Chương 163: Cordyceps Twenty-Eight

With how the rest of my first week had gone, I was expecting Friday to be especially eventful. But it wasn't. I had Geography in the morning, which crawled past, then Introduction to Clockwork and Gears. That class was especially subdued, and I ended up just following instructions from the book as closely as I could while minding my own. I didn't get a lot done, and I wasn't sure if I was really learning anything, but it wasn't bad. Lunch came, and the rumours about Harbin had reached critical mass.

A few more students confirmed things, and there was a new rumour going around that Harbin had punched another Troll in the jaw, knocking them out cold. A third year Troll. It had done wonders to turn his reputation into something entirely different. Now people were talking about the kid in the same tones they'd used for an escaped, feral animal. He'd apparently gotten detention for the stunt he pulled, but I was worried that the punishment was a small price to pay for the reputation. Being violent had...

maybe not fixed his reputation, but it certainly helped shift the narrative. I doubted it was done on purpose, but I could still see it backfiring. In the meantime, however, it wasn't an issue for me. Wandsmithing started after lunch, and the class actually had a small segment taught by an older student on how to use a few tools to cut furrows into wooden blocks and how to use press drills.

We wouldn't be allowed to touch them this year at all, but the class still showed us how to use them and how the older students made their wands. I was looking forward to making my own. I ended up almost late to Language class as I asked Alexander Blackwood all sorts of questions about wands and their magic. The kid was surprisingly knowledgeable and kind. It was easy to start ingratiating myself with him. Language class itself was a bore.

I could have slept through it without really missing anything, but I supposed that it was necessary. Maybe I'd pay the class more attention later, when it all became more relevant. And so Friday, and my first week at the Eden-Powell Academy for the Arts and Sciences ended. Not with a bang, but with a satisfying yawn. I couldn't complain. I'd gotten one target eliminated already, and far, far earlier than anyone could have expected. The education here was top-notch as well.

I had complaints, of course, and some of the... traditions here weren't what I was used to coming from a more advanced world, but it wasn't all bad. There was a small party on Friday night. Nothing too big. The older students got us all outside, as part of some obscure and bizarre tradition, we bobbed and danced all the way around the Dragon dorm while carrying a large stuffed head of some tusked animal.

It was only later that I learned that it was an actual Troll's head, and the song and dance was some tradition to 'ward off trolls' from a distant civilisation that I'd never heard of, a sort of tribal dance that the Dragons had decided to copy one day. More as a way to mock the Trolls than anything else. I doubted there was magic in the tradition. There might have been magic in the flasks of alcohol I saw the sixth and seventh year students passing between each other whenever Mister Drake's back was turned.

There was no way he didn't know about it, not when I could smell it. But he seemed to turn a blind eye as long as no one got too rowdy. Some of the other students had gotten some catering prepared, and some had actually baked their own little cupcakes and such. I was worried for a moment that they might be pranked, but I decided that if they were, then it would be one more way to improve my poison resistances.

I chowed down until I got a stomach ache, but I suspect that it was more because I'd eaten too many baked goods than because of any poison. I snuck some back for Sir Nibbles that night, then laid on by bed, staring at the ceiling, somehow unable to sleep despite being desperately tired.

Name: N/A Alias: Ginger, Gunther Killua Race: Human {Common} Age: 10 Years Mana: 100/100 Primary Class: [Feronie's Crusader {Epic}] Secondary Class: [Angel of Death {Rare}] Afflictions - Child of Poverty {Common} Blessings - Blessing of Feronie {Unique} Feronie's Crusader Class Skills Level Three Hundred and Twenty-Five - Aura of Growth {Rare} Level Eighty-Six > [Shaped Aura] > [Careful Casting] > [Unrestricted Growth] > [Sustained Growth] - Blight {Epic} Level Seventy-Five > [Persistent Death] > [Rigour Mortis] > [Infection] - Ritual of Sporemageddon {Legendary} Level Twenty > [Apocalypse Walker] The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

- Druid Sight {Uncommon} Level Seventy-Five > [Druid's Sense] ‎ > [Druid's Ear] > [Health Sense] - Mushroom Magic {Rare} Level Sixty-Nine > [Super Shroom Zoom] > [Mushroom Remaker] > [Potent] Angel of Death Class Skills One Hundred and Twenty-Five - Cherub of Death {Rare} Level Twenty-Two - Guileless Eyes {Uncommon} Level Thirty-Three > [Lingering Look] - Unnoticeable {Uncommon} Level Thirty-Seven > [Notice Me Not] - Poison Blooded {Rare} Level Seventeen - Angel's Touch {Rare} Level Sixteen General Skills Level Four Hundred and Fifty-One - Running {Common} Level Sixty-Three > [Surefooted] > [Sprint] > [Runner's Breath] - Knitting {Common} Level Seventy-One > [Patterner] > [Clicky Clacker] > [Resizer] - Basic Poison Resistance {Common} Level Forty-Five > [Mana Bleed] > [Push Through] - Social Manipulation {Uncommon} Level Seventy > [Too Cute to Kill] > [Bargain Maker] > [Misinformer] - Poison Handling Expertise {Rare} Level Sixty-Eight > [Iron Lunged] > [Toxicant Sense] > [Thick Skinned] - Academic Mind {Uncommon} Level Forty-One > [Penmanship] - Cooking {Common} Level Twenty-Nine > [Eye for Sizes] - Management {Common} Level Twenty-Four > [Stock Knowledge] - Quick Sleeper {Uncommon} Level Twenty-One - Lie Detection {Uncommon} Level Nineteen I had three whole skills that had passed the mark where they'd unlock new subskills.

That was actually pretty decent progress. My main class, Feronie's Crusader, had barely budged since I came here, but Angel of Death was improving by leaps and bounds. It made sense. The school was a social environment, more than anything else. It was giving me lots of experience for social skills. Anyway, subskills! I should have been paying a bit more attention, but it wasn't as fun to stare at small, incremental growth when I could wait and reap a larger reward all at once. [You have unlocked a Sub-Skill!] [Congratulations! Your [Cherub of Death {Rare}] Skill has unlocked the [Sin Sense] Subskill!] [Sin Sense] You are innately aware of how much a person believes you to have sinned according to their own moral values. That... was one of the strangest subskills I'd ever seen. I'd really have to test it, but if it worked the way I suspected, then it might give me a slight edge in any conversation. If I knew that someone thought I was up to something, then I could act accordingly.

That might have been useful earlier in the week. The moral values part was bizarre, but I supposed that there wasn't a universal morality to rely on for that kind of thing. [Congratulations! Your [Academic Mind {Uncommon}] Skill has unlocked the [Taught] Subskill!] [Taught] Teaching-type skills used to your benefit are more effective on you. That was fine. It wasn't anything too special, but it wasn't bad either.

I wasn't going to keep Academic Mind for the rest of my life in any case, so I didn't particularly care if the subskills weren't great. The last subskill I'd unlocked was for Quick Sleeper, which while merely {Uncommon} was a favourite skill of mine. At the moment it was mostly letting me get away with six or so hours of sleep instead of a full eight, but if I continued to improve it... well, it would never negate sleep entirely, but it was still more time spent awake. [Congratulations! Your [Quick Sleeper {Uncommon}] Skill has unlocked the [Light Sleeper] Subskill!] [Light Sleeper] You are easily awoken by threats of danger or any attempts to awaken you. That was the most video-gamey skill I'd seen yet. Was I going to get a prompt telling me that I couldn't sleep while enemies were nearby next? I'd take it anyway. The ability to wake up quickly and easily was fantastic. Now, if only I had the ability to fall asleep as easily, that'd be perfect.

I 'tsk tsked' until Sir Nibbles grudgingly joined me on the bed, then I hugged the panbadger close, like a warm, boney plushie with coarse fur. Tomorrow would be another busy day. I had to go check out things outside the Academy. I couldn't make it all the way back home, to the slums, but I could get messages from home without too much trouble. That, and the letter I received suggested that I was going to get additional instructions soon.

I wasn't expecting anything good from it, but maybe my pessimism would be wrong for once. I snorted onto Sir Nibble's head. I doubted it.

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