Chapter 9: The Day Before School Starts (2)

Chapter 9: The Day Before School Starts (2)

Thanks to how my parents educated and raised me when I was young, just hearing the word 'guarantee' always sent a shiver down my spine and caused my blood pressure to rise.

But that was just me.

Either way, the desperation of a human being cornered was more burdensome than one can imagine.

“After getting disowned and becoming penniless, I guess I needed some emergency funds.”

It could only be burdensome to suddenly hear such words from a classmate she wasn't even close with. But it wasn't like I didn't know that. Rather, that was exactly why I said that.

“Or could you lend me some money?”

I asked her.

“I see...!”

But Yennekar’s kindness was more incredible than I had imagined.

“That must have been difficult...!”

From her kindness to her ‘sympathy’, I couldn't help but admire her.

“There must have been a lot of hardships that I was unaware of... I’m not sure what I can say to help you feel better but... I hope you can cheer up!”

Her cheerfulness without a lick of malice made me suspicious. Did she not know who Ed Rothstaylor was?

He was a person not even worthy of empty compliments. However, Yennekar’s kindness even went above that.

“But... I’m also not in a good position myself... If I could, I would definitely help you, but my family doesn’t have the best circumstances either...”

Yennekar was the daughter of a small ranch in the eastern part of the kingdom of Sparde. She wasn’t born into a rich family. Rather, she grew up playing in the fields as a commoner.

The only reason she was able to attend such a prestigious academy was due to her incredible spirit resonance. Due to her capabilities, she had good grades and received a scholarship.

“But cheer up! I’ll be cheering for you!”

Her beautiful smile was her trademark. Seeing it had the ability to warm one's heart.

But knowing what was in store for her... it wasn't pleasant.

* * *

At the place where Ed Rothstaylor had just left, sat a girl still reaching out towards the air.

“It's just as you said Merilda, he’s such a strange person.”

There were only three people at Silvenia Academy with a high enough spirit resonance that allowed them to see the high-ranking wind spirit Merilda.

The second year student, Yennekar Palerover.

‘Lazy Lucy’ who was talented in all different fields of magic.Yôur favorite stories at novelhall.com

And Melina, a senior professor of Spiritual Studies.

“It didn’t feel like this last year.”

A gust of wind blew as she stretched her arms out. Suddenly, there stood a giant wolf entwined with the wind.

The wolf opened her mouth with a large amount of pressure and rubbed her face against Yennekar's hand while letting out a soft growl.

Yennekar grinned as she stroked the wolf's jaw, which was several dozen times bigger than herself.

“I hope I can sign a contract with you one day, Merilda.”

Even though they were already like family, Yennekar's magic power was still too weak to sign a contract with Merilda. Although she was able to recently succeed in signing a contract with the high-ranking fire spirit Takan, Yennekar had to lie down for ten days and ten nights right after, suffering from a high fever.

“You're even a wolf now... you’re starting to look like the owner of the forest more and more.”

The problem of tuition fees would become a reality at the end of this semester. If I were not to receive a scholarship, I would have to leave the academy immediately.

This meant that I had to train as much as I could during this semester.

The Magic Department’s curriculum had more free time that one would think, but training would still constantly occupy my time.

My magic resonance and direct elemental magic proficiency had considerably progressed over the past few days. I used them every day, after all–to cut down trees, to make a fire-I continuously used them for the sake of my survival to raise my mastery through repeated use.

[Magic Skills Details]

Grade: Low-grade Magician

Specialized Field: Elements

Common Magic:

܀ Fast Casting Level 2

܀ Mana Sense Level 5

Fire Element Magic:

܀ Ignite Level 5

Wind Element Magic:

܀ Wind Blade Level 4

My main magic's level increased quite a bit. Granted, it wasn't all that hard climbing to level 10, but this was still quite fast.

There was a limit to learning magic by myself. But with school beginning, the types of magic I could learn and use would become quite diverse.

My proficiency in my production skills would also naturally increase, which should significantly affect my Dexterity.

My problem was combat. I had hopelessly low physical and muscle strength.

I had been doing all sorts of physical work these past few days, but my stats remained unchanged. This cursed body seemed like it wasn't born with any talent for physical abilities.

But I was not the type to give up when the going got tough.

“There’s nothing like aerobic exercise to train your physical strength.”

Although, at this point, when every day was like a series of aerobic exercises, it might be nonsense to actually schedule a time to exercise.

However, this was my environment. The northern forest where I lived was quite far from the academic district located in the southern part of the island.

The day I was disowned, I walked aimlessly and took about half a day to get to the forest. At that time, I walked deep in thought, took a break in the middle, and then walked around the streets here and there.

Even then, the distance from here to the academic district couldn’t be close. What was even worse was that I had to go to school every day. In other words, I would have to run to attend classes in the early hours of the morning, every day.

“I can think of it as physical training.”

Physical strength was the foundation for all actions. No matter how much one may technically excel or train their magic, physical strength was ultimately needed to support it.

I heard that combat students had to run this much every morning, so it shouldn't be impossible for me. Even though I was from the Magic Department, I had no choice but to act as a student from the Combat Department would. This was something I didn't have the time to even protest about.

Running to school every morning, gaining stats for my Combat Skills through hunting, woodworking, and other means to survive.

As for my Magic Skills, I needed to constantly train my mana-sense and basic elemental magic.

At the same time, crafting various things necessary for my survival would take care of my Life Skills. My increasing Dexterity and various production skills should be of great help in the future.

But my Alchemy Skill... I wasn't sure yet. I didn’t have any useful magic tools or alchemy supplies right now.

“Anyway, I need to focus on training this semester.”

Oh please! It would be great if I could avoid attracting any useless attention. Even without that, I already had so much work to do.

Please...