Chapter 11: Lucia, Plans, and Nickel's Swordsmanship

Chapter 11: Lucia, Plans, and Nickel's Swordsmanship

When we arrived at the classroom, Lucia approached me with groggy eyes, still half asleep.

"Senior, why are you bundled up like that? Isn't it hot?"

The way Lucia looked at me felt like she was looking at a pervert. Not only her, but all the students in the classroom turned to look at me once.

"I'm not feeling well."

"Then why did you come instead of resting?"

"I have to attend class."

"It's surprising. Senior, taking attendance so seriously."

Of course, I have to. There's a scholarship at stake.

"In any case, you're an unusual senior."

"I didn't mean to say anything to you."

As if I'm doing this because I like it.

I had no choice but to wear a scarf because of what happened the day before.

If I just wore a scarf, it would look suspicious, so I ended up taking out winter clothes and wearing them. It felt like I was freezing to death.

"When will this end?"

The reason I'm like this is none other than the scars. The distinct fang marks on my neck couldn't be erased at will. If I were to show this to Charon or let him find out, he would surely catch me.

'It's a relief that I'm still alive, but playing such a cruel joke.'

Sigh. What can I do?

I have to endure as a weakling.

Yesterday, Angela bit my neck, promising that she would see me while keeping only one of her previous promise.

The promise she kept would save my life.

The promise she didn't keep was to kill Charon.

Even if it wasn't for the promise, she would have had enough resentment towards Charon to just leave. But it's just a question.

I was simply grateful for the fact that I survived.

"Cough, cough."

The herbology professor entered the lecture hall. As soon as he saw me, he frowned, noticing me standing out.

"Hey, student."

"Yes."

"Why are you doing that? Are you in pain somewhere?"

"Yes, I have a slight cold."

"If you're sick, just go in. I'll check your attendance for the lecture."

Oh yeah.

I immediately stood up and bowed in thanks.

"Thank you, Professor."

"Alright. What's your name?"

"Adrias Cromwell."

"Adrias?"

The professor, who had suddenly stopped moving, looked away from the attendance book and stared at me. But his gaze was filled with hostility.

"Ah, so you're that student who invented the potion?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"And you were the one who asked about the witchwood during the last class?"

"...Yes."

What's going on? The atmosphere feels strange.

Why is the atmosphere in the professor's office suddenly tense?

"I don't understand why you would do that without leaving the herbology professor like me. Did I make you feel burdened? I could have given you some advice."

That's why he did this.

In other words, he didn't share his expertise in his field. Is that what he's saying?

What an amusing guy.

He made fun of me when I asked.

"I clearly remember asking for advice back then."

"What did you say?"

"I understand that you were the one I asked for advice during the last class. And coincidentally, those were the ingredients of the potion I recently invented."

"That's not what I meant. Did you attend the class alone? Of course, at that time, I conducted the lecture without causing any disturbance to the other students."

"So, are you saying that I should have come separately after the class?"

"...You, your words are quite aggressive."

Ah, I don't know.

Just let it go!

By now, the gloomy adjective could be removed.

"Then, is he Adrias? Adrias..."

Phew.

When she burst into laughter, the students who were listening to the lecture turned to look at her.

But after checking the face of the person who was laughing, they just let it go.

"Surely, if she were a senior, she would have said something."

Why is that?

Even though they had just parted, Luca already missed Adrias' nagging.

.

.

.

.

It's been a while since I had free time.

My lecture schedule was unexpectedly tight, so I didn't have a day off except for weekends.

"Even on the weekends, I was busy with potion research."

Even without potion research, most of my usual weekend activities involved running errands for Charon.

"Now, what should I do with this free time to make it worthwhile?"

First, there were three options to choose from.

Potion making, exercise, and magic training.

Of course, I had to do all three consistently, but what I needed to decide now was the detailed plan.

Honestly, potion making wasn't something I would pay much attention to if it weren't for my bet with Bahart. Even if I considered the bet, there were still nearly four months left in this year, so the burden wasn't too great.

Moreover, Bahart gave me a card and told me to research freely without worrying about the cost of materials.

"Besides, I've developed a talent for potion making."

Of course, it was still a beginner's level and didn't provide much help.

But...

[Adrias Cromwell: Evolution Potential of Potion Making Buffs - 41%]

The evolution potential has increased by 9% since I last checked.

I learned this information in just a few days, and the evolution potential seemed similar to proficiency.

The more experience I gained, the higher the potential became.

'I wonder if I can try again if the evolution fails?'

This was still a question, but just in case, I decided to raise the potential to a safe level and attempt the evolution.

On the other hand, none of my other talents showed any signs of being able to evolve. It seemed that I had to accumulate proficiency just like in potion making...

'The problem is that I can't freely use dark magic.'

Currently, it was the biggest issue for me. Unless I had a hidden personal laboratory like Charon, it was impossible to practice dark magic.

'Wait, what if I just summon it and keep it hidden? Wouldn't that increase my proficiency?'

Suddenly, a crazy idea came to my mind. What if I roughly dressed Nickel and just concealed its appearance?

If I only summoned it in my room, there would be no reason to get caught. And in the rare chance that someone witnessed it, I could just make them not notice that it was a skeleton.

With that in mind, I immediately summoned Nickel.

[A Summoned Skeleton Soldier]

Nickel popped out of the distant dimensional space right away. I wonder what's inside.

"Long time no see, Nickel. Let's start with putting on some clothes."

I dressed Nickel in the thick winter clothes that I had worn.

At first glance, it looked like an ordinary person.

"Now, let's see if the proficiency increases."

When I raised my summoner character, just summoning the creature increased not only the proficiency but also the skill level. I had to check if it worked the same way for a necromancer.

-Dark Magic: Basic Command (20/100) Skeleton Summoning LV3

Hmm, I'll leave it for now.

While keeping the proficiency window open, I glanced at Nickel. He was swinging his arms up and down in a strange posture.

"What are you doing?"

In response to my question, he seemed annoyed by the interruption and wrote something in the air.

"Training?"

Wow, this guy.

Even though he's my own skeleton, his concept is clear. He must have been swinging a sword and died or something.

...Wait a minute?

A sudden thought struck me.

"Nickel, can you teach me swordsmanship?"