elra

An Otherworldly Scholar - 137

I put a few drops of mid-grade Health Potion on a small piece of cloth and applied it on Wolf’s bruised eyebrow. The Fortifier’s barrier wasn’t as efficient against blunt damage as it was against piercing and slashing, and Jorvyn Herran's blows had reached Wolf’s face. Across the pavilion, Jorvyn received similar attention, although his self-esteem seemed to have gotten the worst part of the beating. The noble kid pushed the healers away and covered his face with a towel. Lord Herran ...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 136

“I believe Wolf is worried he would drag us down because of his lack of Class,” Ilya said, her eyes fixed on the arena.

I cursed myself. I had been too busy earning the Prince's trust, coming up with countermeasures against Kellaren, and trying to decrypt the mysterious rune that I had overlooked the kid’s mental state. After the first round, the orphanage’s morale was at an all-time high, so I assumed the kids were doing just right. I realized my mistake too late. Firana and Za...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 135

“Miss Elincia is in danger,” Zaon said.

My blood froze. Zaon couldn’t be right. Not a minute had passed since Elincia and the kids crossed the door into the fighter’s pavilion, and guards were supposed to protect the place. However, Zaon seemed confident on his Sentinel’s Oath. My feet were already moving before I could make any guesses about what kind of danger might have crept into the Great Hall.

I opened the door with Zaon stuck on my heels, and we crossed the small ...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 134

The kitchen remained silent as Corin recited the message.

“Lowell’s Orphanage will not face Team Farcrest. Instead, your next rival will be House Herran.”

I froze in place. The happiness from Zaon’s Class disappeared in a single swipe, and the feeling of helplessness invaded me. I couldn’t remember the last time good news wasn’t immediately followed by bad news. The reaction of the others was the same, and it seemed as if someone had drained all the happiness from the ...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 133

AN: a bit longer than usual.

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Elincia and I stayed up late, sitting at the desk and thinking about ways of deceiving Kellaren’s guards. We counted on Sir Janus’ [Shadow Step], Lord Vedras’ Invisibility Potion, and my illusions as our primary strategy to move unnoticed through enemy territory. Still, it never hurts to have a backup plan.

My Rune Encyclopedia barely had a dozen entries, making coming up with a helpful enchantment near impossible. Luckily for...

Artwork - Wolf & Ilya

An Otherworldly Scholar - 132

AN: sorry for the delay, this one was super hard to write.

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Ilya, Wolf, and Firana entered the ballroom. Although I told them we wouldn’t be training, they wore their sparring clothing. At least their motivation was at an all-time high.

“Didn’t I say no training today?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Wolf shrugged. “It feels weird wearing anything else.”

Ilya nodded in agreement. “We better strike when the iron is hot. Istvan Kiln’s team will b...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 131

The mysterious rune refused to yield. No matter the line of commands I engraved in the Rune Debugger, the skill always triggered the yellow signal. The attempt of enchantment wasn’t dangerous but not useful either. I used the Effect-Trigger-Source formula of the light stones and the warm blanket, putting the mysterious rune in each position to no avail. The rune didn’t respond to any of the trigger runes I knew, nor did it seem to draw energy from the mana source runes.

I was walkin...

May Bonus Chapter

Time off was a rarity at the orphanage. With a dozen orphans prowling around, there was always something to do. A scraped knee to patch, a nasty Dust Bunny trying to steal from the pantry, a leak in the roof, or an unexpected visit to the market. Luckily, the planets had aligned that morning, and I found myself with nothing to do. Breakfast was over, Ginz was teaching the little ones to read, and the older kids were outside sparring with Risha and Astrid.

Elincia was behind the wooden s...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 130

Astrid fought to ease her breath, her yellow eyes clouded by terror. I held the bloody towel against her forearm, but the ominous rune on the desk caught my attention. It wasn’t like anything I had seen so far: a circle with protrusions of variable lengths inside and outside its perimeter. The shape of a rune had little to do with its effect, so I couldn’t know its meaning.

At least it was harmless. It took an Enchanter or a Runeweaver to power up runes, and a simple drawing wouldn�...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 129

Firana vehemently shook her head, almost like she was trying to convince herself Corin’s words weren’t real. If you want to regain control of the Aias Mercenaries, I will follow. Despite my initial surprise, [Awareness] told me the girl was being truthful. I could sense the concealed fervor in her voice.

The light from the enchanted stones flickered as the magic ran out. The vestibule was covered in shadows, yet I could see Corin kneeling before Firana with an expectant lo...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 128

I was returning to the orphanage with the package Lord Vedras gave me under my arm and the Invisibility Potion inside my pocket. My mind wandered over the past few hours, and I couldn’t help but think we were more alike than I initially thought. Vedras had thought that giving me knowledge was the better way to gain my trust. And he was absolutely correct. Knowledge was invaluable in the right hands.

His last offering troubled me, though. On my way out of Vedras’ chambers, I had aske...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 127

I pushed the doors of Lord Vedras chambers open. The tall windows let light pour into the well-furnished room, casting white and silver glimmers on the glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Bookshelves and mosaics with scenes of a hunt covered the wall. I recognized the shape of the distant mountains in the background. The artist copied the landscape from the first valley after climbing the hill north of Farcrest.

Lord Vedras sat at a long table under the main window, surrounded by...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 126

Elincia stuffed her mouth with roasted meat before the tournament aides escorted us out of the VIP box. The first day of the competition was over, and half of the teams were eliminated. Other than Lord Gairon’s team being defeated in the first round, there weren’t any other upsets. The six teams representing the Ducal Families managed to qualify for the next round. The Marquis’ team had also qualified with a narrow victory over the team of a Baron serving the Jorn Family. Istvan Kiln ha...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 125

The mood in the VIP box was tense. Lord Gairon’s team had suffered at the hands of the Imperial Academy team. Even the theoretically unfavorable matchups ended up with the cadets winning. By the end of the bracket, the cadets had won the four combats and were more than twenty points ahead of their rivals. Prince Adrien drank from his cup with a neutral expression. I didn’t get why he wasn’t happier with the result. If Prince Adrien wanted to project a strong armed force with serious odd...