Chapitre 23: Side Manual
"What should I do today?"
"I don't know. Maybe we should train some more? Weren't I pretty close to gaining an understanding of the first animal I chose as well for [Materialize]?"
I and I were currently sitting at my kitchen table, both sipping on some hot instant coffee to get us started for the day, discussing what I should do.
"That's true... It would be a boon to get it ready before classes start again next week..."
Having already spent the entirety of yesterday, which was Friday, skipping class, I knew that I had to go back on Monday if I didn't want to risk getting kicked out. Now, in reality, I hadn't been planning on skipping yesterday either but somehow I had gotten a text from Ms. Turner on Thursday that stated;
*I understand that you might not feel so good right now. I have talked to Mrs. Bright and Mr. Black and informed them that you might not show up tomorrow. Please do remember that you can always talk to a teacher if you need help.*
It was a very sweet, but very weird, message from the iron lady. At this point, it was obvious that she had a soft spot for me, something I dismissed as a light attraction to my handsome face.
'I still don't understand why she thought I would want to skip my lessons yesterday. Maybe it was because of the harsh reaction from the wind guide? I don't think I read anything about someone getting hurt though...'
Dismissing my unnecessary thoughts, I settled my plans for the day and got going. Unfortunately, a part of my plans involved having to leave the safety of my home and venture into the unknown.
"Do we really have to do this...? I know it's important to get my hands on the Side Manual that we decided would be better than Spellblade, but can't we just wait a bit...?"
"You know as well as I do... Pfft!"
"Yes, we are the same person, haha, very funny. Anyway, I'll get going then. Hopefully, it's still in the same location as it was in the game..."
It was a long shot, but I couldn't justify not trying my luck at gaining a Manual for free, even if it meant going out as sub-me and walking around the academy grounds for an unspecified duration. As I walked out of my apartment, now dressed in the black training wear once more, I continued to read about the animal I wanted to be able to transform into on some animal site on the internet.
****
[Sophie's Pov]
Having somehow managed to convince Arthur that rest was an essential part of growing stronger, we were currently strolling around the academy just looking around at all the different facilities and buildings that were strewn across all around us.
Don't get me wrong, I was also very determined to grow stronger during my stay at Ainu, not just because I wanted to help Arthur, but because it felt pretty damn good being strong. Having finished another two sessions with Mr. Brown yesterday, I had started to feel like fighting was pretty fun as well. Just me against my enemy, fighting to see who was the strongest!
Catching myself having some very weird thoughts, my face flushed a bit, embarrassed by how childish I was. 'Maybe I'm also an idiot like James?' And while I was thinking of the devil...
"Look, Sophie! Isn't that James? What is he doing?"
He ran ahead of me, letting me get a good look at his juicy bottom which was tightly tucked into a pair of blue jeans. Unfortunately, he hadn't switched the clothes on his upper body. At least he was only wearing the black academy shirt with golden adornments without the jacket. Me? I was just wearing the complete student uniform as I hadn't had the chance to go shopping yet.
When I was first trying out the functions of my smartwatch I had gotten a very exciting surprise; My bank account had a balance of 100.000 USD! This meant that I at least didn't have to worry about money as long as I spent it wisely and as the students also got a monthly allowance of 50.000 USD if they were a part of the A-class, I wasn't worried at all.
Following my beloved, we found James wearing the black training wear he always wore next to a tree, only this time they were completely covered in dirt. Turning my eyes toward the ground, there was a pretty big hole next to the tree. "James, what are you doing here?"
Noticing my intense gaze, he quickly made some bullshit lie up to explain himself, "Oh, hi guys! I was just retrieving something I forgot here yesterday. Just some old... clothes?"
I was already well aware that even if he was an idiot, he spouted bullshit not because he was stupid but because he probably did find it a bit amusing. 'I wonder if he knows that himself...'
The James that I had met in heaven was just so different from the character he was acting as at the academy, that there was no doubt that at least a part of his behavior was calculated. Though I had no doubts that he was still a cave goblin that hated the rays of the sun.
But what made me the most depressed was that his stupid mannerism always illuminated just how innocent and inexperienced my hero currently was. "Oh, really? That's pretty weird man! Hahaha!"
If not for his smile making my legs weak I would have interjected in the situation, but alas. A maiden in love should be excused for not wanting to ruin her darlings beautiful smile, right?
'I wonder how many children he wants...'
"So anyway, I have to get going again. See you guys around!"
*Poff!*
****
[James's Pov]
The fact that I could send out my clone and input things into my smartwatch inventory with sub-me and then get it retrieved to my main body when I withdrew the clone was just so astonishingly handy.
I had found what I had been looking for pretty easily as it was a Manual that I had used during several of my playthroughs of the game. Having already decided that using the Spellblade Manual would be superfluous as I could learn how to manually use mana in order to enact spells and skills, my second choice was clear as a bell to me.
Taking out the old tome from my inventory, I felt my heart speeding up a bit in excitement.
[Manual: Conjuror - Ungraded]
Description: The art of conjuration is endless, only bound by the imagination of its user. This art doesn't carry with it specific skills, instead, it has an ever-evolving core skill that gains authority depending on the understanding of the user. Depending on the nature of mana that the user applies, different phenomena can be called upon.
In simpler words, this was a very general mage art that was flexible depending on one's elemental affinity, just like it was dependent on whatever elemental game the player had equipped in the game.
'This is pretty weird, isn't it?'
What was strange about the Manual was the fact that it explicitly stated that it didn't carry with it specific skills, instead only containing a core skill.
When I played the game, it had a different core skill depending on the gem equipped but held four generic skills that held the same form no matter what element was applied.
It was also an ungraded Manual instead of the 6-star it had been in the virtual world.
'Is this truly right for me then? I have no idea what it takes to master the core skill to the extent that I can conjure the skills I want...'
There were apparent pros and cons to the Manual I had dug up. The biggest con was the fact that I couldn't rely on my knowledge of the game. Also, from my research, I had gotten across the fact that Manuals wasn't at all as simple in this world as I thought.
The Main Manual one had was permanent, it couldn't be changed no matter how much one wanted to.
Luckily, the Side Manual was interchangeable, but there appeared to be a general understanding that changing one's Side Manual would permanently damage one's potential. In other words, this was something I truly didn't want to happen.
"But the upsides seem amazing..."
Using two ungraded Manuals could surely be regarded as the actions of a fool, even more so when both of the Manuals were more focused on utility more than pure battle prowess.
Still, there was something inside of me that pushed me into thinking that the potential would be endless.
Even though I joked around with silly thoughts from time to time, about becoming a 'Trickster of Death' and so forth, my main goal was never to become strong just for the sake of it. I just wanted to survive and live my life as I saw fit.
With that in mind, this might be the best combination of Manuals that I could have.
"Fuck it! I don't want to waste time training by wavering!"
Injecting my mana into the tome, I felt a surge of information entering my head. Visions of huge waves, firestorms, and black holes were shown to me as I automatically gained a minor understanding of what a conjurer could do.
===Status===
Name: James Jackson
Rank: E
Strength: F+
Agility: E
Stamina: E-
Intelligence: E+
Mana Capacity: D
--> Main Manual:
[Trickster - Ungraded] - Medium Understanding.
-Core Skill: [Double Trouble]
-1st Skill: [Swap]
--> Side Manual:
[Conjurer - Ungraded] - Minor Understanding
-Core Skill: [Conjure]
--> Elemental Affinity: Mist
->Elemental Skills: [Empty]
==========
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone