章 67: Chapter 67
While Bicky was becoming more and more womanly and mature, like a girl in the height of puberty would, she was also developing well as a magus.
Unlike in the original story, she was actually working hard. And he wasn't sure what could have caused such a change. Was it him?
Did she fall for him instead of that trashy Fayle? But why would she work hard? Wait, didn't she offer her family resources once to him? What did he say back then?
"No, thank you. I don't need them. Why are you wasting them on someone else? A hard-working and capable girl is so much more attractive than a dumb bimbo that is just good for her looks." He had ranted back then.
If that had been the cause, then he wouldn't complain if she did that for him.
"Oh, Bicky!" He greeted her with a warm smile and asked, "How are you doing? It seems like you are coming along."
"I am working hard. But you are too. You are soon able to break into the level of a Rank 3 acolyte!" She noticed with bright eyes, "How about it? Wanna grab something to eat?"
"Sorry, I am busy! I am in the middle of preparations. I will be leaving the academy for a few years." Harry replied, that's why he chooses to buy so many potion formulas now. "Kroft has already given me and Bessita permission."
There was simply nothing to gain for him by staying here and waiting for the war to start. The next opportunity he wanted to use, according to the Canon Timeline, was at the end of the war with Sage Gotham's Hut.
But he had to make several preparations until then and didn't want to stagnate in the academy, which had nothing of interest for him. The speed at which Leylin used to grow was simply too slow.
Interesting would only be knowledge that was restricted to Magi. Unfortunately, he wasn't confident enough that he could break into the mind of an official magus without being noticed.
He simply lacked the data on what is different between the minds of a magus and an acolyte.
And he lacked research subjects that he could capture here to make his own research. Otherwise, it was too risky. In the outside world, he could do so much more.
"You are leaving?" Bicky asked, shocked.
"Yes." Then he whispered into her ear, "You have seen how it is out there. A war is coming. Staying here as an acolyte is too much of a risk."
Her eyes widened. "Are you sure? I didn't see many leave yet."
"They haven't realized it yet. You should get leave too. While they will try to save the talents of their academy by sending them on missions as soon as the confirmation comes, the lower-ranked academy will have to remain here. Better leave now while you can."
Bicky bit her lips. "But where should I go? I don't think my family would appreciate me leaving the academy and staying with them.
"Hmm, you could come with us. Bessita, Neela, and I are planning to take a long-term mission together. You can join us." Harry replied that any Acolyte could leave the academy while not being ordered differently, as long as they had a mission.
There was no limit on how many people took a mission together; at some point, it wasn't just worth it because the reward remained the same.
"Really?" As Harry nodded, her face lit up. "I will ask the professor for permission. Let's talk about the details later."
———
"Harry!" A voice from behind him called out as he was leaving the trading post. He had used as much of his funds as possible to stock up on as many raw materials as possible. Bessita and Neela were doing the same for him.
He turned around and saw Guricha had called out to him, one of the less talented acolytes that had come with him to the academy from the Chernobyl Isles.
The young boy was still a Rank 1 acolyte. Harry had wondered whether this would happen; after all, his existence had changed quite a few things already.
"What's up, Guricha? Been a while." Harry greeted the 12-year-old boy.
"This... We definitely have a problem. Could you come with me for a moment?" Guricha asked. Guricha, Dodoria, and Nyssa have usually been looked down on by Kaliweir and Jayden, including their cliques.
Which had cowed them in the past. They rarely hung out with anyone else from the Chernobyl Isles.
"Sure." Harry said, already having guessed what was happening. The fate of an acolyte who had gotten a bad professor... Nyssa was the one with really bad luck.
While Dodoria and Guricha didn't get good ones, they weren't experimented on very badly.
But the small, blond-haired girl who was once Nyssa had gotten the worst kind of professor.
As soon as they arrived in Guricha's dorm room, Harry could already smell the result of the worst kind of human experimentation. It stunk.
Nyssa had been a cute 11-year-old girl. Nothing of that remained anymore; her fingers were purple and thick like carrots, and her skin was scarred and oozing disgust.
Scars littered her face, with visible signs of stitches. She had the snout of a pig, a bald head, and a missing ear.
Her coarsely spaced teeth were prominent, and a thick, repulsive yellow fluid continuously flowed from her mouth. It looked as if someone had disassembled and then, haphazardly, reassembled her facial features.
"Are you hoping for my help to avenge you?" Harry asked as the three low-talented Acolytes that had formed their own clique looked at him.
"No, nothing like that. We hoped you had an idea how to help her." Dodoria was the one who replied.
"Well, there are a few methods; the most realistic ones for you are: first, you could become an official magus. While it is true that you have lost your looks, your body has become far more resilient. While advancing to the level of a magus, one can alter their appearance to his wishes." Harry explained, "You would also keep that resistance."
"An official Magus? I am only a rank 1 acolyte right now!" Nyssa's eyes flashed for a brief instant, but they dulled almost immediately.
For a moment, he considered recruiting her. But it was too early. She was still too naive.
Nyssa was actually one of the only people from their batch of acolytes that had reached the level of a magus, but he was certain a large part came from her character growth.
Harry could offer her an easy solution later; let her grow a bit and see if she gained the same willpower as her original self.
"Well, the other solution is to cleanse her body from the pollution and, with it, from the advantageous resistance." But this would allow her to once again reshape her body with spells. A potion that could simplify this is the Harmonious Aqua Regia Potion. Still, it is expensive. Even if I were to brew it for you for cheap, the ingredients cost a small fortune." Harry replied honestly, trying to discourage them.
That natural resistance she had gained would only grow stronger with higher ranks. It was like a defensive innate spell that would only make her stronger.
"So either become an official magus or use a small fortune. It doesn't matter; I will accomplish it." Nyssa said now, determination in her eyes. It was exactly what Harry wanted to hear.
"Here, take this!" he said, pulling a small pink potion out.
"How did you know?" Nyssa asked, bewildered; she didn't tell anyone about the problems she had at night.
"I just do. Let's meet again in the future." Harry said as he walked out, the three Rank 1 acolytes staring at his back. He actually had a few more ways to help her. For example, human transmutation is powered by a philosopher stone.
But this world was extremely harsh; they had to grow or they would fail. Especially with their talents.
———
"I got it!" Bicky said as she arrived in Harry's shared dorm, "Professor Kroft gave me permission, though he was surprised that I was asking for it. He was planning to talk to Senior Merlin soon, but not me." Recently, even Neela moved into his dorm room for some reason. Well, he knew the reason, but he endured.
She was only 17 and still one year short of her major.
Harry had the willpower to endure it when two beautiful girls were throwing themselves at him.
He understood where they were coming from; the mentality to find a strong partner was common in a strong-eats-weak world, but he didn't plan to sleep with anyone and also ignored his own morality.
"What are they doing on your bed?" Bicky immediately asked as she saw Bessita and Neela resting on their shared bed. Since Neela had also moved into his dorm, she didn't want to get another bed. Just like Bessita, she wanted to sleep beside him. Now he was sleeping with one girl on each side cuddling into him.
"It's also their bed."
"Their bed!? Neela moved in too. Bicky repeated the downcast. Harry, seeing where her troubles were going, pulled her into one of the extra rooms of his dorm, which he had turned into a lab, and closed the door.
"We need to talk... Bicky, what do you want from me?"
She stared at him, not expecting that he was asking so directly, "I like you."
"I see." Harry muttered, "I am attracted to you too."
"Really?" She asked in excitement, interrupting him.
"Let me finish. But so am I to Neela and Bessita. They are trying the same as you. Let me be clear: I am greedy. I won't settle for a single woman. That's just not me." Harry stated it honestly.
Why would he? He had a multiverse open to him. His Elvish bloodline made him live very long.
And he was getting stronger. Why should he settle for one girl? There were so many possibilities.
"On the other hand, I am also extremely selfish. I don't like to share with other men. There is no problem with other girls, but men can fuck off. What mine is, remains mine." Harry explained, looking directly into Bicky's eyes, "If you really want to be with me and like me, then you will have to accept that simple fact. We can work from here on out. But I want to be upfront in that regard."
"I have no problem with that. I won't lose, but I can accept sharing with you. If you will have me." Bicky replied that there was a strange confidence in her eyes.
"Okay, we can try too. I came to a similar arrangement with Neela and Bessita. Just be aware that I won't have sex with you until you are at least 18. That's enough time to develop a meaningful connection; until then, we can break off our arrangement at any time."
Bicky nodded, a small blush forming on her beautiful face.
Damn, Hormones. Stupid body in the middle of puberty. Being a gamer had been so much easier, but now he was acting more irrational and teenage-like. Emotions are a fickle thing.
Now he would have to tell Bicky about founding an organization too. But that could wait until they were out of the academy. After all, even Bicky had permission to take on a long-term mission.
Neela had gotten it thanks to her backing from her own professor, and Bessita had gotten it with him. Now they just had to talk to the mission counter and get a mission. Of course, Harry already knew which one he wanted to get.
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