Chapter 262: Functional Armament
Seeing Liam's growth from his time at the Academy, Lili felt a sense of crisis.
Currently, Lili's entire purpose was to serve as the team's porter and commander. But now that Liam was operating from the rear guard, he was also providing more and more tactical input for the entire team. This change, while a pleasant surprise for the other members of the Familia, filled Lili with a sense of urgency.
"Captain Liam, could you please not steal Lili's job? If you keep being this all-powerful, we won't know what we're supposed to do anymore."
Lili put on an expression like she was about to burst into tears. Hearing this, Liam immediately switched gears.
"Lili, everyone, please rest assured. My primary role is still that of the main attacker. Being the commander and providing magic support are just extra options. I won't be taking over your positions."
This was how Liam saw it. The knowledge he gained from the Academy wasn't just for his own growth; he had no problem sharing it so his partners could grow as well. These girls had no shortage of potential, and the fact that they had reached Level 3 already was proof of their exceptional skill.
After that, Liam and the others continued their dungeon crawl. However, to save time and ensure everyone got proper training, they began fighting while moving at full speed. This was how they managed to clear all the way down to the 33rd Floor in a single day.
Liam then estimated their time consumption and led the team on the return trip. The journey back was noticeably more relaxed. Since almost everyone was participating, save for the Xenos, their collective stats were incredibly high, and their return efficiency was significantly increased.
Without wasting much time, everyone arrived back on the 13th Floor, the Rock Labyrinth.
Given the time he'd spent at the Academy and the recent attitude of other adventurers toward the students, Liam decided to be cautious and take the conventional route out of the Dungeon.
As they ascended, he overheard a fierce argument.
("You Academy brats, don't get so arrogant!")
("Don't think you can be so rude just because you're students!")
("You're the ones with no manners at all! Adventurers really are just a bunch of thugs.")
Hearing this, Liam felt a headache coming on. This situation was painfully similar to watching a group of prestigious college interns arguing with middle-school dropouts. The sense of deja vu was overwhelming.
Compared to the Academy students, at least half of Orario's adventurers had never attended school. No other institution in the world could even compare to the Academy. It was the same reason why the abilities of ancient heroes couldn't compare to the Falna given by the gods; the Academy's knowledge and technology were the strongest in the world precisely because the gods of knowledge had united to build it. This was why the Academy had become such a behemoth.
Liam didn't know if the argument was over a stolen kill or if someone had recklessly kited monsters. But when he saw both sides draw their weapons, their faces flushed with anger, he stepped forward.
"What's going on here? Can you tell me?"
"This is none of your business! Wait—you're the Sword Saint, Liam Moon!"
"Oh my gods, it's him!"
The atmosphere, which had been bristling with murderous intent, instantly transformed the moment the adventurers saw Liam and his party. Whether they worshiped him or hated him, on the surface, everyone became perfectly civil. These adventurers, who had been ready to teach the Academy-uniformed students a lesson, immediately felt all thoughts of violence evaporate.
"Since these people are your friends, Sir Liam, we'll be leaving now."
The adventurers bowed politely to Liam and then scrambled away.
Liam's gaze fell on the Combat Division students. The crest on their chests depicted a harp and a book. It was the symbol of Bragi, the Norse god of poetry, wisdom, and eloquence, son of Odin and the giantess Groa, and husband to the goddess of youth, Idun. While Liam didn't know Bragi well, he had seen Goddess Idun several times; she had taught many classes for the Combat Division.
("It's the fastest adventurer to ever reach Level 6!")
("The Sword Saint, Liam Moon! I heard he created an entirely new sword style all by himself!")
("He's so young, he looks the same age as us! I'm so jealous!")
("But why did he invade the Academy? He seems nice, but he's still an outlaw!")
("Thank you very much for saving us... even though you did invade the Academy.")
As Liam watched the four-person squad depart, he felt a wave of melancholy. So much for his sterling reputation.
Ryuu glanced at him. "So, you enjoy sneaking into unknown territory?"
Ryuu, please stop saying things that give people the wrong idea!
Haruhime spoke up, offering her insight. "As I recall, most of the Academy students are very upright and proper. Because of that, they easily get into conflicts with adventurers, who tend to be... less refined, and frankly, have very few scruples."
That made sense.
Liam thought back on the adventurers he'd encountered. Compared to the Academy students who were brimming with a sense of justice, Orario's adventurers were a colorful, mixed bag. You could find anyone: criminals, prostitutes, thieves... but that was just how the world was. It wasn't black and white. Judging things purely by right and wrong was far too simplistic.
Having attended the Academy, he knew the students were raised on an elite educational model, taught everything from etiquette to interpersonal conduct. But when compared to adventurers who walked the line of death every day, some of whom operated in gray areas, there was bound to be a culture clash.
In Liam's opinion, these Combat Division students had two paths: either integrate with the adventurers of Orario or become something like court mages. After this internship, he wondered how many of them would choose to stay in Orario and become adventurers.
"It looks like the conflict between Orario's adventurers and the Academy students is going to continue."
On the way back, Liam pondered the situation. Thanks to his good relationships with Ouranos and Fels, combined with his status as a student, he naturally considered the problem from multiple perspectives. For him, the ideal situation was for Orario and the Academy to coexist in greater harmony. Preferably, his own Familia could recruit a few more promising students, and the adventurers and students could live together peacefully.
But it looked like conflict was inevitable. He just hoped it wouldn't lead to any deaths. These students were mostly Level 2, with several at Level 3. However, Orario also had plenty of adventurers at Level 2 and above.
After bidding farewell to Ais and the others, Liam's figure vanished into the darkness. He changed back into his dark elf disguise as Gieg and returned to the Academy.
Inside his dorm room, Liam resumed his reading. He still hadn't been in this world for very long, and to advance further, he needed more knowledge to support him. Therefore, Liam was reading and memorizing as much of the Academy's vast library as possible, including but not limited to: Magicology, Alchemy, Modern History, and Ancient History. Perhaps by digging into this world's past, he could better understand it and discover more clues.
When fatigue finally set in, Liam immediately got into bed for an efficient sleep.
The next day, Nina woke up early and was already in an empty campus study hall, diligently making notes. A large pile of books sat in front of her.
To help Liam catch up with the coursework as quickly as possible and improve his grades, Nina was summarizing all the knowledge she had learned, creating detailed notes optimized for his efficient absorption. Liam's superhuman memory and learning ability gave her an incredible sense of accomplishment. He was a true natural-born scholar, and his enthusiastic attitude toward learning motivated her to work even harder.
As she worked on the notes, she couldn't help but recall Liam's actions over the past few days, and she found herself admiring him even more.
Mirialia, an elf girl three years Nina's senior, was from the Seventh Squad of Baldr's class. Compared to the notoriously bad reputation of the Third Squad, the Seventh Squad was a truly elite team, made up of top students in every sense.
"Making study notes now? Did you run into a difficult subject?" Mirialia asked.
"I'm making them for Gieg. He can actually keep up with my tutoring pace, so it makes me want to work even harder!"
Mirialia looked at her in surprise. Nina was the type to get good grades by memorizing massive volumes of information, a workload that gave even Mirialia a headache. Yet this new student, Gieg, could keep up with her? It seemed Gieg was the same type as Nina, driven to absorb as much knowledge as possible. Others studied to use that knowledge as a tool to achieve a goal, but Nina purely wanted to know more. Her source of joy was the simple act of mastering knowledge. It was a mindset Mirialia deeply admired.
"Did you know, senpai? Gieg is amazing. Because of him, the entire Third Squad has finally united!"
"Really? That's wonderful!"
Mirialia was well aware of the Third Squad's situation and knew how difficult it was to change a person's personality. And yet, this new student, who had been enrolled for less than ten days, had managed to do it? Gieg's personal abilities were truly outstanding.
"Because of Gieg's influence, our Third Squad is now one of the top-ranking teams in the Combat Division!"
There were more than twenty squads in the Combat Division. They had been at the very bottom, and now they were near the top. Nina was so happy she just had to share the news with Mirialia.
Later, during class, Liam was listening intently to Professor Leon's lecture. During a short break, two students from the Forging Division ran into the classroom, holding a sword.
"Professor! No matter how we forge it, the Goibniu Familia won't pass our work! If this continues, we won't be able to join the Familia. Please help us!"
The two human students looked miserable. They had clearly been through a very painful Familia trial. But the Goibniu Familia was notoriously strict when it came to forging. Furthermore, humans didn't have a distinct racial talent for smithing. Unlike other races, humans were a species that could dabble in just about anything. As the saying went: a jack of all trades, but a master of none.
This racial trait meant that most humans were mediocre, with only a few rare geniuses emerging who were astonishingly talented in various fields. The human race had established itself through its sheer population and its ability to produce these outliers.
Since Professor Leon had just finished his lecture, many of the Combat Division students gathered around.
Iglin got up from his seat, walked over to the sword, and snorted. The moment he did, the blade on the desk lit up. Iglin picked it up and examined it. "At first glance, the Functional Armament doesn't seem to have a problem. It looks pretty good, but I could make a better one!"
"Iglin! Stop showing off, you dwarven freak!" one of the forging students snapped.
Liam's eyes lit up. "What was that, Iglin? What's a Functional Armament?"
"Currently, I'm the only one in our squad who can use these weapons with a 'function.' A 'Functional Armament' is a new type of weapon created by the joint efforts of the Alchemy and Forging Divisions. It absorbs the user's magic to increase its attack range and power."
At that moment, a magical glow appeared on the blade. The blade itself was a meter long, but the flow of magical light coated the entire weapon like a suit of mana-armor.
Liam stared at the weapon. "This kind of armament hasn't circulated in Orario yet, has it? I imagine it would be incredibly useful against monsters in the Dungeon!"
This was a completely different piece of equipment from a Magic Sword. Most Magic Swords were essentially consumables; the principle was to absorb the user's magic and then unleash that magic as a powerful attack. They broke easily, and even high-quality ones could only be used a few times.
But a Functional Armament was different. It was more like a weapon reinforcement or enchantment. By applying a specific strengthening magic to the weapon, its power was increased. If the boost was significant and it could be used repeatedly, it would be an absolute godsend for adventurers.
The human student looked distressed. "The problem is, Lord Goibniu won't approve this weapon at all! He's so quiet, he won't even tell us what's wrong with it."
Drawing on the knowledge he himself had learned from Goibniu, Liam spotted the problem with the weapon.
Kris, sizing Liam up, gave him a nudge. "You have something to say, don't you, Gieg? Go on, just tell everyone what you're thinking."