Chapter 88: Concern from the Professor

Chapter 88

Concern from the Professor

“For joining the Setter family in hunting demonic beasts, you will earn significantly more points. Only 3 months have passed so far, and you still have nearly 8 months to accumulate points. With your skills and performance, I want you to feel at ease about this first year. The points you earn do not carry over to the next year anyway. Although the remaining points can be used to exchange for various items, both of you likely have financial support and backing from large families for equipment. Am I correct?” Regan said earnestly.

“So...from now on, I ask that both of you avoid putting yourselves in any more dangerous situations. Please remember that you are only in your first year. There is still plenty of time for battles ahead. I know that both of you are strong and can always survive. However...you should wait until your foundation in combat and knowledge is more solid.”

“I’ve heard that the Setter family took you to encounter a level 2 beast, which is a creature that first-year students, or even fourth-year students, struggle to deal with. It is fortunate that you returned safely.”

"Actually, I have no right to speak to you both in this manner. If I said this in front of other professors, they would accuse me of teaching my students to be cowards...but believe me...being a coward sometimes is the right thing to do."

Regan, who was known for his arrogance, said something that neither of the two students expected to hear from him. This professor had a reputation for being uncompromising, intolerant, and always willing to risk danger to preserve his honor. Yet now, he was advising his students to sometimes give up, a contradictory action indeed.

Ellie didn’t respond, and neither did Wint. Wint had recently become Regan’s direct disciple after bravely fighting the demonic beast previously. To ensure the children kept this matter a secret, Regan had offered numerous benefits. Thus, it was not wise to go against the teachings of one’s direct mentor. However, Ellie had refused to become his direct disciple, so she had the right to choose whether to believe him or not.

“You might be disappointed by my words. My entire image has been that of someone daring and ready to fight for his own honor. But I want you to know...along the way to becoming the Professor Regan you see now, I lost so much that I can never go back. So, I am using my experiences to pass them on to you. I hope you won’t end up like me.”

Regan understood the thoughts of both students. He mentioned his own depressing past briefly before putting on a serious face again.

“Of course, I also don’t think there will be many more demonic beasts or other dangers. The 4 major families will help with this matter, and with so many demonic beasts being eradicated, the Red Plague should improve soon,” the young professor said casually. He felt that even if he pressured the children more, he wouldn’t receive any confirmation.

From the outside, it seemed like Ellie was an obedient and easily understanding student. However, that might not actually be the case...

“Alright, you may leave now. That’s all I wanted to say. Whether you believe me or not is your own decision because in the end, the one who has to take responsibility for all the choices is yourself,” Regan waved them away. The two students didn’t say anything from the moment they entered to talk with him until they left.

The young professor could only sigh as he watched the backs of the two students walking away. Reflecting on his own days as a student, he had always been reckless and overly confident. However, his bravado, combined with incomplete information, led to the deaths of 2 of his friends in the Tower of Eternity. The remaining 3 friends in his group were injured, becoming disabled and unable to fight ever again.

No matter how guilty he felt, Regan had the duty to uphold the honor of all 5 friends. He couldn’t show any weakness; he had to ensure that everyone knew that none of his group members were cowards. Even if they died or became disabled, they could still live with pride.

In reality, it might not have been like that, but...if he showed weakness, wouldn’t that be an insult to those who had sacrificed before?

His thinking might seem somewhat foolish, but in the end, it was this resolve that had brought him to where he was now...Regan admitted to himself that he was foolish as well.

“I hope both of you will grow without having to leave anyone behind.”

After parting with the professor, Ellie returned to her lodging immediately. Having ventured deep into the forest, it wasn’t just the points awarded by the institution that benefited her. There were other advantages as well.

Ellie, whose overflowing power had been at the peak of level 2 for a long time, finally felt the breakthrough to level 3 today!

Previously, she had absorbed a great deal of energy from permanent magic-enhancing crystals. These crystals were acquired from the Setter family in exchange for valuable herbs. However, using power-enhancing crystals had its limits. While these crystals could indeed increase magic power, it was more of an expansion to the sides. They allowed her to use more magic power because her magic reservoir was bigger, but they did not make her inherently stronger at a higher level.

In other words...when the magic reservoir was full, it could only expand sideways. The magic power remained at level 2; its intensity, strength, purity, and magic connections did not increase. To achieve greater strength beyond mere quantity, she needed to break through to the next level!

Now, Ellie could use her magic power for longer periods, but the efficiency remained the same...until today. She had relied on the Setter family to take her to the deep forest area. Originally, Ellie only intended to set up and explore the surrounding area. However, after deciding to use the life force of plants for the herbs in her secret dimension, she discovered that absorbing more life force purified her magic power to a higher degree.

She realized this secret when her magic reservoir reached its limit!

“Alright, after today...I will become a level 3 magic user!” The young girl declared confidently.

If you asked what benefits came with being level 3, the answer was many! She had planned from the start to become a level 3 magician before moving up to the second year. This is because after advancing to the second year, students can choose their own courses, with only 1 mandatory class per week. For elective courses, students must attend 1 day per week, leaving the remaining 5 days open for either more studies or taking on missions.

As mentioned earlier, those who wish to register as hunters in the Tower of Eternity without the privileges of being a student must be at least level 3. Most students became level 3 magic users by the time they graduated from the fourth year, which aligned with the time when they no longer needed to disclose their student status or submitted a mission permit to enter the area.

Ellie’s power had always been a secret from others. Additionally, she did not want to rely on the Setter family forever. At least several of her hidden abilities that she had never used, she would continue to train diligently.

Once she became a level 3 magic user, Ellie would have the opportunity to bond with 1 more type of plant. Forming a bond with a new plant would remain a secret from others, and she would use this power to gradually progress through each level.

Regarding the mission to earn points for the institution, she planned to cultivate plants. Besides, the Setter family would surely help her. If not...Ellie could just take on some search missions without engaging in battles. By identifying locations and reporting back to the institution, she would earn mission points effortlessly.

Her plans were beginning to take shape, but they would only succeed if she could break through to level 3 first. So, the young girl closed her tent and refused any visitors. Fortunately, everyone understood that Ellie needed rest after her mission with the Setter family. Even Lady Celey instructed everyone not to disturb her.

It turned out that it took Ellie 2 days and 1 night to successfully break through to level 3. She woke up the next morning with a stronger magic aura.

Ellie felt that the higher her power level grew, the more she could sense the natural magic power around her. Typically, people trained their magic power by using various techniques to absorb as much magic power as possible. Absorbing power from permanent magic-enhancing crystals yielded much better results, but not everyone had access to these crystals. Thus, even those from wealthy families with abundant resources would cultivate their skills while using magical crystals. This was done to ensure they could grow both in breadth and break through to higher levels.

The young girl also needed to plan for this. Previously, the Setter family had provided her with numerous training manuals during their initial exchange. Ellie hadn’t paid much attention to them because she needed to pass the first test first. But now...

Ellie was interested in 2 cultivation manuals titled “Foundations of the Immortal” and “Introduction to Stream.” Both had cultivation methods that were not overly difficult and could be combined with absorbing energy from various resources. While some techniques worked best without any resource aid and were classified as advanced techniques, Ellie didn’t want to progress that slowly.

Her plan wasn’t to become the number 1 deity but to protect herself quickly, hide in plain sight, and live a happy life.

The novel’s storyline mostly focused on life at the institution and exciting battles. In the end, Nara became the lover of the prince, the future princess of the country, which happened after graduating from the institution.

This meant that, during this meantime, many confusing and chaotic events were still to come. Originally, Ellie wanted to leave the institution and live comfortably. However...her past experiences had taught her that the world wasn’t so beautiful that one could live happily without fighting. While some might think that being a commoner was enough for a peaceful life, there were still villages that faced demonic beasts and could only wait for help.

Ellie didn’t want a life like that!

It’s true that she wanted to live peacefully, but it had to be a peace while she could rely on herself. To her, waiting helplessly for others’ assistance didn’t count as true peace.

Therefore...studying at the institute and making herself stronger was what she was focusing on right now. She believed the institute would provide her with extensive knowledge. In just 3 months, she had learned so many new things. Another 4 years, and she should be able to survive quite well.

Ellie returned to analyze the two cultivation techniques again. The Foundations of the Immortal cultivation technique involved regulating breath, similar to meditation in her previous world. However, it absorbed power through the selection of natural energy. This technique was quite beneficial because the energy obtained was delicate and would make breaking through levels easier. The downside was that...as long as one could maintain concentration, they could continuously absorb energy. However, without concentration, no absorption or fusion of energy would occur.

On the other hand, the Introduction to Stream technique was different. All the body’s organs, as long as used correctly and brought oneself to a place with natural energy, could readily absorb magic power. The advantage was that it was easy to practice, not requiring the meticulous control needed for the Foundations of the Immortal. But it also had its drawbacks...For levels 1-4, it was not an issue, but beyond level 4, it required quite a lot of resources, mostly potions made from rare herbs.

The training speeds of both techniques were slightly different for levels 1-4. Beyond level 4, the practitioner’s abilities might come into play. Ellie had no issues with finding rare herbs and didn’t think she would have trouble with meditation. However, she was unsure which training method would suit her best.

It should not be forgotten that she could already absorb the life force of various plants, which helped refine the purity of the natural energy merged into her body. So, with this extremely advantageous ability, Ellie wanted to combine both techniques and advance even faster.

In truth, Ellie knew that if she consulted with the Setter family, they would certainly help her choose. However, the foundation of one’s cultivation techniques was not something that should be widely known. Destroying the cultivation foundation also required understanding what kind of techniques the other party used. This secrecy was necessary because revealing such information could become dangerous later on.

For example, if a certain technique had a restriction against using magic-enhancing crystals, and an enemy found out and forced the practitioner to absorb external magic power, it would essentially destroy that cultivation foundation. The practitioner would have to start over or face even greater obstacles.