The Plan (4) - 26

"My, my, underclassman, what do you have there?"

As I heard these words being uttered, I couldn't help but freeze, like a robber caught in the act.

Composing myself quickly, I said, "It's nothing you have to worry about."

"It is if you're planning on taking that from the library." She said, whilst leaning her body against the book shelf.

"Why? The rules of the library clearly state that, "Any abnormality found in the library belongs to the person who finds it," and I'm pretty sure that I found this."

"But what if I want it? Can't you give it to your poor, beautiful senior?"

"Yeah, not happening."

Just as she was about to retort with something, Indira arrived and I left with her through the darkness dimension.

...

I was back in my temporary dwellings, trying to figure out where it had gone wrong.

'Damnit! If only I had a high enough perception to detect her before she got behind me.'

I was honestly surprised that she had been able to get behind me without my ears picking it up.

But the bigger problem was that her identity in the novel wasn't simple, and if she blabbed about what had happened, then that could cause big problems in my plans.

'One of the top five students in Class 5, later revealed as a mixed blood, a spy for the Monarch of Darkness, Annalise Crenshaw.'

She wasn't really a main character in the actual series, but in the side series that were made from each of the other heroes' point of view, specifically the one for Primrose.

Primrose, who often frequented the library, would, in the next few months, come to see Annalise as a mentor, someone she could rely on, but when Annalise betrayed everybody, Primrose had to fight her herself, and ended up killing her, completing her character development into adulthood.

One of my main goals right now was to stop this from happening, because, as I stated before, Primrose had been my favorite character in the novel, a kindred spirit who loved reading, and I didn't want to "see" her go down that path of sadness again.

But, the way I would do that was another plan altogether, one that was currently set for the future.

Turning back to the present, I first analyzed the manual that I had just absorbed.

'Status.'

{Name: Kurayami Akimitsu

Gender: Male?

Race: Human (Mixed Blood)

Job: Magician

Rank: (E+)

Strength: (D-)

Stamina: (D-)

Agility: (D)

Spiritual Power (Mana): (D)

Intelligence: (D+)

Charm: (F+)

Luck: (E-)

---------------------------------------------------

Manuals:

["The Sound that Resonated with the World" - 2 star - Potential: 10 star]

...

["A Whisper in the Night" - 3 star - Potential: 8 star]

...

["The Eclipse Magician" - 0 star - Potential: 7 star]

...

---------------------------------------------------

Arts:

[OCD - 5 star - Potential: 5 star]

...

[Handy - 1 star - Potential: 6 star]

...

["The 4 Steps of the Blood Moon" - 2 star - Potential: 10 star]

...

---------------------------------------------------

Skills:

[Concealment (SS)]

...

[Quick Draw (A)]

...

[Stealth (S)]

...}

I expanded the "..." under the name of my new art, "The Eclipse Magician".

["The Eclipse Magician" - 0 star - Potential: 7 star]~

The manual left behind by the greatest magician of all time, a being that wielded only "his" immense spiritual energy to accomplish "his" greatest feats. When this manual is used with "his" monocle, the rate of mastery increases by twofold.

Rank 1 Mastery: Practitioner is able to use sleight of hand in everyday life unconsciously, is able to make things seemingly appear and disappear without the use of magic (meaning mana or spiritual energy).

Rank 2 Mastery: Practitioner is able to do seemingly impossible feats with their whole body, like turning into an animal and disappearing into thin air, leaving something or nothing behind, depending on the "performance".

...

I then took a look at the monocle.

As Xion gave every student the power of "appraisal" in their masks, I could immediately see its attributes.

[The Eclipse's Monocle - 7 star artifact]~

A monocle that was worn by The Eclipse Magician at all times. Its origins are unknown.

Attribute 1: "Split Brain" - Allows the user to use each side of their brain separately, whilst still having complete control over everything.

Attribute 2: "Time Dilation" - The perception of time of the eye wearing the monocle will slow down considerably (depending on the user's rank).

Attribute 3: "Inspector" - User will be able to notice all the tiny details around them. User can use the monocle like a scope.

Backlash 1: The user will face excruciating pain in the head whenever they put on or put off the monocle, as the brain has to be split or refused again.

Backlash 2: The user will have the urge to "perform" at least once a month, or bad luck will befall them.

'If a 7 star artifact is already this powerful, then I can't even imagine the power of the three 9 star artifacts in existence.'

First off, "Split Brain" and "Time Dilation" were abilities that would really help with practicing and digesting manuals.

Secondly, I could use "Time Dilation" and "Inspector" together to notice even the tiniest bits of excessive movements that I would make whilst practicing, so I could then proceed to fix them.

Overall, the monocle was going to be really helpful, and it was going to continue to be useful, even in the future, as the time slowed by "Time Dilation" would increase as my rank went up, meaning that I could probably "see" and "react" to everything by the time I was a Master or Grandmaster.

And, the backlashes were bearable too, as there was no statements that said "death" or insinuated "death" so, as long as something wasn't lethal, I could withstand it.

On the other hand, the manual was also extremely helpful to me.

Firstly, it complimented my job, which was "Magician" in the first place.

Secondly, I could easily proceed to rank 2, as "handy" would make it so that I could probably achieve rank 1 mastery in about a day or so, which I planned on spending tomorrow on.

Then, with the manual's teachings for the 2nd rank, I would finally have all the capabilities to successfully "perform" at the admission ceremony, and I would also have the capabilities to teach one of the most important concepts to my 9 students and the Empress, fulfilling my side of the contract.

So I spent the rest of the week training and honing my new powers.

Present Day (One week later, right after the events in the chapter: Admission Ceremony (3) and buying all those clothes):

Feeling the hole in my pocket after losing those 375,000 Lams, I couldn't help but be put in a mood of melancholy.

I just took a normal shower before going to sleep.

My plan was to rest for the remainder of this day and next, as I would have to go to the meeting where I assigned the time slots for my class on the day after.

Then, classes at the L would finally start.