[Activating Status Window.]
Name: Russell Raymond
Title: Exceptional Rank (Commoner)
Alignment: Conditional Good (Good)
Age: 18
Traits
[Regressor], [Congenital Mana Road Malady], [???’s Eye], [???’s Heart]
Peculiarities
-Intermediate Fire Attribute Comprehension +2.79%
-Intermediate Wind Attribute Comprehension +2.78%
-Intermediate Earth Attribute Comprehension +2.47%
-Intermediate Water Attribute Comprehension +2.56%
‘I can see it like this too?’
Russell’s eyes widened at the appearance of the green window, which seemed to summarize his current situation.
‘Traits, Regressor. And Congenital Mana Road Malady…’
Seeing it written even in his traits, it seemed he really had regressed.
And…
‘A heart, and an eye?’
But it didn’t say whose eye or whose heart they were.
‘The museum definitely said it was the heart of a Dragonkin.’
Could it actually be the heart of a different being?
Or maybe it was from a specific type of Dragonkin that hadn’t been identified.
‘Hmm.’
Just as Russell was about to read the peculiarities listed below his traits.
“Russell, Russell Raymond?”
Professor Hubert tapped his desk, seeing him standing there blankly, staring into space.
“Ah, my apologies, Professor.”
Coming to his senses a beat too late, Russell feigned embarrassment and scratched the back of his head.
“I was just so happy to receive your praise.”
He deftly handled the situation. Hubert cleared his throat and offered some advice.
“You may be exceptional, but you’ve merely surpassed the level of a student. The world of magic is vast and deep, so you must never become complacent.”
He knew.
He knew that magic concerning the four elements was widely distributed not only in the lower Circles but in the higher ones as well.
‘It may have been called ‘advanced,’ but it was only advanced for a student.’
The higher the Circle, the more profound the understanding required.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
As he replied, suppressing his inner turmoil, Hubert nodded in satisfaction.
“More importantly…”
He said, finishing his peppermint tea.
“You’ll be graduating next year. So, is there anything you’re lacking in your studies?”
Despite his Mana Road issue, Russell was a talented and diligent student.
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t concerned for him.
Hubert’s question stemmed from that concern.
“Hmm.”
As Russell pondered for a moment, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
“Actually, I do have one concern.”
“Speak up. If it’s something I can help with, I’ll do so, as long as it doesn’t greatly compromise fairness.”
“I’ve run out of books to read.”
The corner of Professor Hubert’s eye twitched.
“Run out of books? The library is full of them.”
“If you mean the books in the student library, I’ve read them all.”
“All… of them?”
Even though it was just the student library, there were well over three hundred different books, not counting duplicates.
And he had read all of them?
‘There must have been many parts that were difficult for him to understand at his current level…’
As he thought this, he looked into Russell’s eyes but didn’t sense any deception.
“Yes. I’ve read them all.”
In his past life, of course, not this one. Thanks to being held back several times, he’d had more than enough time.
“So, what I’d like to ask is…”
“You want access to the professors’ collection.”
“Yes.”
As Russell answered without hesitation, Hubert narrowed his eyes, sized him up, and then spoke.
“If you truly have nothing left to read in the student library, then it would be right to grant your request.”
His words seemed to grant permission, but his eyes told a different story.
So, Russell waited for his next words with a tense gaze.
“However, I can’t just let you in. I’ll have to test whether you’ve truly acquired enough knowledge to use the professors’ collection.”
“A test…”
Before his words could even trail off, a green window appeared.
[Mission]
Professor Hubert’s Test.
Pass Professor Hubert’s test with a high score.
[Reward]
Access to the 1st Floor of the Professors’ Archives.
Low-grade Magic Stone (Edible) x2
*
Professor Hubert’s test was about a month from now.
It was scheduled for about a week before the start of the first semester of the fourth year, after the supplementary classes ended.
‘I should probably visit the student library during that time.’
It wouldn’t hurt to quickly reread everything just in case.
That meant he had to change his daily routine first.
Training for ‘Over Road’ and ‘Wizard Body’.
He needed to move his afternoon training sessions to the morning. That way, his afternoons would be free for the library.
‘And if I want to train my Circling too, I’ll have to wake up at least an hour and a half to two hours earlier…’
It would inevitably mean less sleep, but it was worth it.
‘The reward is a low-grade Magic Stone, and not just one, but two.’
The reward had been upgraded from lowest-grade to low-grade.
Plus, receiving a guaranteed two of them meant the mission’s difficulty was that much higher.
‘Come to think of it, I stopped while checking the rewards earlier.’
As his thoughts turned to the magic stones and the reward.
Remembering what had just happened, Russell reached into his pocket. He first took out the magic stones he had received as the reward and the additional reward.
The magic stones glittered with a faint red light. They were also twice the size of the previous ones.
Since they were bigger—.
‘I hope they contain more mana.’
If so, he might be able to reach the 2nd Circle soon.
As he was thinking this, Russell tilted his head.
‘But what was that other thing?’
The large green window that had filled his vision.
‘It definitely said it was activating an information window.’
The moment he thought of the information window, the very same screen he had seen in the professor’s office reappeared.
Among the details, what caught Russell’s eye was the ‘Intermediate Comprehension’ for each attribute.
‘They’re all intermediate, but the numerical values are different.’
In any case, since they were rewards, they might hold some special power.
As he thought this, he stared at the Fire Attribute Comprehension at the top of the list for a moment. Another window activated, appearing over the green one.
The two windows were now overlapping.
[Intermediate Fire Attribute Comprehension]
-Further increases the level of comprehension for fire attribute magic.
-Increases the power of fire attribute magic according to the comprehension level.
-Reduces the mana consumed by fire attribute magic according to the comprehension level.
-Decreases the casting time for fire attribute magic according to the comprehension level.
Not only did it reduce mana consumption and casting speed, but it also increased power.
‘Ha—!’
After reading the full description in the window, Russell’s jaw dropped.
Along with the thought that he had gained another unique weapon that set him apart from others, a small worry surfaced.
‘What in the world is this green window, to be giving me such incredible things?’
But that thought was fleeting.
Soon, Russell stopped in his tracks and lightly bit his lip.
‘This isn’t a problem I can solve right now just by worrying about it.’
In that case, he had no choice but to make the most of the advantages this green window offered.
He had goals he absolutely had to achieve.
Reviving his fallen family.
Finding the person from the Empire who murdered his father and getting revenge.
‘I can’t give up on any of it.’
As Russell steeled his resolve once more, an amber light flashed in his eyes.
*
“Ugh.”
With a groan, Russell forced himself out of bed and staggered out of the dormitory.
Today was the tenth day since he had started waking up early in the morning.
Honestly, waking up early was no easy task.
Nevertheless, Russell got up at the same time every day, just before dawn.
He continued his ‘Over Road’ and ‘Wizard Body’ training through running and muscle exercises.
However, despite the daily repetition, adapting to the workout was not easy.
And for good reason—.
‘The distance and number of reps increase every single day.’
Russell looked down at his trembling limbs and shook his head.
By today, the running distance had increased to a staggering 3.5 kilometers, and the number of reps for his strength training had reached 80.
‘This is killing me.’
Even as he doused himself with cold water to cool down his dripping sweat, he felt a wave of nausea.
“Blech.”
It was a good thing he hadn’t eaten breakfast yet; otherwise, he would have surely vomited up a mess.
‘Ugh, I should still eat breakfast, though.’
Was it because of the repeated dry heaving?
His stomach churned, and his appetite had vanished.
Despite this, Russell forced himself to head to the dining hall.
He mechanically chewed and swallowed a breakfast similar to what he always had.
Then came supplementary classes and free time after dinner.
During those times, he read.
He read borrowed books during supplementary classes, and during his free time, he would go to the library to read.
As he’d thought before.
‘It can’t hurt to review everything one more time, just in case.’
Although the professor was lecturing at the front, Russell sat in the very back, flipping through a book at high speed.
The book was about a knuckle thick.
Three more books of similar thickness were in Russell’s bag.
‘I’ll read all the books I borrowed yesterday before dinner.’
He boldly skipped unnecessary details, focusing only on checking the key points.
‘Professor Hubert isn’t a malicious professor.’
Even for a test, he would surely create questions that stayed true to the core themes.
Ones that were mere side notes.
He wouldn’t ask tricky questions based on such trivial details.
[Mission]
Read All Borrowed Books.
Read all the books you borrowed yesterday before the student library closes at ten o’clock tonight.
1/4
[Reward]
Slightly increases reading speed.
Slightly increases comprehension while speed-reading.
Additional rewards may be given based on the content of each book and your level of understanding.
[Special Note]
This mission can be repeated daily until a certain level of achievement is reached.
‘Good.’
Just like when he started training Over Road and Wizard Body, a repeatable mission appeared when he began reading the borrowed books.
Was it thanks to repeating it for ten days?
Russell could feel that his reading speed had slightly increased.
Amidst this peaceful yet fulfilling routine, another ten days passed.
*
“Hoo—.”
Russell let out a long, tense sigh as he looked at the small stone fragments laid out before him.
‘Magic Stones.’
Their sizes and the red glow they emitted varied, but they were unmistakably magic stones.
And though they were all lowest-grade, they were edible magic stones.
There were about fifteen magic stones laid out in front of Russell.
This was the collection of rewards he had gathered from completing missions over the past twenty days.
Among them were the two magic stones he had received in Professor Hubert’s office.
‘With this amount, I might even be able to reach the 2nd Circle.’
He licked his lower lip in anticipation for a moment, then let out a dry laugh.
‘Licking my lips at the sight of magic stones.’
He thought others might think he was crazy if they saw him.
Shaking off his tension with such a silly thought, Russell reached out.
‘The biggest one first.’
He picked up the largest magic stone with his fingertips and tossed it into his mouth without a hint of hesitation.
Crunch!