Monster Hunting 4

I slowly opened my eyes, finding myself in a pristine infirmary room.

Immediately, I was assaulted by a barrage of screens.

[Side Quest Complete!

Earnt a higher score than Aria!

Rewards: One Favor from Aria, 500 credits, + Fame in the Academy, + Relationship with Aria, Arcanium Circlet]

[Sudden Quest Complete!

Defeated a High Class Death Knight

Rewards: Class Skill 'Joker's Ace']

[Active Skill

For 3 seconds, apply 21 stacks of confusion. After 3 seconds, the added stacks will be removed.

Cooldown of 15 Minutes]

I felt little surprise looking at the first notification.

But my eyes widened upon seeing the second.

The stat boost I got from 21 stacks of confusion would increase my power severalfold, even if it was just for a short moment, it could make a massive different in a fight.

It was a skill truly deserving to be called Joker's Ace.

Chances were that I'd only get an opportunity to use it once per fight, but it was still a great ability.

I was pleased to also receive an arcanium circlet. 

As soon as I wore it, I felt the circulation of my mana improve.

A useful reward indeed.

After reviewing the various status screens, I took a moment to look around the room I was in.

I was lying in a clean infirmary bed inside of a small room.

On my left, I saw a desk, and on top of it lay a card.

'Someone wrote me a card?'

I still hadn't really made enough friends to be receiving any cards.

It was a blank card, so I opened the inside to read it.

Hi Ares,

Hope you'll see this when you wake up...

I've been visiting the past couple days but for whatever reason my spirit gets very uncomfortable.. and dare I say violent when around you.

As per our bet, I owe you a favor now... Who would've thought you'd take down a death knight?

But anyway, I'd expect no less from the one who defeated me.

Get well soon!

Aria

P.S. Prof. Alvera feels bad about what happened.

Upon reading the contents of the letter, I was surprised by several things.

Firstly, the fact that Aria had been visiting me.

In the game, the best way to become friends with her was to prove yourself as someone equal to her.

It seemed that she thought quite highly of me.

Perhaps she could be called my first friend in the academy.

And it also seemed that the news of me defeating a death knight had spread throughout the academy.

[3035 Credits]

Yeah, clearly that was the case.

Her spirit being violent around me was no shock considering I had taken on a trait that made me the enemy of nature.

Another issue was the fact that I had been knocked out for multiple days.

By the end of the fight, I was suffering from both mana exhaustion and physical exhaustion.

But even then, a good night's rest and some healing magic would resolve both.

'I guess it's the effect of cursed affliction...'

It prolonged the duration of my rest to several days.

'Well, one of the items needed to fix it will appear soon.'

After checking the current date, I noted that one of the events that would help me acquire an essential item to remove the trait.

Professor Alvera feeling bad towards me was also interesting.

She was always depicted as quite a rough and tough character in game, it was hard to increase ones reputation with her.

Well, I suppose she'd feel bad after one of her students almost died.

Alvera was a powerful character, possessing the [Beastly Marital Artist] class.

It was the precursor class to a powerful brawler class, simply titled as [Beast].

Her fighting style was so poor it could not be called a style, it was instead entirely reliant on instinct. It made her all the more unpredicatable.

Anyway, there wasn't much she could teach me considering I had low physical stats.

Instead, she would be helpful to have as an ally when taking out the vice principal.

Yes, the one who summoned the death knight was Vice Principal Ataraxis.

There was no way that a high class death knight could appear at this point in the story, not even on hell mode.

The only one capable of summoning such a thing would be a shitty old necromancer like him.

'It seems that lie I made up has come to bite me in the ass yet again'

I covered my face in embarrassment of my own stupidity.

Was it really necessary to say I had received a divine revelation?

Ataraxis was probably terrified when he heard of the news, and decided to just outright kill me.

He probably assumed his identity was revealed to me, or I was some sort of threat to him.

Shitty old bastard.

The door of my room creaked open.

"Ah, young master, you've awoken."

Evelyn greeted me, and it seemed as if she were being nicer today.

I nodded at her and she took a seat beside my infirmary bed.

She clearly wanted to ask me something, her facial expression was not able to hide her intentions at all.

"You got a question for me?" 

I asked her casually and she let out an exasperated gasp.

"May I be honest with you?"

"Of course"

"How is it possible... for you... to have grown this much?"

She had a hesitant look in her eyes, unsure if I would answer or not. 

Her question was not something surprising. Previously, Ares had been a wayward and foolish manchild.

Refusing to train with magic, drowning in women and treating those around him terribly.

I gave her a reassuring smile to let her know I was not upset by her question.

"I suppose... I've found my way now."

It was a cheesy line, but I couldn't spout bullshit of me transmigrating into this body from another world.

She looked at me in silence, and I decided to speak again.

"I've been reflecting a lot...And I'd like to ask you something."

I paused for a moment.

"I'm sorry for treating you how I did in the past. I know you hate me, and rightfully so, but give me another chance, I promise you that I will not break your trust."

Evelyn's eyes opened in shock at what I had just said.

-----

It was something she never could have expected, her arrogant master had actually apologized to her.

Recently, he had been treating her very well as compared to before.

In the mornings, he would always thank her for preparing his breakfast.

He would never request her to do any work, often doing her job for her, such as making his bed.

She had naturally assumed at first that it was all just an act at first.

But she had quickly seen that he had in fact begun to change.

In classes, he studied sincerely, answering any question given to him.

He had begun diligently training his new magic, which was apparently the result of a divine revelation. That statement was a whole other shock to her.

Even though it was over a short period, she felt sincerity from the words he spoke to her each day. 

"Ah.. young master, there's no need for that, I'm just your attendant.."

Frankly, she had no place to expect an apology from him.

The Castellan family took her in from the slums due to the fact that she was able to awaken her second magic at such a young age.

If it weren't for them, she'd have died early, never being able to enjoy the life she had now.

Ares gave me a knowing smile, and I felt as if his blue eyes saw straight through me.

"Well... Let's be friends from now on, how about it?"

My emotions towards him softened a little.

But I still wasn't sure.

I'd confirm if he had changed myself.

"...That would be okay."

I squeaked out a response.