Chapter 261
Red stood frozen. His boots sank slightly into a patch of wet mud. The horrific realization hit him like a falling rock. There was no secret sword skill. It was just manual labor. And the actual sparring was only present if the farming was done properly.
His flashy, highly energetic duelist persona shattered into a million pieces. He stared miserably at the iron tool in his hands. He wanted to drop the hoe and vault back over the wall, but his gamer pride—and the heavy penalty for failing the A-rank quest—kept his feet glued to the mud.
"I've been bamboozled," Red whispered in pure defeat. "This is a scam. I demand to speak to the Leader of the Sword Knights."
He paused. His eyes slowly drifted back to Piaro, who was happily hacking at the dirt with his own hoe.
Right. Piaro was the Leader.
Red dropped his head, letting out a long, suffering sigh. "Fuck."
"Less talking, more digging!" Galahad yelled enthusiastically, already hacking away at the dirt with terrible posture.
Rudra chuckled. He left the Echo, Galahade and the others to their misery and led Cecilia and the remaining recruits down the street toward the residential district.
They walked past a large, sturdy wooden building.
[Stormbreak Grand Library]
[Basic Library (Lv. 5)]
[- Studying within the library will lead to receiving a 10% increase to Intelligence-based skill and knowledge experience gain.
- Reading speed is increased by 10% for reading within the Library.
- Acquisition of Higher-rated texts increases the level of Library.]
[Current Holdings: General History, Elemental Theory Primers, Herbalism Catalogs, Siren history, Aquatic Regions and Monsters Manual, Ancient Witch’s Knowledges, etc.]
Spark stopped and stared at the blue window. "Wait, it boosts Intelligence-based skill experience just for reading?" she asked, her eyes going wide. "I've been tirelessly grinding my magic skills in fields for months and you’re saying that I can just sit in a comfortable chair here and get ten percent more experience?"
"It's a lot better than getting fireballs deflected into your face by a field boss, yeah but the increase in intelligence stats and magic skill will slow down after some since this is still a Basic Archive," Rudra laughed, offering a warm smile. "We are pushing it to the Intermediate tier by next few months so this can be a good alternative till then. Rajah, our Tiger Chieftain, runs the place. He’s serious about the quiet rule, so don't cause trouble in there, or you’ll be in for the scare of a lifetime."
At the very edge of the district sat a wide, sprawling stone complex.
[Stormbreak Academy]
[Basic Academy (Lv. 2)]
[Principal: Rudra von Stormbreak]
[ - All enrolled students receive 2% increased stat growth, 2% increased skill acquisition rate and 2% increased skill experience growth during their studies.
- Due to the presence of the Legendary Deep Sage, the stat growth, skill acquisition rate, skill experience growth will double.]
[Subjects Taught: History, Maths, Science, Magic, Alchemy, Tactical Studies, Blacksmithing, Weapon Training, Architecture]
Current read the first few lines of the interface and frowned. "Principal... Rudra von Stormbreak? You got a surname as part of your Duke title?"
"Hold on," Vial said, his usually quiet voice raising an octave. "Double stat growth for enrolled students? Double? Can we join here?"
Spark wasn't looking at the stats. She was staring intently at the second-to-last line of the window. Her breath hitched. "Due to the presence of the... Legendary Deep Sage?"
The remaining guild members froze. They looked at the blue system window, then looked at Rudra, and then slowly back at the system window.
Current started shaking his head. He took a step backward, holding his hands up as if physically warding off the thought. "No. No, absolutely not. There must be a mistake.You are the Staff Saint. A legendary class. No way in hell would your second class also be legendary.”
"Maybe you hired an NPC named ‘Legendary Deep Sage’. Please tell me you hired an NPC," Spark said tremblingly, crossing her arms defensively.
Rudra scratched the back of his neck and offered a slightly apologetic grin. "Well, to be fair, I kinda got the second class, the legendary Deep Sage quite a while back."
Current stared at him with dead, hollow eyes. "I am going to pass out."
"Boss, can I enroll?!" Red suddenly yelled from the dirt fields in the distance, waving his hoe frantically. "I'll sit in the tiny wooden chairs! I don't mind! I will learn long division again for double stats! Get me out of this dirt!"
The Academy was the least developed infrastructure in the city, but it was easily the most crowded. The courtyard was packed with children. Human kids chased little Sirens across the grass, while Beastmen cubs tackled each other in the dirt. It was loud, chaotic, and full of life.
Kratos stopped walking. The giant lion flattened his ears against his head.
"It's too loud," Kratos complained, taking a step backward. "My ears hurt. They scream too much. I am a majestic creature of light and darkness."
Before Rudra could answer, a small human boy and a Fox-clan cub peeked out from behind a wooden pillar. They saw the giant black-and-gold lion. Their eyes went wide. They immediately sprinted across the grass.
"Kitty!" the human boy yelled.
Kratos let out a long, deeply suffering sigh. He didn't run away. He just flopped onto his stomach in the soft grass, resting his massive head on his paws, pretending to be entirely uninterested and aloof.
The two kids slammed into his side. They instantly started climbing his thick mane, trying to pull themselves onto his back. Two more children noticed and ran over to join the pile. Kratos kept a bored, deeply annoyed expression on his face, but his heavy, tufted tail betrayed him entirely, wagging in slow, happy thumps against the dirt.
Rudra smiled as he knew that Kratos was a child despite his size and ego. He looked across the academy yard.
Sitting in a highly comfortable, padded wooden reclining chair perfectly positioned in the warm sunlight was Leon. The Lion Chieftain had a cup of iced tea resting on a small table next to him.
Leon watched a group of older teenagers awkwardly practicing a shield formation in the grass.
"Keep the shields locked!" Leon yelled lazily from his reclining chair, not moving a single muscle. "Your left flank is drifting! Close the gap, boy, or the imaginary goblins will eat your ankles!"
The teenagers scrambled to tighten their line. Leon took a slow sip of his tea and adjusted his position in the sun, entirely at peace.
"He really took the 'tactical lecturer' job to heart," Rudra muttered.
Cecilia stood next to Rudra. She looked at the kids climbing the divine beast, the Lion Chieftain napping in the sun, and the massive stone walls protecting them all.
"Most Capital of the Kingdoms aren’t as developed as this ," Cecilia said quietly, adjusting her coat. "You really have created a monstrous place."
"That was the hope," Rudra said. He turned around, sliding his hands back into his pockets.