Chapter8-Persist in Slacking Off, Rapidly Level Up!

"Why hasn't he come to find me yet!"

Emily bit her lip lightly and swung her longsword down heavily, instantly slicing the training dummy into pieces, rendering it useless.

Only then did Emily sheathe her silver-plated sword and take out a handkerchief to gently wipe the fragrant sweat from her forehead.

For some reason, she was feeling a bit out of sorts.

Owen had vanished just as she had hoped, as if he had disappeared from the world.

Since their last encounter, she hadn't seen Owen even once.

Even though she had brought John into the academy twenty days ago, Owen had hardly shown his face. He neither troubled John nor sent anyone to question her.

This guy had actually made such a decisive break, completely severing ties with her.

This was something Emily had once hoped for the most, but now that it had actually happened, she felt a strange emptiness inside.

Emily really wanted to find Owen and ask him face to face, but every time she went to the student council, she was told that Chief Trainee Owen hadn't been there.

The elite disciples' villa area where Owen resided was off-limits to non-elite students, and despite Emily repeatedly emphasizing her status, Andrew refused to relent.

This only made Emily even more upset.

"He really just gave up like that... He won't even see me..."

Emily, who had once been cherished by Owen, only realized how difficult it was to navigate Crossbridge Academy as a gold-tier student after Owen withdrew all his favors and privileges.

The third floor and above of the library were only open to elite students. Emily used to be able to enter freely, but now she was barred.

There was also the academy's villa area and the headmaster's public lectures—privileges she once enjoyed, but they had now disappeared completely due to Owen's indifference.

But what truly saddened Emily was Owen's coldness.

She wanted to see Owen, not for any particular reason, just to say sorry.

But for now, it seemed there was no opportunity.

However, a month later, Owen, as the chief trainee, would be leading the team to the Far East Tower, and she would be going along. At that time, she would have the chance to see him.

And by then, she might also learn more about the truth behind her parents' murder.

...

[Congratulations, host! Level up to Master-tier level 4!]

"Awesome!"

Owen let out a long sigh of relief, climbed out of bed with a face full of joy, and felt very pleased with himself.

This Slacker System really was something else.

In just half a month, Owen spent his days eating and sleeping, occasionally attending student council meetings to maintain his presence, and the rest of his time playing with cats and dogs. Yet, his level had skyrocketed to master-tier.

It's no exaggeration to say that Owen is now the youngest master-tier mage in history.

It's important to understand that advancing in levels is far more difficult than it seems.

The time and mana stones required to progress from diamond-tier level 6 to master-tier level 4 are astronomical!

Without the system, it would have taken Owen at least three to five months to break through from diamond-tier to master-tier, even with daily intensive training.

And now?

It only took twenty days!

[Due to the host slacking off continuously for twenty days, an extra reward has been triggered: the god-tier skill—Absolute Stealth.

This skill allows the user to completely conceal their presence and mana fluctuations.

All tracking magic, positioning magic, and true sight magic will be ineffective.

The stealth state will remain unbroken unless the host actively makes contact or takes action.

The skill's additional effect allows the host to freely modify their mana level without being detected by others. However, the modified level cannot exceed the current level.]

Upon hearing this, Owen's eyes lit up.

He hadn't expected an extra reward, and this skill was essentially divine!

Absolute stealth, imperceptible by any means, meant Owen could observe all events as a bystander, as long as he didn't intervene.

As for the additional effect, it was equally impressive.

It's well known on the continent that there's an unwritten rule: once someone breaks through to master-tier, they are no longer allowed to participate in battles below that tier to avoid overwhelming their opponents.

After all, breaking through to master-tier also involves awakening one's magical domain, where the domain owner holds absolute power.

Unless opposed by another domain, it would be a one-sided massacre.

If Owen were to reveal his master-tier power in the Tower, he could easily overpower not just the prodigies from other academies, but even the deans of some smaller academies!

However, drawing suspicion from certain individuals would be counterproductive.

In this way, Owen could easily modify his level back to diamond-tier and take action without being detected.

As an unexpected delight, the practicality of the **Absolute Stealth** skill far exceeded Owen's expectations.

"Not bad, not bad. But aren't you just setting me up to not slack off and forcing me to take action? That's not very fair of you, System."

[This system only provides the host with appropriate conveniences. How the host chooses to use them is entirely up to the host. Please do not tarnish the system's fairness.]

"Yes, yes, you're the most fair of all."

First, the system gave him the ability to read minds in reverse, and then it granted him the ability to modify his tier.

It was almost as if the system was telling Owen not to stay home slacking off but to go out and stir things up.

As these thoughts swirled in his mind, there was a knock on the door. Owen sat up and signaled for Fiona to come in.

Fiona gently pushed open the door, bringing in a basin of clear water sprinkled with flower petals, and said softly, "Master Owen, I've come to help you wash your face."

"There's no need to go to so much trouble. I can do it myself in a bit."

"No, this is my duty."

Fiona shook her head stubbornly, stepped forward, and scooped up some of the water, gently placing it on Owen's face.

Her soft fingers caressed his cheeks, and the close proximity caused Fiona's cheeks to flush slightly.

"By the way, my brother was here earlier."

Fiona spoke slowly, using a fragrant towel to dry Owen's face.

"Your brother? Andrew came by? What did he want?"

It's interesting—both Fiona and Andrew are members of the Raen family, a lion family.

Yet, while one sibling was captivated by Owen's charisma and willingly became his loyal follower, the other developed feelings for Owen and stayed by his side, taking care of his daily needs.

"My brother said that the matter you assigned to him has been investigated thoroughly. That guy named John just recently broke through to silver-tier level 9. But I don't quite understand, Master Owen, why are you so concerned about someone at the silver-tier?"

"It's not concern, just a way to verify a suspicion I have."

Owen opened his mouth, letting Fiona brush his teeth, the toothbrush moving in and out of his mouth.

"What kind of suspicion?"

"Heh, I can't reveal that just yet."

Owen spat out the foam, rinsed his mouth, and then changed out of his pajamas. With Fiona's assistance, he dressed in his chief trainee uniform. Looking at himself in the magical mirror, he thought that the description "as elegant as jade, unmatched in the world" couldn't be more fitting.

Owen's suspicion had been correct.

The reason for John's rapid growth, aside from his dual cultivation with Emily, was primarily due to Owen's previous oppression.

And now, Owen couldn't even be bothered to look at him. Despite John's talent, in a place as full of prodigies as Crossbridge Academy, he had only managed to break through a small level.

In the original story, by the time they went to the Tower, John's level had even risen to gold-tier level 8, an incredibly fast growth.

But now...

Even if John went to the Tower, with his current abilities, he wouldn't even get a taste of the benefits.

At this point in time, even setting aside the chief trainees from various academies, anyone qualified to participate in the Tower expedition was a top talent, with gold-tier being the baseline. Someone at silver-tier wouldn't even be able to compete.

"By the way, after you sent the items to Fox Academy, what did Elaine say?"

At the mention of this, Fiona's eyes immediately dimmed, and she reluctantly replied, "Elaine was very happy, shouting that she wanted to drop out of Fox Academy and come to Crossbridge Academy to find you. She even said she wanted to give you a hundred babies.

Tch, shameless woman."