Chapter-14

Theron knew whether Jareth talked the truth or not with the info he received from his insight skill.

[Name: Jareth Hawthorne

Cultivation: Copper Attainment- Initial Rank

Body Refining: Copper Attainment- Rank 7

Mana Core Talent: Blue

Martial Bone Talent: Silver]

At the park, after completing his physical training, Theron retrieved his katana from his storage ring. Aware of the disparities between this blade and his previous sword, he started to familiarize himself with the katana. He had already learned about the katana through his reading before during the weekends while he was in the library so he just needed practice.

Unaware of the passage of time, Theron started to practice, immersing himself in the art of the katana. Only after his phone's alarm rang from his hoodie, he stopped his practice. Only till then he felt all the tiredness fall upon him and he almost felt dizzy. His stamina was drained.

The swordsmanship skill had helped him on comprehending how to use this katana. It would offer insights whenever he encountered challenges. Even though he was new to the katana, Theron adapted swiftly, attaining a proficiency comparable to what he had achieved with his previous sword.

As he slept that day, he had a dream.

 __ __ __

(Inside the dream)

Theron could see his mother lying on a bed in an unknown chamber. An unidentified figure entered through the door, its features obscured. Theron felt an uneasy feeling about this person, who started to talk to his mother but his mother remained unresponsive and existing in a pale and colorless state. The figure departed and Theron looked at his mother. She was quite a beautiful woman with beautiful black hair similar to him or one could say he was similar to her. Her eyes were closed and looked as if she was dying but was still breathing very slowly.

His dream faded as he woke up, drenched in sweat even though the ac was still on. Theron tried to remember everything as he noted down on a book. Even though it was only a dream and might be pointless, he wanted to at least note it down to remember it. His mother, he thought of her while writing his note. She had passed away shortly after he was born. He could still remember her smiling face as she cradled him at the hospital, her eyes closing slowly.

After that he couldn't see her anymore. What he heard later after he grew up was that she had passed away and had been buried in a cemetery. He always visited it yearly.

He sighed, feeling a weight in his heart and left after writing all of it down.

 __ __ __

(At the academy)

The academy buzzed with activity as a notice captured the attention of students, Some after seeing it went away in a bad mood. He looked at what the notice was.

'Changes'

He read it entirely before leaving.

'I was right'

The notice which the teacher informed them of was this, he thought. The change was something that happened before the protagonist arrived so he couldn't know much but comparing the differences between the knowledge he knew and the current academy system, he could see what was different and what would be changed and the notice just now confirmed all of it.

Construction near the academy hinted at more than just a simple expansion of the grounds. The academy was undergoing a transformation, splitting students into three distinct classes: academics, combat, and the special category for those excelling in both. There were benefits to each and some people considered just combat and some were heartbroken though they tried hard they wouldn't be able to get into combat class since their combat wasn't good and they just maintained their grades with their academics. The academy was changing so that they would be able to provide better benefits to students. Whether they will be good or bad, only time would tell.

Entering the classroom, Theron could hear chatter everywhere as students were discussing about the news. Their homeroom professor, Evelyn Ravenwood entered

"I don't have class for today but I arrived because of the announcement which all of you may already know"

"The school will take surveys of what you choose"

"I will now give out the surveys one by one"

"I will give you all 15 minutes to think about what you would want to choose" Evelyn took all the surveys after the allocated time had passed and left.

After the periods were done, Theron gathered his belongs and was about to leave when a girl with red flowing hair came into his classroom. Seraphina in her academy uniform, a dark navy skirt paired with a white blouse. The academy's emblem was carefully embroidered on the blouse. This was the dress code for girls. The room hushed into whispers as she approached Theron.

She approached Theron and called out to him. Theron who was in his train of thoughts didn't realize Seraphina who was standing in front of him till she called out to him.

"Theron" Startled, he turned to face her.

"I'm sorry that I scared you, but can you come with me?" "Sure thing" As they reached a spot where people wouldn't notice, she started to talk

"I wanted to ask about the previous offer you made"

"The one where I teach you?" Theron asked

"Yes, I want to try it" 

"Of course, if you are fine, we can do it on the weekends" Theron replied

"Let's add each other so we can discuss about it"

Theron waved his phone as he said it, and they exchanged contact information. After a brief conversation, they parted ways. Because of the visit to the restaurant before, Elysia favorability had increased. He knew it was not because of anything except that the restaurant he invited mostly had become one of the restaurants on Elysia's list which she liked.

[Elysia Stormshade]

[Favorability: 3.39%]

Similarly, Seraphina's affection had increased as well primarily due to him accepting her request and helping her during this time.

[Seraphina Veridale]

[Favorability: 4.56%]

As he went away, he could see a silhouette of a person and he knew who it was but didn't pay it any heed.

After he had done his training, Theron thought about Jareth, his opponent. It was him who he saw lurking around. Seeing this foe made him want to fight and a flame of excitement started to burn. But he needed to get stronger even more.

[Quest completed]

[Rewards: 8 x random herbs, 30 x Affection Points]

He saw the random herbs which was added to his space ring and thought about his alchemy skill. Alchemy wasn't widely known in this world, mainly due to the scarcity of useful herbs. While there were a few alchemists, it wasn't a highly sought-after profession but he knew that it would become very popular later on.

It was also a profitable position so it would be a good thing if he invested it early. The main focus was because it would pave a way for him to get stronger as well. He looked at the random alchemy recipe he received as a reward before,

[Alchemy Recipe (Rank 1): Vitality Surge Pill]

[Ingredients: Sunfire Ginseng Root (x2), Sunflower drops (x3)]

[Usage: Provides a surge of energy, enhancing physical stamina and vitality. Ideal for pre-training sessions.]