I returned to my dorm and quickly turned things over in my head.
First, I won't die even if I fail.
That means it's an offer where failure is acceptable.
But judging by the infuriating title of Route 2, it's clearly a path similar to the 'Even a blind chicken sometimes finds grain' failure route from Chapter 1. There's no need to deliberately choose a negative path.
'And it would be a shame to miss the reward.'
I called up the proposal window again.
It said to get my Stamina score to 0 within a week.
Seeing they even dangled a reward, it probably means a pure 0, not a 0 achieved through potions or artifacts.
'How should I go about this?'
If I blindly invest all my time in training, I'd likely just be wasting time.
I need to use my head and move strategically.
'The timing of the proposal's appearance is a bit of a clue.'
The proposal appeared right after Leo showed me the poison ingredients.
So the success or failure of this proposal must hinge on whether I succeed in turning the poison into an enhancer.
Just as the Skills category encompasses numerous items like studying, reading, and training, Stamina is the same.
Unless I receive points as a reward to manipulate stats, the items in the status window merely 'indicate' my condition; they don't determine it.
Even if I enhance my core and achieve a Stamina score of 0, it doesn't mean my physical strength goes from negative to zero.
'But, a higher core efficiency does create a foundation for being able to exercise longer.'
In that sense, I need the potion.
If I train at my current intensity every day, achieving a score of 0 by midterms, let alone within a week, won't be easy.
But it's a different story if I train while enhancing my core. The maximum time I can train itself changes.
So making the potion is just the beginning. To succeed in this proposal, my own effort must also be involved.
Now that it's come to this, should I go hunting once more and order an elixir?
No.
I quickly shook my head.
Assuming I can directly convert the poison's effect in a positive direction, buying an elixir of the same potency would require several more days of hunting unless I encounter that wolf again.
Whether I invest time to buy an elixir or invest time to make an enhancer, if the result is the same...
'It's better to attempt the thing that will be more beneficial in the long run if I do it now.'
The next morning, I stopped by the homeroom professor's office and then arrived at the classroom.
"Read the notes well, kids."
I smiled and handed the notebooks to the students. They looked down at the notebooks with pale faces.
"..."
"...You don't have to return them..."
"Right, Lucas. You can borrow them longer. We know you're not extorting the notes."
"What are you talking about? Midterms are only a month away. You guys need to study too. Hurry up and get ready to use them."
I gestured toward the notebooks, then packed my bag and got up from my seat.
"Class will be starting soon. Work hard."
"Huh?"
The students' eyes looking at me were full of questions.
Where is there a guy who says class is starting soon and then tries to leave the classroom? One student cautiously voiced that question.
"Where are you going...?"
"I think I've had a bit of a fever since yesterday dawn. I got permission from the professors, so don't worry."
"What? Then what about the notes?"
I shook my head at the student's question and smiled.
"Why do you think I came here on a day I'm absent?"
"..."
"Take care today too. See you at six."
I smiled, tapped the students' shoulders, and left the classroom.
* * *
There was no fever or anything like that.
As soon as I arrived in my room, I quickly laid out the experimental tools.
I was taking all the stuff placed on the desk down when I stopped at the small animal.
'...?'
What is this?
The animal the exchange student said they were raising yesterday is curled up here, sleeping.
'I heard they left it at the administration office.'
The exchange students for this semester, including Narké, just dropped their luggage at the school and departed for the imperial palace again today. They said they couldn't take animals to the palace, so they'd leave the cage at the administration office and depart.
I picked it up and headed to the first-floor dormitory administration office. Sure enough, there was an animal cage there, so they must have left it and departed.
After returning it, I quickly emptied my brother's medicine box onto the desk and counted the bottles.
The medicine my brother gave was a year's supply. Perhaps calculating five weeks per month generously, there were 60 bottles.
First, I need to divide it conservatively since I don't know what will happen.
I'll limit the amount I can use to 30, and keep the other 30 for unforeseen circumstances.
'About 10 should be enough for experiments.'
I opened one bottle and diluted the poison.
'The problem is how to verify the potency.'
I thought about catching a demon beast... but felt sorry for what crime it committed, so I let it be.
Since there's no clever method, I have no choice but to drink it myself.
What I'll manipulate today are temperature and ingredient ratio.
I might fail at this stage, but first, I'll experiment with these two.
The number of combinations will be considerable, but I have no choice but to try them directly.
Leo isn't the future Leo either, so there's not much I can gain by asking for help.
Given his upbringing, he'd be more skilled than me... but I can't drag him here while he's in class.
And so, I began the experiment.
* * *
Knock knock—
"Lucas, I brought the notes."
After six in the evening, the sound of students' voices came from outside.
These guys are doing something out of character. Coming on their own because I didn't show up—it seems they understood what I said yesterday well enough.
"Lucas?"
"Leave them in front."
I shouted with the loudest voice I could muster and got up from the sofa.
Then, realizing I had overestimated my stamina, I lay back down.
'Damn...'
I created this fever myself.
Even though I only took a drop or two per attempt, the effect was definite.
No, not effect—adverse effect. Drinking poison after a long time made my body feel weak.
Checking the status window, sure enough, my Stamina score had dropped by 1 point. Not that it would return in a week anyway.
I stretched out my hand and opened it.
It was shaking crazily, as if someone was grabbing and shaking it.
'So this is what happens when you quit and start drinking again.'
Living life, you try all sorts of things.
This is why I wanted to test it little by little over a long period.
So, did I fail...?
I took a deep breath to slow the trembling.
Then I immediately reached out, grabbed the bottle on the table, and poured its contents into my mouth. Instantly, the area around my heart grew cold, and that flow spread throughout my body.
'Status window.'
Lucas René Ascanien
Title: Hunter of ???
Stamina: +3.3 (+7.0) [+6.3]
Mental Power: -6.6 (+1.0)
Magic Power: ?
Skill: +1.07 (+0.05) [+4.07]
Impression: -10
Luck: -5.385 (+1.0)
Traits: Dawn 777, Divine Power
I succeeded. In one day.
"Hah, haha... ha..."
I exhaled broken breaths and laughed like a madman.
I don't know if you could call it luck. It was the result of going through more than half of the plans I had listed beforehand.
Still, I'm somewhat satisfied that I succeeded with just temperature and ratio adjustments.
I jerked my body up, which had been lying limp.
Fatigue remained, but vitality was gradually returning to my core, allowing me to stand up properly.
'Let's try using magic first.'
Even if it's thanks to the medicine and artifact, I couldn't believe I had obtained a core of 6.3 like that. I felt I needed to see the result directly to feel it.
I lightly rubbed my fingers together to spark a flame.
Crackle—!
'Oh.'
I marveled at the red magic that flashed and bloomed before my eyes.
Even though I didn't directly draw magic power from the core, magic was released with just visualization and a simple motion.
The smooth flow of magic wasn't the only thing.
The color was subtly different too. It was the same red magic as usual, but each junction had a different hue. The magic Leo saw as a child was probably closer to this current magic than the usual magic we use.
The richness of color is also a criterion distinguishing talented mages from untalented ones. It means they can naturally utilize magic power of various properties.
My magic power stat didn't increase, yet a visible change from just improving core health feels new.
'Should I try the divine power too?'
Naturally, I etched the divine power formula in my mind and rubbed my hands with the same intensity as before.
Instantly, the air rippled smoothly like a water surface, and white light like sunlight scattered over it. Despite being a slight activation, the curtains on the other side of the room fluttered.
'This comes out better than magic.'
The activation range itself is different too.
This must be the magic used by Pleroma.
'Originally, I thought it was laughable to call something processed from magic power the power of gods or whatnot...'
Anyway, here, divine power is a sacred force, and I can manifest the most perfect proof of faith from my own hands. I seriously wondered if I could argue I'm Pleroma even after seeing this.
Anyway, preparations are complete.
Now I just need to check how much more of the medicine I can take.
I'd like to pour it in until I hit 10 points, but even a good thing can become a burden if taken all at once.
I recreated the earlier formula exactly and made the medicine.
As expected, when my Stamina score rose another 0.2 points, pain gradually began in my core. I immediately closed the medicine lid and tidied up.
'Maximum 6.5 points based on artifact usage.'
I'll just supplement it little by little whenever the medicine effect wears off.
Now I won't tire easily even if I use magic all day. I took out the pendant.
The moment I tried to channel magic into it, a strange sound came from somewhere.
"Beep..."
I stopped and looked around.
"Beeeep!"
'Huh?'
Anyone would hear it as an animal cry.
I immediately turned around.
The grayish-brown lump I had taken to the administration office was looking at me with a strangely haggard face.
It was the first time seeing it with its eyes open, and now it definitely looked more like a hamster than a mouse. Well, actually, even that was unclear.
Anyway, one thing was certain.
It looked like it would gnaw all the wood if it jumped wrong and went under the furniture.
'Why is it here when I left it at the administration office in the first place?'
After a suffocating staring contest with the animal, I first quietly looked around.
Is there anything to cover that with?
No.
Having finished thinking, I nimbly wiggled my finger.
Ping—!
The animal floated in the air. Luckily, it was small, so there was no problem moving it with magic.
I put the necklace back inside my clothes and pulled the animal closer to my hand. First, I need to release this thing outside and go train. Carefully dispelling the magic, I held the animal in one hand.
"Squeak—!"
"Yeah, I'll let you out now."
"Wait a minute!"
I opened the door, threw the notebooks left in front of my room inside, and closed it.
The moment I turned to close the door, my spine tingled.
"..."
Who said that last part?
I looked around.
I use this floor alone. Because no one wanted to be assigned a room on the floor where Ruka is.
Still, there's a rooftop right above, so students frequently come and go via the stairs on either side.
Maybe someone shouted loudly from the stairs downstairs or outside the dorm. It's evening, so sounds from below could echo even more.
Finding the most commonsense answer, I convinced myself and moved my feet again.
"Ah, wait a minute! Wait!"
"..."
I looked down at my hand with cold eyes.
A rational suspicion flashed through my mind, making me start to doubt whether I had completely lost my mind in this crazy world.
"You're going to throw me outside?! Listen to me before that!"
"What..."
Feeling my vision darken, I loosened my grip on my hand. The animal panicked and clung tightly to my hand.
"Squeak!"
Let's calm down first.
There's no one, but I hear a human voice.
Coincidentally, its content is something this animal would say if it were human.
There are stories here about divine power granting personality to animals, but such a thing has never actually happened.
Did I wish so badly for Ruka to have a friend that I wanted an animal to talk? So I'm hearing things.
"No, I'm really talking to you! And listen to me before you throw me away."
I looked at the ceiling and wiped my face with my other hand.
After taking a deep sigh, I seriously pondered where my mind went wrong.
And, as always, I reached the conclusion that it's more likely this world is crazy, not me.
'Maybe the status window won't appear.'
I looked into the animal's round eyes and called up the status window.
'Status window.'
As if it would appear.
I sighed at my own action and turned my gaze away.
Then, something flashed by.
Pai
Favorability +10
Title: —
Stamina: +1
Mental Power: 0
Magic Power: +1
Skill: +1
Impression: +3
Luck: +1
Traits: Divine Power
* * *
Now that a more humane status window than expected had appeared, I couldn't just let it pass.
Above all, for some reason, the favorability is +10. It was the second positive number after Narké.
I needed to know the reason.
I went into my room and calmly attempted a conversation.
To conclude, the animal did talk.
Through conversation, I could tell its mental age wasn't very high. About five or six in human years.
It knew the students had caught it to feed to me, and it also knew I ultimately didn't eat it and safely handed it over to its owner.
It seems the favorability maxed out for that reason.
'Being an animal... maybe the evaluation is generous?'
It's not just high; it's already hit the maximum. Honestly surprising.
Of course, knowing we can communicate might have raised it even more.
It said that because the nature of divine power must be aligned, it can't communicate with most humans, and it's only now meeting a human it can talk to for the second time.
The reason it keeps escaping the administration office is that it needs to drink holy water since it uses divine power as an energy source, but the staff gave it plain water instead of the holy water Narké delivered.
I channeled divine power into its body and asked.
"Do you feel like you'll live now?"
"Yeah! Thank you."
The animal exposed its belly and flopped over on the desk.
"But you... what species are you?"
"Species?"
"I mean, what kind of animal are you?"
It thought for a long time before answering.
"I don't know! I just am."
"Right, I see."
What was I expecting... Probably something like a hamster.
Giving up on understanding, I took it and headed back to the administration office.
* * *
"Phew..."
I organized my wand and got up.
Looking outside, dawn was already breaking.
I left Pai at the administration office, practiced magic at the training ground until midnight, and then dedicated myself to stamina training after that.
And so...
Ding—!
〈 Chapter 3. Constant Dripping Wears Away the Stone (1) 〉
Proposal 2: Achieve 'Stamina' Score 0 (1/1) (9 hours 17 minutes 33 seconds)
* Route 1 — 〈 Chapter 3 Special Reward 〉
* Route 2 — 〈 Chapter 4. One Swallow Does Not Make a Summer 〉
Congratulations!
'Proposal 2: Achieve 'Stamina' Score 0' Successful!
'Route 1 — 〈 Chapter 3 Special Reward 〉' is confirmed.
A week had passed.
—-----------
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