Acupuncture (1)
In the empty training ground, the soft sound of a sword being sheathed echoed quietly. Click.
Because it was so late, I was the only one left in the training ground. I had stayed behind to practice my mana control.
Only now had I finally learned to handle mana in a slightly less crude manner. I was now capable of channeling mana into specific parts of my body. I still struggled with regulating the exact output, so I was still lacking compared to others, but I was satisfied with this level of progress for now. Having experienced real combat seemed to have accelerated my growth.
"Whew..." I squatted down in a corner of the training ground and looked up at the sky.
Unlike the night skies of modern cities, countless stars shone brightly, each casting its own brilliant light.
I could feel the bracelet slowly restoring my stamina. My twitching muscles gradually quieted down. The recovery rate of the Bracelet of Origin was truly remarkable. As expected of an Epic-grade item, its restorative power was far from ordinary. It was a fitting accessory for Reina, who was the definition of a hard worker.
Fortunately, the rewards of pushing myself without rest were physically tangible. Ever since the level of my Extraordinary Senses skill rose, I could tell that almost all of my senses had sharpened significantly. A gentle breeze brushed against the fine hairs on my skin. It was a subtle draft, nearly imperceptible, yet I could faintly read its direction. The night air felt exceptionally damp, as if dew was beginning to form.
Even though I was up to all sorts of antics every night, I was still attending the academy diligently. I should have been drowning in fatigue, but I continued to abuse my body, placing my trust in the bracelet. Having experienced Edward's classes a few times now, they were, as expected, bizarre sessions with incomprehensible intentions.
He could have at least given us some experience points... It was hard to say the classes were completely useless, but since I possessed a status window, nothing was more effective for me than leveling up.
My relationships with Eisel and Yuri—the only real social connections I had built so far—hadn't progressed much since our first class. Yuri would occasionally blush for no apparent reason, but other than the fact that she had naturally started speaking casually to me, not much had changed. As for Eisel... well, to put it simply, I couldn't read her. Her face remained an unreadable mask, leaving me clueless as to what she was thinking or plotting. While people's true feelings aren't always written on their faces, I felt like her mask had grown even thicker since our recent encounter. It seemed she was determined to play her part even more flawlessly.
Eisel, drenched in blood. After experiencing that unexpected turn of events, I realized that it wouldn't be strange for any character—any person in this world—to die, not just Eisel. This was bad news for me. Even if they didn't die, there were plenty of characters who would end up in grave danger. Perhaps even Yuri, who always looked at me with such warm, gentle eyes, was in jeopardy. To prevent such tragedies from unfolding, I had to nip the threats in the bud. Just as I had killed Relial.
But Relial was an anomaly. The villains who would appear in the future already possessed martial might that far surpassed my own.
"A Yodo..." The word lingering in my mind slipped past my lips. If only I had a Demon Blade, I could become vastly stronger. And the stronger I became, the more paths to further power would open up to me.
I had used the gold I earned previously to purchase monster byproducts. I believed I got them at a fairly reasonable price for a blind man. Perhaps it was because it was an open market? Fortunately, whenever a merchant tried to rip me off, other merchants would keep them in check, saying things like, "Hey, don't go over there, come over here."
They could have easily colluded to rob me blind if they really wanted to. I suppose their own internal psychological warfare was just that fierce.
Now, all that was left for the crafting was an item of sentimental value and the crafting fee of 500 gold. Five hundred gold. It was a massive fortune, an amount nearly impossible to acquire all at once in the early stages. In the game, one could sometimes obtain gold through academy quests, class rewards, or exam prizes. But with Edward as our instructor, I had zero expectations for class rewards. Waiting for the exams was frustrating because they were still far off. Besides, the academy's internal quests and rewards would yield too little to amass 500 gold. I had already scavenged for hidden money around the academy before the placement exam, and I had already cleared all the easy, lucrative quests. I didn't want to slowly scrape it together; I wanted to make a massive sum of money all at once.
There were other methods. First, there was monster subjugation. Simply put, working as an adventurer, but that was also too slow. A monster worth 500 gold would be impossible for me to defeat with my current strength, and since adventurers had a ranking system, it would take too much time just to reach the required rank. Other than that, there were life contents like gathering, fishing, and hunting, but earning 500 gold immediately through those didn't seem feasible either.
Illegal methods... Everything I had considered so far was strictly legal. In other words, making money without breaking the laws of the world. Making a large sum of money quickly and easily was a paradox. If it were that simple, everyone would be doing it. Why else would beggars be sitting on the streets? Gambling. There was a gambling den in the underground of a large nearby city.
Go to a gambling den and play the shell game? With my senses developed to this degree, listening to the sound of dice hidden under cups to rake in a fortune wasn't entirely impossible. But the people running the gambling den weren't fools. If some blind guy suddenly showed up and swept up a whopping 500 gold, they would naturally grow suspicious. Even if they didn't, it would still be a loss for them, so they would undoubtedly threaten me. For one, the person running the place was no pushover... and if I recalled correctly, her subordinates were highly skilled as well. The reputation of the gambling den? Quietly disposing of a random blind man who showed up for the first time would be child's play to them.
I don't have the time to become a regular... and I can't exactly wear a mask to hide my identity either... Was a quest the most suitable option after all? If it was a quest outside the academy rather than inside, the options would broaden.
Something perfectly suited for my current level... A quest that didn't require outstanding martial prowess, but could be solved as long as certain conditions were met. And one that offered a reward of at least 500 gold.
"...Ah." There was indeed one. Deciding that I had found the solution, I stood up and brushed the dust off my clothes. My Extraordinary Senses will be helpful... and it fits a blind man perfectly.
Only after several classes were the Class A cadets finally able to enter their actual Class A classroom. In truth, calling this place a classroom was a stretch; it was closer to a training hall assigned to each class. Along the sides, long benches were arranged in a tiered, stadium-like fashion for the cadets to sit on. Looking straight ahead from the benches, there was a vast space with a smooth, pristine white floor where nothing else was placed. One-on-one duels were often held there. In this academy, which was essentially a military combat academy, there was no reason to take written notes on theory. The academy operated strictly on a practical, hands-on basis. Consequently, there wasn't a single desk to be found anywhere. Since even the standard lectures mostly consisted of combat-related instruction or practical experience, it made sense that the classrooms were built this way. In that light, calling it a classroom might actually be appropriate.
Today's class had already ended. For once, Edward had gathered the cadets in the classroom to deliver a normal lecture on the concepts of magic, demonstrating basic spells to teach them. His explanation had even included the weaknesses of mages. This time, my experience points did go up properly, but unfortunately, I didn't level up. While it was true that the required experience points had increased as my level rose, even taking that into account, it felt like I had received only a microscopic amount.
Despite the class being over, few cadets stood up to leave. Everyone was busy chatting with their friends while reading the pamphlets Edward had handed out before leaving the room.
"Is there a club run by Edward?"
"Yeah, look. The Illusion Magic Club."
"Maybe I should join the Cooking Club."
"I think the chef from the academy cafeteria runs it, and his food is amazing."
Of course, I was also holding a pamphlet in my hands, but I just sat there blankly without saying a word. I couldn't exactly read the text in front of everyone, so I had no choice. The pamphlet contained descriptions of various clubs. Clubs. You could think of them as school circles or extracurricular activities. In the game, except during character creation, players acquired skills by receiving instruction from specific characters. This would undoubtedly apply to me as well, since I possessed a status window. In the game, joining a club allowed players to learn from specific individuals and easily acquire skills. Most of them offered life skills related to lifestyle content, such as gathering or hunting. There were also clubs related to various magic or weapon techniques, where one could learn passive skills that increased attack power for specific magic types or weapons.
"Zeto, do you want me to tell you what's on here?" Yuri, who was sitting next to me, asked while holding up her pamphlet.
When it came to acting blind, the presence of the kind-hearted Yuri was incredibly helpful. She wasn't originally the type to go out of her way to help others like this, so perhaps the concept of a 'friend' held significant weight for her. In the game, it had been quite difficult to have such intimate conversations with her. I smiled warmly at Yuri and replied.
"Could I trouble you to do so, then?"
"I'll read them slowly for you. The Herb Gathering Club... the Fishing Club... the Hunting Club... the Ice Magic Club..." Yuri read down the pamphlet, listing the names of each club. "...the Archaeology Club. Huh...? The Human Anatomy... Club? ...And that's all of them. What do you think? Is there any club that catches your interest?"
"Hmm..." Although I had already made up my mind, I stroked my chin, pretending to ponder.
"Maybe the Swordsmanship Club? I have to join the Fire Magic Club because of my family. My father insisted on it," Yuri said.
As a member of the Clementine family, one of the Four Great Elemental Families, Yuri was guaranteed to join the Fire Magic Club. In the game, the player joining that club was one of the routes to grow closer to her.
"What about you, Miss Eisel?" I asked Eisel, who was sitting on the other side of Yuri, posing a pointless question.
"I'm not really interested," Eisel replied with her characteristic indifferent expression. Strangely enough, she only spoke casually to me when I was with Yuri.
"Ah..." If I recalled correctly, Eisel didn't join any club in the game either. Joining a club wasn't mandatory, after all. This part remains the same. Lately, I found myself unconsciously testing Eisel more and more.
"So? Did any of them catch your eye?" Yuri asked.
"Hmm... Could you tell me more about the... Medical Techniques Club, was it? Could you explain that one in more detail?"
"Sure! Let's see... Ah, found it. The Medical Techniques Club. It says you can learn various medical skills here. The instructor is... Officer Priscilla. I met her when I went to the infirmary last time, and she was really nice."
"Various medical skills..."
"Medicine... and acupuncture? That's unique."
"...That sounds quite nice," I agreed, nodding as I listened to Yuri's explanation.
I planned to learn Acupuncture there. There was a quest outside the academy that could only be solved with acupuncture. The conditions might be somewhat demanding, but knowing them beforehand meant it wouldn't pose much of a problem for me. Normally, joining the Swordsmanship Club would be the correct choice, but the circumstances had changed. I was trading a passive skill that increased swordsmanship attack power for a massive fortune of 500 gold. It was a gamble I could afford to make, precisely because I had chosen Ghost Swordsmanship, which started weak but grew exponentially stronger over time.