Chapter 78: Fiery Start To Rune Manipulation
’Not even the illusion of choice, huh?’ Leonard mused, standing up. ’This is shaping up to be one hell of a day.’
"Right, coming."
He felt the scholars staring at his back.
They were a mixture of relief that they weren’t chosen, curiosity about what he was going to show, and animosity at the hope that he would humiliate himself.
He stopped before Arabella.
’This is the first time I am meeting her face to face after the dungeon.’
He wondered whether her personality would change now that she no longer had to hide her identity.
"Nice to meet you... officially." Arabella said with a faint smile as she extended her hand, bewildering the onlookers.
"Princess Arabella is offering a handshake to a human, of all things?!"
"That shows how kind-hearted she truly is!"
Leonard blinked slowly in surprise and shook her hand.
"Likewise." He returned the smile.
"Hmm... That went better than expected. I have to give props to the princess..." Albert murmured to himself.
"Just for clarification, to the spectators: Scholar Leonard has the Viking Class, and Arabella the Archer Class, correct?"
They nodded, prompting the professor to continue.
"In that case, because your Classes don’t have an inherent advantage in learning fire-based Skills like a Spellcaster, for example, the only difference would be the rank of your Bloodline and Magic attribute." Albert explained as he conjured a fireball in each hand.
"This Skill is called Fireball, and it is of the Common rank, making it the easiest to learn. The method of learning the Skill is to hold the flame with both hands and let your Mana slowly course through it and feed it, gradually increasing your understanding of it."
Leonard and Arabella complied and took the fireballs with both palms. Following the professor’s instructions, they let their Mana feed the flames, keeping them ignited.
[Your grasp of the Skill, Fireball has increased to 1%.]
Leonard studied the system message, his grasp on the Skill increasing while simultaneously feeling his Mana being drained.
[Mana: 999/1000]
"The longer you keep your flame alive, the better. In general your Bloodline rank determines how quickly your grasp of the Skill increases, while your Magic determines how long you can sustain the flame. The moment someone’s fireball is extinguished, it means they’ve run out of Mana."
Albert’s gaze swept across the hall.
Observing the two, the onlookers couldn’t help but gossip among themselves.
"Doesn’t that make it a competition?!"
"How long do you think Leonard has before his flame dies out?"
"With his Common Bloodline, I reckon one minute tops!"
Arabella’s eyes studied the burning fireball in her grasp before discreetly glancing at Leonard. By the looks of it, he wasn’t struggling whatsoever.
’To think I would meet him here...’ She thought, her emerald eyes reflecting the flames. ’Without him, I would have bled to death in the dungeon due to my reckless actions.’
She hadn’t forgotten the debt she owed him for saving her life. Not to mention, he hadn’t pried for answers after learning her true identity as a princess.
’Just as I thought. There is something different about him... Better keep my eyes open.’
Leonard’s full focus was on the Fireball. He could have attained another Class that would have made learning the Skill easier, but he preferred to experience what it was like to learn Skills the proper way.
Minutes blended together, many becoming curious about how Leonard was able to keep the flame alive.
"How is this possible?"
"Could he be cheating?"
Overhearing the chatter, Russell interjected, speaking loud enough for everybody to hear.
"It doesn’t matter how long he can keep the flame alive, but his rate of learning! What good is it to feed it endlessly only to barely scratch the surface of true mastery?"
"Truly wise words, as expected of Sir Russell!"
"Please, I bet he is just salty over his loss against Leonard!"
Arabella’s breathing had slowly grown ragged. She still had it under control, but she could feel the effects of sustaining the flame for so long catching up to her.
She threw a glance at Leonard, only to be astonished by the calm gaze of his golden eyes as they peered into the Fireball, searching for its secrets.
’Incredible... Is he really that talented, or does he simply have a higher tolerance for pain and exhaustion?’ She wondered, with nobody able to give her an answer.
Eventually, Leonard’s Fireball went out first.
"Ah..." He said in surprise, watching the flames disappear.
"Scholar Leonard, what happened?" Albert’s voice echoed.
Leonard glanced at his system.
[Your grasp of the Skill, Fireball, has increased to 100%.]
[You have gained a new Skill, Fireball!]
’I went overboard, and I learned it. Apparently, once you grasp the concept, the Fireball disappears on its own.’ He realized.
"I wasn’t able to keep it going any longer." Leonard replied, technically speaking only the truth.
Professor Albert nodded. "Honestly, you lasted longer than expected. Good job. You may return to your seat."
The acknowledgement from the professor was unexpected. Leonard didn’t linger any longer, not wanting to distract Arabella.
’So even he recognizes the results of those he deems inferior. Good to know.’ Leonard began to understand how the professor thought.
Soon enough, Arabella’s Fireball also went out.
"Marvelous performance, Princess Arabella. You were able to sustain the flame for a very long time. What percentage of the Skill have you grasped?"
She took a deep breath to steady herself.
"Twenty percent."
The scholars gasped.
"One-fifth of the way right off the bat?! No wonder she is a princess!"
Albert clapped his hands, silencing the chatter.
"Now you have all seen how learning Skills works. Please keep in mind that every Skill has a different method of comprehension and isn’t as straightforward as this one... With the lesson nearing its end, I will give you your first assignment. Master the Fireball Skill by the end of the week. Those who cannot will be dropped to the next lower grade!"
Faced with receiving their assignment on the very first day, some wanted to argue but didn’t dare to, especially under the professor’s stern gaze.
"Understood!" They answered in unison before being dismissed.
"What’s next on the schedule?" Winston asked.
"Let’s see... We have to choose a specialization course to attend, and we would finish the day with another mandatory lesson right after." Leonard answered.
William grinned from ear to ear. "Then... we are all going to the Rune Manipulation course, right?!"
Samantha’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Why do you seem so eager? It’s not like you to be excited about studying."
"Umm..." William’s forehead broke out in sweat as he glanced at Winston and Leonard for help.
Before either of them could respond, they overheard the discussion of fellow scholars.
"So, we are all going to Rune Manipulation, right?"
"Heck yeah! Based on the rumors, the teacher is a bombshell! You have to be mad to miss that!"
Samantha’s eyes narrowed, and she took Cassie’s hand.
"Cassie, let’s go to a course more suitable for us. Better than wasting our time on stupid things!"
"R—Right!" Cassie replied timidly, following after her.
"I’ll go with them. From what I hear, Rune Manipulation is very difficult, and the dropout rate is brutal." Harley said.
She threw Leonard a silent glance before catching up to the two.
"This couldn’t have gone more badly. Now she is livid..." William sighed gloomily. He had to find a way to make up to Samantha.
"My conscience is clear. I am genuinely interested in the subject." Leonard shrugged nonchalantly, leading the way.
As expected, the lecture hall was filled to the brim. The ratio of men to women was about 5:1.
Everyone held their breath when Cassandra appeared, floating atop her puffy cloud.
However, Leonard’s eyes weren’t fixed on her but on the assistant walking right beside her.
"What the hell is Miranda doing here?!" He bellowed dumbfounded.