"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]
==========
It was a bit anticlimactic that I didn't have to journey to the depths of a volcano or the top of the highest mountain to find the Manual, but it was very comfortable.
Having already learned the Manual, making the physical tome dematerialize and disappear, all that was left was to practice it.
As its disappearance left me with a somewhat clear notion of what it made me able to do, I was eager to start experimenting.
The Manual was pretty much what I assumed elemental manipulation to be, but on steroids, as long as the user found intricate and efficient ways of using it.
This was also one of the reasons I hesitated to learn it. I was pretty sure that the mist element didn't carry a lot of offensive capabilities, thus it was translated to my Side Manual being the same. However, now I was certain that it could be worth it as long as I made up for it by strengthening my body and practicing using the scythe.
Getting up from my bed, I called out sub-me, my second body who carried the same childish glee that I did.
"Let's begin!"
"Yes!"
Sub-me walked with confidence, excited about seeing what I would be able to do as it sat down in front of the computer to cram information about an animal.
At the same time, I took my main body to the practice room and started to try and get a feel of the mist inside of me.
Having read up a bit about elemental manipulation, I concluded that the biggest difference between it and mana manipulation was the fact that one needed to carry out a conversion process before using one's element.
You could compare it to having to compress raw data before converting it to another digital format, as to finally uploading it to the internet.
My skill [Conjure] pretty much automated this process for me, leaving me with only having to call out my mist and forming it to my desire, as long as it was within the realm of my understanding.
It was mostly a matter of efficiency, both in the speed of conjuring the phenomena but also in terms of waste of energy. Both of which were improved if I used my skill.
Putting my hand out, parallel to the floor, I began with caution, not wanting to accidentally empty all my mana instantly.
A small grayish cloud of mist concealed my hand from the world, with even myself not able to see it. The mana expenditure was divided into two parts, one larger consumption as I conjured the mist and when that was done, there was a continuous drain every second.
Concealment, deliquescence, and intangibility were the main characteristics of the element. Concealment as it blocked the eyes of spectators, deliquescence as it appeared as suddenly as it disappeared, and intangibility as it had the shared nature of its sibling; The wind.
These three things were what I needed to keep in mind when trying to create my automated elemental skills that would get ingrained into my being, as well as the attributes I had to control when I used my mist more freely.
Injecting more mana into the small cloud of mist, I enlarged it into a dome with a circumference of two meters, making it occupy the space in every direction around me. This time, I could feel a tangible loss of mana as it grew outwards and a somewhat severe cost per second to uphold it.
My first goal in manipulating my mist was just this, creating an area of mist where my presence couldn't be seen or felt by anyone outside of it, buying me time to plan another move in case I was in danger or to launch a surprise attack at an enemy.
'Thinking about it, I haven't even sparred anyone yet. I wonder how a real fight feels? I guess it's natural though, what kind of earthling would just instantly acclimate to the different culture and be comfortable with fighting?'
****
[Sophie's Pov]
In the end, we ended up on the sparring grounds again because Arthur got fired up as he thought about how hard James was working. Or at least because of how hard he said he was training. I still wasn't sure if I trusted him about his talks about training, it was not like he had shown anything except for that teleportation skill.
Having changed his pants into the black slacks that were part of the uniform, Arthur was now smiling brightly at me, ready for another session of getting his ass kicked. "I'm ready!"
Smiling back at him, I also made myself ready to fight. I had stopped bothering to [Dragonize] my hands though, as it was overkill because of the difference in our stats. That was not to say that I didn't overwhelm him with skill, I was clearly the more skillful out of us, something I could only attribute some kind of inner instinct I must have been granted by the god who reformed my body.
"Come at me then!"
With my shout acting as a trigger, he dashed toward me, not afraid of me getting hurt even though he was using a real longsword. Using the momentum of his dash, he stabbed out with his sword toward my chest.
Seeing his telegraphed movement, it was easy for me to turn my body and return the favor by aiming a right-handed punch at his face. Somehow, the feeling of flesh against my hand never came.
"Ho?"
Arthur had managed to crouch down, dodging my punch and setting himself in a pretty good position as he swung his sword upwards towards me. There was no time for me to dodge this, so I had no choice but to quickly [Dragonize] my hands and catch the sword in my left hand.
Feeling a bit annoyed that he had improved so much in just a couple of days that he forced me to use my skill when I previously overwhelmed him, I sent him away by punching his stomach with my right hand, resulting in Arthur getting flying a couple of meters before landing on the ground.
"Ugh!"
During our week at the academy, I had already gotten over hurting him as it now felt like I was helping him by sparring with him. There was also the fact that no matter how hard I punched him, he always got up with a smile on his face. Just like he did this time as well.
"Hehehe! You transformed your hands! That must mean I got stronger!"
It was almost scary how much progress he had made after just a couple of days, especially when reminding myself of the fact that I was also making a lot of progress every day. There was obviously a very valid reason why he was the hero of the story.
However, I wasn't angry at the fact that he was improving freakishly fast. On the contrary, I was more than happy! It didn't take long at all for him to start showing signs of what he would become in the future.
"You did, Arthur! I told you, you will be strong as long as you continue working hard! Let's go again!"
Raising my draconic paws in front of me like Mr. Brown had shown me, I prepared myself for another bout of sparring as I knew that Arthur wouldn't give up so easily. When he got up from the ground and raised his weapon in a classic swordsman position, I was the one to go on the offensive this time, also eager to try a new trick of mine.
'[Draconic Strength]'
Empowering my body through my skill, I also added some extra mana into my legs to further the enhancement before I launched myself forward. The result was that I pretty much jumped horizontally all the way to Arthur, who in turn didn't expect the sudden shift in momentum and got caught off guard.
Taking advantage of the opening, I sent out a right uppercut toward his chest but was once again surprised as he managed to squeeze his sword in front of him just in time to block it. Although he was still sent upwards and back, he landed on his feet, quickly steadying himself, and dashed forward.
Mimicking his movement his weapon and my right claws met in the center of us, creating a temporary stalemate. I did, however, carry an overwhelming advantage in this position as I still had my left hand free to try and grab him. Seeing that he was in danger, he used his right leg and kicked off from my thighs, and sent himself backward.
Unfortunately for him, he didn't have time to fix his posture before kicking off, making him fall on his back in front of me. The next second I was towering over him and sent my right fist downwards toward his face.
*Bam!*
Of course, I didn't actually hit him with that attack, I was not a savage. Instead, I had sent my fist into the ground just a couple of centimeters away from his head to show that I had won the spar. Looking down, Arthur was half-smiling and half-pouting because I had once again defeated him.
"You really are too strong, Sophie."
Inspecting his smiling face just about ten centimeters away from my own, I felt my face flush as my heart started to flutter. In order to not get arrested for indecent acts on public ground, I quickly stood up, while at the same time giving him a hand and lifting him up, with my face still mimicking a cherry.
"Don't worry Arthur. You said it yourself, right? You have already gotten a lot stronger!"
Scratching the back of his head, his face also gained a tint of red as he was embarrassed by my praise. "Thank you, Sophie. Oh, look at the time! If we were going out to town we should start moving I think, or we won't be able to find a restaurant to eat at!"
Yes. It was time. This was my first real date with Arthur! It was just sad that he didn't know that...