302 Turned
It had been two days since Farnus had returned to the World Academy.
The tense and gloomy atmosphere in the World Academy was lifted when the news that all the calamities had been defeated came.
With the return of the SSS Rank Hunters, the World Association started to move the media in their favor.
They couldn't stop the public outburst, but they handled it well enough to make sure everything remained under control.
Even then, there were cases of some people who came out and started causing an uproar, claiming they wanted to join Zephyr.
Most of these people were those who just disliked the Elite Families and other powerful people hoarding everything in the World.
A simple speech was enough to make them move, but these people were being caught quickly as the World Association handed out notices about Zephyr.
Zephyr was put on the highest level of Criminal Status, with people who provided information about them being heavily rewarded.
In a month, an unknown name had become the most wanted Criminal Organization in the World.
Such extreme measures helped the people calm down, as they believed that if the members of the High Council were going this far, those people would soon be punished and stopped.
But that was only the case for those who weren't knowledgeable enough about monsters and the academic aspect.
Anonymous articles explaining the potential threat of a person who could control monsters were being spread all over the internet.
Because of Rifir's appearance in the Masked Man broadcast, many assumed that Zephyr had the ability to influence or even control monsters.
"Look at this one," Damian said as he showed the articles to Amelia.
"Potential threat? What's next for the World?" Amelia read the headline of the article.
"What's this about?" she asked.
"It's all about Zephyr and how he might be the strongest person in the World," Damian replied.
Amelia looked at Damian's face for a while.
"Oh come on, I know they are not true, but the way they word it, it's so intriguing to read," Damian said.
"Why don't you put that much focus into reading what they taught in the classes," Amelia said as Damian looked at her immediately.
"Oh, from Class! I remember Professor Terrence said that there might be changes to the End year exam," Damian said to Amelia who had just come from her Mage Theory Class.
Right now, both of them were going towards the Great Library, as Damian wanted to get Amelia's help for some books.
"Do you know what they are changing?" Amelia asked.
Damian shook his head, as there was no real confirmation about this news either.
Apart from Xander and a few other people in the Faculty Council, nobody knew about the new changes that Farnus himself had applied and changed.
Farnus had the power to make any rules or changes in the World Academy as he wanted, because most of his Mana Oaths prevented him from doing anything that the Elite Families didn't want.
Because of that, they had no qualms about giving Farnus full authority over the World Academy.
"What sorts of books are you looking for?" Amelia asked as she pulled out the list of Books that she wanted from her ID Bracelet.
ραndαsnοvεl.cοm Damian thought for a while, and the books he needed were all about strengthening his aura and defensive Shield techniques.
He shared his list with Amelia, who saw the topics.
They had arrived at the Great Library, and Damian was talking with Amelia when somebody collided into him.
Damian immediately looked ahead, and he saw a student on the floor with books on the ground.
"Oh, I am sorry," the student said as he started picking up his book.
Damian crouched to help him get his books, and that was when he noticed that the cuffs on his hands were different.
'A third-year student?' The student that crashed into Damian was a third-year student, but from his looks, he didn't look like other powerful third-year students.
He quickly stood up and left, leaving both Damian and Amelia confused, but they ignored it and went inside the Great Library.
At the Faculty Building,
"He is going for another Rank up this early?" Elsa looked at the request she got from Asher.
Each time a student would try to increase his rank, they would take a break and use the mana gem. Due to the time that would be spent doing that, it was mandatory for the students to inform their Proctors about it.
But what was surprising for Elsa was that Asher was trying to hit C- Rank while he had only hit D+ Rank recently.
Just like others, Elsa also didn't know that Asher was already a C Rank Hunter, and this break was nothing but a way in which he could enter the Great Forest a bit more.
The only thing that was stopping him from entering deeper into the Great Forest was nothing but the Rank restrictions that Xander placed on him.
Elsa was surprised, but she accepted the request, and it was put through the system with her approval.
And with that, she also accepted the request for the Mana Gem that Asher submitted.
An average student could never request a Mana Gem like this, and most of them could only access a C Rank Mana Gem until they reached the C Rank themselves.
But there was a choice to access higher rank mana gems, given that you had the GP needed to purchase it.
It was still cheaper than purchasing the Mana Gem yourself, as World Academy decreased the cost of resources drastically for normal students.
But even then, only those who could earn the GP needed for them could purchase those resources.
At the Ranker's Dorm,
Asher arrived at his floor as he saw the Mana Gem box in the mail compartment.
It was a B Rank Mana Gem, but Asher hadn't asked for that mana gem for himself.
Right now, Asher was a C Rank Hunter, and to reach C+ Rank, he needed to train a bit longer before he could try to achieve B Rank.
A black energy appeared around Asher's arm as Rifir appeared and looked at the Mana Gem.
Rifir had reached Level 13 from all the monsters that he had devoured, and his progress had stalled because Rifir didn't get anything from absorbing C Rank Monsters anymore.
"Can I eat it?" Rifir asked.
"Go ahead," Asher said as he took the box inside the training facility and put it on the ground.
Rifir's eyes shined as a B Rank Mana Gem was much more delicious for him than a Peak B Rank Monster.
Disappearing from his place, Rifir wrapped around the mana gem and lifted it with his black energy, and the mana started seeping inside the Black energy into Rifir's body.
Asher arrived in the middle of the Meditation Room where he relaxed his body.
For the last month, Asher had spent it perfecting his Sword Techniques and movement art, and minimizing the loss of mana due to excess movements.
"Status," Asher called out as he wanted to see his mastery stats.
---------| Fate Devourer System |---------
[Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville
[Level] : 33 (EXP 2000/33,000)
[Bloodline] : Devil's Absorption Rank SSS
[Cursed] : Curse of Fate (Active)
[Body Constitution] : Mana Core Rank C
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[-Skills-]: Time Dilation (Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption (Rank S) Lvl 1, Mana Flow (Rank A), Mana Circulation (Rank A), Rune of Eirdin (Rank C), Node-Art Rank SSS, Aura Force Passive Skill, Mana Conceal, Shadow Control Rank C, Shadow Bind Rank C
[-Node Art-]: Mir Steps, Swift Strike, Phantom Strike, Aura Shield
[-Beast-] : Rifir [Level 13]
[-Mastery-] : Node Art [Novice]-67%, Magic [Intermediate]-82%, Rune Art [Novice]-90%
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His Node Art had increased from 27% to a total of 67%, and his Magic Mastery had also risen from 29% to 82%.
In a month, Asher had mastered the magic taught in class, as well as what he read in the Great Library, practicing it all the while inside the Great Forest.
Rune Art's mastery was also close to reaching the intermediate level.
Asher looked over in Rifir's direction.
Rifir was still absorbing the Mana Gem, and since there was no notification from the system, Asher knew that it would take a while before Rifir could completely absorb the mana gem.
Asher sat down, placing his sword to his left, and closed his eyes.
With his Node Art being close to 67% and his Magic Mastery having increased significantly, Asher wanted to finally try and push his sword art further.
Right now, he knew he was powerful, but he also understood that this level of strength was not enough.
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