[ 6:56 PM ]
It was already late when I got back home, but it was all worth it. With a guaranteed letter from the Vice Guild Leader of the Adventurer Guild and a possible recommendation from Verdantia, I could finally rest my mind in peace.
"Ha... with this much, my slot at Celestia is almost guaranteed." I placed my shoes by the front door and walked toward the kitchen.
"I'm craving chicken..."
...
[ 7:48 PM ]
After dinner and a shower, Casphian jumped onto the bed.
'Roulette.'
[ Universal Roulette — 1x daily lucky draw available ]
[ Use Now? ]
[ Y ] [ N ]
[ Congratulations! The host has received: Ice Affinity (S+) ]
"Eh?"
"WHAT?!" I jolted upright as the system notification flashed before me. Another affinity... and not just any, but S+.
"After giving me useless things for two weeks straight, you finally gave me something good..." I stared at the system window with a mix of gratitude and irritation.
"What should I do with it? The affinity evaluation is already done..." I pondered, running through possible scenarios in my mind. After much deliberation, I decided to keep my Ice Affinity a secret.
If I revealed a second S rank affinity, I might become the target of hostility. The risks outweighed the benefits.
"I'll just practice my Ice magic in secret."
Casphian retrieved the
[ You have learned: Ice Bullet ]
[ You have learned: Frost Explosion ]
[ You have learned: Hail ]
[ You have learned: Frozen Arrow ]
...
..
.
Ta! Ta! Tat!
Ta! Ta! Tat!
[ 6:30 AM ]
"Ugh..."
Casphian was once again woken up by his alarm clock.
He washed his face, ate some leftover chicken from last night, and decided to head out to the nearby hunting grounds.
He had already planned his course of action for the day.
[ 7:23 AM ]
He arrived at the area, showed his Adventurer's license to the guards, and entered without any problems.
With the help of his C rank license, he could now access public training grounds up to level C+ under his identity as "Casphian" and not "Zero."
Plus, heading out here was killing three birds with one stone.
He could gain higher exp unlike in the low-level hunting grounds nearby, level up his spells, and continue progressing a quest.
Casphian entered a forest after sensing a large number of monsters inside.
[ Ding! ]
[ Ding! ]
[ Ding! ]
[ You have leveled up to 42 ]
[ Ice Bullet, Frost Explosion, Hail, Frozen Arrow have increased to E+ ]
[ Quest: Hunt 1000 Monsters — Progress: 234/1000 ]
[ Stamina has increased by 1 ]
[ Agility has increased by 1 ]
[ 9:34 AM ]
Casphian checked the time and realized it had already been two hours since he started hunting.
"That's enough for today..."
Casphian decided to head back home and wash up since his appointment at Verdantia was at 11 AM.
...
[ 10:47 AM ]
Casphian had just arrived at the gate when he spotted a familiar face.
"The evaluator from before?" he muttered under his breath.
As soon as she noticed him, she stood up and walked toward him.
"Casphian Arcana, please come with me."
"Eval—Teacher, may I ask where we're going?" Although he already had a guess, he wanted confirmation.
"To the Principal's office. My name is Carol, by the way." She answered as she led him forward.
"Carol… I see. But, um, why the Principal?"
"Why do you think? It's because of your evaluation results from yesterday."
"Is that so?"
"Why didn't you come earlier? We even sent you a letter yesterday."
"I… haven't checked my mailbox for a while."
Carol stopped briefly, then sighed. "Is that so? You should've checked it. My makeup's already ruined from waiting at the gate for almost two hours."
Casphian blinked. "...I'm sorry?"
"Haha! I'm just joking. Relax." She laughed and waved her hand dismissively. "But really, check your mail next time. Not everyone has the patience of a saint."
"I'll… keep that in mind." Casphian scratched his cheek awkwardly.
Carol grinned. "Good. We'll be arriving shortly."
After a short walk, they finally reached the Principal's office. Carol lead him inside until they arrived at the Principal's room.
Carol knocked three times.
"Principal, I've brought Mr. Arcana."
She opened the door. Inside, the Principal sat on a couch with tea already prepared on the table.
"Welcome. What took you so long? The tea has already gone cold." the white-haired Principal muttered, stroking his long beard.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see your letter." Casphian bowed apologetically.
"Hohoho, it's fine. As long as you're here now." The Principal gestured. "Come, sit down. You too, Miss Carol."
Casphian and Carol sat across from him.
"Water or tea?" the Principal asked.
"I'm fine, sir. Thank you for the offer," Casphian replied politely.
The Principal nodded, then took a sip of his tea.
"Then, I'll get straight to the point," he said, his tone shifting to serious. "We have decided to grant you special admission to Celestia."
Casphian's eyes widened. "Special admission?"
Carol smirked. "It's a letter that lets you enter Celestia without taking any more tests. Straight admission."
"I can't thank you enough." Casphian smiled.
"No, it's fine. It's your talent that earned this, not us." the Principal said warmly.
The Principal leaned forward. "Anyway, we won't keep you long. But before you go, may I confirm something?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Miss Carol mentioned you multi-casted five water bullets. May I see it for myself? If you agree, of course."
"Principal, I already told you he cast five. I'm not blind," Carol cut in, crossing her arms.
"I still need pro—"
"Okay," Casphian interrupted before they could argue. He raised his hand and conjured five water bullets, hovering steadily in the air.
"Oh!" The Principal's eyes widened. "What a talented child indeed! That's all I needed. You may go now. Prepare yourself, for you'll leave for Celestia tomorrow."
"So soon?" Casphian asked.
"Yes." the Principal replied. "Those with special admission must be screened, and the entrance ceremony is in two days."
"Then… I'll take my leave. Thank you again for this opportunity." Casphian bowed.
After he left, the Principal let out a long sigh.
"That child… he truly is special."
"I told you so," Carol said smugly.
"He not only silent-casted those five water bullets, but I suspect he could have conjured more," the Principal added. "And his mana reserve… enormous. Yet I can't help but feel there's more he's hiding."
"Heh. Nothing escapes the eyes of SS+ Mage, Merlin De Mitre." Carol leaned back. "Well, keeping a secret or two isn't exactly rare for mages." Carol added.
Carol possessed the
'He must have used some kind of artifact.' Carol thought with a faint smile. However, she chose not to pry any further into someone else's matters.
"Says the saint who abandoned her duties." Merlin snapped back.
"I told you to stop calling me that, former pope."
"This kid… huh." Merlin let out a weary sigh and shook his head, choosing not to continue the argument with Carol. "I suppose 'those' kids will be facing another rival soon."
"Interesting! Very interesting indeed!"
...
Back at the school grounds, Casphian muttered to himself.
"Is multi-casting really that special? I wonder what their reaction would be if I used five Aqua Spear instead of a simple Tier 1 spell."
After achieving [Perfect Mana Mastery], Casphian could now simultaneously multi-cast up to five spells of any tier while maintaining five layers of Mana Shield.
"I'll need to be careful next time. I might attract unnecessary attention."
Casphian decided to stop by the library before heading home to pack his things.
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