I felt disgusted at how much I had been through yesterday.
I sat in the chair in my room, leaning my chin on my fist. I'd woken up just 5 minutes ago, now thinking after confirming that the bruises on my body were healing.
From being in the modern world writing the last chapter of my novel, getting a massive headache and dying, reincarnating in my own novel, escaping several assassins right off the bat, finding my way out of a cave to meet Lully, all the way to learning how to pickpocket for god's sake and ending up here.
I'm sick of it!! Why am I here? How did I die? I didn't even get to publish that last chapter! I screamed mentally. Imagine reading a novel and seeing it nearly completed, almost all of the chapters published...only to be missing the very last chapter.
"I would go insane, even as a reader.", I said, gritting my teeth.
I looked out the window, seeing a dull blue sky. However, regardless of how wronged I feel, this is my reality now. I'm not even sure if it's possible to go back to Earth so there's no point in thinking about it.
Moreover, time isn't exactly on my side.
I grabbed the ink feather and papyrus paper on the desk and began scribbling something on it.
Scrit scrit, scratch
Previously, when I was applying for the Demon Academy in the registration office, I had asked the receptionist several things about the entrance exams and school to confirm my knowledge as an author and see if anything had changed. Of what I asked, the most important were two things.
One was that the entrance exam, at the time I was asking, was going to start in 3 days. This is why I asked for 2 nights in the inn I'm staying at. Clearly, 3 days is not enough time to prepare or train, and makes me sweat even more about the exams more than I already am as someone basically just 'born' here.
Two was that regarding the tuition fees, the Demon Emperor traditionally offered a single scholarship that covered for all tuition fees if the conditions are met. This is a longstanding tradition that had been present since the first day the academy was built, and there is only one condition. All students in the upper half of their year when it comes to performance will have their tuition fees completely covered. It's like needing a 51 out of 100 to pass on a written test.
Overall, nothing had changed.
"At least, there's one thing going for me."
I touched the feather on my chin. It means I'll have to consistently be better than half of my entire grade, though, every year. But I still can't draw the attention of the instructors or principal. Even if my face isn't recognized, the Seryth family was still one of the biggest families in the human realm. So that means I'll need to stay around 51 to 70 out of 100.
I ruffled my hair, frustrated at this looming death flag, "So troublesome!"
Additionally, it seemed that in this world, I had no problem with either the human or demon languages. It's likely one of the things that I had inherited from the original Cael Seryth.
Everything else though? Makes me want to cough up blood.
"Cough! Cough!", I coughed violently.
I took out the two-horned badge that I'd been keeping in my pocket, which marked me as an aspiring cadet. It was an awfully simple design and possessed a unique mana signature to identify me to the instructors and staff.
"...Oh?", I fiddled around with the badge, "I can sense the mana."
Perhaps its because I used mana earlier in the cave that I'm more sensitive to its presence now. Interesting.
However, who was that demon, Lully, anyway? I do remember writing a character with pink hair who attended the academy, but their name certainly was not 'Lully'.
I attempted recalling all of the characters I created who attended the academy, but none looked close to what Lully looked like. Moreover, I've never created a character that was named 'Lully', unless that was a nickname.
He wasn't bright either. We had both agreed that in exchange for taking me to a town, I would help him pass the exam. But strangely, we had never even signed an official mana contract for it.
A mana contract was essentially an agreement between however many people enforced by mana. Consequences for not fulfilling the contract's conditions were able to be freely set if there was enough mana.
Perhaps Lully was not thinking straight? Nothing would happen to me right now if I just never fulfilled the deal.
I exhaled. Whatever. Moving on. This isn't something significant enough to take my time.
Scrit, scratch
I stopped writing on the papyrus paper and moved my hand away to look at its contents.
Learn how to use my traits and talentFoodConvert gold coins into silver coinsLearn how to use manaForm a mana coreObtain a weapon
This would be my todo list for today and tomorrow.
I held the paper up with the beautifully written symbols. I'm not sure if I would be able to get everything done by tomorrow... But I'll have to try anyway.
"First off, food. I'm hungry.", I got up from the chair and exited my room to search for food, folding the paper to put into my pockets.
Creak! I sat down on the chair in my room and stretched into a yawn.
"I feel great.", I was totally full now after ordering food downstairs. After a full day of not eating and running around madly, it was truly a relieving feeling.
I looked around in the quiet room, with only me. It was finally sinking in that today, I could relax and simmer in peace.
I rubbed my hands together, "Well, time to get to training!"
First thing to do on the list is to learn how to use Cael's other two traits, [Visualization] and [Immersion]. These are extremely important abilities that would allow me to plan vastly ahead and train for hours, possibly days at a time without any breaks, given enough resilience.
I must learn how to use these two abilities.
Of the two, I've already subconsciously used [Immersion], and I have a feeling that [Visualization] has already been manifested.
It's the status screen.
{Name: Cael Seryth}
Age: 17
Race: Half-Demon
Alignment: Cruel (Apathetic)
Talent: [Killer's Instinct]
Traits: [Killing Intent] [???] [Visualization] [Immersion] [Elemental Embodiment] [Pickpocket]
I put my hand through the rectangle hologram, fascinated by the immateriality of it.
In my novel, there was no such thing as a 'status screen' that existed to help the characters, even though it's a relatively popular concept in other fantasy novels. So I wondered why I had it now--there had to be a reason behind this development.
And after all that time of the question simmering in the back of my head, I came to the conclusion that the status screen had come from the trait, [Visualization].
[Visualization] - Form detailed mental images into perceivable constructs visible to only the visualizer
[Visualization] takes knowledge of what the person already knows and allows them to imagine it in great detail, even affecting the senses, including the sense of sight. I thought that considering I already knew plenty about Cael Seryth, this status screen popped up so easily when I transmigrated here. This is an even more plausible idea since the format seems quite similar to my notes back then when writing.
However, one thing I still have no idea of is the [???] trait. Could it be that I subconsciously know what it is, but my conscious mind still hasn't figured it out yet? Or could this be something I've forgotten, and thus it's appeared now as an unknown but present trait? My traits should only comprise of what the original Cael had though, so everything is still shrouded in mystery.
Stroking my chin, I decided to try to use [Visualization]. I looked at the middle of the room and tried imagining myself, standing and swinging a sword.
"...There it is.", I grinned in satisfaction.
Just like clockwork, a standing man with identical features as the current me appeared in wildly vivid detail, only that the sword he held was slightly blurry due to not having a clear image of the design.
If I recall, I should be able to maintain this for quite a long time if I use it in moderation? I contemplated, my imagined doppelganger disappearing into thin air after ceasing to think about it.
It was quite easy to use the ability- Hm? Who's talking?
Just a faint voice in the distance, I could hear two people talking about something related to...me. However, I couldn't exactly discern what they were saying.
"..."
Making my breath silent, I got up from my chair, walking around the room to see if I could get to a place where the voices were louder, and leaned my ear against a wall to the hallway. Unfortunately, there were birds chirping loudly outside that masked what the voices were saying.
Time to use Immersion.
I used [Visualization] to bring back what it felt like to use [Immersion]. However, likely because I had activated it once before, it successfully activated flawlessly.
My eyes widened as my vision changed drastically, senses tuning out but becoming far more sensitive at the same time, and my trains of thought streamlining into a coherent and organized consciousness.
Even if my thoughts were already clear before, now they were completely aligned with my will. Intrusive thoughts never came and I could switch between different lines of thought effortlessly.
I used [Immersion] to quickly tune out the loud chirping of the birds to listen in on the conversation nearby.
It's...in the hallway? It's a familiar voice as well...Lance?! Of course, all the great noble families in the human empire would have the technology necessary to go to the Demonic Realm. Did they trace me here? I listened more closely.
"Sir, I believe Cael is not here. I believe it would be faster if we begin searching towns nearest to the cave the portal led to."
A calm voice talked to Lance, to which Lance agreed with him, and they left shortly.
Their footsteps faded into the distance.
Looks like I eavesdropped just in time. Inwardly, I breathed a sigh of relief. So, it was just a coincidence that they happened to have a portal to teleport right to Yura town, where I was staying, and were just searching around the inns? It seems that although my luck wasn't great at first, it turned around for me just in time.
Yup. I'm definitely not leaving the room today. Let's just skip dinner and eat double the portion tomorrow... I wiped some sweat on my forehead. But at least they left. I should take advantage of Immersion to experiment while it's active.
Taking note of the terrifying encounter, I moved back to the desk to start experimenting with [Immersion].
"Now, how does this work?", I contemplated aloud. If I remember correctly, Cael was particularly fond of using this trait.
Ssst
I brushed my hand across the table, and paused, "!"
Instantly, shivers ran from my fingertips to my spine. I could feel the grain of the wood, the texture, temperature, level of dust--nothing was left out. But, when I manifested an intention to tune it out, I could no longer feel the table, despite being able to feel the air surrounding my hand.
Fascinated, I gradually experimented with tuning in and out my senses. From sight, to hearing, to taste, to smell, to touch, and I found that I had absolute control.
After that, I focused my vision on a small bird that was somewhat far from my window. Suddenly, my vision changed suddenly and drastically, changing from a mildly blurry view with awareness of my peripheral vision to my entire sight being entirely blurred out aside from the small, exact area I was focusing on.
Looking at various different things at different distances, I was able to figure out how to alter the extent at which my peripheral view was blurred when I was focusing on a particular point. I was also able to make my entire vision clear, focusing on everything, but it drained my mental capacity quickly, and I was only able to maintain it for around 5 minutes.
"Ugh!", I held my head, a headache coming on.
Forcefully pushed out of [Immersion], I clenched my fists, everything returning back to normal in an instant.
I whispered with a wide smile, "Amazing."
By this time, the bird I looked at previously had already flown away.
I can't believe it. I looked at my body. It's an entirely different level of focus. I'll be able to improve my skills incredibly fast with this.
Moreover, using these two abilities came as naturally as manipulating a limb. Maybe because I was in Cael's body? That I created him? Or that I naturally developed imagination and focus as an author?
Though I'm not sure if it's enough to deal with the protagonist's talent, [Destiny's First Child], I'll at least be able to keep up with my classmates in the Demon Academy. If I pass the exams, that is.
And to do that, I'll need to use [Killer's Instinct].
Talent: [Killer's Instinct]
Even if [Immersion] and [Visualization] are both powerful, it's nothing compared to [Killer's Instinct].
[Killer's Instinct] - A killer inherently understands how to kill.
I put a vague description for the [Killer's Instinct] talent in my notes back then, matching the vagueness of the [Destiny's First Child] talent of the protagonist as well. But it's far more self-explanatory.
It's exactly as it sounds like. A killer knows how to kill their target, or, victim, per-say. Only Cael had this talent among both of the two human and demonic realms, with nothing bearing resemblance to it.
I stared at the talent on the status screen.
This talent would help me immensely with the entrance exams, and would be the key on completing the first half of it.
Unfortunately, I'm unable to activate this talent, as it's more of a passive one and can only be used when faced with a living being. On the bright side, though, this isn't supposed to be a talent that would need training to get proficient in. It acts more of a 6th sense than an ability. I'm not willing to leave the inn today either.
I used [Immersion] on the ink feather on the table, focusing intensely on its structure.
"...Figures. It only activates against living beings.", I scratched my cheek, failing to activate [Killer's Instinct].
I've already gained a hang of [Killing Intent] and [Pickpocket] as well, using it before with the noble, so it wouldn't be necessary to train with these any further until I have more free time.
Feeling my progress, I felt a little more confident than this morning.
I think I've become slightly more equipped to handle the entrance exams now that I've figured out how to use my traits.
I looked at the papyrus paper. And then, next on the todo list would be...ah.
"Learning how to use mana."