I Want to Get Smarter
"...It’s done. I’ll be going back now."
Shion stepped back, her eyes narrowed in clear displeasure as she glared at me.
"Ehehe, just kidding. Shion-nim isn’t one to fret over minor pranks like this, right? You’re the magnanimous type."
"Hmph. I don’t feel even a little happy about words like that."
"Be generous and forgive this lowly one. Isn’t it the magnanimous’s role to understand a commoner like me?"
Her expression said she was utterly baffled by my smooth plea.
"Normally, does the person being asked to forgive actually say that?"
"As long as the result turns out good, why not? We’re rare friends—if you’re sulking, I should do something about it."
"I’m not sulking!"
Shion’s face flushed with irritation as she shouted.
Then, as if suddenly realizing her own reaction, she looked around in confusion.
"Haa… when I’m with Shion-kun, my voice gets loud. It’s always a worry."
"Is that praise?"
"No."
Even the cold, calculating Shion from the game had its charm, but seeing her this emotionally honest was almost refreshing.
"I really should be going now. Let’s continue this discussion later."
Shion shot me a sharp, cautious glare before pouting slightly and turning to walk away.
…She clearly looked like she wanted to be grabbed.
It seemed fun, so I decided to just stare at her without saying a word.
A moment passed—maybe a minute—before Shion glanced back over her shoulder, her gaze flicking toward me.
‘Did he really not grab me?’ The thought was so obvious that a laugh almost slipped out, but I kept my face neutral the way I always did.
"…Shion-kun. Is everything all right?"
"Cough."
Shion turned halfway, eyes brimming with unshed tears as she looked back at me.
The great duke’s daughter of the Kirinus Empire wearing such an adorable expression…
No, I should say adorable. Teary, ah, is that weird? Anyway.
"Hmm. I thought you had urgent business, so I assumed you’d already left."
"…Really?"
"Absolutely. Why would friends lie to each other?"
Ah, that was fun.
I wanted to tease her a little longer, but if I pushed too far she might actually get mad, so I had to stop here.
"I’ll stop the joke. Now, let me show Shion-nim the new ability I awakened yesterday. But since this is the first time I’ve used it myself, I might not know what will happen. Please step back a bit."
"I understand."
Shion took two large steps back. I checked that the distance was sufficient, then quietly opened the status window to review the skill I had gained yesterday.
The skill name was *Leaving the Only Body*.
The ability name was *Clone Technique*, yet it had such a long, flashy title. Did all Wanderer skills have these long names?
Just call it Clone Technique. Why does she have to say every word?
The ability I awakened yesterday was Clone Technique.
I could summon a clone that looked exactly like me, and the clone’s skills would be only half as powerful.
How many clones I could summon… I didn’t know yet. I’d have to test it myself.
I steadied my breathing and activated the skill.
Tao Power coalesced from the spot about one meter away, then began to take shape into the form of a person…
"Ugh…!"
An overwhelming dizziness swept through my mind.
Suddenly the world split into two.
Literally.
My vision divided into two streams.
One showed the front of Shion, the other the side. What on earth was this…
Before I could understand what had happened, my consciousness began to drift away amid the violent nausea.
"…Shion-kun? Shion…! Shion-kun!!"
In my fading vision, I saw Shion rushing toward me frantically.
I wanted to say I was fine, but my mouth wouldn’t open.
* * *
"Ugh… where am I?"
My eyes opened to a white ceiling.
And faintly, the sharp scent of medicine vibrating from my nose.
This must be the infirmary of Luin Academy.
"Hm? Ah, you’re awake."
A middle-aged man’s voice came from somewhere far away.
I turned my head toward the sound and saw a man in a white coat rise from a chair and approach slowly.
It felt familiar… ah, right, the NPC famous for treating wounds at a reasonable price.
His name was… Lucas?
"Lucas-sensei?"
"Haha, it’s rare to have a student who knows my name. Since I don’t personally memorize every student’s name."
"How could I not know the respected teacher’s name? Lucas-sensei’s virtues are well-known even inside Luin Academy."
I genuinely admired him. Thanks to Lucas, I could save a lot on treatment costs during the game.
"Haha, kid. Don’t worry about it. So, are you feeling better now?"
"With Lucas-sensei’s help, I’m completely fine. By the way, how did I end up here?"
"Astorius carried you here in a hurry. Your face looked so serious that I thought you needed emergency surgery…."
"I was in trouble…?"
"It was just overwork. You pushed yourself too hard and exhausted your brain. Being young is good, but there’s a limit to studying and training."
Overwork… a little guilty about that.
My body felt strangely tired, and lately my brain had been overworked by the Nature Realm. Was that the cause?
The reason I collapsed in front of Shion was probably because I used Clone Technique while my body and mind were in critical condition right before transcendence.
At that moment I had felt the clone share my senses with me. My brain couldn’t keep up.
I had imagined moving the clone at will, but now I had to control it one by one. That was troublesome.
"Haha, if you say that, Lucas-sensei, then I’ll be a little more careful from now on."
"Alright. Nothing is more precious than health. Since you seem all right, it should be fine to head back now. Oh, and don’t worry about the bill. Astorius paid for it."
That was Shion. Always grateful. I respected her.
"Shion-nim… I should thank her properly later."
"She seems pretty close to Astorius. Becoming friends with someone that capable, it’ll make girls cry, won’t it?"
"Ah, Shion-nim is just pitying me and coming along with me."
"It’s a good time, a good time."
Listening to Lucas’s chuckle mixed with laughter, I sat up on the white bed.
My mind was clear, and I felt only a little fatigue. I could head straight back to the dorm.
I bowed politely to him and changed seats.
No, I was trying to change seats.
"Ah, and take this too."
"Hm?"
Lucas, who had been about to leave the room, grabbed me and handed me a note.
"A black-haired girl asked me to give this to you when you woke up."
"A black-haired girl…?"
Among the people I knew, there was only one.
"That’s just a rumor. A woman can get into big trouble if she doesn’t manage her affairs carefully. Be careful."
"....."
It seemed he had misunderstood something big, but since I didn’t want to sound like an excuse, I quietly slipped out.
Outside it was late at night. Looking at the time, training would be impossible, so the only choice was to head back to the dorm and wait for tomorrow.
As I trudged toward the dorm, I couldn’t hold back a sigh that rose all the way to my throat and let it out.
"Haa… I can’t use skills because my head is empty."
No, actually, this wasn’t a problem of my intelligence being poor. As the duke’s daughter, Shion’s brain was actually quite good.
This was simply because the mental strength consumed by the Nature Realm and Clone Technique was too great.
"But it’s a shame to give up all Wanderer skills."
I couldn’t use them because I might collapse again at any moment, but I couldn’t avoid them either.
It was like being in a bind.
"I need some clever solution…."
Right now, what I needed was an intelligence-related stat or item.
In the game, intelligence increased skill casting speed, accuracy, comprehension, and insight—universal stacking stats.
If I only solved the intelligence problem, I probably wouldn’t collapse from the Nature Realm and Clone Technique anymore.
"Should I use the achievement store?"
My current points were 1850. Honestly, that wasn’t a lot of points.
To buy something that would raise my intelligence stat dramatically, I’d need at least 2500 points. First, I opened the achievement store.
"Hmm… nothing suitable. Not even on the period discount."
If that was the case, I had to earn points somehow.
But right now, as I was, the only way to get points was by performing in front of people…
"What’s this? Walking perfectly fine."
"Huh? That voice…"
Just then, a familiar voice came from behind me.
I turned and saw Charlotte peeking out from between the trees.
Had she just finished training?
Didn’t matter.
"You came at the perfect time."
"Charlotte!"
"Don’t say it loud. It’s noisy. Why did you call me?"
I knelt in front of Charlotte and looked up at her with a smile.
"Can I borrow some points?!"
"......What?"
Can you lend me some money.