Chapter 205: The True Vortex Stratagem

Chapter 205

The True Vortex Stratagem

Ellie frowned slightly at Nadia’s words. She wasn’t entirely sure if her own thoughts were correct, but there was no need for such harsh criticism, was there? It was clear that Nadia was displeased with her and was trying to make Ellie look bad.

Despite this, Ellie didn’t argue back. She was here to learn, not to become a great stratagem creator. As long as she could create the stratagems she needed, that would be enough. In the future, she hoped to live in a house with all the conveniences.

Well...Living in the Setter family mansion had sparked this new dream. She had never thought much about such comfort before. Now, having experienced it, she realized it was achievable without the stress and exhaustion of working in a company. Even so...when she had servants to do the work, and when she lounged around eating sweets without having to think too much, it made her feel she deserved a good life, too.

And what would help her achieve that?

What Ellie wanted wasn’t to find people to meddle with her life. Even if she asked the Setter family or Young Lord Owen for slave contracts, living with someone forced to be there wouldn’t bring happiness. So, she hoped to become stronger, live in a tower, own a home, and have a city of her own, hiding herself in a tranquility with a home equipped with “stratagems” to assist in every aspect of daily life.

The first thing Ellie wanted to do was set up convenience stratagems similar to electronic devices. Some could even be voice-activated, like...opening the door with light, creating a fan for summer, making a water heater for winter, a simple food warmer, in case she was lazy to cook and she could just bought the food to be frozen and warm up when eat, a refrigerator for cold drinks, jelly, or other desserts, and a stratagem to clean the house, or others, for instance.

With this grand dream (?), Ellie ignored Nadia’s words and focused on her own training.

Professor Nico didn’t want the other second-year students to understand what was happening. He set up a stratagem to block the sound and make the sight opaque. Now, it seemed like Ellie was trapped in a small room. Ellie looked at her professor in surprise. Why make such a big deal out of it? He could just explain things, couldn’t he?

Nadia felt the same, thinking that the professor didn’t want to embarrass Ellie further. Instead of focusing on learning more about stratagem creation, Nadia sped up her own work, feeling smug.

She believed that the faster she completed her assignments, the more she could highlight the difference between herself and Ellie. Little did she know, the seniors were all shaking their heads. In their eyes, the girl in front of them was being incredibly foolish.

“Alright, now explain your understanding to me,”

Professor Nico said to Ellie after he had ensured no one else could hear. Ellie then detailed her doubts once again. Professor Nico chuckled and patted her shoulder lightly.

“You are truly a strong child, deserving of being the only student of Professor Medik, and also having Professor Lucien wanting to take you as a direct disciple. Initially, I thought you should stay with those two outstanding professors because they have no disciples of their own. If you became their direct disciple, you would easily reap all the benefits. But now...I’ve changed my mind.”

“For a student like you, I will never give you back to any other professor. You have immense talent. Let the Hestia or Gaia Kingdoms showcase their abilities in potion concocting, as there are many practitioners in that field already.”

“As for using your power for combat or healing, which Professor Lucien excels at, let others handle that. No matter how good you are in combat, you cannot match your fiancé’s abilities. So...you’ve made the right decision.”

“Your prowess should truly be applied to the Stratagem Creation Branch. You will shine brighter than anyone with your meticulous thinking. One day, I expect to see you creating high-level stratagems, the details of which even I haven’t fully grasped after a lifetime of study. You will represent the Ares Kingdom in the Annihilation Stratagem Association and showcase our superiority. Do you understand!?”

Hearing such grand words from her professor, Ellie raised her eyebrows in disbelief. Who would have thought that her mere curiosity would cause trouble again!?

“Alright, I won’t take up much more of your time. What you are trying to understand is correct. You are not being arrogant despite knowing how to create a simple level 1 stratagem. If you didn’t understand, you wouldn’t have seen these differences. Moreover...you didn’t rush into your work but paid attention to details. Keep maintaining this level of rigor, and don’t get overconfident in your abilities. Otherwise, you’ll become like a full cup of water.”

“Do you understand?” Professor Nico asked Ellie seriously, almost as if trying to engrave the importance of his words, “Do you understand?” into her mind. He had high expectations for her and didn’t want her to fail in the future.

“I understand, Professor.”

Did Ellie have any other choice? Of course not, so she responded with a dry smile. Satisfied, Professor Nico deactivated the stratagem he had set up and walked away, not explaining to the others what had transpired between them. This left many of the second-year students feeling genuinely puzzled. Naturally, they assumed, like Nadia, that “Duchess Ellie” had really performed poorly.

While many of the second-year students thought that way, several third-year secondary seniors had no hesitation in approaching the second-year student, Ellie.

They knew the situation well, having been through the same experiences in their second year. When they saw that Ellie went in with Professor Nico, they understood she had passed the test. So...instead of working hard for someone foolish, wouldn’t it be better to follow this exceptional direct student?

“Duchess Ellie, you have impressive skills in honing Rattus A rods, but you’ll need many other materials in the future, won’t you? Instead of working alone, why not take me as an assistant? I’ll help with everything you need, and I only ask for 5% of the points from your work.”

“Duchess Ellie, don’t listen to him. I only ask for 3%. I’ll assist you with anything you need.”

“Haha, you both are too greedy. Duchess Ellie, you can buy resources from me. I’ll have them ready for you whenever you need them.”

Many students swarmed around Ellie like bees to a flower. She paused, slightly taken aback by their enthusiasm.

Training for students in this branch involved not only completing assignments to advance to the next year but also taking on other general missions when they had free time or hit a mental block. Like the other direct students, they took on various jobs because it would be a waste of their time if they didn’t find anything to do when they couldn’t think of any idea for the tasks.

Even if they didn’t get tasks from direct students, they could still create items and sell them to professors or assistants. Taking on additional tasks from Ellie would be no different, and these tasks could be negotiated directly between individuals, unlike those from professors which offered only minimal points.

“Uh... perhaps I do need 2-3 helpers,” Ellie said after thinking for a moment.

These tasks were designed for other students to help with, and she didn’t want to work too hard. Her potion concocting and herb cultivation were already enough to ensure she graduated from the second year. Ellie also planned to spend a lot of time in the Tower of Eternity. She intended to stay in the tower for about 3 weeks this month, spending 1 week entirely in the stratagem creation room.

Overall, Ellie could accumulate 14 hours per day from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM. There was no need to worry about food as her assistants could handle that. So, in 7 days, she could accumulate 98 hours. Over 11 months, she would reach 1,078 hours, passing the required hours easily.

Ellie didn’t take long to choose. She asked for a few helpers in exchange for 5% of the points she earned. Regardless of whether the work was hard or light, she expected them to do it without complaint. In this case, those who decided to assist also took on a risk. If the direct student they followed was too weak, it might take months to complete tasks, meaning they would work hard for the same reward.

Conversely, if the direct student they followed was skilled, assignments would be completed easily, and they would earn points with less effort.

Nadia, seeing Ellie pick her helpers so carelessly, sneered in disdain. To her, choosing assistants was a task that required careful consideration. Naturally, she had already selected her team beforehand. With the status of the Ryuger family, second-year students volunteered to follow her without hesitation. So, Nadia had chosen over 10 students to assist her.

Ellie selected 1 third-year student and 2 second-year students, making a total of 3. She believed the third-year student had the experience needed, but they would only be with her for another 2 years, since next year, they would become a fourth-year student. Therefore, the other 2, being second-year students, would stay with her until graduation. This was her reason for choosing the other 2.

The first task she asked them to do was to make Rattus A rods, as they would likely need a large number. The materials provided by the professor for the initial set required more than 20 rods. Thus, Ellie decided she shouldn’t have to handle this herself.

Since it was the first day, Ellie didn’t have any other specific plans after completing the Vortex Stratagem for the first month, so there was no need to rush. She simply collected the resources for the first set to prepare at her workstation. If possible, she planned to break the work into manageable parts, using the remaining time for training or reading manuals. She didn’t intend to submit any work before the first month ended.

Ellie’s plan was to finish the first piece within 1 month, the 2nd piece within 1 or 2 months, depending on the details, and the third piece within 5 months. During this time, she would also complete other missions like everyone else. It would be too strange if she finished everything ahead of schedule.

Nadia’s questions made it clear that not everyone could complete their work, and they had to study the assignments themselves. Ellie didn’t know if it would be too difficult or too easy, but even if she couldn’t manage, the professor would help. So, Ellie felt no pressure.

The day passed until the sky started to darken. The other students began to leave, and Ellie did the same. It was only the first day, and there was no need to overexert herself.

However, as she left the classroom, Ellie saw someone waiting for her in front of the stratagem branch’s building...

“The young lord of the Recres family?” Ellie raised her eyebrows slightly upon seeing the person before her. She didn’t expect such a significant character from the story to be standing in front of her.

"Nice to meet you, Duchess Ellie," Ryker Recres said, bowing slightly.

This man was the close guard of Prince Jason, the fifth prince. He was like the glue that helped strengthen the bond between the prince and Nara.

While the prince and Nara were still at odds, it was this Ryker who orchestrated frequent meetings between the two. Ryker often undertook important missions and needed assistance. During one such mission, he had met Nara while helping villagers deal with the invasion of beasts.

The mission details showed that the villagers frequently faced problems with these beasts, preventing them from hunting or farming. Many faced hardships, and the lack of food increased the number of sick people.

In the novel, Ryker had asked the heroine to join his mission, recommended by Professor Lucien. This highlighted the heroine’s kind heart, so much so that this significant guard could see her as a "princess" or a "queen" worthy of his prince...

However, the heroine hadn’t been trained by Professor Lucien and lacked the special healing abilities described in the story. Additionally, none of the third-year or fourth-year students were interested in potion concocting. So, Ryker had no choice but to invite the famous junior, Ellie, to join his mission.

He had heard that a new genius had emerged in the Potion-concocting Branch at their Ares Institute. Thus...Ryker was determined to invite her to collaborate on the mission.