Chapter : 14 : Always Remember That We Are In This Together :
Location : Kingdom Of Valerion : Valerion Academy :
" OMG !!!! "
' So this is a reward for completing a third tier change . '
This was anything beyond he has previously imagined .
And previous rewards does not even come close .
After all this is literally a power that helps in jumping ranks.
For example for a person with average talent it takes at least 6 to 8 months of training along with help from various training resources to get up a rank .
And this time gap increases with each succession of their rank , as it becomes harder and harder to increase their strengths .
Even for him who had a good amount of natural talent along with the previous rewards given by the system he would have to train at his hardest for at least 4 months to up a rank .
But now he can do that easily .
Not only that the system set it would take 24 hour to take effect and stabilize .
And the keyword is ' stabilize ' .
It's one thing to achieve new rank or stage but its an entirely different thing to stabilize your new found powers .
Infact more than 40% of the accidents that happens during this period is because after reaching the new stage the person is unable to stabilize their new found powers and get a backlash .
This backlash can range from deep wounds to catastrophic harm to the body and the magical pathways .
Sometimes even making the person lose their life in an instant or make them unable to perform any kind of martial arts or magic in the future .
And considering that it was an entire rank that he will be jumping the amount of effort required to stabilize that new found power would be even more .
If he had tried to this by himself and tried to stabilize the power than there is a high chance of failing .
But now due to the system's help this problem was no longer relevant .
" This is really an earth shaking reward. "
But soon his excitement dropped a little as he started to contemplate the other side of this reward .
While the reward in itself is good it also bring some troubles with it .
" If I suddenly gain this much power specially jumping an entire rank within 24 hours it will create suspicion . "
The teachers at the Academy are professionals with years of experience .
Especially characters like his class teacher Alister Frost and the principle are literally one man army .
So no matter how much he acted to be honest weak it is useless in front of them because they can right away see through his real strength .
" Moreover I don't have any special items with me to conceal my real strength for now . "
So without a doubt the question of how he gained so much power in such a short time will come up .
And some might even suspect him of using dark magic for this power boost .
" And even if I managed to convince them that this is due to my strength , my talent or anything else another problem will come out . "
After all once is picture as a once in a century genius is stamped it will become a huge problem in the future .
Because from now onwards the expectations of people will also increase .
And the next time when he can't give such a exponential growth or not prove himself to be a real prodigy this suspicion will return again but this time 10 times even worse .
After all if it was a ordinary genius level act than it would have been fine perhaps the people would have left it as a one time coincidence .
But when a person jumps an entire rank that is no longer within the world of ordinary geniuses .
So no matter what ! be it good or bad attention will come to him .
Just right now this incident alone have brought him special attention from professor Frost .
And in the future when he changes the plot even more he will get within the spotlight whether he likes it or not .
And to be honest he has no intention of forever hiding his strength .
" My goal in this life still to live like I want and hiding away forever is certainly not included . "
He was clear on this front .
" But still ! I need to have some degree of control over this thing because being discovered too early might get me in trouble . "
After thinking very hard Cian finally decided that he would not use the high tier level up card for now .
At least not without prior preparation .
It would be best if he gets a high level concealment item in the future.
If that doesn't happen then he will have to go on a some kind of training vacation .
It was so that he can use that as an excuse to say that it was during the time of particularly difficult training that his level increased .
However this second option will be a lot harder to explain and their might be loose ends .
The first option on the other hand is best outcome as it would allow him to develop further in the future without worrying about temporary excuses all the time .
And in the story later in the series after the Apex Trial Arc the hero does find a legendary item that helped him in this matter .
" But the problem is that the item cannot be taken away like the storage ring from before . "
It would take a special event to happen where the presence of both the hero and the second heroine will be required .
" And the second heroine won't be entering the scene till the next month . "
" And even then in order to make that event happen earlier than the original timeline , I would need to make a plan which would once again need some more time . "
So in simple words there is an option but it will take time and more effort .
" The other way is that I get a reward for concealment power from the system. "
But right now there was no other opportunities for making anymore tier 3. Level changes .
There was however a chance to make a tier 2 change if he completes the event in the magic beast forest mentioned earlier .
" But I don't think the system will give me a high tier item for concealment just for a tier 2 change . "
So all he could do right now is to wait patiently and use the level up card later .
" Cian are you alright . "
Suddenly just as he was thinking about the situation he felt an incredible amount of softness pressing again his back .
It was Liora who had came from behind and gave him a huge hug and immediately started to look over him as if trying to judge weither he was hurt or not .
She was worried for him the entire time and wanted to come sooner .
But when the professor came she had been too shocked by his voice to come over and check .
And while her intentions where very good it was having an entirely different effect on the boy .
' Holy Hell ! This softness is really something else . '
At this moment Cian was having a battle within himself .
And the incredible soft feeling was winning against his mental strength right now .
" Liora ! don't worry I am alright . "
Cian said as he moved aside and broke the contact with that sense of softness much to his own internal displeasure .
After getting the confirmation Liora looked at him for sometime before breaking down in tears .
" Sob ! Sob ! Why .... why .... "
" Why would you do this for me ? "
Looking at her pretty face that had become red due to her sobbing Cian couldn't help but feel a pang of pain in his heart .
However despite that he didn't stop her .
Because right now she needed to vent out her emotions rather than suppress them .
And so she did .
" Sobb !!!! And why would you say that . "
" Why do you say that I was your girlfriend ! "
" When it is not true at all . "
As Liora said that she started to likely throw some punches at Cian.
It was obviously not to hurt him but just a way for her to show her unstable emotions .
So Cian didn't move away instead to took them .
Fortunately right now no one was there except them or it might have been a big news by the end of the hour .
" You are strong , handsome and caring ! "
" Moreover you are a noble and I am a commoner . "
" How could someone like me ever be worthy to be by your side . "
Liora believed that at the end of day he was just being kind to her .
Even if Cian was not from a big noble background and just a small border noble he was still a noble at the end .
With his talents it was only a matter of time before he achieves greatness .
He is destined to become someone very important in the future .
On the other hand she was just a commoner from a small farmer family .
Even with her so called brilliance she was nothing compared to him .
Perhaps they could graduate from the Academy together as friends but that's all they would be .
So how could she even think of becoming girlfriend with him .
' It is just a fantasy dream . '
" Silly ! "
Suddenly she felt herself being being pulled into his arms in a gentle embrace .
When she looked up she felt his lips softly pressed on her forehead .
" What..."
She did not get to finish her question when Cian lightly put a finger on her lips to stop her from speaking and then looked at her with convection .
" Tell me Liora do you regret becoming friends with me .
" Or even staying with me so far because I am a noble and you are a commoner . "
This question held more than just a simple want for answer .
At this moment a genuine expression of sadness was reflected on Cian's face .
" Oh god ! No ! I would never think like that . "
Seeing the sad expression on his face Liora suddenly grabbed on to him even tighter .
" I would never regret becoming friends with you Cian. "
" You are the best friend I ever had and you are the best person I have met outside my family . "
She fell silent and then said again .
" And that's why it's so hard . "
" Because I am not worthy and .... "
" Stop saying that !!!! "
Cian didn't let her finish as this time his voice containing a lot more conviction then before .
" Liora ! I was not lying about anything I said . "
Hearing this a look of shock appeared on her cute face .
" I know it is not something that to be decided so fast and right now you need time . "
" But I want you to know that everything I said was true and from the bottom of my heart . "
As he said that he gave a big reassuring smile .
" You don't need to be worthy of me . "
" None of us needs to be worthy of anyone . "
" So don't beat yourself over it and instead think of beyond it . "
As he said that he leaned closer putting his forehead on to her's .
" Liora ! You are the best the way you are . "
" And don't ever dout it . "
With that he looked at her and both of them naturally came closer .
And soon their lips met in soft and tender contact that lasted only a few seconds but felt like an eternity .
When both of them departed their lips he looked at her beautiful face that had a shade of red due to all the crying and said .
" Always remember that we are in this together . "
( Author's Note : Hello guys I hope you all are doing well and before ending this chapter , I would like to thank you all for reading the story so far .
And if you have liked today's chapter then do consider supporting my work by saving it in your library as much as possible , which I will highly appreciate .
And you can also give your reviews and power stones .
So that's all I had to say today and see you soon in the next chapter .
Thank you for reading . )
To Be Continued .