"Mana Management, Mana Diffusion...mana recalibration?"
Currently, Alan Peccator was confused.
"You...truly didn't study anything?"
Sabrina asked him, baffled.
"Nope."
Alan replied as he closed the book in his hands.
Sabrina, on the other side of the table, looked at him with surprise as she said.
"Mana Diffusion is a topic that we had to study for the Shield written exam, you should know it!"
"I forgot?"
She was done.
This guy knew nothing!
Is this Alan Peccator even?!
"What about your time with the vice principal, surely she must have taught you something?"
She asked him, hoping to get a good answer.
"Nope, she just teaches me ice-related skills."
Her hopes were crushed.
"How did you even get 1st rank?!"
She questioned him, baffled.
How the heck did he get the first rank in shield with just stat tests alone?
The written test was important!
How the heck did he get 1st rank when he was this stupid?!
"Huuu..."
Sabrina took a deep breath to calm herself down.
She then thought up something whilst she was still processing how the heck this guy was the first rank.
"Well, we are going to be here for a while...
Here, this is going to be our routine, no training for you until the end of the exam, We will stud-"
"No training?!"
The sudden shout had drawn the attention of every student in the Library, and Sabrina shut the man responsible in a heartbeat.
"No, Damn, Training."
"Shh!"
****
[Sabrina Wellington's Pov]
It's so strange.
His memory is terrible.
I still can't believe this is the man that is ranked first.
Shields's evaluation system isn't just based just on awakened stats and battle prowess, mental prowess plays a good role too.
You would still be admitted into Shield if you were good in all of them except one, but your results would have to be insanely good.
To be here, either you had good scores in all three or excellent scores in just two.
And if you only had scored well enough in two of those categories, you weren't getting first place.
"Hey, can you explain this to me again?"
I sighed as I began to explain the topic again to him, for the third time.
Where is the guy that was cold, and somewhat calculating?
He always gave off an aura of being somewhat smart, and his scores proved it.
His rank allocation is first, and exactly half marks in everything except for training class, in which he's at the top.
I had seen his tests, always attempting the hardest questions and leaving the rest...but then why is this happening?
His memory is terrible, and I guess he's only good at training.
So then, how can this buffoon have that high of a ranking?
Is he getting dumber by the day?
Or did his long-time training erode his brain?
No that can't be it, his mind is getting dumber, and he's not like his previous self as well.
The Alan Peccator I knew had never talked much, he was always distant and observing, he always appeared to be knowledgeable and acted a little as if everything was in his control.
He had an aura that commanded respect and made some people fear him just from his cold gaze.
The one standing in front of me?
He talked more, was open to others, and acted a little bit playful at times.
He didnt have the aura of respect now, and his eyes were more...nicer?
No, those beautiful eyes didnt harm anybody...so...
Is this man evolving backward?
Where has all that gone?
He doesn't appear at all similar to the one I used to know.
'...he still has some topics left to memorize, but he doesn't have enough time...
At this rate, just getting a passing grade will be hard..?'
*Bzzz!*
Suddenly, an Alarm on her watch interrupted her thoughts.
Seeing the note that came along with it.
I instinctively made a small blade of lightning with my fingers and slashed my right arm, drawing blood.
"...?!"
I didnt see his reaction, I simply cast a simple heal on the wound.
[Heal has been cast]
[You possess no attribute affinities to assist standard healing, the effect has been reduced]
[Your proficiency in the skill has increased slightly]
"Sigh.."
This was a skill that was given to most students who entered the healing club, but unfortunately, I didn't possess any affinity that assisted standard healing, unlike most of the other club members.
Serena had water, whilst Elaine had the all-powerful light element.
Both those elements provided a boost to the standard Heal skill.
But I had Thunder, which was mainly an offensive element that didnt provide a boost at all.
And this accursed Darkness element of mine reduced the effects.
I had to resort to this measure just to make my healing more proficient to match with the others.
And I studied a heck of a lot about medicine whilst in the club.
"What did you do that for?"
I turned over to him, and just simply explained whilst I opened another book.
"Just raising my proficiency in the skill Standard Heal, my attributes don't provide a boost to it."
"...oh, but do you have to do that?"
"Yes, it increases the efficiency by 0.0005 percent more."
"...you cut yourself just for that?"
"My Darkness attribute reduces the effects of any healing skill that doesn't belong to the element, I have to resort to such measures just to be equal to the rest."
He went quiet for a while, before saying something I didn't quite like.
"Then why don't you just buy a healing skill related to the darkness element?
Or are you still hating the element for the same stupid reason?"
Stupid reason?
A chance to risk losing yourself is a stupid reason?
"You wouldn't know if you tried, maybe it doesn't affect you."
...
...
And there he goes, speaking like he knows the darkness element won't corrupt me.
How is he so sure anyway?
"Darkness is cool and strong.
A guy I know has the elements of Death and Darkness as his affinities, and he nearly killed me."
"..."
I don't want to talk about this anymore.
I know there is a chance to not be corrupted, but I don't want to risk it.
I'm afraid.
My uncle took the gamble and lost, and I... don't want to become like the man he is now.
"Darkness is so cool, I wish I had the ability to mani-"
"You have thirteen more pages to memorize, get to work and stop talking."
I shut him up before he could continue.
I don't...want to talk about this.
Besides, it's getting late and I want to go to sleep.
*****
"Someone save me..."
I cried out in low voices I rested my head on the table.
It's night now, and we are the only ones in the library.
I've explained every topic to him, yet he still has trouble understanding them.
Besides math, he is somewhat good at math.
And thank god he is, I don't want to teach this buffoon of person math.
I regret my decision to accept his request.
It was stupid.
Very stupid.
But then...as my eyes were getting tired...I heard the golden words.
"I think I've memorized everything, can you take an oral test from me?"
I raised my head and displayed the widest smile I could muster as I heard his words.
Finally!
I looked at him...but then saw something strange.
His eyes...are shining a faint hue of green?
Am I hallucinating because I'm tired?
That Jade green hue his eyes are emitting is distorting his original beautiful blue diamond eyes, turning them green.
I rubbed my eyes and when I looked again.
The jade-green hue was gone.
I think I'm just tired, and I hope we can end today's studying session.
He probably would get a few wrong.
Is what I had expected...but to my shock.
He got every question right, and I saw that weird jade green hue, although faint again...a few times.
I really need to sleep.
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