Chapter 95- Entrance Ceremony (Part 1)
After resting for a few moments, Elise finally focused on the long list of ignored messages from the system that she couldn't read because of the dire situation she was in not so long ago.
So, she opened her system and checked the new skill 'Soul Harvester' she just got. She was sure that this skill was completely linked with her sword just like how the Shadow Monarch dagger has a summoning skill linked to it. The same concept may apply to Soul Eater since both swords are of unknown origins and both were unusable until Rin and Elise awakened them.
[Soul Harvester]
[Rank: ???]
[Level: 1]
[Soul Eater is the supreme ruler of all souls. The death and life of everything are but a mere slash away from changing forever. The more souls it harvests, the more of its true power shall be revealed.
*When activated, Soul Harvester collects any dead creature's soul and stores it in the sword. The soul can then be converted to any type of energy the host desires. The stronger the dead enemy is, the more mana it consumes to store its soul and use it. It depends on the host's mana.]
"So, I can basically get extra Action Points, healing points, or anything else?"
[As long as it's a type of energy in this world, you can convert souls into anything, Elise. That may include other elements that are based on energy concepts such as lightning, fire, etc…]
'But, it's way harder to do that than to just turn the soul into healing points or Action Points, right?' Elise guessed after reading the description of the skill again.
[Exactly, Elise. Turning souls into those forms of energies is in and out of itself a foreign concept to this world so doing it requires way more mana to do. But, the more you level up the skill the more it becomes easier to manipulate souls and even activate new abilities.]
'I see….' Rubbing her chin, Elise nodded her head before closing the system and standing up to leave.
Her clothes had dried a little bit after resting for a little. These clothes weren't normal as they were especially imbued with mana that makes the clothes self-dry and self-fix themselves after a while. One of the few convenient things Elise had found in this world.
'Hopefully, Rin made some good progression.' She thought as she vanished inside the forest, heading back to the city.'
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The day finally came, the official start of the new year. Rin and Elise's first big step in this world was when this part of the plot starts. Most of the story happened while the main character was still in the academy so they anticipated everything and made sure to also mentally prepare themselves for the worst-case scenarios that might occur.
"Late, again," Elise said as she pointed at her bracelet with a neutral look.
Rin didn't even say anything as he rubbed his eyes and yawned a little bit. He was so sleepy that he was barely walking properly on his legs.
"I…*Yawn* barely could leave the bed. My legs and arms feel like someone was beating me up the whole night with a bat or something." He said as he blinked a few times to get rid of the heavy feeling on his eyes lids.
'Master wrung me dry of energy in the past week. I feel like my body is cursing at me.'
The previous days were hell on earth for Rin. He had thought that he could handle harsh training for a few days. But, what Emilia did completely shattered his confidence. To call her brutal and ruthless was an understatement.
She basically made Rin train for at least 15 hours every day with barely any breaks in between. It was as if she was cramming everything she had in her head into him in a short period.
Many would actually get negative results because of a brutal training regime like this but because of Rin's monstrous talent, he was actually able to absorb everything like a dry sponge. He was even surprised at himself for making this progress in such a small period of time.
"Make sure to be on time in the future," Elise instructed him with a slightly stern voice. But, even a stranger could see the hint of familiar warmth in her voice when she spoke to Rin.
But, Elise wouldn't notice how even her attitude was softening in general because of the boy next to her.
The two eventually reached a bustling place filled with hundreds of students. They were all standing in front of two huge doors that were at least 15 feet tall and wide enough to fit ten people entering at the same time.
This place was the ceremony hall'. A place made exclusively for big events of the year such as the entrance ceremony. It's by far the biggest building in the whole city if you ignore the classes section of the city.
Everyone was chatting happily and excitedly as they waited for their turn to enter. Rin and Elise simply stood in a corner far away from the loud noises and excited screeches of the students.
"I want to sleep. Neh, Elise."
"Hmm?"
"Can you give me your lap so I can sleep on it until we can get inside?" He said with an eerily casual tone.
"Do you think I will say yes to that?" She asked back with an equally calm look.
"No, but it was worth trying to ask."
"You are weird." She replied as she pulled out a small book from her inventory and started reading it.
"Horrible of you to say something like that to your friend."
"I say what I must say."
"I mean, you could've just said it in a more pleasing manner."
"Like how?"
"'Oh my, you are such a dummy, Rin!' and make sure to increase your voice's pitch a notch or two. It will be effective." He said as he imitated a girl in the first part before returning to his lazy look again as if nothing happened.
Elise didn't seem surprised by his weird acting since she kept turning the pages of the book elegantly.
"Do you think I will ever do that?"
"No, but it was worth trying to ask."
These types of back and forth became a common thing between the two. Spending a long time together did make them look like a very close couple that loved to joke around all the time. This was something that they didn't think about much and came out naturally as they learned more about each other. And even if they knew that people will misunderstand them because of it, they didn't mind it at all.
In a sense, all Rin had as direct support to him was Elise and what Elise had as direct support was Rin too. Only the two of them knew what was happening in this world and only the two of them knew what the other is troubled about.
It started from a normal companionship and now it became a friendship with some emotional support to one another just to keep them from going utterly insane.
After waiting for a while, they were finally able to enter the ceremony hall. The inside was just like a giant theatre hall. Hundreds of high-quality chairs could be seen everywhere surrounding the main stage.
Many people had already taken the front seats while leaving the back seats empty. The duo then took a random seat and sat down. They had a clear view of the stage so it didn't matter whether they sat at the front or back.
"The place is quite beautiful," Rin commented as he looked around him.
"Mmm." Elis merely hummed in response.
"Finally, he's going to make his appearance. A main character that's not a heroine."
Rin and Elise were aware of who was going to appear on that stage. He was the main character's future best friend and companion. Their relationship throughout the story was quite crucial to the story and frankly moved some main events perfectly.
But, since many things that occurred in the past few days were simply nowhere near the main plot's original events, they were ready for anything to happen.
As they were like that, they sensed a familiar aura approaching them from afar. Looking to the side, they saw Phillipe approaching them.
'What does this idiot want now?' Rin didn't even have the strength to sigh so he just ignored him and looked at the stage silently.
"Mm, your highness?" When he finally reached them, he called for Elise.
The latter didn't respond as she was seemingly engrossed in the book in her hand. Phillipe felt extremely awkward that she didn't say anything but he still tried to smile warmly as he sat down beside her.
"I shall sit beside you, your highness. Please, don't hesitate to rely on me whenever you need anything." He said in a soft and clearly affectionate tone.
"Hehehe." Rin chuckled silently at this person's thick skin.
'Elise really is something else to be able to ignore that.' He thought to himself.
Then, the light of the room suddenly dimmed and the ceremony started.
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