Chapter 199
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 199
"Here, take this."
Thud.
First up was Chloe, the mascot of our dungeon expedition.
Despite her minimal contribution to the trek, she received a solid gold ingot. It was quite the haul for simply tagging along for a day or two. Of course, that payment wasn't just for her help; it included hazard pay and a quiet bribe for the upcoming war of public opinion.
"Thank youuu~"
Chloe accepted the ingot gratefully, offering no complaints.
Next was Ciel. I handed her a few gold ingots, just as I had before. She didn't object either. I knew she was diligently stashing them away in a bank, and I was genuinely curious about what she planned to do with such a fortune later.
"What are you going to give me?"
Elena watched the distribution with an expectant look, her fingers wiggling as if she could barely contain her excitement.
Technically, Elena had joined the expedition in exchange for information on various monsters. In other words, she had already been paid in full. I didn't actually owe her any of the spoils, but…
That would be too heartless.
It would be a letdown to be the only one left empty-handed after we had all cleared the dungeon together. Besides, this was her first time entering a dungeon, defeating monsters, and claiming loot. It was like receiving a first paycheck; it held a value far beyond the gold itself.
I thought for a moment before asking, "You don't really need money, do you?"
While it wasn't her personal wealth, as the heir to a kingdom and the Saint symbolizing the church, she would never have to worry about finances a day in her life.
Elena nodded in agreement.
"Alright, then I'll give you a few artifacts."
I handed Elena some of the items I had recovered from the Chrono Dungeon.
Clink.
They were a bracelet and necklace made of intricately interwoven metals, accompanied by a ring carved from obsidian. These items possessed shamanistic powers once used by a tribe that inhabited the Dark Archipelago long ago. From the perspective of the Church of Ru, they were pagan artifacts, but they were well worth analyzing for their historical and magical properties.
And for Elena, who felt a deep pity for departed souls, they would hold a special significance. She immediately tried on the jewelry and beamed.
"Thank you. They look a little old, but they’re beautiful."
"I'm glad you like them."
I turned to the rest of the haul. "Iselin Academy and I will split the remaining gold ingots down the middle."
Although they weren't of dwarven make, these ingots had come from the tomb of a king who once led a tribe large enough to have thousands buried alongside him. The total value had to be at least a billion krone. It would be a massive boost to the academy's operating funds.
Philip’s eyes widened, and he began to stammer. "A-all of this? But I didn't do anything!"
"What do you mean? You protected Chloe the entire time. That’s more than enough."
I offered Philip a word of praise before adding a more practical explanation. "Besides, this is Iselin Academy's share for cooperating with the expedition. It’s only natural for the landowner to take a stake."
"Th-thank you! I will be sure to inform the Princess!"
I smiled at the deeply bowing Philip. "Good. I’ll be counting on you for the next expedition as well."
*
After disbanding the team, I returned to my workshop to check if the items I’d ordered from the underworld had arrived safely.
The delivery was reliable.
The equipment, procured through the underworld and delivered via Sheika's Lombard Merchant Ship, was all accounted for. It was a complete set of state-of-the-art magic engineering tools that I intended to use for my upcoming research projects.
There were automated mana stone cutters, raw material mixers, and specialized equipment for polishing, oxidation, and heat generation. While they were a generation behind the gear currently used in the major Magic Towers, they were still incredible pieces of technology for a private workshop. Basic facilities like sewage treatment, ventilation ducts, and plumbing were already integrated into the building, so I didn't need to worry about the heavy lifting.
The thought of organizing and calibrating all of this was daunting, but knowing it was all my property gave me a profound sense of security.
Rustle.
Sifting through the crates, I saw that the materials for the new magic armor I planned to develop had also arrived. I’d need to learn how to solder properly, so I figured I should call Meyer over eventually to give me a demonstration on assembly.
Once the inspection was finished, I entered the magic training room attached to the side of the workshop. It was time to handle the Cognitive Acceleration Stone I’d acquired in the Chrono Dungeon.
The stone pulsed with a beautiful, deep indigo light. For the time being, I kept it inside a protective pendant so I wouldn't lose it.
"Hoo."
I took a deep breath, removed the Cognitive Acceleration Stone from the pendant, and gripped it in my palm. I focused my mind, and a notification soon flickered before my eyes.
[Activate the 'Acceleration' effect?]
"..."
This was the moment I had been waiting for.
In Myrillin Saga, the [Acceleration] effect functioned like a "bullet time" or time-stop mechanic that triggered when you perfectly dodged an attack. Everything in the world—except for the player—would move in slow motion. I was eager to see how that translated to reality.
I looked at the prompt and whispered, "Yes."
The moment I gave the command...
Thump.
"!"
To the sound of my own heavy heartbeat, my vision suddenly bled into black and white. I felt a sensation of spacetime stretching thin, and then, everything slowed to a crawl.
The chirping of the birds outside, the swaying of the tree shadows cast through the window—it wasn't a total freeze, but the difference was stark. I was observing time through a distorted lens.
"..."
Amidst this temporal shift, I slowly reached out my hand.
Swoosh.
Independent of the slowed world, my hand moved at its normal speed without any resistance. It was a surreal sensation, as if I were the only living thing in a frozen world.
I picked up a pen from the desk and tossed it into the air.
Whoosh.
The pen fell slowly, as if gravity itself had been diluted. I watched it trace a lazy parabola, bounce off the floor, and roll to a stop.
In reality, the pen’s falling speed hadn't changed. Rather, my own cognitive processing and physical movements had been hyper-accelerated. Speed is relative, after all.
In this slowed state, I contemplated the infinite possibilities of the stone. This was a transcendent authority that went far beyond a simple agility stat boost. In this state, I could perfectly gauge the distance to an opponent and exploit a microscopic opening to deliver a fatal blow. It was an overwhelming advantage in any combat scenario.
However...
"Gasp."
The drawback was that I couldn't breathe while [Acceleration] was active. The pressure was different from simply holding one's breath; the system itself seemed to prohibit respiration, making it feel as suffocating as being trapped under high water pressure.
"Kuhup."
As I let go of the stone and exhaled, the world snapped back to its normal tempo.
Shaaa.
Simultaneously, my lungs, which had felt frozen, expanded to take in oxygen.
"Gasp, gasp..."
I panted heavily, staring at the indigo orb glittering in my palm. It had only been a few seconds, but it was enough to show me the limitless potential of the Cognitive Acceleration Stone.
I'll have to process this into a proper artifact later.
Crafting it into a specialized tool would not only make it easier to trigger but would likely amplify its effects.
[Upon use, 5% of total mana is consumed per second. The acceleration multiplier can be increased by amplifying mana consumption.]
After reviewing the detailed description in the notification window, I tucked the stone back into its pendant.
*
The next day.
For some reason, Freya didn't show up for our morning run. The diligent Freya wasn't the type to quit after just one day.
Is she sick?
Assuming she had a valid reason, I didn't try to contact her. After finishing my solo run, I headed to the basic swordsmanship lecture in the afternoon.
There she is.
I had been worried, but Freya was present for the class. However, the moment our eyes met, she quickly looked away, avoiding my gaze entirely.
"...?"
What's with her?
Putting her mysterious behavior aside, we did our usual laps around the training ground and lined up in front of Professor Zimmer. Zimmer sat comfortably in his chair, explaining the grading criteria for the semester.
"You learned the basics of how to fight in the first semester. Now, it's time to internalize it. You all know that experience is a better teacher than words. To that end, this semester's grades will be determined by 'sparring' and the resulting rankings."
The grading was to be done through combat, just as I had discussed with him beforehand. However, grading based purely on sparring was extremely disadvantageous for students from other academies compared to those from Ishtal. There was a massive gulf between students who had lived by the sword their entire lives and those who had signed up for the class just to stay in shape.
"Professor, no matter how you look at it, that's...!"
A few students immediately voiced their complaints.
"Didn't you all sign up for this class knowing the risks? Furthermore, I've maximized the percentage of A grades available, and the first semester was a simple pass/fail. I've already made plenty of accommodations for you."
At Zimmer's blunt explanation, the room fell silent. There was no arguing with his logic.
"..."
Of course, this wasn't done to bridge the gap between Ishtal and the other students; it was purely for my own convenience.
Having silenced the dissent, Zimmer continued. "The evaluation for sparring will be divided into three categories: martial arts, swordsmanship, and comprehensive combat. For today, you'll pair up for light practice. It's just a warm-up, so take it easy."
At the instruction to form pairs, the students began to murmur and seek out partners. Garfield naturally approached me.
"Lord Roen, would you do me the honor?"
"I don't see why not."
It was just a practice session that wouldn't affect my grade, so I didn't mind humoring Garfield for a bit. Even if it did count, I could handle someone of his level easily.
"Heh heh. Please go easy on me."
"We'll see."
Just as I was preparing to square off with Garfield, Zimmer’s voice cut through the noise.
"However, before the practice spars begin, Miss Freya will give a demonstration. Freya."
Zimmer called Freya to the front of the platform.
"Yes, Professor."
I had assumed Zimmer would give the demonstration himself, but he simply pointed toward the crowd and spoke to Freya.
"Choose any opponent you wish."
"..."
Her gaze swept over the rows of students before locking onto me.
"Roen. I choose Roen."