Ambrose Academy’s Modifier

Having experienced a similar situation during the second trial, Ari wasn’t particularly phased by the restrictions of the request.

However, the request arriving through the system came as a surprise.

According to what Salandrias told him back then, requests were generated by the system based on what your sponsor wanted to see.

The request came directly from The Great Malenta-Saoto, which Ari planned to accept regardless of any system notifications.

But, now that the system got involved, Ari couldn’t help but wonder if Reality Bender intervened somehow.

‘But, would she place these restrictions after granting Actualisation? Yeah...she probably would.’

However, if Reality Bender did not intervene, it meant that the system responded to The Great Malen-Soato’s request on its own.

The second scenario brought a myriad of questions along with it.

Can other entities or people trigger system requests under the right conditions?

‘If the silver-haired...spirit is who I think she is, it makes sense that she is able to trigger the system. But, if she’s not... Either way, if Reality Bender is not involved, why would they impose such restrictions?’

Given the enemy type and their numbers, Ari needed every advantage at his disposal.

Despite his recent rank increase, he was severely under-levelled for the request.

He received an incredible Blessing, and a powerful fragment from The Great Malenta-Saoto to aid him, however, Ari couldn’t help but wonder what their intentions were.

He sighed. ‘Things are rarely that simple.’

“Are you ready, Malentasume?” Ferine asked.

Ari squeezed her hand. “Yes, let go.”

Ari’s vision warped the next moment. Their location changed from the Matriarch’s tree house, to an area with a rocky terrain.

‘That felt like...Blink.’

The sensations were similar, however, that’s where the similarities ended.

Large grey rocks were scattered all around; varying greatly in terms of length and height, all joined together by a few trees and some short grass.

‘How far did she take us?’

It was clear that they travelled a considerable distance from the village, Ari just couldn’t determine how far.

But, that wasn’t important.

He refocused his thoughts.

‘I can only use spells related to my blessing... Nature and the elements, right?’

Ari searched his anime and manga library to find magic spells that matched the requirements.

There were too many options. Ari decided to start with something simple, yet highly effective against large groups of enemies.

'I should ask Ferine to demonstrate first.’

His goal was simple. Confirm whether the knowledge of his past life can be used with The Great Malen-Soato’s blessing.

"Ferine, if I wanted to use the roots of the trees to bind someone, what spell should I use?"

She smiled then extended her hand.

"Wood Magic: Root Bind."

Thick roots emerged from the ground like whips and slithered towards him at incredible speed.

The roots coiled around his legs and continued all the way to his waist, essentially...rooting him in place.

Ari suppressed his shock and knocked on the roots.

‘Not bad. Would it be the same for the others?’

"Would you like to give it a try?" Ferine asked.

"Definitely."

"Remember to envision what you want the roots to do. Powerful imagination is the key," she added.

He nodded.

'Powerful imagination... Interesting.’

He touched the roots and envisioned the roots uncoiling from his lower body and moving towards Ferine.

"Wood Magic: Root Bind."

As if pushing a rewind button, the roots uncoiled from his body at a rapid pace, then slithered towards Ferine.

Just as the roots were about to touch her ankle, she jumped to the side, dodging them.

"Hey, that's not fair."

"Moving targets are harder to bind, it would be best to train thoroughly."

'She has a point.'

"Wood Magic: Root Bind."

A fresh set of roots emerged behind Ferine.

She dodged again.

'Faster!'

"Wood Magic: Root Bind."

"Wood Magic: Root Bind."

The roots pursued her like starving serpents, but Ferine danced around the terrain, easily evading his attempts at binding her.

Ari continued casting the spell, allowing his trait God of Combat to help him adapt and improve at an exponential rate.

Ferine dodged to the left, then the right, narrowly avoiding the roots.

Through the intense struggle to catch Ferine, Ari had grown accustomed to her nimble movements, or so it would seem based on her current movement pattern.

Despite that fact, she still managed to dodge the roots at the last second.

However, judging by the stiff expression on her face, it appeared that the "last second" was becoming shorter.

She dodged to the right, then attempted to dodge to the left; however, Ari had the roots follow Ferine to restrict her movements even further, leaving a forward or backwards dodge as her only options.

She jumped forward.

<Wood Magic: Root Bind>

He tried silent casting at the last second and dropped to one knee.

The spell drained the last of his allotted mana reserves, but unlike before, Ari was not incapacitated.

Following repeated casting, he noticed that the mana consumption felt similar to casting other spells native to Ambrose Academy.

He began testing his limits and mana control throughout his chase, closely monitoring his reserves.

Ari wanted to know what it felt like when his mana reserves were near empty, but not enough to recast the same spell.

‘Heavy, but I still have some leeway to dodge if I need to.’

Ari looked up just as the root grabbed Ferine’s foot from the front.

"Hahaha. I caught you."

Ferine smiled. “Congratulations, Malentasume. You accomplished silent casting as well."

He smiled. "I have a great teacher."

She blushed and looked to the floor.

"Malentasume...can you please release me?"

"Oh, sorry. How do he do that?"

Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration.

<Release>

The roots uncoiled, releasing Ferine from her binding.

"Thank you, Malentasume,” she said. "Have you gained new insight?"

"Yes. A sudden surge of knowledge flooded my brain just now. It all pertains to Wood Magic."

"The Great Malen-Soato's blessing is aiding in your mastery of Wood Magic," she remarked.

‘I see... Affinity doesn’t automatically translate into mastery; that's where the blessing shines the most.’

Ari fell onto his back.

"That is great and all, but my mana is depleted. I won't be able to try anything new right now."

Ferine walked approached, then knelt beside him.

She lifted his head onto her lap, then reached for a small leather pouch attached to her white belt.

'Did she have that before? Well, I wasn't really paying attention to the small details...'

She removed a small vial filled with blue liquid.

'Is that a mana potion?'

"Will this restore my mana?"

"Yes, it will. Please open your mouth," she replied.

She removed the cork with practised ease and brought the vial to his mouth.

Ari grinned. "I prefer you not use your hands."

Ari grinned at the cherry colour that reached all the way to the tips of her ears.

“I-If that is what you wish, Malentasume,” she stuttered before emptying the contents of the vial into her mouth.

‘She didn’t even hesitate.’

Holding back a chuckle, he closed his eyes and opened his mouth slightly.

She placed her hand on his cheek and brought her supple lips to his.

A cold liquid flowed into his mouth causing a tingling sensation on his tongue.

The potion coated his throat with a refreshing sensation, like an ice-cold drink on an uncomfortably hot day.

When the last few drops of the potion went down his throat, Ferine slipped her tongue into his mouth and began teasing his.

‘Cheeky Elf.’

Ferine pulled back abruptly.

“Malentasume, a group of Orcs have entered the Malen Forest.”

Ari opened his eyes immediately.

He glanced at Ferine. “You can see them through your connection with The Great Malen-Soato?”

“That is correct.”

“How many are there?”

“There are eight of them.”

He got to his feet.

Fortunately, Ferine had a potion on hand.

Now that his mana had fully recovered, there was a new spell Ari was dying to try out.

He extended his hand.

“Please take me there.”

“Yes, Malentasume,” Ferine replied, grabbing his hand.

The scenery around them changed the next moment.

(Garru Garru)

Familiar sounds drew his attention.

A group of machete-wielding Orcs strolled through the forest without a care in the world.

‘Four scouts this time…it should work.’