Chapter 359: Back to the Academy (1)

That night, before the scholars were allowed to return to their rooms and begin packing for the journey back to the academy, Ophelia stepped onto the stage once more.

By the time the Leviathan reached Drevhan Shore, rows of carriages would already be waiting near the docks to transport them back.

But first, there was one final announcement.

Ophelia allowed her gaze to sweep across the hall before continuing.

"As most of you are already aware, the academy originally scheduled a one-week recess following the conclusion of the Island Test. That arrangement, however, has since been revised."

A few murmurs immediately surfaced among the tables.

"What? Revised?"

"Wait... what does that mean?"

However, before more questions could spread throughout the hall, Ophelia calmly raised her voice just enough to draw everyone’s attention back toward her.

"It means... the recess will now be extended to two weeks."

For a brief moment, the hall fell strangely quiet.

Then, almost at once, the reaction erupted.

Several scholars visibly brightened, while others turned toward their teammates with widened eyes and barely restrained grins.

A few even whispered excitedly among themselves, already discussing how they intended to spend the additional week away from classes.

It was, after all, difficult for a group of teenagers to hear that their break had suddenly doubled in length and remain completely composed about it.

Once the commotion settled somewhat, Ophelia proceeded to explain the reasons behind the sudden adjustment.

One of them was that the academy believed a longer recovery period would be more appropriate after everything the scholars had endured during the Island Test, allowing both their bodies and minds sufficient time to recover before regular classes resumed.

There were also several schedules that needed to be reorganized following the incident, along with damaged facilities that required restoration, altered training programs that needed further revision, and various administrative matters still awaiting review.

Most importantly, the academy intended to conduct a broader internal inspection during the extended recess.

On the surface, there was nothing particularly suspicious about any of those explanations.

In fact, every reason sounded perfectly reasonable.

But Ruvian knew they were only the explanations being presented to everyone else.

The real reason was far more serious.

Ophelia intended to use those two weeks to thoroughly filter through the academy; not merely the instructors or academy officials — but everyone.

After learning that demons were capable of replacing humans so perfectly that they could continue living among society without immediately being exposed, there was no longer any guarantee that the academy itself had remained untouched.

A researcher, instructor, servant, guard, official, or even a scholar could be one. Anyone could potentially be a suspect.

And with the majority of the scholars temporarily absent from the academy, Ophelia would finally have the opportunity to investigate its personnel and facilities far more thoroughly without disrupting normal operations — or, more importantly, causing unnecessary panic.

It was after that announcement was made that Ruvian and the rest of his squad returned to their assigned room, packed their belongings, and eventually made their way off the Leviathan under the guidance of academy officials, who escorted each squad toward their respective waiting carriages.

The journey would take somewhere around two hours, and since it was already midnight, they would probably arrive at the academy at around two in the morning.

But despite the late hour, was their journey going to be a quiet one?

Well, although all of them were exhausted and still thoroughly stuffed from the buffet, they were somehow still brimming with energy.

More than anything, they had far too many things they wanted to ask Ruvian. Now that they finally had him sitting among them without anyone else around, they weren’t about to let the chance slip away.

The questions began almost as soon as the carriage started moving, with one of them barely waiting for him to finish before another jumped in.

Still, Ruvian did his best to answer their questions. He wasn’t being entirely truthful, but he gave them just enough information to satisfy their curiosity without revealing too much.

For example, when they asked how he had fought so many scholars at once, he offered a reasonable explanation of how he had weakened his opponents using the dust poison and chosen a battlefield that worked to his advantage.

Neither part was a lie, though he made sure to place more emphasis on those preparations than on his own strength.

He couldn’t outright lie and claim he hadn’t done much, since there was evidence of him fighting. But he couldn’t tell them he had handled it with such ease either... since it was mostly the boost from [Assimilation] that had allowed him to fight against twenty scholars at once.

So, he stuck to the parts he could explain and let them fill in the rest themselves.

Other than that, Yerin eventually brought up another question — about the absurd number of academy tokens Ruvian had received from the Individual Excellence Award.

"So... have you actually decided what you’re going to do with all of them?"

Ruvian glanced toward her. Obviously, he could not exactly tell them what he truly intended to spend those tokens on.

So, Ruvian merely shrugged.

"Not yet. I’ll probably look through what the academy has available during the two-week break and decide afterward."

Yerin nodded thoughtfully at that.

Since she had been the one to bring up the subject, however, Ruvian found himself considering something else.

Actually...

There were a few things she could purchase herself.

"If you still have some tokens left, you should buy Silger Powder, Verdant Marrowleaf, and a few bottles of diluted Honeydew Extract."

Yerin blinked.

"Huh?"

"Mix a small amount of all three in warm water and drink it once every morning."

Her expression immediately became suspicious.

"...Why does that sound like medicine?"

"Because it basically is."

Ruvian explained that the combination was commonly used as a mild restorative tonic.

Silger Powder helped replenish minerals exhausted through repeated mana circulation, Verdant Marrowleaf supported muscular and internal recovery, while Honeydew Extract was useful for stabilizing fatigue and improving the body’s overall condition.

Taken individually, none of them were particularly remarkable.

However, when consumed together in moderate quantities over a long period, they were surprisingly effective at strengthening the body and maintaining one’s health.

It would not suddenly make Yerin stronger overnight, of course.

But considering how frequently she pushed herself through physical training and mana exhaustion, something that improved recovery little by little was hardly a wasted investment.

Yerin listened more seriously than Ruvian had expected before eventually nodding.

"I’ll write those down later." (+500PP)

Across from them, Arlok snorted.

However, perhaps because Ruvian had already started giving recommendations, Arlok wanted them as well.

"What about me?"

Ruvian looked at him.

"What about you?"

"Anything useful I should buy?"

The request was so casual that Ruvian stared at him for a second before thinking it over.

Then, something suitable immediately came to mind.

"There’s an ankle-bracelet artifact in the academy exchange catalogue. I forgot the exact name, but it temporarily reduces the effective weight of your body while you’re moving."

Arlok raised an eyebrow.

"Reduces my weight?"

"Not literally. It adjusts the gravitational resistance acting on your movements. Your body feels lighter, so accelerating, changing direction, and recovering your footing become easier."

Ruvian figured it suited him rather well.

Arlok’s combat style already relied heavily on heavy attack and closing distance aggressively. An artifact that improved his mobility without forcing him to drastically change the way he fought would probably benefit him more.

Arlok leaned back against the carriage seat, visibly considering it.

"Huh... that actually sounds useful." (+500PP)

"It is."

"Is it expensive?"

"Not sure, but probably."

Ruvian then looked toward the remaining two people in the carriage.

Horren and Shima had remained relatively quiet throughout the exchange, merely listening as Yerin and Arlok received their respective suggestions.

Seeing that, Ruvian simply smiled and said:

"Don’t worry. I’ll pick something suitable for the two of you as well."

Horren blinked.

Shima, meanwhile, looked at him for a moment before her expression softened.

"You don’t have to do that, you know?"

"Hm?"

"Those are your tokens." She gave him a small smile. "You earned them yourself. I’m perfectly fine without anything."

"Yeah."

Horren unexpectedly agreed from beside her.

He folded his arms loosely across his chest before adding, "She’s right. T-those are your hard-earned tokens. You should use them on yourself. I don’t think I contributed much to begin with."

Ruvian stared at the two of them for a brief moment before letting out a soft sigh. Then, he simply waved a hand dismissively.

"Don’t worry about it."

He had received so many academy tokens from the award that even after setting aside what he needed for himself, there would still be more than enough left over.

"I have way too many tokens anyway. I’m obviously going to spend most of them on myself, but that doesn’t mean I can’t spare some for you guys."

Shima seemed ready to say something else, but Ruvian continued before she could.

"Also, I’m not planning to buy you anything useless. If I find something that actually benefits you, I’ll get it."

His gaze moved between all four of them.

"Actually, Yerin, Arlok, Shima, Horren — I’ll find something suitable for each of you, so just consider it a small gift. We did pretty well throughout the test, after all."

He paused briefly before adding. "Besides, I wouldn’t have earned this many tokens without you guys either."

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[Chapter 359: Back to the Academy (1)]

Plot Points = 310,000