The morning sunlight stread through the curtains, bathing the hotel room in a soft glow. I sat cross-legged on the hotel's bed, focusing on the mana flow in my right arm.
It stings, but I needed to get used to this small pain.
And I shouldn't use Moonlight's One Flash for at least a month or so. If I used it again, I could actually rupture this mana channel of mine.
As for the sli girl...
She was sprawled across the couch, her translucent form shimring slightly in the light.
She looked oddly peaceful as if she hadn't spent the whole day clinging to like her life depended on it.
"Master..."
The sli girl suddenly turned towards and muttered in a soft tone.
"Yeah?"
"Na..."
Ah, right.
Until now I've been calling her sli girl.
"Can't you simply choose it yourself?"
I asked as if started forming a ball made of mana and started increasing its concentration. This could help improve my mana control because I needed to keep it at a certain concentration so the mana ball wouldn't explode.
"It has to be Master giving one."
"Ah... sure."
As soon as I said those words, she perked up instantly, her jelly-like form bouncing slightly as she stared at with wide, expectant eyes.
Stella... nah.
Kiara... it doesn't seem to fit her.
Ah, I know.
"How about Lumi?"
I suggested after a few monts. It felt fitting, given her glowing, semi-transparent form.
"Lumi..."
She repeated slowly, then broke into a delighted smile.
"Lumi!"
"Glad you like it..."
I leaned against the headboard.
The mana ball in my hand flickered slightly, and I steadied it again.
Training was pretty much all I had to do for now.
That, and wait.
And not to ntion that I have a useless system. I an, if you're going to give a system, at least make it useful instead of just showing a status window.
For that, I can use the academy's evaluation stone to asure my power.
[Ding...!]
Huh?
What was that?
A faint, translucent blue window suddenly appeared in front of , its edges glowing softly.
[Compatibility Calibration has reached 100%.]
[The special feature... "Book Reading" has been activated.]
"Book Reading...?"
I muttered, my eyebrows furrowed.
And before I could make sense of it—
—SWOOSH!
The blue system window faded into nothingness as my surroundings changed in a flash.
"Ah—!"
My vision blurred, and when it cleared, I was no longer in the hotel room.
I stood right in the middle of a dense forest, with tall trees stretching up high, which seed not to allow enough sunlight to break through.
Their twisted roots sprawled across the dirty ground, making it hard to move without stumbling.
A faint mist hung in the air, growing thicker the farther it stretched, and I could hear the distant sound of rushing water.
"This...?"
"Where am I?"
The ground was a ss of broken branches and scorched patches of earth. The sll of burned wood was strong, mixed with sothing sharp and tallic.
Blood.
It was definitely blood...
Clang!
The clash of tal jolted , snapping out of my thoughts.
My eyes darted around and then I saw them—shadows slipping between the trees, with their red eyes glowing like flas in the ominous mist.
A low growl rumbled sowhere ahead, followed by the grating sound of claws dragging across the ground.
I imdiately gripped my sword tightly, I didn't even rember how it was in my hand, but I made sure to prepare myself for anything.
The air felt heavy like sothing dangerous was watching over .
Sothing big.
Until...
They stepped into the open.
One by one, demon beasts erged from the shadows.
I couldn't exactly see their "faces", but...
They were huge, at least five tis my height, with jagged black fur and eyes that burned sharply.
Their fangs glead, sharp and deadly, and their claws—coated in a sickly green venom—scratched the ground as they moved closer.
"High-ranking demon beasts..."
And they weren't only a handful.
There were at least tens of them, possibly even hundreds.
But then, an even bigger one ca out. I couldn't really see its form, but from the aura he was emitting, it was definitely a nad demon beast.
The only thing I could see was its horns that curled back from its head, and just as he took a step, it shook the earth beneath .
I took a small step back...
And then glanced around, the trees ford a rough circle with their roots acting like natural walls.
And behind , was the river that I heard earlier.
RAAAARGH!
The beasts started crawling towards , and their heavy bodies shook the ground at every movent.
This was bad.
Really bad.
My hand gripped the hilt of my sword even more tightly than before. I started gathering mana around my body...
But surprisingly...
I couldn't.
I couldn't manifest an ounce of mana.
'Shit.'
Swish!
The nad demon beast suddenly lunged forward as its claws ripped through the earth.
And in just a matter of seconds, it appeared right in front of , raising its claw, aiming at my chest.
Ti seed to slow as I raised my sword, ready to protect against the attack, but then—
SWOOSH!
"GAH!"
I gasped, my body jerking back to reality.
The hotel room ca back into view, and I found myself sitting on the bed, drenched in sweat.
My chest heaved, and my hands trembled as I struggled to steady my breathing.
What... was that?
"Master?!"
I heard Lumi's concerned voice as she wobbled over to .
"I'm... a-alright, hah..."
I muttered though the pounding of my heart and the sweat dripping down my forehead told a completely different story.
At that mont, I caught the faint glow of the system window lingering in the corner of my vision.
[The feature "Book Reading" has been disabled.]
[You have glimpsed at a potential outco.]
A potential outco?
Does that an... there's a chance of that scene happening?
If that's true...
Fuck.
That's going to be a very large problem.
My chest sank.
If hordes of high-ranking demon beasts really appeared in the capital, it's not just my problem—it's a disaster waiting to happen. I need to quickly contact the Sword Circle or the Holy Nation.
Without thinking, I jumped out of bed, startling Lumi.
"Master?"
She asked, her head tilting in confusion as her form wobbled slightly.
"I need to check sothing."
I muttered the words quickly, grabbing for my student ID.
It was the fastest way to contact my professor—or anyone from the Sword Circle or the Holy Nation.
However, before I could activate the ID, another interface appeared right in front of , stopping in my actions.
[Aestrea.]
"What...?"
My eyes blinked in discomfort as I saw the system's notification with my na.
[Think well before you act.]
[It showed you a potential outco, not exactly the future.]
[All actions lead to sothing.]
[You just need to figure out what leads to "that".]
[If the problem is successfully resolved, you'll be granted a reward for your heroic actions.]
[If not... there might be a disaster.]
[Good luck.]
[You'll need it.]
I froze at the horde of notifications.
A potential outco.
Not guaranteed to happen, but not impossible either.
"Fuu..."
I let out a shaky breath and slowly sat back on the bed. Lumi, still perched on the couch, watched with her wide, curious eyes, though she didn't say anything.Dammit."
Figure out what leads to that...
"It sounded easier said than done. But what exactly could cause a horde of high-ranking demon beasts?"
The Dark Order?
If so...
How could I exactly prevent this without warning the Dark Order of my actions?
"Fuuuuuck..."
It seems that I'll need to be extra careful during the academy's competition.
"Fuck?" Lumi muttered aloud.
Huh?
"Fuck... fuck... fuck..."
She started repeating those words, it looked cute with her soft innocent voice, but... the word she was saying...
Gosh.
Give a break.
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