Chapter 49: Noice review, Duel with Bonjour
"The system is finally giving me something... and yet it still goes into a semi-dormant state," Caelum muttered, rubbing his temple as a faint mental strain lingered in his mind.
There were several things that immediately caught his attention, and not all of them were reassuring.
"Worldly influence..." he repeated softly.
According to the system, something within him had been subtly contaminated, though the exact nature of it was unclear.
Deciding to investigate further, he accessed his inventory, which had previously remained locked but was now fully available to him.
Inside, he found two pills along with several talismans, each containing knowledge that the system had transferred to him.
This, at the very least, was a welcome development.
Although Caelum possessed fragments of knowledge from his previous life, he was well aware that it was far from sufficient.
Compared to even an average outer disciple in a proper cultivation world, his understanding was lacking.
While his cultivation technique provided guidance, relying on it alone would be both inefficient and dangerous.
"I should at least absorb this knowledge properly before doing anything else," he thought.
Then another thought struck him.
"...What time is it now?"
He retrieved his school badge and checked the time, only for his expression to shift slightly in surprise.
An entire day had passed.
"Should I deal with this ’worldly influence’ now?" he considered briefly, but after a moment of thought, he shook his head.
It would be better to first absorb the knowledge stored in the talismans, as such understanding could not simply appear in his mind without proper assimilation.
Besides, Paul would likely assume he ran away from school, and there was also Anastasia, whose condition he still needed to check.
With that decided, Caelum stood up and exited the training room.
The moment he stepped outside, however, he was greeted by the sight of a man with bloodshot eyes staring directly at him.
For a brief moment, Caelum felt an inexplicable sense of guilt, as though he might somehow be responsible for the man’s current state.
Carefully approaching him, he asked, "Uh... sir, are you alright?"
"Yes, I am perfectly fine. This is simply my natural appearance," the man replied with a smile that felt disturbingly unnatural.
"...Alright then," Caelum said slowly, before immediately disappearing from the spot, choosing not to question it any further.
Since classes had already ended, he made his way back to Dormitory 8, intending to return to his room, but before he could even reach the door, someone intercepted him.
"Found you! You little–!"
Erica, the senior responsible for overseeing their batch during their initial month at the Imperial Zenith School, stopped herself mid-sentence, visibly restraining the urge to lash out.
She had come earlier that day to distribute review forms regarding their initial experience at the academy, along with suggestions for improvements.
Most of the responses she had received were exactly what one would expect from children – requests for personal maids or butlers, removal of punishments, extended sleeping hours, gambling facilities, more adventures, autographs from the princess, shoe of princess, entry to the school treasury, political conflicts, personal vehicles, permanent job guarantee, even an Archmage assigned to serve them.
One particularly creative student had requested daily rides on a six-legged Hipposor.
Her duties had been nearly complete.
Except for one missing student.
After searching almost the entire campus and even checking classrooms he had skipped, she still had not found him.
In the end, she sat near the dormitory, determined to catch him the moment he returned.
’Ethan also mentioned something about a special hunt at night...’ Erica thought, narrowing her eyes at Caelum with a menacing expression, she had so much to do but was caught up due to random things.
"Fill this form," she said, thrusting it forward until it hovered precisely twenty-five centimeters from his face.
"But I don’t have a pen–" Caelum began, only to stop as Erica instantly produced one, her expression clearly saying this is magic.
"...Okk."
Taking the form, Caelum began filling it out casually, but when he reached the section asking for feedback on the supervising senior, he glanced upward.
Erica was now floating directly above him, staring down with the expression of an evil witch, only lacking the proper hat and costume.
He deliberately misspelled the word and added a thumbs-up sketch for emphasis, unknowingly creating what would later become a minor meme within the teaching staff.
Erica, however, looked at the response and her expression shifted, from annoyance to pity.
’He spelled it wrong... and even uses drawings to express himself. Oh no... I didn’t realize he was academically this weak,’ she thought, silently offering a prayer for his future.
Caelum, meanwhile, sensed that something was off.
"I’m done, so I’ll be going now, senior," he said, handing the form back.
"Well... I’ll be graduating this year, so if you ever face any problems, you can always rely on me," Erica said, patting his back with an oddly gentle tone before leaving.
"?"
Caelum stood there for a moment, even more confused than before, before finally turning toward his room.
However, the moment he stepped inside.
He froze in place.
The scene before him was... unexpected.
Bonjour, Paul, and Sénior were seated around a table, completely absorbed in a game of cards.
Meanwhile, Skyler, the green-haired boy, sat nearby, carefully counting a sizable pile of golden Rwa coins, the official currency of the Zenith Empire, his attention entirely fixed on the growing stack in front of him.
In the corner, Ryan stood apart from the rest, gripping a sword that immediately caught Caelum’s attention.
There was something unusual about it, as it contained some mystery and Ryan himself was muttering under his breath about becoming the next great mercenary king, clearly lost in his own ambitions.
As soon as Caelum entered, all attention snapped toward him at once.
The first to move was Bonjour.
A heavy, almost rhythmic heartbeat echoed through the room as he stood up and began walking toward Caelum, his presence carrying an unusual intensity.
"You," he said, stopping just a short distance away, his eyes locked onto Caelum.
Then, with absolute certainty he declared.
"You fight with me!"
A dark orange energy surged around his body, as if his very existence was demanding battle.
