Chapter 47
Hwayo’s card was fire.
Boogie’s card was dust.
And Shurk’s card was……
‘Obsidian?’
A dark aura surrounded the card.
That darkness was as beautiful as a jewel, and as strange as the universe.
‘……Don’t tell , it’s a dark attribute?’
I was a little surprised.
Light and dark were rare attributes that only a tiny few could possess.
‘I knew I’d eventually co across a light or dark animal……
But I didn’t expect it to co this much earlier than I thought.’
‘Light and dark always had peculiar abilities.’
While fire, water, wind, and earth were natural abilities.
Dark was usually a high-performance ability that ca with penalties.
Light was set as a special ability that utilized electromagnetic waves.
‘And whenever there was controversy about balance, most of it revolved around light and dark.’
Luga, the current strongest in the world, was dark attribute, and Heidel, who would later beco the strongest, was light attribute.
The protagonist who reached the peak would wield both light and dark.
‘Of course, just because it’s light or dark doesn’t an they’re always good abilities.’
Yes, what ability it actually was mattered most.
‘Since it’s here anyway, let it be a good one……!’
When I focused on the card, the information flowed into my head.
Cost 3 continuous consumption – Wear a mask and outfit imbued with darkness. The equipnt worn also becos dyed in darkness. However, for the duration of use, maximum cost is reduced by 3.
Cost 0 consumption – Can open and close a black space.
I tilted my head as I mulled over the ability.
‘……Is this good, or not?’
I couldn’t grasp the specifics yet.
‘First skill for now…… Isn’t this a bug? The restriction is too harsh.’
I already knew most dark abilities ca with penalties……
‘But this penalty is too heavy.’
My maximum cost was only 5.
A penalty that cut out more than half of my cost was quite severe.
The maximum cost dropped to 2.
That ant I couldn’t use Hwayo’s Sword, which was a cost 3 skill.
‘At a glance…… I don’t know if this skill is worth using with such a penalty.’
What use was there in just pondering over the description?
It was quicker to test it directly and judge.
I focused on the card.
Fwoosh!
The surrounding darkness gathered and engulfed .
‘……Is that it?’
I didn’t feel anything in particular.
I looked down at myself.
My uniform had turned black.
A cloak made of darkness instead of fabric entered my sight.
‘It’s pretty big.’
A black long cape that could cover even my large build.
I didn’t have a mirror to check, but.
My face would surely be masked, just as the tooltip described.
‘If I wear a mask and cape…… I could hide my identity.’
Just like Shurk, who hid himself using Lucy’s appearance. It was an ability infused with that identity.
‘Setting aside the appearance……. What changes ability-wise?’
With such a big penalty, surely its function wasn’t just concealing identity.
Since the description wasn’t detailed, I had to test it out one by one.
I moved my body.
‘……Light?’
It wasn’t an illusion.
My body felt much lighter than before.
Running also beca much faster.
‘I don’t know what it is…… but my condition feels amazing. What ability is this?’
As a test, I picked up a stone nearby.
I clenched it with all my strength.
……When I opened my palm again, the stone was intact.
‘So it’s not grip strength or muscle enhancent.’
I threw the stone again and ran around the area.
Despite running quite a bit, I wasn’t out of breath.
This ti, I dashed at full acceleration……
Leap! I jumped high.
‘What……!’
Even I was surprised.
I had jumped so high that it almost felt like I was approaching the moon.
– Moooo~!
A cow, now tiny like an ant, looked up at and bellowed.
The entire livestock shed area spread out beneath , everything lay under my feet.
‘Am I flying?’
A leap surpassing human limits, easily more than 10 ters.
A jump powerful enough to feel like flying through the sky.
‘I’m falling!’
The flight didn’t last long.
After reaching the peak, I began descending in an arc.
But I wasn’t scared.
Instinctively, I sensed I would land safely.
Tap!
As expected, I landed lightly.
My impression after using the ability could be sumd up easily.
‘……This is a jackpot.’
Though I hadn’t tested every part of it yet.
The physical boost was substantial enough to feel.
‘Since my grip strength hasn’t changed…… it’s not muscular enhancent. Then what’s the principle?’
It wasn’t completely impossible to guess.
I looked at the cloak made of darkness and thought.
This darkness was supporting my movent.
‘Is it making my body lighter, or altering air resistance drastically?’
……No, no need to overthink it.
Simply put, I could now run faster than human limits, jump higher, and not tire even after extended exertion.
It was undoubtedly a considerable ability.
‘I admit it’s worth sacrificing 3 cost…….’
But it was still difficult to use with my current situation.
‘Keeping it on constantly takes too big a toll. Maybe it’s best in certain situations.’
The problem was that my maximum cost was 5.
‘If I raise my maximum cost, this could definitely beco a main ability.’
I needed to expand my maximum cost limit.
To fully wield this skill, my growth was most important.
‘Now that’s roughly sorted…… Let’s check the other skill.’
I snatched Shurk’s card out of the air.
The card’s information entered my head.
Cost 0 consumption – Can open and close a black space.
Setting aside the ability itself, the condition was quite unusual.
No penalty, and it didn’t even consu cost.
‘It’s good that it doesn’t eat up precious cost, but a black space……’
What exactly did that an?
A black hole?
No, that would make it way too powerful.
This ti too, I decided to use the skill directly to grasp it.
‘Better be careful, just in case.’
I focused on an empty field.
Ziiing!
At the spot I was staring at, a black crack appeared in midair.
A hole about 30 centiters in diater.
‘……It can’t be a black hole, right?’
After confirming that nothing nearby was being sucked in, I approached the hole.
Upon closer inspection, a subspace was spread out inside the hole.
……That was all.
‘What am I supposed to do with this?’
Since it was a skill that required no cost, I couldn’t expect an offensive power like a black hole.
‘What exactly is the intention of this skill?’
I really couldn’t sense any effect at all.
I kept opening and closing the rift repeatedly.
Still, nothing had changed.
While staring into the subspace, a thought suddenly struck .
‘……No way.’
I picked up a stone lying nearby and placed it inside the space.
‘Yeah, of course it would fit.’
With the stone inside, I closed the space.
The subspace vanished, and the stone disappeared along with it.
‘What happens now?’
I opened the space again.
Looking inside the subspace.
There, the stone I had put in earlier was floating aimlessly.
‘This is it.’
I realized its use.
‘It stores things.’
In ga terms, it was the sa as an ‘inventory.’
I could store whatever I wanted, and retrieve it at any ti.
‘This might be unexpectedly good.’
The fact that it consud 0 cost only made it more valuable.
Honestly, I had hoped for an overwhelming offensive ability like Kunking’s gravity wave……
‘It’s a little disappointing that it’s not a combat skill, but this is still plenty useful.’
It was a versatile skill that worked in combat and non-combat alike.
‘Even for livestock work. I won’t have to strain carrying heavy things anymore—I can just store them in subspace and take them out later.’
And not only that.
It was a skill that could be used in countless situations.
Having one or two of these would make my life a lot more convenient.
‘For now, both skills turned out to be good, so I feel relieved.’
After all, there were plenty of light or dark attribute skills considered duds.
‘Since I’ve finished checking them, I should get so sleep.’
I lay down on the hammock.
Resting my hands behind my head as a pillow, I looked up at the sky where countless stars sparkled, forming the Milky Way.
‘……Not much ti left until this sester ends.’
About a month and a half remained.
‘The upcoming schedule is field evaluation, festival, and then finals, huh.’
Until the end of the sester, two minor episodes and one main episode were left.
‘The festival is about 2–3 weeks away.’
Especially since the festival was a major episode.
At the sa ti, it was also the episode where I could earn a lot of money.
‘I need money now too.’
Yggdrasil subsidized tuition for students with above-average grades.
The problem was students below average.
‘Especially , since I’m at risk of failing.’
I didn’t receive any tuition support.
The tuition I had to pay in full was around 10,000 gold.
‘Since my family no longer supports , I have to earn that money myself.’
10,000 gold was a fortune that would take a regular laborer five full years to earn.
But there was a reason I wasn’t gripped by anxiety over having to pay it.
‘Right, because I have a way.’
I opened .
So far, I had collected about 500 points.
It was ti to use all the points I had saved up carefully.
‘With these points, I can craft a bunch of master-grade equipnt and sell them during the festival.’
It was actually a simple thod.
‘During the festival, if you apply to the student council, you can set up a booth.’
Once you had a booth, you could sell anything, be it food or goods.
I planned to sell the equipnt I made there.
‘Of course, having just a booth and points doesn’t solve everything.’
Naturally, I needed materials to make the equipnt.
Where would I get those materials?
I already had that in mind too.
‘The upcoming field evaluation will be held inside a dungeon. I’ll defeat monsters there and gather materials.’
A field evaluation.
In other words, a group assignnt involving actual combat.
“……Villed?”
Eris answered, her green hair tied in a ponytail trembling slightly.
The team mbers for tomorrow’s field evaluation had been decided.
Of all things, that devil ended up in her group.
“What should we do?”
“What if he bullies us again?”
The teammates pleaded desperately with Eris.
She was the ntal support for commoners and lower-ranked cadets who were bullied by Villed.
Because she had once, even if briefly, stood up to him as a commoner.
“I… I don’t want to ever speak to that guy again…!”
One teammate burst into tears, and the others, including Eris, all had stiff expressions.
Villed was a nightmare itself.
Especially for commoners and lower-ranked students like them, they were his main prey.
A thug who inflicted wounds that could never heal.
Even now, whenever Eris saw him, her heart would sink.
“……Don’t worry.”
Eris took a deep breath and spoke calmly.
“E-Eris, do you have a plan?”
“Yes, actually, this might be for the best.”
Eris steeled her resolve.
She wouldn’t be a victim again.
No, from the start, there was no reason to fear him anymore.
“That lanky bastard. I heard he’s been abandoned by his family and lost all his confidence lately?”
Now the tables had turned.
Villed’s faction had completely disbanded, and he had lost his influence.
It was ti for the food chain to reverse.
“Actually, this is perfect…… I could even take revenge now.”
Eris smiled sadistically.
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