Elydes Chapter 361 - Choices Part (part 1)

Chapter 361 - Choices (Part 1)

A thin folder appeared in the dean’s hand, columns of precise writing and numbers, sharp black on crisp white.

Kai caught his arms raising. Too high to hide the gesture, he laced his fingers on the rim of the desk as if that had been his intention from the start. The thick papers hovered on the polished desk, just out of his reach.

I can wait. Patiently.

Lilac eyes watched him —not betraying a flicker of the thoughts drifting beneath their idle calm. The dean appeared pleasant enough, pleased with his results in the Trials. Kai couldn’t deny enjoying the recognition. Probably what happened when you spent too long underselling himself.

Get a grip. You’re not a kid starved for praise. That sa guy has no problem seeing students dying each year.

He couldn’t forget where he sat because the man waved shiny baubles and rits at him. Beyond the veneer of impartiality, politics swamped Raelion with roots far beyond the academy grounds. And the dean sat at the center of it all. If a snubbed student from Winter Intake could see that, what things could he not see? How many students truly died?

With the Trials' irregularities yet unexplained, he wanted nothing to do with the Houses’ gas.

As Valela said, nothing good cos from ddling with the patricians. Keep a low profile and focus on your studies. Too bad she didn’t say what to do when you rank first in the Trials… A problem for Future-Kai.

His hands reached for the folder. Calm and unhurried. His composed persona crumbled once his eyes fell on the first page of the rits and treasures.

Joint Mid-Term Trials (First Year) with Mana, Martial, and Artisan Studies. Rewards List (ranks 1-100):

Rank 1: 1000 Credits of rit – High Affinity Treasure (custom) & Wellspring Amulet (custom)

Rank 2: 900 Credits of rit – Unattuned Arcanite Wand (Peak-Yellow, custom) & Blinking Amulet (ten charges)

Rank 3: 800 Credits of rit – Spirit Tears (High-Yellow Elixir, one vial) & Safeguard Amulet (custom)

Rank 4:700 Credits of rit – Four-Leaved Elental Clover (Fire, Water, Wind, Earth) & Unbound Request at the Hall of Artisans (Peak-Yellow, materials covered up to 500 sars)

Rank 5: 600 Credits of rit – Lucenti Kit (C-rank) & Armband of Silent Reflection (Peak-Yellow)

Rank 6: 500 Credits of rit – Limited Access to the Raelion’s Vaults (One week, Arcane rank or below) & Alchemy Request at the Hall of Artisans (Peak-Yellow, materials covered up to 300 Gold sars)

Rank 7: 500 Credits of rit – Body Enhancent Ritual (Three sessions) & Martial Weapon Request at the Hall of Artisans (Peak-Yellow, materials covered up to 300 rsar)

Rank 8: 500 Credits of rit – dium Affinity Treasure (custom) & Crystal (Peak-Yellow)

Rank 9: 500 Credits of rit – Ring of the Moonlight Mind (Peak-Yellow) & Ring of Sylvan Tears (Peak-Yellow)

Rank 10: 500 Credits of rit – Thunderbird Egg (C-rank) & Astares Purse of Holding (1 Cubic ter, 10% weight)

Rank 11: 400 Credits of rit – …

Quite the shiny baubles.

Ten pages of them. Double the usual rits for these Trials, to say nothing of the additional rewards. Combining the courses of Study ant a stiffer competition, though that mattered little for the first ranking. These prizes rarely showed up even in the Moon Trials in previous years.

“I see the rewards are to your liking.” The shadow of a smile quirked the dean’s lips. “I must ask that these papers not leave my office. It would set a bad precedent if students saw them before the official results.”

“I— yes.” Kai wrenched his gaze from the papers, clearing his throat and schooling his expression. “I an… Yes, Dean Astares.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to for the genuine story.

Aware of the man waiting for him, he skimd the ranking rewards. rits and treasures decreased through the pages, though never unappealing.

Why did he show all this?

The dean seed to read his confusion with faint amusent. “Aside from rits, you may select any reward beneath your ranking. I reckoned you wouldn’t care to pick below the top one hundred. In the past, there have been disagreents when participants found lower prizes more appealing than their own. Resources hold different values to different students. Especially in the joint Trials among the courses.” His gaze turned far away, lost in thought. “Before my tenure, custom prizes were assigned after the final ranking was decided. As you can imagine, that led to greater… complications.”

Personally setting rewards for each student? How could that ever be abused?

“I understand.” Kai nodded primly, his attention on the pages. The sooner he decided, the sooner he could leave the office. A sigh escaped his lips. He hated few things more than having to pick a single prize from a list. “Is it possible to pick from two different rankings since the top ten has double rewards?”

“The prizes were weighed together.”

Figures… Worth a shot.

Only the top ten ranking had earned double prizes—nine other pages easily set aside. If only he had a detailed description of the items… No way he’d ask the dean to explain so many. Affable or not, Kai wasn’t oblivious enough to test a Blue mage’s patience(—Virya had taught him better).

Mnemonic mory quickly saved the columns for later research. “Will the full rewards also be displayed for everyone?” he asked, buying ti.

“They aren’t secret, but students can only view those at or below their ranking when they redeem their rewards.”

Hmm… Flynn and Lys will pay for the exclusive. His stomach grumbled at the thought of his friends stuffing their mouths at the restaurant. I’m so damn late. I should have sent a ssage… First, finish here.

He could largely guess what the prizes did. The Arcanite wand and Spirit Tears sounded quite useful, but ultimately, sars and connections could buy most resources and equipnt—all but one treasure that he’d never seen put on sale.

With one last look at the list, Kai closed the folder, every line clear in his mind. “How do you categorize a High Affinity Treasure, exactly? I assu ‘custom’ ans I can choose the elent that suits ?”

“Just so. Any elent stored within the academy vaults, along with the ideal asures for you to consu or receive it. The stronger one’s kinship with an elent, the harder it is to raise. A high enhancent is most effective for affinities between fifty and seventy. Below that, it’s considered wasteful to use. Above that, the gain is too small to be aningful. Is that your decision?” The dean produced a thinner folder—a second list of elents.

“Yes,” Kai read the papers. Much shorter, much more detailed, and much harder to decide. No self-respecting elental mage would refuse an affinity treasure. The question was what to pick?

Another choice. Do they ever end? If Water wasn't already at 71, it would have been easy…

Available High Elental Enhancent:

Stone Crystal (Earth) Expected Improvent: 3-6Aquamarine Tears (Water) Expected Improvent: 3-6Distilled Fire Essence (Fire) Expected Improvent: 3-6Whispergale Feather (Air) Expected Improvent: 3-6Frostblood Ritual (Ice) Expected Improvent: 2-6Umbral Pearl (Shadow) Expected Improvent: 2-6…Refined Pressure Core (Gravity) Expected Improvent: 1-4Mirage Incense (Illusion) Expected Improvent: 1-4Clearthought Glass (Mind) Expected Improvent: 1-4Somnial Bloom (Dream) Expected Improvent: 1-3

The list was extensive. Dozens of entries covered nearly every natural elent and a few conceptual affinities. If the Trial’s rewards had left him gaping, these redefined his sense of Raelion’s wealth.

No Poison affinity. Though I doubt Alden needs it. His family probably has a monopoly on them.

More importantly, the treasures promised different increases beyond natural variation. From common elents on the first page, the numbers steadily decreased toward the last entries.

Parallax Eye (Space) Expected Improvent: 1-4

As far as he knew, rare affinities weren’t inherently harder to grow, so…

They skim the quantity on the pricey ones. Damned cheapskates.

“Were you looking for any elent not on the list?” The dean’s voice intruded on his thoughts—no more ti for dallying.

“N—no, sorry. I was comparing the expected increase…”

“And you noticed them decrease,” the man said with a dry chuckle. “The academy can’t entirely ignore the rarity and value of each resource. Don’t think you’re being cheated. The Trial rewards are an exception. Normally, the cheapest Mind treasure would cost ten tis more rits than the Aquamarine Tears. As well as many others.”

“Such as Parallax Eye?” He mused, deliberately glancing at the last page, an idea forming in his mind. What was one more gamble?

“Such as that,” the dean said tersely. “Though affinity enhancents must be consud by the student who earned them.”

“Then, I’ve decided.” Kai stared at the last entries and licked his lips. Boosting Nature, Earth and Shadow Magic would be nice, but he didn’t truly need them. “I have so affinity for Space. I’ve always wanted to learn, and it’s the most valuable treasure…”

He looked on with poorly concealed hope as the Fifth Circle Space mage regarded him with a deadpan stare.

“Twee.”

Who knew? Even demonic birds have their uses.

The office chilled with the dean’s disappointnt. “Rewards can’t be redeed until tomorrow. You needn’t commit yet. You’ve shown a promising asure of skill, but don’t take these opportunities for granted. Raelion’s Trials purposely place students in unpredictable circumstances. Luck and chance always play a part.”

Hmm… My status says I’m quite Lucky.

Ironically, his goal was not to squander the opportunity and get his hand on the prize he wanted without revealing himself.

“I am certain,” Kai said, chest puffed, eyes gleaming with naïve dreams and a touch of greed. Would the dean be swayed by his iron determination and take him under his wing? Hopefully not. The act ca easily, hinging on a simple misunderstanding.

Just an impressionable teenager standing before Raelion’s greatest mage. A renowned Space Warper, no less! How could a poor commoner resist? Especially when he does have so affinity for Space.