Chapter 198 Meeting with an old friend
Rio, who was thinking about what to do after learning that Shweta was now living as Saisha, was disturbed when a voice interrupted his thoughts.
"So you were here."
He turned back to see a girl standing there. Her long, lustrous black hair cascaded down like a midnight waterfall. Her complexion pristine, resembling porcelain, as it radiated a subtle, almost ethereal glow that heightened her beauty.
She wore the standard academy uniform, much like Rio, but over the plain blue shirt, she donned a sophisticated black jacket. Which bore the emblem of a golden star near her chest, signifying her role in the student council.
As she spoke her face had a charming style that was enough to captivate anyone who looked at her, Yet when Rio saw her, only anger bubbled up within him. She was after all Lisa Heartwell, the same old friend who taught him that even if he does the same things as the protagonist, he'll still be a villain and the one who could be left behind.
He trusted her back then, because her character in the novel was trustable, but he should've realized that, that was a treatment tailor made for the protagonist and not some villain. Cause while in the novel she jumped forward to sacrifice herself, in reality she ran away.
"What are you doing here?" He said, as the place he teleported was somewhere he knew no one would come.
Lisa took a moment to glance around at their surroundings, reminiscing about the times Rio had brought her here. This was where he would come to train alone or occasionally skip classes, and Lisa found herself lost in nostalgia.
"Your sister was looking for you. And I knew you'd be here." Lisa replied, her demeanor casual as she seated herself nearby. They were on the outskirts of the foreboding Black Forest, an area reserved for second-year and senior students for training and monster hunting.
"I heard what happened at the library, wanna talk about it?" Lisa said, thinking about the scene she'll have to handle due to the presence of the elven princess in the drama. The elf students would surely create a scene if Saisha said a word of it to anyone. Though Miss Freya was handling the matter, but still with what happened with Jaesin, it was clear that maintaining silence on the matter would be hard.
Lisa took a moment to glance around at their surroundings, and remembered the first time he showed her this place. This was where he used to come whenever he wanted to train alone or just bunk his classes for no reason.
Bringing her out of nostalgic thoughts was Rio's voice as he said "I'm leaving."
Rio wasn't in the mood to talk to her so he just stood up to leave. His anger and emotions had just calmed down a little after that big shock, so he didn't want to add another reason for them to go out of control again.
Seeing him silently leaving Lisa came in front of him and stood like a statue. Rio tried to move away, but she moved along and covered his path.
"What do you want?" He said, knowing she won't let him leave.
"Can we talk for a minute?" Lisa said, as she tried to look him in the eyes.
"There's nothing to talk about." Rio said as he looked away "You should know seniors aren't supposed to contact the freshers this early."
In the first month of the academy, new students were given time to acclimate to their new environment. Senior students were prohibited from interacting with freshmen during this period. The freshman party, organized by the student council, marked the first official opportunity for everyone to meet and socialize.
"I'm the council president. That doesn't apply to me." Lisa said it as a joke, hoping to get a smile from him, but only got a silent stare.
"Well, congratulations on your presidency then. You deserve it, don't you?" Rio said and turned around to leave.
Lisa cursed herself after seeing that. It was only after saying it that she remembered he always wanted to be the student council president back then. And that's where they would both often bet and debate upon.
"Won't you at least talk to me for once." Lisa said, as she appeared in front of him again. She created a barrier around them so he won't try to leave. "At least give me a chance to explain."
Rio touched the invisible wall, and said "I don't need your explanation, miss president. It wouldn't change anything that happened, so what's the point?"
Ignoring what he said, Lisa started speaking "You knew the situation back then. The people from Warzy were attacking, many students were killed. The dungeon was about to crash, and no instructors were anywhere to be found. There was no other choice but to use the escape portal and _"
"Use me as bait to lure them away. Or to leave me behind to fight, while you all ran away. Or to let me be stuck there with no way out."
Lisa was explaining the scene when Rio's cold tone cut her off. His anger rising beneath the surface.
"What was I supposed to do, let everyone die along with you?" Lisa defended herself, her voice tinged with desperation. "Even if I didn't do anything, others would've left nonetheless."
"Other students weren't the ones I trusted. Nor did I have any hopes from others." Rio said and that was enough for the answer.
"Atleast tell me what you want me to do? The guilt's been _ "
Lisa started speaking hoarsely, as her eyes started getting moist and voice got heavier. But ignoring her Rio's cold tone cut her off mid sentence as he smiled and said
"Ohh, you don't need to do anything, miss president. The lives I saved that time are my dues to everyone, and I'll collect my debts soon enough."
Rio pushed her aside and channeled his mana.
He used his blessing, Threads of mana, which lets him see the essence of mana through his own eyes in the form of separate threads and control them to some extent. Then channeling his second blessing, called Master of Magic, which lets his control and understanding of magic spells increase by twofold.
Seeing the world in a new vibrant colors, he just waved his hand in a sword motion, cutting off the mana which was keeping the barrier in place.
-crack-
-shatter-
Without the power of mana, the barrier shattered under his attack and he left the place without turning back.
[Don't you think you're being too much. She is a heroine and with everything that's been going wrong in the plot, you might need to keep her close, lest something untoward happens again.] System said, reminding him about the predicament he was in. Without Saisha's support and Leon's luck, he would need a lot of fire power if he wanted to fight the later bosses himself. [Plus her plotlines are linked to you so _ ]
"Leon can look out for his own sister, I don't need to interfere. If he can't, then that's her bad luck. After all, I don't need to act all goody two shoes around her anymore." Rio said in anger.
[She did what any heroine would. Made the hard choice.]
"That's your answer then. If she's a heroine, then she can wait for her hero to save her. The villain doesn't need to stick his nose in their business." Rio said as he smiled. "And besides don't act like a saint, wanting me to forgive her. You literally shouted at me for trusting her too much, just after you woke up."
[I'm not asking you to forgive her. Just don't ignore her. That's all.]
System said, but Rio just humphed in response, as he reached the training halls of the academy.
Scanning his watch, and paying some merit points he went inside the room.
[100 points deducted. You can stay for an hour inside the room.]
[Remaining time 59 min 59 sec]
As the door to the training room closed behind him, Rio's demeanor changed.
'Time to vent some pent up stress'
He said, as he started his beatdown on a lifeless golem who couldn't break and couldn't scream.
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—---- Threads of Mana - The updated version of Skuld's blessing, Strings of Mana.
Effects - Allows the user to perceive the essence of mana in its various forms of colors. User can also use his own Mana to create threads of energy. Use of this blessing can further enhance the user's perception of magic and control.
Limited chance to perceive someone's fate or luck, and forewarning of danger to oneself.
—---- Master of Magic - Hecate and Freyja, two goddesses known for their mastery and use of magic, have shown their interest in your growth. They have given you the blessing of - Magic sense and Rules of Magic. Combination of both blessings have formed the upgraded version - Master of Magic.
Effects - Increases the users control over magic and Mana depending on the proficiency. Casting of spells and the consumption of Mana depends upon the user's mastery over the blessing.
Increases perception and detection of mana permanently. Makes channeling and manipulating Mana easier. (Passive effect)
Limited chance to increase the power of spells depending on luck.
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A/N - Readers give me your opinion, should I write blessings and their effects in details mid-chapter, or do it like this, where I write them below. Or should I make an auxiliary chapter where I write all the details of blessings of mc and other fighting techniques and skills etc.
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