Chapter 200: The Stratagem Branch

Chapter 200

The Stratagem Branch

Today marked Ellie’s first day meeting with Professor Nico as his direct disciple. Professor Nico had 6 direct disciples and over 30 secondary disciples. All of his direct and secondary disciples came from high-ranking families or wealthy merchant families. The direct disciples were carefully selected from the pool of disciples, chosen for their exceptional talent that could be refined.

Currently, Professor Nico’s direct disciples included 3 fourth-year students, 1 third-year student, and 2 second-year students. Ellie was one of the chosen ones, which surprised many as they had never seen her participate in the selection tests.

The other second-year student, named “Nadia,” hailed from the “Ryuger” family. Nadia had passed the selection tests with her extraordinary talent as a descendant of the Ryuger family that had an ancestor who was one of the members of the Annihilation Stratagem Association. Despite the years that had passed, one of the significant people of the kingdom like him had always been inscribed for future generations, and the stratagem branch still revered the Ryuger family’s ancestor.

Nadia was from high-status family that provided her with ample resources, and her innate talent allowed her to create two level 1 stratagems at such a young age. Her talents were comparable to those of Professor Nico himself.

Everyone in the stratagem branch hoped to witness the rise of a prodigy in their generation, and it was a matter of great pride. However, no one knew how Ellie had secured a place in this branch, and she was even recognized as a “direct disciple” of their mentor.

Despite the doubts, Ellie’s status as "Duchess Ellie" deterred anyone from voicing their objections. Professor Nico looked at her and nodded in greeting, as if they were so familiar with each other, which silenced the rest of the students.

"Alright, today our branch will welcome 2 new direct disciples. I will have each of them introduce themselves. Let’s start with the first student I have personally selected, Student Ellie," Professor Nico called Ellie to introduce herself first. Given her status as a direct disciple, it was only appropriate to familiarize everyone, especially the secondary disciples, with her.

The status between direct and secondary students was significantly different. While direct students received specialized instruction, secondary students had to learn by observation and assist with various tasks for the professors or direct students. They could learn more only if they managed to become an aide to a direct student. Essentially...the primary goal of secondary students was to do whatever it took to be chosen as a partner by a direct student; otherwise, their learning opportunities would remain limited.

Direct students could select 1 secondary student as their partner but could change their partner at any time according to their preference. Some direct students had many followers, rotating them monthly for joint learning sessions. Therefore, secondary students often tried to ingratiate themselves with direct students in hopes of being chosen to learn more.

Ellie stood amidst the attentive gazes of everyone, showing no sign of nervousness.

"Greetings, everyone. My name is Ellie, and I wield botanic power. From now on, I will be learning under Professor Nico. If there’s anything you can teach me as a new student, I would appreciate it," she said succinctly before stepping down. Nico chuckled lightly at Ellie’s demeanor but did not comment further, immediately inviting the other new student to introduce herself.

"My name is Nadia from the Ryuger family, which you all know how strong our lineage is as stratagem creators. I have proudly passed the rigorous tests of Professor Nico. I refuse to let anyone claim that I am only a stratagem creator because of my family’s influence. My ability is water element power, so I am particularly skilled in creating water-related stratagems. I can currently make 2 stratagems, though it was only at level 1, I achieved through my own hard work.

"I will continue to train diligently from now on. My goal is to join the Annihilation Stratagem Association, just like my ancestor, and bring honor to the Ares Kingdom. Therefore, I want to make it clear that I am not here to have fun like some others might be."

"I do not care about anyone’s status here. Whether you are a high-ranking noble, an ordinary merchant, or even a duchess, if you want to associate with me, you must first demonstrate your abilities. If you lack such capabilities, please stay away from me, as I do not wish to waste my training time.

"Well, that is all I have to say, and I hope no one bothers me with any trivial matters," Nadia concluded, maintaining her composed tone throughout. Ellie observed Nadia’s determination quietly but sensed that the girl was positioning herself as an adversary.

Actually, it’s understandable. Nadia, a growing girl, thought she might be Professor Nico’s only direct disciple. But when she arrived and found that the professor had accepted someone else first, she felt slighted. She might have then set herself up as a rival and enemy to someone she deemed unworthy.

Children were often like this—confident in themselves, seeking attention from many people. With the honor of the Ryuger family weighing on her, a bit of aggressiveness wasn’t unusual.

Ellie didn’t care much. She wasn’t here to compete with others, after all. Her only goal was to learn how to make stratagems, especially ones that could summon ice. If she could also learn to create protective stratagems like barriers to keep beasts at bay, that would be even better.

But of course, learning a barrier stratagem was a secondary goal. First, she wanted to master ice stratagems. The rest could come gradually.

Clap, clap, clap.

Professor Nico clapped his hands, acknowledging Nadia’s fiery determination. A new student should have this kind of spirit. Nico himself believed that Nadia might be a genius he could mold into a celebrated figure. Whether she would catch the eye of the Annihilation Stratagem Association or not, she would certainly become highly skilled in creating stratagems.

As for Ellie, because she had provided valuable resources and Nico was confident he would need her help again in the future, so he had elevated her to direct disciple status as a special case. Teaching one more student wasn’t too burdensome. Nico didn’t expect Ellie to be exceptionally talented or to create mid-level stratagems. That wasn’t necessary...If she could just make basic stratagems, it would be a success.

"Alright, now that introductions are done, it’s time to start your first day of training. As every year...we begin with a skill test by honing the bone rods of “Rattus A.” You have 3 hours from now to shape them into suitable sizes as much as possible. Remember, it’s not just speed that is necessary, but you also need to attend to details and make sure they can be used well afterwards.”

“The quality of your stratagems depends on how well you hone these Rattus A bones. If you’re ready...begin!" Professor Nico signaled, and everyone immediately got to work, except for Ellie and Nadia.

Nico approached them with a smile. These two were new and might not understand the situation. Honing Rattus A bones was an initiation task, or it could be called a welcoming task. Each year, this small competition took place once, where experienced students showed their proficiency. Although both girls had never done this before, it wasn’t difficult to teach them.

"You’re new, so you might not know that our branch has this tradition. When meeting for the first time, we compete to see who can hone the most Rattus A bones. You probably know what these bones can be used for once shaped into suitable rods, right? Ah...Or if you don’t, that’s fine; there’s plenty of time to learn." Nico looked at Ellie before changing his words. He felt Ellie might not know much about stratagem-making. However, Ellie wasn’t lazy. Once she knew her goal, she had studied stratagems information from books. So, of course, she knew about Rattus A bones.

Rattus A were beasts resembling sewer rats but at a level 1-star, making them quite formidable. Their bones could conduct magic currents, which made them excellent components for enhancing the strength of stratagems.

Honing the Rattus A bone rods was the first step in preparation. Every stratagem creator must undergo this training to understand the components of stratagems better.

However, Ellie didn’t need to explain what she had studied. It was better to let the professor continue with the introduction. Even so, upon hearing the professor’s words, Nadia couldn’t help but snicker derisively.

“Professor, there isn’t a single disciple that is serious about making stratagems who wouldn’t know about the Rattus A bone rods,” Nadia said, her words a direct insult to Ellie. Nico shook his head, not wanting to say anything, even though he knew Nadia was correct.

If it weren’t for Ellie possessing valuable resources, he wouldn’t have accepted her as a direct disciple so easily, or at the very least, he would have tested her knowledge and skills first.

“I don’t want to waste time, Professor. Please give me the Rattus A bones. I’ll go and hone them within the 3-hour timeframe like everyone else,” Nadia stated bluntly. She didn’t value Ellie at all. If Professor Nico wanted to waste time with Ellie, that was fine, but she would start working and ignore the rest.

“Mmm, then bring the Rattus A bones for Student Nadia. As for student Ellie...follow me. I’ll teach you the method for the first time. Then use the 3 hours effectively. After seeing your work, I’ll provide further guidance.”

Professor Nico took Ellie aside for a private lesson, showing her how to hone the bone rods. The knife used for this task was specialized; otherwise, it would be impossible to carve the strong bones. While using the knife, one had to channel their own magic power appropriately. This was only to activate the knife’s functionality. Any type of magic power could be used.

However, transferring magic power required careful precision. If one lacked attentiveness, and too much power was channeled, the knife would cut too deeply into the bone. If too little power was used, the honed area would be too thick. This practice served as excellent training for controlling one’s power.

In creating stratagems, the creator needed focus, steady hands, and the ability to control magic power with maximum stability. Otherwise, the quality of the stratagem would suffer, or in the worst-case scenario, it would be completely unusable.

Ellie watched the professor’s skilled movements, her eyes focusing on the blade’s work before nodding in understanding. After 10 minutes, Professor Nico had finished creating the stratagem’s connecting rods from Rattus A bones...Naturally, he could have done it faster, but he slowed down to ensure Ellie could see each step clearly.

“Do you think you can do it now?”

“Yes, Professor. I’ll give it a try.”

“Mmm, good. I’ll be walking around and observing. If there’s anything that needs improvement, I’ll let you know after the time is up,” Professor Nico said kindly. In his mind, he didn’t believe Ellie would succeed on her first try.

He remembered when he first started practicing stratagem creation, he had split the Rattus A bones in half as if slicing an egg. Controlling the power, keeping a steady hand, and not trembling all required immense concentration.

Ellie took the equipment and found an empty workstation. The direct disciples of Professor Nico had private workstations on the upper floor, each separated by wooden walls for privacy. One could see their heads only when Ellie stood. When sitting, it was impossible to see whether there was anyone inside. In contrast, the secondary disciples worked together at long tables with no such privileges, ensuring everyone could see who among the secondary disciples was available.

Professor Nico went to check on Nadia first. He didn’t want to embarrass Ellie. Letting her learn from her own mistakes might be better. Perhaps...if Ellie could successfully complete 2 perfect pieces in 3 hours, it would be considered quite an achievement. He thus planned to check on her closer to the end of the session.

Entering Nadia’s workstation, Nico nodded in satisfaction. She used her power well, not too quickly, with minor mistakes. At least, her knife skills were quite proficient, and her method was to control the blade to shave off only a small amount of bone at a time. She worked patiently, piece by piece, surface by surface, completing 1 piece in about 30 minutes, which was quite commendable.

Seeing Professor Nico’s smile, Nadia felt more confident. She glanced at Ellie, who sat silently in her workstation. If she weren’t afraid of being reprimanded, she would have abandoned her work to see if Ellie had even managed to start or if she had already split the bones in half.

Heh, heh, heh.

This stratagem branch...wasn’t a playground for children. If she wanted to study alongside her, she should consider her abilities!!!

Having money and resources didn’t mean she could do anything she pleases!