood up and waved his hand.

All of a sudden, the classroom transformed under the eyes of the students. Intricate patterns and symbols appeared at every inch of the room, somewhere over-lapping, some made sense while others didn't. Some were small, some were big. They all come in all shapes and sizes as well.

"Nobody could really say when Inscriptions appeared. Some say that they've always been there while some argue that they appeared when our world was besieged."

"Still, it doesn't matter when they appear. What matters is their purpose." Leon waved his hand again and the projection disappeared. "With years spent researching the purpose of Inscriptions, we eventually discovered what they represent and how it affects us."

"Just as I explained before, everything that makes up the system of the world, all is made of Inscriptions. Even mere interaction with mana will result in the formation of Inscriptions."

"So long as we understand what they mean, we will be able to accurately control the path we have chosen. In addition to this, understanding Inscriptions is what allows us to cultivate in the first place. It is the reason why we could strengthen ourselves in order to protect our home."

"This is why Inscriptions became an integral part of Cultivation in general. Be it a Mage or a Knight, everyone has to learn them. The deeper your understanding is, the more knowledge you'll receive, and with more knowledge under your belt, the easier cultivation gets. Do you all understand?"

Majority of students nodded. Ashton was similarly enlightened as well.

"Now, as you all are trying to achieve your breakthrough to the Apprentice Realm. It would be a good time for you to learn about Basic Inscriptions that you can possibly use to improve your foundations."

Leon then waved his hand to change the environment inside the classroom.

Next thing the students knew, they were already standing in the middle of a traditional looking room. The floors transformed into glossy wood. The walls turned into sliding doors where light can pass through.

Rows of tables and cushions appeared in front of them. On top of the table, there were stacks of papers, inks and quills.

The theme of the room reminded Ashton of those traditional Asian infrastructures back on Earth.

Leon cleared his throat and said: "Pick a seat, use the cushion to make yourselves comfortable."

As he said that Leon also moved to his own spot which is of course in front of the class. He too has the same table as the students have, his is bigger of course.

The students moved. Ashton sat on his usual spot, he took the cushion, placed it on the wooden floor, then sat on it with his back straight.

His eyes then darted forward and saw Leon writing something using the quill. His hands moved fast and before he knew it, he was already done.

Five papers floated beside Leon in a single file. Each paper has a drawing on them. It looked like a symbol of some sorts. Beneath every symbol, there are words written by Leon in the language that everybody knows, it's the translation of these Symbols.

"Each symbol that you see here represents something. As you can see, they are: Breath, Life, Mana, Strength, and Wisdom."

"These are the basic symbols that all of you will learn for today." Leon stated, "Additionally, these symbols will be the ones you'll see very often when you start cultivating for real, so familiarize yourself with them as much as you can."

"For that aspect, I want all of you to try and replicate those symbols using your own efforts." Leon's gaze roamed his class as he said this. "You have the materials needed in front of you so I want you all to give it a shot."

"Don't crumple the papers if you fail. Just set it aside, I'll collect them all later since they'll be useful for reference. Just try your best to make a set of these symbols before our period ends."

"You may begin whenever you're ready."

Once he said this, Leon didn't pay attention to the class anymore and decided to use his tablet, probably working on other things that come along with his duties.

Well, he already gave the students something to do so this is understandable.

Ashton could hear some students whining quietly because there's an activity already. He didn't concern himself with any of that. Instead, he used his senses to study the symbols and memorize them to the best of his abilities.

The first symbol he focused on is the Symbol of Breath.

It looks simple enough, it's a circle with what looks like gusts of air inside. It didn't take him long to memorize it so he took the papers and dipped the quill into the ink to begin.

When he's done with his attempt, Ashton couldn't help but show a scowl on his face. He then murmured:

'This is harder than what it looks like, huh?'

Chapter 50

Ashton never really had any experience on using quills and ink. His hand-writing is okay but it doesn't mean anything when he's using something he's not really used to.

He glanced at his surroundings and saw that it wasn't just him who was struggling. Some students even spilled ink all over their desk already at this point.

Somehow, he wished that there's a demonstration for this. Leon did it so fast and didn't teach them how to do it, he just gave them materials and then asked them to copy it so everyone is struggling.

Ashton doesn't really know what Leon's aiming for by doing this, nevertheless, he still tried.

On his next try, he decided to draw a smaller symbol first. He wanted to master the shape of the Breath Symbol first by doing it multiple times without wasting too much paper.

As he felt like he's getting used to it, he started drawing them bigger and bigger until he finally got it.

This might be due to his increased learning capability but he adjusted pretty quickly. He doesn't know if he's doing it correctly but he's getting used to the feeling of using quills to write something.

After many tries, he finally managed to make an acceptable Breath Symbol. He looked at it and thought that it looked quite similar to the one Leon made. He decided that he should do it.

He brought out a stapler from his belt and stacked all the papers he used for practice, he placed the final attempt at the very bottom before stapling them together.

Then, he moved on to the next symbols...

He used the same approach for the others as well and stapled the attempts together. When he's done, he notices that he still has some ink and plenty of time left.

With nothing better to do, he decided to refine his calligraphy by doing them again until either the period ends or he runs out of ink and papers.

Time passed just like this and before he knew it, he had already run out of paper to use and there wasn't much ink left in the container. That's also when Leon peeled his attention away from his tablet and caught the attention of the class.

He stood up and began walking towards them, saying: "Alright, that should be enough. Leave the papers on the desk. That would be all for today."

Most of the students were a bit frazzled by this but nobody complained. Most of them just stood up and exited the classroom, leaving their attempts at the table.

Ashton stood up as well, his gaze met with Leon so he nodded and made his way out of the classroom as well.

As the students left the classroom, Leon remained. Gathering the papers left by the students and inspecting them.

He carefully analyzed every single paper, his face remained stoic.

'Well, it's to be expected.' He thought to himself, 'Nobody really gets it on their first try.'

There is a reason why he didn't do a demonstration. An important reason for that, but that's a story for another time. The thing is, the reason why he wanted to see even the failed attempts is because it's part of the process.

Leon wanted to have a general idea on how he should teach the class because this is bound to be different for each of them. He wants to see what he can do so that he can be better at his job.

None of the students he inspected so far succeeded. Not even close. They just drew random shapes and called it a day.

Some of them seemingly ignored his words and crumpled their paper anyway. Some used it to secretly talk to friends or something while there's also some who just doodled whatever they wanted.

It's a bit disappointing but this behavior wouldn't last, especially when they realize how important his class is going to be. And it won't take long for that to happen. 𝓁𝘪𝒷𝘳ℯ𝘢𝑑.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Though...someone from this class really surprised him.

It's none other than Ashton of course.

Leon had a good impression of the kid. His profile was clean. His results were impressive so far, especially considering that he's an orphan. The kid was polite and mature compared to kids of his age.

Ashton is reliable at his job too. He learns and adapts quickly. He even managed to get that shy lass - Aria to be comfortable around him in no time flat.

It had to be known that the girl is afraid of social interactions. The only one she could speak to was him, she's estranged to the rest of librarians, making her the odd one out even at the odd bunch. Yet Ashton managed to blend-in with her and make her feel safe enough to speak her mind.

He's an impressive kid so far, and Leon hopes that he continues being this way.

Now, he knows that Ashton hasn't encountered Inscriptions yet, much less have any experiences with it. Even though his profile already says that he's a Lv.1 Apprentice already, any professor could easily know if he played around with Inscriptions since it will reflect on his aura.

Yet looking at this organized stack of papers that he left, it gives off an impression that he knows about them.

Though, it also shows that he doesn't since he failed so many times. Every attempt is recorded here.

Ashton managed to succeed. Although his methods are a bit crass and unrefined yet, he still managed to do it when all of his classmates didn't.

Looking at the recording of the class, he saw that Ashton practiced diligently. Even when he already succeeded, he still continued practicing, resulting in him using all the papers and almost all of the ink.

When others find this rather boring, Ashton doesn't seem to mind. He didn't even talk to anybody during this period, he was focused on his work, which is a good attitude when it comes to learning.

Leon collected the rest and as expected, only Ashton's work was worth noticing here.

Had Ashton been the only person in this class, he would've already moved on to the next phase and begin teaching him how to properly write them then apply it to his cultivation. Sadly, he has to wait since Leon can't make an exception just yet.

Well...that's unless he asks for it. And for some reason, Leon can see that happening.

'Continue this attitude, Young Man. You'll certainly go far.'

Leon then disappeared from the classroom after murmuring that.

Just like before, Mary invited him to have lunch with her, Alice and Blake.

Ashton doesn't really mind. But unlike yesterday, they didn't go to Auntie Rosie's Pasty Shop. They spent their lunch at another store where they also rent a room to spend for their lunch break.

After that, it's back to class. This time, Black Magic.

The entirety of 1st Year, Class C enrolled in the Black Magic Class, the reason is because this class will let them know more about curses which may let them devise a way on how to break theirs.

The time eventually came, and following the punctuality of the others, their Professor arrived just in time.

Their teacher is a woman who wore a long black gown. She has pale skin, platinum blonde hair, icy blue eyes, plump red lips and had a body that could mesmerize even the toughest of men and women.

Ashton could've sworn that he heard some of his male classmates gasping or exclaiming in awe but he effectively chose to ignore them. He remained calm despite being in the presence of an elegant woman.

"Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Nina Violeta. I will be your Professor for Black Magic. Nice to meet you all."

'Darn.' Ashton exclaimed inwardly as he vocally greeted their new professor. 'Even her voice sounds seductive.'

'I have to keep it together. Can't appear like a horny teenager. First impressions are important!'

Their Professor then began with the usual stuff; showing them her profile, setting up expectations and whatnot. Her words are basically the same as the rest of the professors so far.

After that was over, she then began to speak about what this class is going to be all about.

"Black Magic..." She says, "It always gets a bad reputation just by existing. Due to the common misconceptions of the crowd and the rumors going on. Most people think that Black Magic is related to something evil."

"More often than not it's frowned upon. Mostly because some people don't like the way how Black Magic works and what are its effects that make it this way."

"Black Magicians are most of the time branded as witches, apostles of evil, so on and so forth."

"However, those who are well versed in Magic will be the first one to tell you that Black Magic isn't bad. It's just a branch of Magical Studies and nothing more. It is neither evil nor good, same goes with White Magic."

"I know all of you here bear curses. More importantly, I know your goal by enrolling yourselves into this class. I understand it, believe me. But..."

"...I'll be the first one to tell you that if that's all you're going to use Black Magic for. Then forget about getting rid of your curses. You might as well drop out of this class to not waste your time."

Ashton was understandably shocked upon hearing this.

Chapter 51

Nina's lips formed a thin smile as she looked at the students who were noticeably surprised by what she just said.

"What? Were you kids thinking that getting rid of curses is that easy? That's very naive of you know." She stated. "You thought that if you just attend the Black Magic Class then your curse will magically disappear? Did you all think that the Academy will get rid of the curse for you?"

"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, that's not happening." Nina chuckled softly as she took a seat. "The Academy has no responsibilities in ridding you of your burdens. We're here to provide you with methods on how to do so. Doing it will ultimately depend on you all."

"So again, if you're just attending my class with the hopes that I, or the Academy, will get rid of your curse, then I'm sorry to inform you that that's not happening."

"If you don't plan on putting on the effort to remove it yourself, then you might as well start living with it for the rest of your life. Don't waste time here."

Nina's gaze roamed the class and saw some students who didn't look fine. They look like they've just been betrayed, lied upon and furious. They look as if they want to demand an explanation.

She couldn't help but scoff at this inwardly. As a long-time Professor of the Academy, she had seen it all. This scene is nothing new to her.

Nina wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow some parents would visit the Academy to demand an explanation from her or the Headmaster. What usually follows is embarrassing them with cold-proof that the Academy wasn't in the wrong, that it was them who raised their expectations to that point.

The Academy never said that it will remove the curses from these students. All the Academy promised is help, and that help comes in the form of knowledge.

"Those who feel unconvinced and want to demand an explanation from me or the Headmaster, feel free to set-up an appointment. We won't mind reminding you that we never promised anything like that in the first place."

"Also, those who plan on dropping-out of this class may do so after this period. I'll hand out forms that you can fill, submit it to the Teaching Department and the Black Magic Class shall be removed from your schedule." Nina stated.

Some students were feeling rather complex right now. Ashton on the other hand, already recovered from his initial shock.

Well, it's not like he was expecting someone to come and help him get rid of the curse anyways. Admittedly, that would be nice, but he never really banked on that.

His goal hasn't changed. He's here to know more about Magic and to learn more about his condition. If he can gather enough knowledge to learn how to remove his own curse, that would be for the best. He can handle himself just fine.

"Anyways, since I've already informed you about the common misconceptions about Black Magic, let's move-on with the topic."

"Black Magic is another branch of Magical Studies. It's one of the Fundamental Knowledge that every budding Mage must learn in order to grow stronger and achieve their goals."

"Black Magic is formed under the virtue of 'Fighting Fire with Fire'. Due to the hostile environment of this world and how limited our resources are, we needed more methods on how to effectively take down our enemies. We needed an option that provides more lethality. And thus, Black Magic was formed."

"See, kids...Black Magic existed even before we coined the term for it." She said, "Back in the early stages of cultivation, when our enemies started seeing that we're slowly recovering from their attacks, they used their own versions of Black Magic to curse our Race."

"Back then, we didn't have any clue as to what happened to us. Only when the succeeding generations showed signs of 'difference' did our ancestors notice that something wrong happened."

"They cursed us. Not all but some. Also, it takes on different forms and is mostly unpredictable so we couldn't really minimize the casualties."

"Those monsters wanted to seal our potential. They want Humanity to decay on its own so that they can rule this world. If it weren't for our tenacity and our burning desire to progress, we will never figure out the cause of our weakness. We'd probably be extinct by now."

"As our knowledge towards Black Magic increased, we eventually developed certain ways on how to get rid of the curse but so far, even to this day, only one method remains the most reliable..."

"And that is by removing your own curse through your own efforts." Nina revealed. "This method is the most dangerous but also the most effective. The process is sensitive since it requires no outside help at all. Removing the curse should be done all according to the will and effort of the bearer."

"This is why even if you pay the Headmaster handsomely to get rid of your own curse, he will never do it. Neither does any expert for that matter. Nobody wants to be responsible for your death. You decide that, not us."

"This is also why the Academy never promised you anything of that sort. If you want to know how, sure! We'll teach you how to. But if you want to regain your freedom, you must do it yourselves."

Once again, Nina's thoughts pretty much confirmed that Ashton's thought process was in the correct direction. What she said makes a lot more sense and now, Ashton also knows who was responsible for these curses.

However, this also brings up something that he's curious about. So he raised his hand to ask a question.

"Yes?" Nina noticed him and asked.

"You told us that the 'monsters' cursed us during the earlier stages of cultivation. Which means that we're still recovering from their onslaught. Why didn't they finish us instead? Did someone or something stop them from doing so?"

Ashton could feel the incredulous stares of his classmates. He could even almost hear their thoughts, saying; why would you ask that? Do you want Humanity to end? Did you want them to kill us all?

But of course, he didn't care about those. He was curious and this is a place of learning so naturally, he would ask someone who might know so that he can learn.

"Excellent question!" Nina exclaimed, "The answer to that is simple. Indeed, someone stopped them. Specifically, it's the First Hero."

"You'd learn more about this in your History Class but basically, at that time when Humanity is still recovering, the Heroes were around to ensure our safety. Around that time, the First Hero had already grown old and could only guide the next generation to become stronger."

"Before he died, he made a decision to sacrifice his life as well as all of his strength to form a bubble that will serve as a protective shell for Humanity."

"His Divinity along with the overwhelming faith humanity held for the First Hero, made this shell extremely tough to crack. No monsters were able to get in, only humans can pass through it without getting harmed."

"Thanks to that, we were pretty much safe to recover and develop. The monsters outside didn't like that thought though. While it's true that the shell protected us, it didn't make us invisible. They can see our progress and they fear our potential."

"Somehow, only Curses were able to bypass our protective shell, which is precisely what they used to bombard us from afar. And since we have no idea on how it works back then, we suffered greatly from it."

"With the amount of time that passed since there, many Heroes followed the footsteps of the First Hero and strengthened the protective shell even further. We also devised a way to stop the curses from getting in so those stopped completely."

"Unfortunately, some of the curses are hereditary, not in the sense that they'd be passed down to your own flesh and blood though."

"Curses that are not removed will be passed on to a new host when the previous holder dies. From our research, this is random so far so we can't really predict who's going to have them. Moreover, their curses don't work with the scale of time."

"What I meant by that is, for example; there is someone who has been cursed to be blind. The holder of this curse died without removing it so the curse will be passed on right? Well, there is a chance that that curse - the Blindness Curse, will not appear immediately to someone else after the previous holder's death."

"It can appear at a much later or sooner date. There's also a chance that it will never appear again. Sadly, we haven't developed a way to track them more accurately which is why we still need students to personally inform us what curse they hold so that we can provide you with necessary ways to remove it. Of course, that is if you want to remove it."

"Any other questions?"

Chapter 52

The first Black Magic Class continued with Nina introducing the students to the subject.

She already set their expectations for the class and told them what's going to happen in the next class.

Once the period ended, Ashton went out of the classroom and is now headed to the Grand Library to report to work.

Today, it is his turn to man the station while Aria checks the durability of each book.

When he arrived there, he didn't see Chief Leon. He guessed that he must be conducting a class somewhere so he didn't bother looking for him. He heads straight to the 3rd floor and sees Aria there, still immersed in her books.

This girl is really something else, now that he thought about it.

Chief Leon told him that Aria is a 2nd year student but he never saw her attending any class at all. Every time he arrives here, she's here as well. Most of the time, she's reading sometime and wouldn't even notice anybody's presence unless they do something to startle her - which usually ends-up in an embarrassing scene for Aria.

But, even though he was curious about why Aria was always in the library, he never intended to ask her anything simply because they're not that close yet. Even then, he probably wouldn't ask since he doesn't want to pry.

If she wants to tell him the reason, he'd listen. If she doesn't want to, that's fine as well.

Ashton walked-up to the station, deliberately making a noise as he did so. That caused Aria to raise her head and look at him. She smiled and nodded at him. She closed her book and stood up, stretching slightly.

He blinked several times before looking away. Murmuring inwardly: 'Woman, be careful will you? Darn.'

Aria seems to have noticed Ashton acting weirdly and saw him looking away from her. That's when she realized what she just did and once again, she blushed madly.

Aria was a well-endowed girl. She's curvaceous, has fair and supple skin as well as gorgeous black hair that flows like a waterfall behind her. Her uniform hugged her figure tightly and when she stretched, her blouse revealed some of her skin as well as emphasized her curves and her chest.

Ashton cleared his throat and said: "I'll clock-in now. I'd be at the station for today, would that be fine with you?"

"Y-yeah. I'll take care of the books. Let me just get the things here." Aria said as she bent down to gather the tools under the table.

This time, Ashton had to bite his lips and prevent himself from looking.

'Damn it, she really needs to be careful.'

Even though Ashton was looking up front, he could still see the 'audacious' sight next to him.

Really, this girl is too careless. Bending over like this without even thinking. Had she been with the wrong guy, things would've gotten more chaotic.

Aria doesn't seem to notice it this time. She just grabbed the things she needed and stood-up. She then noticed that Ashton seemed a bit stiff, he wasn't saying anything so she just said that she's going to do her job now.

Ashton just nodded and Aria just walked away.

As she began checking the durability of the books, Aria couldn't help but feel distracted. For some reason, she felt like she was missing something. The stiff expression of Ashton was bothering her for some reason.

She tried to get her mind out of it but it was really bothering her so she decided to stop for a bit and think. She recalled what happened and murmured:

'Weird, I don't remember doing anything though. I just stretched and he looked away. I noticed that and that was embarrassing but he seems to recover from that quickly so it's nothing anymore.'

'Then, he told me he's manning the station, then I said I'm going to do this, then I be-...'

"Oh my god!" Aria exclaimed out loud when she realized it.

Due to them being in the Library, Ashton heard this so he stood up to check what happened to her.

He then found aria slumped on the ground in between bookshelves, red as a tomato and covering her face.

"Hey, hey. What's wrong? What happened?" He asked softly, still maintaining distance.

"A-ah! No, uhm...I-it's uh...a cockroach. Yes, I saw a cockroach and I freaked out because it flew."

Aria was shocked to see him here, thankfully she managed to think of an excuse for what happened.

"O-oh." Ashton was somehow relieved for some reason. "Where was it? Did you kill it?"

"M-mn." She nodded, "I think I hit it with a spell and it died. I don't see it anymore."

"That's good." Ashton sighed. He looked convinced by this excuse so he stood-up and asked: "Are you going to be fine? We can switch you know."

"No, no. I'll be fine." She shook her head, somewhat avoiding his gaze now. "Y-you can go back and man the station. I'll be good here." 𝑙𝒾𝘣𝘳𝑒𝒶𝒹.𝑐𝘰𝓂

Ashton nodded softly and said: "Alright, if you say so. But if you change your mind, just tell me."

Aria nodded and saw him walking away. Once he disappeared from her vision. She sighed and relieved and clutched her chest. Her heart was beating so fast right now.

'Idiot. Idiot. Idiot!' She berated herself inwardly.

She stood up and found a seat nearby where she could calm down for a bit. The reason why she screamed was because she just realized that she did something careless and a bit indecent.

'I can't believe this! I'm such an idiot! How am I supposed to face him now?' Aria huffed and felt like crying. 'I literally was pushing my ass to him. How could I do that? What was I thinking?'

'And I was supposed to be the senior here. Ugh.' Aria wanted to pull all of her hair out in stress.

'Wait!' She just got reminded of something. 'Did he look!? Don't tell me you looked!? No, I must check.'

In her panic, she swiftly accessed her smartwatch which is connected to the library's network. She accessed the security cameras and saw Ashton reading a book at the station.

He looked as if nothing just happened. All of his attention was focused on the book which caused Aria to be relieved.

She then replayed the recording until around the time where he arrived. She watched as she, like the dumbass that she is, carelessly stretched in front of him. She then saw Ashton blinking then looking away almost immediately.

Next, she saw how she bent down, back arching while Ashton stood behind her. She then saw how he mechanically twisted his body away, and started somewhere else, but it was obvious that he was trying so hard not to look.

Aria bit her lips in embarrassment. Then she saw herself walking away after saying something. She saw Ashton looking at her and sighing once she's done. He shook his head and slapped his cheeks, then he took out several books and began reading them.

Aria stopped looking at the footage after that. She rested her back on the seat in relief.

He didn't look. He tried his best not to. She can accept that at least.

At least he wasn't like others she worked with before. There were many working students who became her partner in this job once and all of them, be it a girl or a boy, couldn't keep their hands to themselves. They even had the audacity to blame her that it's her fault for being so suggestive.

That ended-up with them being kicked out of the job or worse, being expelled from the Academy itself.

The situation with Ashton was a bit different since she was the one who's careless. Aria would have truly been unable to forgive herself if he loses his job because of her carelessness.

Ashton was the only boy whom she felt comfortable working with. She wouldn't want to be the cause of him losing this job if she could help it.

"I should really pay attention next time." She whispered to herself. She stood up with the intent of continuing her work. "Chief Leon would probably see this and scold me again."

She sighed and continued her work. She had to finish before Ashton's shift was over since this is the only time when she can do it.

Meanwhile, Ashton already forgot about the incident. Currently, he's absorbed in whatever he's reading.

No one else is on the 3rd floor right now aside from the two of them. Since Aria was doing something, nobody was really disturbing him.

Right now, Ashton is doing some advanced reading for the classes he has. He figured that it wouldn't hurt to read in advance just so that he can be prepared.

The book he's reading right now is about Magic 101, something Aisha was carrying around as well.

Here he saw some activities that would help beginners to move mana inside their bodies more efficiently. He planned on memorizing the book before his shift ends so that he can practice at home.

Chapter 53

With how much time passed since the dawn of cultivation, it is understandable that humanity will improve and refine the methods they use to elevate their strength.

Many things had been decoded by the geniuses of the past, allowing Humanity to improve even further so that they can do a better job at protecting themselves and surviving in this cruel world.

According to the books he's now reading, especially those that are centered about cultivation itself, there isn't really much difference from a Knight or a Mage.

Both use Mana to cultivate. They just use different terminologies and are born with different affinities.

Those who are born with more affinity towards Mana will most likely be a Mage and those who are born with excellent physiques are most likely going to end-up awakening as a Knight, that's all there is to it.

Of course, disparity appears depending on the Aptitudes they're born with, however it is still up to their personal efforts on how far they can go should they decide to pursue cultivation.

It is known that Mages use Spells to fight and Knights have Skills/Battle Arts. At the end of the day, the only difference for these two are on how they are called. Both uses mana to cast and requires repeated use in order to be mastered. So in the end, there isn't really much of a difference.

Later down the line, what divides these two will eventually disappear. They will merge in a single one that all will collectively pursue. The first few stages of cultivation are just based on building foundations anyway.

Speaking of stages of cultivation, Ashton found out the realms in the same book. They are:

[Knights]: Trainee, Fighter, Warrior, Master, Grandmaster.

[Mage]: Apprentice, Practitioner, Archmage, Warlock, Sorcerer

He didn't see explanations about what each stage does, probably because there will be other books that will focus on that instead.

However, he does know what the Apprentice Stage was supposed to do.

See, a child that's been awakened as a Mage will have their own 'Mage Crest' which will mostly stay dormant inside their consciousness. The appearance of the crest will differ from person to person, making it unique to an individual.

Ashton already saw him a couple of times now. His Mage Crest was a rainbow colored token that has a tree insignia within, at the core of the said tree, an image of a book could be seen. These represent several aspects of Ashton's Aptitude.

Around the crest is an array circle. This represents his Lv.1 of strength, each rise of his level, another circle will appear. This is how cultivation works for most people.

The only difference with Ashton is that, because of his cultivation technique, he needs to refine each array circle a total of 9 times before he proceeds.

In order to strengthen one's foundation, they may choose to refine the inscriptions that compose their cultivation array circles. When he read this, Ashton now understands why Inscriptions were automatically added to the list of subjects he will be studying. It is indeed a crucial part of everyone's cultivation and it will only benefit them if they learn more about it.

After 9 array circles are formed, it is said that what they should do next is to fuse them one at a time in the Practitioner Stage. Doing this will improve their foundations and increase their mana capacities, allowing them to cast more spells.

So far, this is as much as he knows. The book hasn't revealed much to him yet but that's fine. He has time anyways. There will come a day when he'll learn about it, he just needs to wait and seek out more books here. 𝓁𝑖𝑏𝑟𝘦𝒶𝘥.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Time passed in Ashton's shift and before he knew it, three hours already passed. A tiny alarm woke him out of his focus.

Ashton took a deep breath and closed the books he had. He then rested his back on his chair and stretched for a bit. He looked around and saw Aria approaching the station.

He stood-up and cleaned-up after his mess. Once he was done, he bid farewell to Aria and left the Grand Library to go home.

"...uh." Ashton blinked several times and was confused.

In front of him, Jeanne chuckled and said: "Hello again, Mr. West."

"Good afternoon, Prof. Jeanne. Are you my..."

"Yes. Indeed." She nodded before he could finish his sentence. "I also am your Herbology Professor. Also, yes. You are again, alone in this class. Surprising isn't it?"

It was Thursday today and Ashton attended his Herbology Class, not expecting this strange scenario at all.

He didn't expect that he'll be, once again, the only one in this class but also to have Jeanne as his Professor as well.

"I kind of understand why with the White Magic Class but...Herbology? Really, nobody takes it?" He asked, sounding a little bit incredulous.

"Well, what can we do?" Jeanne shrugged. "Not everyone is fond of studying boring subjects." She said as she placed her things on her table.

"Similar to White Magic Class, Herbology is an extensive subject that tends to be boring yet also very demanding. It doesn't have any blood-pumping activities and it doesn't directly benefit your cultivation so it's no surprise that it's a less popular subject." She shrugged.

'Less popular' is being used lightly here. With thousands of students enrolling in this Academy, it is a little ridiculous that not even a handful will take interest in taking Herbology at all.

"Don't fuss over the small details." Jeanne stated, "We provide students with freedom to choose their own classes. If they don't see the merit of this class then that's on them. We shouldn't interest ourselves in whatever they're thinking."

"I understand." Ashton nodded.

Still, this doesn't make this situation less strange. But just like she said, it's no use thinking about it this much, he couldn't change their opinions anyways. He should just focus on what he's supposed to do instead.

"Alright. Since your situation is a little bit special, we'd follow the same rules for the White Magic Class. I'll use unorthodox means to teach you. We won't stick with the conventional means since that would just hold us back."

Ashton didn't have any problems with that.

Jeanne then brought out a thick, thick book from her belt and placed it on the table. Ashton gulped at the sight of that thing.

"This is the Bible of Herbology." She stated, "In here, all of the known herbs are recorded, including their uses, information about how they grow, and etc."

"Your goal is to memorize everything that is recorded in this book by heart." Jeanne started with a bit of twisted grin on her face. "Of course, in order to test your knowledge, I will require you to demonstrate the things you've learned using live ingredients. That will also solidify your skills should you choose to pursue Alchemy as well."

Ashton bit his lips as he stared at the thick book. He could feel a headache incoming but he didn't utter a word of complaint. He wanted this so he should be responsible.

"Don't fret. I'm not asking you to memorize everything here today." Jeanne chuckled. "We'll break it down into chapters to make it easier for you. Of course, you can also do some advanced reading since that would make it faster for us to progress. Take the book with you."

Ashton nodded and stood up to fetch the book.

Holy hell was the book heavy. It also smells really old too. Nevertheless, Ashton didn't complain and hulled the book back to his seat. He didn't keep it since he wanted to check it out first.

"Read the first five chapters and memorize everything in there." Jeanne stated, getting his attention. "On our next meeting, I will bring out fresh ingredients for you to play around with."

"Alright." Ashton nodded as he began flipping the book.

"Don't worry about the book itself." She said, "Unlike other books, that one doesn't have any durability. It's the latest original copy as well so it is updated. Just handle it with minimal care and you'd be fine. We have a lot of original copies anyways so it's fine even if that one is damaged. But of course, don't do it intentionally. Also, don't show that to others who aren't studying here."

"Understood."

"Alright. I'll leave you to it. Use the remaining time to read or whatever, just make sure during our next class you know your stuff and we'll be good."

After saying that, Jeanne picked up her things and exited the classroom, leaving Ashton mildly speechless.

The woman sure is taking her job very lightly. She didn't even bother with some pleasantries. She just gave him homework and peaced-out. How ridiculous.

Nevertheless, this works too. Since Ashton is alone in this class, he can focus more.

He decided to stay behind and read the first ten chapters of this massive book. If he can't finish it here or he gets bored, he'll do it back in his home.

'With my enhanced memory, memorizing this whole thing shouldn't be difficult. Maybe I'll finish this subject even before the year ends. Who knows?'

Chapter 54

It's Friday today.

Ashton only has a single class for this day and that is the Combat Class. He has some expectations of what's going to happen in this class so he did some minor preparations just in case.

He still did his regular morning routine to ensure that his body is at its peak condition, on top of that, he brought plenty of water, energy bars and energy drinks as well, just in case he will need them. He also took a first aid kid should he get injured.

Even though he knows a spell that he can use to heal himself, he can't exactly rely on that since he wouldn't be able to explain himself if he gets caught using it.

Once again, he arrived early at school but he didn't go to the usual classroom they use. The Combat Class will take place in a different field. He went to a place called 'Training Field A'.

Training Field A is located somewhere near the Castle Main, just a little but beyond the courtyard where the welcoming ceremony took place. 𝘭𝒾𝒷𝓇𝘦𝑎𝑑.𝒸ℴ𝓂

On his way, Ashton realized that there were many students heading in the same direction as him. From his observations, he discovered that most of them are 1st years just like him as well. This gave him an idea that they might be heading to the same class as him.

Which made him think that the Combat Class sure is popular, but it doesn't make sense though, from what he remembers, the Combat Class isn't amongst the required subjects for students.

Well...at least not for him. Which gives him an idea that it might be a different case for other students who aren't White Mages.

He eventually arrived at the Training Field A, and to his surprise, he saw a handful of people already there. Most of them have already formed small groups and are talking to each other.

Training Field A is an open air field. It's surrounded with tall trees that provide enough shade. The air is fresh around here and the mana density is quite high.

There are a few benches around to sit on. Ashton could also see several equipment here and there, he had no idea what they were just yet. His skill Identify isn't giving him any feedback either so they're a mystery for now.

It had to be known that so far, Ashton arrives 30 minutes before class starts. Whenever he arrives, there wouldn't be many students around in class but it's different in this Class it seems.

So far, he hasn't seen anyone he's familiar with so far. It made sense since, by the uniform majority of these students wear, there are more knights here than mages.

'I wonder if this class is required for them.' He mused inwardly.

Shrugging to himself, he found a spot to sit down and wait until class starts.

After a few minutes, he heard something...

"Eh? Is that him over there?"

"Yeah, it looks like him."

"Idiots, that is him and he can hear us. How about we come to him instead?"

Ashton raised his head and looked over to the source of those voices. There he saw Blake, Alice and Mary heading towards him. No wonder he thought those voices were familiar.

"Hey, Man! I didn't think you'd be here." Blake sat next to him and patted his back.

"Yeah, we didn't know you enrolled in the Combat Class as well." Alice commented.

"I did. But it's none of my business so I didn't bother telling you two." Mary started on the side.

"I...kind of expected to see you two here as well, you know, both of you being Knights and all. But..." he then shifted his gaze to Mary and said: "I wasn't expecting you either."

"Don't look at me. It wasn't my decision to be here." She snorted.

"Don't mind her." Alice chuckled, "She lost a bet, that's why she's here. Her parents also want her to enroll but she's adamant that she doesn't want to."

"In the end, we used a different method to convince her, so now she's here." Blake continued.

"Ah, I see." Ashton chuckled.

It was obvious from Mary's body language that she doesn't want to be anywhere around this place. For what reason, Ashton doesn't know and he wouldn't pry. It's just rather amusing how she's pouting and all.

"How about you? Why did you decide to enroll in this class?" Alice asked.

"Self-defense." Ashton answered readily. "I mean, who knows what will happen to me in the future right? Just making sure to cover-up all of my bases. Just in case..."

"Respect, dude." Blake nodded in satisfaction.

"How about you two? Is this class a requirement for you?" He asked.

"Not really." Alice answered while shaking her head.

"It's just in our best interest to do so, you know?" Blake added.

"Yeah, they're training maniacs. All brawns, no brains. Enrolling here wasn't a need for them, it's what they wanted." Mary commented on the side.

Ashton nodded. He could at least see why she would say that. Given by the few interactions he had with these kids so far, he can tell that they're very passionate about their training.

There's probably a reason behind that. Maybe it's because of their dreams for their own future? Who knows really?

The four of them spent the remaining time talking to each other. Due to the nature of their environment, it's inevitable that their topic revolves around battles and stuff.

Eventually, Ashton's smartwatch pinged, signaling that it's already 10am. The others also heard the ping so they turned quiet and waited for their Professor to show up.

And just like the punctuality of the Professors so far, their Professor appeared as soon as the clock hits 10am.

A man in a sky blue tracksuit holding a paper fan appeared before them. He was tanned, had spiky short brown hair. Stubbles could be seen tracing his jaw line. He had a piercing gaze and an intimidating presence.

"All of you, gather up in front of me and sit down. You have 30 seconds."

His voice was deep. Like, really deep. The students scrambled when they heard his command. They felt compelled to follow him not because he's their professor but because he was scary.

The students bunched-up and sat down on the ground in front of the professor. In this manner, they all felt small in front of him. It didn't help that he was slapping his paper fan on his back, increasing his already intimidating presence.

The man cleared his throat and said: "Welcome to the Combat Class, my name is Richard D. Just. In this class, you may call me either Professor Rycard or simply Coach Ry. I don't wanna hear you calling me Mr./Prof/Coach Just, understand?"

"Yes, Professor." The class responded.

"Good. Since you said that, I'll be expecting you all to follow it. If you slipped, don't blame me for hitting you with this." Rycard slapped the paper far on his hand, causing a crisp sound to echo across the field, making the students flinch in surprise.

"Alright. Here's my profile, take a look at it, don't be shy." He said as he displayed it to everyone.

Now that all the students saw how his name was written, they began to understand why he didn't like being called Prof. Just. It's really awkward.

"Anyways. Let's move-on." Rycard removed his profile and talked to his class. "Before we start this class, I want to set your expectations first, just in case some of you are disillusioned here."

"In here, the Combat Class, I will teach you how to fight. Unlike with other subjects where they don't require you to do anything or expect anything out of you, in this class it won't work that way."

"What I will teach you is how to survive, how to fight and how to protect yourself. This is quite literally a hands-on teaching and my pride won't allow me to just let you do as you please here."

"If you're going to do it, you're going to do it properly. That is my rule." He started with a piercing stare. "If you don't like what I'm forcing you to do, feel free to quit, you're not a loss. If anything, you'd be less of a headache for me so feel free to do so."

"I will be in-charge of your Physical Conditioning, whether you're a Mage or a Knight doesn't matter to me. Here, you will all experience the same exercise."

"I don't want to hear excuses like; I'm a mage, I don't have a strong body, or, I'm a Knight, I don't know I have the mana required for this. None of that. If you can't do it, that's just because you didn't try hard enough, that's all."

"I will closely monitor all of your activities. If I find you slacking in any way, shape or form, I won't hesitate to kick you out of the class. Are we all clear?"

"Yes, Professor." The class responded.

"Good. I'll have your word on it." Rycard then brought out several crates from his belt. He held a piece of clothing in his hand and showed it to his class.

"Grab these kinds of clothes in those crates and change them. I'll give you 5 minutes to do so. Those who are late will be punished. Timer starts now."

Chapter 55

Ashton checked himself in front of the mirror.

Right now, he's wearing a blue jumpsuit, similar to the one Prof. Richard was wearing, however, it was fitted to his body. The fabric clung to his skin but it wasn't uncomfortable, in fact it's the opposite.

The jumpsuit covered the majority of his skin except for his hands, feet and head. Aside from this, they were also given a pair of shorts. The girls had an additional sleeveless shirt for themselves.

Once Ashton thought that he looked fine, he exited the changing room to wait for further instructions. Once the time limit set by their professor was up, he announced:

"Today, there will be a fitness test. Start with a round of warm-ups according to the screen you're seeing. Once you're done, go run laps around the training field, you are not to stop unless I tell you so."

"Begin."

Their professor wasn't one to waste time it seems. Ashton has no problem with that. He looked at the screen in front of him and saw the exercises he needed to perform.

Push-ups: 30

Sit-ups: 30

Forward lunges: 25 per leg

Chin-ups: 30

Jumping jacks: 50

Run around the training field.

'Okay, that's doable.' Ashton mused to himself.

He found a nice spot for himself and immediately performed the exercises that are listed above.

Meanwhile, the other students are somewhat horrified by what they're seeing. To them, this doesn't look like a 'warm-up' at all, this is a whole-ass work-out for them.

Of course, there's also students like Ashton who didn't have any complaints about this and started doing the exercises already.

Mary, Alice and Blake saw Ashton dropping down and starting his push-ups. That made them look at each other. Afterwards, they shrugged and began their own as well.

Professor Rycard who's watching the class saw all of this happening with a sharp look on his eyes. He didn't say anything despite seeing the troubled faces of the other students.

'If they're already complaining about this, I don't see them lasting very long in this class.' He snorted inwardly.

Of course, he won't cuddle-up with these kids. That's not his style and frankly, that kind of attitude will just be detrimental for themselves. If all these kids do is complain all day long, there's no need for them to be here.

On the other hand, he appreciated those who didn't utter a word of complaints. Although there's no way for him to know whether they can last or not, it doesn't really matter today.

After all, this is just him testing their fitness. He just wants to see how active these students are so that he can make sufficient preparation for them in the future.

Of course this is only applicable for today. By all means, he's here to be their fitness and combat coach. He needs to train these kids because that's the job.

Ashton was used to this kind of routine already since he had been doing it for quite sometime now. Actually, he's doing much more than this but there's no reason to attract unnecessary attention for now.

To him, this is an actual warm-up.

He took a couple seconds of rest in between so that he wouldn't accidentally pull a muscle. He breezed through the exercises and by the time he was over with the warm-up, he stood-up to drink some water before jogging towards the edge of the field.

Once he arrived there, he started his run. He didn't go at his full speed, just the regular one to conserve as much energy as he could. He's also paying attention to his breaths as he did so.

Once he finished his first lap, he saw that there were others who were joining him already. He could see his friends running closely behind him as well.

When the other students saw that their classmates were already running laps, their procrastination ended and they started their warm-up as well.

Time passed just like this and eventually, all students were now running laps around the training field.

Rycard watched over them from time to time to check their progress. He's also committing some names to his memories as he watched.

From time to time, the students would hear him say something like: "Richardson, get-up and give me 3 more laps. If you can't, drop out of this class." 𝘭𝑖𝑏𝘳ℯ𝑎𝑑.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Sometimes, it would be like:

"Hill, 5 more laps and you're done."

"Grayson, 2 more laps."

"Are you messing with me Paul? Not even a lap and you're already tired? Get-up and do 5 laps before you die."

Mr. Rycard wasn't playing around. He was strict and was certainly watching each and every one of them. He also wasn't one to use nice words to encourage his students. He's crass with his words but they can't complain about it.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the crowd, Ashton was on his 7th lap already. He still looks mostly fine, just sweating profusely. Near him, Mary, Alice and Blake were haggard.

"Geez." Blake murmured.

"Hah...hah..." Alice was breathing heavily.

"Dear god..." Mary was complaining.

Ashton would chuckle if it weren't for that fact that he thinks it's inappropriate to do so right now.

And it wasn't just them, the majority of his classmates are suffering right now thanks to Rycard. Those who had been called out earlier already passed-out on the field due to exhaustion.

"Dude...how the hell are you still good?" Blake complained while running near him. "You started way before us, you don't even look tired."

"Right...you're...not even...a knight..." Alice huffed.

"..." Mary didn't say anything. Well, more like she can't since she's already dead tired.

"I'm used to it." He replied to them. "Focus on your breathing and don't talk too much. It'll be over soon."

After saying that, Ashton didn't mind them anymore and just continued his jog.

"Klein, give me one more lap." Rycard said.

"Yes, Sir." Mary responded, seemingly energized to know that she only has to endure a bit more before it's over.

Time passed and Rycard called-off more students. Eventually, Alice and Blake were called out too. As for Ashton, he's still going. He's on his 10th lap at this point.

More time passed and by the time they realized it, only Ashton was the one running.

It was such an ironic sight since he was practically the first one that started running and it's also him who lasted this long.

While others were already recovering from their suffering, Ashton is still running. How the hell was this even possible?

Even his friends couldn't believe this. Wasn't Ashton supposed to be a Mage? How come he outlasted every single one of them here.

It has to be known that the Mages who were enrolled in this same class were the ones who surrendered first. So there is a basis on why they found this situation a bit bizarre.

Ashton outlasted his entire class even though he was a mage. Even though this doesn't sound as impressive as it is, in truth, it was.

Even Rycard was impressed.

"West, one more lap and you can rest." He said.

"Yes, Sir." Ashton replied and continued with his jog.

Painfully aware that he's being watched by the entire class right now, Ashton soldiered on.

To be honest, he's nearing his limits as well. One more lap is all he could do before he starts wobbling. He was still sweating profusely and he could feel that stinging pain on his legs.

Eventually, Ashton finished his last lap, making a total of 15 laps around the training field.

Instead of collapsing though, he slowly reduced his speed and walked instead. He took out a bottle of water from his belt and downed it in an instant.

"We'll have a fifteen minute break, cherish it since there's more activities today." Rycard said before peeling his attention away from the class. He ignored the groans of his students since there's nothing they can do to convince them otherwise.

Once Ashton reached where Mary, Blake and Alice were sitting, he sat down with them and took out a towel to soak-up the excess sweat on his body.

He noticed that the three of them were looking at him weirdly, so he asked: "What? Is there something on my face?"

"Dude, you're a monster." Blake blurted out. "Are you really sure you're a Mage?"

"It's very unlikely for the personnel to make a mistake in the assessment so, yes. I'm sure. Otherwise, the White Mage option wouldn't show-up for me."

"I mean, you did tell us that you're used to it so I guess it makes sense." Alice commented, "Do you go to the gym often?"

"No." Ashton shook his head, he swept his hair back since it's still dripping with sweat and it was irritating to him. "I do have a gym set up in my house, so I don't need to go to one."

"But still, that doesn't make sense." Mary complained, "You weren't using Mana when you ran. How did you finish a whole 15 laps around the field without using Mana?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'm just built differently." Ashton replied while taking out energy bars from his belt.

He opened one and took a huge bite of it, he then looked at his friends and asked:

"Want some?"

Chapter 56

Training Field A remained mostly silent because everyone was exhausted.

Majority of the students are still recovering from their suffering earlier. Ashton was also included in this, though he's in a much better state since he's used to activities like this.

Mary, Blake and Alice are still looking haggard but since they ate some energy bars, they should be fine for the rest of the class.

Once their fifteen minute break passed, Rycard stood up from his seat and gathered them around. Everybody tensed-up since they were anticipating another round of suffering under him.

"Don't look at me like that. You brats know what you're getting yourselves into by enrolling in this class." Rycard snorted upon seeing their faces.

That caused several students to feel ashamed.

"Everyone who experiences awakening enters this kind of mindset." He stated, "Just because you've awakened some relics and saw the path to glory, you all thought that the rest will be smooth sailing from there."

"Did you honestly think that cultivation is that easy? Kids, there are people who can die just by breakthrough, not to mention seeking out opportunities outside where all manner of danger is present."

"Don't think that just because you became a student of this academy, you're already infallible, that everything will naturally fall into place and according to how you desire it. It doesn't work that way. Wake up to the harsh reality."

"Sure, if you become strong, you'll get access to wealth, fame, and reputation. But don't think that achieving those would be easy. I can tell you right now that at least 70% of the awakened population didn't amount to much in their lives, it isn't because their talent is lacking, it's because they didn't work hard enough."

Ashton listened to this and couldn't help but feel like he's missing some context here.

'His words sound extremely similar to the light novels I've read in the past. The ones where they say 'I, your grandfather this..' and 'I, your grand daddy that..' could it be that the same rules apply here?'

'Judging from what he said so far, it seems that the majority of the students here are aiming to explore the world outside. That's courting death isn't it? Do they even know about the different kinds of soil that's in there? Are people here really that desperate for treasures?'

'I still have many things to learn I guess...' he mused inwardly.

"Learning how to fight is obviously a good thing, especially since most of you here aim to become Licensed Cultivators in the future. But if you're thinking that, that's all you know, then you'd be awfully mistaken."

"If there's one thing the Federation doesn't lack, it would be brutes who could contribute nothing else aside from brawns. In other words, cannon fodders - people who die first the moment shit hits the fan."

"I have no qualms if that's what you want for yourself. Quite frankly, I don't care. But right now, none of you are even fit to become a cannon fodder. The worst part is that you brats who haven't even experienced much, feel like the world is already out to get you, yet you haven't seen shit yet."

'Ooh damn, he's spitting some real fire here.' Ashton exclaimed inwardly.

He wasn't particularly affected by what Rycard said, why? He isn't included in those students who feel entitled to something. He knew where he stood and had the right amount of confidence to back that up.

'Still, I'm getting some vague clues here...' He mused to himself, 'He referred to Licensed Cultivators just now. Does that mean that one has to have a license first before they could go out of Last Bastion?'

'Wait, why does this sound like public knowledge to begin with? Don't tell me it is, because I don't know it. If it is though, how did I miss it? I could've sworn I gathered as much public knowledge as I could already...'

Although Ashton understands that he still has many things to know about the mystical world of Knights and Mages, he did what he could learn as much as possible before getting here.

He thought that he shouldn't be missing something that's made public. Well, all of this is just speculation for now anyway.

'He also referred to the Federation. I'm assuming here that the Federation rules over cultivators since they seem to be the ones who are deciding where they could and couldn't go.'

'If that's the case, then they hold too much power here. I don't believe that their ranks aren't filled with strong cultivators as well since that's the only way they could bring the population under their rule.'

'That basically means that, even in this peaceful environment, the strong thrive while the weak are forced to bow their heads. And if there's anything I learned the hard way in my previous world, it's the fact that the government will never truly be pure from the inside out.'

'Suffice to say, I'd be assuming that the Federation is akin to turbulent waters. Man, that's troublesome.' Ashton sighed softly.

"Like I said earlier, I am your Professor but at the same time, I also work as your fitness coach. It should be obvious by now that I am strict and I don't like people who are lazy and complacent."

"The Combat Class isn't required to most of you here yet you enrolled in it. That's practically you telling us that you want to know how to fight or defend yourself."

"My class is a prerequisite for the more sophisticated subject in higher years so if you fail here, those won't be available to you. I for one would judge you according to your performance. If you show me that you're working hard and you're following my orders, you and I won't have problems. If you don't then that's on you, I truly couldn't care less."

"From what I saw based on your performance earlier, I can easily say that the majority of you will suffer in this class. Don't think that I will tone down your physical conditioning since I have no plans on doing that. Either you do it or you don't. It's as simple as that." 𝒍𝙞𝙗𝓻𝙚𝒂𝓭.𝒄𝙤𝙢

After saying that, Rycard snapped his fingers and all of a sudden, the environment shifted which shocked all of the students including Ashton.

Behind Rycard, a large wall suddenly appeared.

The wall had several things hanging in them. Most of them are steel weaponry. Beneath the wall are several crates filled with copies of the same weapons that are displayed on the wall.

"If you want to fight, you will need a weapon." Rycard stated, "Fists are good enough but those are your last resort. Most of the time, you will be holding something that could sincerely ruin those who dares to oppose you."

"Today, we will be going through the basics of weapon wielding. All of you, pick a weapon of your choice. Try for the ones that suited you the most. When you've chosen, come to me and I will pass down the basic stances and knowledge about your weapon choice."

All the students got up and went over to the wall to decide which one to choose. As for Ashton, he stood on his spot thinking to himself:

'I guess fights don't always revolve around spells and skills. That makes sense, after all, nobody possesses unlimited amounts of Mana. There are times when one would either choose to conserve some or be forced to not rely on them. Which is why knowing how to wield a weapon is a must. Yeah, that should be the idea behind it.'

'But...what should I choose? I never worked with weapons before.'

Ashton was already standing in front of the walls, still in deep thought. He could see all kinds of weapons displayed there. There were all kinds of swords, spears, bows and arrows, there's even the unorthodox weapons like chakrams, scythes and stuff in there.

Looking around him, he saw most of the students making their choices already. He saw Blake going after a shield, Alice going after a sword and Mary picking up a bow and several arrow quivers.

He couldn't make a decision right away so instead of just standing there doing nothing, he went over to the crates and decided to get a feel for each weapon type.

Ashton was somewhat going through instincts here. He's a White Mage first before a combatant so the possibility of him engaging in a one on one fight was low, that's why he never really thought about learning how to wield a weapon.

After trying out everything, Ashton went back to the ones that felt quite alright to him and made a comparison in his mind.

In the end, he made his choice. And it was something that he never thought he would pick, but here we were.

He went up to Rykard and said: "I've decided, Sir."

Rycard looked at the weapon in his hand and nodded: "A staff huh, very well."

The professor then poked his forehead and suddenly, Ashton felt a wave of new information drowning him.

[Notice!]

Chapter 57

Why did Ashton choose the regular staff?

Well, first and foremost, it felt nice on his hands. It was dense and heavy enough for him to hold and he liked that feeling compared to other weapons displayed here so far.

Additionally, a weapon like this is good for maintaining distance. It's arguable that bows and spears could do the same but frankly enough, he didn't like the way they feel in his hands.

In the end, he's really using his instincts here. Since his instincts told him that a staff would be good for him, then there's no reason not to try it out for now.

Ashton took a couple of seconds to recover from the information transfer. It may have helped that he had the mind of an adult that made this process significantly faster.

Once he opened his eyes, there's a system panel hovering in front of him.

[Notice! Knowledge Transfer, detected. Scanning for malicious intents...]

[None found. Accepting the transfer...]

[Host has acquired: Basic Staff Technique!]

[Basic Staff Technique - Lv.1]

Increases Host's familiarity and finesse when using a Staff to fight.

10% attack potency increases when wielding a Staff.

5% increase in Host's Endurance.

Ashton released a short breath and walked-away, Rycard was already passing down knowledge to another student anyway so he didn't notice.

Seeing as others found a spot for themselves to train, Ashton thought he should do the same.

The Training Field A was quite large, there's enough space for students to spread around so that they won't disturb someone else's practice. Ashton went into a distant corner of the field, somewhere that has a good amount of shade and people around.

His chosen spot was surrounded with trees and has a nice open space for him to train, there's also plenty of shade so he wouldn't have to worry about heat. Before starting with his training though, he figured that he has to ask something to the system. He argued that he probably should've done this before he made his decision but, better late than never...

'System, was there a way for you to tell me which weapon was suitable for me?'

[Negative, Host.]

'Alright, I figured as much.' He sighed.

He already had a clue that this should've been the case but it still wouldn't hurt to ask, just in case. Thankfully, his intuition was correct.

'And I suppose I can't put this skill in the Grinding Slots, huh?'

[Negative, Host.]

'Yep, just as I thought.' Ashton wasn't really surprised.

As much as he was glad to have the system with him, right now it couldn't really help him much.

He initially thought that, since Spells and Skills are only different in name, that he could also grind them as well, apparently not. As for why, he can't exactly tell for now and it isn't the time to wonder about that too. He had other things to pay attention to.

m Doing some light stretches, he twirled the staff in his hands first to get a good feel for it. Just as he expected, it felt nice in his hands, especially now that the perk from the technique is in effect.

Ashton then went into a horse stance while holding the staff parallel to the ground. He took a deep breath and checked if he's doing the stance properly.

He searched for flaws and fixed them according to the proper way before even performing the first attack. He wasn't on the rush, there's no time limit given so he could take his time. He figured that it would be better to practice it in the correct form so as to not develop any bad habits in future.

The first attack was a simple thrust. Just by getting a good grip on the staff and stabbing it forward was all he had to do.

Ashton did it on his first try, like anyone else here would, but he's far from satisfied. He was severely lacking still but he got the idea.

For the next chunk of the class, Ashton wouldn't perform any other move aside from this one. He didn't feel the need to go through the list if he can't even perform a single one properly.

And so, he did just that. He got absorbed into his own training and he lost sense of time in the process.

"Alright Kids, time's up. Gather around here!"

Rycard's voice broke his focus. Ashton released a sigh and released himself from his stance. He felt his muscles aching but it was a good burn. He's already used to this kind of sensation due to his daily conditioning.

Before he left his spot, he noticed that for some reason, he left a deep footprint on where he was standing before. He failed to notice when that happened though, but he knew that it's the product of the intensity of his strikes and focus.

He returned to his classmates that are now standing in front of their professor.

Just from a single glance, he could tell that everyone was drained. He was in a better spot but he's drained too, after all this is his first time training with a weapon.

"All of you can keep the weapons you picked today. A word of caution, don't try to use them for hurting others since they are programmed to send a signal if that happens. If you use that to intentionally hurt someone then that's an automatic expulsion for you and that's non-negotiable." Rycard reminded me strictly.

"You can also keep the training clothes. Every time you come into my class, you all should be wearing that instead of your uniform."

"For your homework, I want you all to study the basic weapon techniques I passed down onto you. You have until our next class to perform them at an acceptable level."

"I will ask you to give me a demonstration during our next class where you will be graded based on your performance. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Professor."

"Good. I'll be expecting you all in our next class. That's it for today. Go home safely."

After saying that, Rycard disappeared the same way as other professors did.

Knowing that he's gone, the students finally released their frustrations. Most of them just groaned, some complained but mostly, they just dragged their exhausted bodies back to the changing room before going home. Of course, there's also some who didn't even bother at all.

As for Ashton, whether he likes it or not, he still has a shift to attend to. So, he went back into the changing room to wear his uniform again.

When he got out, he noticed that Mary, Blake and Alice were already gone. That's when his smartwatches pinged. He received messages from them, telling him that they already went ahead of him since they were tired beyond their minds.

Ashton didn't mind this of course, he just told them to get a good rest and told them that they're going to be in severe pain tomorrow due to the abuse they suffered today. 𝑙𝘪𝒷𝘳𝑒𝘢𝑑.𝒸𝑜𝑚

After that, he went straight into the Grand Library and clocked-in for work. Aria was there as usual and there weren't any visitors yet again.

"You look a bit...exhausted. Did something happen?" Aria asked in concern while Ashton was taking out the things he needed.

"Oh uh. It's Combat Class today, that's why."

"Ah, I see. Wait, what's your specialization again?"

"White Mage." Ashton replied without looking at her.

"And you enrolled in the Combat Class? That's admirable. Good for you."

"Thanks." Ashton looked at her and smiled.

He failed to notice how Aria seems to blank out upon seeing that smile of his.

"Uh, I have a question." Ashton faced her looking a bit hesitant.

"Y-yes? What is it?"

"Do I smell bad?"

Aria wasn't prepared for that question, Ashton even leaned towards her so that she could get a good whiff of his scent.

And so, just like what a normal human being would do in this situation, she sniffed him and paused for a bit.

Ashton waited for the verdict, feeling a bit nervous since he honestly doesn't know what he smells like right now. His nervousness only got worse when he saw Aria looking at him blankly with her jaw slightly ajar.

"Uhm...earth to Aria? Hello? Are you still there?"

"Ah! Yes, yes. I-it's fine. You don't smell bad." She replied, jolting out of her stupor.

"Are you sure?" Ashton frowned, "You don't sound convincing."

"Really, believe me." Aria nodded, "You're fine- smell, fine! Yes. You smell fine. You don't stink. Not at all. Y-you can ask Chief Leon to confirm it if you want."

"Nah, that's fine. I'll take your word for it." Ashton grinned and took the things he needed to do his job.

He's mostly worried about smelling bad since he didn't take a shower before coming here, he knew that teenagers had a lot going-on for their bodies including hygiene concerns so he just wanted to make sure. But since Aria said that he smells fine, then it's all good.

She wouldn't lie to him about that, right?

What Ashton failed to notice was that, after he was off checking the durability of books, Aria left a 'comfort room break' on the station's desk. She only returned after ten minutes.

Chapter 58

"Master! There's a package outside, I took it in..."

Jerry's voice sounded through the comms. Ashton straightened his back and wiped away his sweat using an already damp towel hanging by his shoulder. He looked at the time and saw that it was around the time he wraps-up his daily routine, so he deactivated the training room and stepped outside.

His trusty helper-bot was already waiting for him outside, carrying an innocuous box which doesn't even have any kind of designs in it. It looked just like a plain old cardboard box.

"Did it say where it came from?" He asked the bot.

To which Jerry replied with a shake of his head. Ashton shrugged and pointed at the table. The bot then whirred and went ahead to put the box in there.

Once he sat down, Jerry told him that he'll be cooking food and left Ashton on his own.

Ashton took a couple of seconds to relax. He's still a little bit out of breath from his training just now. He could even feel himself still sweating even while resting.

Meanwhile, he inspected the box using his senses. He didn't sense any maliciousness in it, not anything that could possibly tick him off. But he does notice that the box radiates a good chunk of mana, which makes him wonder what's inside of it.

A little while later, he decided to open it anyway. He really wouldn't know unless he did after all.

He'd admit that he's on guard. After all, the sender didn't leave any information on the box itself so that's already suspicious. And since one can never be too careful, especially in this day and age, he might as well assume that the box might explode the moment he opens it.

...which it didn't, thank god. That made him sigh in relief. .

He then proceeded to take a look at the stuff it contained and to his surprise, the items here were mostly something that he didn't recognize. 𝑙𝒾𝒷𝘳𝑒𝑎𝘥.𝒸ℴ𝓂

There's a chip in here which he can insert to his smartwatch, this usually contains information and so on but it has many other uses. He also saw a lot of books, a weird looking crystal and a small box.

Ashton frowned, he didn't remember doing any online shopping recently so he couldn't possibly be the one to have ordered this. Plus, if he was, then someone would've actually come and talked to him, right? The fact that the box looked plain and didn't contain any information was a dead give-away.

He then noticed a small tape attached to the chip. There's words on that tape which reads: 'Scan this first.'

Ashton raised a brow. He was hesitant at first but it's not like he can discover anything if he didn't do this so he might as well. He peeled off the tape and inserted the chip into his smartwatch to scan it.

After a couple of seconds, his smartwatch lit up and displayed a paused audio recording. Ashton blinked and somehow, an idea on who this package might've come from crossed his mind.

He played the audio recording and this is what he heard:

"Greetings, Young West. Regal King here."

'Thought so...' Ashton murmured to himself.

"You might find this weird and very out of the blue, frankly I don't care. I wanted to do it, so I did it. I sent you another package."

'I can see that...thanks I guess?'

"You might be wondering, why? Well, because I was intrigued, that's all."

'Intrigued? About what?'

"I received reports on your first week of school. So far, you've been impressive and I hope you stay that way. But, I digress. What I'm interested in is that curse of yours."

'Ahh...'

"It's intriguing to say the least...this, Curse of Mediocrity, as you call it. A curse that prevents you from learning Intermediate Spells and above. I did some research about it and found out that, so far, this is a Unique Curse."

'A Unique Curse?'

"Aisha might've already told you this, but if she didn't, then listen carefully. Curses don't really disappear. It just goes around and gets passed around."

"Even if someone got rid of their shackles, the curse they once bore doesn't really dissipate into nothingness. Someday, someone will be unlucky enough to be the next host of the curse and the cycle just repeats itself."

Ashton nodded to this. Aisha did inform him about this being the case.

"The reason why I call your curse a unique one is because there weren't any records of it so far."

'Oh?'

"This means that, this Curse of Mediocrity, is something that only you, so far, has had throughout history. Which also marks you as a unique individual."

"If there's one thing that you should know about me, Young West. It's the fact that I am a very curious individual, so much so that it gets me into trouble sometimes, but that's a story for another day..."

"I sent you a package that contains things that would help you determine how deep this curse is embedded to you and what are its limits. See, curses can be fickle at times and some can be manipulated or worked around. The items in that box I sent you will help you determine more clues about it. Of course, I've added some bonuses as well, I'm not asking you to do this for free. After all, I'm already crossing the line with this."

"I'd like you to take a look at the weird looking crystal that's in the box first."

Ashton peeled his eyes away from the hologram and took out the weird looking crystal out of the box.

The crystal looked...unnatural, to say the list. It's jagged and covered with thin yet sharp looking shards all over its body, then again the bottom part was smooth and flat, allowing it to stand on itself.

It looked untainted for the most part, but at the very center of it, there seems to be a tiny wisp of...something blue. It's moving slightly and it jiggles whenever he touches the crystal itself. It's radiating mana but weirdly enough, Ashton didn't think that, whatever that thing is at the center of the crystal, it wasn't made out of mana.

He placed it in front of him and then heard the Regal King say:

"That is a Soul Reflecting Crystal, a small fragment of it, more like. It has many uses that you'd eventually discover in the future but the one thing about it is that it reacts to Curse Individuals strongly."

"Listen to my instructions first before using it. You must know everything first since the reaction will be quick and that crystal can only be used once. It is rather pricey and difficult to find so I'd appreciate it if you don't waste it."

"Now, to use it is simple, you'd only have to inject it with your mana. But like I said, this crystal reacts strongly to people like you so once you do that I want you to pay close attention to what will happen next."

"There's a total of five reactions we're looking for here. Scaling from weak to strong, they are:

If the core of the crystal turns into a deeper color

If it turns black

If it turns black then taints the inner parts of the crystal.

If it taints the entirety of the crystal

And if the crystal just melts into black goo.

These are the reactions you should look for. Remember this happens quickly, no matter how strong the reaction is, this crystal will always dissipate into nothing, yes even the black goo."

"If it's alright with you, I'd like you to tell me how the crystal reacted to you honestly. You have my contact information so you can use that to inform me."

"As for the books, some of those contain knowledge about curses in general. It has records of what are the known curses and who succeeded in getting rid of them, it even includes how they did it. These should be useful to you."

"Additionally, one of the books there is special. I sent you a book that contains knowledge about Staff Wielding since I discovered you picked that as your choice of weapon. That should be useful to you as well."

"To top things off, that small box contains a necklace. Wear it, it will help you increase focus and increase your cultivation speed slightly."

"I might ask you to perform more experiments later on but do tell me if you're uncomfortable with it, I won't force you unless you're willing to do so."

"That's it for me. Do think about it. I'd be expecting your reply."

The audio recording stopped and chip dislodged itself from his smartwatch before turning into dust. Ashton watched this happen with a wry smile. This sponsor of his is really being thorough huh?

"Prof. Aisha wasn't kidding..." he murmured despite himself, "He really is generous once he's invested."

Ashton shook his head and kept the things away for now. Jerry arrived with his food and he'd rather have that first before the experiments.

He doesn't mind participating with the experiments the Regal King has for now, after all he wants to get rid of this curse no? So, why not? Who knows? Maybe he can help him figure out a way to remove this.

Chapter 59

Ashton didn't do anything with the crystal just yet because Jerry came with his food.

He will eat first then he goes on with the experiment later.

While he's eating, he's doing some online research about the Soul Reflecting Crystals since he wants to know more about them.

One of the benefits of being an official student of the Mystic Academy is that he was granted clearance for his magical studies. If he uses his student id to log-in and browse, he'll be able to view information online that previously weren't available to him.

When he searched for the information he wanted, several results showed-up. He viewed the one at the very top and was satisfied to see a detailed explanation about the crystal.

The Soul Reflecting Crystal is something that doesn't form within the bubble of the Last Bastion. This resource is so rare and extremely risky to collect that oftentimes, casualties are expected whenever a group is sent out to collect some. This was mainly the reason behind its steep price but of course, that's not all.

Listed below the article were at least 30 uses of the crystal. Ashton casually read through them and discovered that almost all of the listed uses are extremely important.

For example; the blue-ish core inside the crystal. That can be used to create the more modern types of Smartwatches. It turns out that it's a key ingredient for making them too. To top things off, smartwatches only needed a drop of that liquefied core to be functional.

Even the tiniest shard of this crystal can be used as a disinfectant using proper tools and chemicals. It is too versatile which is why, even though it's risky, many people still risk going outside to harvest these.

Now that he learned about the majority of its uses, Ashton now feels that it's a little too wasteful to use this crystal to gauge how 'cursed' he is. There should be other ways to test this but since his sponsor told him that it's going to be fine, then he decided to just go along with it for now.

Once he was done with his meal, he let Jerry clean out the table first before initiating the test.

Once the bot was done, Ashton took out the crystal to prepare himself.

He used his smartwatch to record the process since he figured that his sponsor would appreciate that. Once he's done with his set-up and double-checked everything, he took a deep breath and went on with it.

Buzz!

Injecting mana from his finger to the crystal was easy, the reaction was quite swift too. Ashton blinked and before he knew it, the crystal turned pitch black before dissolving into a black goo. A second later, the goo dissipated into dust, nowhere to be seen anymore.

Everything happened so quickly that Ashton didn't even have the time to react. In the end, he sighed and stopped the recording. He replayed it using the slowest speed he can use.

Under his observations, he could see that once he touched the crystal and injected a faint dose of his mana in it, the core instantly darkened and popped, tainting the entire crystal pitch black. A couple of moments later, the crystal slowly melted off into dust particles.

Ashton sighed and decided to sent the video recording to the Regal King, once he's done with that, he rested his back against the chair and looked-up, whispering:

"...it's that bad huh?" There was a trace of helplessness in his voice.

To be fair, his curse doesn't really sound so bad in words. The Curse of Mediocrity, a curse that prevents him from learning Intermediate Offensive Spells and above. Again, it doesn't sound so bad and it shouldn't be...at least from what Ashton could tell so far.

It will restrict him severely, yes. But, it's not going to kill him...at least he hopes not.

Then again, judging by the reaction of the crystal, he really has it bad. He's now starting to wonder if he could even get rid of the curse in the future.

While waiting for the Regal King's response, if he's even planning on responding at all, Ashton decided to check the other things that his sponsor sent to him.

Several books about curses, the Staff Wielding Book and the small box that apparently contains a piece of jewelry.

He kept the books about curses first in his inventory as well as the book for staff wielding. He can read those later when he has time. As for the contents of the small box, it was a necklace with a sapphire gemstone.

'Identify...' Ashton whispered a command to his system.

[Clear Sky Necklace - Rare]

a Sharply increases focus and concentration

a +30% Cultivation Efficiency.

a Durability: 100/100

'Oh, it can break.' Ashton murmured inwardly. 'Oh well, I have a repair skill, once I level that up, I should be able to take care of this necklace as well.'

Without any further ado, Ashton wore the necklace and immediately felt its effects. This will prove very useful when it comes to studying and cultivation, it could even have a positive effect on his training in general.

There's really no reason for Ashton to never wear this at all.

He sighed once he's done with this. Jerry then came and informed him that his bath was ready. Ashton smiled and patted the bot's head, he stood-up and went upstairs to enjoy his warm bath.

'A nice afternoon nap after this sounds very enticing.'

Is what Ashton thought as he dipped his somewhat exhausted body to the tub.

Ashton frowned as he looked around.

He found himself treading across a very desolate area. A wide stretch of open land that has nary a blade of grass on sight,

Traces of battle are obvious everywhere he looked. The air is heavy, the land is uneven, there are pieces of metals scattered all across his vision. The atmosphere itself was quite frightening.

Ashton doesn't have a clue on where is right now or how he ended-up here. Now that he thought about it, why does it seem like he can't remember anything else aside from his name?

...and why does he feel a splitting heartache as looked at this desolate land?

He had no answers for any of this, so he could only do what he could and that is to continue moving forward.

Sometimes, he wondered why he could stop to look at a certain area of this place, he's also wondering why he could feel more hurt whenever he's staring at those places. He really can't make sense of anything that's happening to him.

Sometime after that, Ashton started hearing voices. It all started with faint whispers here and there, they were too faint to locate and incomprehensible so he selectively ignored them but as time went on, they were becoming louder.

The strange part is that he didn't hear just one voice, there were multiple. Each voice was saying something but since they're all happening at the same time, he couldn't make sense of what they're saying at all.

Along with the voices, the heartache he felt made him feel extremely horrible. So much so that he's panicking and asking himself just what it is that he's forgetting? Why can't he remember? What is going on?

Nevertheless, despite what he's feeling, he continued moving forward. Somehow, he was hell bent on doing just that even though things are getting progressively worse.

He really doesn't know what was happening, he couldn't, for the life of him, remember why he's experiencing so much pain and agony, just what is it that he does to deserve this? And why is he stubbornly so hell bent on moving forward?

Where the hell did this drive come from?

It was when he took that one step that things changed. Suddenly, everything went quiet. The voices were gone and the heartache disappeared as well. He was left there, puzzled and very confused but relieved as well. But before he could even think about what just happened, another development occurred.

'Why are you here?'

'This doesn't make sense.'

'Are you supposed to be here?'

'You're not supposed to be here.'

'How did you come here?'

'Where did you come from?'

'Who are you?'

'What is your name?'

'What are your intentions for coming here?'

'This place isn't for the likes of you.'

'Stay away!'

'Begone!'

'Pest.'

'You'll die.'

'Ah, so you can hear and feel us too.'

The voices came back with a vengeance. They were louder and clearer. They spoke way too much, all at the same time too, making it hard for Ashton to think properly.

He could feel his body shaking under the pressure. The voices, they're too loud...too much for him to endure. He could feel a splitting headache that made him clutched his head. He desperately wants to silence them but he couldn't. 𝒍𝓲𝒃𝙧𝓮𝙖𝒅.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Then...warmth came to him. All of a sudden, a while light flooded his vision and the voices were gone. Then, he heard a gentle and affectionate sound in his ears.

'Not yet, child. You're too young for this place. You still have a lot of growing-up to do. One day though, you will return. By then, hopefully you've found your path.'

Gasp!

Ashton's eyes snapped wide open, he harshly got up from his bed and panicked momentarily. He took a careful glance at his room and was relieved that everything seemed normal.

'What the hell was that?' He couldn't help but ask himself.

Chapter 60

Ashton doesn't really understand what kind of dream was that no matter how hard he tried to...

It felt so...real, so much so that he's starting to believe that it was real instead. Granted the world he lives in right now, too? That might've actually been the case.

Still, none of that made sense to him. He tried searching online but found nothing, he referred to books too but still, nothing. In the end, he could only drop the subject altogether and just move-on with his life.

No use in being invested into something he doesn't understand to begin with anyway.

Just like this, life continued for Ashton. Days passed as he adjusted to his new life and continued his magical studies.

Each day he could feel himself substantially getting stronger and more vigorous. It was such a weird feeling since he can easily tell that he's much stronger compared to his fully grown self from his past. There's just no comparison to be made.

With the time that passed, he also learned more and more about the world of cultivation, eventually painting a full idea of what it's like in his mind.

Suffice to say, his initial assumptions were correct, this world was indeed dangerous. In fact, it's even more dangerous than he initially expected.

See, he found out that there's just no way to avoid it.

Even if his goal was to just become a hermit and just study magic all of his life, there's no way he'll be able to avoid confrontation. Sooner or later, he'll have to fight. There's no way he can't, life wouldn't allow it.

As days turned into weeks, then weeks turned into months, Ashton fell into a stable routine that 5 months flashed past him since the beginning of the academic year.

And while the past six months were nothing but peaceful, it failed to lure Ashton to its lair.

Ashton knew...he just knew that there's no way this peace would continue just like this. Something has to happen.

And to nobody's surprise, he was correct.

"...alright you brats, listen up." Aisha walked down the aisle as she said this, "your Final Exams for the first semester is coming up. It will happen next Monday so I want you to prepare."

"To that extent, your schedule for this week is cleared. Use this time to do some last minute training to prepare yourselves. Is that all clear?"

"Yes, Prof." The students replied in unison.

"Those who are close to their breakthroughs, don't forget to get me or other trusted people on speed dial. I trust you all to follow the rules or else we will have some serious problems. Alright, that's it for me. Now, scram!"

The students then stood up and began leaving the room. 𝓵𝒊𝓫𝓻𝓮𝓪𝒅.𝓬𝓸𝙢

"Hey, Ash. Alice and Blake said that they're already at the meeting place."

"You mean Aunt Rosie's?"

"Same thing."

Ashton rolled his eyes, "Seriously, why the hell do you guys treat that place like some sort of a secret base? I mean, all we do there is eat and lounge around."

"Heathen!" Mary called out in a scandalized voice, "How dare you! That is our bunker! Our last line of defense against the normies! Don't you ever sully it with those foul words of yours."

Ashton groaned and said: "Yeah, yeah whatever. Let's just go."

At this point, Ashton already relented and allowed himself to get dragged-on by these three. Honestly, at first he was hesitant to join them since he was still adjusting to his life as a teenager...again, but they never really gave him a chance to get-away from their grasp.

In the end, he became friends with them and came to know more information that he didn't know in the past.

For example; it turns out that Mary's curse was particularly troublesome

As they grew more comfortable around each other, they eventually revealed the type of curse she has. Ashton shared his first to them, then eventually he knew hers.

Mary's curse is the 'Curse of Negativity', this basically punishes her every time she feels negative emotions as she would feel it twice as strong. Ashton could see many ways on how this curse could seriously ruin someone so he pitied the girl quite a bit. He never showed it though since, that would be insulting to her.

If it were him, he wouldn't want anyone to pity him too. It's demoralizing and could possibly make someone feel...'less' in general. Not a good thing in the first place, even more so if Mary was the one to feel it since her curse would make it worse.

At the same, this made Ashton feel like he had it easier. At most, he can't use intermediate offensive spells and that's it. Mary on the other hand would seriously suffer from this, this is why Alice and Blake tried their best to distract her.

But of course, since Ashton now knows this as well, he's in it as well. Alice and Blake never really specifically told him to do so but the hints were there. He'd be a fool to not notice them. He didn't mind it of course, their friends anyways.

Speaking of friends, Ashton didn't really go out of his way to expand his social life. What little he has right now is just fine with him. He's acquainted with the rest of the class he's in as well as those from the Combat Class but not really close enough to call themselves friends.

Honestly, he just didn't see the point nor he's too keen to discover anyways. He's already used to being a loner anyways so Mary, Alice, Blake and Aria were good enough for him.

Mary and Ashton boarded the transit and eventually arrived at their destination.

"I don't see them anywhere though." Ashton murmured as soon as the two of them arrived at the shop.

Behind him, Mary walked past him, dragging him towards a corner. Ashton frowned and allowed himself to be dragged around. Eventually, they arrived at a door. Mary went behind him and pushed him inside.

That's when the lights flickered on and he was greeted with:

"Surprise! Happy Birthday, Ashton!"

Phewitt!

Alice, Blake and Aria were inside, wearing party hats and small confetti bombs in their hands. There's party decorations on the walls and a cake in the middle of the table.

A helpless smile appeared on Ashton's face as he entered the room.

"So that's why I felt like I was missing something important when I woke-up this morning." Ashton said while shaking his head.

"Seriously? You forgot your own birthday?" Blake asked, sounding a little incredulous.

"How did you guys even know? I don't remember telling you about it." He asked.

"Yeah, you didn't. It was Aria who discovered it." Alice stated, looking at the timid librarian.

"You usually leave your stuff unsupervised whenever you're cramming. Your profile was open and I kinda saw it but not everything in it of course. I saw your birthdate there, October 15, so I took note and told them about it a week ago." Aria mentioned casually.

Looking at her, Ashton wouldn't have known that she was the same, stuttering mess, that she was during their initial meeting. Aria had come out of her shell, which is a sign that she's comfortable around them.

Ashton nodded and humored them by also wearing a party hat. Of course, this was special, he was the birthday boy after all.

This was new to him. He's never really been one to celebrate birthdays, neither is he one to actually pay attention to his own age. He just lives life as he pleases before and that habit followed him in this life.

Still, he wouldn't refuse this. It's not a bad feeling.

They proceeded with the celebration. They sang happy birthday to him and even asked him to make a wish before blowing out the candles.

Ashton was really glad that the rooms were soundproof or else, Blake would've already brought the house down with his loud and screamer vocals as he used the karaoke.

Alice was pushed to the brink of insanity as she came 'this' close to murdering him with her bare hands. Aria was just there, looking culture-shocked while Mary just looked done.

Ashton himself just finds this funny. He figured that he should just let this pass since it's a special day of course.

However...for some reason...Ashton feels really strange.

He doesn't know why but he feels a bit uneasy. Initially, he thought that it's just because he forgot that it's his birthday today but then again, it didn't really disappear.

Ashton felt cold and he doesn't know why. He also feels like someone's prickling his skin with needles and it was getting uncomfortable.

Aria seems to have noticed this so she leaned towards him and asked: "Hey, what's wrong?"

He looked at her and hesitated, he opened his mouth to speak but to his surprise, his voice wasn't coming out. It's as if his throat was plugged or something.

Before he could even say something to her using sign-language, his world was rocked by a sudden explosion.

The impact was so strong that everything, including him, tumbled around the room. His head hit something hard and then he lost consciousness.

Chapter 61

Ashton woke up with a horrible headache.

He could feel his head pounding and he also felt dizzy. It took quite some time before he adjusted and when he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see where he was.

Everything around him was charred beyond recognition. The burnt smell flooded his nose, causing him to feel nauseous. He also noticed how his uniform got so tattered that the automatic cleaning functions it had weren't working.

He found himself resting against a wall, what remains of it at least. There's no one alive on sight, everything was in ruins.

It's probably because he just woke-up that all of this wasn't sinking to him just yet. Ashton felt mostly confused for now, he also felt incredibly weak for some reason.

He tried to stand-up but he couldn't just yet so he could only stay where he was. He closed his eyes and tried to breathe despite the awful smell around him.

'System, you there?'

[I am with you, Sir.]

'Can you tell me what just happened?'

[System advises Sir to recover his health first before viewing the footage.]

'That means you've recorded the event, that's good. I didn't know you could do that.' Ashton grunted as he adjusted his position. 'You're right, I should probably recover my health for now just in case. Open up the Inventory please..'

A hologram appeared before him. Ashton opened his eyes and scanned the items he collected so far by just signing-in everyday. He looked at the accumulation and saw several items that could help hasten up his recovery.

Arguably, Ashton could've probably used a spell to heal himself but the problem is, he sensed that his mana reserves were almost dry and he's too weak and hurt to go into meditation right now so he could only use items.

[Small Health Potion]

[Small Mana Potion]

He has a lot of these, thankfully. He got them whenever he signed in during the Herbology Classes. Sometimes he'd receive them by tens, if he's lucky, by hundreds even. On rare occasions, he'd get Medium or Large Health Potions. He never had any practical use of these so it was just stuck to his inventory, now he can finally test them out.

With weak hands, he removed the cork and downed the potion in one go. He sighed as he felt the liquid smoothly gliding down his throat. Next, he felt a cool and soothing sensation spreading all over his body. He groaned in comfort as he felt himself recovering, he's starting to feel light and energized.

After a minute or two. He finally opened his eyes. Another sigh escaped his lips. He no longer felt weak but his mana reserves are still empty. Well, that's what the mana potion was for.

Once he drank the potions. Ashton felt as good as new. He stood-up slowly and looked at his surroundings. He bit his lips and felt the realization sinking in.

There's really nobody in sight. All he could see was charred ruins everywhere. He bit his lips and suppressed the bubbling dread on his stomach.

He sat back down to where he was earlier and took a couple of deep breaths. He asked himself if he's ready to know the horrible truth. It took a couple more minutes of introspection before he finally got the courage to do it.

'System, show me the footage.'

[Affirmative.]

Ashton then felt his mind jerking. He then saw scenes flashing past his eyes. 𝙡𝒊𝓫𝓻𝓮𝙖𝙙.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Several hooded figures hovered on top of the Academy. One of them raised their hand to conjure a miniature sun which they then threw at the Academy itself.

Several instructors showed-up in attempts to stop-it but it's useless. A devastating explosion ruined the entirety of the Academy.

The footage then showed himself as well as his friends celebrating his birthday. When the explosion occurred, he saw himself launching to the opposite side of the room, hitting the edge of the table on his way which caused him to lose consciousness.

He then saw a very injured Leon appearing right before them amidst the fire. He encased all of them in a bubble of barrier before dragging his exhausted body out of there.

Sadly, before they could escape, another explosion occurred and this time, Leon couldn't hold the barrier.

Ashton bit his lips as Leon coughed out blood as he used his body as a literal shield to protect them from the shrapnel flying around. One said shrapnel pierced his body, right at his chest, causing the man to buckle forward and cough out even more blood.

He saw how Leon's gaze sharpened. He started chanting a spell unknown to Ashton. Just from the look on his eyes, Ashton knew that Leon had already decided to sacrifice his life to save them.

Before finishing the spell, he heard Leon saying this;

"I don't know where this spell will take you. Hopefully out of the city but...*cough!* I'm too weak to stabilize it."

Another explosion occurred in the background.

"Damned Revenants. How the hell did even pass through the bubble?" Leon coughed another mouthful of blood. "I've got to hurry-up. I can't let the Revenants get a hold of these kids or else, Humanity will be done for."

Leon grunted and summoned all the strength left on his body to finish the spell. Just before he was done though, he ripped his necklace and approached Ashton's unconscious body.

"The Grand Library shouldn't fall on their hands either. Young Ashton, you must never let them have this. And if you ever come out alive from this, I hope you take care of Aria. Be there for her...please."

By the time he's done with his speech, Leon clapped his hands and then their bodies were covered by a thin film of light. The footage blurred for a bit and before he knew it, he was already where he is now.

The footage then zoomed-out far enough to cover an entire landmass and before he knew it, Ashton found himself staring at the ruins of City M...

..whatever's left of it anyway.

The footage zoomed-in on his unconscious body, next to him was Aria. She turned into a streak of light and entered the key that Leon gave him.

Ashton didn't see Mary, Alice or Blake anywhere.

It was at this point that Ashton felt hot tears cascading down his face.

'So, it's just me and Aria now huh...'

[In this ruined City M, yes.]

'How long was I unconscious?'

[3 whole days, Sir.]

'I don't get it.' Ashton bit his lips. 'Where are the people from the Federation? Why haven't they done anything about this!'

[Sir-]

'What are Revenants anyway? Chief Leon hinted that they're not from here, so Outsiders then? How the hell did they pass through the protective bubble? This doesn't make sense!'

[Sir-]

'Just how many people died? What are they doing? Where are they? Weren't they supposed to prevent this from happening? I don't understand! Why has help haven't arrived yet?'

[Sir! City M had been isolated.]

'...huh?'

[The ruins of City M are no longer within the Last Bastion.]

Ashton's mouth opened as if he's about to say something, but unable to form words that could explain just how confused he was.

'...how?' Is all he could ask.

[My apologies, Sir. But I don't have enough information to accurately answer that question.]

[All I could say is that, for unknown reasons, the 'Revenants' as Leon called them, managed to not only destroy the Mystic Academy and City M as whole, but also rip it away from Last Bastion, sending it away to an unknown territory.]

'...we're no longer inside the Last Bastion.' Ashton chuckled hollowly as the realization finally kicked in at this point.

'I'm literally in the middle of god knows where, presumably outside of humanity's last safe haven where all manner of dangers are present. Me, the weak old me!'

Trepidation swam through every inch of his skin. Panic and horror kicked-in as Ashton found himself curling into a ball and feeling cold all over.

What a horrible day this was...

And out of all days, it just has to be his birthday. How cruel can this world be for him. He didn't ask for any of this.

In the middle of Ashton's meltdown, a voice called out from the depths of his mind.

'Ash...'

His eyes snapped wide open. He recalled who that voice belonged to. Panicking, he took out the key from his chest pocket and held it dearly like it's his lifeline.

"A-are...you there? Can you hear me?"

'Focus on my voice Ash.' She whispered, Ashton could hear the faint sobs in between her words. 'I need you to focus.'

Ashton took a deep breath and did what she said. Once he found himself settling down, he felt a tug which caused him to open his eyes.

He looked around to see that he's within a familiar place. The Grand Library.

He then looked down and saw a mop of auburn hair. Aria wrapped her delicate arms around him, hugging him so tight while shaking.

Ashton bit his lips to prevent another sob from escaping. He returned the hug and whispered:

"I'm so glad you're here with me."

"Me too, Ash." Aria sobbed in his embrace. "Me too."

Chapter 62

The Last Bastion is under a strict lockdown because of what happened.

Considering that an entire city was not only destroyed along with most of its citizens, and missing, this shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone.

Nobody was prepared for what happened, neither were they expecting it to begin with.

Not even a day passed since the disappearance of City M, humanity was in a full blown panic. While the Morning Sun Federation deals with a lot of things to maintain peace and stability, there's really not much they could do in this scenario.

After all, how can one even begin explaining the disappearance of an entire city?

The authorities were frazzled by this. Even though they already determined that Revenants did this, they still can't understand how they managed to infiltrate the Last Bastion.

Wasn't it that protective dome's job to filter these things out? How come it failed?

Nobody has any explanation for it.

Similarly, nobody could tell where the city went. They have no idea where it is right now. Plus, it didn't make sense you see.

If the Revenants' plan were to kill every human within that city, then why did they remove it from the Last Bastion? Seems like a wasted effort, no?

If everyone's dead and the city was burned to the ground, then the next logical move for them was to do the same for the other cities. But that's not what they did. They killed almost all of City M's citizens, burned the entire city to ashes then pried it away from the Last Bastion itself.

What is it that they're trying to accomplish here? This is what Humanity's Leaders were trying to discern right now.

Well, that and how to calm the public outrage. Everyone's panicked after all.

In order to make sure that any event like this would be prevented before it happened, the Morning Sun Federation called out to all Licensed Cultivators to increase humanity's security.

Even those who were outside of the Last Bastion were called back as well. The Federation wanted to make sure that their security became the main priority here.

They also launched multiple investigations. This act of terrorism might be a work of a traitor so it's logical for them to do some introspection just to be sure.

As for Mary, Alice and Blake, well...they're not doing fine.

They all woke-up in 'City O'. Not beside each other but eventually they were reunited.

They didn't take the news very well. All they knew and loved disappeared and they didn't even know how. All they could remember was getting knocked out from the explosion while celebrating their friend's birthday, the next thing they knew, everyone's dead and only the three of them remained.

None of their families made it out, neither did their teachers and friends they met along the way. All of them are gone and they only have themselves.

It was a horrible nightmare. Something that even consistent therapy sessions wouldn't ease-up. The fact that they have to live like this now, branded as City M's only survivors, surely doesn't make it any easier. So it is the survivor's guilt that comes after that.

Of course, they only think they're the ones suffering from this because they have no idea that Ashton and Aria survived. If they only knew really...

Sadly, they would remain clueless about it for a very long time.

Ashton was emotionally drained.

At this point, he doesn't even have the energy to shed tears anymore. He's tired of asking the world; why does this have to happen to him? Or, what did he ever do to deserve this.

He's just tired.

The silence was deafening but he prefers this over explosions. Honestly, Ashton might just develop some serious PTSD with explosions as a trigger at this point.

He's in bed with Aria right now and no, get your mind out of the gutter.

They're cuddling, sure. But that's just that. They only have each other right now and both of them were too distraught with what happened so far.

In his exhaustion, he didn't even have the time nor the energy to ask why Aria has a room within the Library.

All he could think right now is how to move-on from this. And even that was starting to feel a little tedious...a little too stressful as well.

Is there even anything that's useful in this city still? Everything was burned. Could he scavenge food? Clothing? Maybe materials?

Shelter shouldn't be a problem, he has the Grand Library to stay so it wasn't a priority. Well, if it turns out that he can't stay here for long, he has enough materials and knowledge to build a decent home so it shouldn't be a problem.

The most pressing matter right now is safety.

Ashton is currently in unknown territory. Surrounding with all sorts of horrors and dangers at all sides.

He's too weak to even be out here yet here he was. He didn't want this at all but if he intends to survive, he has to be stronger.

After all, he isn't just living for himself, no. He's living for Aria as well since, for some reason, he is now in-charge of her, whatever that may mean.

He's not doing this out of responsibility nor need. He's doing this because it's his choice to do so. He isn't doing it to repay the kindness of Chief Leon or to honor his memories and respect his wishes.

He's going to do it because it's the right thing to do and Aria was a dear friend. He couldn't possibly abandon her.

Speaking of which, said friend has passed-out from crying. Ashton's feeling very reluctant to leave her side right now because she might break down when she woke-up and he's not there. He didn't want to traumatize her beyond this.

Despite his horrible situation though, Ashton still has some hope left.

Had it been other people, they might've already given-up at this point. Possibly taken their own life so that they'd die in their own arrangement.

But Ashton has something they don't have.

The System.

Frankly enough, he doesn't want to rely on it too much for survival but since push has already come to shove, he needs to do what he has to do.

Ashton's going to survive this. He's determined to do so. He also vowed that, one day, he will return to the Last Bastion.

His current predicament isn't really the most ideal one but it certainly could be worse. Thankfully it's not.

He has a lot of tools to use in order to ensure his survival, additionally he also has time.

So long as he's being careful about this, surviving shouldn't be as hard.

[Notice: Host received a Quest and Missions!]

Ashton's brow rose because of the notification. It seems that the System was in sync with his will. He opened his updated Quest Tab to check the mission given to him.

[Quest: Survive!]

: Host has been forced into an uncompromising predicament but hope is not gone. Survive the horrors and dangers of the Outside World for as long as you can.

a Survive for 1 month - Rewards: Bloodline Purification Pill x5

a Survive for 3 months - Rewards: Mobile Safehouse x1

a Survive for 6 months - Rewards: Exosuit x1

a Survive for 1 year - Rewards: Randomized 'Trait' x1

a Survive for 3 years - Rewards: Specialization Soul Card (L) x1

a Survive for 5 years - Rewards: Curse Banishment Pill x1

Ashton's eyes widened. Those rewards were certainly alluring. It seems that his determination to survive will be rewarded handsomely. Now, there's more reason for him to do so.

But of course, there's more to this.

[Mission: Investigate]

: It's a long way home from here. Where is 'here'? Well, why don't you find out? Plus, aren't you curious as to what the Outside World looked like? The more you discover, the more rewards you'll get.

a Discover where you are - Time Limit: None. Rewards: New System Function unlocked. 𝒍𝓲𝓫𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅.𝙘𝙤𝒎

a Find a way back home - Time Limit: None. Rewards: Randomized 'Trait' x1

a Discover and Study Hostiles - Amount: 200. Rewards: New System Function unlocked.

a Path to Enlightenment - Time Limit: None. Rewards: System Overhaul.

Once again, Ashton was surprised.

It seems that the System wants him to explore the Outside World since he's already here.

If he were to be honest, he'd rather not but those rewards were tempting. Additional System Functions are always good. Those could help him after since right now, he's pretty limited. He didn't know what he'd get yet but that's fine.

The missions were comprehensive enough, save for the last one. That one, he didn't understand.

Path to enlightenment? Did the system think he's some sort of monk trying to ascend and become a Buddha? What the hell?

That being said, he knows that the system wouldn't add this if it wasn't important. He doesn't know how to complete it but he's going to try at least. The reward for it was a System Overhaul which may be good or bad, who knows?

Anyway, since he received this quest and missions, he might as well do his best to complete all of them.

If he happens to die while trying to complete them well, at least he had an action packed second life.

Chapter 63

Ashton closed the missions tab and got immersed in his own trail of thoughts. 𝓵𝙞𝙗𝙧𝙚𝒂𝙙.𝓬𝒐𝒎

It is clear that the System was pushing for his survival as well which is good. And since the point was made, Ashton now has to think of his next steps.

Aria is still sleeping right now so he couldn't ask his questions. For now, since he doesn't know how long he can stay inside the Grand Library, he might as well think about making an actual shelter.

He made a mental note to explore the ruins of City M at one point. He figured that maybe he can scavenge some items around (if there even is any), he also had to search for a relatively safe spot to hide for now.

The last location he was at wasn't that bad but it's exposed. Ashton would be stupid to stay there since he would most definitely be seen by the creatures that will eventually wander inside the city.

Once again, he was reminded that he's surrounded on all sides. There isn't even a wall behind his back anymore. He had to carve a spot for himself where he can stay and remain safe for now. A temporary base of sorts, just in case.

If there's anything he's grateful for, it'd be the fact that he worked hard in his studies and training.

While Ashton hasn't read nor memorized everything that the Grand Library has to offer, he at least read enough to know of many things, specifically ones that would help out on his current situation.

He's pressed for time but as long as he can sit down and plan for a bit, he would definitely hatch a plan that could ensure his safety.

Additionally, his cultivation wasn't stagnant...

[Profile]

Host: Ashton West

Race: Human

Aptitude:

a Mageroot: Mysterious Rainbow

a Magical Artifact: Book of Infinity (Cursed-Legendary)

a Providence: Fey Emperor's Blessings (?)

Specialization: [White Mage]

Rank: Apprentice Lv.9 (8th Refinement)

Cultivation Technique: Treasure Glazed Nine-Refinements Sutra

This is the bulk of Ashton's progress so far before disaster struck City M.

On top of this, he also has quite a number of spells under his belt. Most of them are strictly for support since that's geared towards his Specialization and most of them are Lv. 4 or above.

As for offensive spells, he had the basic ones like Mana Bolt, Stun Bolt, Arcane Missile, etc. but they are low-leveled. He didn't pay much attention to them since he figured that he won't be needing them soon.

Well, that thought certainly aged poorly hasn't it? Oh, he's regretting it now.

In fact, it's because of this that Ashton's immediate act after discovering that he'd had to survive on his own, was to grind these skills to the max, or at least, as high as he could take them.

He had opened up additional Grinding Slots for them and even charged Mana Crystals to accelerate the speed. Now, he could only hope that they'll be ready before he's confronted by the dangers of the outside world.

Ashton wasn't worried about his supplies. He had certainly accumulated a lot of them thanks to his daily sign-in chance and the marvelous skill; [Cleptomancy] - a system skill that generates 'drops' whenever he 'kills' an enemy.

The reason why this skill is so busted is because it works on his Grinding Slots as well.

Just a reminder on how the Grinding Slots work, it takes a sliver of consciousness away, forming an avatar that gets submerged in a virtual arena where time is stretched. There, the avatar will practice spells to raise its efficiency. The training arena changes to maximize the effect of the grind, it almost always starts with training dummies but then it switches to virtual live targets and so on.

Cleptomancy works here, so whenever Ashton's avatars kill a dummy or a living target, he gets a drop. And the resources he gathered so far accumulated in his inventory, so he wasn't necessarily lacking in supplies for now.

Money became useless which is a bummer but Mana Crystals are still very useless. However, since he's out on his own, Ashton's supply of it will eventually run out so he had to be wise about spending them.

Clothes, he has a lot of those. Food? Don't worry about it. Water? Literal tanks of them were in his inventory for some reason. Woods, metals, tools, blueprints? They're there too...

Honestly, if he released his stocks back then, he'd probably put a dent on Humanity's economy.

Honestly, so long as he's careful, surviving for at least five years shouldn't be too difficult for him.

'But still, all of this is useless if I'm not strong enough.'

'Prof. Rycard drilled this to us in the Combat Class; in the face of Absolute Strength, everything is useless.'

'I'm too weak to be here.' Ashton lamented, 'The youngest explorers or Licensed Cultivators should be Archmages or Grandmasters at least. I'm not even close to that.'

'Even the air around here could probably kill me if I'm not careful.' He smiled wryly to himself, 'I still have one refinement to go before I can breakthrough to the Practitioner Stage. I should make my presence scarce before then.'

While Ashton simmered on his own thoughts, Aria shifted on his side, catching his attention.

He couldn't fight the fond smile forming on his lips as she unconsciously sought his warmth, snuggling deeper into his embrace.

She buried her face in the crook of his neck and pulled him closer like he was her life-sized plushy. Her breath tickled Ashton a bit but he didn't mind.

Instead, he just pulled her closer. Hearing her sigh ever so softly as he did so. Ashton removed the strands of hair covering her face, tucking it gently behind her ears.

He couldn't help but stare at her...

Aria's eyes were still puffy from crying. Her uniform was still mostly intact save the edges that were tattered. It's amusing how she seems to be pouting in her sleep though...

Honestly, if this awful disaster didn't occur, he might've already asked this girl out.

He had plans on doing that after the final exams. Ashton had grown extremely fond of this shy but bubbly librarian that sometimes he had to fight the urge of just kissing her senseless.

And if he's not horrible when it comes to social interactions and reading people, he'd know that Aria feels the same way.

He's not an idiot. He notices how she acts with him around. Their little interactions within the last six months were proof of that, plus sometimes she can be very obvious as well.

Ashton finds this adorable of course, and since he was originally planning on living out his life the way he sees fit, he figured that he should give it a chance and take on the initiative.

Sadly, it seems that now is not the right time for them to explore this option.

Not when they're in the middle of a very dangerous situation.

Plus, there are things that Aria needs to explain to him before he determines how they progress from here.

'For now though...' Ashton paused as he wrapped his arms around Aria protectively, smiling ever so slightly when she let out a faint noise as he did so; '...this is nice. I'd take this for now.'

Ashton closed his eyes and evened out his breathing.

He has many things to do from now on, he doesn't know how much time he has left before some creature discovers him but right now, he has the advantage and he plans on capitalizing on that.

He needs to be strong not just for himself, but for Aria as well. He's determined to survive and find a way back home, back to his friends and to his race.

Fighting is inevitable. He knows this. He doesn't doubt this. He will fight and he will be pushed to his limits. The lessons he learned from his teachers were nowhere near enough to guarantee his survival, hell he doesn't even know if he'd make it out in one piece.

This road will be a thorny one. Who can say what he'll discover and what he'll find out here. He has the advantage of being the Host of the System, but it's not a reason for him to be careless, if anything, he should exercise more caution on his steps.

When he got reincarnated here, Ashton wasn't expecting to be sent into such a dangerous world. He made peace with the idea that he didn't really want to be a part of it. He just wanted to study magic since it fascinates him, cultivation was just something he did because it's a way for him to learn more magic.

Alas, fate has other plans for him. He doesn't know why this has to happen to him. Why him of all people? Unfortunately, he wouldn't really get his answers anytime soon.

As for how his journey back home will go, well hopefully not too bad. He had this vague feeling that he'd discover something that would change his life here but right now, that's not his priority.

The long journey back home...starts here.

Chapter 64

"...so, that means I'm not the only one who's old mentally?"

"I mean, if you put it that way yeah. I'm way older though..." Aria shrugged as she chewed on her bacon.

Ashton didn't really know what to say so just sighed and ate his food as well.

Currently, the two of them are eating while Aria just finished revealing who or what she truly is to Ashton.

As it turns out, Aria is a somewhat of an Artifact Spirit. She's not entirely human like Ashton was nor is she a full-on artifact spirit. She's somewhat in the middle of that.

See, Aria said she was once human too. Though, she inherited a terminal disease from her parents which made her sickly. Her days were already numbered the moment she was born and because she was weak, she didn't experience any kind of normalcy. 𝓵𝒊𝒃𝙧𝓮𝙖𝓭.𝙘𝒐𝙢

Aria was drawn to books and spent most of her time in the Library once upon a time. The books allowed her imagination to bloom and in there, she was sick or dying, she can be anyone she wants, the sky is literally her limit.

Her love of books and her sheer unwillingness to separate from that anchored her in the same library. As it turns out, her very existence got attached to the said Library and in there, she won't get hurt.

The said Library was magical of course which made this possible to happen. Which resulted in Aria being the pseudo-Artifact Spirit of the Library.

Inside the Library, she's not ill. She'd age, yes but she won't spend most of it bedridden. She's just as energetic as any other human being. Her lifespan is limited to a hundred years though she wouldn't look older than 20.

Once she reaches 100 years old. She'll die for six months before being reborn within the library with all of her memories intact and in the body of a teenager.

During her 4th rebirth, a cultivator discovered her presence and decided to take care of her since her mortal parents were long gone. That's when the Library turned to the Grand Library of Mystic Academy.

Because of her uniqueness, Aria possesses the strength of a High Sorceress but only inside the Grand Library. She can step out of here but she can't be more than 10 miles away from the Library, she can be killed but she's just going to respawn the next day within the library so long as her lifespan isn't up yet.

Additionally, she also can't have children...

This was all that Aria told him so far. It's a lot to take-in but considering that Aria also now knows that he's another worlder, she knows Ashton would eventually make peace with it.

Since Ashton is now the new keeper of the Grand Library, his secrets are revealed to Aria whether they like it or not, that's one of the policies that all Keepers of the Library have to follow - complete transparency. This meant that Aria is also now aware of the Idle Mage System as well so Ashton no longer has to hide anything from her.

She assured him that there's no need for him to worry about her spreading this information. She is physically and mentally unable to due to the restrictions of the Library so there's that.

"Do you have any idea where we are right now?" Ashton asked tentatively.

Aria shook her head and sighed; "Beats me. Like you, this is also my first time in the Outside World. Never thought I'd see the day but here we are."

"Figures." He let out a defeated sigh too. "How far does your senses cover?"

"I'm suppressed here for some reason." Aria pursed her lips. "My senses can't go beyond the library. Also, the air outside is extremely harmful for me so I'd have to stay here if I want to live."

"Ugh." Ashton felt weak.

Well, that wasn't helpful at all. Here he thought that Aria could at least ensure his safety should shit hit the fan but now, it doesn't seem like that'd be possible.

"How long can I stay here?" He asked.

"Half day. You can use that sporadically throughout the day or have it all in one go. So can't be in combat if you want to enter though, you have to be alone or else the monstrosities will follow you here. I don't want them to wreck the books so no thank you."

"Can I now take a look at the upper floors?"

"Break through the next realm of cultivation first." She said, "Practitioners get access to the 6th floor. Arch Mages can go the 7th and so on. There are numerous spells there that you can learn so you'd have to be tested first."

Ashton nodded. He had guessed that to be the case but a confirmation didn't hurt. Now that he knows, at least he could prepare himself.

"Also, I'm considered as a 'Bound Item' to you...well, the Grand Library is so in extension, I am too. You should know what that means."

Ashton nodded. Bound Items are things only he gets access to, they can't be stolen from him and in the event that he dies, it disappears and reappears somewhere else. That's how that works.

"Okay so, last question I guess." Ashton said, "Is it possible for me to modify the Grand Library?"

"Not right now, no." Aria shook her head. "You're too weak to do that and the materials you'll need aren't available to you yet. The Grand Library was modified by the Deans of the Mystic Academy. You'll have to be a Sorcerer first before you can do that."

"I see." Ashton nodded.

Well, that made things more complicated for him but that's fine. This means that he can only use the Library for momentary reprieve and to learn more things, which is the idea to begin with.

"If you want to increase the time you can spend inside this place, you'd have to upgrade your status." Aria stated to him.

"Upgrade my status? How do I do that?"

"Right now, you're a Keeper of the Grand Library just like Chief Leon." Aria bit her lips at the mention of that name, "Keepers are actually the ones that have the lowest access to the Grand Library."

"Upgrading your Status from Keeper to Guardian will give you more time and access to additional things the Library has hidden. You'll have to be tested by Gatekeepers and if you pass that test then your Status will be upgraded."

"If you become the Owner of the Grand Library then you'd be invincible here. Just to let you know though, not even the Headmasters of the Mystic Academy managed to pass those tests and some of them nearly died because of it. Don't bite more than you can chew."

Aria looked forlorn when she's saying this. Ashton somewhat gets the idea why.

Sometimes, a long lifespan isn't really a blessing. And although Aria was a pseudo-Artifact Spirit, she's still part human. As a human being, seeing people come and go can seriously desensitize them.

"Okay. There's that I guess." He said. He didn't want them to simmer in this kind of atmosphere so he dispersed it. "I guess I'll just have to be careful when I do things here."

"I should be able to set-up a base somewhere around the ruins." He muttered, "And since I have the materials for it, maybe I can set up a formation that will hide things away from hostiles. That should keep me safe for the time being."

"You're not lacking supplies anyways." She pointed out.

"Yes. That's indeed the case." Ashton nodded. "I'd have to explore the ruins too, see if I can find something that I can still use. After that, I'd explore a bit here and there. I have to unlock that Map since that would be extremely useful to us if we want to go back to the Last Bastion."

"...if there's even a Last Bastion by the time we arrive."

"Hey! None of that." Ashton chided. "We've experienced enough negativity already. Don't add anymore. Let's try to be positive here, yeah? We can do this."

"I'm of no help to you though." Aria lowered her head in shame. "I'd just be a burden to you. My strength is useless outside of this place."

"That may be the case for now but who can say in the future?" Ashton looked her in the eyes. "Don't give up on me now, you hear me? We'll make it through this. I've got every tool I need plus more. If I can't do it, then nobody can be in my place. So believe in me, yeah?"

Aria bit her lips and nodded.

Yeah, at this point, there are no other options for them anyway. Ashton has to do this and is determined to do so. He refuses to just sit back and wait for death. If he has to claw his way up to return back home, he would. Whether the effort would be worth it or not, only time can tell.

For now, it's time to get busy.

Chapter 65

Within the ruins of the displaced city, Ashton's form could be seen dashing through the place, vaulting over ledges and rubbles, leaping and falling silently like a feather, sometimes blinking through short distances.

As he roamed the ruins, he kept an eye out for anything that's worth noticing. He had found some materials that he could salvage or in dire need of repair. He kept those within his inventory and kept searching while it's still daytime.

As he ran across the city, he couldn't help but feel a deep seated sadness from within. Just a few days ago, this place had been a bustling and active city.

Its streets were busy and there's all sorts of wonders around. Now, everything's reduced to ashes. The silence was uncomfortable. Coming through the familiar streets, Ashton couldn't help but sigh.

The market and grocery shops that he used to visit, the shop that sold his favorite dessert and coffee, places where he and his friends used to meet and chill...all of those places were gone. All of the people he once met are no longer there. Only him was left...

The sadness he felt intensified when he reached his home...whatever's left of it at least.

Just like everything else around him, his house didn't survive the attack either. Not even furniture was on sight.

...he didn't even see any remains of his trusted Butler-Bot, Jerry.

"I wish I was able to save you buddy." Ashton whispered in the air.

He didn't care if his house was gone, nor did he care about the furniture or even the training room actually. Jerry was more important to him than those things. The adorable butler-bot who's been very loyal and always catered to his needs even without direct orders, his first friend ever since arriving in this world.

Oh how he wished that he was able to save him...

Even after thoroughly searching what remains of his house, Ashton couldn't find any remaining traces of Jerry, not even a chip of his body or anything. All of this leads him to believe that Jerry is truly gone.

The idea hurts him deeply...

Biting his lips, he could only step back and stare at his old home one final time. And just to round up the cycle, he decided to do one thing.

He stopped in front of what used to be where his door was and glanced at the system notification...

[Ruins of your old home. Sign-in?]

'Sign-in.'

[Sign-in rewards; Memory Core - BB Jerry x1, Training Room (S) Blueprint, 1 month Grocery Basket.]

Ashton's eyes widened. He immediately opened up his inventory to check on that one item. He prayed that he wasn't just seeing things...

[Memory Core - BB Jerry]

a Your loyal and adorable Butler Bot's Memory Core. His memories lingers here still however he has nobody right now.

a Durability: 100/100

a Energy Stored: 10/100

"Oh..." Ashton bit his lips and shed a few tears. He briefly glanced at the other items but in truth, he couldn't care less about them.

Jerry's still alive somehow, in this core his memories are still intact. He just needs a body to be reborn once more and that shouldn't be a problem.

Ashton learned some crafting techniques, and since he is now the keeper of the Grand Library, he had access to books that will teach him how to forge a new body for his loyal bot.

"Don't worry bud." He whispered, "We have all the time in the world. I'll make you a new body as soon as I can. Just stay put inside the inventory for now."

So long as Memory Core is kept within his Inventory, its remaining energy will not be depleted nor its durability will fall. It will remain at its current state and that's Ashton's goal.

Now that he had settled this, he pretty much roamed the entire ruined city. There isn't really much to see nor use here anymore.

He visited where the Academy's entrance used to be but it's gone. He couldn't even feel its existence anymore. Aria also confirmed that the spatial fluctuations weren't there anymore, meaning that the pocket dimension was truly gone.

Perhaps, it was taken by the Revenants...honestly, Ashton has no idea.

But with that out of the way, Ashton decided to check out the outskirts of the City. It's time for him to find out what he's dealing with.

"Gotta get there before it gets dark completely." 𝑙𝒾𝒷𝘳𝑒𝑎𝘥.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Ashton glanced at his smartwatch - which is barely working, and saw the time. It's around 1pm, yet looking at his surroundings, he could see that it's already turning dim.

This is yet another unique thing about the Outside World. Here, nights are longer than day. And during nighttime, everything is active.

Ashton hadn't got the chance to see just how 'active' this place gets during the night yet he also doesn't have any intentions of finding out for now at least.

He reminded himself that he is way too weak to be here. He repeatedly needs to Purify and Repair his respirator as he travels around here since the air here is dangerous to him. He also needs to be covered from head to toe since he can't risk being infected now.

As he reached the outskirts of the city, he saw something that stopped him in his tracks. He swallowed hard and felt goosebumps all over his body.

'Shit...a Black Fog.' He heard Aria exclaim through their psychic link.

Indeed. In front of Ashton, an expanse of pitch black fog rolled over and formed a wall around the city. With his sensitivity to Mana and sorts of magical things, Ashton could feel a strong aversion and danger just by looking at this thing.

The Black Fog is one of the most dangerous natural disasters that was born during the reign of the Invaders or Aliens - as Ashton calls them.

This thing not only devours any life to the places it passes through, it also is a moving next of Horned Creatures - Demons as most of his Professors would describe.

There, Demons are practically invincible. They could be killed, yes but they'd just be reformed by the Black Fog anyway. That, on top of the fact that the fog is dangerous by itself, makes this a true disaster for any Licensed Cultivators.

If there's any salvation in this, it would be the fact that the Black Fog moves really slow. It can be outran but cannot be stopped.

"This shit's going to pass through the city isn't it?" Ashton took a couple of steps back.

'Yes. It will also taint everything it passes through, leaving a Trail of Tormented Soil.' Aria replied.

Tormented Soil is the blackened soil that Jeanne; Ashton's White Mage and Herobology Teacher once showed to him. The kind of soil that devours all manner of life.

"Tormented Soil and Demons." Ashton added, "I learned Purify Spell and it's Level 9, that should be enough to deal with soil but I'm afraid I'd have to fight demons eventually."

'Ash...that's risky.' Aria's voice sounded worried.

"Well...I'm aware of that." He replied, "I'm not saying that I'd actively look for a fight but, we both know that it eventually has to happen, no?"

'...'

"Plus, this will give us an idea of where we are right now." Ashton supplied, "Because of the Black Fog, it's pretty much confirmed that we are close to a Demonic Territory. If I see the kind of Demons this Black Fog gives birth to, we should be able to pinpoint our location somehow. That'd give us an idea on how far we are from the Last Bastion."

Aria couldn't refute that logic. It is indeed as Ashton says. Figuring out these things will help them immensely on their journey. What she's afraid of is the fact that it's almost certain that Ashton will have a confrontation against Demons.

They still don't know what kind of Demons were around here. What if the Demons were way stronger than Ashton? Wouldn't a confrontation be bad for him? That'd just be courting death.

And it's not like he can outrun them either. Aria couldn't forcefully pull Ashton inside the Grand Library should things go fast since the rules of the library wouldn't allow it.

However, looking at Ashton, it seems that he's determined to see this through. And based on what he is a person, Ashton would certainly try his best here. After all, he's determined to live.

'...just be careful alright.' Aria relented, 'Judging by the mass of the Black Fog, it'll take the whole night before it passes through the entire city. It'll leave Demons and Tormented Soil behind so be on the lookout for that.'

"I know." Ashton nodded. Once he acknowledged this, he turned around and ran back to the city, saying there would just be tempting fate since Demons would eventually appear from the fog.

"Gotta hole up for the time being." Ashton whispered as he searched for a spot where he can stay for the night as the Black Fog passes through.

He has enough materials for a temporary shelter which could keep him safe. The worst part is that he might not be able to get a good sleep in because of the tense atmosphere around him.

Chapter 66

"...alright, this shouldn't be too bad for a little hidey-hole." Ashton murmured to himself.

'Could be better.' He heard Aria snort from their link.

"Definitely could." Ashton readily agreed, "But beggars can't be choosers. I never knew I'd have to do this one day so I didn't bother learning it, yet here we are."

Ashton's little shelter is built underground. Thanks to the Spells - Dig and Force Push he was able to hasten the process of building the underground shelter.

He sealed the entrance completely shut because he didn't want the infection to seep through his shelter. He also placed a Talisman Seal on the entrance as well as the corners of the shelter which should prevent that from happening either. Also, the talismans help in keeping his aura within the shelter, this way, the demons would roam the city and wouldn't be able to sense him.

Because the entrance was the only way out, air wouldn't flow inside the shelter. This would've been a problem but Ashton has a remedy for this.

He had a tool which converts Mana into Air, it's a small item which fits in the palm of his hands. He only needed to inject it with Mana Crystals and it would do its job. This item is called a Mana-Air Converter. It's a niche item and certainly does its job.

Also, it doesn't count as Humanity's technology since Ashton received it from the System so it's working out here.

By the time he was done sealing himself away, he's aware that the outside has gone completely dark at this point.

Even with the Talisman Seals around him, Ashton could feel the foreboding danger flooding him at all sides. He's tense and he's aware of it. Even though he had done everything he could to make sure that he'd be safe for the time being, it didn't comfort him at all.

Somehow, he still feels like he's in danger.

Aria could feel his distress and reassured him that he'd be fine. She said that what feels is just normal since he's never been in a situation like this before.

Ashton had to acquiesce to that, after all she makes a good point.

Carving out this shelter took some of his energy and mana away. Ashton decided to eat something for now and meditate afterwards to replenish his energy cause god knows he'll be needing it.

As he cooked his food using the portable stove he has, Ashton could feel several presence above him, causing him to wince.

Those in attendance were foul. It disgusts him to his very core. This is one of those times when his increased sensitivity to mana backfires, really.

He could hear them from here. Garbled sounds comes out of their jaws, they sound like a rabid dog for the most part, just make it deeper and creepier,

From what he can tell, there's hordes of them out there. He could feel the vibrations around him as a result of their march. If his guess was correct, then the Black Fog must be right on top of where he was right now.

As his food cooks, he slowly stood up and tip-toed to the entrance. He checked its state and to his relief, it seemed like it was holding up just fine. Not a trace of infection was visible yet.

And just to make sure he's being thorough, he glanced around the room to check if he could spot any infections. Once again, he was relieved to not find any.

That allowed him to relax even for just a bit. Once his food was done, he ate and meditated.

His meditation led him to another discovery. Apparently, it is way more difficult to enter a meditative state within the Outside World.

He could feel a strong dissociation whenever he tries to. It's as if someone or something was preventing him from doing so.

Ashton's a little freaked-out because of that. He even felt as if someone was staring directly at him which caused him to freeze. Thankfully, that's just his imagination. He managed to enter the meditative state using the basic method taught to kids.

Now, he just has to get used to it or work his way up again. And considering that he'll be out here a long time, this wouldn't be a problem in the long run.

Once he replenished his mana, Ashton tried to get some shut-eye. Unfortunately, because of the tense atmosphere and him being a nervous wreck in general, he wasn't able to sleep.

His mind was awfully active, feeding him negative thoughts that kept him up. He tried to regulate his breathing and other methods to hopefully get some sleep but none worked so he gave-up eventually.

Instead, he chose to replace sleep with meditation instead. Meditation works since it calms him down and keeps his energy topped-up.

Eventually, hours passed in his meditation and before he knew it, the time had come for him to get out.

He checked his smartwatch and saw that it's about 4:30 in the morning, while it's still dark, the early rays of dawn should be visible at this point.

He cleaned-up his stuff and walked towards the entrance. He took out his staff and applied the Spell - Silent Cowl on himself.

[Silent Cowl - Lv. 9]

a Minimizes the sounds of footsteps.

a Reduces the spell caster's aura and presence.

a Lasts for 1 hour.

a Shroud breaks upon contact with the enemy.

Once the Spell was on, Ashton slowly peeled off the talisman seal from the entrance. Then, he did his best to silently move the rubble away so as to not alert any demons nearby.

Not even out of his little shelter just yet, he could already see the patches of Tormented Soil.

If he wasn't conserving Mana, he'd already used Purify on this place yet he didn't. Instead, he casted Cleansing Shroud on himself and moved-on. 𝒍𝓲𝓫𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅.𝙘𝙤𝒎

[Cleansing Shroud]

a Channel a shroud that prevents vile infections and keeps the spell caster pure.

a Last for as long as mana is supplied.

This Spell should allow him to walk on tormented soil unharmed. It wouldn't remove the infection, it will only prevent it from infecting him but that's fine. Using Purify around here will just leave tracks which Demons could use to follow him, he doesn't want that to happen so this works for him.

'Okay, time to see what we're dealing with.' Ashton murmured to himself.

He kept his posture low as he surveyed his surroundings. Just as he expected, it's still dim outside but that's fine. There's enough light around for him to see things clearly, plus his eyesight is good thanks to his increased sensitivity.

Ashton spotted several shadows lurking around. He found a spot to hide and observe them from afar. He squinted a bit to see what he's looking at and saw several features from the demons...

The one glaring thing about demons is their Horns as it represents how strong they are. Each demon has a pair at the very base, which means that they're the lowest level for their kind. The more pairs of horns they have, the older and stronger a demon is.

Right off the bat, Ashton saw four pairs of Horns...

It took all of his might to not just 'nope' his way out of here to be completely honest.

'Oh, joy. An adult demon right off the bat. Are you freaking kidding me!?'

Unlike humans, demons don't cultivate. Neither does their counterpart at the other side of the map. Cultivation is something humans only know how to do.

But, instead of cultivation, Demons get stronger the older they get. By 'older' it doesn't necessarily mean that they're alive for a very long time. Their growth speed depends on what kind of Demon they are, the purity of their bloodline and their overall potential.

Some demons grow faster than others which in turn, makes them stronger. That's how it works for them.

That being said, Ashton is in grave danger right now for he's within the presence of an Adult Demon. He doesn't really need to know what kind of demon this is to know that he's in a perilous situation since according to what he learned, even Arch Mages had to run at the sight of any Adult Demons.

If it wasn't for the fact that he has the Silent Cowl on him, this demon would've already sensed him and killed him.

Ashton froze in fear. He could hear Aria urging him to move and enter the Grand Library but honestly, he's so freaked out right now that he's totally frozen on the spot.

He noticed the other features of the demon though.

Aside from four pairs of horns, he could see a pair of bat-like wings behind its back. It was shorter than him, around 3-3.5 feet tall. It held a sort of pitchfork and had an alcoholic's belly. It had a deep maroon skin-tone and the lower half of its body looked like it belonged to a horse.

Surrounding it were other smaller demons who looked just like the adult one. The others had a pair of horns, or at least two of them from what he observed so far.

At this point, Ashton finally had a name that matched the features he observed so far.

'Shit! It's a pack of Imps!'

Chapter 67

Imps are probably one of the most common types of Demons out there...

Though they are small in stature, make no mistake because these creatures are mean.

According to how his Professors described them to the class, Imps are swift and extremely cunning. Their skin is as tough as metal and those pitchforks they have are poisoned.

If you get hit by the poison, then all kinds of healing you get, be it naturally or from a spell, will be cut in half. This is what makes Imps a pain in the ass for Cultivators.

Plus, they always move in packs. Never, and this is repeatedly stressed by the Professors, Never assume that an Imp is alone, for all you know, you might be walking on a trap that they specifically arranged just for you.

'Ash! Seriously you gotta move! Please! You can't deal with that! Come on, listen to me!'

Aria's panicked voice returned Ashton to the present. He took a shallow breath and slowly ducked in order to hide himself.

The sight of the pack didn't really give him much to work with. If anything, it just stressed him out.

Who would've thought that the very first thing that he'd ever see in the Outside World is an Adult Imp? What are the odds right?

Much to his dismay, Aria was right. There's no way he can even think about confronting those things. He's outnumbered, plus he had no experience in dealing with them. If he wants to survive, he has to be extremely careful and avoid this pack for now.

Ashton retreated slowly so as to not alert the pack. Thankfully, the buffs he put on himself were still active. The pack hasn't seen him yet, thank god, so he could walk out of here scot-free.

'Ash, you can get inside the Library now.' Aria reminded him. Well, she's more like imploring him to do so.

Ashton sighed and replied: 'Yes, yes I know. I'll get in there once I see more, don't worry.'

'Ash, don't be stubborn! You're going to get yourself killed!'

'Everything I do out here is going to get me killed!' Ashton spat back. He sighed harshly and said: 'I'm sorry for the outburst but you should know that I value my life just as you value yours.'

'I'm not doing this because I'm suicidal. I'm doing this because it needs to be done, I need to know more so that I can understand where the hell are we and how the hell do we get back home.'

'Trust me, had I got a different option, I wouldn't have picked this. You've seen my memories so you should know that.'

'...'

Aria pursed her lips in frustration as she was unable to refute that. She inwardly berated herself for being so useless and a burden. Her panicking causes distress to the one who's actually going to stake his life out there, she should've known better to be honest.

Ashton was correct. If he was presented with another choice, he wouldn't have picked this. He didn't want to be here but fate didn't ask for his nor Aria's input.

Someone has to do it. Aria couldn't so it could only be him. It's that simple. 𝓵𝒊𝒃𝙧𝙚𝒂𝓭.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The situation isn't fair since he's vastly weaker compared to Aria but life isn't fair. All they could do is to just solve the problem as they appear. Again, it's that simple.

Ashton felt bad for raising his voice to Aria. Just like her, he's panicking too, the difference is that she's safe in there while he's not. The situation isn't fair for him yet he has to be the one who would do it because she can't.

He'd really appreciate it if Aria could just stay silent if she's nothing to contribute to their goal. She likes the girl but honestly, she is not helping right now.

Ashton continued to lay-low and survey his surroundings. He's always making sure that he has cover for when he moves so that he wouldn't risk himself getting spotted.

He had seen another pack of imps here and there. He could hear their gibberish from his hiding spots. He couldn't understand their language but that's fine for now. He doesn't plan on doing anything big today anyway.

In the middle of his observation, he suddenly felt a sickening presence nearby.

The sheer foulness of that presence almost made him puke. All the hairs on his body stood on their ends as he felt the presence coming closer to his vicinity.

Ashton looked around in alarm and then, he saw something that would surely haunt him in his dreams.

The demon was around 8 feet tall. It has deep crimson skin and eyes, very muscular physique, covered in tribal tattoos. It took a humanoid form, and every step it took not only shook the ground it was one but also left a disgusting pool of black goo.

Pitch black chains were wrapped on its wrist all the way to its shoulders, one end was connected to a sickle while the other end had a lantern that shone with a ghastly green light.

White mist escaped through its fanged-mouth. And the most notable part of its gait were the three pairs of enormous horns on its head, curling onto itself.

'Haha, Nope.'

Is what Ashton thought the moment he realized what he's looking at. He wasted no time and immediately entered the Grand Library to keep himself safe.

He really didn't feel like being in the presence of an adult Tormentor, nope.

Nuh-uh! No, sir! Thank you very much.

The moment he popped inside the library, he saw Aria looking at him with wide-eyes, clearly panicked and distraught.

"What the hell? A Tormentor? Which god did you offend for you to have this much bad luck in life."

"Shit, I don't know!? You ask me but who the hell do I ask?"

Their panic is understandable. Had there been other people here, even Professors for that matter, they'd be panicking as well.

Tormentors. They are a breed of demons that are said to be a myth.

They're like a modern day boogeyman actually. The thing that parents use to scare their kids so that they will follow orders?

Only...this kind of boogeyman was real. And you know what they say, to see is to believe. Well, Ashton encountered it and saw it with his own eyes. So it's pretty freaking real.

Tormentors are considered as myths because many people (cultivators) said that they saw it and felt primal fear overtaking their bodies. What made stories about them real scary is the fact that those who wanted to know more, never lived to tell the tale.

This made people believe that seeing Tormentors is a bad omen. And to make things worse, nothing much is known about them save their appearance.

Nobody saw how they attack, how they kill, what their abilities are, what they do...nothing. Everything Ashton and Aria knew about Tormentors are just rumors so far.

In fact, even the name given to them - Tormentors, was based on the rumors themselves.

Some claimed that they could reap souls with their sickles and place them in that lantern, inside said lantern is a personal hell of eternal suffering.

Others claim that Tormentors love to eat human flesh and suck the marrows out. Their favorite drink is blood and their favorite dessert is human souls.

Again, most of these are just rumors since nobody was able to gather enough knowledge about them.

Then again, from what Ashton felt so far, those rumors seem to have their merits. He had never been so freaked out in his life. Likewise, he had never encountered anything that made him flee this fast out of fear.

It took a couple of minutes for Ashton to completely calm down alongside Aria. They stayed silent for the most part since that was certainly cutting it close.

Once he's more or less recovered, he stood up and grabbed several books to reference the information he gathered so far.

With a pile of books on his left, a rough sketch of the map in front of him and more piles of books on his right, he started guessing where they currently are.

On his hand, a book named: Demonic Sightings was open. He flipped through the pages and found the records about sightings on Tormentors.

Using pins, he tried locating the rough spots where the sightings were located. Aria was helping him on the side.

Once they were done with referencing, they looked at the map and saw that the majority of the pins were concentrated on a certain area of the map.

It had to be known that this map is just a rough sketch of the Outside World. Nobody really managed to map out the entire world as they know it so far.

Once they located the area, Ashton's eyes then moved from where the Last Bastion is and felt his heart sinking.

"Shit, if this is accurate, then we're thrown pretty far huh?" He murmured but it was heard by Aria, who nodded despondently beside him.

And as if mocking him for making this discovery, he heard a loud ping inside his head followed by the System's mechanical voice telling him:

[Objective Cleared: Discover where you are.]

Reward: System Function - [Simulation Zone] unlocked!

Chapter 68

The system giving him a reward is pretty much a confirmation that his guess was actually correct. That being said, it certainly didn't make him happy.

They're so far from the Last Bastion...they're on the other side of the planet actually.

This specific spot where the City M ended-up? Is actually the farthest distance humanity managed to travel so far according to the history books. Those who participated in the expedition mostly died and only one managed to return home.

Even then, the survivor of the expedition only lived long enough to make a report before dying as well.

Suffice to say, Ashton's pretty screwed right now. The more he discovers things about their current predicament, the more it seems impossible for him to make it back home.

How is it that things get worse first instead of getting better. It just doesn't make sense! What did he ever do to deserve this?

Still, Ashton had no other choice. He didn't want to die so he at least needs to try. He doesn't want to give-up here even though it is so tempting to do so.

Aria didn't say a word. She just stared at Ashton and watched as his face morphed into a fierce conflict before gradually retaining its calm.

She doesn't really know whether to commend him for not losing his cool or to be scared that he's suppressing everything in. It's unhealthy, she thinks. But panicking will make Ashton reckless, which in turn makes it even riskier for him to go out and explore.

The worst part of this is the fact that she felt so utterly useless. She's constrained within the walls of the Grand Library, unable to step out because it's dangerous for her. She hated the fact that she had to rely on Ashton through everything. She hated that she could only watch as he risked his life for the both of them.

She hated being so weak...

"T-the System pretty much confirmed that our guest was spot-on." Ashton said in hopes of diffusing this tense atmosphere. "I-I unlocked another System Function."

"T-that's great! What is it?" She asked.

"Simulation Zone." He replied, "Hold on, let me learn more about it."

Ashton sat down and rested his back against the chair. He then closed his eyes and communicated with the System.

'System, how does the Simulation Zone work?'

[The Simulation Zone allows the Host to replicate things that he sees, be it a place or a person, so long as the host knows sufficient details of what he saw, it can be replicated in the Simulation Zone.]

[In simpler terms, this is your own Virtual Reality. In the Simulation World, you can do anything you please so long as you can think of it.]

'Hmm...a bit vague but understandable.' Ashton mused to himself. 'Alright, let's try it. Uh...simulate an Imp please?'

[Host should immerse himself into the Simulation Zone first.]

'Right. Let's do that.'

He then felt a pull which caused him to jolt. The next thing he knew, he's standing in a vast empty white space.

'Is this the Simulation Zone?'

[Indeed, Host.]

'It looks boring...uh, so I just imagine things will appear here right?'

[Correct.]

'Okay. Let's start with something simple.' Ashton took a deep breath and started visualizing an image.

Then, before his very eyes, he saw the ground being covered in tiny blades of grass, spreading as far as the eyes could see. He looked up and the sky turned blue with puffy clouds above. He imagined a cool breeze of air and it appeared. He thought about trees and they appeared too.

In a span of a few seconds, the vast empty space transformed into a peaceful forest much like the Training Field A of the Mystic Academy.

'Okay, I think I understand how this works now.' He whispered, 'A few more tests I guess...'

Ashton then did a few more tests to see where his limit lies. Before he knew it, he tested a bunch of things and it all worked according to how the System described it. He actually ran out of ideas instead which forced him to stop the experiments.

Ashton could replicate anything he had seen so far. So long as he knows its composition or general description, the System would accurately replicate it here. Missing the tiny details was fine because the system will fill that gap in. 𝑙𝒾𝒷𝘳𝑒𝑎𝒹.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Once he thought that he had a pretty good understanding on how things work here. He decided to use it to his advantage.

He changed the scenery to what it was like outside, the ruins of City M. The wreckage was replicated perfectly before his eyes, even the infected soil as well.

Then he added an Imp. Just a single one. He replicated an Infant, one that has a single pair of horns.

He then replicated his arsenal and his cultivation. After that, he took a couple of deep breaths and applied the changes.

The moment he did, the Imp instantly came for him. Ashton's eyes widened and was half a second late from defending himself which caused his cheeks to be grazed by the pitchfork the demon wields.

Ashton then experienced why Imps were such troublesome foes. He could feel a disgusting sensation running through his body. He felt like he's covered in lead or goo. It didn't slow down his movements but it made him feel so dirty.

The Imp didn't allow him to relax. It was a menace as it repeatedly tried to punch holes on his body using the pitchfork. Ashton was barely able to deflect the attacks using his stuff.

He didn't have enough time to buff himself up nor attack at all. He was pushed into the defensive by an infant imp.

The frustrating part of this is that Ashton was vaguely aware that this fight shouldn't have been this difficult. He knows that he's much stronger than the Imp thanks to the additional refinements on his cultivation yet he couldn't even change the rhythm of the battle to his favor.

And even though this is but an infant imp, its physique is naturally stronger thanks to its demonic lineage. It's their natural talent so this thing could last as long as he could.

His lack of experience caused Ashton to stumble on his stance, and with just a single mistake. The demon's pitchfork punches a hole through his chest, effectively ending the simulation.

Ashton jolted back to reality. His eyes snapped open, he was pale and sweaty. His heartbeat rang loudly in his ears as he clutched his chest, feeling a phantom pain in there.

"Ash! You alright?"

Ashton looked at Aria and nodded stiffly. He took a couple of breaths to calm himself down and said:

"Yeah I'm good. Just did a whoopsie, I guess."

"Huh?" Aria looked confused.

"I tried fighting an imp. I lost. Got stabbed in the chest. Thankfully it's just a simulation."

Ashton then proceeded to tell Aria how the Simulation Zone works. By the end of his story, she looked convinced.

"That's extremely useful." Aria stated, "This way, you can gauge your chances. And if I'm guessing this correctly, you can accumulate combat experiences this way."

"Yep, that's what I'm banking on as well." He replied. "Still, it's going to take some time to get used to it. Even though it's just a simulation, it feels real. I can still feel a phantom pain in my chest."

"Then you shouldn't use it before that sensation disappears. It's fine, you can take it slow."

"Right." Ashton nodded while sighing as well. "Come, let's make some food. I'm famished."

The addition of the Simulation Zone in his arsenal increased Ashton's chances, there's no doubt about that. This function essentially allowed him to pick his battles, therefore increasing his survival chances too.

Since he's relatively new to the sensation, it'll certainly take some time before he gets used to it. Plus, he had a feeling that he's still using it to its full potential so he'd have to experiment some more.

The Tormentor could honestly choke to death for all he cares though. There's no way Ashton would even consider simulating that thing anytime soon.

He'd work his way up of course. Thanks to how vivid the simulation is, the battles should be realistic as well.

For now, he can tell that he's so inexperienced that he can't even defeat a single imp. That stings a bit but he can work with that.

Like Aria said, there's no rush. He has time and certainly he's got patience.

The road home is going to be a long and arduous one but he can take it one step at a time. It'd be in his best interest to pay attention to the journey itself since who knows what he'll find out?

This reminds of something that Rycard used to tell their class:

'Fortune favors the bold. Opportunities are often found within layers of dangers. There will be times that you'd have to risk your lives in order to get something valuable. Observe, learn and fight. Take what you can get and keep yourself safe. That's how you get strong.'

This advice should be worth remembering given his current circumstances.

Chapter 69

Ashton holed-up as much as he could during the past couple of days.

He always made sure that if he's going to move, he will do it during daytime and without being detected by Demons. He isn't in any hurry to confront them, he's too weak and inexperienced to deal with them anyway. Plus, his curse wasn't helping him at all.

He doesn't have any powerful offensive spells that he can use to fight with. Sure he can level up Spells higher than his cultivation but since all he has are Basic Spells, there really isn't much he can do with them.

Ashton would know. After all, he tried them within the Simulation Zone and barely worked.

Realistically, all he could do right now is to gather enough experience and increase his strength through cultivation. Even though he's avoiding confrontation against demons, with the help of the Simulation Zone, he can collect experience.

It would've been perfect if [Cleptomancy] worked on simulated enemies but it didn't. Well, beggars can't be choosers. He's already loaded anyways so it didn't really upset him that much.

While Ashton dutifully avoided demons like the plague they are, it didn't mean that he stopped analyzing them and observing his surroundings.

Recently, he has been trying to search for any weak spots he can take advantage of through studying the Imps closely. He hasn't had any luck so far but he wasn't discouraged. He still refused to simulate a Tormentor though.

In addition to the two types of demons he initially saw, he discovered more types within the past few days roaming around the city ruins. They are;

Inciters - demons that have the ability to incite a target and make them lose all reason and self-preservation. These demons are humanoid in shape. They have short arms and long legs. They're quite ugly to look at and they release eerier sounds whenever they're trying to use their abilities. The ones he saw roaming around were kids, two-three pairs of horns.

Flesh Eaters - small but deadly. These are insect type demons with wings that would put Earth's Piranhas' to shame with how they feed. They move in schools and usually move in a listless manner but the moment they smell blood, all hell will break loose. They don't discriminate either, they'd even eat fellow demons should they bleed within their range.

Ashton still feels his skin-crawling the moment he sees a school of Flesh Eaters.

And finally, one of the most terrifying demons that was ever recorded in Humanity's records...

Crowfathers - a demon with a head of crow wearing a black feather gown. They're usually followed by a murder of crows but at the very least, there would be two perched on each of its shoulders. 𝓁𝑖𝘣𝘳ℯ𝘢𝘥.𝒸ℴ𝑚

Crow Fathers have a bone staff, the scary thing about them is that they can use magic and are known to be proficient Hexers. They can multicast and have a deep well of mana reserves which allow them to spam spells left and right. The murder they keep are also dangerous for they are nor idle when the Crowfather wants someone dead. And so long as the Crowfather has a single breath in him, the murder are practically immortal.

The murder can also feed themselves to the Crowfather to heal his injuries. In turn, the Crowfather can give birth to more crows as he deems fits. It's just an awful cycle of nightmares, the likes that Ashton doesn't particularly like to get involved in.

The horrifying thing about Crowfathers is in the way they eat. They keep their target alive as they eat them. They force their targets to watch as the demon eats them one piece at a time, savoring their fear and hysteria.

He only saw a single Crowfather so far which is good, but considering that it's also an adult one with 4 pairs of horns, made Ashton take back that statement.

This demon is just as bad as the Tormentor. Ashton truly is unfortunate to be within the vicinity of a Crowfather but hey, at least he remained unnoticed.

He needed to switch locations every now and then out of necessity but that's fine. Ashton got lucky enough to find a good spot to hide for a while anyway so he planned on taking advantage of that.

'...this spot should be fine for two weeks at least.' Ashton mused to himself. 'That's enough time for me to recover from sleep deprivation and exhaustion. If I'm lucky, I can stay here for my breakthrough as well.'

'But you shouldn't risk that.' Aria's voice sounded in his mind. 'Have your breakthrough here in the Library instead.'

'Are you sure though? Wouldn't the books get destroyed?' He asked.

'There's an empty room you can use. So long as you place an array and seal it shut, you should be fine. Anyways, rest for now. I'll warn you if I sense something wrong.'

Ashton nodded. The past few days had been particularly stressful for him.

In hindsight, he didn't need as much sleep as regular mortals thanks to his cultivation. However, the tension was taking its toll on his body, leaving him exhausted and drained.

He really needs a good rest. Sadly, that would prove to be rather difficult with all the demons roaming around but he can at least try.

Aria would be there to look after him. Her senses as a Sorceress are suppressed earlier but she's trying her best. With a bit of luck, she managed to discover a way to extend her senses past the walls of the library.

Her range isn't far. Just around 100 meters in radius but that's enough for Ashton.

Once he rested properly, Ashton should be well enough to break through the Apprentice Realm. He's currently lv.9 with 9 refinements so it shouldn't be too difficult for him. Plus, Aria would be there to guide him so he should be fine.

Once the two weeks passed, the first benchmark for the survival mission should be completed as well. The rewards for that would be 5 pieces of Bloodline Purification Pills.

Honestly, Ashton had no idea what would happen once he consumed those. Does he have a bloodline anyway?

His Profile said that he's Human, it didn't say which kind of bloodline he possessed. He tried asking the System but it didn't answer him so he could only guess for now.

Well, if there's any clue he can use, it'd be the 'Fey Emperor's Blessing'. This is his Providence but by its name, it is also something that is close to being a Bloodline.

Would he become a fairy when he increases the purity of this bloodline? Will I have pointy ears? Would he become even prettier than he already is? Would his sensitivity to mana increase again? What should he really expect?

A lot of questions that have no answers for now, sadly.

While Ashton's immersed in his own thoughts, his body went into an auto-pilot. He placed several Talisman Seals around his new hideout, making sure they're spaced-out evenly and placed properly so as to maximize their effects.

He also set up a formation around for extra-measure.

Once he's done with his set-up, he took out stuff and started preparing a meal for himself.

While the soup simmered away, he set-up the tent and the sleeping bag he'll use. He also lit-up an incense to drive away any pests or insects that may crawl around his shelter.

Once he's full and relaxed, he wrapped the sleeping bag on himself and collapsed inside the tent. Before closing his eyes, he double-checked if the Mana-Air Converter and Purifier had enough supply to last for his slumber.

Once he confirmed that they do, he made himself comfortable and closed his eyes.

Even though he's dead tired, sleep didn't come to him immediately. His mind fed him thoughts that he would rather not deal with right now and there's nothing he could do other than to take it.

He was reminded of Mary, Alice and Blake. That opened up a train of thought that he repressed for quite sometime now...

Ashton wondered if they're still alive. He wondered if they made it out safely and if they did, how are they doing right now?

Did they learn about the disappearance of the City? Were they saddened by it? How are they coping? Do they still remember him and Aria or did they move-on already?

Did they think that the two of them were dead? They did try to search for them? Would anyone help them? Are they comfortable where they are? Are they eating and resting enough?

All sorts of questions appeared in his head, making it more difficult for him to sleep.

This isolation is really taking a toll on him. Even with Aria's presence, it's driving him insane.

It would've been so much easier if he could just give-up here and accept his fate. To just surrender to whatever bullshit life threw in his path and just conclude that this second-life of his was just as shitty as the previous one.

But he truly couldn't do that. He just can't accept it for some reason. Not when he knows that he can do something about it.

Eventually though...even if it did take some time, sleep came for him and he fell into a deep slumber.

...one that would last for a whole week.

Chapter 70

"...I don't get it."

'Yeah, me neither but it all boils down to two simple facts. You slept for a week and for some reason, you also broke through the Practitioner Realm.'

Ashton blinked and said: "...I mean, if you put it that way, I guess it is simple. But the why and the how is still unknown."

'Eh, does it really matter?'

"Uh, yes it does? This is my cultivation, hello? Isn't it normal for me to know how it happened and be in control? I slept for a whole and made a breakthrough, how does that suppose to make sense? You can't seriously tell me to just brush this off or that I'm just lucky!" 𝒍𝙞𝙗𝓻𝙚𝒂𝓭.𝒄𝙤𝙢

Ashton really didn't know what to feel right now.

On one hand, he doesn't feel like complaining about it since, well he made a breakthrough this easily. It was painless and it happened during the longest sleep he ever had in both of his lives.

On the other hand, he couldn't help but think that this was risky. He's supposed to be in control of his own cultivation, it doesn't make sense for it to happen the way it did.

'But are you hurt though?' Aria asked, 'Do you feel any discomfort or something like that?'

That made him pause. He closed his eyes briefly to scan himself and when he opened them, he had a blank expression on his face.

"Not really. I feel stronger and my mama's denser. My reserves also expanded greatly." He said.

'Then you're fine.' Aria declared, 'Seriously, stop overthinking. What happened, happened. Just take it and run away with it. No big deal.'

"That's irresponsible, you and I both know that." Ashton sighed.

'But it doesn't change the fact that you're a Mage Practitioner now so suck it.' Aria chided.

Ashton sighed. Well, she's not wrong. But just in case, he decided to double-check his body. He just wants to be sure that he didn't mess up here cause that could potentially be devastating.

He scanned his body again and even went as far as to scan his own sub consciousness.

He checked his Mage Crest that had some changes along with his breakthrough...

If in the Apprentice Realm, Mages had to form a total of 9 magical circles around their Mage Crest, then at the first level Practitioner Realm they have to form a link that connects all the circles together. At level two of Practitioner Realm, they would start fusing the farthest magical circle to the one before it.

This goes all the way until there's only a single magical circle around the Mage Crest. A big one at least.

In Ashton's sub consciousness, his Mage Crest shone with an intense rainbow colored glow. He could see that all of the magical circles around his Mage Crest are now linked to each other.

There's an instinctual need for him to start reeling them closer but he's aware that he can't do that. His breakthrough was fresh and he's nowhere near ready to make another breakthrough.

Still, he could feel the increase in quality just by looking at it. He can't really make any comparisons right now since he's...well, there's nobody to compare to, but he can tell that the sheer volume of his mana could easily surpass his actual level.

He wondered how the refinements will work now that he's a Practitioner.

Well, he'd found out eventually, but since everything seems fine here, it looks like there's nothing for him to worry about.

For what it's worth, he'd still want to know how it actually happened but he really can complain. He had a long sleep and a clean breakthrough. That's it, plain and simple.

"Okay, whatever. I see no problem so I'll just take it I guess." Ashton stood-up and stretched for a bit.

He already ate something since that became his first instinct after he woke up from his long slumber. Now that his mind was clear and all, it's time to check how his shelter is holding up.

He walked around to help with his digestion and to also check the shelter. He inspected every talisman seal he placed, making sure that they're still intact.

Ashton also checked if there's any traces of infection seeping in and was relieved to not find any. The formation disc that he left is also still active so everything was perfect. It stayed the way he left them before going to sleep.

Since his shelter held-up for this long without fail, Ashton decided to leave it be. No point in fixing what's not broken.

He warmed-up his body slowly. The long period of inactivity affected him somehow but it's nothing he couldn't deal with. Once he's done with that, he decided to practice some basic spells just to re-familiarize himself with them again.

Of course he didn't forget about the Staff Techniques he learned.

It's a pity that he didn't really get a chance to learn some more advanced Staff Skills (not that he knew if he could even use them to begin with because of the curse) but the basics should be enough so long as he gets enough experience with them.

The current staff technique looks like this:

[Basic Staff Technique - Lv.5]

Greatly increases Host's familiarity and finesse when using a Staff to fight.

50% attack potency increases when wielding a Staff.

25% increase in Host's Endurance.

It doesn't look much but honestly, given how fragile Mages are in terms of physique, this goes a long way.

Once he's done with his initial practice, feeling that his body was heated-up properly. Ashton sat down and immersed himself within the Simulation Zone to fight Imps again.

Now that he's had his breakthrough, he should have higher chances to defeat one at least...right?

Using the similar settings as before, Ashton started the fight.

He's no longer surprised by the sudden charge of the Imp. He's gotten used to it already.

Waving his staff, he parried the first thrust of the Imp and twirled his staff to deliver a counter attack. The other end landed square on the jaws of the Demon and Ashton clung into that advantage.

He stepped forward and weaved his staff with a fluid motion, hitting the Imp four to five consecutive times, aimed at the part where it would hurt the most.

The Imp snarled at him and tried to counter attack but once again Ashton parried it.

He discovered that, compared to the last time, he isn't panicking to respond anymore. In fact, thanks to his breakthrough, he could now anticipate how the Imp will attack. His perception processed information faster and it's being honed by the experience he's gradually accumulating.

Now, he even had time to weave spells in his onslaught which made things more difficult for the Imp.

After five minutes of confrontation, Ashton's staff struck the head of the Imp, piercing through its skull and promptly ending the battle.

Ashton released a sigh and sat down. He was panting and his face scrunched up in dissatisfaction.

'I'm already this tired after killing one? That's not good.' He thought to himself.

Ashton really couldn't bring himself to be happy with his results. It's far from desirable if he wanted to get out of this place. There's hordes of Imps roaming above him, there's no way that they'd fight fair.

In fact, why is he even bothering with fighting a single imp anyway? He knows that it's nearly impossible for him to confront just one since they move in packs.

He's better off fighting a pack to begin with. Fighting a single one is counter-productive since bringing a single one down doesn't really do much for him when there's going to be another one coming for him right away.

'System, playback the fight just now. I want to see how I can improve.'

He asked, and the system delivered. Just like what he was expecting, he could really do anything here. He should really take advantage of this more...

Ashton watched the fight closely. He even had the option to slow it down or down right freeze the fight so that he can look at it closely.

He criticized himself. Groaning at every instance that he missed. He noticed several times where he could've ended the fight right then and there but didn't because he's trying to be so safe.

Again, there's no point in playing it safe when he's in a simulation zone. It's fine for him to die here...well, not really since he'd feel a phantom pain but still, there are ways for him to improve faster and he's not taking advantage of it.

He figured that now's the time to rectify that.

'Okay, so let's test things out.' He mused to himself, 'System, make a clone myself that has a maxed-out Basic Staff Technique please.'

Lo and behold, the System came through. Ashton suppressed the desire to sequel in delight upon discovering that.

'Okay, just to be clear. This clone has the same cultivation level as I am right now, correct?'

[Yes, Host.]

'Perfect. Let's have this clone fight an Imp in three...two...one!'

Boom!

Ashton blinked and the fight was over.

Chapter 71

He didn't even see what happened.

Whatever that was, it happened too fast that he didn't even see what happened. Not even a smear of the Imp was left.

That shocked him to the core, yet it also thrilled him. If he could do something like that, then there's no stopping him from going anywhere he pleases.

Still, there are things he needs to check if he wants to make this work.

'System, kindly tell me what exactly the level of that Basic Staff Technique is.'

[5-Star Ascended]

'Huh...never heard about that ranking before.'

[Martial Skills, compared to Spells, work differently. Past the first 10 Levels will be the 'Unity Stage' - where the wielder becomes one with their chosen weapon. The Unity Stage and beyond uses the 'Star' rankings. 1-star is the lowest and 5-star being the highest.]

[After the Unity Stage comes the Phenomenon Stage - where every action you perform using your weapon causes a phenomenon that changes your surroundings. i.e. toppling mountains, overturning seas, ending a calamity, bending space, etc.]

[And the final stage is the Ascendant Stage - where even the simplest motion of yours could potentially destroy the world, ignoring the very laws that determine it.]

'Huh...'

Ashton was rightfully speechless. Time and time again, he was surprised by how ridiculous this world can get and he had a feeling that it'll never get old.

Seriously, the words that the system just uttered right now were something that he used to read in the novels of his past life, he could distinctly remember cringing at them but now, he couldn't bring himself to do so.

After all, it's just much different when it's actually demonstrated right in front of him.

'Okay. That's a lot.' He murmured to himself. 'I should probably shelve that information first since that would just distract me.'

'Okay, moving on to the next test.' Ashton cleared his throat and said: 'System, is it possible for me to use the simulated clone to act as my teacher?'

[Negative, Host.]

'Okay, worth a shot.' Ashton shrugged. 'But I can fight it, right?'

[Yes.]

'Good. Now, is it possible to warp my perception of time whenever I'm in here?'

This is something that he's looking forward to knowing because this is going to be the core of his development. That's why it is natural for him to feel nervous as he awaited the reply of the System.

[It is indeed possible Host.]

Ashton breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but celebrate. Yep, the Simulation Zone is indeed useful. It falls just under the Grinding Slots at this point. 𝙡𝙞𝓫𝙧𝒆𝙖𝓭.𝙘𝙤𝙢

'Can you tell me how much? And would there be any drawbacks?'

[The longest would be a 3:1 ratio in hours. It is possible to extend it the more you get used to it and as you grow stronger. As for the drawbacks, it ranges from a headache to a coma. Please be careful.]

'I will. Thank you.' Ashton replied. Of course he'd be careful with this especially since he's within enemy territory.

The limitations didn't really bother him that much, he knows that there'd be some drawbacks since, frankly speaking, the benefits he's receiving from this one function alone is already astonishing.

[Another reminder, Host. You've unlocked something new with your Cursed Legendary Artifact. Do check it out.]

Ashton raised a brow. Then he finally remembered.

'Ah that's right. I forgot that Legendary Magical Artifacts, even Cursed Ones, work in a special way.'

Legendary Magical Artifacts unlock a unique 'thing' every time their users cross a major boundary in cultivation - i.e. going from Lv.9 Apprentice to Lv.1 Practitioner and so on.

This is what makes the users of these Legendary Artifacts, a cut above the rest. At this point, Ashton would take anything that will help his situation really.

Due to this, he withdrew from the Simulation Zone and returned to reality. He took a deep breath and summoned the cursed magical artifact of his.

Most of the time, the Cursed Book of Infinity is closed and sealed, covered in chains and a lock at the very middle. However, there are times when it will mysteriously open on its own accord.

Ashton rarely saw this happening. Up until now, he still didn't know why it does that and he never really had a clue. None of his experiments proved useful so far so he just kind of let it do its thing since most of the time, it doesn't really hurt him.

Seconds after he summoned the book, Ashton saw it unsealing before his eyes.

The lock mysteriously detached without his consent and the chains that bound it slowly unwrapped themselves.

The Book of Infinity then opened by itself. The pages began shuffling and seemed never-ending until it stopped. Initially, it displayed a blank page but a few seconds later, crimson letters began appearing.

Ashton doesn't know what language this was. On top of that, he also didn't know what were the diagrams being displayed there. He kept watching though, up until the pages were filled with words he didn't understand along with the unknown diagrams as well.

Then, it occurred...

The book flashed a white light which then converged into something more...material.

Under his stunned gaze, the book produced something that he never thought he'd have, especially considering where he is.

"...guns?"

Yes, indeed. What the book materialized in front of him, as a reward for crossing a major boundary in his cultivation, was a pair of guns. Something truly unexpected.

In his mystified state, he raised his hands and held the guns for the first time. The moment he did, the System suddenly came through with several alerts...

[Mortal Reminder - Unlocked!]

[Mortal Reminder (1st Form)]

A sub-artifact unsealed from the Book of Infinity.

Uses Mana to form Bullets

Can be used as a Medium to cast Spells.

Indestructible

1st Form - Handcannon

2nd Form - Sniper Rifle

3rd Form - ?

[Due to the unique circumstances of the Host, the Specialization Function gets an upgrade!]

[Subclasses

are now added.]

[Host's Main Class is White Mage. Subclass automatically filled to 'Gunslinger'. Rewards distributed.]

[Basic Firearm Proficiency - Unlocked]

[Basic Firearm Proficiency - Lv. 1]

Increased familiarity when wielding firearms

10% attack potency when wielding firearms

5% increase to Dexterity

[Gunslinger Skill Tree - Unlocked!]

[You now have access to the Gunslinger Skill Tree. You may use Federation Dollars/Mana Crystals/Natural Resources to unlock skills in this tree.]

Ashton was once again speechless.

What's up with today? How come a lot's happening? It seems like his week-long inactivity caused by slumber is now making up for the lost time.

'Ash, what the hell!? Are those even going to work out here?' He heard Aria asking him to shrug and took a look at the guns.

Frankly, they don't look like much. It's like someone took a chunk of Mana Crystal, trimmed it a bit and attached some things here and there then called it a day.

It looks like a gun at least, minus the fact that it doesn't have a trigger nor a magazine slot. Then again, the description says that this thing uses mana as bullets so maybe it works differently?

'...I mean, there's only one way to find out right?' He replied.

He then raised the one on his right hand, aimed at the wall and shot it. He gasped as he felt the gun siphoning mana from his hands, and was startled when he heard a loud 'Peng!'.

'...I mean, I'd say that it works.' He said. Aria remained silent.

He was surprised, don't get it wrong, he really is. After all, firearms weren't supposed to work outside of the Last Bastion.

Then again, it isn't just guns. All types of humanity's technology will have difficulties working in the outside world.

That being said, this doesn't count. These pairs of guns were a sub-artifact of the Book of Infinity. They're not man-made, at least Ashton doesn't think so, which made sense since they worked just as he expected.

"Interesting." He murmured as he inspected the guns again.

He truly wasn't expecting something like this. Out of all the things he's expecting the Book of Infinity to produce, this was far from what he was anticipating.

'Supposedly, this sub-artifact has more than one form. This one is Handcannon.' Ashton mused to himself, 'It sounds impressive but the effect just now is lackluster.'

'...I wonder though...' He continued.

Inspecting his new toys a bit more, he tried to keep them away and summon them again. He noted that he didn't need to actually take out the Book of Infinity first before summoning the sub-artifact, which is nice.

Summoning and banishing the sub-artifact comes instinctively to him as well. The weight and size of the guns will take some time getting used to but not impossible.

He checked the notifications again before dismissing them. He kept the sub-artifact away and immersed himself in the Simulation Zone once more.

There, he summoned the guns, which responded to him just like expected. He then raised them and shot both at the same time.

What followed was a solid sound of impact that caused Ashton to feel like he just got hit by a truck. He groaned and muttered to himself:

"So that's why they're called Handcannons."

Chapter 72

Ashton knew that it's going to take some time to get used to the guns...

At first glance, the base form of the Mortal Reminder is like an SMG but the recoil on this thing is just...something else.

If he wants to fire this gun more effectively, he has to get used to that first. It's going to be a slow start but nothing too difficult.

With that said, the gun was promising. Since it shoots out bullets by compressing mana, he didn't need to manufacture them out here. He's only going to be limited by the amount of mana he possesses, of which he has a lot compared to those at the same level as him.

In addition to the guns, Ashton took some time to look at the Gunslinger Skill Tree.

The display was just like what he expected, it looked like the ones on games too. There were a bunch of active skills as well as passive skills as well.

Since he can use his resources here to unlock skills, he went ahead and unlocked a bunch using money since he had no use for them out here. The skills he unlocked are:

[Precision - Lv.1 (Passive)]

Increases Hit Rate by 5%

[Accuracy - Lv.1 (Passive)]

Increases Hit Accuracy by 5%

[One Shot - Lv.1 (Passive)]

Insta-kill chance - 0.01%

[Ranger - Lv.1 (Passive)]

Increases Range by 10 meters

[Footwork - Lv. 1(Passive)]

Increases ease of movement by 5%

[Piercing Rounds - Lv.1]

Shoots a bullet that pierces through an enemy

[Curve Shot - Lv.1]

Fires a bullet that curves to hit the target.

[Burning Rounds - Lv.1]

Fires a bullet that sets the target ablaze upon contact.

All of these cost him nearly 1 million Federation Dollars but they were worth it in his opinion.

Of course, this isn't all the skills available to him right now. There were more but he decided to unlock them later since he'd have to get used to the skills he has first. Additionally, there were also skills that are unavailable for him at the current moment, probably because the other forms of the guns aren't available yet or he needs to raise the skill levels first. Either way, it's fine.

The skills he unlocked are not spells that he can place in the Grinding Slot which is a bummer but not really a deal breaker. At least, now he has a range option.

No, he won't abandon the Staff Technique. He knew that it would still be useful, he just decided to focus more on the guns since he has a Subclass for it.

Of course he also wouldn't forget about his skills as a White Mage. He knew that those were too important here so there's no way he'd slack off.

With that in mind, he decided to continue with his seclusion and his training.

He practiced with the guns for the most part, he's even weaving some spells here and there too. Once he's tired, he'd rest up a bit then get to basic staff technique. After his training, he'll cool down, eat something then sleep for the night.

His perception of time was utterly screwed. Mostly because he adjusted the time he spent inside the simulation zone to his advantage. He could feel the headache of that but it's nothing a good night sleep can't get rid off.

The funny thing about this is...Ashton is kind of a natural when it comes to using guns.

By the end of the first day since he got them, the [Basic Firearm Proficiency] rose to Lv.3, he had adjusted way too quickly for someone who never really held a gun before.

He already got used to the recoil of the hand cannons. His shoulders were stiff by the end of it but that's fine. It's supposed to be that way since this thing is effective.

He even managed to beat a simulated Imp with this in his first try and that's saying something.

Ashton also tried out the 2nd form of the Mortal Reminder which is a Sniper Rifle. It turns out that if he combined the two hand cannons, they automatically transformed into this form.

The base range of that thing is at least 1 kilometer which was really good. Add the bonus he got from his passive and he could stay even further back.

That's far outside the Imps are least. The recoil of the Sniper Rifle is stronger than the hand cannons but it's more silent. Plus, Ashton couldn't get enough of the satisfying head shots he does with this. It wasn't always a hit since he's a beginner but man does it feel good to land one.

Head-shooting an Imp doesn't kill them immediately though, from what he observed so far. He didn't know why for now but maybe later in the future he'll know.

Aside from that, Ashton mostly just stuck with the basics. With the help of the Simulation Zone, he worked on his basics; the right posture, the aim, tracking, shooting while moving at the same time, etc.

He knew that the basics wouldn't fail him so he ingrained them into his being. There's still a long way to go but Ashton has time.

Time that he had no qualms taking advantage of...

A couple of days passed by after that...

Today marks his first month being outside of the Last Bastion, and according to the System, he should be getting a reward for today.

[Quest Updated! Survive for 1 Month: Cleared. Rewards: Bloodline Purification Pills (x5), distributed. Please check your Inventory.]

The System delivered...

Ashton withdrew from the Simulation Zone and returned to reality. He opened up his Inventory to check the new addition to it.

[Bloodline Purification Pill]

Increases the potency of one's Bloodline by 5%

Note: Continued consumption of this pill will diminish its effects.

Ashton wasn't surprised with that.

Consuming 50 Pills to purify his bloodline to the maximum sounds too good to be true so he didn't believe it. He didn't even think about it in the first place.

'System, do I have a bloodline? Except being Human of course.'

[Yes, Host. There is a faint trace of bloodline in your body that hasn't been awakened yet.]

'...is it what I think it is?'

[Indeed, Host.]

Ashton nodded to himself. He decided to relax his mind first before consuming a pill at least.

The confirmation of the system was all that he needed actually. It seems that he indeed has the bloodline of a Fay...more specifically, the Fey Emperor.

On how is that even possible, honestly Ashton has no clue. It's the System who determines things here, the rest was up for him to discover on his own.

Ashton never heard any tales about the Fey here. Not a single book he read so far was about them. Maybe he'll find out more about them in the future when he gets access to the upper floors of the Grand Library but for now, he's totally in the dark.

Once he was calm enough, he took out a single pill from his Inventory. Without any further ado, he swallowed the pill and waited for its effects to show.

...he didn't have to wait that long.

Around a minute and half after swallowing the pill. He felt a unique heat simmering on his chest.

The sensation was akin to scalding heat. It's as though he swallowed a fireball spell or something...

He could feel sweat drenching his clothes. It's also getting more difficult for him to breathe and remain calm under this sensation.

Ashton's body was steaming, his skin turned red from the heat and his clothes were sticking close to his body due to it being drenched in his own sweat.

This kind of suffering lasted for half an hour, but for Ashton, it felt like he's been like this for days...

His salvation came in the form of a comforting breeze. No, it didn't come from his little underground shelter nor the air purifiers he had. It came from within him.

That cool breeze was the first sign of comfort to him. Everything else subsided after that.

The heart was gone, he no longer felt like his blood was boiling. His throat was no longer parched, his skin was also regaining its natural color.

Then, out of nowhere, a weak fluctuation pulsed out of his body, causing him to jolt ever so slightly. 𝙡𝓲𝙗𝙧𝓮𝒂𝒅.𝙘𝓸𝒎

His hair grew longer and more lustrous, his skin shimmered briefly and his posture eased-up. His body stretched, like he was getting taller too. His body became leaner and more compact and his facial features turned sharper.

His mana reserves practically doubled. Its purity also increased...

Ashton felt awesome. He's immersed in a cool comfort that he didn't want to end. Unfortunately, the feeling dissipated shortly after.

He opened his eyes and his pupils flashed with a steak of viridian gleam before disappearing.

His lips unknowingly curved into a smile. He felt so lightweight and strong that he had this urge to go out there and wreck some havoc. Fortunately, his rationality kept him still.

Ashton took a deep breath and looked at his own hands, still reeling from the sensation just now.

[Notice!]

Chapter 73

[Notice! The Host's Bloodline roused and awakened! Providence updated.]

[Providence: Fey Emperor's Blessings (Grade-?)]

: You have been blessed by the Fey Emperor, granting you numerous benefits such as;

[Focused Mind] - lessens the probability of you failing to cast a spell. Greatly increases intellect.

[Fey Emperor's Majesty] - increases your beauty and charm, raises your Physical Strength, greatly increases your familiarity with Mana.

[Magical Affinity (New!)] - Gain the Favor of all Elements, allows the possibility of multicasting, increases Magical Perception.

Ashton stared at the notification in wonder.

He's still marveling at the changes brought by him increasing the potency of his bloodline, then there's this. Seriously, his luck was really weird sometimes.

The Magical Affinity opens up a lot of possibilities for him. It won't help much offensively thanks to this petulant curse he bears but the idea of multi-casting sounds too good to be true for him.

That, and the fact he gains the affinity for all Elements plus the perception is truly wonderful. This will really help out a lot.

'...this really makes me wonder if there were Fey around.' He mused to himself. 'I mean, their existence would be justified due to me having this but weirdly enough, I wouldn't be surprised if they're not real in this world.'

Due to him being an avid fan of fantasies back in his old world, he could recall some things about the Fey Race.

Fey, or in some other works; Fae/Fairies/Elves, were a race that has close ties with nature. In some adaptations, they're the protector of nature. Other times, they are the protectors of the world itself. They answer to the natural order and maintain its balance.

Most of the time, their race has the highest affinity when it comes to magic. Sometimes, they are depicted as pacifists, preferring to tend to their own rather than actively seek out what's outside their gardens.

Perhaps, the most common ways of depictions he can recall as of this moment, is the fact that they are overly sexualized. They're often described to possess unparalleled beauty and grace, wearing skimpy outfits with their pearly and supple skins with their males compared to Greek Gods while women had the largest knockers. It's ridiculous really.

That being said though, Ashton's transformation certainly did not help this stigma. If anything, this just proves it. Then again, he's living in an actual fantasy world right now and he has been proven wrong time and time again so he wouldn't be surprised to learn if things work differently here. 𝘭𝑖𝑏𝘳ℯ𝑎𝑑.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Not that any of those were important right now...

See, Ashton didn't just unlock a new benefit from his Providence. The older effects were also boosted by the increased potency of his Bloodline.

This means that his mind is sharper now and he's much stronger than before. This also explains how his Mana Reserves practically doubled just now.

Ashton glanced at the time and saw that it's nighttime. Usually, he'd be resting at this point but he's bursting with so much energy that he's becoming restless.

In order to remedy that, he immersed himself in the Simulation Zone to let loose.

Using the fixed arena which depicted the ruins of City M, he summoned a pack of Imps. He took his guns out and began shooting wantonly.

With his stronger body, he discovered that the recoil was more manageable now, it barely phases him anymore. Plus, his firing rate also increased due to several reasons.

See, during his training a few days ago, he discovered the nuances of how the Mortal Reminder works...

To load the gun with bullets, the gun is linked directly to his Mana Reserves. Ashton discovered that the more mana he has, the more bullets he can shoot. Also, the purer his mana is, the easier it is for the gun to convert them into bullets, which translates into the increase of his firing rate.

Aiming and predicting the enemy's movements are things that he still needs to get used to. He's a beginner Gunslinger, he has a lot of work ahead of him. That being said, the more he uses the sub-artifact, the more he falls in-love with it.

Peng! Peng! Peng!

Despite Ashton's eagerness, he was calm. He fired off three consecutive shots. All pierced the heads of the Imps, one even pierced through the one behind it.

Five Imps dashed at him, all seeing red in rage. They were fast and relentless, they didn't die even though they're shot in the head. If anything, that just made them angrier.

Despite this, Ashton remained eerily calm. He himself didn't understand it but he wasn't stressed right now. If anything, he felt light and at ease even though he's facing Demons right now.

He dodge the onslaught of pitchforks coming his way with grace, firing shots that barely missed the vitals of the imps. Hell, he even parried a thrust with a shot.

In his calm state, Ash could see every move of the Imps with so much clarity. Their stance, the way their muscles tensed, the trajectory of their strikes, he could even tell how far they could reach in each attack.

It was bizarre yet it felt awesome.

A calm smile adorned Ashton's lips as he surprised himself by casting the Blink Spell, which teleported him right above the group of imps. Riding the momentum, he spun fiercely while shooting.

He quite literally created a rain of bullets that either pierced through the imps or left them burning.

By the time his foot landed on the ground with a silent grace, the group of Imps around him vanished. But they were soon followed by the last batch of Imps, this time, there's seven of them.

Ashton looked at the group and felt himself grinning. He brought the guns together and used the second form which is the Sniper Rifle.

Blinking a couple of times back, he put quite a distance between himself and the remaining Imps.

He took a deep breath and loaded his first shot.

Peng!

He fired. The shot flew at, what it seems, the speed of sound. The impact caused one of the Imps' head to pop like a watermelon. The body wriggled a little bit before turning into dust.

Ashton lowered his posture and then fired another shot.

Peng!

Another head exploded. Sadly, Ashton can't continue this since the Imps are fast approaching. He got up and aimed. He saw the Imps avoiding his scope which made him raise a brow.

He tapped his foot and blinked to his left, which caused the Imps to be caught off-guard. As soon as he appeared, Ashton fired his shot and blasted another head off. That makes it three at this point.

Riding the adrenaline pumping through his body, Ashton jumped in the air, aimed down and fired another shot. The recoil pushed him back a bit but he wasn't hurt. Plus, he killed another one so that's four.

As soon as he landed though, he had to evade since one of the Imps got desperate and threw its pitchfork at him. The attack didn't graze him but much to Ashton's surprise, he found himself catching the pitchfork and hurling it back to its sender.

Another one died so only two left...

After hurling the pitchfork, Ashton rode the movement and lowered his body to bring his rifle to another aim. He clicked his tongue when he saw the Imps running in an erratic pattern to avoid his line of sight.

That being said, Ashton has patience and distance. He took a breath and he started predicting their movements. His mind whirred into activity yet his body remained still. With an exhale, he fired another shot.

A shot curved beautifully to hit the Imp hiding behind a wall. That one's down, Ashton didn't need to check, he's certain of it.

Then, with the last stroke of arrogance. He didn't bother aiming nor using the scope of the sniper rifle, he fired another shot behind him without looking.

The shot curved and the last imp fell with an incredulous look on its face.

Ashton stood in his spot, unmoving. He took a couple of deep breaths and surveyed his surroundings to check if there's more.

When he saw the battlefield dissolving, the massacre he performed sunk-in and his eyes widened in disbelief. He guffawed and looked at his gun and hands.

"Holy shit!" He exclaimed. "What the fuck!?"

"I did that..." he muttered, his eyes widened and he repeated. "I. Did. That!"

"Holy shit! That was so cool!"

Ashton laughed like a maniac. He just completely obliterated a pack of Imps and he didn't even feel tired afterwards.

His mind replayed his act just now and he found himself speechless by the things he did. He used the Blink Spell in a way that he never thought possible before, he parried an attack with a gun. He released a rain of fire and he performed seven head-shots that straight-up killed the last batch.

As his deeds settled down on his mind, Ashton couldn't help but feel smug. He knew that he shouldn't be feeling arrogant about this but he can't help it.

"I did good. I did good." He muttered as he patted his own back. "I was a badass. 10/10 would do it again."

"...Now, If I could just be like that every single time, that'd be awesome."

Chapter 74

Ashton wants to thin out the herd of demons above, he truly does. The only reason he hasn't done it yet is due to the fact that it'd be extremely risky.

Every single day, Ashton would allocate some time to venture above and observe the demons roaming around the ruins of City M. There's way too many of them for him to comfortably walk around even at daytime, which proves rather risky to even think about taking the initiative to attack them.

Ashton had no doubts that the moment he fires a single shot, he will be mobbed by hordes of demons. And even though he has the ability to kill the most common types of Demons by now, he is nowhere near strong enough to deal with a massive hoard on his own.

Sadly, that's what kept him rooted underground. What else can he do other than to bide his time and keep training until he's strong enough to deal with all of the bullshit above him?

What's concerning about his current predicament is that it's starting to get bland...

The loneliness and desolation he's exposed to was starting to really take a toll on him. Yes, he's getting enough rest in between his training and all of that, he made sure of this. But still, it doesn't change the fact that his situation isn't getting any better.

Aria was trying, she really does.

She's always reminding Ashton that he's not alone and that she'll always be there for him. And, even just for a little bit, it's working. It's barely able to stave off the darkness that was trying to swallow Ashton whole though. Still, it's better than nothing.

Ashton himself knows this too. Unfortunately, even though he's aware of it, he really can't do anything against it.

His situation sucks. That much is obvious. And all he could really do is to endure it.

He's already affected by it, that much he's certain. He's trying his best to be strong not just for himself, but for Aria as well.

But he really needs rest. He needs to distract himself from all of this gloominess.

That is why now, he's doing something about it.

Inside the Grand Library, Ashton could be seen reading a book.

The book in his hands wasn't about anything magical, no. Neither are theories about the demons or the outside world.

It's a book about Mechanics...

Ashton already started his research about if because he misses Jerry way too much. This is what he decided to pay attention to for now and not whatever's going on above him.

Ashton's head was resting on Aria's lap as he read. He was focused on the material but he'd admit that he's a bit distracted by the way Aria was playing with his hair.

Aria's hands were soft. She's very gentle as she plays with his hair, she's even humming a tune that sets Ashton's mind and heart at peace, albeit also making him a little bit sleepy.

Ashton adjusted his position, causing Aria to look down on him. As their gazes met, Aria gave him a sweet smile that made Ashton's heart hitch. He smiled back at her and placed his attention back at the book.

Aria swept the hair on his forehead, her soft hands then landed on his temples, giving him a gentle massage that caused Ashton to groan comfortably on his lap.

Ashton placed the book down and closed his eyes, wanting to enjoy the sensation. He deftly held Aria's hand and peppered it with kisses.

He opened his eyes to see Aria blushing at the contact, making it all worth it.

"...tired?" She asked.

"Not really." Ashton shook his head while replying softly.

He lifted himself and sat close to her, their bodies touching quite generously. They looked each other in the eye, feeling a subtle tension in the atmosphere.

"You need to rest, you know. You've been at it pretty hard these past few days." She said,

"I know." Ashton murmured. He then unashamedly burrowed his face on the crook of her neck. And if Aria barely stifled a squeal upon the contact, then that's her business.

Ashton sighed softly as he inhaled her scent. Aria smells really good. She always does. It's one of the things that he liked about her. She smells like lavender, sometimes peaches.

'It's probably her shampoo or her soap. Whatever, she smells so good.' He mused to himself.

Aria's blushing like mad right now but she made no efforts in stopping this. She also didn't stop him when he pulled her closer to him, wrapping his strong arms around her.

She almost melted in his embrace. She won't admit this out loud like, ever, but she's touch-deprived. Due to her uniqueness, nobody really sticks around, much less even pay attention to her.

Those who did were mostly perverts who can't take a hint.

But Ashton was different. Especially after knowing what he's been through with their new connection, Ashton was unlike any other she's met before. And that's precisely why she doesn't mind this.

She knew that Ashton isn't really clingy. It rarely happens, but when it does, he's the best.

If anything, Aria would even say that she wants him to do it more. Alas, you'll never hear her say that out loud anytime soon.

"Hey um..."

"Hmm?"

"..."

Aria was puzzled. She could feel that Ashton was hesitating and she wondered why. The next thing she knew, his face adjusted and he placed a chaste kiss on her neck before withdrawing.

Aria stiffened because of that, then she blushed even harder if that's even possible.

"Uh...did I um..."

"No...no, i-it's fine. I don't...mind." 𝙡𝓲𝒃𝓻𝓮𝙖𝒅.𝙘𝓸𝒎

Their gazes met briefly before Aria looked away. Ashton bit his lips and swallowed. She could feel the intensity of his gaze but she isn't bothered by it.

It just made her a bit sheepish and very flustered, but she's not against it.

Ashton leaned in again. Burrowing his face at the crook of her neck and placing another kiss there. Aria bit her lips, then she noticed that he didn't withdraw.

Instead, he placed another kiss...then another one...

The intervals of his kisses were shortening. Aria could feel herself breathing deeper in anticipation. Somehow, their hands entwined without their knowledge.

Lost in their little bubble of scalding passion. Aria noticed that Ashton's kisses somehow made its way up. From her neck to her chin, then now on her cheeks and face.

Ashton peered Aria's face with kisses which made the maiden's heart jump in joy. Their foreheads touched at one-point with Ashton cupping her cheeks.

Her eyes were closed but she could feel Ashton's intense gaze on her. She slowly opened them to meet him and she nearly lost himself in it.

With a gentle swipe of his hand, he removed her rimmed glasses and placed it on the bedside table. He then leaned in to latch on her lips and both of them sighed in contact.

That warm and pillowy sensation soothed their souls. Aria's hand clutched his shirt as he deepened their kiss.

Aria swooned at the way he pulled her close. How he greedily latched on to her body, pulling her to his lap while their lips stayed connected. She hummed in contentment as her man took the lead in this intense dance.

Pulling away briefly, Aria just barely managed to see him tossing his shirt away before he claimed her lips again. He pushed her onto the bed and is now on top of her with her arms wrapped around his neck.

His greedy hands explored and felt her body, causing her to hum and squirm in their kiss.

Aria felt like her chest was going to explode with passion. Ashton wasn't big on words as he preferred action, which he conveyed through her with what they're doing right now.

He's greedy yet patient. He asks permission through her action and knows her signals. They both know that this is not the time for words. This tension had been going on for far too long and now, they'll have it no matter what happens.

Aria was emboldened by her passion as she held Ashton's hand and slid it inside her shirt. Ashton hummed and cupped her bountiful breasts, giving it a firm squeeze to convey his satisfaction.

Aria moaned as he played with her sensitive nubs, rolling, pinching and alternating between the two. And as their tongues chased each other, Aria wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him closer and pressing the firm hardness within her pants on her core.

The fire just burned even fiercer at this point. Aria arched her back and found herself losing her mind, hazy in pleasure.

Somehow, Ashton managed to pull away from their kiss. They both panted harshly, hips grinding together as they looked at each other's eyes.

"I want you..." he whispered in her lips.

"Have me, then." She replied.

No words followed that. They just tossed their clothes away and joined their hearts together as the room was gradually filled with grunts and wails of pleasure through their union.

Today is a really good day...

" AHEM "

Chapter 75

Ashton woke up from his slumber, feeling a little bit sore but lighthearted as well.

He took a deep breath and smelled the scent of lavender near him. He could feel a weight on his chest and a suppleness pressed against him. He looked down and couldn't help but wear a small smile on his face.

Aria slept soundly within his embrace, curled-up and breathing evenly with her head on his chest.

Their naked bodies are pressed against each other in between the sheets, Ashton felt a comfortable warmth in this, it's even lulling him back to sleep.

Flashes of what occurred last night came rushing to him. Ashton couldn't prevent himself from feeling a bit flustered, yet if he's given another chance, he'd undoubtedly do it all again.

Last night was memorable. They'd surely lost count on how many times they did it. Blame Aria for being such an insatiable beauty, Ashton can just help himself.

Alas, Ashton better get-up. He only has a few hours left before he's kicked out of the Grand Library. He needs to take a bath and get dressed before that happens.

Pulling Aria close to him, he gently tucked the strands of hair covering her face. He watched as she peacefully slumbered away as he played with her hands, peppering it with kisses.

This roused her up from her sleep. Her eyelids fluttered open and the first thing she saw was him smiling at her. They stared at each other for a bit and Ashton watched as memories of last night flashed through Aria's memories.

He chuckled as he saw how her cheeks flared red and she hid at the crook of her neck. Cooing in adoration, he showered her with kisses which eventually landed squarely on her lips.

After their tender and passionate kiss, Ashton pulled back and said: "I only have two hours left before the library kicks me out. We gotta get-up."

Aria whined softly and wrapped her arms around him, unwilling to let him go. Ashton smiled wryly, he too didn't want to get-up. He wants to snuggle closer to her as much as she does but sadly, they can't do that for now.

"Come now..." He whispered. His hands traveled at the curves of her body, causing her sigh.

Ashton smirked, he went ahead and tickled her playfully. Listening to her crisp giggles and watching her squirm in his embrace.

"Okay, okay! I'm up. I swear." Aria rose up from the bed, letting the soft duvet slid from her body.

Ashton stared and swallowed as her perky breasts bounced in his vision. He bites his lips and looks at his lover with a heated gaze. Aria blushed and sheepishly slipped out of the bed.

She walked towards the bathroom, looking back at him briefly before continuing. She didn't even bother covering her body at all, which provoked all sorts of thoughts for Ashton.

He watched as her hips swayed enticingly like an invitation. He could see the marks that he left on her body last night and suddenly Ashton's mind started turning hazy.

The moment he heard the water running down from the bathroom, he too slid off of the bed and went inside to join her.

'Gotta conserve water and all that stuff, you know?' He mused to himself as they shared what was probably the best shower experience in their entire lives.

Ashton really didn't want to leave her side but he had to.

If he had a choice, he wouldn't return to his temporary hideout at all and would rather spend the rest of the days lounging around with Aria, alas it doesn't work that way.

After they showered, they also ate before Ashton had to leave. It's only going to be for a few hours but still...

'Ash, just a reminder, you now have access to the 6th floor of the Library. Also, if you want to increase the time you can spend inside, you can now try to upgrade your status by challenging the Gatekeepers.' Aria's voice sounded in his ears.

"Right...I actually forgot about that." Ashton sheepishly said while scratching the back of his head.

Yeah, the last few days were a bit hectic for him that he had completely forgotten about that, well, he didn't really forget it, he's just really preoccupied.

He had a lot of stuff to do. So many new things to try out, his training also kept him occupied for the majority of the day.

But since Aria reminded him of that now, he should probably take some time to check it out at least. Right now, he's still cooling down from all the activity he had done. Sex definitely did help but it's not the complete solution.

While resting still, Ashton opened up his profile.

[Profile]

Host: Ashton West

Race: Human

Aptitude:

Mageroot: Mysterious Rainbow

Magical Artifact: Book of Infinity (Cursed-Legendary)

Providence: Fey Emperor's Blessings (Grade-?)

Specialization: Main - White Mage, Sub - Gunslinger

Rank: Lv. 1 Practitioner (5th Refinement)

Cultivation Technique: Treasure Glazed Nine-Refinements Sutra

[Spells +]

[Inventory]

[Grinding Spots: 0/100]

[Sign-in Opportunities: 1]

[Mission Board: 2]

[Simulation Zone]

'System, Sign-in!'

[Signed-in! Host received: Cloak of Apparitions (Epic)]

Ashton raised a brow upon receiving that. He went to his Inventory and checked-out the new item he got.

[Cloak of Apparition (Epic)]

A white cloak that has mysterious origins.

Durability: 100/100

Unique Skill: Apparate - Turns the user light and intangible, allowing them to pass through anything without receiving damage. Lasts for 5 seconds. Uses left: 10. Refreshes everyday.

Ashton was impressed. This item was certainly useful. Even though it only has ten uses each day, that's still a life-saver.

He took the cloak out of his inventory and equipped it. The cloak was like the ones that reapers use in video games. It has a hood that covers most of his features. It covers him quite nicely and it's soft and comfortable too.

It's white in color and doesn't get dirty even though he's sitting on the ground. Ashton then tried to apparate using it and he immediately could tell the difference.

He moved swiftly and silently like a ghost, hell he even went through the wall, which disoriented him for a bit, before returning to his hideout. Ashton quite liked this function. Now, if he wanted to venture outside, he didn't have to unseal the hideout with the risk of it being infected by the nastiness outside.

He can just apparate in and out of it.

'I can already tell that I'd be using this cloak a lot so you know what? Let's give it some love...' he mused to himself.

He opened-up his Inventory and took out another item.

[Item Upgrade Kit (Epic)]

Use it to upgrade a System issued Item.

Can only be used for items that are at least Epic-grade and above.

90% chance of success. 𝓵𝓲𝓫𝙧𝓮𝙖𝙙.𝒄𝓸𝙢

This is one of the rarer items that Ashton received. It didn't come from the sign-in, he got it as a drop from [Cleptomancy].

He summoned the item and placed it next to the cloak. The moment he did, he received a notification from the System asking if he wanted the cloak. He confirmed it and the cloak bathed in light for a couple of seconds before fading.

Once it faded, the cloak remained the same, at least visually. But Ashton can tell that it changed a lot. He used an identifier on it and saw that it's been successfully upgraded.

[Cloak of Apparitions (1-Star Legendary)]

Its durability value disappeared, it turned indestructible now. It also has a new effect where it minimizes the user's presence and silences their movements. Its Apparate skill can now last for 10 seconds and has 100 uses per day.

It's a solid upgrade and more than enough for Ashton to never un-equip it. It's weightless, comfortable and extremely useful. Now, he has another tool that will help him survive the hoard above him.

Of course, he is in no hurry to do so. He's still relatively weak. He still needs to train a lot before even considering it.

For now though, he wore the cloak and decided to continue learning about mechanics. He really wants to recreate Jerry again to have him as a companion for not only him, but Aria as well.

He's nearly there when it comes to theoretical knowledge. Once he's done with that, he only needs to apply all that he learned. The biggest problem is making the product work out here.

Remember, Humanity's technology barely works outside of the Last Bastion. It is something that stumped a lot of inventors for so long and no solution was made as of now still.

Ashton has to discover this on his own while also trying to keep himself safe. This hideout is working so far but he never once thought that it'd last forever. The talisman seals will eventually be worn out and will be rendered useless, the infection will seep through and this hideout will be all tormented soil soon.

There's no way he can stay here permanently. Soon, whether he likes it or not, he will have to confront the hoard of demons above him and he will have to carve a path for his survival.

Ashton could only hope that it all goes well for him.

Chapter 76

The 6th floor of the Grand Library is filled with things that are useful for Ashton's current predicament...

Intermediate knowledge about magic, tips for improvements, important life and survival skills, records of the Outside World expeditions...these are only a few of the things that are in here.

Ashton decided to move here with Aria instead of the 3rd floor since he had read everything that the lower floors have to offer at this point. Plus, Aria's Private Room could be accessed on any floor anyway so it wasn't much of a problem.

He also recovered well enough to continue his training, now though, he's pacing himself more evenly in order to not burn-out himself anymore. He spent as much as time as he could with Aria since their relationship is fresh and frankly, they just can't get enough of each other since then.

Currently, they're in bed again, naked in between the sheets. They just had another round of passionate activity and both are coming down from the high.

Aria's curled around his body as he peppered her face with kisses. She looked up with him and smiled, causing Ashton to smile back at her as well. His hands naughtily caressed her breasts, which Aria doesn't seem to mind as she drew circles on his chest.

"Do you think I'm strong enough to challenge the Gatekeepers and upgrade my status here?" He asked.

"I honestly don't know." She replied, "I never really asked the previous Keepers how it went nor did any of them went out their way to tell me. I never actually saw what the Gatekeepers looked like to be honest."

"...that's fine. I guess I just have to figure it out on my own." Ashton stated as he pulled her closer.

"..."

"..."

"Ash?"

"Hmm?"

"...are you really...fine with me?"

Ashton pulled back slightly to look at her face and saw her wearing a hesitant look on his face.

"What do you mean?"

"Well...I'm a lot...older than you, you know?" She replied, looking down. "W-we're both old mentally but I'm...I'm more...you know."

Ashton frowned and refused to answer that question. For now at least...

Instead, he cupped her face and gave her a searing kiss that left her mind buzzing. His big and strong hands roamed her body, exploring her curves and grabbing them firmly with greed.

Aria knew this was Ashton's way of claiming her as his. She couldn't help but squirm in his touch as he dominantly declared his possession and sheer want through his actions.

After a while in their kiss, Ashton pulled back and gave her a piercing gaze, one that seared through her soul.

"...thought I was being obvious enough, given by how much time we spent in between the sheets." He whispered with a low growl.

He then climbed on top of her and gave her a trail of soft bites around her neck. He hooked his arm on her leg and raised it, easily spearing through her depths with ease, causing Aria to let out a gasp and shudder under the sensation.

"You're mine, got that?" Ashton asked, and she nodded hastily. He drew back his hips and slammed it back down, bottoming out until their hips made an obscene clapping sound.

"Let's not count age here...we're different, you and I. Things like that shouldn't even get in the way of what we feel." He declared as he repeatedly poked her very depths, eliciting a pleasured gasps and moans from Aria.

"Do you love me?" He asked.

Aria's eyes snapped wide open. She stared at his eyes and gave him a nod, saying: "Yes. I'm in love with you."

Ashton dipped his face down and gave her another searing kiss to seal the deal.

"Good. I am very much in love with you too." He declared, "So long as both of us know that, then we're good. Am I clear?"

"Y-yes~!"

"Good. But not enough. I guess I just need to mark you again and again to make sure you never forget about it."

" Ahem! "

Stepping out of the shower, Ashton felt refreshed.

He stretched his body for a bit. He dried up his hair as he shuffled through what clothes to wear. Once he got dressed, he passed by their shared bed and found Aria still slumbering peacefully.

'I might've overdid it.' He mused to himself.

He could still smell their mixed scent in the sheets and could see the marks he left on her body, a proof of his claim and declaration.

Ashton chuckled to himself and let her sleep some more. Aria might have the strength of a Sorceress here but she clearly underestimates how much stamina Ashton has due to his training.

He exited her room and found himself on the 6th floor of the library. He climbed up the stairs, passing through the 7th up to the 9th floor to arrive at the very top.

The 7th to 9th floor of the Grand Library is still filled with books. The stairs aren't sealed off but there's a barrier that's keeping him from accessing the contents of those floors.

As for the top most floor, there's just a single bookshelf in there. It too, was filled with books but it's also sealed shut. Well, that's not really the reason he had come up here anyway.

He looked at the side and saw that there are rooms that lead towards other places. Most of them are sealed currently to save one. That door will open up a passage to challenge the Gatekeepers.

Ashton walked in front of that door, he twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open, entering it to see what's on the other side. 𝓁𝑖𝑏𝑟𝘦𝒶𝘥.𝒸𝘰𝑚

To his surprise, he entered an empty space. He tested the waters and saw that it's safe, he could walk in this empty space with no problems. So he did until he arrived at, what seems to be, the center of the room.

"Welcome, Young Keeper."

Ashton's eyes widened like saucers as he called out: "Chief Leon? Is that you? You're alive?"

"I'm afraid no is the answer to all of your questions, Young Man." The voice, which sounded a lot like Chief Leon, replied. "My voice morphs to mimic the past keepers of the Library. The one named Leon is already dead."

Ashton bit his lips and took a deep breath upon hearing that. Well, so much for that...he had hoped but it was dashed away by the cruel reality. Oh well.

"Who are you then?" He asked.

"My, I thought you already know the answer to that, Young Man? Seeing as how you actively sought this place out."

"Gatekeeper?"

"Indeed!" The voice confirmed, "One of them, at least. Welcome to the Trial Space, Young Keeper. I assume that you're here to prove yourself, no?"

"I am." Ashton nodded, "But I'd like to hear it from you as well. My girlfriend just told me the minimum. I'd just like to be thorough if that's okay."

"Certainly!" The voice agreed, "We, Gatekeepers, are created for the sole purpose of protecting the well of the knowledge that is the Grand Library."

"Alas, for we have no form and only exist through thought, we need someone, an agent that will face those who crave to hoard the immense wealth of knowledge being kept here. That is how the idea of the Keepers was born."

"I will be your first Gatekeeper. Pass my test and you shall become a Chief Keeper, allowing you to not only stay inside the library for all you want but also give you enough authority to make some minimal changes in the library."

"How many tests are there in total?" He asked.

"Five." The voice answered. "Each test gets progressively harder and each test will only give you three attempts to pass them. Fail and you shall be barred from progressing your status."

"I understand." Ashton nodded, he took a deep breath and said: "Okay, I think I'm good. May I know the contents of the test?"

"Defeat three packs of Imps." The voice declared. Then the room transformed.

He found himself standing in a vast grass plains. Time is currently frozen and in front of him, the packs of Imps are in suspended animation as well.

"You may use your complete arsenal for this task. The conditions of failure are dying under their assault. There's no time limit. Do note that you won't actually die, you'll feel the sensation but you'll be fine."

Ashton nodded upon hearing that. He then equipped his arsenal; the guns, the staff, the cloak and wired himself to be battle ready. He casted all sorts of buffs to improve his chances and then declared:

"Okay, I'm ready."

"Very well. The trial will begin after five seconds."

As the countdown started, Ashton's eyes roamed around to gather as much knowledge as he could. Once the countdown ended, they started firing shots and moving erratically to avoid the swarm of Imps coming his way.

Gunshots echoed throughout the grassy plains, the soil was tainted by the dead corpse of Ashton's victims. It didn't take long before he fired the last shot that ended the trial.

He dusted himself and heard the voice saying:

"Congratulations, Young Man. Your talent is impressive. I now declare you as a Chief Library Keeper!"

Chapter 77

With him successfully upgrading his status to a Chief Keeper of the Grand Library, Ashton can now stay inside the Library indefinitely. This means that he doesn't have to rely on the underground bunkers anymore to keep himself safe.

Additionally, the Gatekeeper said that he can make small changes within the Library. These changes are limited to moving shelves mentally, adding a single room like Aria's, relocating the Librarian's desk and other small things. It isn't much but it's a nice addition to his authority.

The fact that he had to be out of combat to enter the Grand Library still hasn't changed though. Not to mention, he'll appear at the same spot where he disappeared which might give him problems in the future. It doesn't help that he can't spread his perception beyond the library to check his surroundings. It's not like time becomes suspended outside while he's inside so that might really cause some problems for him.

Either way, baby steps for now. At least he has somewhere to go if he wants to rest. That in itself is a lifesaver. To ensure his personal safety, he just had to make sure that he'll be inside an isolated spot before he enters the library so that there will be no surprises for him once he leaves.

Using his new authority, Ashton decided to add another room within the library. But before that, he decided to overhaul Aria's room since they're sharing it for now.

He made Aria's room bigger, it's now the size of a 5-star Hotel Suite. He was able to expand this thanks to the System of course.

Throughout his sign-ins and the magic of [Cleptomancy], he accumulated a lot of blueprints for all sorts of things. One of them was the 5-Star Hotel Suite which is just perfect for the two of them.

What makes this Blueprint better is the fact that it could be used multiple times. Once he used the template he had, he just needed to supply the necessary resources to build it, which he has tons of by the way, and then the magic of the library did the rest for him.

Aria didn't even wake up from the overhaul, she slept through it since it made no fuss at all. She'd be surprised no doubt when she wakes up. Her room is now bigger, has a lot of couches, has working appliances, a kitchen, a nice bathroom, and etc.

Sadly, since they're far away from civilization, internet connection doesn't work which is definitely a bummer. There's a TV, though it can only play movies that they've downloaded before they were transported here. Same goes for games, they can only play the offline ones.

Still, that's better than nothing. At least they have more than one source of entertainment at this point. This should be effective in decompressing the stress Ashton will accumulate as he ventures through the dangers of the outside world.

As for the new room, he made it into a Laboratory.

His first choice was actually a Training Room but he figured that it'd be redundant since he already had the Simulation Zone from the System, and that's easily way better than any training rooms that are available.

The reason he chose the Laboratory is because he wanted to study the kind of wildlife the outside world has.

Ashton has a decent foundation when it comes to the knowledge of Herbs thanks to his studies at the Academy. Since he's going to spend a lot of time in the Outside World, then he should at least learn as much as he can.

By studying the wildlife around him, maybe he can discover ways to in order to make survival easier for himself and others. Maybe he can concoct potions or make ointments that will cure diseases that are often caught by the expeditionary. Who knows?

Additionally, the Lab could also serve as a greenhouse to secure food supplies. While Ashton has many in his stock, an emergency might strike him so it's better than nothing. He just wants to cover all of his basis at this point. Plus, Aria could definitely use some distraction while he isn't around.

Once he's done with all of this. He checked the lab one last time before exiting and returning to their shared room. Since he can now stay indefinitely here, he figured that he should pamper his girlfriend a bit before going back to training.

Peng! Peng! Peng!

Gunshots echoed all over his surroundings. Ashton's expression was somber as he continued firing his guns to shoot the projectiles coming his way.

Sadly, the said projectiles were too fast and there seems to be no end to them. He only hits half of the shots he's firing due to how fast they were. It certainly doesn't help that these projectiles seem to be intelligent as well.

Right now, Ashton was barely hanging on. He has several ribs cracked, a punctured lung and several holes in his arms and legs. One of his eyes was missing as well.

In his delirious state, his concentration blurred for a bit and that was enough to end him. A projectile went through his skull, ending his life in the process.

Thankfully, this is all just a simulation. Ashton was alive, only mentally exhausted. He could feel the phantom pain of the injuries he accumulated from the last run, but he'll be fine.

"...still can't do it. Not even close. But I'm definitely improving." Ashton mused to himself as he lied down to calm his breathing.

Ashton had been suffering defeat again and again under the hands of the Crowfather within the simulation. That Demon is seriously a pain in the ass to deal with...

The fact that it could devour its own children to restore its vitality made it seem like Crowfathers have pseudo-Immortality.

Ashton tried to blow its head in more ways than one but nothing worked. Even if he did blow up its head, it will just re-grow them as if nothing happened.

A battle of attrition doesn't seem to work either since Crowfathers can virtually give birth to limitless amounts of crows. Killing all crows it produces wasn't enough to even slow it down on its tracks. If anything, that just provokes the Crowfather into upping the production rate which in turn will hasten his death.

"I need to increase my proficiency, upgrade my passive gunslinger skills and more. All in all, I need to be stronger."

Although Ashton is just a level 1 Practitioner right now, he's strong enough to slaughter three packs of Imps. He even succeeded in taking down the adult one already. This means that his experience is definitely helping him. And since the simulation almost seems to be real, he shouldn't have any difficulties replicating that result in an actual battlefield.

Ashton emptied his mind for a bit. He stared at the ceiling of the room, resting. He doesn't feel extremely exhausted, he just needed a short rest for now.

As he rested, his thoughts began running on their own...

He made no efforts on stopping them though, instead he followed them until an idea crossed his mind.

"...huh, I actually never tried that before."

He sat up and immediately closed his eyes, feeling the familiar sensation of being immersed into the Simulation Zone.

No, Ashton didn't plan on fighting the Crowfather again. In fact he didn't even summon a single imp nor used the battlefield which looked like the ruins of City M. 𝒍𝓲𝒃𝙧𝓮𝙖𝒅.𝓬𝙤𝓶

He was fine with the blank white space.

Ashton summoned his guns and took a deep breath. He raised them both and circulated his mana in a different way...like how he would do it when he's casting a spell.

Pshht! Boom!

"Holy shit!" He exclaimed.

Instead of a regular bullet, Ashton just shot a streak of aquamarine light which flew at the speed of sound. The shot was so strong enough to even beat a regular sniper rifle shot. The best part is that, there's almost no recoil when he does that.

"What do you mean I can cast spells with my guns!?" He was wide-eyed as he stared at the guns in his hand.

That's right! Just now, Ashton just casted a regular Mana Bolt Spell using his guns. At first, he didn't believe that it'd work, but it turns out that he's a man with little faith. He actually did in his first try.

Psssst! Boom!

...and he did it again on his second try. He's almost surprised with how easy this was. He's even more surprised by the implications of this discovery.

"Holy shit! This changes everything!"

Mana Bolt, Stun Bolt, Arcane Missile...

Mana Bolt + Piercing Shot. Mana Bolt + Burning Rounds. Mana Bolt + Curving Shots. Mana Bolt + Bouncing Shot...

Stun Bolt on the left gun, Mana Bolt on the right. Dual Arcane Missile Shot...

Healing Shot? Yes, please! Shooting a target dummy to apply buffs? Say no more! How about a debuff? Forget about it!

Ashton was like a kid who just discovered the amusement park on a sugar high. He practically bottomed out his mana just by testing all sorts of combinations with his guns.

"Oh...I'm going to have so much fun in this."

Chapter 78

"Okay, this doesn't make any goddamn sense!" Ashton yelled to no one in particular.

He was looking up in distress as he held his guns who were still smoking from being used. In front of him, the ashes of his simulated victims are starting to scatter.

"How in the world does White Magic hurt a Demon!? And why the hell am I only finding this out now?" Ashton yelled indignantly at the sky. 𝙡𝓲𝒃𝓻𝓮𝙖𝒅.𝙘𝓸𝒎

He could cry about it really. The revelations that he has been discovering lately was really taking a toll on his mentality.

'Using a Healing Spell on a Demon.' This statement was supposed to be a joke. You know? Something stupid to laugh about cause he's bored and just wanted to see what will happen?

But to his overwhelming surprise, the moment the spell landed on the Demon, it melted like butter under direct heat. The demon didn't even have the time to scream.

Just to emphasize how ridiculous this discovery was, Ashton used the Warmth Spell!

[Warmth - Lv. 15]

Cast an orb that heals injuries over time.

Lasts for 5 minutes.

Healing Range: 15 meters.

This spell is considered as the weakest healing spell under the White Magic branch! It's one of the fundamental spells that everyone can learn. It's easy to cast and doesn't require too much mana at all.

"It is a healing spell, everyone knows that! So how the hell does this little yellow ball of warmth, even more effective than an actual Fireball Spell when it comes to demons? It seriously doesn't make sense dude!"

While Ashton does sound like he's complaining a lot, in truth he's just being dramatic. Loneliness and a little bit of sleep deprivation does that to people. He's just really upset that it has taken him this long to even discover it. Even though it really doesn't make sense to him.

This is a wild discovery, sure. How the hell would anyone even believe him when he says that White Mages are absolute terrors in demon infested territories? What made this even more ridiculous is that this information isn't written anywhere else. At least not to the ones that he has access to within the library.

His White Magic professor didn't tell him anything either. At this point, Ashton's considering a few theories that might be the reason behind all of this;

First is the fact that this is a well known idea amongst the upper echelons of the society but it is hidden to common folk probably in attempts to not saturate the number of people who will abuse White Magic. The number of natural White Mages are far too few to begin with so it's kind of like a filter.

Second is the fact that it's a secret to most people as well. Probably because of greed? Who knows?

The final theory he has is that nobody really knows and he's the first one to even try it. Yes, it might sound a little too far-fetched but the serious lack of documentation about something so useful is just downright criminal. This gives him the idea that he is indeed the first one to discover this.

Either way, these are all just theories. While it's nice to know them, it doesn't really help him a lot since, well...he's alone here with Aria. The application though is the complete opposite.

Right now, Ashton's primary bullets are in the form of condensed Warmth Spell Shots. Again, the spell itself doesn't drain too much mana, hell the mana cost is even lesser compared to the regular bullets.

In addition to that, he can always shoot himself to heal mid-battle which is just neat if you ask him.

"If White Magic is effective against Demons, would Black Magic be effective against Angels?"

Yes, it is weird but the other race that contested the demons from conquering this world are the Angels. They're not the ones like Ashton's old world romanticized. These pigeons will not hesitate to gut humans at the first sight. They're called Angels not because the religious beliefs of Earth are present here, it's because that's what they call themselves.

Still, that's an idea at least. If White Magic turns out to be harmful for Demons, then its opposite; Black Magic, should be harmful for Angels as well.

He can't really test this out right now since he's in the middle of a demon infested territory. Maybe one day though.

On another note!

Ashton finally discovered a way to defeat the Crowfather! This ties to his recent discovery too! Apparently, the Purify Spell - which is commonly used to get rid of tormented soil, is absolutely lethal to the Crowfather.

One shot of Purify and the Crowfather screams in agony, unable to give birth to more crows. Shooting it three times with Purify Bullets on top of Burning Rounds is enough to get rid of it completely.

Ashton couldn't even explain how relieved he was about this discovery. Although shooting Purify using the guns and using offensively costs more mana than Warmth, it's within an acceptable range that Ashton doesn't mind putting it as his secondary rounds.

Plus, using it in conjunction with his guns intensifies its effect. With it, Ashton can purify larger patches of ground which gives him safety in terms of footing.

With the recent discoveries he made, Ashton's chances of survival significantly increased. All he needs right now is just more practice and soon, he'll be able to clear the demons roaming within the ruins of City M.

For now though, he called it a day.

He felt somewhat exhausted. He didn't want to overdo it once again since it's just not optimal. Plus, Aria will give him another earful and he frankly doesn't want that right now.

He retreated from the Simulation Zone and released a long sigh. He stood up from his seat and went out to look for his girlfriend.

Ashton found her in the librarian's station, buried in her books. They've stationed themselves on the 6th floor and Aria has been reading non-stop recently.

Apparently, this was her first time here as well. The previous keepers kept her away from this floor for some unknown reasons but Ashton's obviously different. He didn't see any harm in doing that so he allowed her here.

Seemingly feeling his presence behind her, Aria leaned back and rested her head on his chest without peeling her attention away from the book she's reading.

Ashton sat behind her and nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck, peppering it with kisses and wrapping his arms around her waist. They sat like this in comfort and peaceful silence.

He looked up and peeked at the book she's reading. The book's about History, something that Ashton doesn't really care about.

"Have you eaten yet?" He asked softly.

Aria shook her head and said: "No, I was waiting for you."

"Hmm..." Ashton sighed and kissed her cheeks, "Are you craving for something?"

"...I'm not pregnant." She said, "at least I don't think so."

"Wha-! No, that's not what I mean!"

"Haha, I know. 'M just messin' with you."

"Geez, you made me nervous." Ashton chuckled, "For a second there I forgot that you can't get pregnant."

"That's what you get for going so hard on me." Aria huffed.

"Hmph, as if you didn't love that." He snorted, "remind me again who's begging for it?"

"Shut-up!" Aria glared at him with a healthy blush on her face.

Ashton just laughed and pulled her into a long and passionate kiss.

After their brief making-out session, he pulled away gently and asked: "But seriously? Are you craving for something?"

"I'm down for some pasta and ice cream."

"Sounds good." Ashton nodded, he then stood up and said: "Alright, go back to your books. I'll call you in once I'm done."

"Okay."

With that, Ashton left her to her books as he headed to their shared room to cook dinner.

Even though Ashton mostly relied on Jerry to prepare his meals before, it doesn't mean that he's rusty when it comes to cooking. If anything, he's even better now.

Once he was finished cooking their meal, he called Aria in and they ate as they converse about random things. After that, they sat on the couch, watching some horror movies they haven't seen before while eating ice cream.

Once they got bored and sleepy, they moved to their room and cuddled until they fell asleep.

This kind of mundane normalcy isn't much to be honest but it keeps Ashton from slipping to madness.

He really couldn't thank his lucky stars enough to have Aria by his side. God knows without her, he'd probably turn insane from all the stress and loneliness eating away at him.

His task of survival is only bearable since she's with him. While he's not really reliant on her, her presence keeps him sane and grounded.

Ashton still hasn't made enough progress. Hell, he hadn't even started his journey back home, he's still at the same place where he started. Nevertheless, his personal progress is steadily increasing.

Soon, he will be strong enough to begin his journey. Soon, he will be strong enough to make his way back home.

That is his promise.

Chapter 79

"Ah, crap!"

Boom!

Ashton just barely managed to evade a massive explosion that could've potentially killed him. He rolled to displace the impact on his body and located where his enemies were in order not to not be surprised again.

The 8 foot tall monstrosity snarled at him with hate as it reeled back the chained sickle it threw.

Ashton shot a few White Magic Shots at it but the demon evaded them swiftly despite its size. Its body seemingly glitched out and then reappeared near him. 𝘭𝒾𝒷𝓇𝘦𝑎𝑑.𝒸ℴ𝓂

He barely avoided its deadly stomp with a well placed Blink. He continued shooting at it but the demon just raised its lantern which formed some sort of a barrier that protected it.

Ashton clicked his tongue and blinked several times. He brought out the sniper rifle and combined his spells with Piercing Rounds and Burning Rounds in hopes of hurting the demon at the very least.

Unfortunately, the barrier it has was too sturdy. None of his shots even put a dent in it. Ashton had to evade again since the demon threw its chained sickle at him once more.

Ashton managed to evade it at least, but he was caught off-guard by a sudden change. He missed the fact that the chained sickle somehow burrowed deep into the ground and followed him to where he's supposed to appear. It appeared beneath him and it was already too late to evade it.

Ashton's was cleanly cut in half, effectively ending the simulation.

Once his consciousness was kicked out of the simulation zone, Ashton gasped awake and clutched his body.

"Oh that was horrible." He murmured, he sounded weary and upset. He laid down on the mattress and took several deep breaths to calm himself down.

It's unfortunate that he's still not strong enough to even hurt a Tormentor.

He had been simulating a fight against it within the past few days but he just can't even damage it in the slightest. The demon was so freaking strong, it's fast and cunning too. Not to mention, it's impossible to lay down an ambush for it or even trap it with his current skill set.

Ashton tried almost all combinations he had in fighting that thing but nothing worked. His de-buffs are too weak to even take effect. His Spell Shots can't penetrate that damn barrier. He can't even outsmart it for the life of him!

"Maybe I shouldn't even think about fighting for now." He mused to himself, "I should train-up my Spells, Skills and techniques first before I try again."

"Yeah, that sounds about right..." he concluded.

There's really not much for Ashton to do as of the moment. Unless he becomes strong enough to kill a Tormentor, he shouldn't even think about reducing the numbers of the demons roaming around the ruins.

See, he discovered what makes Tormentors a nightmare to fight. They have this ability to devour the souls of allies and foes alike which permanently makes them stronger. And this is on top of their already absurd physiology which naturally gets stronger as they mature.

They don't need to kill anyone in particular, they just have to devour the soul of whoever died near them and it will make them stronger. How absurd is that?

In addition to that, the strength of a Tormentor's barrier scales directly with the amount of souls it devours, the more souls it eats, the sturdier its barrier becomes.

This is what makes Tormentors a pain in the ass to deal with. Ashton has no idea how much soul this one in particular devoured so far but it must be a lot. Considering the fact that Ashton could kill other types of demons roaming around the area already except that one, that is a huge sign in itself.

Tormentors have one big weakness though; their lanterns.

You see, while Tormentors can indeed devour souls, the way they do it is unique from what he observed so far.

They suck the soul inside their lanterns, which effectively imprisons the soul. In there, the souls will experience all kinds of torments which will erode their sanity until they're fully consumed.

The stronger one's spirit is, the more difficult it is to consume them. In fact, it is even possible for a soul to break out of the lantern. Not that that's optimal either since the Tormentor would just cull the soul with its sickle if they managed to escape anyways.

This basically meant that it takes time for the Lantern to devour a soul. Ashton was certain that if he could just destroy the lantern, that would be enough for him to take down the Tormentors.

That being said, that's a difficult task in itself. Ashton tried doing that multiple times by now but the damn thing is too freaking sturdy. Additionally, the demon does it best to make sure it's protected anyway so good luck with that.

Anyway, it will take some time before he can effectively take down his biggest problem. Thankfully, he has time to spare and he has methods available to him which takes advantage of that.

After his defeat from the Tormentor, Ashton called it a day. He didn't want to overexert himself again. Plus, he had other projects to pay attention to anyway.

He exited their shared room and went to the lab. There he found Aria immersed in her research. She sensed his presence and gave him a sweet smile before returning to her work.

Meanwhile, Ashton made his way into the corner of the lab to continue his project of making a new body for Jerry.

He decided to follow the original design with a few improvements. He used better components and metals to create the body, he also optimized the energy capacity so that Jerry would have more up time and shorten his charging time.

Ashton didn't really have to worry about this not working.

While it is indeed difficult for human technology to work properly in the Outside World, the Grand Library is exempted from that. So long as Jerry remains inside the library, there shouldn't be any problems with that really.

Ashton felt like an idiot for not realizing that sooner. Oh well, better late than never. He wouldn't be needing Jerry to come outside anyways so he can revive him now.

This project took him a little over four hours to finish. Once the main frame for Jerry's body is complete, all that's left is to attach the Memory Core in it and let him boot up.

Ashton did that and watched the loading screen with rapt attention. Once the download was finished, a familiar expression (emote) suddenly appeared on the screen-face.

Ashton heard the familiar whirring sounds made by his trusty butler-bot. Jerry's head rose up to meet him and suddenly...

"Greetings, Master. I trust that it is you who made me a new body?"

Ashton nearly cried in joy as he heard Jerry's familiar voice. He earnestly nodded at him.

"My utmost thanks, for reviving me." He said, "Butler Bot Jerry is once again yours to command, do you need me to do anything for you Master?"

"You're not done charging yet." Ashton shook his head, "I upgraded your body so run some checks on yourself and optimize your systems. Once you're done with everything, including your charging time, you can come look for me."

"As you wish, Master." Jerry wasted no time and began optimizing himself.

Ashton sighed and left the lab. He had a wide smile on his face as he went back to their shared room. He was really happy to have Jerry back.

With him around, things will be more fun and easier. Jerry's extremely helpful, especially with his new upgrades. Ashton added a mana circuit in him which allowed Jerry to cast spells by consuming Mana Crystals. His new body is also slightly bigger, stronger and far more durable than before.

Aria and Ashton could leave the repair of books to Jerry, he'll surely be more than happy to cover that task for the two of them.

His girlfriend seems to have noticed his happiness...

"Did you succeed?" She asked.

Ashton nodded and gave her a kiss. She congratulated him and pulled him to the couch to watch movies with her.

After an hour or so, they heard a whirring sound and the closing of the door. They found Jerry sliding over to them with a smiling emoticon on his screen-face.

"Hey buddy. I'd like you to meet Aria. She's my girlfriend and she'll be staying with me for a very long time, maybe even permanently." Ashton stated.

"Hi, Jerry."

"Hello, Mistress Aria. I am Master Ashton's Butler Bot - Jerry. Feel free to give me tasks to make your life more comfortable. Would the two of you allow me to cook dinner?"

"Sure! What are your recommendations?" Ashton asked.

Jerry then displayed a menu list for them to choose from. Aria and Ashton told him their meal choice and Jerry gave them another smile as he made his way towards the kitchen.

"I think I'm going to enjoy his company a lot. Do you think he knows how to braid my hair?"

Ashton chuckled and said: "I wouldn't be surprised if he does."

Chapter 80

Another month passed by and Ashton still has to make a move.

This doesn't mean that he's idle though...well, he kind of is but considering the nature of his System, that just makes him even stronger. Plus, he's actually training to top it off, making his progress significantly faster than what it should be.

Currently, Ashton is at Lv. 4 of Practitioner Rank, he just finished his 8th refinement last night.

Most of his spells are at least Lv.20, way ahead of his actual level. The cost to upgrade them is now reaching five digits, and this isn't counting the amount he has to charge if he wants to shorten the time it takes for them to finish.

As for his skills, mainly the Staff Technique and the Gunslinger ones, they're coming along. Since he can't use the grinding spots to hasten their development, he just needed to practice them himself.

His Staff Technique reached Lv.10, just shy of a step away from reaching the next stage. Though, his Basic Firearm Proficiency reached 3-star Unity Rank due to the sheer amount of practice he's had with it.

With that, Ashton can use the Mortal Reminder like it's an extension of his body. His aim is true and he could even shoot at things that's not within his line of sight accurately. It's a bizarre sensation, yet it's one that he welcomed with open arms.

The skills under his Gunslinger Skill Tree reached Lv.11 and above. All that mental training within the Simulation Zone helps, and since his perception of time is warped in there, he could squeeze more results from the training.

The feeling of getting stronger day by day is something Ashton couldn't get enough of. He previously thought that he was not much of a fighter himself, that he's more of a studious hermit. But as it turns out, he was wrong.

There's just something truly gratifying upon realizing how strong you get. The confidence that comes with it is just a bonus. Plus the action he gets makes it more bearable for him to stay out here, at least he has an outlet to release his frustrations upon.

Speaking of which, Ashton's inactivity is coming to an end...

Recently, he has been immersing into the Simulation Zone quite often since he has not reached the point where he can seriously consider clearing the horde of demons lurking at the ruins of City M.

In his simulations, he was waging a war against them alone. Gun blazing and blinking all over the place, Ashton was like a shooting star in the battlefield.

One of his shots will sometimes take out clusters of Demons much to his satisfaction. The Imps, including the adult one, that he saw before, are no match for him. The Crowfather isn't a problem anymore so the only thing that could cause him to fail is the Tormentor.

In a straight up 1v1, the Tormentor isn't a problem to him anymore. Ashton grew strong enough to be able to penetrate its pesky barrier and shatter the lantern, effectively weakening the damn thing and killing it shortly after.

The Tormentor becomes a huge headache if there's demons around it. Again, this demon can devour the souls of enemies and allies alike. Yes it might take time but it will definitely make it harder for Ashton to kill it if that keeps on happening.

To remedy that, the Tormentor has to be the first one to die. Yes, it's troublesome but it is a viable strategy. Ashton can't kill it with a single shot but so long as he has time, he can make it work.

Sadly, Demons by nature are cunning. 9 times out of 10, they will discover what he's planning and would devise a plan to stop him. They screwed up Ashton's plan several times in the simulation already so he would know.

8 times out of 10 in his attempts, he will fail and die. Ashton didn't like the sound of that so he decided to refine his work more before he eventually goes out there.

And that's exactly what he's been doing during the past couple of days...

Ashton practically threw himself at the Simulation Zone at every waking moment. He says that he's not overworking himself and he doesn't seem like he was but it doesn't stop Aria from worrying about him. Even Jerry would remind me to take it easy.

Of course, he knew that they're worried about him but he's honestly fine. He might appear tired most of the time but it's nothing a good sleep can't cure.

He's already used to the Simulation Zone, in fact everything comes naturally to him already. He's pushing himself to the limit, yes but that's to be expected, no? After all, he has to be strong if he wants to get back home.

He heeds their advice of course. Ashton learned his lesson already. He knows that he has to take care of himself and pay more attention to his body since he'll be the one who would do all the fighting.

Ashton's aware of that...but he can't exactly just stay still and pray that he'd just wake up one day invincible right? That would be nice but unfortunately, that's not how the world works.

Still, he takes their words to his heart. He knew better than to worry Aria. He takes weekends off of his training to spend quality time with her and to give his body enough time to catch-up.

That takes care of his rest and his relationship with her so he's more than willing to do it.

Of course, Ashton would never forget about his roots. Magical Studies...

How can he call himself a mage if he's not knowledgeable about magic? It'd be a damn shame if he isn't when he's literally the keeper of the Grand Library.

Ashton didn't slow down with his learning, if anything he became even faster thanks to the boost of intellect he received from awakening his bloodline.

Speaking of bloodline, Ashton already consumed the rest of the bloodline pills. And because its effect diminishes with multiple consumption, the potency of his bloodline increased to a measly 15% in total. It isn't much but it's respectable.

But yes, his theory knowledge helped a lot when it comes to his practice as well. Since he had the Simulation Zone, he can test out theories to confirm them. Proven theories can directly increase his change of survival out here so why not?

In terms of Mana Density, Ashton is on par with Archmages already. If you consider the purity of Mana as well? Some Archmages back in the Last Bastion wouldn't even amount to anything in front of him.

All of this is thanks to his cultivation technique really. Even though it slows down his actual speed of cultivation, the pay-off is worth the investment.

As for other matters, Ashton already secured a source of fresh food thanks to his and Aria's combined efforts. Building the lab turns out to be the correct decision after all.

So far, they've set-up a greenhouse for all sorts of vegetables, fruits and wheat. All are growing under a formation which promotes their growth. And because they are infused with Mana, the products won't spoil for a very long time.

It came with a perfect timing too since Ashton noticed that they're making a dent on his food supplies. This is a way to replenish them to ensure they won't run out of food.

Water is the next resource they're working with. Ashton still has a lot in his Inventory but it's not advisable to rely on that. They have to find a way to secure a fresh water source not only for drinking use but for cleaning and other purposes as well.

This is part of the reason why Ashton was trying his best to hone his skills faster. The earlier he can explore the world and make his way back home, the sooner he can solve this problem.

The other projects that Ashton and Aria paid attention to have something to do with technology and the environment of the outside world.

There's no better time to do this research since they're already here. Ashton had been gathering samples of the ruins for them to study. They wanted to understand what makes the outside world so different from the Last Bastion.

Why is it harmful for them and not the demons or the angels? There's no way that it's just the soil because that doesn't explain the Black Fog at all nor why Humanity's technology malfunctions here. It's quite a mystery really and they want to find that out.

Again, better now than never...

All in all, there's still a lot for Ashton to do. He's still too far from home and too weak to ensure his safety. Him clearing out the ruins of City M is just the start, if he wants to make his way back to the Last Bastion, he will need to fight literal hordes of hostiles to do so.

Ashton has all he needs to make it happen. He just needs to make sure that he keeps himself alive to use them.

Chapter 81

"...it's time." Ashton murmured.

He fastened his belt around him and looked at himself in the mirror. He's wearing light armor that protects his vitals. Here's paddings on his joints and he's wearing a pair of enchanted boots that could protect him from the tormented soil.

He wears the Cloak of Apparition on top of this while guns are holstered on his sides. He was looking ready to wage war.

Ashton felt a hand around his back. He saw Aria looking at him with a clear worry in her eyes. He gave her a reassuring smile and said:

"I'll be fine, don't you worry about me. I'm ready for this."

"I'm aware that you've trained for this but that doesn't really stop me from worrying." She stated, "Then again, I can't really stop you from doing this. Just remember that if things get dicey, do not hesitate to run away. I don't want to lose you."

Ashton turned around and encased her in a hug, he gave her a loving kiss and said: "You won't lose, I promise."

He pulled back, still giving her a reassuring smile, he nodded at her and said: "I'm off."

"Take care."

And with that, Ashton disappeared from the library and re-appeared at the underground bunker.

To think that this place remained undetected and uninfected is surprising for him. He didn't think that it would last this long but he's also not complaining.

Ashton took a deep breath and calmed himself. Admittedly, he's nervous. What he's going to do isn't a simulation anymore, it's the real deal. A single streak of carelessness might cost him his life so he has to be prepared and ready for anything.

Ashton took out his guns. He closed his eyes as he channeled his mana, casting a buff after another to himself.

With most of his spells reaching lv.20 and above, the buffs he applied to himself doesn't just only last for a long time but are also extremely potent as well.

His defense, strength, speeds, stamina, endurance, recovery, and perception were boosted. The potency of his attacks were increased, his presence were minimized, his footsteps were silenced, his guns were glowing with sheer power and his entire self looked threatening.

Once he had all buffs casted on himself, he took a step forward and his body seemingly stretched and turned transparent. He passed through the exit of the underground bunker without any noise nor difficulties. He's like a ghost who just appeared out of nowhere.

Upon stepping outside, Ashton immediately felt the dense killing intent in the air. He couldn't help but wince out of sheer disgust, this is something that he never really gotten used to.

He continued to apparate until he found a hiding spot to survey the battlefield. His eyes swiftly roamed around as he marked the demons lurking around mentally. 𝒍𝓲𝒃𝙧𝓮𝙖𝒅.𝓬𝙤𝓶

It's also daytime by the way, the only time when Demons are slightly weakened. Even with all of his training, Ashton didn't dare to fight them in the middle of the night since that's just a death wish.

As soon as he began tallying the numbers of the demons, a plan immediately hatched in his brain.

From his observations, he saw at least 10 packs of Imps, 3 Crowfwthers and the Tormentor who had been here since day one.

That's a total of 124 Demons lurking around his vicinity. It is highly possible that this isn't all of them either since his perception is suppressed here.

Still, this is good enough. Right now, the Tormentor is the biggest problem that he intends to solve as early as he can. He'd be damned to let that thing devour the souls of other demons to make itself stronger.

The Crowfathers are a threat too, yes. But since he figured out a way to effectively counter them, they're not an immediate priority for him.

Over a hundred Imps though...now that sounds like something he didn't want to deal with. Alas, he had to or else he wouldn't be going anywhere.

Ashton fused the guns, turning it into a sniper rifle. He perched from his hiding spot and aimed at the Tormentor's lantern.

'That thing needs to get out of here.' He mused to himself as his scope followed the lantern.

He took a deep breath and channeled his mana to the rifle. Using a Gunslinger skill, he stacked 10 casts of Arcane Missile to form a bullet, blessing it with Piercing Rounds and a Curve.

At the same time his exhale ended, he shot the bullet and streaked through the air so fast that nobody was able to follow it.

The Tormentor seemingly sensed the threat and held up the lantern to cast the barrier. Unfortunately, right as the bullet was about to hit the barrier. It curved at the latest time possible and swiftly flew around the area that is not covered by the barrier, landing squarely at the lantern and blasting it to pieces.

The winds howled along with the release of the souls trapped in there. The Tormentor released a guttural scream that alerted every demon within its vicinity, but before it could even search for the one responsible for blowing up its lantern, the Tormentor's head exploded into bits.

Next, its body lit up with flames as it toppled down on the ground, twitching and burning.

The demons finally reacted with that and began looking around to search for the Tormentor's killer.

But once again, before they managed to find him. Ashton was already firing more shots.

A single bullet streaked through the air, scattering into explosive salvo that rained down on the demons. It landed on the cluster of the Crowfathers and Imps.

The salvo was blessed with Purify and Warmth, making them no less than a White Phosphorous Salvo for the demons.

They cried out in agony as they burned and melted from it. The demons who were lucky to not get his are now seriously panicking and searching for the one responsible for all this.

They're failing, and that is because of Ashton's reduced presence. His buffs were seriously making this easier for him since the demons could only see where the shot was coming from but not where he exactly was.

Pressing his obvious advantage, Ashton fired shots after shots. The battlefield was starting to get covered in smoke with all of the fire appearing here and there.

Demons fell one after the other, the commotion caused by this was sensed by all of the other demons roaming around the city ruins. And so long as they get close to five kilometers away from where Ashton is, he will see them and he will shoot them.

Now, with all the smoke and fire around, it just became even harder to tell where Ashton was. His massacre created a tight circle around him which served as his cover to protect himself, yet it's also an absolute killing field.

Any demon who was brave enough to step foot within this area will either burn or get shot, either way, they will end-up dead.

Ashton practically never left his position. Why would he when he formed a safety circle around him?

He must've spent at least an hour or so, firing constantly and ending the hoard of demons. He was never really at risk of being discovered as no demon even managed to get close to him, but he still kept his guard up. Again, he couldn't be careless here or else he'll die a horrible death.

Ashton might've killed at least five more Crowfathers and a couple hundreds of Imps. He might've seen a different breed of demon amidst his massacre but honestly he had no time to identify them since he's a little bit busy.

Ashton kept firing until he could no longer sense any demons around. All he could see was a sea of fire and smoke around him. He remained in position for a while, slightly hesitant to believe that he already killed every demon around.

After waiting for a few more minutes, he stood up and sighed. His guard is still just in case but he truly can't sense any demons anymore.

He took this down time to check his reserves and discovered that his tank is still relatively abundant. He drank some water and started purifying his surroundings en masse.

The fire raging around him is actually helping with that as well since it's burning the impurities that seeped through the soil, these fires won't die until it cleanses everything of filth.

Ashton apparate out of the circle of fire and scattered his senses around. He was greeted by silence around him. Only the crackles of fire could be heard around him.

Not a trace of demons in his sight. Nothing's coming too...

He once again released a sigh, at this point, he was convinced that indeed managed to completely eradicate all demons lurking around the city ruins.

Ashton reverted the rifle to its base form and began walking away. He looked a bit despondent as his gaze roamed around what remains of the city.

Just before he left the ruins, he turned back once and whispered in the air.

"Farewell, City M. Maybe we'll see each other again in the future."

Chapter 82

If he's truly being honest, Ashton has no idea where he's going...

Sure, he had the rough location of where the ruins of City M ended up on the map and he had the general direction for where the Last Bastion is...that being said, the map they had isn't complete nor reliable.

See, there's no way he could just follow one direction and hope for the best. Sooner or later, he'll come up with something that would force him to find another way which would also de-rail him from his destination.

And in this particular scenario, it was sooner than he would've liked...

Around...10 or 11 kilometers away from the ruins of the city, Ashton encountered his first environmental challenge in navigating this unknown and incredibly dangerous world.

As it turns out, the location where the ruins end up happened to be on top of an elevated island.

No, not floating, just really elevated...

He should've noticed this sooner. He should've suspected it when he saw that the clouds looked close whenever he looked up.

Ashton is at the island's edge. He's so far up that he felt nauseous from looking down. The land below him looked like a zoomed-out picture, it's honestly terrifying.

Now, this begs the question...how the hell does he go down then?

Moreover, why the hell did nobody think to write this down when they reached this place?

Cause remember humans had been here before, on this same elevated island. Ashton and Aria found records of it in the books they gathered at the library. They've read that their life depended on it, so they wouldn't miss any important notes about it, therefore he's pretty confident that he had never noticed anything about the place being like this.

But yeah...how is he supposed to go down from here? Flight?

'Flight might work, but it's incredibly dangerous.' Ashton mused to himself as he surveyed the edge of the island. He leveled his gaze and saw the fumes covering the atmosphere, he could also make out a few shadows lurking behind those fumes.

They're swift and loud at the same time. Ashton wouldn't be surprised if those turned out to be Avian-type Demons.

He just walked out from a massacre, he's not really in the mood for some more right now. He then looked down and paid attention to the stiff and jagged edges of the elevated island.

'Climbing down is also risky and scary.'

Ashton doesn't have a fear of heights but considering where he's at right now. He wouldn't be surprised if he learns that there are demons who lurk at the cliff's edge too.

Plus, this elevated island curves down for some reason. The curve isn't so subtle either, it's a sharp curve. 𝓵𝒊𝒃𝙧𝓮𝙖𝓭.𝙘𝒐𝙢

This place is a big middle finger to logic but hey, Magic is a thing and in this situation, it might as well be the cause of this.

Anyhow, this is another problem. And sadly, this stops him cold on his tracks.

So, it might be counter-productive, but he had no other choice than to go back in the opposite direction of where he was supposed to go.

He's once again, at the ruins of City M, which is still burning from the fire by the way.

Ashton felt quite embarrassed to return here after bidding it farewell but hey, at least nobody's there to judge him.

Right?

He once again returned to his underground bunker, which is still intact. Once he was there, he disappeared and entered the Grand Library.

Aria was in the labs and Jerry was repairing the books.

He collapsed on the couch and closed his eyes. His mind went to work as he tried to deduce solutions for his current predicament.

'An elevated island... its edges are curving downwards.'

'Judging from the curve the shape...looking at the bigger picture...this place would be like an acorn with a buried tip. I guess that would explain why it's stable despite its shape.'

'Flying down or climbing down are options to leave but it's risky. There might be demons with wings who won't hesitate to attack me if I fly. If I climbed down, I might encounter critter demons who liked having their nests at cliffsides...'

'Now that I say that...this place is under demonic territory isn't it?'

'It wouldn't be too far-fetched to assume that there are hordes of critters or lizard-type demons here.'

'And if there are nests...'

'There must be an underground network here!' Ashton's eyes snapped wide open.

'An acorn that is filled with holes...those holes can represent the nests. If we break the acorn in half, there should be a network of tunnels inside, which would make sense.'

'And now that I think about it...'

'Maybe the explorers who arrived here never reached the top of the island.'

'The records say that they were running from hordes of demons when they reached this place, it is only through finding an empty cave that they managed to lose them and rest.'

'Then they saw that the cave turns out of the tunnel that leads deeper to somewhere.'

'The group decided to venture deeper but the records didn't detail what experience inside, it just said that they called the mission off and decided to return home from the expedition.'

'Only one of them managed to return, that person didn't last upon returning home either. They died shortly after.'

'The cave they encountered might've been the entrance to the tunnel system of this elevated island!'

'Since they were being chased when they got here, it would make sense for them to not notice the fact that the landmass in front of them was oddly-shaped. And since they didn't notice it, of course, they wouldn't write it down either.'

'Their encounters within the tunnels aren't recorded but it is said that one from their group died there. These people are a group of Sorcerers, that means that the demons lurking inside this series of tunnels are that strong or they experienced a nasty ambush.'

'Either way, this works for me.'

Ashton rested his back on the couch and massaged his temples.

'I'll have to dig down, I assume.' He mused to himself, 'just until I encounter the underground network that demons use to get around.'

'That's scary though.'

'I'm like...inside an ant's nest.' He shivered, 'If I provoked any demons living down there, I'd face an endless hoard of them.'

'Plus, I wouldn't be able to tell when I'll be discovered. Who knows when they decide to dig new tunnels and end up at the same location as I am? I'd be lucky enough to have time to run, not to mention dealing with endless hordes.'

'I'll have to be extremely careful then...'

'But before I start digging down, I should at least roam the island. Maybe I can find something around that could be useful or helpful in this endeavor.'

Sighing to himself, Ashton opened his eyes and was surprised to see Aria sitting beside him.

"Oh, hey. Sorry, I didn't notice you sooner." Ashton smiled apologetically and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"I didn't disturb you cause you seemed to be in deep thought and stressed." She stated, "What's the problem?"

Ashton sighed and began telling her their current predicament. Aria listened to him intently and held his hand.

"...well, that's about it. I just need to be careful I think. Don't worry, I'll survey the island first before digging. Who knows? Maybe I'll find an elevator that leads directly down to the base."

That last part was a little bit of his wishful thinking.

"Yeah, who knows. Maybe those do exist and you might find one?" Aria smiled comfortingly. "In anyways, just take your time and prioritize your safety. We're in no rush."

"Right." Ashton smiled and kissed her. He then inspected her and noticed that she was looking a bit different today.

"Are you wearing make-up today? Also, your hair's braided. What is the occasion? Is it your birthday today!?" Ashton's eyes widened as he asked the last question.

"It's not, silly." Aria chuckled. "My birthday's at the start of the year, I thought I told you that?"

"No?" Ashton frowned and shook his head, "Well, you did now."

"Is that so?" Aria shrugged, "Well, now you know. And relax, I don't celebrate birthdays. I mildly dreaded them."

"I get it." Ashton nodded, he didn't need to say more since that topic isn't really good for the both of them. "But yeah, what's with the make-up then?"

"Jerry." Aria said, she laughed when she saw Ashton's baffled face, "Yes, apparently he not only knows how to braid my hair, he also knows how to apply make-up on someone."

"...I, that wasn't included in the upgrades I added on him, so it must've been on his base programming already."

"Yeah, that's what I also thought." Aria agreed, "But how about it? What do you think?"

"He did well." Ashton nodded, "You look pretty in them."

"Awesome!" Aria giggled and kissed him.

"But knowing you, you'd probably forget to wipe that off before you sleep. Make sure to remind Jerry to notify you. I don't want you to damage your skin with them."

"Yes, love. I would." She cheekily said, "Anyways, come! It's lunchtime. Jerry made us pizza."

"Oh, hell yeah."

Chapter 83

"...okay, time to look around."

Ashton took notice of his surroundings and sighed. He just left the ruins again to see what the rest of the island looks like.

He's in no rush to dig down. He has time to check if there are alternatives around.

Ashton reminded himself to be careful. He wore his combat outfit and cast obscuring spells on himself to make sure that he won't get ambushed by stray demons.

Well, it's not like he knows if there are still some around here but it is better to be safe than sorry.

He went in the opposite direction of where he exited yesterday. That direction leads to the edge of this landmass so it's a waste of time to return there.

What he did find on the other side looks somehow promising...well, 'promising' is a strong word.

There's a jungle in there...a pitch-black jungle, contaminated by the infestation that demons released simply by existing. Somehow, Ashton could've sworn that he saw a massive tentacle in there somewhere but maybe he's just imagining things.

Still, that's a destination at least. Might not be a pleasant one but hey! Being outside of humanity's territory is already unpleasant, it can only get worse from that.

He kept that place in mind. For now, he surveyed another direction.

A couple of minutes later, he found another promising spot. This one leads to a river. Again, a contaminated river.

At this point, he really shouldn't be surprised. This is a demonic territory, of course, everything's contaminated by that black goo or whatever.

Ashton could go there, but he didn't like the vibe of that place. Moreover, he could see only a shadow of the things leaping out of the river and he could swear that none of them look pleasant.

Once again, he marked this location and left. That's two possible places to explore for now. He wrote them down and even drew what they looked like just for future references.

He made his way to another side and once again, found another place to investigate.

This one looks inviting...

A vast field, flat for the most part but covered by a purple haze.

One look at that place and he could already tell that it was dangerous. It'd be a goddamn miracle if that purple haze isn't poisonous at least. What's more is that, if you squint, you could see shadows lurking in there. Ashton swore he could hear something ominous within that place. He just can't put a finger on it.

"Joy..." Ashton sighed in annoyance, "I really am surrounded by danger."

He clicked his tongue and began thinking...where should he go?

At this point, he's really tempted to just dig down and be done with this place. But then again, digging down isn't any better than exploring these hell holes. If anything, what's underground may prove even more dangerous compared to what's around him.

What was he supposed to do here?

"System, can you Identify that Fog?"

A fluctuation pulsed out of his body then came to the response of the system in a way of text-box.

[Wretched Mist]

A purple mist that is released by a unique type of demon.

Highly Poisonous, Toxic, and Dense.

More dangerous to males.

Do not approach.

"A'ight, cool! Do not approach, get it." Ashton nodded vehemently. He then crossed this off of his list and moved on.

Really, there's no point in trying to doubt the System now. It hasn't failed him yet.

He then went back to the riverside and once again, scanned his surroundings using [Identify].

[Black Blood River]

This is a river of blood. Blood of a strong demon who died in this place.

Upon its death, this river was born. The demons that lurked underneath its surface are Blood Parasites that once lived inside the body of the said demon.

This river has a form of consciousness. It will attack you the moment you get close. Those who live in it won't stay idle either.

A good boat may ferry you to the other side. Without it, don't approach.

"A boat?" Ashton frowned. "I don't have anything like that for now. Unlucky."

He clicked his tongue and moved on. The river sounds intriguing though. Ashton has no idea what kind of demon was so powerful to leave something like that behind, then again he didn't feel like knowing right now since he's too weak.

So, he's back in the jungle in front of him. This time, he confirmed that he wasn't seeing things. He saw those tentacles again before they vanished.

"Alright, Scan and Identify please?"

With that order, another pulse was released and Ashton received another feedback shortly after.

[Eldritch Jungle]

"OH HELL NO!" Ashton exclaimed.

God knows how much he wanted to get rid of that message right then and there upon reading that.

'God, why!?' That is what he wanted to ask. Of all the things that could've been real in this world, why the hell does it have to be Eldritch Abominations? Why?

Ashton consumed enough media about those things to know that they're bad news! He should've known the moment he saw that tentacle cause what squid or octopus lives in the middle of a freaking jungle!?

Certainly not something that big, that's for sure.

Alas, the curse of curiosity. Somehow, he's compelled to know more since, in his defense, he's pretty far away from where that thing is and he's relatively safe. There shouldn't be any harm in knowing more before moving-on right?

[Eldritch Jungle]

A young jungle that's unlucky to become the breeding ground of a lost Eldritch Abomination sapling.

Going in there is suicide. Though young, the Eldritch Abomination is strong enough to reduce you into a blood-crazed brute. It will suck you dry of everything you have. There wouldn't even be a trace of you left in there.

Tip: Fire is your best friend. Do the world a favor and burn this jungle to the ground. The results may give you a surprise gift.

"Oh..." Ashton was appalled.

'The System legit just asked me to get rid of this thing.' Ashton couldn't help but laugh dryly at that poor attempt of subtlety.

Nevertheless, why the hell not?

"Though that place looks like a whole can of worms that I'd rather not deal with. It seems that my fate is pointing me in this direction." He mused to himself.

"Well, I guess I have to try. I've scanned the area so let's see if my firepower's enough to deal with it."

Ashton then erected a ward that would protect him from demons. He purified a spot and then sat down to immerse himself in the Simulation Zone.

It took him a couple of tries, to be honest, but then again the system didn't lie. Fire is his best friend for getting rid of this place.

The 'Burning Rounds' isn't enough to do the job. That also includes the reckless method of spraying and praying. He needs to spice it up a bit, do some fancy tricks here and there to get the job done. 𝒍𝒊𝒃𝓻𝒆𝓪𝙙.𝒄𝙤𝒎

Once he's got the pattern down, he withdraws from the Simulation Zone and dispelles the ward.

He brought out the Mortal Reminder in its sniper rifle form and aimed. He readied his spell and thought: "If this gun had a Grenade Launcher form, that'd be much easier. Oh well, this works too I guess."

Stacked Rounds (Warmth Bullets) x10 + Stacked Rounds (Purifying Bullets) x10 + Stacked Rounds (Burning Rounds) x20 + Curving Shot + Piercing Shot = Anti-Abomination Shot: White Hell Salvo.

"Fire in the hole, bitch."

Peng!

A streak of white light flew straight to the depths of the jungle, leaving a white burning trail behind its tracks.

Ashton heard a couple of loud thumps and a furious and maddening howl from the depths of the forest before a large plume of fire emerged out of nowhere.

White flames immediately consumed the jungle. It didn't even take a minute for it to completely douse the jungle in the fire.

Something big and angry was flailing deep within that place. Ashton didn't wanna know what it looks like and frankly didn't care. All he knows is that it needs to die and dying is what's experiencing right now.

Ashton retreated far enough to observe in safety. He once again cast a ward of protection and doubled down with talismans just to be sure. He watched with mild glee as the forest burned to the ground with every minute that passed on.

'Who would've thought that I was an arsonist at my core?' He mockingly mused to himself.

'Whatever that thing is, it's in pain. Good.' He added, 'Any moment now and it dies.'

The fires raged and as time passed, the flailing of the entity deep within the jungle started to cease. The roars of pain and agony were dying. The white flames still rage on as he watched.

All of a sudden, he received a notification.

[Infant Eldritch Abomination Slain! Cleptomancy worked! You received: Elven Blood Vial x5, Wish Stone x1, Fragmented Soul Card: Divine Gunslinger (SSS) x1]

"Ooh! Jackpot!"

Chapter 84

[Elven Blood Vial]

Increases the potency of your bloodline.

No diminishing effects.

[Wish Stone]

Increases one's Fortune permanently

Can only be used once.

[Fragmented Soul Card: Divine Gunslinger (SSS)]

A soul card that can be used once your reached Sorcerer Lv.9 (Peak)

Requires 9 more fragments to complete.

Ashton did hit a jackpot with these drops. It was unexpected but considering that he kind of did the System a favor, he really lucked out in this. That being said, some things puzzled him.

'System, the Elven Blood Vial will increase the potency of my Fae Bloodline, yes? And if it does, how much are we looking for here if I consumed all 5 vials?'

[Yes, Host. The Elven Blood Vial will increase the potency of your Fae Bloodline. Consuming all five will grant you a 10% increase based on the current potency of your bloodline.]

'I assume that the higher the bloodline's concentration is, the harder it is to increase it further, yes?'

[Indeed.]

'Alright.' Ashton nodded, 'Then, how does Fortune affect me?'

[Using the Gamer slang, Fortune would be your Luck Stat.]

'Hmm? I thought that'd be my Providence?'

[Providence is the base Luck amount people are born with. Only through miracles do those increase. Fortune is the Luck value you accumulate based on your life encounters.]

'I see.' Ashton took that in mind, 'As for the Soul Card, I thought I'd be condensing this instead of it being a drop?'

[Your situation is a bit different from normal cultivators, Host.]

[While Sorcerers indeed condense their Soul Cards through careful accumulation, don't forget that you essentially have two Specializations.]

[You already have White Mage, and if you don't plan on changing out of that anytime soon, then the Soul Card you'll be condensing in the future will be tied to that Specialization.]

[Gunslinger is a System-issued Specialization though, you'd find it difficult to upgrade that through the same method as your main class, therefore the System issued you fragmented upgrades instead. Of course, you have to complete them first before you can use them.]

'Okay, that makes a lot more sense. Thank you, System.'

[You're Welcome, Host.]

The explanation he got from the system was satisfactory so he turned his attention elsewhere. 𝒍𝒊𝙗𝓻𝒆𝓪𝙙.𝙘𝙤𝙢

He gazed at what was in front of him and saw that the jungle was almost gone completely. The fire, however, was nowhere near done.

The flames are still raging on. It's starting to scatter somewhere else.

Ashton looked down and saw that he was still killing demons despite not firing any more shots, he can tell since he's still receiving common drops thanks to Cleptomancy.

Fwoosh!

Ashton was startled by the sudden swelling of the flames. He looked to his right and saw the flames rapidly coating the surface of a creak.

The creak, if he remembers it correctly, passes through the jungle. Ashton had no clue as to how it was possible for water to be set ablaze but here it was.

This creak is connected to the river over there and the purple haze field on the other side. Since it caught on fire, it's safe to say that those places will burn as well.

Ashton was really tempted to watch. He wanted to see the river burned to the ground but honestly, he needed to explore. He had already spent a few hours of daytime just setting the jungle on fire and waiting for it to be gone. He only has a few hours left before sundown and he doesn't usually stay out during nighttime since it'll be more dangerous out here from that point.

The flames wouldn't hurt him. He'd feel their heat just a little bit but it won't hurt him since he's the one who caused it in the first place. This is one of the few tricks he learned from the Mystic Academy after all, under his Magic 101 Professor.

As he approached what remains of the jungle, Ashton repeatedly scanned his surroundings. Better be safe than sorry in his opinion. Although the flames are still raging-on, there might still be some demons here who could shrug off something like this.

Once he arrived there, he noticed that the demonic corruption was fading due to his fire. This is the side-effect of having Purify as a bullet.

"Seeds?" He mused to himself as he crouched down and inspected the little things he saw on the ground.

He scanned the seeds for corruption and didn't find any. He held one in his palms and tried to identify it. The skill failed since there are no records for these types of seeds.

"I wonder why you all didn't automatically appear in my Inventory?" He mused to himself, the seeds didn't look nor feel dangerous so why has it not appeared directly in his Inventory instead?

"Can I not put them in there?" He asked himself.

He attempted that and frowned when he saw that they got in without any problems.

"...weird." He muttered, later then he shrugged and took them all in any way. Aria might discover what's so special about them later.

He continued roaming the remains of the jungle, completely unaffected by the flames that still rage on. Aside from discovering the mysterious seeds, he also discovered other unique things like; crystalized tree branches. Logs that are completely immune to the flames, gemstones, etc.

He has no idea what they are for now but he still kept them since they may be useful later.

Once he's done roaming the jungle, he discovers that there's nothing else special in it. Not even a speck was left by the Eldritch Abomination which is nice.

There is a place right behind the jungle but he decided to ignore that area for now. He checked out the river he saw back then to see what he could find first.

When he arrived there, the river was completely dried out. Flames still licked the depths but not much of it remained anymore. Sadly, the river didn't turn into clean water for him to use, they evaporated due to the flames, which is probably for the best, but still...

Anyways, since there are no more threats lurking around thanks to the flames, Ashton jumped down at the dent. The ground is still soft and wet, it's still oozing with corruption but the flames will take care of that soon.

Here, Ashton found several things like crystallized fish bones, weird-looking algae, moss, crystals, and gemstones as well.

He followed the path of the river and upon reaching its end...or rather, its origins, he saw a large rotting corpse burning intensely by his fire.

He could already see the skeleton of this thing. It's gigantic. Ashton could easily fit into its eye socket.

"I think the flames are purifying and refining this thing." He mused to himself, "that'll take time."

He then looked around, checking if he missed something important.

Eventually, his pulse suddenly gave him a response that he wasn't expecting.

"There's a mine here." He mused to himself. "As for what kind of mine it is, I don't know yet. Better mark that down."

Ashton wrote some notes in his journal. He even left some physical markings on the mine itself just to make sure he won't get lost next time. Once he did that, he jumped out of there and ran toward the purple haze field which changed greatly too.

The purple haze is gone, and the demons lurking within it are presumably dead too. There's only a scent of burnt something there. He walked around and saw if he could find some unique trinkets, and he did!

Crystalized bones, blades of grass, teeth, horns, pelts...he even discovered some kind of a totem in there. He picked them all up and will inspect them later at the lab.

Ashton continued exploring around, seeing if there are still other things he missed on the way.

He did not find any sort of contraption that will send him directly to the bottom, which is a bummer but that's fine. He got a nice haul anyway from all the pyromania he caused.

Ashton didn't explore any further since he noticed that the sun was almost down. He went back to the location of the mine and set up a ward there that could isolate his aura and protect him before he went inside the Grand Library.

He scanned his surroundings and saw that Aria was currently cooped-up inside the lab. She's in the middle of testing something.

Ashton had a quick snack before he went to the library where Jerry is.

He asked for a book that has details about unique trinkets that can be found in the outside world. After a couple of minutes of waiting, Jerry returned carrying a stack of books.

Ashton thanked the bot and then dived into his research. After an hour or so, he mostly identified most of the things he picked up just now.

As it turns out, those trinkets are valuable materials. Humanity has recorded a long list of things they can be used for. The most prominent is the crystalized remains. These could fetch high prices back in the Last Bastion.

Sadly, he's nowhere near that place and he's certainly not pressed for money.

Chapter 85

Ashton was currently frowning at the sight of the system window in front of him.

He made a point of checking his inbox every day in conjunction with his signing-in. Due to this, he also kept an eye out on his quests tab. At first, he thought that they mostly remained the same but turns out that he still missed something...

Under the secondary mission that was given to him when he decided that he would return home no matter what, the Discovery Mission was updated...

Discover and Study Hostiles (10/200)

'Now, how did that happen?' Is what he's trying to understand currently.

As far he knew, the only Demons he encountered personally were the Imps, Crowfathers, and the Tormentor. That's three, but why is it that the quest says 10?

Unable to help himself, he expanded the mission tab and soon got his answers.

Discover and Study Hostiles (10/100)

3 Confirmed: Imps, Crowfather, Tormentor

7 Discovered but not studied.

"Ahh..."

Now that makes more sense to him. He's a little surprised by the parameters but it turns out that there are finer details contained within, he just had to figure it out on his own.

With his curiosity, Ashton couldn't help but want to see what were the demons he missed. He's almost positive that these are the demons that he saw shadows of. They didn't count since he didn't bother seeing what they look like or figuring out how they behave before killing them.

In hindsight, that's probably for the best. These are demons after all. But quest-wise, he can't ignore this. The reward for clearing this mission was something he wants for himself after all.

From the additional info, he gathered that the demons he missed were named; Shadow Lurkers, Gnawers, Corpse Eaters, Deadwoods, Slugs, Mimics, and Howlers.

The Infant Eldritch Abomination is there too but to be honest...no. just, no...

Well, the system was gracious enough to give him names at least. Sadly, there's no description of them so he doesn't know what they do. The most he got are speculations based on their names, but that's unreliable too.

Either way, there's still time for him to discover and study more. No need to be in a rush. He'll get there eventually.

For now, though, Ashton had to pay attention to a more pressing matter, and that is...mining.

Yes, it has come this far.

Well, he couldn't be blamed. There's a treasure trove in front of him, who's he to ignore it?

Ashton already studied the mine and confirmed that the one he found was a Mana Crystal Mine. A very rich one at that...

Thanks to the System's aid, he discovered that this is an A-grade Mana Crystal Mine. Something that contractors would fight tooth and nail for upon discovering it.

This rich mine has a density of 78%, meaning that the entire thing is almost made out of Mana Crystals itself. How the hell could someone ignore something like this?

What's more is that thanks to the aftermath of Ashton's Anti-Abomination Shot, the fires cleansed this mine out of filth too and now, they are ripe for harvest.

Ashton may not have use for money but he could certainly use more Mana Crystals. The cost of Grinding is starting to poke holes into his reserves and even though Cleptomancy can somehow help with that, he wouldn't say no to having more sources of Mana Crystals.

That's why he's now wearing a hard hat and mining gear. He already sealed the entrance to the mine and established some form of stability inside so that he can mine in peace.

"This is going to take a while..." he muttered as he chipped away at a large deposit of Mana Crystal in front of him.

He could vaguely sense where the crystals would be thanks to his sharp senses but using the regular method of mining will have him trapped in here for longer.

"Maybe I can find a different way to do this more efficiently." He mused to himself.

Said way was of course, via Magic.

Ashton had a plethora of spells at this point. Most of them are useful, some are situational of course but if he had discovered something these past few days, it'd be the fact that he might as well try all sorts of ideas, regardless of if he thinks they're plausible or not, since you'll never truly know.

After all, it hasn't been long since he discovered that White Magic is lethal to Demons and that he can use them as bullets for his guns. None of those seems logical from a certain standpoint but they worked beautifully.

"Alright..." he took a deep breath and tried some spells.

After a couple of attempts, he discovered the one spell that works perfectly here.

"[Dismantle!]"

Using the Spell: Dismantle, he can directly reduce the larger formations of Mana Crystals in pieces according to their grading; low, mid, and high. It's easy to do and doesn't require a lot of mana to cast.

He can even use it in conjunction with Extract to take out the crystals that are buried on the surface of the mine.

This little endeavor of his took him at least a week before barely extracting all mana crystals in the mine. With his Mana Crystal refilled to the brim, Ashton can now pay attention to the other detail he discovered while he was inside the mine.

"...a Critter perhaps?" He mused while crouching down on the corpse in front of him.

While harvesting Mana Crystals in the mine, Ashton discovered several corpses of demons here.

Just from a single glance, he knows that these are old. How exactly old is something he's not sure of, but they are old.

See, the flames caused by his attack should've vaporized the demons it comes in contact with or at least turn them into loot. These corpses are not looted. Meaning that they were long dead even before he got here.

"Looks like a roach...ew." Ashton winced as he studied them.

Somehow, an image of a Demonic Cockroach appeared in his mind. Ashton could barely suppress the shiver running down his spine the moment he saw that. He hurriedly dismissed the idea but the more he looked at the corpse in front of him, the more convincing it got.

He also discovered a corpse of some sort of a scarab here. The shells were intact but the body was withered beyond recognition. They're awfully large too.

"Must be one hell of a Demonic Bug then." He concluded. Ashton's not squeamish when it comes to insects but the fact that they are of demonic descent terrifies him.

He inspected the rest of the corpses he had seen so far and for the most part, all the demon corpses he saw belonged to the Insect Type category.

When it comes to strength in numbers, there's probably nothing more terrifying than insects, especially the demonized ones.

And the fact that he found this inside the mind makes him think that this mine must be somehow connected to the colony below him.

On one hand, this is fine. At least he has another entry point for when he ends up going down anyway.

On the other hand, this isn't fine because Insect Type Demons...yeah.

"...I'll seal this place for now," Ashton said wryly as he gingerly placed talismans all over the mine. "Not down to be ambushed by insects. I get to ambush them, not the other way around. Thank you very much."

Ashton made extra sure that the placement of the talismans was on-point. He made it very clear that he's not leaving his fate up to luck here. Once he's satisfied, the now mostly-emptied mine becomes another underground bunker for him. 𝒍𝙞𝙗𝒓𝒆𝙖𝓭.𝙘𝒐𝒎

He's not quite done exploring the island above. He will do that and study more demons while he's at it. For now, though, he's pacing himself carefully.

Once he was satisfied with his new base, he nodded to himself and entered the library.

Once again, Aria was in the lab and Jerry was doing his maintenance of the books.

He sighed and went to the lab to check on his girlfriend.

There, he saw her so concentrated on whatever she was doing that she didn't notice him at all.

From what he can see, Aria was trying to experiment on the trinkets he had collected so far. She asked for a bunch of them and he gave some to her for the sake of science, but now he's starting to get worried.

Making sure that she wasn't in the middle of a delicate process. Ashton rested his chin on her shoulders which caused her to gasp in surprise.

"Honey, baby, sweetheart, love, light of my life...when was the last time you peeled your gaze away from that?"

"U-uh..." Aria looked like a deer caught in headlights.

Ashton rolled his eyes and sighed. With one fell swoop, he carried her in a bridal style despite her protests.

"Ash!"

"Nope...I won't allow you to overwork yourself for the sake of science." He shook his head vehemently. "You are resting and I'm going to pamper the hell out of you. This is non-negotiable."

That put a stop to her protests. She just sighed and smiled sweetly as her boyfriend expressed her care for her in a silly manner.

Chapter 86

Ashton didn't find anything useful on the island.

He's been exploring these past few days, he never saw anything that would help him reach the base of this landmass faster. This left him with his only option which was to go down the hard way.

In hindsight though, the demons he fought at least gave him more battle experience. It also progressed his quest and earned him some loot.

Ashton also reached Practitioner lv.5 (5th Refinement). This made him a hell of a lot stronger than before. It feels rather crazy to him that his cultivation speed was skyrocketing despite being outside of humanity's territory but somehow, that also made sense.

It may seem like he's taking it easy, but in truth, he's always at risk so long as he's out here. His nerves are always taut, not a single moment did he ever dare to let his guard down. He's pushing himself to his limits and that's causing his potential to be squeezed out even more. Which in turn, speeds up his cultivation rate as well.

But enough about that...

It is time for him to start digging.

Back to his new base, which is the mine he mostly emptied, you would see him crouching down, hands flat on the ground while his eyes closed.

This is him scanning the ground beneath him. He was searching for the tunnels below, which he knows exist, it has to or else there'd be no way out of here.

He's starting to get nervous since he hasn't found anything close yet. He's been scanning different spots all day long to no avail. He also can't exactly go outside either to search for them since there is yet another Black Fog crawling above him.

That Black Fog will, once again, taint everything corruption and will leave hordes of demons on the island. Ashton just didn't want to deal with those for now.

Plus, nighttime is approaching. There's no way he's getting out now.

What's left for him to do is to continue his search for the closest tunnel beneath him.

Sighing for the nth time of failure, he stood up and stretched for a bit. He groaned as he felt his body stiff, he hadn't done much physically today so that might be the reason why.

He stretched some more, just to get the blood flowing. Then he found another spot. Once again, he crouched down, took a deep breath, placed his palms flat on the ground, and began scanning the depths.

Not even a few seconds in, Ashton recoiled in shock.

"Oh wow, are you kidding me?" He muttered, feeling speechless all of a sudden.

He had scanned so many spots beforehand to no avail yet this one right was right on the money. So much so that he's questioning the stability of the ground he's stepping on.

The ground separating him from the tunnel is about 5 or so feet. There is nothing that's supporting the stability of the ground beneath him so the fact that it hasn't caved in yet was very questionable.

Nevertheless, he can't complain. He already found his target. Now, he'd just have to plan his approach and he can start making his way down.

Of course, Ashton would dig down hastily. He has no idea what kind of demons were lurking down there. He had to plan it out by observing first.

"Hmm, how should I do this?" Ashton thought to himself.

He sat down and meditated for an answer. The ideas flowed in his mind and shortly after, a plan was formed.

"Alright so, I'll make Spy Ward using the trinkets I looted from the Demons I killed. This way, even if some demons manage to discover it, they won't treat it as hostile."

"This Spy Ward should be able to record what happens 24/7. I need to know if demons are lurking around the tunnels. If there are, do their patrols have patterns? What demons am I dealing with exactly? These are things I need to know first before I go down there personally."

"So collect intel first, after reviewing the intel, I decide whether it's safe or not. If it's safe, then I go down. If not, then I will find another spot."

That's mostly the plan for now. Ashton didn't need an overly-detailed one since there will always be variables anyway. Being flexible is always a given especially when encountering demons.

With the rough plan established, he started working.

He took out several supplies with him, mainly tools that he thinks he needs to create a Spy Ward.

After a couple of tries though, Ashton gave up. While he does know how to create a Spy Ward, creating it using demonic trinkets was not his specialty.

As a result, he needs Aria to make it for him. Thankfully though, she's been researching these things for a while now. If there's anyone who could do this, then it should be her.

"...yes, I think I can do that." She says after Ashton told her his plans. "It'll take me a while though. Also, I'm going to need more trinkets if you want this to be as durable as possible."

Ashton has no problems with that. He gave her more since frankly, he has no use for them right now.

It took Aria a whole day to make one though. She failed several times due to how finicky the process was but that's fine. They have enough materials on hand.

Eventually, she succeeded and the unique Spy Ward was created. This Spy Ward can record everything in crisp detail within its line of sight. It has built-in camouflage and has enough memory capacity to record non-stop. It can also be remotely controlled so that they can switch points of view.

Since it's created using demonic trinkets, demons, hopefully, wouldn't treat it as a hostile device. That's the idea at least.

And just for good measure, if demons still found it and decided to destroy it, they made it so that it would automatically end the recording and send the recent memory to an emergency device.

The item was light enough to carry and Ashton was extremely satisfied with it. As soon as daybreak hits, Ashton went out of the library and started digging down at the spot he marked.

He stopped just mere inches away from punching a hole in the tunnel. He built a foothold within the hole he created and scanned again.

Once he's sure that there were no demons near the spot, he made a small hole where the Spy Ward's lenses could fit. He then placed it there and activated it.

The Spy Ward immediately started recording, its cloaking mechanism kicked in too. Once that was done, Ashton climbed out of the hole and relaxed.

He briefly checked what was going on outside of the mines and saw that the black fog was still around. Ashton decided to not risk it so he returned inside. Instead, he chose to chill in his home, which is the library, with Aria.

After waking up the next morning, Ashton jumped out of the library and into the hole. He retrieved the recent recording from the ward and reviewed it at 4x speed, occasionally slowing it down to analyze the footage better.

Once he's done. He sighed and massaged his temples.

"Okay so...I'm mostly correct with my speculations so far." He muttered to himself. "Insect-type Demons are what I'm going to be dealing with here."

"There's a few that showed up; one that looked like a locust, a centipede, worm, some kind of a beetle, and an ant."

"Most of the demons spotted are infants at best. And from what I noticed, they appeared during nighttime. They didn't patrol in groups though, most of them just roamed around."

"All in all, it doesn't look bad for now. But I'm going to need more than that." He mused, "I see more before I decide."

And that's what Ashton did... 𝓵𝓲𝓫𝙧𝓮𝙖𝙙.𝒄𝓸𝙢

He continued observing the behavior of demons throughout the rest of the week. Some patterns changed while others didn't. He paid close attention to everything since he didn't want to be blindsided.

Since he saw the types of demons appearing within the tunnels. He managed to cross-reference their descriptions with the books about demons. This allowed him to strategize and update his quest count.

So far, he concluded that he should be safe to roam the tunnels so long as he enters during the daytime. The demons in there are nocturnal, but of course, he wouldn't put it past them to attack him should he disturb their slumber.

Ashton didn't want to confront them if he could help them. There is a possibility of him being surrounded real quick if he did so. And while he's strong enough to repel them, he had no way of knowing what other terrors were lurking deeper within these tunnels. He didn't want to risk his safety like that.

He already had been fighting them within the Simulation Zone. He had a firm grasp of how to defeat them obviously but that should be a last resort.

Still, now he has enough intel to make this work. All that he needs to do is to execute his plan to get the hell out of this place.

Chapter 87

It's not fun...dealing with Insect-type Demons.

They're gross and yucky even for a battle-hardened Ashton. Their piercing screeches hurt his ears and every time he shoots them, their bodies always make that skin-crawling, gross, squelching sound which is just...no.

The tunnel network was bigger and airy than what he initially expected. It's smelly too, so much that Ashton had to wear a respirator since he just didn't want to deal with that.

A few things in his initial plan didn't work.

For starters, insect-type demons are uncannily perceptive, they practically sensed him the moment he stepped foot in the tunnels.

He didn't get 'mobbed' per se, since there weren't a lot of insects roaming around this particular area anyway. However, there are enough of them to make him sweat a bit.

And although he was extremely tempted to just burn everything that's lurking within these tunnels, dousing them in flames that will never die out until they're dead, he didn't do so.

Ashton isn't illusioned that this method will work every damn time. Sometimes, somehow at some point, his flames will prove ineffective. He just knows. That is why he wanted to gather as much experience as he could to be prepared for that.

On another note...

Navigating this underground tunnel network is going to be a nightmare, he's sure of it.

While he could spread his senses to peer underground, he can only stretch it so far, he can't cover this entire landmass at all. That automatically makes it more difficult for him to locate where he's supposed to go. 𝓁𝒾𝘣𝑟𝑒𝘢𝘥.𝘤𝘰𝑚

Arguably, he could just keep digging straight down. That's an option, yes, but also a bad idea at the same time. He only has a weird estimate of how big this place exactly is. Digging straight down might be counterproductive you see, for he might either not dig deep enough or dig too deep.

Either way, he's going to have to follow the tunnel network to check his progress anyway so he might as well do that in the first place.

Another thing that sucks about dealing with insect-type demons, and this is personal to him, is that they don't give loot.

Yes, it is rather petty but hey! Loot is loot! His Inventory space doesn't have any limits so the more the merrier. Of course, he's going to be bummed about not having more.

It's not like he's not receiving anything...there's Cleptomancy so at least that helps, but yeah, these troublesome pests are already a pain to deal with, top that with the fact that they don't give out actual loot. Well, it makes dealing with them rather lackluster and just not worth the effort.

But oh well, he's going to have to anyway. If he doesn't do it, they'll just come back and bite him in the ass and he just didn't want to deal with that either. So more shooting he goes it seems.

"Ooh damn, another dead-end." Ashton clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Like what was mentioned earlier, navigating this tunnel network is going to be a massive pain. He's been at it for a few days now and he only managed to go so far from his starting point.

He had already met at least 5 dead-ends at this point, four of them leading right to the very edge of the landmass, where there's only a deadly fall waiting for him.

Ashton didn't even try to get close to that. He's afraid that some flying-type demons might just swoop down and pick him up from where he is, that will kill him so no thank you.

He made it a point to keep his progress jotted down though. He made a map of the tunnels he's been at so far to avoid looping around the same area, he also left some tracks that only he could interpret just to make sure.

As he did that, he continued his way down here. Meeting some more insects as he goes. As usual, he shot them dead. The unnerving thing about this though is that, as he continues going down, the stronger the demons he's encountering.

Infant insect-type demons are already a pain in the ass to deal with, but older ones? Oh boy, they tend to get scarier.

They're physically stronger, faster, more durable, and wiser compared to their younger counterparts, plus they have access to more bags of tricks that Ashton had to pay close attention to.

The locusts could shoot freaking lasers from their eyes, the centipedes have more durable shells and could spew a toxic acid that could melt a human within seconds, worms had a million rows of sharp, jagged teeth, and beetles could detach their shells to use them as projectiles, it also makes them a heck of a lot faster.

Thank freaking god for sending him the Cloak of Apparitions though. Ashton had way too many close calls and Apparate saved him from those.

Still, all of these real-life encounters are tempering him. He's getting better at anticipating where an attack will come from and judging the correct course of action to get out of it scot-free.

His firearm mastery is also doing work here. Overall, he's getting better at fighting for his life and the more he does this, the stronger he gets.

For someone who had been living a sheltered lifestyle not too long ago, Ashton certainly did change a lot.

He did consume the Elven Blood Vials and the Wish Stone. His bloodline is at 25% potency at this point. Nothing much changed in him physically but the effects of his Providence were boosted. The Wish Stone increased his Fortune but he really can't tell. There's no 'concrete' proof that it did, not even a feeling. Though the system did confirm that it was indeed boosted. He guessed that he'll just have to pay close attention then.

Still, he always makes sure that he's getting enough rest in between. Aria constantly reminds him that there's no need to rush. Haste makes waste after all.

Aria is the anchor to his sanity. Without her, Ashton wouldn't even think of trying to make it back home. She makes this challenge more bearable just by existing. Jerry's a close one too of course.

[Quest Updated!]

Survive for 3 months: Cleared.

Reward: Mobile Safehouse.

"Oh..." Ashton woke up to this notification. "Three months have passed already? That's rad."

Yes indeed. It has been 3 months since he was plunged into this horrible situation. He's getting by pretty well, considering where he is. It'd be better if he's home though but, well...

'Anyways, Mobile Safehouse. Get!'

[Mobile Safehouse]

It's not much but it serves well as a temporary home in the middle of nowhere. Plus, it can move so that's a bonus!

Functions: Mobility, Heating, Cooling, Security, Cloaking, and Size-Alteration.

Can be summoned at will.

Durability: 10,000/10,000

"Cool, cool, cool!" Ashton was satisfied with this.

The Mobile Safehouse doesn't do much for him to be completely honest. It's arguably useless except for one thing and that is the Security Function and its mobility.

See, he already made the Grand Library his home. Aria can't get out of there so why would he even think about leaving her behind?

The only benefit that the Mobile Safehouse gives him is the fact that he could enter it in the middle of a battle. Inside the safe house, he's technically 'out of battle' meaning that he can go straight into the Grand Library to be completely safe, and as soon as he enters, the safehouse goes away with him.

In short, the Mobile Safehouse is a loophole for him at best.

Another thing is that his senses can bleed outside of the library, this works for the safe house too. And since the safehouse has mobility, this allows him to practically pick his spot, which makes it even safer for him out there.

Again, it's not much but Ashton will take it. Anything to make his life a little easier is welcomed to be completely honest.

And with the weird combination of the two, navigating this hell hole becomes much easier all of a sudden.

Ashton can now pick his fights which is nice, he won't get ambushed a lot anymore which means less stress for him to deal with. And if he encounters something above his pay grade, well, he just 'nope' the hell out of there nigh-instantly.

...which is something that he did just now because he felt a foul presence not too far away from him.

That presence gave him war flashbacks. The same thing that he felt when he encountered the Tormentor for the first time. Admittedly, he's far stronger now compared to him in the past. More experienced too.

But the fact that whatever that demon is, still made him feel this, made it pretty freaking clear that he probably shouldn't fuck with it anytime soon.

And by the gods...he hates how he's so right sometimes.

Because when that demon appeared in his vision, Ashton felt like his soul was being ripped away from his body even though he wasn't even physically there.

"What in the ever-loving-fuck is that!?"

Chapter 88

Gross. Really gross.

That'd be the perfect description for the thing he's seeing right now.

A demon whose body is like a big, black gelatinous mass that writhes as it crawls the tunnels. It's covered in warts that constantly leak out black and yellow-ish colored goo. It's like a giant maggot with the way how its body pulses with every move.

What makes it more disgusting is the fact that, whatever this thing is, has a cannibalistic streak. Ashton could make out several demons being savored inside its mouth as it writhes forward. He could even hear the screeches of its victims which made his skin crawl.

It has a foul appearance, presence, and smell. It's disgusting to look at and every single action it does is nightmare-inducing. But, nothing could top the one thing it did which nearly caused Ashton's knees to buckle in fear.

The creature stopped at one point, and Ashton couldn't help but notice that it stopped precisely at where he disappeared.

He then heard the unmistakable sound of sniffing. He didn't even know that this creature had a nose. But when it's done sniffing around, its body wriggled fiercely, then stopped.

"Ghhk...kugh...kergfh..."

What could be described as gurgling sounds escaping from that creature's maws? Ashton was so unnerved that he was so tempted to cut off the connection outside, however due to his need to know, he didn't. 𝙡𝙞𝓫𝙧𝒆𝙖𝓭.𝙘𝙤𝙢

...and he might've regretted that decision.

"H...h...hu...hum..."

"Hu...man."

"Hum..an."

"Huma...n."

"HUMAN!"

Blood drained from Ashton's face. He never expected something like this. A demon that can talk.

Its voice was nightmare-inducing, it sounded like thousands of people were speaking the same thing at the same time. The creature also reacted so strongly that it did something that Ashton didn't know was possible.

He heard it hacking and coughing, then it faced the ceiling and opened its maws so wide revealing what seems to be endless rows of teeth. He saw the other demons savoring suffering whilst impaled on its teeth, writhing in despair and screeching in pain.

From the center of the maw, a flesh pod suddenly popped. From it, emerged a man who only has half of his upper body intact. He has long black hair which is currently covered in black goo, his skin was as pale as a corpse, his arms hang limply on the side and his eyes were void and empty, dead for all intents and purposes.

The lower half of the man's body was fused with whatever this monstrosity is. He then saw a single tentacle rising and plunging itself at the back of the man's head.

Ashton had to watch as the man jerked a few times as if electrocuted. Then all of a sudden, the man suddenly moved.

"A...lingering...scent of...human...here." The creature talked through the man's body, which made Ashton shiver in horror.

"...been a long...time since...human...came here...missed their...taste...want to...to...to...devour!"

"Human! Flesh! Human flesh! Mine!" The man twitched while roaring in insanity.

Ashton made no mistake. He knows that the man is dead, the foul creature is just using his body to, perhaps, talk better.

Still, this doesn't make this situation any better for himself.

It seems that he had been far too naive, thinking that he could just breeze through this whole underground tunnel system without endangering himself. In hindsight though, nobody could expect him to need to hide his scent as well, but alas...

The creature can now use this to track him down. And judging by what he has seen so far, this creature would be a massive pain in the ass to deal with.

Ashton could literally see those mad-looking array of horns it has. This one has four fully grown pairs and one pair that's already halfway there.

This thing is a matured demon! If that hasn't been obvious from the moment it spoke using Humanity's Language.

"...w-where are...you...little human...come out...come out...wherever you are..." the creature stuttered as it continued patrolling the tunnels.

It sniffed now and then, trying to get hold of Ashton's tracks. This will prove to be a lost cause since Ashton is no longer physically there.

Now, if that ain't a relief or what...

"Babe, seriously? What the hell is up with your luck? I thought you told me that you increased your fortune?" Aria's voice sounded behind him.

"I thought it did..." Ashton whined weakly.

"Then what the hell is this?" Aria was stressed-out and exasperated. "How the hell did you find yourself confronting a matured Nightmare Devourer?"

"Okay, first of all, I didn't encounter it."

"...yet."

"Yet. Damn it!" Ashton cursed, "Second, this isn't my fault! Had I known that I'd see something like that in the tunnels, I would've considered jumping down instead."

"And finally, how'd you know what this thing is called?" He asked because he didn't know what that creature was until I spoke, he knew it was a demon but that's it.

"Ah, I don't know if that's its real name or not. I just based it on the records we've seen before. You know, the one we referred to when we were trying to locate where we are?"

Ashton thought for a bit and said: "Ah right! The exexpedition'secords! I remember that. They said something about encountering a Nightmare inducing Demon Devourer. Is that where the name came from?"

"Yep." Aria nodded, emphasizing the 'p' sound. "It's fitting isn't it?"

"Yeah." Ashton sighed as he nodded. "It makes sense too. That thing still has the corpse of the last human it ate. It is even using him to track me down. How vile."

"You'd think it'd long since digested that man, but I guess it has other ideas. Said ideas that I most likely would never want to know thank you very much." Aria grumbled as she plopped down on the couch next to him.

Ashton refrained from commenting. He still finds himself reeling from the shock and horror he witnessed just now.

Honestly, how does anyone expect him to face something like that? Does he wanna know? Would he even try to simulate a battle against this thing in the Simulation Zone?

Well, the answer to the last part was most likely yes. If he wants to continue his descent downwards, he needs to confront this bullshit of a demon.

At this point, he too was starting to question if his luck really increased or decreased instead. He'd like to think that it's the former but now...he's starting to doubt it.

"Either way, I guess I should've been more careful." Ashton sighed, "It's just...I didn't know that I also have to hide natural scent on top of hiding my presence as well. I'd like to think that I'm being thorough and careful with whatever I do outside but things just happen all the time and-"

"Shh..." Aria placed a finger on his lips and cupped his face with her hands, she brought him to her bosom and heard him sighing in comfort. "Quit blaming yourself. This isn't your fault. I know you're trying your best."

"...boob heaven." He hummed as he snuggled closer.

Aria rolled her eyes and said: "Really?"

"What?" His head rose and pouted at her. "You're the one who initiated this so take responsibility."

And with that, he dove right back in, snuggling closer for more warmth.

"But yeah, I get it." He mumbled while basking in the warmth of Aria's valleys. "I'm just frustrated I guess, it's nothing new. I'll bounce back from this."

He emphasized the word 'bouncing' as he bobbed his face on her chest, eliciting a giggle from Aria.

"I guess it's more Simulation Training for me." He added, "I am looking forward to it though, considering I'll have to fight a mamatureemon."

"...this is going to become a routine isn't it?" Aria wondered out loud.

"Yeah I cacan seehat happening." He replied, "Me trying to navigate the way back home, being stopped every now and then to train whenever I meet a demon that could potentially kill me. That's going to get repetitive."

"But you'll always come-out on top. You'll end up victorious because if you don't then nobody could. I believe you." Aria smiled at him.

"Mn." Ashton nodded, "And I also believe in Boob Heaven Supremacy."

"Ash!"

Aria giggled as Ashton lifted her shirt and snaked his head inside, stopping right at her cleavage and humming in satisfaction.

"Mountains, yay."

Aria chuckled as he firmly claimed his spot on her cleavage, refusing to leave, forcing her to cuddle with him.

The connection outside has long been forgotten. Ashton clearly doesn't want to deal with it right now. He would rather bask in the glory of his mini-paradise instead of dealing with a nightmare inducing headache right now.

As for Aria herself, well she doesn't mind this either. She's not really disturbed by his boyfriend's behavior since he wouldn't do this if he knew she'd be uncomfortable with it.

Besides, she's rather fond of his mildly pervy antics too. At least he's not shy to express what he wants. She'd rather have that instead of Ashton keeping everything bottled-up.

"Ooh, boob sweat, yoink!"

"Ash!"

On second thought...

Chapter 89

Fighting the Nightmare Devourer isn't fun...

Ashton wasn't looking forward to it since he already knows it's gonna suck, and he hates it when he's right too.

A matured demon, one with four and a half pairs of horns, one that can talk and obviously dead-set on eating him, isn't really something that he'd easily deal with.

Despite its sluggish appearance, the Nightmare Devourer is deceptively swift. It can instantly cover hundreds of meters in a blink of an eye. Its main form of attack is by sending barbed tentacles at him.

Each tentacle is covered with acidic spit, one that could punch a hole in his body within mere seconds. The thorny barbs that covered the tentacles were extremely sharp, each one is jagged and curved too which makes it even more painful.

This thing was a predator through and through. The creepier part of its abilities comes in the form of 'Grafting' as Ashton would like to call it.

In some kind of sick and twisted way, the Nightmare Devourer can control the corpses of its victims, somewhat reanimating them in a way and using them as a puppet to increase its arsenal for predation.

Ashton had witnessed it using its victims to shoot streams of acid towards him, lob thick shells, emit a poisonous fog, bite him in half with large mandibles, and so on. All of this was done using the corpses of its victims and it didn't help that Ashton has to sever the connection if he wants to stop it.

The most disturbing thing about this is the fact that it can also use its human victim quite easily.

Ashton had to shake off the unsettledness that he felt when the human corpse began casting spells. It turns out that the man it ate was once a Sorcerer for the parasite and was able to use High-Order Spells.

The demon can use multiple bodies at once so if he wants to even stand a chance against it, then Ashton had to develop a fine strategy here.

The fires caused by his shots don't work either. They've finally met their match it seems.

The moment he tries to set the demon on fire, the Nightmare Devour would just casually discard the part of it that's on fire giving it no chance to spread at all.

And since it's agile as well, shooting it down is difficult even with Ashton's expertise. Ashton also confirmed that this thing has an absurd abamountf vitality. A battle of attrition isn't wise to deal with it since it would most likely outlast the attempts.

This meant that Ashton is kind of stuck now. He doesn't know how to approach this for now but he could certainly try more ideas.

He didn't plan on going out before finding a solution to this problem though. Ashton just didn't want to risk it.

Based on his observations during the past few days, the Nightmare Devourer is really determined to find him. If had been doubling down on its patrol and practically refused to neevereave the spot he departed from for too long.

It's clear that it is waiting for him, it wants to eat him so bad and he'd be an absolute buffoon to fall for such a blatant trap.

This is fine for Ashton, if anything, time is on his side. He's not in a hurry anyways.

That being said, he's far from being idle. He's working hard.

Getting killed by the Nightmare Devourer sucks. The demon takes its time and savors the victory. It will even go so far as to preserve him just so that he becomes more 'flavourful'. Experiencing that process is jujust prolongedgony and suffering.

It's kind of traumatizing to die in such a way but he's building some kind of resistance towards it with every subsequent attempt.

Ashton is also trying to figure out a waway toill this thing more effectively.

While the flames don't work on it, it doesn't mean that the demons weren't harmed by it. Oh, that hurts it a lot. It just doesn't suffer too long from it, which is the problem.

He tried shooting it using the Anti-Abomination Formula.

Well, it sorta worked, but it didn't kill it outright. It was close though.

Still, Ashton would prefer to not use that kind of shot unless it's completely necessary. While it does seem effective, the attack proves to be so strong that it will undoubtedly collapse the tunnel system.

And as much as he would like to eradicate the demons barring his path toward home, he wants to do it without burying himself in the process.

'Restricting its movements is a no-go.' He mused to himself after another failed attempt. 'The tunnels are tosomall that there's no use for ththemnyways. Plus, this creature is highly resistant against the flames.'

'Well, it is a Matured Demon so it does make sense why that's the case but still...'

'A battle of attrition is a big no, I'm not faster noortronger than it is, and traps don't work either.'

'Surely, I'm missing something, right? There should be a way for me to defeat this thing without killing myself in the process?'

Ashton was facing a dilemma. This thing is more difficult to deal with compared to the Tormentor and the Crowfather. It truly is one hell of a demon.

And to think that something like this is hiding in the depths of this place. It puts the world's perspective in a negative light.

In the end, Ashton couldn't come up with an answer for today. So another fruitless endeavor it seems.

It's not like he doesn't have any other options though. For one, he could just remain inside the library and cultivate until he's strong enough to wipe that thing off of the face of the planet.

That's an option...

Sure, it will take time but it's effective so it's viable. Additionally, Ashton has time, he isn't in a hurry. But this would be the last resort though.

Even though he wasn't in a hurry, it wouldn't be productive of him to be stopped for that long just to deal with one demon. So, whether he likes it or not, he has to find a way to deal with this as soon as he can.

"Hey, Babe."

"Yes?"

"What non-offensive High-Order Spells do you have?" Ashton asked.

"Hmm, well there's Absolute Immunity, Archangel's Breath, Divine Fortress, and White Emperor's Regalia." She replied, "Why do you ask?"

"Can you teach me one at least?" He asked, looking a bit hesitant. "My amammunitionrisn'torking on the damn thing. I've tried all sorts of combinations at this point but that thing just casually shrugs it off, I'm getting sick of it."

"Well...since we're in a weird situation, I guess that wouldn't be a problem. I can teach you everything I know, but I need to check if you even have the mana capacity to cast them in the first place."

Aria then walked toward him and held his wrist. Ashton could feel her sensing his mana reserves.

Under normal circumstances, what he did just now would be considered rude and disrespectful, but like Aria said their situation is weird and they're lovers so it isn't much of a big deal.

"Wow...no wonder you can last so long." She gasped faintly. Ashton pointedly ignored the innuendo. "Your reserves are almost as big as I have. With your intellect, it shouldn't be difficult for you to learn High-Order Spells. You should be fine casting three of these before your reserves dry out."

Aria then let go of his wrist and proceeded to write down something on a parchment. Ashton leaned over to see what she was writing and discovered that she was writing the details about the spells she wiwouldeach him.

She even wrote it down according to the System's style, which made him feel special.

[Absolute Immunity]

High Order Immunity Spell.

Grants Immunity to all kinds of negative status ailments for five minutes.

Cooldown: 12 hours

[Archangel's Breath]

High-Order Healing Spell

A massive AOE heal that cures all known injuries and heals allies back to their peak health.

Cooldown: 12 hours.

[Divine Fortress]

High-Order Defensive Formation Spell

Erects a 5x5km Defensive Formation that blocks High-Order Offensive Spells for an hour.

Cooldown: 24 hours. 𝒍𝓲𝙗𝒓𝒆𝓪𝒅.𝙘𝒐𝓶

[White Emperor's Regalia]

High-Order Defensive Spell.

Grants a massive offensive and defensive boost to all allies.

Unique Effect: White Emperor's Revenge - Reflects all damage inflicted.

Cooldown: 12 hours.

"Oh wow..." Ashton was awed.

These spells looked absurdly strong. It would make sense since they are High-Order Spells, something that 'only Sorcerers' are supposed to learn and able to cast. That being said, Ashton's a unique guy.

High-Order Spells are similar to EX-Skills in video games. They're supposed to be absurdly strong and have ridiculously long cooldown times. It sounds like something that Ashton needs to deal with one massive pain in the ass.

Anyway, since Aria doesn't have any problems teaching him these Spells, he should be able to use them shortly. And with the Grinding Slots available to him, this should hopefully be enough to deal with the Nightmare Devourer.

Chapter 90

Basic, Intermediate, High-Order, Ascendant, and Law-Level...

These are the Spell Rankings according to Humanity's standards. At the Mystic Academy, only High-Order Spells are available for both students and teachers to learn. Even then, they have to go through several tests and get clearances to learn them.

Ascendant level spells and above weren't even revealed, much less taught. These spells are considered Humanity's trump cards and only a handful of people are trusted to learn them.

The only reason why Ashton is aware of their existence is thanks to the books that are now available to him. Even then, he only knew the introduction to these spells.

Aria teaching him High-Order spells should help out immensely. Well...at least he hopes it does since he's running out of options here.

Learning the spells themselves wasn't a challenge for Ashton. It's probably thanks to his keen intellect granted by his bountiful Providence. It only took him a couple of tries before getting the hang of it.

This made Aria somewhat bitter because it took her almost a month to master each one of these spells and she was hailed a genius. Whereas Ashton learned it after a couple of tries.

If she's called a genius, then what would they call Ashton then?

Well, that's not important right now. Despite being a bit jealous, Aria is more than happy to help Ashton in any way she could.

What separates High-Order Spells from Basic or Intermediate Spells weare few things: Mana Reserves, Intent, and Mediums.

To cast a High-Order Spell, the caster's mana reserves should be at least twice as big as the required amount of mana needed to cast the spell, otherwise, it will fail.

The reason behind this is due to Mana Exhaustion - a status ailment that weakens a Mage, it's triggered by emptying their mana reserves swiftly. This can be fatal, especially when casting a high-level spell.

The doubled mana reserve requirement is a failsafe for the mages who plan on casting this to avoid killing themselves.

Next is Intent, which might be vague but it is an important process when it comes to spell casting.

High-Order Spells are dangerous. They require a lot of mana to cast and their effects could prove devastating either to the enemy or to one's self.

Spell casting, and this couldn't be stressed enough, ALWAYS have a chance to fail.

Failing to cast a High-Order Spell will cause severe injuries if not, directly killing the caster.

This is where Intent comes in.

The clearer the caster's Intent when casting a spell, the lesser chance the spell will fail. A spell caster's intent comes from their Will, so the stronger one's Willpower is, the stronger their Intent. This in turn causes spell casting to become more stable.

And last but not the least, Mediums.

Again, High-Order spells are demanding. Casting them without the use of Mediums could be suicide. After all, concentrating too much mana on a single body part is too much of a burden.

Mediums act as a vessel for the spell, it helps the process of Spell Casting to become much smoother and doable. There are a lot of items out there that Mages can use as a Spell Medium.

The most common ones are wands and talismans. There are peculiar ones too like animals, bones, teeth, potions, etc. Ashton had read a lot about those and he too found those options rather weird. Then again, if it works, it works.

Magical Artifacts can become Mediums too, however, to do so, they have to have the 'Spell Medium' Trait, or else it wouldn't work.

Ashton's Cursed Book of Infinity and its sub-artifact called: Mortal Reminder, both work as a Spell Medium so this has never been an issue for him.

All in all, Ashton has everything he needs to cast High-Order Spells. And during these past few days, he had been practicing them.

The spells are already registered under the System and are now going under the Grinding Slots.

So far, he discovered that he can't accelerate the Grinding Speed of High-Order Spells for now, which is a bummer, but it's fine.

...at least he could still use them as bullets, which was the whole point of this anyways.

Actually, that's another discovery he had when he started practicing. As it turns out, High-Order Spells (Buffs) wh, whensed in conjunction with the Mortal Reminder and the Gunslinger class, become a completely new thing.

He's using the guns as a conversion tool to make buffs into offensive spells. Neat!

If he casts [Absolute Immunity] with the Mortal Reminder, he converts it into a bullet that pierces through all manner of protection. It's a shot that ignores everything and pierces right through their soul!

Of course, it'll be a buff if he shoots himself or an ally with it, but to enemies, it becomes that one painful round that they will remember at every waking moment, granted that they survive it of course.m

Trust Ashton, he would know. He tested it after all.

[Archangel's Breath] is just a woke version of Burning Rounds. This one spreads fast and is extremely lethal to demons. One lick is all it takes to wrap them completely in flames that burn them into crisp, not to mention, the pain sears to their soul. This is highly reactive to Demonic Corruption so it's a perfect tool for Demon Hunting.

[Divine Fortress] is fun. It's an AOE shot that creates a 500m cube that traps all that's caught within an inescapable bullet hell. The cube lasts for 10 minutes, enough time for Ashton to run away if he needed to.

And finally, there's the [White Emperor's Regalia], which is probably the flashiest and most 'extra' spell in his arsenal.

It shoots a signal flare, which calls down a rain of fucking weapons down the sky. Where the hell are those even coming from?

The weapons range from swords, daggers, spears, axes, arrows, hammers, chains, etc. It is so extra and Ashton fucking loves it.

The way hothathat bullet works completely eludes him but it's fun to watch. Each weapon lolookseal but nononef them stays permanently. The craftsmanship of each one looks divine though, not going to lie.

It's absurd but Ashton learned to now question it. Again, if it works, it works.

With these four new spells in his arsenal, Ashton just became even deadlier.

The mana cost of each spell was around the same level which meant that he could potentially combine these spells into one bullet. His current maximum is three High-Order Spells according to Aria, which is good enough.

And the poor Nightmare Devourer though...

The moment Ashton learned these new spells, was the same moment that this demon stopped being his problem.

Right now, it has become his training dummy. Well, at least it's a simulated version. Though Ashton would be lying if he said that he's not having fun torturing the poor demon.

Either way, Ashton had been testing out combinations so far, because yes he could combine multiple High-Order Spells into a single shot apparently, hell he could even apply the lower-tiered spells along the mix.

Combining [Absolute Immunity] + [Archangel's Breath] results in a streaking shot that pierces through everything it passes and leaves a burning trail that burns everything it touches.

[Divine Fortress] + [White Emperor's Regalia] becomes a cube trap of bullet hell. Said bullets were weapons of all shapes and sizes.

[Absolute Immunity] + [White Emperor's Regalia] causes the weapons to become ethereal and deal 'true damage' if this were to be a game.

[Archangel's Flame] + [Divine Fortress] becomes an on-site cremation zone.

[Absolute Immunity] + [Divine Fortress] causes the zone to slowly shrink to nothingness.

And [Archangel's Breath] + [White Emperor's Regalia] encases the weapon with pure white flames that burn everything it touches.

It was fun to watch as the Nightmare Devourer tries so hard to survive under the harassment of his attacks. Ashton can't pick favorites since all of them were cool.

That being said, Ashton also felt Mana Exhaustion for the first time, and that was not fun. Well, he felt it through the Simulation Zone so it's not as lethal but it still hurts.

The kind of pain where every single inch of his body was throbbing, that's what Mana Exhaustion feels like. Hell, he felt pain in places he didn't think existed before. 𝓵𝓲𝙗𝓻𝓮𝓪𝙙.𝒄𝓸𝒎

He was thankful for the warning though cause without it, he'd probably suffer even greatly due to his enthusiasm.

Ashton had to thank his cultivation technique for this as well since that's the one that made this entirely possible in the first place.

If it weren't for the repeated refinements of his mana, its purity and quantity wouldn't have been enough for a single High-Order Spell. So he's very thankful for it.

Either way, since the Nightmare Devourer is no longer a problem, Ashton felt lighter of course. He's no longer stressed and felt like he could make his way down the tunnel network fairly safe.

All that's left for him to dodo iso explore more and it won't be long until he's back on track, making his way back home.

Chapter 91

"Well then...I'm off."

"Right, be safe out there."

"I wiwill seeou later." Ashton kissed Aria in the cheeks before exiting the library.

In the real world, within the underground tunnel network, the mobile safehouse appeared silently, it iswas cloakedo nothing sensed its appearance. Inside the safehouse, Ashton buffed himself with spells he needed to keep himself safe before exiting.

He had been stalled for two weeks now and clearly, that can't go on anymore. It's time for him to resume his journey down to the unknown depths of this place.

Being wiser now compared to before, Ashton made sure that every single thing that would give away his location is covered. He left no footsteps, sound, or even scent as he traveled. He made sure that he was moving like a ghost to keep himself safe and maintain the option of picking his fights.

If there's something that could get in his way currently, it would only be that one demon who he hasn't dealt with yet.

And speaking of the god damn demon...Ashton could already feel its presence closing in on him.

"Ugh, fine!" He muttered to himself, withdrawing his guns from the holster. "I'm getting sick of this fucker anyways."

He stood on the spot for a minute or two, waiting for the demon to get real close before he took action.

Soon, he felt the ground shaking underneath. Something big was coming his way. He then heard a loud groan which could only belong to that monstrosity.

"Hu...HUMAAAAN!"

Peng! Crash!

With a smooth movement, he turned around and fired a shot at the charging monstrosity. The bullet traveled swiftly and stopped mere inches away from the demon before transforming into something else.

It turned into a cube that completely trapped the demon. It even crashed violently into the walls but not a scratch remained. The walls of the cube were solid and could withstand some serious beating. If anything, the demon injured itself by crashing onto it.

"Wha...what's this!?" The Nightmare Devourer asked. Ashton still felt rather unnerved by the fact that this demon was speaking his language.

"A little prison for ugly fucks like you." He replied, glaring at the trapped demon.

The demon didn't look convinced. It roared and attacked the cube with all manner of ways available to it yet none worked. It didn't even leave a scratch.

"You're just wasting your time. Unless I want you free, there's no way you're getting out of that little prison." Ashton stated, much to the dismay of the trapped demon.

"P-puny Human! What...what did you do...?"

"Damn it, this is hopeless. This thing's stupid." Ashton cursed under his breath.

"Let...let me...eat yoyou."

"Unreasonable too, great." Ashton rolled his eyes.

Then his eyes gleamed all of a sudden. An idea formed in his mind.

'Maybe...I can use this to my advantage. I mean, I have nothing to lose if this didn't work anyways.'

"Hey, ugly!" He called out.

"Y-yes?" The demon answered much to Ashton's surprise.

'It's oddly polite. Maybe it's because it's stupid. Okay, let's try this.'

"If you agree to answer some of my questions, then I might think about letting you eat me. How does that sound?"

The demon's body went rigid for a bit. It then released some disgusting gurgling sounds from whichever part of its body.

"I want...I want...eat! You, eat! Y-yes!"

Ashton winced and asked: "Do you agree?"

"Y-yes!?"

'Why do you sound like you're asking me that?' Ashton shrugged, 'Anyway, let's see how this plays out.'

"Can you tell me where this place is?"

"...h-home?"

Ashton nearly slapped himself. Of course, it would answer this way. He's placing too much hope in this thing.

"It's...it's...home for me...but not for...everyone like me..." the Nightmare Devourer continued, "R-real home...we call it...C-Central...K-Kuay? K-kyul? Kuwaipoth? I...I don't know how...to say it..."

"QlQliphoth

"Mn! Mn! Mn! T-that's it! H-Human...smart! Wanna...eat you!"

Ashton was completely unable to feel flattered by the praise because he was too busy letting out strings of curses within his mind.

'Qlipoth...fucking why not, right!? Of cocourse, worldHow can it be so fucking simple when it comes to you? God damn it!'

"Right. Whatever..." Ashton huffed, "Do you know the shortest path to take to get out of this place?"

"...N-Nurseries..." it replied, "M-mindless slugs...popointheir horns at the way outside...c-can't eat them...they are useful."

'That's...helpful.' Ashton raised a brow as he wasn't expecting that.

Of course, the demon could very well be lying to him as well. He wouldn't put it past them since it would be fitting for what they stand for. Then again, for a demon this strong there's no point in doing that.

Plus, it is clear that even though this thing possesses some level of intellect, it is not as smart as him. So the chances of it lying isare veryow.

"What do the Nurseries look like?"

"...a cacave with.a lot of eggs?"

Again, that answer made Ashton want to smack himself in the face. Of course, it would! How could he have not thought about that?

"T-the...nearest one is...below this...tunnel? I-it's...big...you won't miss it..."

"Thanks, I guess."

"Y-you're...welcome?" The demon squirmed.

'Damn it's polite...what the hell?' Ashton groaned inwardly.

"Okay, are there any other demons out here that could speak my language just like you do?"

"U-uh...no?" The Nightmare Demon replied, "I-I could...speak human tongue b-because I have...eaten one...before...other didn't."

"And these 'others' you speak about...are they as old as you?" Ashton inquired.

"Y-yes!" The demon replied enthusiastically, which bothered Ashton. "B-bigger and s-stronger than me...f-faster too! I want to...I want to be like...them...when I grow up!"

"Can you describe what they look like to me?"

"Y-yes." The demon complied, "T-there's Big Brother Mantis! H-he is fast...very fast...h-he can fuse...with the darkness and then stab...stab you!"

"T-there's also Big Sister Viper! S-she's older than...me and Big Bro Mantis! S-she...likes biting...things and...and spitting venoms."

"I-I hate Big Brother Snail...he...he blocks the tunnels...sometimes...not letting us...move to where...we want. He...doesn't care how long it takes...his shell is...hard and he's...very heavy and yucky."

'That's rich coming from you.' Ashton rolled his eyes.

"A-and then...there's Big Brother Dragon."

Ashton's breath hitched upon hearing that, thankfully the demon didn't notice it.

"B-big Brother Dragon is...is the strongest! He's...he's awesome! He...he said that he's an...undead dragon! A...a rare breed! He's really big...and smelly!"

"He hates it when...we disturb his sleep or...if we dirty his...treasure hoard..." 𝓵𝓲𝓫𝙧𝓮𝙖𝙙.𝒄𝓸𝙢

"D-don't touch his...treasures! H-he will kill you! I-if you died...I won't be able to eat you anymore! D-don't go to his...cave!"

Ashton practically ignored the demon's warning cause; 'Holy mother of god there's a Dragon here!?'

He surely wasn't expecting this...

Ashton initially thought that he'd be dealing with critters and bugs, not a whole-ass dragon!

That being said...he doesn't have to confront that thing, right? If it's not on his way out of here...he doesn't have to fight it...right?

So long as he's being careful here, he wouldn't have to fight because seriously, what's the point? He just wants to go home. Maybe he can avoid fighting altogether, who knows?

Ashton scratched his head and sighed. This is getting troublesome.

"Okay, last question," Ashton said to the Nightmare Demon. "Why does your race want to eradicate us?"

"E-eradicate? Humans?" The demon asked in wonder.

"Yes." Ashton nodded, "Why do your race and Angels hate us so much?"

The demon laughed...it laughed.

"Hate you? W-we don't...hate you...silly. H-humans are...food. Y-you can't hate...food! Demons don't...hate food...t-the hateful Angels don't...hate food either!"

"H-humans are...tasty...t-that's why...we eat you. W-we don't...hate you...in fact...we love you...w-what we hate are angels! T-they're the enemy! Not humans!"

"Angels are our...enemies...that's why we...fight them...here."

Ashton chilled. His whole body felt like it was struck by lightning.

"I...see." He muttered, "So...that's how it is. I get it now."

The demon's right. He's really silly. Asking stupid questions and all that. The answer was plain and simple as it turns out. How can he be so stupid to not know all of this beforehand?

Oh, he's really silly.

"Thank yoyou fornswering my silly questions." Ashton smiled at the demon. Yet his eyes...they're cold and distant. He raised his gun and aimed it at the demon.

"Here, eat this."

[Archangel's Breath] + [Divine Fortress] = 'Heavenly Cremation Shot'.

Ashton closed his ears and his heart from the agonized roars of the burning demon. He watched as the demon tried its best to survive his attack only to fail miserably.

He felt no pity nor anger as he killed this intelligent demon. Why would he? Isn't this natural?

It wouldn't be wrong to say that what he killed isn't a demon; it's EXP and Loot. Nothing more. Why should he feel pity for it? He wants to be stronger after all so it's natural that he will kill it. Plain and simple.

It's not that complicated. There's no absurd revenge plot or righteous indignation here. Only the law of the jungle.

If he waiseak, he'll be eaten. If he's strong, then he won't. In the grand scheme of things, it's just that. Plain and simple.

To Demons and Angels, Humans are just delicacies who happened to be present on their battlefield.

And as much as he hates the sound of that, he's not the one making the rules.

Well, at least not yet.

"Since you all see us as food, then it wouldn't be unfair if we all see you as EXP and Loot right?"

[Notice! Quest Updated!]

Chapter 92

[Notice! Quest Updated!]

Path to Enlightenment: 50% Complete.

Ashton's eyes flickered upon seeing this. He forcefully took a deep breath in and released it slowly to calm himself down.

He was in a foul mood. And this is probably the first time that Ashton felt this kind of anger in both of his lives.

'Ash. You okay?' Aria's worried voice sounded in his consciousness.

Ashton winced. He was trying to suppress the signs of his bubbling anger yet Aria still felt it in the end. He sighed and replied:

'Not really, but I'll be fine. I just need to vent.'

'Alright.' She said, 'Do what you jujust doOnce you're tired, come here, and let's watch some movies while eating ice cream, yeah?'

'Yeah, that sounds fantastic. I'll look forward to it. Thank you. Talk to you later.' A shadow of a smile appeared on his face before the connection disappeared. 𝓁𝑖𝘣𝘳ℯ𝘢𝘥.𝒸ℴ𝑚

He truly appreciates Aria's concern for him and her consideration. She didn't force him to say anything and instead told him susubtlyhat she was there to listen. That's more than enough for him right now.

Still, Ashton needs to vent.

He's too angry to sit down and watch movies with her right now. He needs to release all of this anger at once or else it will hurt him.

Thankfully, he has no shortage of demons to kill. This...this would help. This is good for him right now.

Ashton snorted coldly as he aimed his guns and began firing shots, instantly plunging the entire tunnel into flaming mayhem.

The words of the Nightmare Devourer still rang in his ears.

To summarize what it said, it's this; 'Humans are just our food.'

That's it. It didn't get any more complicated than that.

Yes, it is highly possible that the demon was just lying to him, pulling his leg or something, there's a possibility of this happening. Yet for some reason, Ashton believes it.

But oh. Oh, how he hated that.

Ashton wouldn't call himself a Saint or a Racial Patron for Humanity, or anything of the sorts. He's just some random dude with some questionable luck and a weird fascination with magic.

Still, he can't help but feel greatly insulted by the fact that these ugly things just label him as food. Like cattle, always meant to be raised and, one day, slaughtered to be fed to them.

He hated that idea.

This is somehow hypocritical since Humans do that to animals too, yet Humans never really felt remorseful of their actions (except for a select group who strictly eats vegetables only), nor do they specifically care about the morality of what they're doing, yet when other races did it to them, suddenly it becomes a problem.

But that's just human in a nutshell, aren't they? A hypocritical race that never ceased to pursue perfection, no matter how far-fetched the idea is.

Ashton never really explicitly felt pride for being a human, yet he also couldn't think of being born to any other race aside from this. He's gotten used to it already that everything else seems dull at this point.

And maybe that's why he's reacting this badly...

The fact that he was being disrespected on a racial level triggers him so bad. To think that someone would have the gall to call him nothing but food, sounds incredibly disrespectful to him and he hates it.

It's such a blatant disregard for his race too. Saying that both Demons and Angels kept them around since they're considered a unique delicacy of this world.

To them, all the human blood that's been shed, all the efforts of the Heroes who were born since the dawn of their invasion, those who sacrificed their lives to make sure that the next generation of their race lives on and hope for a brighter tomorrow...

All of these are nothing but a divine comedy to them. A wonderful joke, all of it. Nothing more.

And that's...that's disheartening, isn't it?

The fact that these invaders just arrived here to fight each other while hunting humanity for sport.

It's a kind of insult that sears into one's being. Ashton's too.

'So, the act of them blatantly swaggering inside Last Bastion, ignoring its bubble of protection as if it didn't exist, and attacking an entire city is nothing more than a hunt for them, then?'

Peng! Peng! Peng!

'You mean to say that all of those lives, you lot claimed it because you're apparently 'craving' for some Human meat? Is that it?'

Peng! Peng! Peng!

'YoYou a lotisturbed our peace.'

Peng!

'Terrorized us.'

Peng!

'Claimed millions of lives.'

Peng!

'And destroyed an entire city, warping it away from our territory just because you're starving?'

Peng!

"How fucking dare you all..." Ashton grunted coldly as he condensed more bullets to shoot.

He's really not in a great mood today. It's evident by the fact that he's not even trying to hide his presence. Instead, he announced it proudly as if he was a beacon, attracting more demons towards his location so that he could kill more of them.

Ashton downed a vial of Mana Potions in between shots since he isn't sasatisfiedet. Far from it actually. He needs to kill more to satiate his anger.

At this point, it is clear that Ashton now bears a grudge. He had made it his mission to kill as many demons as he could to maintain his peace of mind.

The idea of just making peace with this new knowledge just didn't sit well with him.

How could he possibly do that when these invaders made it personal?

See, he loved this new life of his, he truly does. It's fantastical, wowondrousand mysterious too, if not just a tad bit dangerous. He was looking forward to living his life to the fullest, chasing after his dreams and all.

Then, they came out of nowhere and decided to rip those dreams apart like they were made out of the thinnest sheet of paper.

They never asked for his opinion about it, they just went ahead and did it. Not caring about his or Humanity's well-being.

They swaggered on their territory, snorting as they lolookedround, thinking of it as nothing but a pathetic joke, then claimed their share of Human meat cause it's probably been a while since they ate some.

Isn't that just too vexing?

Anger couldn't even describe what Ashton was feeling right now. He felt humiliated, spat and stepped on, disregarded, and extremely disrespected. All of this created a stifling feeling in his chest.

He doubts if he could make that disappear, even after killing hordes after hordes of demons. Yet at the same time, this is what he can do best right now.

'I shouldn't be feeling this way really.' He mused to himself. 'In the grand scheme of things, this could be identified as the law of the jungle. Survival of the fittest at its best.'

'It's an age-old rule that hahaslways been there. The one fundamental law that all living beings followed through.'

'Yet it feels harrowing.' Ashton sadly concluded as he saw the burning demons in front of him.

'Demons and Angels...why do they have to pick this world to be their battlefield? What's the reason, really?'

'Humans are fine on their own. Why do they have to appear? Why do they have to come here?'

'If their goal is to eradicate each other, can't they do it in their territory? Somewhere else maybe? Why does it have to be here? Just why?'

'And the gall of them really...'

'They came in like they owned the place. They didn't bother asking for our opinion and just started fighting each other.'

'From the very start of this whole mess, Humans were never seen as a threat. Never respected as a local of this place. Never had any opinions that should be heard by both races.'

'Humans are just food.'

'A unique delicacy that could be found in this specific battlefield of theirs.'

'Do others know about this?'

'Did they even bother?'

'When I read the history of humanity before, I didn't find anything weird. I thought that it was just normal.'

'The invaders came out of nowhere. They didn't bother to announce their presence, they just started to appear then they fought each other. History sasayshat Humanity suffered as collateral damage.'

'If it weren't for the appearance of the First Hero, Humanity would've gone extinct at this point.'

'It's understandable that the First Hero's course of acaction isreservation. He's alone after all. He can't kill every single invader out there so instead, he protected humanity and made sure they'll survive.'

'It's under his lead that Humanity built the Last Bastion - a place where Humanity can be safe and continue living while also trying to raise more warriors that would keep their race safe.'

'This has been the trend for so long.'

'Humanity advanced gained some semblance of control through the help of dazzling Heroes who in turn sacrificed their lives to protect humanity."

'Yet...now that I think about it, the later line of Heroes could've done so much more than living long enough to sacrifice their own lives for humanity's preservation.'

'Why is that?'

Chapter 93

'There could be a lot of reasons...'

'Limited knowledge, abilities, time, technology, and so on.'

'And if that were to be the case, then I couldn't blame them.'

'But that's not it.'

'At the end of the day, these limitations are just excuses too.'

'While they are limited strictly because of the uncertainty of their situation, they weren't threatened to the point of extinction.'

'They didn't experience any real invasions, the attacks that occurred happened outside of the Last Bastion. Meaning that if they chose to not send anyone outside the protective bubble, nobody would've died.'

'Now that I think about it, the hardships and challenges these Heroes faced mostly happened within Humanity's territory. Most of it was internalized conflict. But the result always ended up with them sacrificing their lives to strengthen the protective bubble.'

'Isn't that shady?'

Ashtin pursed his lips as he holstered his guns. He looked in front of him, witnessing the blazing mess of demons writhing in pure agony as his thoughts gradually clcameo an ugly conclusion.

'They could've achieved so much more if there weren't people who deliberately tried to discredit them. They could've done so much more if they just tried hard enough.'

'Yet they didn't.'

'All of them succumbed to the pressure didn't they?'

'Someone or some people pressured them and indoctrinated them to become martyrs. Their deaths were glorified, paraded as a noble cause to poison the minds of the future generations, breeding more martyrs in the process.'

'This minimized their potentials and limited their achievements, which in turn, stagnated the growth of humans even more.'

'It had been thousands of years since the invasion began, many heroes rose and fell yet the progress of humanity only amounted to this much.'

'It wouldn't have been suspicious if humanity's being constantly pushed to the edge of extinction but they're not.'

'Most of them were happy to peacefully live within that protective bubble because so long as they stayed inside, they'll be safe. After all, this trend continued for a very long time so it had become somewhat given at some point.'

'Humans are a progressive race. Creatures that sought after perfection no matter how unattainable it might seem. Yet for a race like this only hahashis much progress even after thousands of years? That's a red flag if I have ever seen one.'

'Because see, Humans here can cultivate, unlike my previous world. OuOurifespans are longer and there are materials here which don't exist in my previous world, this on top of magic as well, yet the fact that progress here is slower compared to my previous world just doesn't make any sense.'

'At this point, I can already tell that there's some real shady shit going on behind the scenes.'

Ashton's gaze hardened.

'It's the Federation isn't it?'

'It has to be. After all, they are the ones that have the trust of the public and have access to resources. It'll be very easy for them to apply schemes that could seriously affect the future trend for Humanity itself.'

'Oh, I don't like this...'

Ashton clicked his tongue and re-applied his buffs. He pulled the hood of the cloak on and began making his way deeper into the tunnels.

His thoughts were chaotic at ththatoint, but he still hahadnough attention to spare for his surroundings. He wanted to have some semblance of control over his current emotions yet he's unable to due to the revelations that are occurring to him at this very moment.

It's hard to act like nothing's wrong. As much as he wanted to stay positive and trust the authorities, he really couldn't right now.

Yes, he also thinks that he's being a little bit unfair. After all, it's not like they can explain themselves to him right now, given where he currently is.

'But this ties back to my discoveries too...'

'If my theory ends up being right, then Humanity's in danger.'

'If, say, those who move behind ththesecenes, also knknow know. Then their plan is simple.'

'Controlled casualties...'

'Since these races see us as cattle to be raised, then they're surely playing the part of pastors. Raising soldiers to send out to feed them to invaders.'

'This method allows them to prolong the life expectancy of humanity as a whole. They're probably hoping that the invaders will eventually get sick of each other enough that they would start fighting each other, hoping for it to evolve into a full-scale war.'

'They're playing the long-con.' Ashton concluded, 'Trying to outsmart the invaders and outlast them whilst hiding.'

'It is a smart and commendable plan but ultimately stupid. Why? Because they're gambling at the cost of complete extinction here.'

'The winning condition would be if, and only if, whoever the winner of the war between angels and demons retreat once they're done.'

'The world's probably fucked beyond recognition at that point but in the end, Humanity lives on. That's the only win condition I can see here, and it's not even a lucrative victory either.'

'There are so many ways this could fail. This is a very dangerous gamble with a very tiny chance of winning. Betting at an actual lottery would be infinitely better compared to this.'

'What if the winners didn't retreat? What ifif warill never happen unless Humanity's eradicated? What if an accident happens? What if the Angels and Demons decided to void the agreement if there's even an agreement, to begin with?'

'Actually, the last part already ococcurred, didn'tt? And it cost us City M. Millions of lives, lost just like that.'

'That protective bubble didn't protect shit.' Ashton spat. 'The 'Revenants' as they called it, swaggered inside of it like they own the place and just took a solid chunk of humanity's population just like that.'

'Isn't that what happened?'

Ashton's thoughts turned more chaotic.

'God, I never wanted to be right so bad in my entire life, yet I had this sneaking suspicion that I am.'

'I hate it. Oh, I hate this.'

Ashton bit his lips and took a deep and calming breath.

'Humanity's fucked.'

Ashton didn't really like where his thoughts took him so far but he can't help it.

As it turns out, he only needed one revelation for the puzzle to start piecing itself together. 𝘭𝘪𝑏𝑟ℯ𝒶𝑑.𝘤𝑜𝘮

He hated the idea so bad yet he can't deny that there are proofs around him. He was so naive at one point that he felt sick upon learning about everything now.

Again, so far, these are all just speculations for now. Although Ashton was already treating it as the cold hard truth of the world, deep down he's still hoping that this wouldn't be the case.

He wanted to have faith in his race. He wanted to believe in their hearts, yet it's also because he is human himself that he can't deny that the possibility of him being right is absurdly high.

Humans can be really cruel to themselves. He would know, he had seen it a lot in his previous world.

Then again, this begs the question: What would he do if it turns out that he's right?

Would he dismiss it entirely and do whatever he wants to ensure his survival? Or would he help them?

This stumped him, surprisingly.

The question felt so heavy for him that it caused him to stop in his tracks. In the end, he couldn't continue exploring the tunnels right now because he just wasn't in the right mindset currently.

He'd just end up hurting himself if he continues. He should call it a day for now and just relax.

...and that's what he did.

He went into the Grand Library and saw Aria waiting for him. He smiled at her weakly, trying to placate her worry but he knknewt wasn't working.

Ashton needed to be alone right now. And Aria knows this.

So, she just nodded at him and let him have his space for now.

Ashton went into their shared room, he lay down on the bed stared at the ceiling. Letting his thoughts direct themselves.

What will he do if it turns out that his assumption was correct?

Would he ignore it or stretch an arm out to help?

Both had pros and cons, neither is right nor wrong. And this is what makes it more difficult to answer.

It's dizzying to think so far ahead right now. He only has two choices yet it feels a lot for him to be completely honest.

'Is this what they call the Curse of Knowledge? I don't like it. It's not fun to deal with.' Ashton mused in the middle of his train of thought.

He's more or less right. Knowing a lot of things isn't always a good thing. Sometimes, being knowledgeable is a curse. This is why they often say that Ignorance is a Bliss.

It's a little too late to be ignorant now so he just had to deal with this it seems.

Right now though...Ashton really can't answer this. It's too much fofor himo handle.

He's fifteen for crying out loud. Right now, hehe shoulde worrying about teenager things, not decisions that will decide the outcome of a whole damn race.

Yet, he's also cursed by not being a normal teenager.

Though for now, all he could do is do what he can. Find a way home and see what things are like there. Once he confirmed it, it wouldn't be too late for him to decide anyways.

'Alright, enough of that I guess. Time to make it up to Aria.'

Chapter 94

[Quest: Survive!]

: Host has been forced into an uncompromising predicament but hope is not gone. Survive the horrors and dangers of the Outside World for as long as you can.

Survive for 1 month - Rewards: Bloodline Purification Pill x5 (Complete)

Survive for 3 months - Rewards: Mobile Safehouse x1 (Complete)

Survive for 6 months - Rewards: Exosuit x1 (Complete)

Survive for 1 year - Rewards: Randomized 'Trait' x1

Survive for 3 years - Rewards: Specialization Soul Card (L) x1

Survive for 5 years - Rewards: Curse Banishment Pill x1

[Mission: Investigate]

: It's a long way home from here. WhWhere ishere'? Well, why dodon't you findut? Plus, aren't you curious as to what the Outside World looked like? The more you discover, the more rewards you'll get.

Discover where you are - Time Limit: None. Rewards: New System Function unlocked. (Complete)

Find a way back home - Time Limit: None. Rewards: Randomized 'Trait' x1

Discover and Study Hostiles - Amount: 100/200. Rewards: New System Function unlocked.

Path to Enlightenment - Time Limit: None. Rewards: System Overhaul. (Incomplete)

It's been six months since Ashton received this mission. His progress has been rather slow yet steady.

Ashton can feel it, he's nearly out of this godforsaken nest of demons. He could practically feel the foul breeze of the outside, he just had a few more tunnels to check and he'd find his way out of this damn place.

At this point, Ashton has already killed most of the 'Boss' demons here; the ones that are at the same level as the Nightmare Devourer. The only left is that damned Undead Dragon.

"Tch." Ashton clicked his tongue as his consciousness returned to his body. He sighed and said: "Failed again. This sucks. That damn dragon is really something else."

A whole month, that is how long he's been trying to search for a way to kill this Undead Dragon. So far, he's been unlucky. He had lost count on how many times he had died under the claws of that damned thing.

The Undead Dragon was fierce.

Not only was it huge, it iswas extremelyggressive too. The Nightmare Demon was right, the dragon isn't kind to those that visit its nest unless they were called. It practically attacks the moment you step foot inside its nest.

It being a dragon is already troublesome in itself. But add the fact that it's Undead too? Now that's just cheating.

Being an Undead Dragon, this thing had the authority to use Demonic Corruption in its attacks. Because of how strong it is, the potency of corruption is rather fierce too. It's the kind that even Lv. 30 Purify couldn't deal with it fast enough.

Not even his Exosuit made Ashton feel safe against that thing.

[Exosuit: M-117]

An all-terrain exosuit that could protect the user from all sorts of outside harm.

Unique Skill: Mana Storage, Memorize, and Auto-Cast.

Durability: 10,000/10,000

The Exosuit is nice, ititsnique Skill allows him to store mana into the suit which he could then use to either amplify the defenses of the suit or absorb it if he runs out in the middle of the battle.

Memorize allows him to record spells into the suit, Buffs only. He could then program the suit to Auto-Cast these spells whenever he wears it. The fuel for the spells will either come from the storage of the suit or Ashton himself.

Paired with the Cloak of Apparition, Ashton's security just went to a whole annotherevel. Yet even with this, dealing with that Undead Dragon is still hard.

He already knows the problem. It isn't because he lacks trinkets or powerful skills, he just lacks strength in general.

Ashton could lock down the dragon with his spells. He could do so for an extended period, but he lacks the required lethality to deal with the damn thing once and for all.

The Undead Dragon has an astonishing vitality for a creature that's metaphorically dead. It's absurd.

He isn't just strong enough, he's also not fast enough to avoid being hurt by the damn demon, cause itit'seceptively swift.

Every part of its body is steeped in corruption. Hell, the thing itself is leaking and reeking with it. It's disgusting and repulsive, which is why Ashton couldn't, in his good conscience, allow this thing to continue to exist.

He swore that he was not leaving this place, not until he killed that thing.

So right now, he's focused on cultivation.

Currently, Ashton's at Lv.9 Practitioner Stage (9th Refinement). He's so close to another major Breakthrough which will undoubtedly give him more benefits and will quite literally raise his strength to a whole new level.

Because of this, he entered seclusion inside the Grand Library. He didn't do it like locking himself inside a room and swearing to not go out unless he's done with his breakthrough. That kind of seclusion doesn't work for him.

Instead, Ashton took it easy and had a routine. He replaces sleep with meditation then would refine his skills, he would take breaks to eat, bathe and spend time with his girlfriend before throwing himself into it again. This is how he did it.

He found out that this method is more effective for him and it's more beneficial since it's not warping his mentality to that of an old hermit. Ashton already lived like one in his previous life, there's no need to do it again.

When it comes to refining his skills though, that's rather slow compared to the growth of his spells (after all he can use the Grinding Slots for his spells, not his skills).

Most of his Spells have now reached Lv. 35 and above. The cost of the grind is rather astronomical at this point, reaching six digits for one spell and longer periods for completion. The acceleration cost isn't low either. Actually, Ashton's close to running out of Mana Crystal's again.

He'd have to search for a new mine to empty, but that's really up to luck at this point.

Then again, there's also the Undead Dragon's Treasure Hoard.

So long as he kills that thing, everything this big lizard hoarded will end up as his, he'd just need to purify them first of course since they were steeped in demonic corruption.

The nest of the Undead Dragon itself is filled with corrupted Mana Crystals. Not to mention, the treasure hoard itself is literally a mountain high.

It's just another good reason for Ashton to kill that thing.

His skills; mainly his Staff Technique and his Gunslinger Skills are somewhat progressing, albeit slowly.

Ashton has already forgone the Staff Technique since he truly doesn't have a good reason to keep training it. He's mostly using his guns and that's why his Gunslinger Skills are being upgraded way more frequently.

His [Firearms Proficiency] had now reached the peak 5-star Unity Stage. Just shy of a step away from the Phenomenon Stage, which he's gunning (hehe) for during this seclusion for him.

The skills under his Gunslinger Skill Tree...

[Precision - Lv.20 (Passive)]

Increases Hit Rate by 30%

[Accuracy - Lv.20 (Passive)]

Increases Hit Accuracy by 30%

[One Shot - Lv.20 (Passive)]

Insta-kill chance - 0.2%

[Ranger - Lv.20 (Passive)]

Increases Range by 200 meters

[Footwork - Lv. 20 (Passive)]

Increases ease of movement by 30%

[Piercing Rounds - ]

Shoots a bullet that pierces through an enemy

[Curve Shot - ]

Fires a bullet that curves to hit the target.

[Burning Rounds - ]

Fires a bullet that sesetshe target ablaze upon contact.

[Scatter Shot - Lv. Max]

Fires a round that explodes into tiny shrapnels.

[Charged Shot Lv. Max]

Hold fire for 1/5/10/30/60 secs. to increase its power.

Most of his passive skills are still increasing while the active skills are already maxed. The max level for active skills is lv.10 and with how frequently he uses them, it's no wonder he maxed them out rather quickly.

There are still a few skills that are locked in the skill tree. So far, these are all he can get from it and he's fine with that.

As for his self-created skills like; Anti-Abomination Shot, White Phosphorous Shot, Heavenly Cremation Shot, Collapsing Zone Shot, etc. Those aren't registered in the skill list since ththey are moreike formulas for skill combinations rather than skills themselves.

As for his High-Order Spells, they're all still level 1. The Grinding Slot still doesn't accommodate them so he'd have to upgrade them through normal means, which is going to take some time but it's fine.

All in all, Ashton's making a lot of progress. He's a completely different person compared to who he was a few months ago. The pressure of being constantly besieged by demons squeezes out his potential, which is already not bad, to begin with, making him stronger day by day. 𝓵𝙞𝙗𝙧𝙚𝒂𝙙.𝓬𝒐𝒎

Of course, it's also thanks to the System being there for him. If it weren't for its existence, there's probably no way he'd make this work.

Still, it's a long, long road home. He does feel a bit melancholic whenever he remembers the good old days of slacking around and hanging out with his friends. That being said, that just fuels his desire to go back home.

Hopefully by the time he returns, they are still there.

Chapter 95

Ashton felt like he was floating...

It was weird, you see, seeing the world like this. He never felt so calm and present at the same time in his life.

All is clear yet blurry at the same time.

He's vaguely aware of his breathing and his movements. He could hear his heartbeat and he could tell how deep or shallow his breaths arwere

Ashton felt as if he could sense everything even with his eyes closed. Hell, he's in danger right now yet he didn't look like he was treating it seriously.

Casually tilting his body to the side to avoid the claw sweeping down to crush him. Jumping just high and fast enough to dodge the next attack while also shooting his guns.

In this wonderful state of calm and serenity, Ashton could feel the flow of mana inside of him. Aware of just how much he has, how much he has to use, how to convert it to achieve the most optimal result, and so on.

The Mortal Reminder, his guns, felt familiar yet also known on his hands.

How is it that it took him this long to discover that, every time he held them in his hands, a blurry set of blue viveinsppear on the guns and his hands? How is it that he only discovered that this is how the guns were converting his mana into bullets that he can shoot?

Why did he only discover that he could refine this connection even more? Allowing the sub-artifact to perform at a more optimal rate, making all of his shots pack more punch?

Maybe it's because of the weird state that he's in...no, it has to be the reason why.

This whole new level of awareness is something that he never once felt in his entire life. He could feel and sense everything that was in motion. He could feel the flow of his environment and the results of his every action.

Ashton could feel the imbalanced harmony of his surroundings. He could feel that it's repulsing him, pushing him away...it hates him and tells him he doesn't belong here.

The hostility surprised him. Yet after thinking about it for quite some time, he felt that it was only natural.

It wasn't the world that was telling him this, it was the Demonic Corruption around him that was speaking. Granted that he's not a demon, of course, the corruption sought to destroy him.

Weirdly enough, in this state of his, Ashton knows how to hurt this. WhWhich doesn'take sense at all, but it's the truth. He knows what to do to upset the Demonic Corruption even more.

'For example, if I were to shoot this way...'

Ashton didn't aim at the Undead Dragon that was trying its best to kill him nor did he aim at the mountain of corrupted treasure behind it. He aimed at a seemingly random spot, yet after shooting it...

He felt a piercing shriek shaking him.

The winds howled and corrupted harmony was interrupted. Space itself bent with the shot and a domino effect occurred.

It's as if Ashton suddenly transformed everything in his vicinity into a searing white hell. Not a single inch of the Undead Dragon's cave was spared from the hot white flames.

The Undead Dragon cried out in agony. Ashton could hear the sheer disbelief in its tone. It's as if it couldn't believe that itself was hurting.

He's vaguely aware of what the dragon was thinking; what happened there? How can this be? How did this puny human manage to hurt me with his ridiculous toys? Weren't my scales hard enough to protect me? Then why am I hurting?

Ashton would laugh really. If he just wanted to piss the dragon off, he'd say that what he did was just a lucky shot, a fluke more or less, but he didn't.

He celebrated inwardly instead, thinking to himself; finally made you feel itlike youvwere an overgrownizard!

This little celebration of his was, of course, not enough to shake him out of this special state. Which he's glad for by the way because he knew that he only managed to hurt the damn thing seriously during this state.

'I need to finish this quickly while I'm still in this state. I don't know how long it lasts after all.' Ashton mused to himself as he took a deep breath and submerged himself deeper into the state he was in.

This absurd level of awareness felt so awesome yet freaky at the same time. He vaguely felt omnipotent in this state since he could tell everything that was going on with crystal clear clarity.

The faintest gust of wind, the slight tremors of the ground, he could even predict what was going to happen next! It's truly bizarre.

In this state, he could feel the inner workings of the world surrounding him, he could almost see the state of everything in front of him.

It's like looking at building blocks. He couldn't exactly tell which is which since he was new to this but he could tell where to aim and shoot which will result in a whole world of hurting for the enemy in front of him.

This is what happened earlier. His shot was aimed at somewhere that's not present in the naked eye and it caused a set of chained reactions to happen which resulted in him injuring the Undead Dragon.

And he's about to do it again...

'This is crazy...' he mused to himself, 'I could end this with this next shot.'

AnAnd to endt, he did...

A pair of shots aimed at the Undead Dragon. Judging by the trajectory of this shot, this shot was bound to miss, yet that's not what happened.

The space warped around the shot, wrapping around it which effectively made the shot invisible. The next thing that happened was the shot reappearing inside the Undead Dragon's body. 𝓵𝒊𝒃𝙧𝙚𝒂𝓭.𝓬𝙤𝙢

More precisely, at its heart...

One bullet appeared on the right side, the other on the left. They met and clashed at the center, bouncing upon the collisions and ricocheting inside the poor thing's body.

The dragon was already injured before, now it's severely ininjured. It isurrently experiencing a whole new level of agony as it felt the bullets bouncing inside its body like pachinko balls.

The bullets were merciless, they punched holes in every single organ it has. The momentum behind them was enough rerearrangehe dragon's insides! It even left a burning white trail behind.

The Undead Dragon roared in pure agony, yet it was cut short by the bullets piercing through its brain. And as a last act of brilliance, the bullets exexplodeike fireworks inside its body, resulting in the dragon roasting from within.

The whole cave shook upon its death. It's as if a high-magnitude earthquake occurred.

In his current state, Ashton felt a strong sense of danger screaming at him to run away as far as he could from this place.

This was something that he didn't dare to question. So he swiftly took mountains of, now cleansed, treasure into his inventory and bolted the hell out of this place.

As he ran away, he made another discovery. Using the Spell: Blink in this state, takes him farther and uses less mana. He discovered a more efficient way to cast the spell just now and automatically applied it.

Hell, he's even noticed that he's practically dual-casting at this point since he was shooting the stray demons that were chasing him as he ran away!

Everything's too much for him to handle right now so he decided to think about it later. The more important matter is that he needs to get the hell away from this place.

'There!'

Ashton saw the light of the outside for the first time in a long while. He ran faster, and he didn't stop until he was at least a few kilometers away from the massive nest.

He then summoned the mobile safehouse in front of him, blinked inside, and entered the Grand Library from within while retrieving the safe house.

Once he appeared inside his safe space, he bled his senses out of the library's walls and witnessed how the entire nest he was at, collapsed.

It didn't end there either...

The white flames that were present inside the cave of the undead dragon crept up, setting the collapsed nest into a massive ball of white flames, a thing that could be witnessed from miles away.

Ashton felt a deep sense of satisfaction as he saw the whole thing go down. The sight soothed his arsonist side, which is something he will vehemently deny having, and it also pleased his sense of duty as a human being.

These flames will spread far a and wideand the area around this place will be swept clean because of the purifying flames alone. Ashton could already see that happening.

Unable to help himself, he laughed. Feeling light and airy. He could feel himself relaxing finally as he now paid attention to a string of notifications the System ensued.

[Undead Dragon slain! Cleptomancy worked! You received...]

[1,745 items picked up. Assorting them into Inventory. See the full list here...]

[Strategic Demon Base; Destroyed! You've been rewarded with...]

[CoCongratulationsost! [Basic Firearm Proficiency] has now reached the 1-Star Phenomenon Stage!]

Seeing all of this caused Ashton to laugh uproariously again...

Chapter 96

'So that's what it is like...reaching the Phenomenon Stage of a Martial Skill...' Ashton mused to himself as he recalled the wondrous state he was in a few minutes ago.

It felt like he was omnipotent all of a sudden. It's a state where his senses are dialed up to 20 yet without any side effects. That level of awareness is so addicting that he wants to experience it again.

He received so much inspiration in that state though. The fact that he was able to bend space itself with just pure skill is mind-blowing to him...and for others too should they discover his achievements.

How old is Ashton? He's 15! Ever seen a 15-year-old bending space just because he shot? Yeah, didn't think so, huh?

Not to mention, he just broke through Lv.1 Archmage Rank not too long ago. He's probably the youngest Archmage humanity had in a long while. Sadly, nobody aside from Aria was here to know that.

To top this all off, he's probably the scariest Archmage there is. Not long after his breakthrough, he already demolished a strategic base of demons, doing so all by himself.

Yes, it did take some time but it doesn't make this any less impressive.

And to celebrate his achievements, Ashton was rewarded handsomely.

[Undead Dragon; Slain. Cleptomancy worked! You received: True Dragon's Skull Bone.]

[Strategic Demon Base: Destroyed! You've been rewarded with: S-rank Bloodline Pills, 3 Fragments of Divine Gunslinger Soul Card, 3 White Mage Exclusive High-Order Spell Cards!]

And this isn't even including the mountain of loot he snatched from the Undead Dragon's hoard.

Rubbing his palms in excitement, he opened his Inventory to sort out his spoils and to also check the descriptions of his newly received items.

[True Dragon's Skull Bone]

A Treasure Relic that comes from the remains of a True Dragon.

Unique Skill: Apex Predator.

The Unique Skill of the skull bone; Apex Predator - is a suppressive intimidation skill. It's a wonderful deterrence for those who possess weaker will and strength compared to him.

'System, how do I use the skull bone?'

[You fuse with ishis HostFair warning, this process will be extremely painful since you'll replace your skull bone with this instead. But so long as you're careful and your willpower is strong, then there shouldn't be any problems.]

'Ooh.' Ashton winced upon hearing that. 'Replacing my skull huh...that sounds incredibly dangerous alright. Oh well, I'll deal with it later.'

Ashton then moved on to his other items such as the S-Rank Bloodline Pills; which increases the purity of his blood by 5% directly and don't have any diminishing effects no matter how many he consumes. Since he received three of these, then that's another 15% increase. Once he coconsumeshese all, the purity of his Bloodline will reach 45%, that's already impressive.

And then, there's the Fragments of Divine Gunslinger Soul Card. He now has a total of 4, he's missing 6 to create a complete one. He doesn't know if he could complete collecting all the necessary fragments before arriving back home since the drop rate appears to be random and it only appears after he did something noteworthy.

'System, use all of the White Mage Exclusive High-Order Spell Cards.'

[Acknowledged.]

[Congratulations Host, you have 3 new High-Order Spells; White Guardian, Golden Time, and Magical Aurora.]

'Alright! Let's check this out...'

[White Guardian]

Link one's self to another. All damage received will be divided equally among the linked people. Attacks below High-Order Spell standards will be nullified.

Maximum number of links: 5

Duration: 2 hours

Cooldown: 24 hours

[Golden Time]

Puts the user into a stasis, granting them momentary invincibility to all manner of danger.

Duration: 10 secs.

Cooldown: 2 hours.

[Magical Aurora]

An illusion-based High-Order White Magic Spell that befuddles every hostile within a kilometer's radius.

Duration: 30 minutes.

Cooldown: 12 hours.

'Ooh! Ooh! Nice.' Ashton smiled in satisfaction. He had a good roll this time around. He was surprised by the last spell considering that it's not a buff but an illusion-based spell, but that reminds him that White Magic isn't exactly just for buffing, healing, or purifying evil.

Either way, he can't wait to see the alternative effects of these spells when uses them with his guns. He wouldn't test him now of course since he's still tired. But later, surely.

Ashton continued sorting his Inventory, checking out the things he received from the treasure hoard as well.

He discovered that he managed to snatch a lot of shinies from the jaws of the dragon. There are a lot of trinkets here that he doesn't know of yet. Ashton felt excited since most of these trinkets might turn into useful materials that would allow him to build a lot of things.

Surprisingly enough, he received a crcrap-tonf blueprints from the hoard. All of which are written in a language he couldn't understand but the drawings looked rather important.

Looking at these made him question a lot of things. These blueprints didn't look like they were made by humans at all. First of all, the language is a dead giveaway and then there's the mechanisms that are depicted there. 𝙡𝙞𝙗𝒓𝙚𝓪𝙙.𝒄𝓸𝓶

This technology lolookso advanced that it's mocking Humanity's progress just by existing.

The real question is, where did these come from? Who were the creators of this advanced technology?

This...this is worth his time researching. Now he's determined to hole up inside the library for quite some time to get answers or at least, clues.

The biggest surprise for him though is the amount of Mana Crystals he accumulated...

[Mana Crystals: 11.3B High-Grade, 100B Mid-grade, 115M Low-grade.]

'11.3 Billion High-Grade Mana Crystals! Hooo boy! I am filthy rich bitch!' Ashton laughed uproariously upon seeing these ridiculous numbers.

Like what was mentioned before, there are mountains of Mana CrCrystalormations within the cave of the Undead Dragon alone, not to mention the smaller hoards he ransacked as he went down the nest.

All of these were steeped in Demonic Corruption before but thanks to his Purity Flames, they were purified and , Ashton doesn't have to worry again about the cost of grinding his spells.

All in all, Ashton made a serious killing and profits in this endeavor of his. He can now say that all of his efforts were worth it.

Yes, he did have a difficult time at the start but it's over now.

He's planning on having a short vacation from any fights to focus on resting. He's been under pressure for a long time and it is taking its toll on his body. He needed plenty of rest, food, cuddles, and, if Aria's willing, of course, lots of sex to decompress.

Ashton would hole up inside the library for a while. Researching these blueprints might lead him to an astonishing discovery in his life. Maybe it won't, who can say? But it doisorth his time to find the outcome of the research.

Bleeding his senses outside, he could still see the enormous bonfire that is the old demon nest. The raging white flames are starting to creep around its edges, threatening to spread far and wide.

That too will take some time. A lot of demons would probably die because of that and that's perfectly okay with him.

Ashton also wants to consolidate his overall strength. He had experienced several advancements not too long ago, everything happened so quickly that he just breezed through it. That's fine since it's within reason but it'd be a detriment to his cultivation in the long run if he didn't fix it.

So, he will make sure to spend some time consolidating his recent breakthroughs to lay down a stable foundation for himself.

At this point, Ashton's already determined to become stronger. It's not out of duty but out of desire. He wants to be stronger so that he won't be mere food for the demons and to protect his loved ones as well.

The past 6 months were enlightening to him...

It made Ashton realize that this is his life now. 'When in Rome, do as Romans do' - this saying resonated with him during his stay out here.

This isn't Earth. He knows that from the moment he transmigrated but he never really understood the weight of it until he was wrested away from his safety bubble.

Under the trials and tribulations he faced, phantom pains of death, and truths he realized during his time out here, Ashton is changing.

He could tell, but as to where this direction will go, that remains a mystery even to himself.

All he could do is to follow the path he has chosen. Whether it leads him to a dead-end or a new beginning, only time would tell.

"Hey, Babe."

Ashton jolted out of his stupor when he felt the touch of his lover. He unconsciously leaned into the contact and smiled at her.

"Hey to you too, I guess."

Aria chuckled as she unhesitatingly sat on his lap. She gave him a peck on the lips and asked: "Are you done with your outside matters?"

"Yep, all done." Ashton nodded.

"Great! Now, off to the showers with you, stinky man!" She playfully scrunched up her nose and pushed herself away from him, her hips swinging seductively as she goes;

"Meet me in bed once you smell nice. Who knows? Maybe I'll reward you with something." She looked back and winked in his direction.

Ashton didn't say a word and quite literally teleported to the showers...

Chapter 97

One month...

That's how long Ashton secluded himself inside the Grand Library. During this time, he had completely foregone his regular training and was focused on resting.

He did consolidate his recent breakthroughs but that's it. He didn't practice, didn't try out his new High-Order Spells, etc. He took it easy and instead poured his attention elsewhere.

Most of it went to his research...

The blueprints he received from the Undead Dragon's Hoard were fascinating. While he didn't initially understand what it all meant, that didn't stop him from admiring the complex designs that were depicted in each of those papers.

Sadly, one month isn't really enough to completely understand the language used on the blueprints. The materials available to him aren't enough to decipher the language itself. Nevertheless, he still made progress at least.

The blueprints depicted some sort of a shelter, one that can survive all kinds of harm and climate, some of which can even be built underground.

Every single one of these blueprints turns out to be connected to each other. Due to their design, Ashton called them; 'ARC' for now, since they seem to be designed to endure the worst the world could offer.

Every design he saw was intricate, strokes of sheer genius in his own opinion. Whoever made this could open lock any Human Inventors and it wouldn't be taken against them, that's how good they are.

One of the designs he saw was just a marvel on its own. This one, he calls; 'The Core'. It's an Energy Source Blueprint that can absorb, convert and filter all types of elements and turn them into pure Ether Energy that can be used in a less harmful way.

'The Core' is the one that binds everything together. Making it all work seamlessly and in harmony. With it, the 'ARC' base can survive even the worst tribulations the world has to offer since 'The Core' would just absorb anything that was thrown into it anyways.

The 'ARC' base can be stationed on the ground, underground, underwater, or in the skies. Ashton could also tell that it may be able to survive the space vacuum if some components were upgraded.

It also has cloaking mechanisms, and self-defense systems, nature-friendly as well thanks to 'The Core'. It is the ultimate base for survival.

What amazed Ashton truly, was the fact that the 'ARC' itself could just be as big as a normal city yet its interior could be as big as the world itself.

The materials that are needed to create the 'ARC' were specified as well. A mixture of rare metals, minerals, complex arrays, and last but not least...

Trinkets that could be harvested from the remains of both Demons and Angels...trinkets that Ashton just happens to have a lot of currently.

Ashton couldn't grasp how in the world is this even possible but all clues lead to this outcome. This kind of technology is terrifying as it waismazing.

If Humans could build this, then there's no need to be afraid of invasions anymore. The 'ARC' is at least 10x better compared to the protective bubble of the Last Bastion! Which is rather absurd if you think about it.

Though, this begs the question, who in the world was responsible for making these designs?

It doesn't make sense for Ashton...

As far as he knows, three races currently live in this world; Humans, Demons, and Angels. Well, four if you include animals of course.

He would like to think that demons are the ones who created this, as he did receive them at the Undead Dragon's treasure hoard, but that's very unlikely...

With his experiences with Demons so far, he didn't take them for a very tech-savvy race. Hell, they preferred the brutal and barbaric way of living! And while this could just be a stereotype since, admittedly, Ashton doesn't know 'everything' about the Demon Race, he still doesn't believe that they will hide this kind of side from them. It just doesn't seem to fit their image.

Angels are uncharted territory for Ashton. He hadn't met the eyes-and-wings-galore race yet so he can't say anything about them.

It could be Humans, but that doesn't make sense either.

Ashton had been in the Last Bastion before. He saw the level of technology they have. The ones depicted in the blueprints are far from what the Humans of the Last Bastion can produce!

The Morning Sun Federation wouldn't be able to hide this kind of technological brilliance since any cultivators that witness them would revolt if they discovered that they are hiding them.

So maybe...just maybe...there's another race living in this world that he doesn't know of. And right now, Ashton is inclined to believe this.

Yet at the same time, what Race could they be?

It could be the Fae Race. Ashton does have their bloodline so it wouldn't be surprising if some of them still exist.

It may also be the Dwarven Race! Since, you know, according to his old world's depictions, dwarves are the most progressive race when it comes to technology.

There's a small chance that it could be the Machine Race since, well this would be right up their alley, but the chances of them existing is very low so...meh.

Either way, these blueprints are extremely valuable.

They made Ashton think a lot of things and receive some inspiration as well. Even Aria was mildly obsessed with them when he showed them to her.

Right now, both of them are working hard to completely decipher the language so that they could learn more about these blueprints. The more they learn, the more knowledgeable they'd be, and maybe in the future, they'll be able to re-create the whole 'ARC' itself.

For all they know, this might just be what Humanity needed to save themselves.

'...I've rested enough.' Ashton mused to himself as he got up from the bed.

He no longer felt tired. Instead, he felt light and relaxed. The one-month break from all the fighting really did help with his recovery. Of course, he had to give Aria credit as well for taking care of him.

During the past month, she's the one who regulated their activities. When she says that they could work, they'll work. When she says that it's time for them to rest, they will rest.

That healthy routine allowed Ashton to calm down considerably and allowed him to relax. Now he's ready to continue his long march home. But before that though, he still had few things that he needed to do.

First and foremost, he has to refresh his experience in using his spells. This is a necessary process since he didn't use a single spell during the past month and his Gunslinger Proficiency broke through the 1-star Phenomenon Stage.

He needs some refresher so that he would fumble on the live battlefield. Thankfully, he has the Simulation Zone for that.

Next, he wanted to check out the bullet versions of his new High-Order skills. As he recently broke through to Lv.1 Archmage Realm, his mana reserves increased, even more, allowing him to cast a total of 10 High-Order Spells before running out of Mana.

So, after he had some refresher with his basics, he moved on and prepared the new High-Order Spells.

First, the [White Guardian]. It's a spell that links allies together and spreads the damage evenly amongst them.

Converting it into a bullet changes its effect to linking a current maximum of 5 enemies together within a radius of 200 meters. Shooting one of the linked targets will cause the rest to be injured too. SuSufficeo says that if one of the linked targets dies, the others will soon follow.

This is an incredible spell for mobbing demons. Especially the stronger ones.

Next is [Golden Time], a spell that puts the caster and their allies into a golden stasis, negating all harm that would befall them for the next 10 seconds.

In its bullet version, it is a shot that immobilizes enemies in a 50-meter sphere for the same period, leaving them vulnerable to all damage. As far as Ashton observed so far, this applies to all targets. But there might be limitations in the future.

And finally, the [Magical Aurora].

Nothing really changes for it. It is an illusion-based spell so the conversion doesn't really take effect.

Ashton still doesn't know how the hell the Mortal Reminder is converting the White Magic Buffs into bullets that could seriously harm Demons but he wasn't really complaining.

Speaking of the Mortal Reminder though. His breakthrough to Lv.1 Archmage unlocked its new form.

Mortal Reminder's 3rd Form: 'Grenade Launcher.

Ashton practically vibrated in excitement the moment discovered this. Imagine the havoc he could cause things...

He could already see himself screaming 'Fire in the Hole!' repeatedly while laughing madly at the destruction he was causing.

Trust him, he's not a psychopath...yet. If he ever would be, it'd be reserved for his enemies only.

Still, Ashton received a significant boost in his strength. All of this should make it easier for him to continue his journey toward home.

Chapter 98

ThThanks

Boom!

ThThanksThThanks

Boom! Boom!

ThThanksThThanksThThanks

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! DIE BITCHES!"

Mad laughter escaped from Ashton's mouth as he repeatedly launched grenade shells at Virtual Demons.

Aria would probably reconsider settling down with him if she saw this side of his truth be told. Because right now, Ashton's far scarier than demons were.

"POWER! MORE POWER! I NEED MORE POWER!"

Howling in madness, he pumped more mana into the Grenade Launcher and shot larger shells of pure destruction.

The virtual land around him was filled with craters and smoke. Demons were shivering like a leaf in fear as they stared at the maddened human launching pure terror shells at them. Some ran away, others accepted their demise.

None were spared...

If Ashton was just blindly launching shells and praying that the impact and explosions will hit them, it would've been fine but no, Ashton was too good to stoop that low.

Remember, his 'Basic Firearm Proficiency' just reached 1-Star Phenomenon Realm, meaning that all of his attacks could potentially change the state of the environment around him.

That, on top of the sub-artifact itself allowing him to convert White Magic into ammunition makes this even scarier.

If someone ever wondered if Demons were capable of feeling fear, well this situation would probably tell them all that they need to know...

The difference the Grenade Launcher makes is that it requires a minimum of five spells to create a single shell. This automatically makes a shot of this stronger compared to the other forms of the sub-artifact.

Even as he howled and laughed in madness, Ashton's mind was clear and he was testing out numerous combinations, trying to pick which formula works best.

He wasn't just blindly shooting shells to the moon...

Due to the long list of spells he had in his arsenal, this will take some time. Additionally, even though Ashton's Mana Reserves expanded, he could still run out of it since he's using a lot of it in his tests.

Though, on a positive note, mobbing demons would never be a problem for him anymore with this form. With him launching grenade shells left and right, he didn't even need to spend that much effort in aiming unlike with the Sniper Rifle Form, he could just chuck the shell in the general area where the demons are clustered and it'd hit.

It's honestly satisfying to watch...

Right now, he's basically a one-man army. He simulated literal hoards of demons to come at him yet there wasn't a single scratch on him. Not only that, but he also terrified the demons themselves. It was the best feeling ever.

In less than ten minutes since he began his blatant rampage, the hoard which consists of at least 500 demons was decimated. It didn't matter from which side they came from, the moment Ashton laid eyes on them, they'd get a grenade shell.

Every single one of the demons he simulated died with terror-stricken faces, forget about closing in, some of them didn't even know how they died.

Once the simulation was over, Ashton sighed in bliss. He could feel the adrenaline wearing off from his body. The mad glee he felt also disappeared. What's left is just a calm and relaxed grin.

'That was great...' he mused to himself, 'I'd probably do that again if I ever feel the need to decompress.'

That activity was a great stress reliever for him. He wouldn't mind doing that more often if he ever felt like everything was too much. Of course, it's also a good way for him to satisfy his darker side.

Now that he feels much lighter than before, it's time to check out the new aspects of his power that he had set aside from his month-long rest. This one pertains to the net effect of his Magical Artifact...

[Magical Artifact: Cursed Book of Infinity (Legendary)]

Unique Skills:

[Aspect of Infinity]

Removes the lock of Spell Proficiency Limits per Cultivation Rank. (Spells Level Infinitely)

[Memorize (New!)] (Unlocked at Archmage Realm)

Allows the user to imprint a total of 10 Spells in the magical artifact which could later then be used instantaneously with other spells.

Sub-Artifact: Mortal Reminder (Unlocked at Practitioner Realm)

Curse: [Hex of Mediocrity]

Forbids the user to learn any Intermediate Level Offensive Spells and above.

Ashton's Magical Artifact has a new Unique Skill: Memorize.

If he were, to be frank, this skill could easily become ridiculous if used correctly. MeMemorizationas way too much potential to be ignored, which is why he decided to allot a time slot on his daily schedule to test its limits.

Using the skill came naturally for him, it's like had known it his entire life even though he just unlocked it not too long ago.

Casting a Spell and imprinting it to the Magical Artifact uses mana, which was to be expected so there are no surprises there. Once the imprint was successful, a page on the Cursed Book of Infinity will display the imprinted Spell which means that it has it Memorized.

Once a spell was imprinted on the magical artifact, it needs to be used to free up the slot it took, it doesn't matter how much time passed since the imprint happened, the spell won't be removed from the artifact's memory if it wasn't used, though he could also choose to remove the spell without using it but the mana cost wouldn't be refunded.

Using the Memorized Spell is easy as he only needed a mental command to do so. This meant he could be in the middle of casting a spell while simultaneously releasing the memorized spell. 𝘭𝒾𝑏𝓇𝘦𝒶𝘥.𝘤𝘰𝑚

It's essentially dual-casting...

And he had 10 slots available for use. To top things off, he can memorize his ammunition formulas here as well and it'd only count as one spell. This meant that he could shoot twice in one action, which opens him up to a lot of possibilities. This could seriously change the waway hepapproachescenarios in the future.

Getting used to this new skill will take some time but it's worth it, Ashton could already say that much.

Things are starting to look up for Ashton. With the promotion of his strength, he's gaining more confidence to march towards his goals. Of course, there are still many things that could possibly make things worse for him but so long as he continues to grow stronger, he'd always have a basis for his confidence.

Speaking of things that could make everything worse...His next destination is already set.

Referencing the mapped records, Ashton should be heading towards a river that he has to cross to continue with his journey.

Said river, according to what the records say, is a river of what seems to be tar. Which doesn't sound fun if Ashton were to be completely honest.

The records say that the river was murky and hard to cross. A lot of demonic creatures were lurking underneath its surface. The expedition ground suffered greatly from their attacks, one of them was even severely injured from the relentless siege. Said injured persons had to have their left arm amputated since the corruption was starting to spread on their bodies.

Ashton doesn't have any other choices aside from that path. If he were to trust the records left by the expedition team, then the alternative routes are just completely impossible to cross, which made this path the only one they could take.

He could check out the alternative routes, yes. After all, he does have time and unlike the expedition team, he has numerous ways to keep himself safe.

Ashton might do it, but he's not leaning towards that...

The reason being is that he had surveyed this area before when he was still above the nest. He had already vaguely seen the alternative routes they were talking about.

One leads to a valley filled with bloody red spikes which also looks like another nest of demons. The other was a dedesolatelain which is crawling with Wyrm Demons - a huge worm-centipede demon hybrid that burrows itself underground and could shoot out freaking lightning from their maws.

Compared to those routes, the river seems tamer if he's being honest. So he might as well reretraceheir steps.

Ashton doesn't really know what to expect. All he could really do is to prepare himself as best as he could before he goes there.

Thankfully, the mobile safehouse has an all-terrain function, meaning it could work as a boat, maybe a submarine? Who knows. He needs to test it out.

The durability of the safehouse should be high enough to endure some trauma from the encounters he'll have as he crcrosseshe river. Plus, he could always come to the library if things go south. There he could repair the safehouse if it ever gets close to breaking.

He can't say how long it'll take for him to cross the river as there are a lot of variables in play.

All he could say is that he'll proceed with care and caution. If he could, then maybe he could purify this river and maybe that'll lead him to another discovery.

Only time could tell at this point...

Chapter 99

Under the harsh glare of the sun, Ashton could be seen walking in the middle of a dedesolateand.

He's wearing a white cloak with its hood on, underneath is a special suit that clung to his body that regulates body's temperature, keeping him cool and calm even under the direct heat of sunlight. On his belt, the sub-artifact; Mortal Reminder was holstered, it's on its twin hand cannon form which is lighter and more accessible for use.

As he traveled, Ashton couldn't help but feel a little disheartened by what he's seeing around him.

He's still in the area where he left one month ago. The place near the collapsed demon nest.

The good thing is that the immediate area around the demon nest's vicinity was cleansed by the aftermath of his purifying flames. The sad part is that since the land in this area was corrupted for a very long time already, vitality was completely snapped away by the corruption, leaving an infertile, dry land.

Any kind of purification won't work anymore. Life here is completely sparse. It'll take a huge amount of effort, and a long time of constant nourishment to revitalize this place.

The worst part is that he couldn't do this now since it'd just be a useless effort. Unless the demon and angel races were purged, any attempts of recovery would be extremely risky.

It's disheartening since this place could've been much more...

It could've been a sprawling metropolis, a peaceful province, a nature's treasure bowl, or even a wonder of the world! But due to the Demonic Corruption that had plagued this land for decades, maybe even centuries, it became none of that except a strategic base for demons.

Ashton sighed. He really shouldn't be focusing on this. There's nothing he could do right now anyway. An effort of a single person wouldn't amount to much, that he can understand, so he could only lament in silence.

Currently, he's heading in the direction of the river, which the expedition aptly named the 'River of Tar'. He's heading there to cross the river to the other side so that he can continue following the road back home.

As he traveled, Ashton noticed the presence of a few demons around, though none dared to attack him.

The ones he saw were infants, little things that he could slay with just a single thought. They probably felt the oppressive aura around him which made them flee decisively. He didn't chase after them since it's just not worth it.

He's already expecting that the number of demons here would shrink due to the aftermath of his actions one month ago. The demons probably migrated to avoid the spreading white flames that came from the collapsed demon nest.

Ashton had no idea just how many demons he got with that. He was inside the Grand Library at that point, resting. And he doesn't care right now. Whether he killed many or none, wouldn't make a difference in the grand scheme of things.

They'd just return anyway...

Ashton was in a rush to arrive at the River of Tar. Even though the scenery around him is somewhat depressing, he still kept his eyes peeled to see if he could discover something worth his attention.

'This is sad...' he mused to himself as he walked around, 'the land's completely dry and coarse. Not even a blade of grass will grow here. If it stays like this, it'd just turn into a dessert within the next decade or two.'

'Then again, if the demons somehow reclaimed this place, this land would just be filled with corruption again.'

'It's funny 'cause it's possible for some kind of demonic vegetation to grow in this land should it be filled with corruption again. Yet without corruption, nothing can grow in it.'

'Makes one wonder if it should even be purified...'

Sometimes, his train of thought is just unlikeable. This one in particular is going into uncharted territory. A pretty dangerous one at that.

Ashton shook his head and removed these thoughts from his brain. He slapped his cheeks for a bit and took out some water to drink. He really shouldn't be thinking about something like this.

'Let's focus on other things, yeahScrew these gloomy surroundings! Focus on something else...like that demon over there...which is something I have never seen before. What is that?'

Ashton narrowed his eyes at the demon that crossed his sight, trying to see it clearly.

The little thing is agile, he'll give it that. It's oddly shaped though, making it hard for him to decipher just what kind of demon it is.

Pursing his lips, his right-hand moves to his belt. With a single stroke of movement, he drew his gun and shot at the bolting thing. The bullet he shot was a regular one, attribute-less too.

He didn't want to kill it, he just wanted to stop so that he could properly see what it looked like.

The shot hit, of course, it would, and the creature let out a weak squeak as it fell to the ground.

Ashton blinked towards its location, enabling him to see the demon properly.

"...a wheel? Really?"

Yes. It's a wheel. Though not any normal wheel since it has a face in it, which is growling and baring its teeth at him.

It looks like a bicycle wheel; which is rather odd if you ask him, it's just that it's made out of pulsating black flesh.

Fwoosh!

"Damn!" Ashton leaned back to avoid the plume of ghastly flame it spewed. He didn't know this thing could do something like that.

He didn't mind the demon attacking him since that's to be expected. Instead, he searched for the horns of the little thing and found out that it only has a fully grown pair of them, he saw that the second pair was just starting to bud which means that this is indeed an infant one.

Ashton took out a notebook from his inventory and started drawing what he was seeing. A series of murmurs could be heard coming from him too.

"...a demon wheel, pretty fast even for an infant, can travel by air, leaving a trail of black fire on its intake. The intensity of the flames probably depends on how strong the demon wheel is. Pretty aggressive has a short temper, sounds like a squirrel." Ashton's mutter stopped in conjunction with his hands writing. He raised a brow and straightened his back.

Screech!

"Woah, there!"

A blur suddenly whizzed past him. It may seem like Ashton barely avoided that blur but in truth, he had sensed that thing coming for him and was already prepared to evade it.

The skidded on the ground, leaving scorched earth in its wake. It then switched directions and moved once more. A sonic boom causes the ground to quake and for Ashton to blink in surprise.

The blur started zigzagging around him, not hitting him deliberately but trying to confuse him. The corners of Ashton's lips curled up, this demon was pretty cunning it seems.

He aimed his gun at the little wheel that was still snarling at him, and that's when he heard another screech from the blur. A knowing smile appeared on his face as he pulled the trigger.

Peng!

The shot flew, yet it didn't hurt the infant demon wheel. When the smoke cleared up, a figure standing in front of it, snarling at Ashton as well.

"Oh, so that's what you guys look like when you grow up. Neat!" Ashton mused to himself.

In front of him, is a 5-foot-tall demon with four pairs of horns. It looks weird and wrong. It's as if someone just lodged a wheel made out of porcelain bones into the body of a demon and called it a day.

"Your breed isn't on the records so I'll call you guys Demonic Bonewheels. Yep, that sounds apt." He stated as he drew his other gun.

The demon didn't stay put. It picked up the infant demon wheel and put it inside its body, how that's possible is something Ashton didn't want to know.

The demon then folded its arms and legs to the wheel and started spinning ferociously. Ghastly flames erupted from it and then it tried to slam itself into him.

Unfortunately...

Boom!

Before it could even move, an explosion occurred underneath where it was standing. The impact launched the wheel high-up in the air where Ashton was already aiming.

A pair of streaking white bullets flew and pierced the demon's body as soon as it arrived at a certain height after its launch. 𝒍𝙞𝙗𝓻𝙚𝒂𝓭.𝒄𝙤𝙢

The ghastly flames turned

white, and that white flames are now cooking the demon.

The demon snarled in pain yet it couldn't do anything to stop it. Ashton had this planned from the very moment he felt its presence. Had the demon chosen to just claim its kid and run away instead of attacking, he might've spared them.

Unfortunately, it made the wrong choice. Now it has to suffer from the disaster it courted for itself.

"You did this to yourself and your kid. Farewell." Ashton snorted as he holstered his guns, leaving behind the burning remains of the Demonic Bonewheel behind him.

Chapter 100

"Ugh...do I really have to cross this thing?"

Ashton blanched slightly as he looked at the sight in front of him.

There's a black, gooey, and inky sludge flowing down a deep ravine. The wet smacks it makes causes shivers to run down one's spine. If you look at it for too long, you'd start seeing agonized and tortured faces being swept and submerged in that pitch-black goo.

How this thing's called a 'river' makes no sense to him. Where have you ever seen a river that has tentacles protruding out of the depths? Is there another Cthulu-shit slumbering down there? What's going on?

The worst part is that these tentacles are everywhere in the river. It's like someone methodically placed these things down there to make sure there would be no escaping them.

The tentacles writhe in a soul-shivering way. It's also covered in razor-sharp teeth and...are those eyes!?

"Ugh, god!" Ashton felt sick as he stared at it. His body shivered ever so slightly every time he saw those tentacles moving.

The tentacles are one thing, but what about those that live under the depths of this river?

"Fear of the unknown, huh? I really hate this Lovecraftian trope." Ashton murmured to himself as he thought of a way to proceed.

This place is disgusting and repulsive. It's something that no human should ever deal with to be completely honest. But in Ashton's situation, he has no other choice.

"Will the safehouse even be able to sail through this?" Ashton pursed his lips in wonder.

The River or Tar is viscous, that fact was made clear just by looking at it. It's turbulent too, something that doesn't show any signs of stopping.

Ashton frowned as he began planning his next move. As much as he would like to not deal with this thing, he has to. And to make sure he remains safe, he needs to test out a few things.

Removing his guns from the holster, he compressed an Anti-Abomination Bullet and shot it to the nearby tentacle.

The shot streaked through the air and pierced the tentacle, it even hit another one before it faded. Ashton watched as the tentacles flailed in silent pain. They were caught in a purifying flame and were burned gowell;however, his desired outcome didn't happen.

He wanted to test out if he could set the whole river on fire. This is an absurd notion, truly, but it's worth the shot.

His senses won't lie to him, this river is liquefied demonic corruption itself. Why else would he feel a strong repulsion from it?

Ashton had done something like this before, back when he was still at the top of the demon nest. He was able to do it, although it happened as a side-effect. His initial goal was to replicate that somehow.

Sadly, he failed...

After a few tests with all kinds of ammunition formulas available to him, he discovered that the demonic corruption was too dense to deal with like this. He's either not strong enough to do so just yet or he doesn't have the right ammunition formula to do so.

Either way, this is a failure. So he moved on to the next experiment.

He took out a few items from his Inventory to throw them into the river. He has a theory that needed to be confirmed so this was necessary. 𝘭𝑖𝘣𝑟𝘦𝒶𝘥.𝘤𝑜𝘮

First, he threw an uncorrupted chunk of meat at it. It didn't go far at all, the tentacles snatched mid-flight and it was consumed in a blink of an eye. Ashton's lips twitched at this sight but he moved on.

Next, he threw a regular sheet of metal at the river. The result was the same as the previous one, eaten by the tentacles. He then threw rocks, gems, weapons, animal remains, and even a vial of his blood at the river.

The results were fairly uniform, most of the things he threw were taken by the tentacles. Some items they ignored while others were destroyed as if it was their mortal enemy.

He also saw a few demons jumping out of the tar to take part in his experiments. How nice of them, really. Sarcasm aside though, his experiments did confirm his theories.

"...I need to modify the safe house." Ashton sighed.

More specifically, he needs to make a coating for the whole thing and it has to be made out of Demon Trinkets.

Based on his experiments, everything that is not corrupted will be attacked by the creatures of the river while those with varying levels of corruption will at least be ignored.

Demon Trinkets are mostly made out of demonic remains, and demons are the crystallization of corruption itself. Even though they're safe to use as a material, it still counts as a corrupted object, just controlled one.

In the few tests he made, the Demon Trinkets were completely ignored by the river creatures. He can even still see them floating above the river. This gave him the idea that if he made a coating out of Demon Trinkets and used it in the safe house, then he should be able to cross the river relatively safely

There's a small chance that this might fail but it's worth the shot.

As for the river creatures...Ashton doesn't care about them. He doesn't want to deal with them either. He just really wants to cross this river in peace and hopefully never come back, like, ever again.

With a mission in mind, Ashton stopped hesitating. He went inside the Grand Library and started working.

Luckily for him, Aria was immensely fascinated by the trinkets that she had performed many experiments with alreadyIn this world, there might now be anyone more knowledgeable about Demon Trinkets than Aria.

He told her what he needs to do and she's more than happy to help of course. She had taken a break from researching Demon Trinkets with the appearance of the 'ARC' blueprints but she doesn't mind getting back to it.

"...I guess we could make it like paint. That way, we can easily apply it to the safe house without sacrificing its structural integrity. Also, if we do it this way, we can make sure that the 'controlled corruption' level of the trinkets wouldn't be disturbed."

"Since the safehouse has an all-terrain function, it should be able to function as a boat. You probably won't need to make some absurd modifications that will take a long-ass time." Aria stated.

"So...we're going to make a paint coating out of Demon Trinkets?"

"Yep." Aria nodded, "Well, I would...you rest easy. I got this."

"No, no! I'll help you." Ashton protested.

"It's fine. I can handle this by myself." Aria waved her hand. Ashton wanted to protest some more but Aria placed a finger on his lips, saying: "Leave this to me, okay? Have some faith in me. I'll get it done in no time."

Ashton blinked in surprise due to her insistence. He looked at her and saw that she was really determined to do this by herself.

Well, who was he to deny her this chance?

So, although begrudgingly, he nodded and kissed her before letting her do her work.

Aria skipped towards the lab, leaving him in his thoughts. Ashton sighed and laid down on the bed.

He's aware of why she's acting this way. She probably felt useless and insecure.

Who was the one who had to watch as their lover crossed the ever-so-dangerous lands of the outside world? Wasn't it Aria?

How many times had she seen him staking his life out there? How many times has she welcomed him in her arms when he's dead tired and mentally exhausted?

Even then...even if he was being driven to the brink of insanity, he still returns to her in one piece, tells her 'I'm home, and gives her that reassuring smile.

He did this all while she had to watch and wait...twiddling her thumbs and praying for his safety.

Ashton knows that she hated herself for being useless. It's why she threw herself into her research, to begin with. She wants to help. She wants him to rely on her as well.

She wants to make a point that he's not doing this alone. She doesn't want him to do this alone.

Ashton's well aware of all of this. Which is why he lets her do as she pleases.

Don't get him wrong, he's more than willing to carry this burden alone. At this point, Aria is being plenty useful and helpful just by existing since he knows she'll always be there to welcome him home.

And so, if she wants to be more helpful than she already is, why stop her?

Preventing her would just put a rift in their relationship. It'd just give her the wrong idea, something that Ashton doesn't want to happen. And seeing how determined she is, makes it hard for him to refuse anyway so it's all good.

Aria can do what she wants, so long as she's not risking herself for his sake, that's fine. That's his job anyways.

But if he were being honest here, it does feel nice to know that she cares deeply for him.

He truly doesn't mind this.