Chapter 253: 253 : Opening Shop and Increasing Harem Members XXX
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John shifted, pulled a small pouch. Why he had them he didn’t know. He just collected them from instinct.
Inside the pouch were harmless things. A pinch of dust. A few broken chalk crumbs. A tiny sliver of wood from a cracked desk corner from his room. Nothing valuable. Nothing that would make him cry if it vanished into endless darkness.
He closed his eyes again and formed the smallest void opening he could.
Not a doom ball. Not a weapon. Just a controlled mouth of void the size of a coin.
He pushed a chalk crumb through. It drifted for half a breath, then landed on the mana platform.
Nyx moved instantly.
It snapped the chalk crumb up, pulled it in, and the crumb disappeared into its body.
A faint shimmer ran along Nyx’s dark shell, like starlight under thin ice.
John felt a tiny pulse through the bond-thread. Completion again.
Fizz made a pleased sound, like someone watching a child eat vegetables for the first time. "It is working," he whispered.
John sent another crumb.
Nyx ate it.
Another.
Nyx ate it.
Then John tried something different.
He pushed a small wisp of dirty mana into the void opening. Not much. Just the leftover mana fog that clung to old spell ink and used chalk in classrooms. Weak, harmless, but messy.
The wisp drifted onto the platform.
Nyx did not bite it like solid matter.
Nyx opened its mouth slightly and the wisp flowed into it like smoke being inhaled.
Nyx’s body shimmered more strongly this time. A slow wave of faint star-specks rolled along its shell, then settled.
John felt a different pulse.
Not just completion.
Conversion.
The system chimed again, brief.
[SYSTEM Notification: Nyx has converted Low-Grade Mana Residue into Clean Void Essence.
Clean Void Essence Storage: +1 unit (Trace Level)]
John opened his eyes.
Fizz was staring like he had just witnessed a miracle. "Is it making something," he breathed. "Is it making clean darkness?"
John nodded. "It converts residue."
Fizz’s whiskers quivered. "Can we sell clean darkness?"
John said, "No."
Fizz looked heartbroken. "Then why are we even trying it?"
John did not answer. He stood, walked to the window, and looked out at the academy yard.
Students moved below. Laughing. Talking. Competing. Living ordinary lives.
None of them knew a newborn void ant existed inside an endless dark pocket tied to John’s chest.
None of them knew John now had a helper that could slowly create clean void essence.
None of them knew what void essence might become if it gathered enough.
John turned back to the room.
Fizz was still hovering, eyes bright. "Let me see it," he begged. "Open a void window."
John paused. "No."
Fizz made a wounded sound. "Why?"
"Because you will do something stupid," John said.
Fizz put a paw to his chest. "I have never done anything stupid in my life."
John stared.
Fizz corrected himself instantly. "I have never done anything stupid today."
John exhaled. "Fine. Briefly. But do not touch it."
Fizz perked up so hard he almost fell out of the air. "Yes."
John closed his eyes, opened a small viewing window in the void, not wide enough to lose things, just enough to see.
Nyx stood on the platform, still calm.
Fizz leaned forward, eyes narrowed, trying to look like a leader instead of a jealous orange ball.
Nyx turned its head toward the viewing window.
It stared.
Fizz stared back.
Nyx’s passive aura brushed out lightly through the bond-thread. Silent Judgement.
Fizz flinched.
It was not painful. It was not harmful. It was just a pressure, like the feeling you get when someone you respect is disappointed in you and you do not know why.
Fizz’s face twisted. "Is it judging me?"
John said, "It is a passive aura."
Fizz puffed. "It is a rude aura."
Nyx took one small step forward and stopped, staring like it was evaluating whether Fizz was useful or simply loud.
Nyx did not react.
Fizz’s pride deflated a little. He leaned toward John and whispered, "It thinks I am unnecessary."
John whispered back, "It thinks you are loud."
Fizz hissed. "Same thing."
John almost smiled again. Almost.
Then he closed the void window and sealed it.
Nyx faded into the background again, stored and safe.
John sat down and rubbed his palm. He could feel the void in his chest like a tool in a pocket. He could feel Nyx like a second tool inside that tool.
Fizz floated down and landed on John’s shoulder like a cat pretending it was not nervous. "So," Fizz said, trying to sound casual, "it will help us in battle."
"Yes," John said.
Fizz nodded slowly. "Good."
John looked at him. "But it stays hidden."
Fizz lifted a paw solemnly. "Hidden."
John arched his brow. "And you do not mention it."
Fizz nodded harder. "I will not mention Nyx. I will not mention void ant. I will not mention the vacuum bug."
John said flatly, "You already mentioned the vacuum bug."
Fizz blinked. "That was in private. Private vacuum bug talk is allowed."
John sighed. "Fine. But in front of others, nothing."
Fizz put both paws up. "My mouth is sealed."
John said, "Your mouth is loose."
Fizz nodded. "...."
A few moments later...
They already reached the classroom. John leaned back and let his eyes close for one breath.
John opened his eyes again. "Tomorrow we test one more thing."
Fizz perked. "What?"
John spoke quietly. "What Nyx can do with void residue."
Fizz’s eyes widened. "Oh."
Then he smiled like a villain. "Oh yes."
John pointed at him. "No stupidity."
Fizz saluted. "Only strategic stupidity."
John groaned.
And Fizz whispered to himself, " I am No.1 assistant forever," like a prayer and a threat at the same time.
John did not answer, because answering Fizz was how people wasted time and became late.
They entered their class. It was Basic Magic Theory first, then something else after. The room smelled like ink, chalk, and young fear. Students sat in rows. Some had good coats. Some had cheap coats. Everyone had the same stiff posture that said, please do not call on me unless I know the answer.
John took his seat.
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