noct

21. Taking a Beating

Rhys took a deep breath. “No. You’re wrong. I only have average talent, at best. Actually, I’m probably more like absolute trash-tier talent. I struggle to learn any martial skills. In all my battling with you, I still haven’t picked up one tier in Sword Proficiency or Barehanded Combat. My only talent is recognizing my path early, and working hard to bring it to life.”

“You’re young to have already recognized your path,” Cynog flattered him.

Rhys shot him a look. ...

289. Warm Waters

Ike walked around the stones and found himself standing at the edge of a volcanic pool. Water lapped at the edge of the pond. Heavy steam blew off the surface of the water, fogging into thick clouds as it wafted away. He tried the water with his toe. Heat seared into his foot. Instinctively, Ike activated his steel feet.

Mag looked at his foot, then at Ike. “Uh… are you okay?”

On Ike’s other side, Wisp outright broke into laughter. “That hot, huh?”

“Hey, come o...

288. A Nice Spring

Scar led them out the back of the resort. Ruby immediately ran ahead with a whoop and vanished into the fog. Before anyone else could follow her, a line of foxes stepped out of the steam. “Men this way, women that way. We’ve provided bathing clothes for you today, unless you wish to share the bath in the nude.”

“Er—clothes is fine,” Ike said. I guess if it’s a natural spring, they can’t help if it comes out into one large pool. Besides, for beasts, it was probab...

20. Yearning for Fireballs

Rhys sped through the fire spell manuals, only to find himself completely lost. It was like the words were oil, and his mind was water. He had to read every word a dozen times before it sunk in, and even then, he struggled to comprehend the meaning.

He leaned back, letting out a breath. The problem was obvious. It wasn’t trash, so it was hard for him to understand it. He couldn’t easily comprehend the manuals due to their lack of familiarity with trash.

Even so, he refused to ...

287. Dinner Chatting

They were led to a different room than the one Ike and Wisp had used last time, but it was set out more or less the same; it was just that the theming was different, with a green bamboo and yellow gingko vibe. Ruby watched over the foxes as they brought dinner and took a deep whiff as the dishes were placed in front of them, only to nod in satisfaction.

Ike glanced at Wisp. She shook her head. “No people in this. And more’s the pity.”

“You know, for some strange reason, I ...

19. Combat Practice

Cynog threw the student into the air. When this bug had crawled into his class, he’d thought he would simply teach a fly a lesson. Give a deserved beating to a child too big for his britches, and send him to do horse stance until he couldn’t stand straight.

Instead, he’d been impressed. Impressed, and more importantly… embarrassed. Challenging a child in front of all the other children, only to have to admit that the child was correct, and he truly did not belong in Cynog’s cl...

286. Relaxing for a Change

Ruby circled over the familiar mountain before swooping low, toward a broad clearing on one side of the mountain’s face that Ike could now tell was just big enough for a dragon to land. Ike checked over Ruby’s shoulder, just to make sure there were no mages on the horizon, but it seemed that dragons could outspeed even high-rank mages. And to be fair, it had taken him weeks to cross the desert at Rank 3, but Ruby had crossed it in minutes. If he kept getting faster at the same rate he’d...

18. Truly Trash

Rhys read through the manuals at a blazing speed. His mana could enhance his mental qualities as well as physical, and his already high reading speed was only boosted further by his empowerment. Many were the same, or copies of a copy. He read all the unique ones, even the copies whose only unique contribution was fresh misspellings. The ones that were truly nothing but carbon copies landed in the trash heap, waiting to feed his next excursion into herbalism. In the end, he had about a box an...

285. Back to the Beginning

Ruby flew over the vast desert. Mag perched at the edge of her flank, his hair fluttering on the wind, and watched the scenery rush by below with a rapt gaze. He must have seen it a thousand times before, but from this high, and this fast? Still, Ike chuckled quietly to himself to see the bird so excited to see his own territory from above.

Wisp sat down next to him suddenly, and he glanced over. She leaned forward, so their bodies shielded them from Scar, who was far forward anyways, s...

17. Chilling in the Library

The library sprawled over a good chunk of the mountainside. It stood tall, its façade as grand as any of the lecture halls. The steps leading up to its front door were dusty, and when Rhys pushed on the door, it creaked and halted an inch in, its hinges all but rusted shut. He frowned and pushed harder. The rust broke off with a crack, and the door swung open.

Almost before he stepped inside, an indolent voice called, “Who goes there?”

“No one,” Rhys shouted back.

T...

284. Far Enough

Ruby flew. The landscape rushed by, so fast Ike could barely perceive it. After a while, he had to look away. Her speed was simply too dizzying, even for him.

Instead, he looked at Scar. “So… you come from the same region as us?”

Scar nodded. “Yes, originally. Or rather, I come from the region just past yours, in the opposite direction. Hundreds of years ago, I was born there, in a little city called Ellerton. You wouldn’t know about it, because it hasn’t existed for h...

16. Go To Class

It was still early enough in the day for classes to be proceeding. Rhys strolled around the main square, considering his options. Potions again… but he might as well attend a few other classes just to learn what they were. Plus, potions were mostly rote memorization. He’d only attended a practical lesson to learn how to operate a cauldron. Now that he’d done that, he pretty much just needed to read recipes and follow them. He had enough practice cooking for one that he could manage that...

283. Back Into the World

They stepped out of the realm and back into the world. The realm crumpled behind them, crackling down on itself. It balled itself up like a piece of paper, then yanked in on itself, vanished down to a tiny dot, and blinked out.

All around them, dozens of high-Rank mages stepped forward with bated breaths, scanning the faces of the survivors. When they failed to find their apprentices, face after face darkened. More than one reached for their weapons.

“Rufus!” A powerful woman ...

15. A Natural Alliance

BOOM!

The earth shook. The house trembled. A wave of force blasted into Rhys and Tarais, sending both of them stumbling back. Black smoke billowed out of the windows, chimneys, and doors of the house.

Rhys looked at Tarais. “Should we, uh, help?”

Tarais stood casually, her hands clasped behind her. “No, this is fine.”

“Is it?” Rhys muttered to himself.

A few seconds later, Sorden came staggering out of the door, chased by a gout of dark smoke...

282. I Am King

The King gazed down at his subjects with mild concern. They seemed to be anxious, but he didn’t understand why. He had defeated that pesky being who had dared to interrupt their kingdom. Now they could get on with adulating him and obeying his orders. Why were they staring at him with such lost gazes, when he could tell them exactly what he needed them to do?

No, no. He should be a good, virtuous leader. He turned a gentle smile their direction. “What troubles you, citizens?”

14. Ignition

Tarais turned to go.

Rhys’ power surged. Startled, she whirled.

He pushed himself off the wall. It took him immense effort to do so, blood washing down his chest and back, but he did. He looked up at her and laughed. “Is it inevitable?”

Black smoke billowed from his back and head. A pillar of black poured into the sky. Yet, at the same time, his mana grew stronger and clearer than Tarais had ever felt from a Rank 1 before. It was as if he was refining it inside of him,...

13. Gardening for Fun and Profit

Rhys awoke with a start. He sat up, looking around. Lush bushes awaited him, and the air was clear, with a medicinal scent. His brows furrowed. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

No trash! He jumped to his feet and whirled. The trash pile was gone! Someone had stolen it—

His memories caught up with him, and he reeled. Almost to check as though it wasn’t a dream, he peered inside himself, but just as he recalled, his core was several sizes larger than it had been. Now, i...

281. King's Reign

(Legendary) [King’s Reign]

The skill activated. Gold light poured out from Ike’s body. It burst from his back and wrapped around his shoulders and chest, seared from his forehead and ringed around his head, materialized at his wrists and ankles, bound his waist. The gold light circled a short distance from his body, perhaps an inch, with vicious tall spikes that pointed up along his body. On his back, it grew long with no spikes, instead taking the form of a lusciou...

280. Quit Complaining and Work Hard

Ike clenched the skill in his hand and shouted, in his head, Absorb!

The skill, in its full form, only existed for a split second before it vanished into Ike. Even then, it exuded a monstrous aura, stronger than any skill he’d experienced so far. Even Lightning Dash couldn’t match up.

The figure grabbed at him, but before it reached him, a wave of powerful energy burst from his body. It pushed the figure back and sent them tumbling.

Before they could get up, Wis...

12. Separate Your Burnable Trash

There were piles of rotting food amidst the rubbish, plus shredded herbs that were too far gone to be used in even the most impure of potions. He picked out the compostable matter, leaving behind the bones, meats, and cheeses, and made a compost heap. Rather than simply wait for nature to take its course, he scanned over the compost pile with his mana, searching for the tiniest signs of life. He needed microorganisms and bugs. They were what turned food into compost. If he could supercharge t...

279. Emerged

Ike laid on the ground. Bleeding out, burned to a crisp. His heart struggled, twitching more than beating. One lung simply wouldn’t move. The other screamed, nothing but pain. His whole chest was a mess of pain. His life waned, flickering like a candle on the verge of blowing out.

The figure advanced toward Wisp, Scar, and Rufus. Mag fluttered overhead, eyes big and round with fear. At that, Ike barely bit back a chuckle. What was he so afraid of? He could just fly away.

No....