BXBX NOVEL Chapter 8 A World-Class Difficulty Task Paired By Heavenly Defying Rewards
The next day.
Varoha Village, Volcanic Grassy Plain.
A group of burly men wearing thick winter coats rode on the backs of the ferocious-looking polar war bears. The demonic beasts had big bodies like their riders, wearing large saddles on their sturdy backs.
The polar war bear's sharp claws and big paws intimidated the demi-humans, further worsening their fear as the menacing eyes of the polar war bears eyed them with great interest. Their mouths let out low growls, baring their teeth which saliva dripped from within.
At the center of the formation was a very large polar war bear. Atop it sat a dignified northerner carrying a great axe with his left hand. One of his accomplices approached him.
"Derko, did these demi-humans spot our royal princess?", one could hear the hint of arrogance and confidence behind the man's voice.
Derko, the man's confidant, bowed in fear and reported, "Sir Erik, they did notice a group of bandits passing a few days ago. Princess Olivia was being carried by them on a metal cage."
Erik let out a smirk, "Is that so? Men! Kill these wretched beings! How dare they collude with the bandits to capture our dear Princess Olivia! Burn their houses and let them know who they are dealing with!"
The demi-humans cried out, begging Erik to not kill them or burn their houses. They had families, children, and livestock.
Going back earlier, these northerners just blatantly entered their village and mauled the village chief. They then sacked each house and carried the people outside.
Among the demi-humans was Akane, Emi's big sister, "You can't do this to us! We have never colluded with any bandits! How dare you accuse of something despicable; you damn northerner brute!"
Erik and the others heard it and they laughed at Akane's brave front of a woman. They always ridiculed women like this who thought they were strong to contend against burly men like them.
"I like this demi-human. Keep her and bring her to me. I'd like to see how far your stubbornness will last!"
Three northerner warriors went over and pushed Akane to the ground. Erik hopped off his polar war bear and approached Akane, holding her head, and stared at her, "When we go back at home, I'm going to brand you as my slave, demi-human. You should've been better off dead, but it looks like you have chosen the hard path."
He slapped her and turned around, "Make haste! We still have our princess to save. These demi-humans aren't worth our time."
As the main group left off, the rest remained and massacred the entire village.
"Sir Erik, was it necessary to kill the villagers as well?", Derko asked.
Erik was the captain of their Norvas Corps 2nd Squad. He set off from the Norva Assili a few days ago after hearing that Princess Olivia had met with an accident.
He was a determined and merciless person, going all to the ends of Aludia just to save Princess Olivia and get her back. After all, everyone in the Norva Assili empire knew how infatuated this guy was to the royal princess, disgusting many people as he proclaimed his love on an underage girl.
The high king, Garron, punished him severely that day that he went to the hospital and required 5 months to recover. Ever since then, Erik became subversive and more desperate to get Olivia.
Truth be told, Derko was unsettled when he was assigned to the same squad as Erik. However, he had to put up with Erik's air for him to live another day.
"Do you have any objections to my decision as squad leader, Derko?", Erik threatened him.
"No, sir. I'm… just curious.", Derko went away quickly, 'Erik Siegfried, you've messed up good this time. The first squad is trailing behind us. Let's see how you deal with the high king's rage when Bordon reports your atrociousness back at the empire.'
Derko, like the rest of the people in Norva Assili, has long awaited to have Erik be done in and punished to death. This guy was only living because he had three uncles in the elder seat protecting him at all cost.
The Siegfried Clan has been eyeing the high seat for years and Erik was their best chance at it. Although his morality was questionable, his ambition for power and the strength to back it was more than enough to assist them in their goals.
Otherwise, with his behavior and personality, Erik would've been long buried in the cold snow of the Northern Glacial continent, regardless of whether he was from the Siegfried Clan or not.
On the other hand, Erik snorted and ignored his confidant, staring at the distance as their group made way to the east, 'No one can stop me for I am destined to be the high king of Norva Assili! Just you wait Olivia, how dare you run away from home like that. I'm going to teach her a lesson soon.'
…
Heavenly Magic Academy.
Eluard had a good night's sleep. He dreamt of finally recruiting the first 5 students to his academy, 'Ah, today's going to be a good day.'
He got up and looked at his system panel.
"I think I should use two academy invitations today. That Lucan might be on his way back, or not. Regardless, I'll wait for one more day. If he doesn't come back during that time, I'll make use of another academy invitation."
He had to quickly finish the first main task and receive his magical talent to start cultivating. Power was the way in this world.
After setting himself up, he equipped the mask and the robe then went out of the headmaster's room. His private room was directly connected to the headmaster's office, making it convenient for Eluard to switch between them.
Near his office was the public library. The books on the first floor were mostly about historical literature and other stuff. The rest then revolved around magic.
Eluard ignored it for now and strode towards the main hallway. There were some holes above that allowed the natural golden light to pass through. It felt refreshing for the skin and the atmosphere in this large area.
Eluard was currently staring at the resources tab in his system panel.
[ Academy Resources ]
[ Resources are physically stored in the academy warehouse on the northwestern side, right beside your office. ]
[
477 Blue Magic Crystals (consumes 10 per day, projected to increase to 30)
5 Student Uniforms
]
'Only these?', Eluard was at a loss for words. He thought that there would be at least some 'lost artifact' hanging around the Heavenly Magic Academy's warehouse. Or maybe some hidden cultivation manuals just like what the other characters would find from the novels he read back on Earth.
[ Books (Public Library) ]
[ Books are resources that could be temporarily borrowed by students and must be returned at a specific time. Failure to do so will incur punishment to the violators. ]
[ Some books are only available based on a student's rank, year, and position in the academy ]
[ These rules are exempted should the academy master personally allow the students to borrow the restricted books ]
He then saw a long list of books that made his head ache just by reading their titles, "System, are you suggesting that I should read these books during my leisure time?"
[ Host, as the academy master, your knowledge should be vast and your wisdom should be extraordinary, unmatched in the entirety of Aludia ]
[ Issuing new Special Task ]
[ Special Task 3: Ignorance is not bliss ]
[ In this world full of mysteries you have never experienced before, you should be knowledgeable not only in magic but in other fields and arts as well. Danger lurks around the corner and not knowing the possible enemy or friends you could make will put you on edge at all times. Continue gathering knowledge in the public library and other places of Aludia ]
[ Reward: Manipulation of Space and Time ]
[ Note: This special task is split into multiple subtasks. Each subtask can be completed in any order and does not have a time limit. Once all the subtasks are finished, you will then be bountifully rewarded for your efforts ]
[ Subtask 1: The Heavenly Magic Academy's Public Library ]
[ Read all the books in the academy's public library from the first floor to the sixth floor. Once ready, an assessment will be conducted by answering a test designed by the system ]
[ Reward: None ]
[ … ]
Rows of successive prompts filled Eluard's eyes that almost overwhelmed him and lose consciousness.
'Damn, more than 10 subtasks all in all.'
He was rather shocked by the reward introduced by the system; but knowing how difficult this special task was, Eluard thought it was deserving as well. As for the blank rewards by fulfilling each subtask?
Eluard wasn't a fool and a narrow-minded person. Reading each book, or any other form of record allows him to understand more of the culture, hierarchy, knighthood, magic, politics, and the nature of the inhabitants here in Aludia.
In addition, the Heavenly Magic Academy's large assortment of magical books could help him in his magical cultivation journey. Their contents varied from magic spells, spellcasting, incantating, array formations, pill concoction, and many more.
Just that alone was a self-reward on his efforts of reading them and understanding each content with great perseverance. If he had to ask more from the system, that would be plain greediness and stupidity.
Lastly, his identity as the academy master of the fabled Heavenly Magic Academy forces him to become an all-knowing being just as what the legendary stories have described.
Also, sooner or later, he would be conversing with the high-ranking personalities in Aludia, negotiating with factions and empires, or waging war to the demons in the Wastes.
'The third special task's title suits it well. Ignorance is not bliss in this case, really.', shaking his head and sighed in defeat.
He could feel the burden on his shoulders increasing but for some reason, Eluard found it fulfilling as well. As someone who was just a nobody from Earth, with this second life of his, he might as well change his nature and try to achieve something glorious this time.
'There are things in my past life I am not proud to have achieved, and others I regret not achieving.'
He looked at his hands that were trembling in both fear and excitement, clenching them tightly, and swore in his heart.
'In this life, may the previous me be gone, for I desire to change for the better and not waste this chance given to me by whoever did this.'