After weeks of no show, the system finally popped up in front of him again.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZED]
[Main Quest: Connections, connections, connections]
Status: Ongoing
Description: You have struggled and clawed your way into Luminara Academy despite your limitations. In a place where strength alone is insufficient, the value of connections cannot be ignored. The individuals you choose to align with will determine the trajectory of your survival.
Goal: Establish a aningful connection with a high-value individual within the academy.
Ti Remaining: 14 Days
Warning: Isolation will significantly reduce future survival probability.
Penalty: Increased likelihood of unfavorable outcos. Social isolation. Loss of influence. Exposure to uncontrollable variables
Reward: 10% Mana Control Minor Influence Stabilization
Ronan stared at the scene in front of him, ignoring everything Elara said.
"Whatever, if you don’t want to listen, I’ll just leave," Elara said, rolling her eyes as she left.
But Ronan’s focus didn’t falter as he continued to read the information given in front of him. A quest? Establish a aningful connection with a high-value individual within the academy?
The timing was too perfect. If the system was trying to be subtle, it was doing a very poor job at doing so.
It was obvious who this "high-value individual" was.
The timing was too convenient. Was the system trying to guide him to a certain outco?
Ronan sighed as he finally reached his room.
Opening the door, he placed his things down and imdiately sat down on the table in the corner of the room. He took out a notebook and began writing.
It wasn’t a normal notebook. It was sothing he had picked up from the marketplace outside the academy. The notebook had special runes engraved onto it that made it so only the user could access the contents of it using their magic signature.
Of course, there were ways to bypass this, but Ronan didn’t plan on writing anything too incriminating anyway.
He started drawing lines and created a small diagram.
Luca.
That was the first na he wrote.
Then Iris. Freya. Elara. Irene. Grace. Aura.
The main characters of the novel.
And then he made connections based on his current knowledge on how this world worked. Aura’s involvent had definitely changed things, and from what he had observed, she had started making a connection with Grace.
He drew a symbol for electricity that represented the system.
Now, how did the system work into all of this?
Right now, there weren’t many things he could work with, but it seed the system operated in a way that forced him to get involved with the plot.
The original quest involved Iris, and the goal of that quest was to ensure he made it into the Academy. Presumably, because if Iris found out he was different, a chain reaction would occur that would cause him to not be able to enter.
Similarly, but also inversely, this quest pushed him towards what he assud were the main characters.
But that was just one interpretation.
Ronan humd and thought for a mont as he looked back at the goal.
Goal: Establish a aningful connection with a high-value individual within the academy.
There was no restriction on who qualified as an important target. His interpretation of the system’s intent was irrelevant; right now, what mattered was doing what he thought best.
Slowly, he drew a line between the connection guiding him and Luca.
Hmm... let’s limit-test a little, Ronan thought.
He was fairly sure he knew what the system wanted him to do, but he didn’t like that option.
Ronan leaned back in his chair and closed the notebook. Taking a sip of water, he let out a deep sigh.
Looks like he would have to call Aura again.
· ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
Aura groaned.
These human topics were absolutely dreadful to learn about.
If this was what freedom felt like, perhaps being a slave would have been a better reality. If she had to listen to another second of this professor’s incessant rambling, she believed she would lose her mind in no ti.
"And that wraps up this lesson. You are free to leave anyti-"
Aura didn’t hear the rest. She instantly grabbed her things and got ready to leave.
"Aw, the class wasn’t that bad, Aura," the girl next to her said.
Grace Light. The next saintess candidate. Sohow, Aura’s only friend.
Aura rolled her eyes and replied in a hushed whisper. "It was dreadful. I don’t understand how you can pay attention to him."
"Professor Grapevine is great!" Grace said with a giggle. "You’re just a hater."
A hater, she said. She sure liked using interesting terminology.
For so reason, the mont Aura ca to this school, Grace had imdiately tried befriending her. On the first day of classes, Grace had co and sat next to Aura almost imdiately and instantly started socializing with her.
Perhaps this was the way of the humans. Aura had no idea.
It was ironic, too. The saintess candidate and a demon were friends, but Aura had no such prejudice. If she were going to live amongst the humans for the ti being, the least she could do was try to get along with them.
That was until she found a way to get back to the demon continent.
Aura sighed. "Ignoring the fact that Professor Grapevine is an absolutely terribly thought out na, he teaches in such a boring and uninteresting way."
For so reason, Grace preened at her first point.
"W-what? Grapevine is a great na! I’m sure his creator put a lot of thought and love into his na."
"His... creator? That’s certainly an odd way to refer to soone’s parents."
Grace’s face turned red. "O-oh, yeah. Duh. Parents, creator, sa thing."
"Right..." Aura deadpanned. What even was a ’duh?’
"Anyway, his na is great. Don’t make fun of it."
"I will... keep that in mind."
Aura honestly didn’t understand this girl. She had imagined the saintess candidate to be a little more... dignified.
"What are you two talking about?"
A voice ca from behind.
Aura turned to find a man with pale blue hair and an objectively handso face. He had a blank expression on his face as he addressed both of them.
Luca Underwood.
Rank 1 amongst the freshn, and the one who had taken her own spot as the previous rank 1.
Soone who she knew the existence of even before he had transferred in.
Because Ronan had told her.
Sohow, he had known that this man would be transferring here, and not only that, he had preemptively told Aura to keep an eye on him.
It made no sense. Did he have access to the academy files, or perhaps it was due to his connection with his family?
Aura had found out about his family, naturally, along with his reputation. Ronan was soone who’s family – status wise – gapped even her own. He was one of the four noble families, and in human territory, that ant an insurmountable amount of influence.
Despite that, he had sohow earned the reputation of a rude, lazy bastard who did nothing but harass his maids and laze off all day.
But he didn’t co off that way to her. Yes, he was a rude bastard who liked getting under her skin by calling her that god-forebidden nickna "princess," but he was nothing like the rumors had described.
"Luca!" Grace chirped.
"Grace," Luca replied. "And Aura."
"We were just talking about Professor Grapevine. Tell her, Luca, his na isn’t that weird, right? I bet his parents put a lot of effort into naming him."
Luca thought for a second before he nodded. "I do believe his na is not too unusual."
Grace smiled wide and hugged him. "Yes! You get it. It’s about thes. Thes."
"Thes...?"
"Yes, thes. He uses plant and earth magic, so Grapevine is the perfect na!"
"Yes, but how would his parents know that prior to his conception?"
"I- they just did! Stop questioning everything, you’ll grow wrinkles."
"I will?"
Aura watched the conversation with a deadpan expression.
"Well then, I will take my leave," Aura said, packing up her bags.
"Whatttt. No, don’t go. Let’s get lunch together! Irene and Iris will join too." Grace clung to Aura’s arm as she whined.
"Iris and Irene have already left," Aura pointed out.
"Well, we’ll just go find them," Grace said.
Aura sighed and pried Grace off her.
"I apologize, but I will have to leave today. Do have fun though."
"Boo, boring," Grace stuck out a tongue at her. "You’ll co, won’t you, Luca?"
Luca nodded. "I don’t have much else to do, I don’t see why not."
"Yayy, let’s go find Irene and Iris then!" Grace pumped her fist in the air, and Luca followed closely behind.
What an eccentric girl.
With a sigh, Aura left the room and started walking towards the outskirts of the Academy. She started walking to an area Ronan had told her about, where there was little monitoring, and she activated her artifact with the slightest amount of demonic energy, turning herself into a small cat.
Today was the day they were going to carry out the plan he had told her about the week prior. Even after getting all the information, it still sounded far fetched, and she wasn’t sure where he got that confidence from.
The more I know about you, the less I seem to understand.
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