"Who said you have a choice?" asked Lucas with a smile that wasn't a smile.
"Unless the academy allows its students to kill each other, I can always forfeit matches without major consequences," retorted Alexander.
Sensing that Lucas was tired of his evasive answers, he spoke clearly: "What's the point of the academy's focus on events and tournaments? That only works when students are enthusiastic about participating in such happenings."
"I don't want fame, and I also don't care about proving I'm the strongest," explained Alexander. "I only joined the academy to find teachers who could guide me in what I didn’t know."
Those words made Lucas remember Alexander's information.
The young man before him didn't have people who depended on his success to improve their lives.
That made dealing with him very different from most commoners who enter the academy.
"You know I'm one of, if not the, strongest. So, what's the point of me participating in this?" asked Alexander.
"I'll be honest with you," said Lucas. "There's 'someone' who wants you to reach at least the final of this tournament."
Alexander knew there was another person "participating" in the conversations in that room, as his instincts alerted him to a vague presence when that person was careless. He didn't expect her to interfere or ask something directly from him so soon.
"Alright, I'll fight. But my way," said Alexander. "I won't use offensive spells, only my spear."
Ding!
[You have a new mission]
"You think that’ll get you to the finals?" questioned Lucas.
"I'm not sure," admitted Alexander. "It's precisely this pressure I intend to use to make me improve by leaps and bounds."
Lucas narrowed his eyes, yet didn’t push the matter further. "You have less than 1 month to improve. The tournament starts at the beginning of next month."
As soon as their conversation ended, Alexander went straight to the adventurers' guild.
"Hi, Alexander," said Mary. "You finally showed up to see me. I mean, to see the adventurers' guild."
"I've been a bit busy outside the city," explained Alexander.
"But that's not why I came today," pointed out he. "I have a favor to ask you."
"And what would that favor be?" asked Mary.
"If someone talks about the academy tournament like you, can you tell them—on my behalf—to think twice before betting on me? I won't use offensive spells," requested Alexander. "The most I'll use are buffs and auxiliary techniques. And I don't want anyone after me saying I rigged a possible loss."
"This situation seems complicated," commented Mary. "I'll do my best to pass on this information, I don't know how far I'll manage to disseminate it."
"I'm happy just that you try," assured Alexander. "Now I'm going. It's been a long time since I rested at home… Bye Mary."
"Bye Alexander," said goodbye Mary.
With no more problems to solve, Alexander returned to his house and went to sleep to rest and recover.
Early the next morning, when Alexander woke up, Ocean, who had slept with him, was no longer by his side. She was eating.
Alexander carefully looked around and noticed that Diana had already left. "She already left… She still prepared our meal."
After cleaning and getting ready, Alexander ate his meal, which was very good, petted Ocean a lot, and went to his class as if he had never stopped going, which surprised some students.
With the class hour over, Alexander went to Diana, who was leaving looking everywhere—as if trying to escape from someone.
Noticing him coming towards her, she tried to change direction, his speed didn't allow her to "escape."
In just one second, he was already by her side.
"Don't worry," said Alexander, already knowing what she was like. "I really don't mind you using my room."
"I'm sorry, Alexander," said Diana, immediately lowering her head and blushing with shame.
"No need to worry," reiterated Alexander. "Actually, I even wanted to thank you for taking such good care of the house. You took better care of it than I did."
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
"It was nothing," said Diana, still embarrassed.
"Now that I'm back, do you want to resume clearing dungeons?" asked Alexander, clearly wanting to end the other subject.
"Yes," replied Diana excitedly.
"What do you think about the same schedule?" asked Alexander.
"No problem…" replied Diana. "Should we call Mark and Stella?"
"If they want and can keep up," pondered Alexander. "Before that, I want to make it clear you don't need to move out if you don't want to. My house has 2 rooms and you can stay there to save money."
Diana thought about the proposal and, even lowering her head completely red, ended up accepting.
"Deal then," said Alexander. "Now let's eat something before clearing some dungeons."
"I almost forgot," said Alexander remembering something and taking the books for the skills |Mana Barrier| and |Boost Agility|. "These books are a gift from me to you."
"These skills may be a bit complicated to learn, they will be very useful for you. So, don't be afraid to ask your teacher for help, as she should know how to teach you something at this level," explained Alexander. "Don't worry about me, I already learned these skills."
Diana took the books and looked at them. She even seemed to want to say something and looked at Alexander.
However, when their eyes met, she swallowed what she was going to say.
She hugged the books and lowered her head again. "Thank you."
In a tacit understanding, surprisingly pleasant, the duo returned to the residence, which now belonged to both, to prepare something to eat.
As soon as they ate something, they went to call Mark and Stella, picked up some missions, and went to an intermediate dungeon.
Needing to make the most of the time he had left, Alexander maintained an intense routine until the day before the tournament.
Unlike before, when it was just him, Diana, and Ocean, Alexander now fought like a true Asura.
There was nothing defensive left in his posture. That part was now covered by Mark.
All his focus was on attacking, clearing the way, and decimating all dungeon creatures as quickly as possible.
Maintaining this frenetic pace demanded a lot from everyone in the group, it also made them improve quite a bit.
Alexander, being able to receive and quantify his gains with the system's help, was the one who advanced the most among them.
Ding!
[You leveled up. But due to the interference of the special skill |Attribute Control|, all your attribute increases upon leveling up were denied and converted into free attribute points.]
*[+50 free attribute points]*
*[+1 growth point]*
Ding!
[Your familiar (Ocean) leveled up.]
Ding!
[You leveled up…]
Ding!
[Your familiar (Ocean) leveled up.]
Ding!
[|Throw (Advanced)| leveled up to |Throw (Peak)|]
Ding!
[|Thrust (Intermediate)| leveled up to |Thrust (Advanced)|]
Ding!
[|Magical Body Strengthening (Advanced)| leveled up to |Magical Body Strengthening (Peak)|]
Ding!
[|Great Mana Control (Beginner)| leveled up to |Great Mana Control (Intermediate)|]
Ding!
[|Great Energy Control (Beginner)| leveled up to |Great Energy Control (Intermediate)|]
Ding!
[|Magical Control (Beginner)| leveled up to |Magical Control (Intermediate)|]
Ding!
[|Energy Conversion (Beginner)| leveled up to |Energy Conversion (Intermediate)|]
Ding!
[|Asura (Beginner)| leveled up to |Asura (Intermediate)|]
Despite his good growth, Alexander knew the other members of his group also didn't fall behind—especially Diana.
Since the integration event, she managed to learn the skills and spells she received from the academy, Mark, and Stella—besides greatly improving her mana control.
Taking advantage of the last day before the tournament to rest his body, Alexander stayed at his house and completed the transcriptions of the techniques |Ascending Flow| and |Asura|.
With not much else to do after finishing transcribing the techniques, Alexander allocated his free attribute points and began analyzing his Status to better understand his strengths and weaknesses.
[25 points were added to Vitality]
[25 points were added to Intelligence]
[25 points were added to Dexterity]
[25 points were added to Agility]
『 Status 』
Name: Alexander Ocean ♂
Race: Human
Age: 15
Condition: Good
Level: 28/45
Class: Versatile Water Sorcerer
Talent: Evolutionary Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis Race: Dual-Core Goblin
HP: 680/680
KI: 410/410
Mana: 740/740
MP: 630/630
Attributes:
Vitality: 250
Strength: 200
Defense: 200
Dexterity: 350 (250 + 100)
Agility: 350 (150 + 200)
Intelligence: 250
Charisma: 75
Luck: 100
Free Attribute Points: 0
[Equipment]:
[Ring of the Thief God] … [Conductive Silver Dagger Plated with Gold] … [Ascending Dragon Spear]
Equipment Skill(s):
|Indestructibility| … |Concealment| … |False Status| … |Sneak| … |Internal Storage| … |Magical Staff|
Proficiency Skill(s):
|Throw (Peak)| … |Run (Peak)| … |Great Mana Control (Intermediate)| … |Ambush (Advanced)| … |Disassemble (Advanced)| … |Magical Body Strengthening (Peak)| … |Great Energy Control (Intermediate)| … |Magical Control (Intermediate)| … |Spear Mastery (Advanced)| … |Thrust (Advanced)| … |Sweep (Intermediate)| … |Energy Conversion (Intermediate)| … |Cooking (Advanced)| … |Asura (Intermediate)| … |Ascending Flow (Intermediate)|
Scalable:
Passives: |Mana Barrier (Beginner)|
Actives: |Gift (MAX)| … |Boost Dexterity (Beginner)| … |Boost Agility (Beginner)|
Spells: |Invigorate (MAX)| … |Minor Lightning (MAX)| … |Water Jet (MAX)| … |Water Barrier (MAX)| … |Water Blade (MAX)| … |Water Cannon (MAX)| … |Elemental Water Blast (Beginner)| … |Mana Blessing (Beginner)| … |Vapor Mist (Beginner)|
Combat Techniques: |Water Field (Beginner)| … |Aquatic Combat (Beginner)|
Growth Points: 2
Special:
Passives: |Attribute Control| … |Calm Mind| … |World Language| … |Goblin Language|
Actives: |Poisonous Mist| … |Bind Familiar| … |Lustful Will|
Proficiency: |Appraise (Peak)| … |Energy Conversion (Beginner)|
Enhancements:
(Bodily Development II) … (Poisonous Body II) … (Poison Resistance II) … (Paralyzing Poison Production II) … (Poison Production II) … (Blessing of the Waters III) … (Bodily Harmony) … (Dual-core) … (Growing Energy) … (Frozen Water Heart)
Titles:
||Dungeon Conqueror||
