elra

An Otherworldly Scholar - 124

Elincia and I watched the rest of the first round of eliminations from the comfort of a padded seat next to Prince Adrien's throne. In front of us, and hidden from the spectators beneath us, there was a board full of the most exotic delicacies: grilled meats, bowls of fragrant nuts and dried fruits, fish cubes floating in different sauces, small roasted birds, steaming loaves of bread, and bowls of fresh fruit. A servant handed me a small plate with an even smaller metallic toothpick. I was a...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 123

A thunderous roar reverberated through the sandstone stands, and the duel arena seemed about to explode. If Ilya, Zaon, and Wolf had sparked the crowd’s interest, Firana brought them to the edge of ecstasy. The exchange of wind and stone spells had everyone on the edge of their seats. Firana jumped through the air using [Windrider] to use thin air as solid surfaces and dodge the barrage of stones. For a moment, I forgot about the Skills and the limitations imposed by the System. All I saw w...

Announcement!

Hey everyone!

Despite my best efforts, today's chapter will be a bit late. It is my birthday today (yay!), so between traveling back to my hometown and doing family stuff, my schedule has been a bit tight. I'll be posting the chapter on Sunday at the latest.

On an unrelated note, I'm working on Ilya's artwork, which should be ready in less than two weeks. I'm very excited about that one.

Again, I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

Have a nice weekend!&...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 122

Sir Janus burst into the pavilion. He had ditched his elegant black Imperial Knight suit for his old grease-stained beige fencing uniform. His beard, previously neatly trimmed, now resembled its usual bird-nest unkempt style, hiding the gruesome scar on his neck. The tournament aides tried to intercept him, but Sir Janus bulldozed through them like a buffalo charging across a cornfield.

“Move aside. I’m a damn Imperial Knight,” Janus grunted as another pair of aides moved to cut h...

April Bonus Chapter

April Bonus Chapter

Ilya walked blindly toward the old ballroom. A massive pile of books blocked her vision and strained her arms, but she was stubborn; she wouldn’t make two trips to haul all the study material to a quiet and peaceful place to read. The western wing was shrouded in shadows, and the faint smell of humidity and confinement assaulted her nostrils, but Ilya pushed forward.

The ballroom’s great doors towered over her head. Despite the rotten beam of the old kitche...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 121

Ilya greeted the crowd one last time before entering the pavilion. A warm sensation I thought I had lost in the past filled my chest. It was the same old sensation I felt when a “bad” student aced an assignment and slowly realized they weren’t “bad” students after all. Ilya hugged Elincia and gave Firana a self-satisfied look. The fact the spark of rivalry had kindled between them was a testament to Ilya’s level as a combatant.

I smiled. Ilya wasn’t the same girl I had met...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 120

The spectators continued cheering and whistling even minutes after the fight had come to an end. Zaon had caught the crowd by surprise. He was going to be the talk of Farcrest for the rest of the week. The perfect underdog, classless, orphaned, a bit awkward even, coming up victorious against the tyranny of levels. But that was only part of the picture. Zaon had demonstrated the vast difference in skills between him and a combatant nine levels ahead of him.

The victory put us seven poin...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 119

Zaon put on his gloves as he examined the array of armaments the aides had carried to the edge of the arena. Rows of swords, spears, polearms, and maces shone under the winter sunlight. There were bucklers and shields, parrying daggers and nets. There were even more exotic variants of curved swords and glaives. Zaon reached for a longsword with a broad blade, feeling its weight in his hand. With a practiced motion, he swung it in a diagonal descending arc, a small recovery motion, and back in...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 118

The master of ceremonies glanced at the paper in his hand, and a glimpse of confusion showed on his face.

Something was wrong.

“And the third and last team representing Farcrest. Lowell’s Orphanage!”

Elincia clung to my arm, fear and impotence reflected in her expression. We were supposed to be called Rosebud Fencing Academy during the tournament. I clenched my jaw and glanced across the pavilion, giving [Awareness] free rein. Lord Osgiria gave me a mocking look.

An Otherworldly Scholar - 117

Four green-scaled Skeeths pulled our carriage through the market. We weren’t cramped in the back of a shabby cart but comfortably accommodated in the padded seats of a luxurious carriage with bronze guardrails and an upholstered interior. In our blue uniforms, we looked like nobility.

The start of the tournament had taken the city by surprise, and hundreds of people slowly walked to the Great Hall. Prince Adrien went all in with the event. Hundreds of flags hung over the market street...

0 days since the last incident

Today, after a surprisingly long streak of good luck, I messed with the chapter settings and published Chapter 116 for all to see. (Thanks to Basriel for pointing it out).

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Elra.

An Otherworldly Scholar - 116

Extra long chapter, again.

______

The size of my mana pool used to be a point of pride until I had to spend an hour tinkering with four rune enchantments. Then, I realized how shallow it was. Four rune enchantments required twice as much mana as three rune enchantments, and after a few tries, I was sweating cold. I couldn’t even imagine how much mana the creator of Firana’s fluttering cape had to pour into the enchantment to make seven runes work. 

I reexamined my n...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 115

Extra long chapter.

______

I woke up before dawn. The world was quiet—no birds were chirping, no carts rattling outside the manor, and no orphans running around. However, I couldn’t sleep. Not even Elincia's warm presence by my side and the allure of the heavy blankets were enough to keep my mind at ease. 

I slipped out of bed, careful not to disturb Elincia’s sleep, and slowly walked to the desk, avoiding the floor’s loose boards. [Light Footed] made it easy. I...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 114

“We need a bigger bed,” I said.

Elincia nestled to my side. Her platinum hair cascaded over her pretty face, and her emerald eyes gleamed in the dim light of the cramped room like those of a cat. Like every morning, my heart skipped a beat, but I did my best to hide my astonishment. I knew Elincia would cling to it and tease me for the rest of the day.

A thin sunbeam crept between the curtains. Hundreds of pages of runic research covered the desk. Alchemic ingredients floated ...

Farmer

Artwork - Firana & Zaon

He needs some milk!

Shadow Fencer

Hey everyone, Elra here!

Firana's artwork should be ready this week. After that, I'll see if the artist has time to continue with Ilya >:)

March Bonus Chapter

The orphanage was under attack. Mister Clarke had ventured outside to acquire supplies, but an hour had passed since his departure, and he hadn’t returned. Shu feared the worst. Shu was a brave harpy, though. She would not go down without a fight, so she gathered the orphans around her with steely determination.

“The orphanage faces a new threat. An interdimensional creature designated ‘Easter Bunny’ is expected to arrive today. We don’t know about the monster’s capabilities...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 113

The grove fell into silence.

Elincia stepped back with a bewildered expression, the shotgun still smoking in her hands. She must have used one of the shells crafted by Ginz. The Assassin's body lay at my feet. The slug tore through his chest. I gave a quick look at my surroundings. The Flame Mage lay a few meters away, half-hidden behind a tree.

“Are you alright, Eli?” I asked, snapping out and stumbling toward her. My legs were jelly, and my mouth tasted like blood despite no...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 112

Thick and dense black mana stuck to my eyes like tar. The groove’s washed-away colors were swallowed by darkness. I tried to use my mana sense to navigate through the graveyard, but my surroundings were completely opaque.

“Close your eyes!” I yelled.

I raised the Lightstone and overwrote the ‘instantaneous’ rune on the ‘gradual’ rune. Then, I overcharged the enchantment. A violent flash of light enshrouded the groove and dispelled the shadows. Then, the Lightstone ex...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 111

Elincia slammed the door behind her and left the kitchen. I had never seen her so mad, yet I understood her feelings. Nothing could erase a decade of constant fear and suffering, not even the fact that Astrid and Risha had good intentions. Whether it was due to bad fortune or youthful inexperience, Elincia had to watch generations of orphans get sent to the frontlines.

“Elincia hasn’t changed a bit. She has always been like this. Emotional, stubborn, spoiled,” Astrid said without ...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 110

Elincia’s feline grace turned into predatory precision, and without warning, she pounced over Astrid as she violently drew from my mana pool. Bright blue sparks crackled around Elincia’s arms as she pushed Astrid to the ground. When did Elincia learn how to channel mana offensively?

Astrid raised her arms just in time to divert Elincia’s punch. The fist grazed Astrid’s face, leaving a red mark, but Elincia didn’t stop there. She siphoned even more mana from my reserves, sendin...

Fire Fencer

An Otherworldly Scholar - 109

Firana was a Wind Fencer.

My heart stopped for an instant. Wind Fencer was an Advanced Class and a powerful one nonetheless. My mind raced. The Marquis was a Fire Fencer, Sir Janus was a Shadow Fencer, and I had seen what those two were capable of, if only slightly. I squeezed my brain trying to recall the Wind Fencer page in the Book of Classes. It was one of the most well-rounded Elemental Fencers, with a superb speed stat and a wide range of support and mobility skills.

I was e...

Artwork Poll

Enough time has passed. 

An Otherworldly Scholar - 108

“I… The System asked me to relay you a message,” Firana muttered. “He said we are behind schedule.”

The damp, cold air of the underground shrine stuck to the gray walls. Far from the sun and the court intrigue, time stood still, and seconds became eternal. Firana’s words reverberated against the bare stone until silence reigned, but my brain refused to process the message. My eyes fell on the girl. Despite her carefree attitude, she was far from stupid and knew something odd...

Scholar

brittle bones

An Otherworldly Scholar - 107

At some point during the winter, I had become an old man. After lunch, I was sitting outside the kitchen window with a steaming cup of Moss tea and a heavy blanket on my legs. My eyelids felt heavy, and I started to doze. The sky was still covered in gray clouds, but there were already hints of spring here and there; the cold wasn’t biting as harshly as weeks ago, and Elincia had shed her heavy dresses for more comfortable garments.

Two days had passed since Sir Enric’s assassinatio...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 106

Prince Adrien sat behind the desk, nervously chewing on a cigarette. Not once in all the months I had lived in Farcrest had I seen anyone smoking, which was strange considering back on Earth, smoking was an activity enjoyed in every civilization I could think of. If the System registered smoking as a debuff-worthy activity, it wasn’t a surprise most people avoided it.

It wasn’t a surprise either that the Prince craved the bitter relief of the smoke. Sir Enric’s death was secondary...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 105

The Fortifier’s barrier shattered like crystal. The layers collapsed one after the other, showering the room with a rain of multicolor mana. It would've been a breathtaking show if it weren’t for the corpse in the adjacent room. Time was up. I left the interrogation room and approached the Prince. In the safe room, the factions of noble houses looked at each other with increasing suspicion. I knew Prince Adrien wouldn’t be able to hold them any longer.

“Time’s up. Did you find...