Chapter 253: Slurp Slurp
Chapter 253: Slurp Slurp
“You’re slow. Even at falling.”
“Urgh… You said it was Shock, but then you self-destructed another spell….”
A short groan. My classmate collapsed, his eyes filled with a sense of injustice.
How stupid. There was only one opponent left; why would I bother maintaining a continuous-type spell? It’s your fault for being tricked!
I looked away from his resentful gaze, nodding to myself, when suddenly—
Ding!
“Huh?”
My eyes widened at the unexpected notification sound.
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【Proficiency Increased!】
One day, you realized… the weapon feels extra snug in your hand today!
Even with a weapon you’ve never seen before, you feel like you could handle it at a high level!
But remember: the realm reachable through pure effort ends here. If you aim for greater heights, pray for special talent or seek out a miraculous encounter!
What? You don’t have any?
Then why did you grow this trait this far…?
======================
Wait, this leveled up here? I knew it was at C+, so I expected it to rank up eventually with the right trigger.
As the notification said, B-rank is a level one can reach through sheer grinding.
I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon—and at the Academy, of all places.
Since melee combat isn't my main focus, I figured it would just level up naturally alongside my other traits during dungeon crawls or cultist subjugations that grant massive proficiency.
Well, an upgrade is an upgrade.
‘Trait details.’
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【Excellent Weapon Skill (B)】
You can handle various weapons at an excellent level.
It could be said you’ve reached the level of an ordinary human who has trained for half a lifetime! I shall praise you!
However, because you’ve learned so many different weapons, you are mediocre in all aspects. You might find it difficult to defeat a master who has delved into only one.
======================
Fifteen percent is a value that absolutely cannot be ignored.
It’s a shame that it only applies to pure physical attacks and that this is essentially the growth limit since I have zero related traits…
But for a mage, even this much is something to be grateful for.
Just reading the status window filled me with satisfaction, and when I thought about my promise with Iona, a laugh escaped my lips involuntarily.
“Heheheheh!”
The students sprawled in the corners sent me looks of utter disgust… but what did I care?
If you’re salty, you should’ve won!
As I stood there cackling for a while, Iona, who had been watching from afar, approached with a bouncy step.
“What is it, what is it? Why are you so excited, Student Yandel? Are you that happy about being able to do whatever you want to this Professor Iona?”
“Yes. There’s something I’ve really wanted to try.”
“Hoo? I’m a liiittle curious, but I’ll save that pleasure for later! Shall we wrap up the lesson first?”
Iona hopped in place, waving both hands.
“Everyone, everyone! Gather ‘round! It’s feedback time, so stop being depressed and focus!”
One by one, the students gathered, staggering. Whether they were from the Magic Department or the Knight Department, they all looked equally bedraggled—it was quite a heartwarming sight.
“First off, Student Yandel did well! It looks like you were testing a new spell, and aside from the fact that it didn’t show its full potential due to a lack of proficiency, everything else was great!”
“Hmm. I think so too.”
Iona vigorously patted my head, while Jason nodded and took a step back for some reason, as if he were keeping his distance.
What’s with him?
“Next, next… shall we start with our Magic Department students? It was good that you quickly deployed water-attribute defense magic, but you were toyed with the entire time, weren't you? A mage must know how to set the stage and overcome disadvantages, not just react! There were at least three breakthroughs in this duel alone……”
Unlike my brief evaluation, the feedback for the other students looked like it would take a while.
In the meantime, I should think about the supplies I’ll need.
*
After school. My heart wanted to head straight to Iona’s laboratory… but I stopped by Fay’s workshop first.
If I was going to roleplay, I needed at least a few basic props.
“It doesn’t need to be realistic. As long as it has the minimum appearance and durability, that’s enough, Senior Fay.”
“Something like this isn't hard… but what are you going to use it for, Junior?”
“To catch a vampire.”
“…Aha? Do you need this?”
Dangle, dangle.
I shook my head at Fay, who pulled out a Sensory Link Dildo and waved it around.
“No. I’m planning to go a bit more classic this time.”
“Classic? Hmm. I don’t really get it, but if you don’t need it, I’ll just use it myself.”
“If you’re going to do that, do you want to join us, Senior Fay?”
“Honestly, I’m tempted… but not today. I think it’s better to let Professor Iona have you to herself for a day. That way, I can monopolize you later, Junior.”
“If you’re okay with that.”
I shrugged, and Fay tucked the dildo between her cleavage before standing up.
“Up we go. I’ll make it for you in a jiffy, so just wait a moment.”
“Okay. …Oh, right. Just so you know, I’ve registered you as my exclusive Alchemist, Blacksmith, and Enchanter, Senior Fay.”
“Huh? Ah, right. Is it already time for the second semester where we start matching up with the Production Department? That’s fine by me. You’ll earn me extra credit even if I just sit still, Junior.”
Whether you’re a mage or a knight, you can’t be free from the need for equipment and potions.
For that reason, starting from the second semester, students began to interact in earnest with those from the Production Department…
While ordinary requests or sales didn't matter, things were a bit different when an exclusive contract was involved.
If the contract partner achieved good grades, the Production Department student would receive a corresponding amount of extra credit.
Ultimately, the raison d'être of the Production Department was to assist mages and knights with high-quality goods, so if they were actually helpful, it was highly evaluated.
That’s why, later on, all sorts of competitions would break out over talented mages or knights, which was noisy and fun in its own way.
However, since I already had Fay, there was no need for me to participate in that. I had immediately filled out the paperwork and registered her as my exclusive.
Fay, seemingly happy about the easy points, hummed as she tossed iron ingots and wood into the cauldron.
Even though she just stirred it casually with a giant ladle, the items I had ordered began to take shape one by one, miraculously.
Good, good. The quality is better than I expected.
*
Since I had decided to enjoy this time alone with Iona, I sent Carla and Elisha back to the dormitory first.
Then, I packed the items I received from Fay into my inventory and headed to Iona’s professor’s office.
Making them didn't take long, but because the distance back and forth was quite far, a fair amount of time had passed.
The orange sunset glowed through the hallway windows. The atmosphere changed completely just because the lighting had shifted.
It felt like walking through a completely different space, which made me a little excited. Or maybe I was just looking forward to what kind of play I’d be doing with Iona.
After one last check of the prepared supplies, I knocked on the door of Iona’s laboratory.
Knock, knock.
“Professor. It’s me.”
“Student Yandel? Come in! Come in!”
As soon as I opened the door and entered, Iona’s mana immediately blanketed the entire lab.
I assisted by thoroughly locking the door after her thorough soundproofing measures, then I looked up.
Iona was wearing a pitch-black cloak, her back turned toward me. She looked strangely well-suited to the sunset light streaming through the window.
I stood there dazed for a moment, but then Iona spun around, her cloak fluttering exaggeratedly.
Twirl.
“Fufufu! To walk in here on your own two feet. You must be a human who’s dying to be killed!”
“Pardon?”
For a moment, I tilted my head, wondering what she was talking about. But seeing Iona repeatedly winking at me, I realized the play had already begun.
Now that I looked closer, that unnecessarily long cloak was also a classic outfit reminiscent of a vampire.
Then I had no choice but to play along.
I pulled the corners of my mouth into a smirk and took out the item I had prepared from my inventory.
Thud!
A heavy vibration traveled through the floor. Through the gap in the objects that had dropped before me, I could clearly see Iona’s bewildered expression.
“Eh…?”
My prepared items were clearly reflected in her wildly trembling blood-red eyes.
A thick body shaped like a tombstone. At the top was a large halo, designed to look like solidified light.
From each corner of the halo, which sparkled silver without a single gap, long silver chains hung down.
At first glance, it looked like something ominous… but in reality, it was just a wooden model coated with polished white metal.
In other words, a mere decoration.
However, its appearance was an exact match for the restraints used by vampire hunters in the past.
Unlike Iona, who had only thrown on a cloak, she seemed caught off guard that I had prepared to this extent, and she began to stammer.
I spoke to her with a confident smile.
“Ha! No one knows who will be the one to die.”
“U-um. Student Yandel? Where on earth did you get something like that? I was just thinking of a normal prisoner play….”
I let Iona’s words, which kept breaking the immersion, go in one ear and out the other as I channeled my mana.
Clink.
The chains rose, lifted by Telekinesis Magic. There were quite a few of them, but since Telekinesis itself is a simple spell, controlling them all at once wasn't that difficult.
Perhaps I had picked up some knack for it while using Fire Phoenix earlier.
Iona’s face turned pale as she watched the chains wriggle like living snakes.
Tonight, Yandel joins the hunt.