Chapter 25

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Episode 5 - Hunting Festival [5]

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"Phew, that was close."

On my way back to my room, I lay down on my comfortable bed.

After returning from the Golden Forest, I went straight to where Rinna was likely to be.

I was lucky to find her, and the range of expressions and emotions she showed when she saw me was quite amusing.

In any case, I explained the reason, and then she didn’t say much.

At the end of the day, I returned to my room to rest.

Tomorrow, I’ll go hunting for some wild beasts to ensure a good grade this semester.

"It’s only two semesters, each lasting five months."

I need a good grade to pass the second semester, so I couldn’t sit still.

’Ugh, I trained all last week and drank the elixir Professor Ashly gave me.’

After a few seconds, I murmured.

"Status Window."

A screen appeared in my mind, and then I saw the progress in my mana levels.

——————————

Name: Adel

Age: 18

Status: Player

Mana: ★ ★ ★ ★〖19.08%〗

■| Sword Arts

∆ Mercenary Fencing.

∆ Inverted Heaven (1/6).

■| Traits

∆ True Sight (Mastery/Max)

∆ Senses of the Nine Heavens (Mastery/Max+)

∆ Weakness Detection (Mastery/Max)

∆ Mana Sense (Mastery/Max)

∆ Immunity to Pain (Mastery/Max)

∆ Without emotions (Mastery/Perfection)

∆ Beyond Limits (Mastery/Max)

■| Unique Trait

∆ Eyes of the End

■| Heart’s Strength

∆ Elixir of Recovery

■| Equipped Items

∆ Bandage Beyond Reason (Rank/Mythic)

■| Runes

〖Inventory〗 〖Quests:1〗

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’I’ve made quite a bit of progress in a week.’

Of course, I haven’t trained with mana, so that progress is from the elixirs I’ve drunk so far.

For now, I’ve only trained physically and with Inverted Heaven.

Then I focused my thoughts on Inverted Heaven, and an additional screen appeared in my imagination.

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■| Inverted Heaven.

First Form: Space. (Mastery: Expert)

Second Form: Time. (Locked)

Third Form: Intention. (Locked)

Fourth Form: Inverted Chaos. (Locked)

Fifth Form: Eclipse. (Locked)

Sixth Form: Inverted Heaven. (Locked)

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I was close to reaching the next Mastery level in the First Form of Inverted Heaven.

In any case, that’s all the progress I’ve made.

’I wonder how much progress Lumina has made.’

She’s probably not far from five stars.

Still, advancing to five stars takes quite a bit of time.

After checking my progress, I turned off the lights and went to sleep.

***

It was Tuesday morning.

As usual, I was on my way back to Room B-1 for class, which started at ten in the morning.

Today’s class was Invocation.

Although I am not an Invoker, these classes covering other specialties are mandatory.

Room B-1 is a large structure divided into sections: a library, a cafeteria, and classrooms for different subjects.

When I arrived, I went directly to the Invocation classroom.

Once inside, I was greeted by a garden, naturally.

There were chairs and tables, of course, but it was mostly an enormous garden.

There were strange plants, animals, and birds flying around.

These animals and birds were probably conjured up by the professor in charge.

The professor was an elderly woman at least 160 years old. The other cadets were already in the room waiting for the professor.

Some of them, especially the girls, were petting the cutest summoned creatures.

’It’s quite a sight.’

I breathed in the air around me; I felt as if my lungs were being purified just by breathing.

Even after receiving treatment from Rinna.

I sat on a bench with a large tree right behind me; there was no one nearby.

I took a seat and waited for the teacher.

At that moment, several birds, both large and small, flew over and landed around me.

’Don’t tell me this is one of those typical scenes where they start pecking at you.’

But, contrary to what I expected, all the birds rubbed their heads against me as if they were cats.

The smaller ones sat on my head and shoulders.

The larger ones sat next to where I was sitting.

Seeing this strange scene, I couldn’t help but think:

’I’m not even an Invoker, but they’re so friendly and affectionate with me. Is there a reason?’

I also noticed that several cadets started to look at me, but I simply ignored them, as always.

Still, the girls, in particular, couldn’t stop staring at me.

"Well, I don’t know why they’re coming over to me, but thanks for keeping me company."

As if they understood me, the birds nodded, blinked, or simply moved closer.

"..."

’Well, it’s pretty strange.’

Soon, the professor arrived with her assistant, Professor Melissa Lordren.

She smiled at the cadets, then walked to the center of the room and said:

"I’ve been waiting for a long time."

The cadets shook their heads.

Although she was elderly, it was impossible not to recognize her.

Additionally, she was one of the strongest professors at the Academy.

’A 9-Star Summoner.

For a Summoner, old age is not an obstacle since they rely more on their summons.

Of course, that’s not entirely true.

The Summoner can utilize the skills and traits of the summons.

But for someone with nine stars, an aging body is no problem.

’Considering that a 9-star summoner can live for more than 200 years, she is actually in good shape.’

The summons surrounding Professor Melissa approached her naturally.

Except for the ones with me, all the other summons in the room returned with Professor Melissa.

Professor Melissa turned toward me for a few seconds. Maybe it was just my imagination, but she smiled, and the emotion she showed was...

’Pity... What does that mean?’

Thanks to my True Sight, I can see people’s emotions.

The pity I saw in Professor Melissa was quite strong.

’Does it have a meaning?’

Professor Melissa turned her attention back to the other cadets and said:

"Okay, kids, today is our first class, so I’ll start with something simple."

Professor Melissa raised her hand.

Almost immediately, colored eggs appeared in front of each cadet.

An egg floated in front of me. I picked it up carefully, then turned my attention back to Professor Melissa.

"Today’s class will involve hatching eggs of different invocations. The color of the eggs indicates their attribute, and, as you can see, the attributes of the eggs correspond to the attributes you possess."

That meant the egg I was holding was of the Light attribute.

The egg was like a crystal with small spikes on the lower part; the center was semi-transparent.

Although you can’t see the baby completely, no matter what the egg’s shape is, you can guess the race.

’I don’t know what race it is, but from its shape, it looks more like a dragon’s heart.’

A dragon’s heart has a similar appearance; however, it is much smaller and slightly different.

In any case.

I looked at the egg for a few seconds and then at the teacher.

"Professor, does that mean these eggs are ready to hatch?"

Professor Melissa smiled calmly and replied:

"That’s right. Normally, you would just have to give them some mana, and they would hatch in less than thirty minutes, but since your attribute is its counterpart, it will be different."

A cadet raised his hand.

"What does that mean, Professor? Wouldn’t that be impossible?"

Professor Melissa shook her head.

"It’s not impossible. What you have to do is simple."

"What do we have to do, Professor?"

Professor Melissa smiled.

"Just get the egg to recognize you; if you succeed, you’ll earn points; if not, you’ll lose a point."

The cadets fell silent for a long time.

Some voiced their discontent, though not very openly; others frowned, and still others simply remained silent.

As for me, there was nothing in particular that mattered to me.

’The Light and Dark attributes are known as the most conflictive.’

The egg in my hands should resist and deny my Dark attribute mana.

’Even so, I have nothing to lose by trying.’

So far, I have the best grade; Rinna may be the only one with me.

But I get good grades in classes that require partners. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

After a deep breath, I finally let the Dark attribute mana cover the egg.

The Dark attribute mana entered the egg; there was an instant reaction.

’Just as expected...’

Before I could even finish my thoughts...

"..."

The egg devoured my mana with great avidity, as if it had desired it for decades.

Surprised by the egg’s unexpected acceptance, I thought:

’Why does it recognize me? Shouldn’t it resist instead of wanting it?’

Clearly, the egg wanted more of my mana. To test this theory, I gave it twice as much mana as before.

Then, the egg ate it quickly.

"..."

Confused, I stared at the egg, unable to understand what was happening.

’What the hell.’

***

The class ended shortly after it began; it only lasted thirty minutes.

Usually, classes last from one to three hours.

The longest are five to six hours, but those are the most difficult and require physical effort, not theory or demonstrations.

In any case, the cadets left upset; most lost a point.

Only a few managed to earn a point.

They were also surprised when I earned a point; even for me, this was quite strange.

Before leaving the classroom, Professor Melissa said:

"Cadet Adel, right? Would you like to know why the egg accepted you?"

The creature that emerged from the egg after hatching was, unexpectedly, a descendant of fairies.

The small humanoid figure slept in my head; its wings were similar to those of a butterfly.

Just because I’m not an Invoker doesn’t mean I can’t have an invocation. Of course, I can’t give it orders or borrow its power.

"Well, I am curious."

Professor Melissa smiled, then pointed to the spot where I had been sitting.

"Let’s take a seat."

I nodded and followed Professor Melissa. Her assistant had left, so it was just the two of us.

When I sat down, the professor said:

"Invocations can see things that we can’t, did you know that?"

I nodded.

"Yes."

"And they can also sense things that we can’t." Then, if we combine both abilities, what do you think they could see?"

It was a strange question, but I tried to answer.

"Maybe...something special."

Professor Melissa smiled.

"Yes, that’s true, but they can also see something more."

"And what is that?"

"...destiny."

"..."

I couldn’t help but be surprised.

Then, the next words Professor Melissa spoke made me think of Adel.

"My invocations told me that they see a dark destiny from beginning to end. What do you think that means?"

There was only one meaning to that.

"Misfortune, forgetfulness, abandonment, suffering, and... death."

Those were the things that characterized a dark destiny from beginning to end.