Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Sloth Infusion and Crown Prince's Visit
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[Sloth Infusion]
[Consumes 200 Sloth Meter per infusion]
[Hatches after 10 total infusions]
Touching the option brought up an additional explanation.
It was literally sloth infusion.
Instead of mana, it infused my Sloth Meter into the egg.
‘But what happens if I infuse sloth…?’
In [Stella Academia], hydras branched into different growth paths based on their attribute.
Fire-attribute hydras specialized in burst damage.
Ice-attribute hydras focused on defense and tanking.
Lightning-attribute hydras provided utility through stuns.
Darkness-attribute hydras excelled in sustained damage.
Each had its specialized field.
So what about infusing sloth?
It would probably become a sloth-attribute hydra.
What abilities would a sloth-attribute hydra have?
Two possibilities came to mind.
The hopeful scenario.
It would hatch as a hydra that could apply a powerful sloth debuff to enemies, like Yuria's spirit Seolbaek.
That would be a huge help in battle.
The despair scenario.
It would just be a lazy hydra itself.
I'd pull it out to fight, and it would fall asleep.
That would be a huge help in raising my blood pressure.
‘Hmm….’
I was torn.
Should I go with the safe, proven standard build?
Or take the risk and carve my own path with big potential payoff?
The former was stable, the latter a gamble.
And the cost wasn't cheap either.
200 points per infusion. Ten times total meant 2,000 points—a fortune.
However.
Logically, I was deliberating, but my heart was already set.
‘No, how could I pass up a hidden route…!’
As a veteran gamer, a completely unseen, unknown route?
I couldn't resist.
Falling into this game world started because I couldn't resist picking the new Myth-grade trait ‘Sin of Sloth.’
Human greed knows no bounds, and we repeat the same mistakes.
‘Proceed with sloth corruption right now!’
I boldly selected [Sloth Infusion].
Then.
[Infusing sloth.]
[Sloth Meter -1!]
[Sloth Meter -1!]
.
.
.
Notifications rapidly deducted my Sloth Meter points.
‘Hm.’
I didn't have much to do.
I just stayed in contact with the egg, spacing out, and it automatically sucked away my Sloth Meter.
‘Should I hug it?’
I shifted position and cradled the egg to my chest. The Sloth Meter drained even faster.
Now it felt like I was actually incubating it.
After waiting a bit like that.
Ding!
[Sloth Infusion complete.]
[Progress: 10%]
[Time until next infusion: 24 hours]
Such a system window appeared.
Cooldown was one day.
Meaning I wouldn't see the hydra's face for at least ten days.
It wasn't unusual since you couldn't infuse other attributes all at once either.
If anything, it was more convenient—no need to farm materials.
That's when it happened.
Woooong.
A purple aura lightly swirled over the egg's surface before fading.
It died down quickly, but it was definitely an alien hue.
‘Oh… is that the sloth attribute?’
Pale purple, distinctly different from darkness's black.
It resembled the effect of Yuria's [Butterfly Sleep] a bit.
Excitement welled up.
‘I hope it's the hopeful scenario.’
And so, the first sloth infusion into the hydra egg was complete.
Next up was checking my specs.
I opened my status window for the first time in a while.
To confirm my current stats and remaining Sloth Meter to plan ahead.
[Level: 31]
[Stats]
Strength: D (18)
Vitality: D (18)
Agility: B+ (41)
Intellect: D (19)
Mana: B+ (43)
Luck: +1
[Sloth Meter]
[2813]
[Stat Points: 5]
My stats were only B+ in Agility and Mana; the rest were pathetic Ds.
Sloth Meter was down to around 2,800 after spending 200.
‘First, stat points….’
No hesitation—I invested them in Mana.
[Mana increased by 5.]
[Mana: B+ (48)]
A hard lesson from facing Leonhardt.
Mana was insufficient.
My mid-40s Mana was top-tier for a first-year at the academy, sure.
But compared to real monsters, it fell laughably short.
Forget the Four Emperors line like Leonhardt or Ciel—
Even purely by tier, Artel outclassed me.
And that was with my numbers inflated by Artel's silver bracelet and the Skull King's Gem.
‘Leveling is too slow.’
Getting stronger via the Sloth Meter shop was great, but lately levels weren't rising.
Early game they shot up, but now the EXP requirements skyrocketed exponentially.
My leveling pace was as lazy as the trait itself…
I wasn't grinding levels diligently; I was powering up on skills and gear.
‘Still, 48 now.’
A bit more Mana and I'd break into the 50s, entering A- grade.
Now, onto the Sloth Meter.
2,813 Sloth Meter.
The comprehensive evaluation yielded a nice haul.
But after buying skills, it wasn't as massive as I'd hoped.
‘Need to save at least 1,800 for now.’
Nine more hydra infusions, so 1,800 points reserved.
That left about 1,000 to spend.
‘Lately, nothing worth buying with this.’
I thought like a housewife fretting over inflation.
I'd cleared out all the early-game cost-effective shop items and skills.
The good stuff left had prices that jumped hugely.
Better to hold out for big purchases than blow it on mediocre junk.
‘Okay.’
With maintenance roughly done, I closed the window.
Short-term goals: two big ones.
First. S-Rank promotion match.
Professor Kate's quest.
Had to take it before summer break hit.
With my current specs, no big worries.
The issue was the second.
‘Myth-grade quest, Hero's Sword contact.’
[3. Make contact with the ‘Hero's Sword’]
That condition was tricky.
Skipping the why—long story short, I needed to build favor with the Crown Prince.
But to build favor with the Crown Prince…
Argh, headache.
My head hurt, and my eyelids grew heavy.
‘…Whatever. Think tomorrow.’
Made an important call today—time to rest.
I pulled the blanket over my head.
***
Academy classes resumed after the comprehensive evaluation.
As usual, I planned to diligently nap, slack off, or pull antics to rack up Sloth Meter.
However.
‘Damn.’
Today was a joint class with the Swordsmanship Department right from first period.
Common subjects often had these joint sessions.
Learning to fight alongside other departments or how to counter each other.
The problem… that girl was in this class.
“Jeron! Good to see ya!”
Karen.
“Wanna spar with me?”
“…Sigh.”
I let out a deep sigh.
Doesn't she ever get tired?
I'd rejected and dodged her every time, enough to wilt anyone, but she approached with the same undimmed energy.
“…….”
Artel and Yuria were beside me. Artel predictably glared coldly at her.
“Haha… Karen's as spirited as ever.”
Even friendly Yuria awkwardly smiled at the repeated situation.
‘Well, just refuse and done….’
Still, Karen was a pure battle maniac, not a bad kid.
If I got serious and firm, she'd back off without pushing.
No favor loss either.
But.
‘Starting to feel bad.’
She'd look a bit downcast at first.
She bounced back quick enough, but that dejected retreating figure tugged at me a little.
No way I could spar her directly, though.
‘Then….’
I extended shadow tentacles and wrapped the shoulder of Artel, who was coldly eyeing Karen beside me.
“…Je, Jeron?”
Artel's icy gaze vanished as she turned to me.
I smoothly pushed her toward Karen.
“?”
Artel blinked in confusion, suddenly facing Karen.
Her performance in the comprehensive evaluation confirmed it.
Artel was nearly S-Rank now.
I told Karen.
“Spar Artel instead of me. But go easy on the intensity.”
“Ooh?! A bout with Artel?”
Karen's eyes sparkled.
“I heard ya shone in the evaluation too! Snagged second place, right?”
Karen swiftly switched targets to Artel.
Artel glanced back at me, a bit flustered.
“I, I… out of nowhere, what….”
She clearly wasn't keen.
But I gave her a look of trust.
“Artel, I leave it to you. You can handle Karen.”
“…!”
Artel's eyes wavered at my words.
“If you say so, Jeron….”
She peeked at me, then nodded.
“…Got it. I'll do it.”
This wasn't just an excuse—it'd help her too.
Original Artel would've been crushed by Karen, useless for both.
But training with me—really Kerr—patched her melee weaknesses.
Plus, she'd built resistance to defeat, so sparring elites like Karen was perfect for honing real combat sense.
That's when.
Ding!
[Sacrificed a friend to escape diligence!]
[Sloth Meter +15!]
‘Uh….’
Not intentional, but nice…?
Kinda feels bad for Artel now.
Still, it's for her sake.
Anyway, using Artel as my sacrifice(?), I settled comfortably in a shady corner.
Over there, spells and sword auras flew in fierce spars… (Especially Artel and Karen's, which was brutally intense.)
Here, it was peaceful.
‘Time for a nap.’
I planned to sleep and build Sloth Meter.
But.
“Cadet Jeron.”
Someone blocked my front, casting a shadow.
Opening my eyes, I saw a handsome blond man.
“Good day.”
Crown Prince Leonhardt.
He had come to find me.