Chương 166: Chapter 155-Chosen 'Fun'

Scrub. Scrub. Scrub. Sometimes you have to really scrub away at those stubborn stains. I like to use a rough brush and some salt. It gets the tough stains out, and by the Gods is this a tough stain. What was Cliff trying to make in this? Putting the full force of my 21 [STR] behind the brush, I slip and hit my hand on the table. Damn, it's not coming out. Let's try this again. Pointing my hand at the stain, I [Clean] it. The superficial grim burns away, but the overall stain is still there.

"Cliff, I'm sorry, but not even [Clean] is getting rid of this stain," I say as I wave the pan. Cliff pops out of the large pot.

"Really? Have you tried using a chant?"

"A chant? Why would I do that?" I ask as I spin the brush.

"Oh yeah. You guys haven't had Summer Quarter yet. You do know that if you say your [Skill] out loud it has a greater effect, right?" he asks, leaning on the pot.

"Yeah. Professor Stargazer said something like that before. Same with magic circles and oaths, right?"

"They're different in execution, but they achieve the same thing. Oaths require conditions. For example, I want to be able to [Cook] better, but in exchange I must be in my full chef gear to do it. Simple, right?"

"Penelope and I were talking about this, so yeah, it makes sense. For magic circles they modify the range, mana usage, and power, but require you to make a magic circle," I say as I remember Hopper's little stunt during the Class War.

"That's exactly right. Chants are the easiest and most interchangeable of the three. Watch this. With the power of the wind and the Gods I set forth a [Breeze]." As Cliff says his chant, a small ball of dust appears in his hand and then shoots out around the room. Something that can barely be called a breeze knocks me off my chair and onto my ass. Lovely. Exactly what I needed to happen today.

"How is that a breeze?" I ask from the ground. With laughter, Cliff lets forth a small breeze that ruffles my hair.

"That's what [Breeze] is usually like. When you use a chant, you amplify the power of your [Skill] by allowing the MP to structure itself. It's the difference between building a house from scratch and building a house on a foundation. Why don't you give it a try?"

"Wait, why didn't the Second Years use these chants during the Class War?" I ask in confusion.

"To keep injuries to a minimum, the Second Years were banned from using chants, oaths, and magic circles. Which is why it was hilarious when your friend Hopper pulled out a magic circle. Now enough stalling. Try to build a chant," he says as he points at the pan.

"Fine. Fine. Just anything, right? Hippity Hoppity be [Clean]," I chant at the stain, only for nothing to happen.

"Okay, let me be clearer. The [System] can be picky. If it doesn't make sense, the [System] won't allow the chant to go through. So, try something more in line with cleaning."

"What kind of bullshit is this? I said the words and the [System] gets to decide whether they're good enough? What a load of crap," I say in annoyance. Your complaint has been recorded.

"Try not to anger the [System]. It's the one that gives us all this power," he reminds me.

"Okay, let's try this again. Stain of evil. Supplies of good. With this hand I shall [Clean]," I chant dramatically. In the blink of an eye, the stain is gone along with the rest of the grim that was on the pan. It's so [Clean] that I can even see my reflection on it. Huh, I wonder why we haven't learned this yet. Cliff did say something about the Summer Quarter. Maybe we'll learn more about it then.

"Nice. You might have gone a bit overboard, but you did it. Keep in mind that the longer the chant, the stronger the [Skill] will become, but if you're interrupted in the middle, it will still use the MP without actually doing anything. All that to say, try to find a nice middle ground when using a chant. Not too long and not too short," he explains as he holds up another pile of stained pans.

"You know, I feel like our friendship is being exploited here," I joke as I take the pile.

"Exploited? I'm hooking you up with my flour distributor, and you volunteered," he retorts.

"Let's not get into the details of it all. Let's instead talk about the Spring Festival. Do you have everything ready?" I ask, subtly changing the subject. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Once we're done here? Everything should be good. The rest of the club is setting up the food stall and getting some of the decorations."

"And how's your problem child treating you?"

"Davis? He's been quiet so far. Has been coming to club just enough to meet the attendance requirement. A small part of me hopes he's turned over a new leaf, but I doubt it. If he's going to do anything, he's probably going to do it during the Festival itself. If I'm being honest, I am a bit worried," he says as he slowly carves a magic circle into the bottom of the big pot.

"Don't worry too much. You can handle anything that's [Thrown] your way. Plus, I'll make sure to stop by your stall just in case," I say with a reassuring nod.

"That would be nice, but are you sure you'll have the time?"

"I'll find the time. Speaking of the Festival. Can I ask you a favor?" I ask with a devilish grin. Helia nods with a sense of pride as she looks over our field of poppies. It's been a long Spring Quarter, but after grueling hours, a fence that we really didn't need, and many snack breaks, we've done it. The red and blue field sways gently with the spring breeze.

"Do you think it's okay that we used this design?" I ask with a hint of worry. Helia squints at the symbol of the Imperial Family.

"It should be fine. It's the school's symbols as well. If anyone does complain, we can pull The Chosen One card."

"Why don't we pull the Daughter of an Archduke card?" I ask as I sit in one of our patio chairs.

"Doesn't really roll off the tongue as much as The Chosen One card. Plus, yours sounds cooler," she says while grabbing a cookie.

"Is this really all we're doing for the Festival?"

"You want to do more?"

"Nope. Just wanted to make sure this met the demands from the Student Council."

"It does. We have a display, don't we?" Helia asks as she cracks open her book.

"I guess so." Letting the warmth of the day wash over me, I focus on what Penelope, Hopper, and I talked about. Which is a lot. After our defeat against the Purists, we decided to brainstorm on what the conditions for the Prideborns' invulnerability might be. We didn't come up with anything solid, but we have three working theories based on nothing but guesswork and speculation. The first is that it's dependent on how prideful the opponent is. So maybe we could send someone with no pride at her.

The second was that it's dependent on the Purists in the same way that Bianca was siphoning Eidrel's lifeforce. Which, by the way, was our least liked theory since we don't know how many Purists we would have to kill. The third and my personal favorite has to do with the game of Tag she challenged me to. Basically, we think that she's invulnerable if she wins the game or is currently playing the game. There's also another thing.

I asked Yellow, Pink, and Orange how exactly the Prideborn killed them, and I quote, 'She asked us to play a game and when we refused she killed us.' With this, I think I know what I need to do. I need to win a game of Tag.

"Helia, I need your help."

"What do you want?"

"I need you to play Tag with me," I say without a flicker of a joke.

"What?"

"You heard me. We need to play Tag," I say as I stand up and start stretching.

"No."

"What do you mean, no?" I ask as I put my hands on my waist like a grumpy old man.

"I mean I'm 22. I don't play Tag. Go ask Hopper or Princess Penelope," she says with a dismissive handwave. Nodding my head, I look around to make sure no one is watching.

"I see how it is. Guess I should ask Ruby. I mean she is the fun sister after all," I [Taunt] as I pretend to walk away.

"Wait a minute.

'Fun' sister? What do you mean by that?" Helia asks as she shuts her book with a hint of anger.

"Well, I mean… she's the fun sister. She's funny, is always down to hang, and can do cool tricks. I've even seen her do this weird thing with her hair where she looks twice as big as usual."

"First of all, I taught her that. I can do that too. Also, I'm fun," Helia says with a hint of desperation.

"Helia, in the 6 months that I've known you. You've spent 4 of them glued to that chair eating my cookies. Doesn't really scream 'fun' to me," I [Taunt] with a disappointed look.

"I can be… Wait a minute! You're trying to manipulate me into playing Tag with you. Well, guess what? Your plan has failed. I'm going to sit down in that chair, crack open my book, and eat some cookies," she says with a hint of pride. As she goes to sit down, I say, "Okay. No worries. I'll go ask Ruby. She's better at Tag anyway," I [Taunt] under my breath.

"Oh no you don't! You and me! Right here, right now!" Helia yells as I hide my devilish smile.

"If you insist. You're it. Ready. Set. Go!" With a burning sensation in my chest, I collapse to the floor.

"Why… in the fuck… are you so good… at Tag?" I ask as I try to catch my breath. Helia looks down at me with a signature look of superiority.

"That's because I'm the best Tag player this side of the Ravclin Mountains."

"Yes, yes. You're the fun sister," I say as I try and fail to do a thumbs up.

"Damn right. By the way, why did you want to play Tag?" she asks while sitting down.

"Training for an upcoming battle against evil," I say with a nervous laugh.

"Well, good luck with that. You suck at Tag," she says, not fully or even partly believing me.

"Noticed. Thanks." Oh this is bad. Tomorrow is the Spring Festival, and it turns out I'm terrible at Tag. My only weakness. That and taxes. What am I going to do?