Chapter 189
Chapter 189
Supplementary Class (3)
I got beaten up. Beaten like a dog on the hottest day of summer. That was the best way to sum up Gorilla's class. After spending six whole hours getting beaten, my competitive spirit started flaring up.
I went into the supplementary class determined to crack Gorilla's skull without using lightning. By around the four-hour mark, I'd improved enough that it had turned into an actual exchange of attacks and defenses.
Around the time we were wrapping up the lesson after leaving wounds on each other, I landed a big one on Gorilla. And that was how the class ended. It had been a productive lesson that filled almost the entire six hours.
“Sniff, sniff.”
I returned to the dormitory to change out of my bloodstained clothes. Since I was already there, I took a thorough shower as well and came back out feeling refreshed.
The results of the lesson weren't dramatic. But I could definitely feel that it had been useful.
An attack where I simply raised my arm and brought it down from above had changed into a swing that utilized my entire body.
“It's pretty useful.”
Gorilla's teaching method was rough, but his lessons were useful. The supplementary class, at least. Thanks to him, I could now unleash much stronger attacks.
Of course, I didn't know how useful it would be in situations where I could use Trace of Anaye. Either way, I'd dealt with the classes I'd missed, so I planned to get some rest.
“Hmm.”
Should I visit that bench for the first time in a while? I headed toward the bench where I'd first met Bereninche. The chapel would have been the best place, but the atmosphere there was currently intense.
Aro and Winter were gritting their teeth as they studied. If I were there too, it was obvious we'd all feel uncomfortable.
“Oh.”
The sun happened to be at just the right angle. Half of the bench was covered in cool shade, while sunlight poured over the other half.
I lay down on the bench with my head toward the shade. My upper body was cool while my lower body basked in the warm sunlight, which was surprisingly nice in its own way.
Winter normally didn't worry much about finding employment and consequently neglected her exams. But for whatever reason, this time she was desperately preparing for them.
―Mwi mwi.
“What?”
I closed my eyes, thinking I'd whistle a little and get some sleep. I was enjoying the gentle breeze when the Dream Bird's head suddenly popped out of thin air.
At its strange cry, I opened one eye. The Dream Bird was rubbing its chin against my chest.
―Mwi mwi mwi.
“Hmm?”
I habitually stroked its head, and it handed me something with its wing. What I received was a small note.
“?”
Written on it in cute, rounded handwriting was, ‘When are you going to call my name~’
The way it was written made the sender obvious. So I'd gone through all that trouble to come back to the Academy, while she intended to take the easy way here by herself? I looked unimpressed.
―Mwi mwi. Mwi mwi. Mwi?
“Are you comforting me?”
At that, the Dream Bird stroked me with its wing while saying something. The way it behaved felt like someone soothing a sulking nephew, which left me with a strange feeling.
I sighed and closed my eyes. Then I quietly opened my mouth.
“Canis.”
“Mmm~ The refreshing scent of Museion~”
Canis appeared at an astonishing speed, spreading both arms and taking a deep breath. I didn't even look at her.
Canis spoke with obvious disappointment when she saw me like that.
“Dabi isn't happy to see me~”
“As long as you got here safely.”
“Is that so~”
Only then did I open my eyes and welcome Canis. Her mischievous expression remained unchanged. But perhaps her gaze had become a little deeper.
Even the tildes she'd used so excessively had become somewhat more restrained. Then there was her appearance. There was a lot of stuff floating around her.
Numerous boxes hovered around her through her magic.
“Father told me to give these to you. They're compensation for what happened this time.”
“Oh. As expected of Ulbushis. They don't skimp.”
The moment I heard the word compensation, I sprang to my feet. I snatched one of the boxes and examined its contents. It contained a large number of potions.
“A few top-grade potions and lots of mid-grade ones~ We have Worden, but the more potions we have, the better~”
“That's true.”
When it came to potions, the more the better. If I could obtain any kind of potion for free, it was always worth taking.
Stamina recovery and antidotes were the best, but even something as minor as cold medicine was useful to have. Canis sat beside me and handed over the boxes one by one.
“These are jewels. They couldn't give us the rare ones used for magical experiments. But they're still worth money~”
“Not bad.”
The next box was packed with jewels. They weren't high-grade, but they were among the finest of the mid-grade ones. It was by no means a small amount.
“What about the rest?”
“Things that can be used as ingredients for elixirs, materials for making useful equipment, and one Artifact~”
The first two made sense, but even an Artifact? I looked at Canis in puzzlement. Seeing my expression, Canis grinned mischievously.
“I knew you'd react like that!~”
She rummaged through her clothes and handed me something. They were two rings. The unusual part was that they were stuck firmly together.
I immediately recognized what they were. It was an Artifact that had appeared in the game as well. The problem was that it hadn't been particularly useful in the game.
“You recognize it?”
“Of course. I do.”
I accepted it. Its name was ‘Magnetic Ring.’ Its effect was simple. The two rings attracted one another. By infusing them with magic or Divine Power, that attraction could be strengthened even further.
I put one on my left hand. The only finger it fit was my pinky.
I took the other ring in my right hand and threw it away.
―Clink.
The moment I infused Divine Power into it, the flying ring came straight back and struck the other ring.
I admired the peculiar ringing sound produced when metal collided with metal. It felt much better than I'd expected.
“It'll be surprisingly useful~”
I thought for a moment at Canis's words. Strictly speaking, it was a troublesome item. But that had only been the case in the game.
Reality didn't have those kinds of restrictions, so depending on how you used something, even a trash item could always fulfill a purpose.
I considered how I could use these rings.
“I can use them when making a weapon.”
The first idea that came to mind was attaching one to a weapon. Either melt it down and incorporate it into the weapon, or create a slot and insert it as decoration.
If I did that, I'd have a throwing weapon that could return to my hand at any time. Having a spare secondary weapon would obviously be useful.
“Hey. Mimi.”
―Mwi?
“Put all of these away. And you know where my blunt weapon is, right? In the chapel.”
―Mwi…….
At my words, the Dream Bird drooped. Apparently, it thought I did nothing but order it around. I snickered and stroked it.
“I even gave you a pretty name. Mimi.”
―Mwi!? Mwi!
I couldn't understand its words, but I could tell what it meant. Something along the lines of, That thing you've been calling me was my name?
The Dream Bird quietly sank into thought. Then it vigorously nodded and disappeared. Canis made a strange expression as she watched it.
“How should I put it? I kind of feel sorry for it~”
“Not as much as I do for you.”
“That's true too, I guess?~”
I replied cynically to Canis. Look who was talking about feeling sorry for someone. Canis readily agreed with me.
I stared at Canis, then focused my eye. I activated the eye I'd received as part of Anaye's Legacy.
―Relief―
The neatly displayed psychological state was positive. Relief. It was a slightly ambiguous emotion.
I stopped there and closed my eye.
It had been fine when I used it inside the Imperial Princess's nightmare, but using it in reality placed quite a burden on me. It consumed stamina, and if I used it for too long, my vision started to shake.
It put a great deal of strain on my eye, so I didn't use it often. It wasn't versatile enough to warrant abusing it in the first place.
“Aren't you hungry?”
“Hungry? I am a little peckish~”
“Let's get something to eat, then visit the workshop for the first time in a while.”
I said that and led Canis away. Come to think of it, it really had been a long time since I'd visited the workshop.
It was my first time going back since I'd gotten the blunt weapon made from the Hellhorn Bull's horn.
“Nothing happened while I was gone, right?”
“You were the biggest thing that happened.”
Canis took her place beside me with her characteristic springy steps. As usual, she chatted away while we walked.
She must have gone through quite a lot, yet she seemed to have shaken it off quickly. Looking at things like this, the people of this world really did have strong mental fortitude.
They were clearly different from modern people accustomed to peace.
“What are you going to do about the second-semester midterms?”
“Exams are supposed to be taken with your everyday ability~”
“That's obnoxious.”
I snickered. Canis didn't study much. By that, I meant studying according to the Academic Department's curriculum.
If something didn't interest or entertain her, she wouldn't even look at it. Unfortunately, most of the Academic Department's classes failed to catch Canis's interest.
What was absurd was that despite that, she still maintained top-tier grades.
“Come to think of it, there's a big event coming up soon~”
“An event? What?”
I couldn't simply ignore something Canis said when she was so knowledgeable about Academy affairs.
A mischievous look appeared on Canis's face. When I scowled, Canis pouted coyly.
“I was going to tell you~”
“You were going to mess with me. Just hurry up and say it.”
“In the second semester, the Magic Department has something like a large-scale exam? The second semester focuses on practical training, so there should be plenty to watch~”
Was that how it went? I searched my memory for a moment. It wasn't as though I'd never played a magician character back when I played the game.
I'd definitely raised exactly one. Of course, I'd abandoned the character fairly quickly because it didn't suit my tastes. I vaguely remembered there being an event like that.
Since it wasn't part of the Main Quest, I hadn't paid much attention to it.
“Would it be something like the Battle Festival?~”
“Ah, so it's a duel.”
“Right. Something like a duel. Magician against magician~”
That piqued my interest a little. It wasn't easy to watch magicians fight. Battles where magicians were deployed tended to be large-scale in the first place.
I'd also happened to shape my character toward countering magicians. It wouldn't hurt to familiarize myself with how magicians fought.
“Should I bring the others to watch? You're taking the exam too.”
“Of course. I'll probably end up fighting this year's top student.”
I wondered whether it might help a little when dealing with Magus. On top of that, everyone in the Religious Order would inevitably have to face Magus eventually, so all the more reason.
“The top student is easy prey.”
“……That's by Dabi's standards~”
Canis looked dumbfounded at my words. Well, I'd slaughtered even the magician Ulbushis had been so proud of.
For some reason, that put me in a good mood.
“Anyway, tell me when the date is decided. We should all go watch.”
“They'll advertise it heavily anyway. It'll be worth looking forward to~”
“If you lose to some top student, I'm cutting your pay.”
Canis opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again.
“Come to think of it. Dabi beat Soloven, who was the top student~”
My current combat strength was no longer at the level of a student. The only students who could probably compare to me were the Imperial Princess, Bereninche, and perhaps the fourth-year Combat Department's top student.
Looking at it this way really drove home how incredible Anaye's power was.
“It's the blessing of our mother, Anaye-nim.”
“Ahem, ahem. I should practice my lightning too~”
Everyone in our Religious Order could use lightning. For some reason, they didn't use it very often, but thinking about it, it wasn't something they could recklessly spam.
Every use consumed 30% of their stamina, so unless they were someone like me, it wasn't something they could easily use.
Thinking of it that way, perhaps the merfolk who had used it to change the course of the battlefield were the truly impressive ones.
“Well. Anyway, you'll tell me about that later. We're almost there.”
The workshop came into view in the distance. Maybe because it had been so long, I felt strangely excited.