Descending Into A Novel-Chapter 126:Daily Life (1)

What was the daily life of a special class student like?

Well, contrary to popular belief. It was extremely boring.

They were still just regular people after all, they didn’t live exciting lives every day every hour. More like a few hours every week at max.

Noelle frowned, flipping through her notes as she tried to remember how to solve this particular question. Despite being third in the second years for grades, the distance between her and Raymond and Ellen was larger then the gap between Noelle and everyone below her.

She could understand being worser then Raymond, even if she hated it. She could understand. He was an unbelievable individual after all, someone like him at their age. She stood no chance against.

But losing to Ellen?

Completely unacceptable. Never in a million years.

She had always bested her, whether it was spelling tests, math and even in social interactions. Then, she had isolated herself ever since she turned ten. Never appearing in any Family gathering ever. Reappearing better then her all of a sudden. Now she even had a Shadow.

She grit her teeth, the pen in her fingers snapping in half as she exerted her strength without realizing it. Ink spilling on her hands and the book.

That was the fourth one already.

She stuck her hand out, next to her. A boy with neatly combed hair handed her another pen as well as a handkerchief. Servants weren’t allowed in the academy, as all students were meant to be equal. But if a student served another student of their own free will, then there was nothing stopping that.

It’s not as if she mistreated them like others may have anyways. If anything, she argued that the students who served her honestly had it better then other students.

They received lots of money from her Family, support, protection, and the opportunity to get near the upper echelons of society. All in exchange for helping her while she was in the academy. She believed it was a win-win situation for both her and them.

Still unable to solve it, she decisively shut the book. Standing up and leaving the library. Her family would pay for the damages to the book.

Her destination was clear already, the student following behind her handing her a water bottle and a bag containing a different set of clothes. Something he carried around with him at all times due to how often she went.

The Fight Club was one of the few clubs that operated 24/7. No matter when, any member could just pop in and out whenever they wanted to fight.

They didn’t even have to be a member, as long as you wanted to fight someone. You were allowed in. Whether you were a complete beginner or an expert, there was a spot for anyone.

A suit of armour materialized on her, followed up with a spear in her arms. Her blue cape and winged helmet made her already noble appearance look even more dignified. To her opponents, she was the worst spear. To her allies, she was the best spear.

A grin appeared on her face, this was one of the few moments when she could let loose herself. No need for any etiquette or having to act non bothered. Here, she could do whatever she wanted!

***

Zachary stared at the ceiling, wondering how he could best explain this new Art he had just received from the system.

Their teachers weren’t dumb after all, it wasn’t unusual for a kid from a noble Family to have lots of Arts. But for an orphan like Zachary, it was a hazard.

Arts could be harmful to their own user after all, even worse was if the Art had a secret built-in function. Such as a tracking or a secret back door that let the user kill them remotely.

So for students like Zachary, his Arts unfortunately had to be vetted by the academy. Unless he had someone else guarantee that his Art was safe, he couldn’t use it.

He sighed, his instructor was the best option. But Zachary didn’t wish to reveal this skill mainly because it did have a few dangers to it.

[Skill:Life Furnace Art][Level 1/10]

-Burn away your vitality in exchange for massive bursts of power. Rate of burning can be controlled. Skill will not cause permanent damage unless it is overused.

This was the skill he had obtained as a reward from the quest. He had already fixed his defense problem, but he still had a few other problems.

He needed a massive one-hit move, similar to Noelle’s Astral Thunder. His lack of decisive killing power made it hard for him to break through tough defenses.

He also needed to work on his mobility, his current speed was merely average compared to the others in the special class. Despite the light-attunement being one of the fastest if not the fastest.

So he had chosen this skill from the shop, it was only more likely that as time went on. They would be facing progressively stronger enemies, and Zachary couldn’t always be in his peak condition. Or if a similar situation occurred where he was a level below his opponent. This skill would help to even out the fighting grounds.

He needed to get stronger. That fight against the demon had shown him his flaws all too clearly.

There was one way, the quest to become number one in the academy. But that had a problem.

All of them took up ranks one through nine, if Zachary wanted to move up. He would have to challenge his friends.

They had a silent agreement to just let it be. None of them were particularly competitive, except for Noelle and Ellen. If Zachary challenged Lin Qingyi who was above him, he didn’t know how the rest would react.

Well, when he couldn’t think. He always gravitated towards the same solution.

Just fight someone! The solution will appear in his head naturally then.

He picked up his sword, his heart already beating faster from the anticipation of fighting.

Hopefully Noelle or Thomas would be there, they were always the best opponents to spar. Lucy and Cador made for good opponents as well, Lin Qingyi was the toughest since her swords were tricky to deal with. While Audrina and Ellen—it wasn’t exactly a fair fight.

As for Raymond, he barely even stood a chance.

***

Smelling the dried tea leaves, Lin Qingyi let out a frown. It should have had a deep floral scent, with hints of fruitiness. Yet the current brew smelled only like regular low quality tea. It lacked the distinct aroma that it should have had.

She stuck a hand out, pouring the tea down onto the ground. She didn’t even want to taste it.

Her whole day was already ruined, she had purchased this thinking it was from Wulin. But the merchant had clearly been lying, hoping that whoever bought it was someone who was unable to tell the difference between real authentic Wulin tea and Terra monoculture tea.

She made up her mind to teach him a lesson. But she still had something else to do.

The surroundings around her shifted—transforming from a ornate oriental room into a breathtaking view from a top a mountain.

She stood up, carefully putting away her tea set. Before pulling her swords out from her case.

Smelling the air, it held a faint scent of the surrounding nature. The gentle waft of air that made the leaves dance, the sun setting in the far distance, shining its last rays of light on the realm. The clouds and the sky stretched on forever. Everywhere she looked, it was exactly as she remembered it to be.

This was Wulin.

This training room at the academy cost points to use, but Lin Qingyi didn’t regret it at all.

The purpose was to scan your memories, allowing the student to replay past events and train to never repeat the same mistakes. But she used it to quench her homesickness. The current recreation being her secret hiding spot during her time in the

Terra was nice. But it just wasn’t Wulin.

Her nine swords floated behind her, casually plucking one out of the air. She performed a simple sword dance, the fallen leaves littered throughout gathering together and swirling into a mini tornado.

With a single cut, the storm of leaves was split into two. Revealing her calm posture as she exchanged the weapon in her hands for a different one.

Forming a different stance, Lin Qingyi performed a different sword dance. Her purple mana nearly the same colour of the current sky. Each trust and swing showcasing her dedication to the mastery of the sword.

Lin Qingyi was someone who always relied on her own pure sword skills. Her Martial Arts were strong, but they were useless if she didn’t know how to wield a sword properly. Simply throwing her swords would be more effective then trying to use her Nine Heavens Sword Art without sufficient mastery of the sword.

As she performed her sword dance, Lin Qingyi felt her own body slowly relax. Entering a flow state, smoothly changing weapons as she freely moved her body.

"hooo—!"

Sharply inhaling, her swords all gathered together. Her mana flowed around the swords, coalescing together to form one singular purple sword in the air. Her physical swords acting as the bone of this massive mana sword.

She struggled to maintain this sword for even a minute, raising her hand high. She aimed at a boulder in the distance—imitating a swiping motion using her two fingers.

The training room was durable enough, so she didn’t worry about damaging it.

The massive sword descended onto the boulder, splitting it and the ground in half. Making the ground around her shake as she used her footwork to stabilize herself.

Seeing the mana sword immediately disperse upon hitting its target, she let out a tsk.

Still lacking.