The fight ended quicker than expected, and we approached the center of the plaza.
With Daphne in the center and Irene leading Violet’s 1st Squad toward the plaza, the other two squads road the forest near the ruins, hunting remaining beasts.
“Kwaaahk!”
“Die!”
Violet No. 219, who had been crouching on the ground, sprang up and slashed the neck of a Skrax.
These ferocious dwarves are everywhere. It’s fascinating, really.
Once safety was secured, I decided to do what needed to be done.
The eyes of the two girls staring at the Aether Amplifier in the plaza sparkled with curiosity.
“This thing is supposed to enhance our abilities, right? Fascinating.”
“It’s more accurate to say it helps us grow. So, Violet, how does this device work?”
After a few clearing coughs, I slowly began explaining the purpose of the ancient device based on what I rembered.
There are a few ways for an Awakened to grow.
The first thod is killing creatures that contain Aether in their bodies and absorbing their magical energy.
Usually, this involves hunting beasts, but technically, the target doesn’t have to be a beast.
Any creature with a significant amount of Aether in its body will do.
However, most civilized people don’t prefer this thod for obvious reasons.
The second thod involves repeatedly training to utilize magic, thereby increasing the amount of Aether within.
Aether is an extraordinary substance that responds to human will, so consistent training, much like building muscle, increases its volu.
There are also other thods, such as training in specific locations, consuming potions, or undergoing dangerous surgeries, but those are typically exceptions.
“This will allow us to grow stronger.”
“Really?”
As its na implies, the Aether Amplifier enhances the Aether within an Awakened’s body, thereby amplifying their capabilities.
In simple terms, it’s a machine that grants experience points.
In the ga, it provided small amounts of experience points and money whenever it was activated, but here, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
One thing was certain—there were no side effects.
The only drawback was that it was a single-use device. Once used, it’s done.
“How long will it take?”
“It works imdiately upon activation!”
Hearing my explanation, Irene asked cautiously, her voice tinged with concern.
“Is it safe?”
“It’s absolutely safe! Trust , it’s incomparable to anything else like that!”
Reassured by my earnest plea, my friends followed my lead, albeit with so skepticism.
This wasn’t so shady scam or pyramid sche.
We Violets would never do anything to harm our friends.
Recalling the correct procedure, I activated the device.
By injecting magical energy and sequentially turning the three round knobs attached to it clockwise, the device started up.
Conveniently, there were arrows beneath the knobs indicating the correct order.
Once the process was complete, a large yellow crystal began glowing brightly.
Magical energy enveloped us, and sothing within our bodies began to grow.
It felt like a potter delicately increasing the size of a vessel on a spinning wheel.
“Wow…”
I murmured in awe.
After about a minute, the crystal’s glow dimd, flickering a few tis like a broken TV screen before shutting off completely.
“How do you feel?”
I asked my friends.
“It reminds of when I first learned how to use magic. My body feels lighter sohow.”
“It’s like when I first started using magic.”
Initially skeptical, Irene and Daphne began examining themselves, their expressions gradually brightening.
Irene drew her spear and swung it through the air.
“It feels like I can try things I only imagined before. This is beyond expectation. This kind of power is…”
Golden magical energy radiating from the tip of her spear shone brighter than ever before.
“I’m still not sure. It seems like the amount of magic in my body and the magic I can control at once have increased.”
Daphne seed uncertain about the changes.
While my friends examined themselves, the Violets cautiously assessed the situation.
They swung their weapons through the air or jumped in place several tis.
“Our weapons feel lighter. We’ve gotten stronger!”
“Our bodies have beco faster!”
It was ti to check my status window.
Na: Violet Dunhind Rugilinn
Title: Pest Control Specialist
Status: 1st-Year Student at Polaris Comprehensive Academy
Lv: 33
HP: 4800/4800
MP: 44100/44100
…
My level had increased by three all at once.
Recently, leveling up from killing low-tier beasts had beco difficult, so this was a significant gain.
I couldn’t help but wonder: with so many Violets near the Aether Amplifier, did its effects stack?
“The level of enhancent seems to be the sa for everyone.”
“It seems like this device treats all of us as a single entity.”
Upon confirmation, I realized that the Aether Amplifier’s effects only applied to the “existence” of Violet as a whole.
I wasn’t sure how this worked, but it was intriguing.
Having confird the experience gain, it was ti to explore the surroundings.
In the ga, loot appeared with a click, but here, I had to search for it myself.
“It should be sowhere around here.”
I noticed a suspicious brick jutting out from beneath the Aether Amplifier.
Pressing it made it sink inward with a clunk, and a mysterious chest erged from the ground.
“What’s this?”
“No idea! I don’t know either!”
My friends gathered around, staring at the sudden appearance of the chest.
I didn’t know what was inside.
The contents of the chest were random.
Typically, it would contain gold bars, valuable relics, or junk items if luck wasn’t on our side.
On rare occasions, artifact equipnt appeared, usually rated 3 or 4 stars. Five-star items were extrely rare.
“I’m opening it now.”
As I was about to open the chest, Daphne cautiously stopped .
“Wait! It could be dangerous, couldn’t it?”
She tapped my body with her staff, summoning a protective barrier.
I thought to myself, isn’t Daphne being a little too cautious?
Undoing the latch and opening the lid, a dazzling light burst forth.
I shielded my face with my hand, blinded by the radiance.
“Ahhh!”
“What’s this?”
The surprised Violets murmured among themselves.
“This light…!”
“It’s rainbow-colored!”
The rainbow light held significant aning in the Deep Crimson Academia.
In the gacha system, five-star characters or equipnt appeared accompanied by a rainbow glow.
I didn’t know why this glow was manifesting in reality, but—
My instincts told the item inside this chest was likely a five-star artifact!
As the light faded, everyone looked into the chest with anticipation.
“Gloves?”
At the bottom of the chest was a pair of brass gauntlets.
At first glance, they looked like gloves left behind by a giant.
The wrist portion was of ordinary size, but the hand section was enormous.
Intricate patterns were engraved on the oversized brass hands, giving them an oddly unbalanced appearance.
I picked them up, wondering if they were sellable relics, and summoned the status window.
[FATE’S HAND ☆☆☆☆☆]
A relic left behind by a civilization from another dinsion.
The forgotten Aether technology imbued within this relic emphasizes the release of magic.
Therefore, evildoers, beware before this hand.
Be cautious of the light’s power, or its will shall pierce the darkness.
Once every 24 hours, you can use a portion or all of your current magic power to unleash three small attacks or a single powerful magic beam.
…
Upon reading the description, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
A five-star item. Not only that, but it was an unusual weapon not even found in the ga!
“At first glance, it looks like a decorative gauntlet…”
“But it has a peculiar condition! Using all of one’s magic to fire a beam?”
Considering our magical reserves, the power would be significant.
Now, I had another ace up my sleeve besides the Blade of Blazing Fla.
I told my friends.
“Can I have this?”
My friends answered.
“Of course, do as you like. The usual rule is that unless there’s a special agreent, the person who finds an artifact in a dungeon gets to keep it. Besides, it was Violet who brought us here. It makes sense that whatever we find here belongs to you.”
“I think so too. But, Violet, is that a toy?”
“No! It’s an artifact weapon.”
Irene, who was examining the Hand of Fate, tilted her head. She seed to be wondering about the value of such a ridiculously oversized glove as a weapon.
“Ah… If you want to sell it later, I can find a buyer for you.”
“No need for that.”
If I show them the power of this weapon later, they’ll be shocked.
“Violet, are we done with everything now?”
“Yes, we’ve found everything.”
“Then let’s head out!”
We dusted off our hands and retraced our steps through the passageway we ca through.
It was ti to leave.
The tasks inside the ruins had taken so ti. When we finally stepped outside, it was a little past 1 p.m.
We carefully exited, wary that soone might see us. I reversed the clones into mana. There were too many to bring out here anyway.
The surroundings were a bit noisy.
By now, other student parties participating in the field trip had arrived and were busy scouring the area.
They were all focused on finding the fake artifacts the instructors had hidden in advance.
Our team had nothing more to do here. We had already collected our assignnt-related fake artifact long before entering the underground ruins.
The student party compositions were diverse.
There were hardly any three-mber teams like ours.
Most teams had four to five mbers, and occasionally there were teams with six.
First, there was a party of witch students, all carrying composite staffs.
“Is this the spot? Or is it up in the trees?”
A group of archers, each carrying a bow.
“It’s so hot… I just want to finish and go ho.”
Despite the futuristic setting of our world, there were so distinctly dieval party setups.
A male student with a sword and a small shield, followed by a female support mage with a staff.
A male student ard with a crossbow and daggers.
A male student with a massive shield and axe.
A female battle mage wearing gloves engraved with magic circles and carrying auxiliary magic equipnt.
“Wow! That combination looks familiar.”
“Isn’t that a classic hero party?”
Hero, saint, rogue, warrior, and mage.
Even though they wore techwear-style outfits made of functional fabrics and were ard with modern swords and bows, their composition was straight out of a fantasy novel.
“There were things like demon kings in this dinsion, but I never thought I’d see such a party.”
“How old-school.”
In Academy City, parties with clear distinctions between offense and support roles were considered outdated.
The monsters here were too quick and unpredictable, making the line between the front and rear unclear.
Instructor Frederick and Professor Albert had described our party as “classical but outdated,” and it seed fitting.
Well, at least we had the flexibility of numbers.
In this harsh world, even support and long-range roles needed to know how to fight in close quarters.
“Well, they’ll figure out how to handle themselves.”
“I’m just curious, that’s all.”
There were plenty of other interesting parties aside from that one.
There was a heavy armor party, a phalanx group, and even an Academy City-style Viking setup.
As we walked through the students toward the resting area, I spotted a familiar blue-haired male student. It was Lucian.
A four-star mage character.
This was the guy I tricked and escaped from the last ti he randomly challenged to a duel.
Curiously, he wasn’t alone this ti. Behind him were a black-haired girl with pigtails and a large male student.
“Oh, it’s Levi.”
“And the big guy is Granite.”
I recognized them from the survival training camp. We also occasionally shared classes. I didn’t know they were part of the group that set out today.
“I didn’t think those two would team up with that mage kid.”
Interestingly, their party also consisted of three mbers.
I gave a casual nod of recognition as we passed by.
While walking away, Lucian suddenly called out to from behind.
“Wait, you! Hey, you!”
“…?”
When I turned around, I saw his expression fill with certainty.
“I knew it. Violet, I never thought I’d see you here again!”
He pointed his finger at abruptly.
“You! How dare you trick and run away?”
“Oh, right. I did, didn’t I?”
“What? You forgot about it?”
When I replied as if I had only just rembered, he started jumping up and down in frustration. Watching this, Irene interjected with a confused look.
“So, this is Lucian. Do you know Violet?”
“There you are, the first-year representative. It’s been a while. But more importantly…”
Lucian looked at our party. His gaze shifted from Irene to , back and forth.
After studying us, he muttered as if in disbelief.
“This makes no sense…”
“What doesn’t make sense?” I asked.
Lucian replied.
“How can soone as clueless-looking as you be on the sa team as soone like Irene?”
Hearing this, the expressions of my party mbers soured.
That edgy, wannabe protagonist… What’s his problem?
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