(Unio Academy Dormitory)
Night has covered the sky of Unio Academy with a dark color and the stars occasionally twinkle weakly among the thin clouds. The night wind blows quietly, infiltrating through the gaps in the dormitory window
Click
The sound of the bedroom door opening
It was Wim. He entered his room with lazy steps. He threw himself onto the bed without taking off his shoes, his face staring at the ceiling of the roof illuminated by the magic lamp
Wim: "Haaah... In the end, today's search... is a dud" he muttered in annoyance
In his hand, he held a thick book titled "The Origin of Mana Curses and Pure Magic Manifestations" that he borrowed from the library
Wim: "Even though I've searched for something related to mana disabilities. All I found were the same quotes." He glanced at the book he was holding
Wim:" There's not a single clue on how to cure this mana disability... all the books just say 'curse of fate'. There's really nothing f**king else "
Then from the corner of the room, Art who was floating there started to approach Wim
Art:" Wim! Even though you couldn't find the way to cure your mana disability. But this doesn't end up going home empty-handed. I mean, look. We managed to get a book on monster classification "
While pointing at the book held by Wim
Wim:" Yeah. I guess you're right. For now, let's not think about that... Okay, time to use the Art Glass"
He started to get up from his bed. Putting on his Art Glass glasses, he then scanned the monster classification book
Srrk, Srrk, Srrk
The sound of pages being turned could be heard from each of his two ears
Until...
Ting!
A notification appears
[Congratulations, you have successfully upgraded your Status]
Wim:" Eh? "
Wim was surprised. He stopped reading for a moment, processing the information that just appeared
Wim:" Art, please show me my status"
Quickly, Art projected a hologram of Wim's status window, right in front of him
Art:" Wim... Your status has changed! It seems like the activities you did during our journey have given you a lot of experience"
Wim began to squint, bringing his face closer to the hologram
[Name: Wim
Race: Human
Status
Strength: 4 > 5
Perception: 6 > 6.5
Endurance: 4 > 4.5
Charisma: 5 > 6
Intelligence: 5 > 6
Agility: 7 > 8
Luck: 8 > 8.2
Skill: Blink (Cooldown 3 seconds)
Skill: Mana Detection (Automatically Active)
Attributes: Blank]
[Author Note: this time there is a change in the Faith section to Perception. Maybe because it is the same as the status in Fallout which is named 'S.P.E.C.I.A.L']
Wim:" Wow, seriously? " he gaped
Wim:" It really increased huh. Only a few days in this world, can produce this much increase"
It didn't stop there. A new notification has appeared immediately
[Congratulations, your Skill has increased]
Wim:" WHAAAAAAT!? "
Wim immediately screamed
Wim:" No way... Skill increase?!"
Art: "Of course, look at this"
Art changed the position of the status hologram, this time showing a specific skill increase
[Skill: Blink (2 second cooldown, and 2 stacks)
Skill: Mana Detection (Automatically Active, Range Wider Around 9 Meters)]
Wim: "OMG, this is... so cool"
Wim laughed happily, barely able to contain himself
Wim: "This way, I won't have any trouble like what happened when I was chased by bandits, or that bastard's special exam back then"
Art: "Yep, I guess that incident also made you able to increase your status quickly" he muttered while watching Wim
With his new status, he won't have any trouble facing the upcoming practical lesson. Dungeon Practice
***
(Outside Unio Academy, Anchorage City)
[Author's Note: Wissen Island has now changed its name to Anchorage Island, along with the name of the city]
Western District, Els Bar
An old bar standing in an area with a small settlement. A gathering place for retired old Arcane, adventurers, merchants, and citizens alike, gathering, toasting each other under the stormy night sky.
Magic lamps hung from the ceiling, illuminating the faces of customers who were drinking beer, and eating barbecued meat
In the corner of the room, two men sat facing each other playing poker. The old round table they were playing on was barely able to withstand the tension of the bets: a bag full of gold coins lay in the middle of the table
One of them had black hair, his face hard and covered in old scars. The other was a little shorter, with messy blond hair, wearing a worn coat and a flat cap.
Black-haired man: "Here you go..." he said confidently, lowering his cards to the table
The sound of cards being thrown
Black-haired man: " Four of a Kind. You can't beat it" he said proudly
A small cheer was heard from the surroundings
Meanwhile, the blonde man seemed to sigh... then slowly lowered his hand
Blonde man:" Ola... I'm sorry"
Then he began to show the contents of his cards which contained Ace of Hearts... King of Hearts... Queen... Jack... Ten
Blonde man:" Royal. Flush"
"Wooooo!" The audience cheered
The black-haired man stared blankly at his pile of coins that were being taken by the blonde man
Black-haired man:" You... You cheated, huh?"
The blonde man just chuckled
Blonde man:" Cheated? I guess Lady Luck is being kind tonight"
He took the gold coins, weighed them for a moment, then pushed a small portion towards his opponent
Blonde man:" Don't be sad. As a reward for almost winning, I'll give you some" he said with a mischievous smile.
Then he got up from the chair, whistling as he walked towards the exit
From there, it was revealed that the blonde man was Sherman, the Principal of Unio Academy, disguised as an ordinary man although his appearance was still striking with a long brown coat and a slightly tilted fedora hat
He whistled as he walked towards the academy with his face beaming
But his steps were stopped by a soft ringing sound from inside his pocket
Tiiing... Tiiing...
Sherman sighed
Sherman:" No... not now..."
He took out a crystal compass-shaped communication magic tool and turned it on. The compass began to glow emitting a blue hologram and showed the face of a woman with ponytail hair, her glasses gleaming sharply. That was Fiona, the Vice Principal of Unio
Fiona:" Sherman " she said in a calm tone full of pressure
Fiona:" Where are you now?"
Sherman:" Ah, Fionaaa!" Sherman laughed awkwardly
Sherman:" Heh, this is really a very beautiful night to... breathe fresh air, isn't it?"
Fiona started to raise her eyebrows
Fiona:" You're at Els Bar, aren't you? Are you betting again?"
Sherman:" Eh? No way! I'm just here to. Eh... disguise, yes, disguise! Spy disguise!"
Sherman panicked, his eyes spinning looking for an excuse
Fiona who heard him took a deep breath. She didn't answer. Her gaze was sharp, as if piercing through all the lies from the hologram screen.
Fiona:" Sherman. All classes have finished the dungeon group selection process. all of them. Only one left"
Sherman started to sweat coldly
Sherman:" Uhm... Class S, huh? Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll... finish it after this short walk. Promise."
Click!
The hologram died. Sherman took a deep breath
Sherman:" Geez... She's really scarier than last year"
~
(City alley - a few minutes later)
Sherman walked down a narrow alley between two old brick buildings. The moon above peeked through the clouds, casting a dim light on the small alley where Sherman had cut his way home
However, at the end of the alley...
Sherman:"? "
He saw a figure in a black robe standing still like a statue, looking down
Sherman:" ... Hmph... How strange" he narrowed his eyes
He began to pretend not to care and walked past him. But his instincts told him otherwise. He prepared himself
He let out a small whistle. But with each step his heart became more alert
In an instant- the figure disappeared
Blink!
Whoosh!
Sherman:" From above?!" He exclaimed in surprise
Shhk
A magic knife held by the robed figure swooped down from the air, coated in a menacing red aura. Ready to stab Sherman
But Sherman only raised his right hand
Clank!
Instantly the knife from the cloaked figure collided with something in Sherman's right hand
From there, a magic sword blade emerged from his bracelet, Sherman's signature Magic Gauntlet Sword blocking the attack
Sherman:" Ola... Do you think I just play cards all night?"
Sherman hit the enemy with his elbow, sending him flying backwards. He then flowed lightning magic from his feet
Zrrrt-!
Sherman:' Flash Move'
Sherman began to charge towards the cloaked figure at lightning speed. He appeared in front of his opponent in one sharp movement, cutting off the man's armed hand.
Splat!
Cloaked man:" Argghh! "
A short scream was heard. But Sherman didn't stop there. He spun his sword and slashed the opponent's leg who tried to retreat
Thud!
The black cloaked man's body fell to the ground, blood dripping profusely from the cut. But he still tried to escape
Sherman:" Enough hide and seek" he muttered
He dragged the body of the cloaked man, then threw him against the brick wall of the alley
The cloaked man:" Urghh! "
The man groaned. Heavy breathing came out of his mouth. Sherman approached and opened the enemy's black cloak. A pitch black uniform was seen, with a skull logo and two crossed weapons, a symbol that many feared
Sherman:"... The Hive " he was silent
Then Sherman grabbed his collar
Sherman:" Who sent you? Who is your leader? Why is The Hive here?! "
The man smiled strangely as he listened to Sherman's question. His tongue moved quickly, and suddenly a rune lit up on the surface of his tongue.
Sherman: "POISON?!" he muttered
Sherman tried to stop him, but it was too late.
Sizzle...!
The man collapsed, dead with his eyes open. Sherman's breathing became heavy
Sherman: " The Hive... is in Anchorage?"
He reached into his pocket and reopened his communication compass. Fiona's face appeared again, still with a neutral expression
Fiona: " What now?" She asked briefly
Sherman looked serious for the first time that night
Sherman: " Gather the other heads of the academy. Including the Anchorage Council!"
Fiona raised her eyebrows
Fiona: " What's the problem? "
Sherman: " I'll explain later"
Then he started to close the communicator
He looked up at the darkening night sky. Small lightning flashed above his palm, as if reflecting his turbulent thoughts