Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Hatching the Hydra's Egg
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[Main Quest Completed.]
[Stat Points +5!]
The comprehensive evaluation main quest reward was 5 stat points.
Considering that the previous main quest had given me 10, it felt a bit lacking.
However, I didn't feel any regret at all.
It was because of the additional reward skill I received.
[Skill]
[Hatching Ritual (Legendary)]
This is a highly complex ritual. If cast incorrectly, you might end up as prey!
Description: (Active) An ancient spell that maximizes the potential of an egg to hatch it. (One-time use only!)
'This is the skill to awaken the Hydra's Egg.'
[Stella Academia] had a pet system.
For example, taking the Spirit Sorcerer route allowed you to raise various spirits, and there was also a rare Beast Tamer route in other departments.
Among them, some pets were acquired in egg form, and usually, such pets were rare, requiring significant effort to hatch.
Feeding them rare materials or creating specific environments, and so on.
The Hydra's Egg was the same.
Normally, you had to fulfill various complex conditions to hatch the egg.
So, I had planned to put off hatching it for much later...
But then, as if on cue, [Hatching Ritual] appeared as a special reward.
A one-time legendary skill that let me skip that complicated process and hatch the egg!
Wow! What luck!
...But the timing was too suspiciously perfect to just brush off.
'Isn't this a bit too contrived?'
Even though luck had been on my side so far,
This one was starting to make me suspicious.
Even I, who prided myself as a hardcore player after playing the game extensively, had never had things go this smoothly, with everything falling perfectly into place.
And the system itself was like that too.
It felt slightly different from a typical game system.
What can I say.
Sometimes it felt like it had a personality of its own.
[......!]
'?'
What was that just now?
For a split second, something weird flashed across the system window?
'That was definitely "flustered"!?'
But now, the skill description window was displaying normally.
'Hmm....'
Still suspicious.
Well, it's not a bad situation anyway.
In fact, it's a good one.
The system hadn't harmed me at all so far; on the contrary, it had been incredibly generous.
Aside from occasionally nagging me about being diligent, that is.
'Well, if you're going to pull strings for me anyway, please keep it up.'
As I was mentally bribing the system,
Clap clap clap clap—!
Suddenly, thunderous applause rang out.
Three cadets had been called up to the platform on the auditorium stage.
Justina, Artel, and Leonhardt.
'Ah, the award ceremony.'
The top three in the comprehensive evaluation got an awards ceremony.
In the game too, you could receive prizes if you placed in the top three. It wasn't easy, though.
The Saintess and Crown Prince were expected to be there, but this was the first time I'd seen Artel receiving an award.
"Thank you."
I wondered how she'd react, but as expected, she accepted it stoically with an expressionless face.
But she was probably thrilled inside.
After all, Artel was someone with a strong drive for self-improvement and a desire for recognition.
Once the ceremony ended and she came down from the platform, Artel walked straight toward me.
Her blue eyes stared intently only at me.
I smiled and welcomed her.
"Congratulations, Artel. Second place—impressive."
"...Thanks."
Artel murmured softly.
"It's all thanks to you, Jeron. You guided me all this time and yielded to me, so I could get it."
Artel humbly credited others.
But I knew she loved praise.
"No. It's because you did well, Artel."
"...Uh, yeah."
She bowed her head to me.
Unable to hide her joy, the tips of her ears turned red.
'Cute.'
I suddenly felt an urge to pat her head.
Of course, given Artel's personality, she'd freak out.
Right then, Yuria came running over.
"Artel! Congratulations! And... Jeron, tenth place—congratulations!"
"Happy ninth place to you too, Yuria."
"Ugh, if you'd just tried a bit harder, you could've taken first...!"
Yuria was a little disappointed but still congratulated me sincerely.
I shrugged.
"Tenth or first, passing is passing. Crossing the cutoff with minimal effort is true efficiency."
"You say it so convincingly, but you were just napping during the exam!"
[Sloth Meter +1!]
Yuria scolded me.
Whatever, minor details aside!
This comprehensive evaluation event ended with everyone smiling.
Seeing Artel and Yuria happy warmed my heart.
It was for getting the Hydra's Egg, but still, it felt good to see my friends doing well.
A lot of time had passed since I fell into the game.
The ones I'd built relationships with no longer felt like mere NPCs.
Especially Artel and Yuria.
I wanted them to be happy, if possible.
To make that happen, I needed to get stronger too.
'Guess I'll have to diligently slack off from now on.'
I resolved myself.
***
Before boarding the airship back to the academy, we had a day of free time.
After the long three-week comprehensive evaluation, the cadets could finally relax and enjoy the island.
The academy had prepared for this, lending out various outfits including swimsuits.
I didn't go for a swimsuit, but changed into a loose, breathable shirt and shorts.
Heading to the beach, it was total festival vibes.
It was late May. Not quite summer, but the Adellan Archipelago was hot due to its climate, perfect for water play, so everyone was excited.
Kids splashing in the ocean, building sandcastles, sweating over beach volleyball.
'Youth.'
Of course, I had no intention of joining them.
I made a parasol and lounge chair out of shadows and lounged leisurely.
"Jeron! We're here!"
Then, a familiar voice called from afar.
Artel and Yuria were approaching.
"......Whoa."
An exclamation slipped out involuntarily.
Yuria wore a cute swimsuit covered in frills.
Her swaying brown bob and petite frame gave off squirrel-like adorableness.
Artel, on the other hand, was a completely different vibe.
She wore a bold bikini that revealed her figure.
The voluptuous curves hidden by her uniform were fully on display.
A cold beauty in that outfit packed a punch.
"How's it look? To you, Jeron... weird?"
Artel noticed my gaze and shyly covered herself with her arms as she asked.
"No. Both look great on you."
"Hehe, glad! I picked the cutest ones from the academy rentals!"
Yuria beamed and grabbed my arm.
"Come on, play with us, Jeron!"
"Yeah. Were thinking of swimming."
Artel seemed subtly expectant too.
Water play.
With cute girls like Artel and Yuria.
It'd be fun, sure...
But I tearfully refused.
"Have fun together. I'll rest."
I couldn't participate.
Intense physical activity like water play would obviously drain my Sloth Meter.
Slacking off isn't as easy as it seems?
"Aww? Resting even here? That's too much!"
Yuria pouted and grumbled.
Then.
"Jeron! What're you doing here!"
Karen approached with a booming voice.
She wore a sporty rash guard, her tight ponytail and slim, toned muscles without an ounce of fat standing out.
And beside her was Ciel.
She had on a pure white swimsuit with a thin outer layer draped off-shoulder style.
"Hi, Jeron—."
She waved languidly.
These two had gotten close during the evaluation and were hanging out a lot lately.
In the game too, they seemed mismatched but had great chemistry.
Maybe because both were fourth-dimensional in their own ways.
Anyway, they suggested water play to me too.
"Today, maritime training in prep for naval battles! Join us, Jeron!"
"Play with me, Jeron—."
Ciel poked my side teasingly.
Four beauties surrounding and pressuring me.
'Trouble...!'
Any normal guy would love it as a reward, but I felt the greatest crisis of this evaluation.
My Sloth Meter would drain...!
I couldn't slash at them either.
"I hate water. Hate getting wet."
So I said somewhat seriously.
But no dice.
"Then how about a sand bath? Great for muscle relaxation!"
"Oh, good idea!"
Yuria clapped.
"You just lie there, so you'd like it, Jeron!"
"No, wait. I'm fine..."
My resistance was futile.
"Now now, lie down nicely!"
"Come on—."
Karen pinned me down with her strength, Ciel scooped sand with telekinesis.
Yuria joined, piling sand on me.
And.
"Hehe."
No, Artel too!?
Artel pulling pranks on me!?
'Artel, I trusted you!!'
I gave her Caesar's betrayed glare, but Artel giggled softly and added more sand.
"Kids...? Isn't this too much sand?"
"Stay still! Gotta cover thoroughly for it to work!"
In the end, I was buried in sand in seconds.
Only my face peeking out, unable to move.
"Haa...."
I sighed, wondering what this was.
I never liked sand baths anyway.
But.
'...Huh?'
The sun-warmed sand pressing heavily on my body.
Not bad at all.
Because it's Jeron's body...?
Why so cozy and comfy.
Plus, unable to move even if I wanted to—forcing sloth.
[Slothful rest!]
[Sloth Meter +10!]
'Oh.'
Even a system notification.
This was pretty sweet?
"Feels decent."
Seeing my relaxed face, the girls giggled down at me.
Blue sky and their smiling faces.
Well, rowdy rests like this are nice sometimes.
I calmly enjoyed the sand bath, watching them play.
The comprehensive evaluation ended as a fun memory.
***
That night, back at the academy.
"Phew. Missed this."
I flopped straight onto the bed.
Sure, I rested on the island, but my own space was best.
I decided to sort out what I'd gained.
Sloth Meter points and stat points accumulated.
And above all...
'Hydra's Egg.'
I took the white egg from my Subspace Pouch and placed it on the bed.
Then used the [Hatching Ritual] skill.
Hum—
I felt mana draining from my body as a complex magic circle engraved on the egg.
High-difficulty magic, but I just clicked the skill.
It activated perfectly.
And then.
Another window popped up.
[Choose the power to infuse into the 'Hydra's Egg.']
[1. Fire Infusion]
[2. Ice Infusion]
[3. Lightning Infusion]
[4. Darkness Infusion]
'This works too!'
Attribute infusion.
The standard way to hatch the Hydra's Egg was gathering magic and rare materials matching each attribute and infusing them.
That let you raise a Hydra suited to that attribute.
But with [Hatching Ritual], I could infuse just mana and pick an attribute, skipping the hassle.
'What to choose....'
Since the choice allowed versatile Hydra uses, I was happily pondering.
But.
At the bottom was an option I'd never seen.
[5. Sloth Infusion]
'Huh?'
...Wait, that's an infusion option too?