NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Dark de Mont Tries to Become a Top Student
Chapter 5: Dark de Mont Tries to Become a Top Student
"After returning, don't forget to use your House Card to check the school rules. Finally, I wish all new students to find your own value in Saint Marian Academy over the next six years!"
The opening ceremony concluded amidst the students' cheers.
Headmaster Arte did not offer any plot-guiding hints like Headmaster Dumbledore in Harry Potter.
This left Dark feeling somewhat uncertain.
However, upon closer reflection, he reasoned that even if something bad were to happen, the protagonist would be the one to deal with it. What did it have to do with him, a villain?
He should focus on taking care of himself!
Saint Marian Academy was a closed school. Students could not leave the campus except during annual holidays.
Once the school gates closed, money, power, and connections would be cut off from the outside world.
Knowledge, ability, and academic credits were the greatest determinants of rank.
Even as the son of a Duke, becoming a bottom-ranked student would invite scorn.
Moreover, those who could enter Saint Marian Academy were all future Archmages; they held no fear of noble authority.
Dark was aware that his reputation was less than stellar. Only the Noble House students, being pure-blooded nobles themselves, might feel some empathy and befriend him.
But this suited his intentions perfectly. He wanted to reduce social interactions, cultivate his character, and while maintaining a detached lifestyle, delve into knowledge and find a way to completely eradicate the Demon God bloodline before it fully awakened!
Saint Marian Academy, second only to the Holy Rite Academy within the kingdom, possessed the deepest foundations and the largest collection of books. If even here he couldn't find a method to remove the Demon God bloodline, then it was essentially hopeless.
…
Following the senior students, they exited the great hall, ascended the marble stairs, traversed winding corridors filled with portraits, and crossed a high-hanging bridge. Finally, the Noble House freshmen arrived at the tower located in the southwest of the academy – the Noble House dormitory!
Saint Marian Academy had four such towers, each with nine floors excluding the basement.
The first floor served as a common room.
From the second floor upwards were the dormitories for first to sixth-year students, in ascending order.
The eighth floor above was a dueling practice room, and the ninth floor was an observatory!
The guardian golem of the Noble House was a legendary creature known as the "Feathered Serpent"!
Feathered Serpents possessed vibrant, colorful wings. They were profound and wise, gentle and elegant.
Incapable of lying, they could see through falsehood and perceive truth, earning them the title of "Truth Speakers"!
The Noble House dormitory tower was unique among the four houses in that it didn't require any credentials, passwords, or other "keys" to enter directly.
This was due to the presence of the Feathered Serpent golem.
Simply passing before this golem allowed it to discern whether or not you were a student of the Noble House.
Dark watched as Diana dashed into the tower with her usual fiery energy and followed suit.
As he passed before the Feathered Serpent, the golem perched by the entrance abruptly opened its serpentine eyes. The pupils were vertical, bright, and full of spirit, utterly unlike a lifeless golem!
Dark fell silent, holding his breath.
However, the white light emanating from the Feathered Serpent's eyes merely scanned him once before retracting.
Then, the Feathered Serpent closed its eyes again, becoming utterly still and silent.
Dark quickly quickened his pace, entering the tower, and finally released a heavy sigh of relief.
"...I almost thought the Demon God bloodline had been discovered!"
Originally, when Dark saw that the awakening of the Demon God bloodline even had a progress bar, he thought there was still room for error.
But now, seeing this, even with only 1% awakened, it couldn't escape the truth-seeing eyes of this Feathered Serpent golem!
"Is this the legendary hell difficulty?"
…
"Dark, what's your room number?"
Diana, clutching her House Card, ran back over.
Dark glanced at the entrance with lingering fear and injected magic power into his own House Card.
The "crown" pattern on the front of the House Card faded, revealing the information he sought.
"Room 201."
"Eh? Diana's is 233, that's so far away!"
"Aren't we in the same building?"
Dark casually brushed her off with a few words and quickly ascended to the second floor, finding the room located at the very front of the second floor.
Only after entering the room and locking the door did he gradually relax, a wry smile creeping onto his face.
"I haven't felt this much pressure in both lifetimes combined."
The dormitory was a single-person room, complete with a soft, large bed and a private bathroom.
Fresh bedding and a complete set of first-year textbooks were laid out on the bed.
Dark barely managed to make the bed before his brain, overwhelmed by fatigue, shut down.
"I'll think about it tomorrow!"
…
Dawn had just broken.
Dark wearily opened his eyes. A copper wall clock hung on the wall opposite the bed, its hands just pointing to six o'clock.
"Six o'clock? Classes start at eight, right... I'll sleep a little longer!"
[Laziness +1]
A cruel system notification suddenly floated before his eyes.
Dark jolted awake, all trace of sleepiness vanishing!
"Crap... a plant."
The [Wrath] index didn't increase. Dark wiped away a bead of sweat.
Currently, the smallest margin for error was with [Arrogance] and [Wrath], while [Jealousy] and [Gluttony] were relatively more lenient.
Fifteen minutes later.
Dark, now dressed in his school uniform, arrived at the common room on the first floor.
The Noble House uniform was black with gold trim, featuring a small crown emblem on the chest. The academy also provided a matching cardholder capable of holding twenty-one magic cards.
The common room was quiet. Magic lamps hanging on the walls automatically illuminated when someone entered.
Having lost the joy of a morning nap, Dark slumped into a seat with a despondent expression. He then took out his textbooks one by one from his shoulder bag.
To eradicate the Demon God bloodline, besides finding the right method, necessary knowledge and abilities were also crucial.
Imagine, how despairing would it be if a magic book containing the correct method was right in front of you, yet you couldn't understand it at all?
"The antonym of [Laziness] is [Diligence]."
Dark picked out the textbook needed for his first class today – Elementary Summoning Guide!
Summoning technique, as the means to awaken magic cards, was a fundamental spell every Archmage must master!
And scheduling Summoning class as the first lesson on Monday was to teach freshmen how to summon the familiars from their House Cards!
Under the slightly dim yellow light, Dark de Mont opened the textbook, beginning to preview in the common room, where he was the only person present.
…
A few minutes later, Dark gradually got into the zone.
In his previous life, he was at least a university graduate, possessing more than sufficient literacy skills.
Among his peers, the young mages, probably no one had stronger literacy skills than him.
"Perhaps becoming a top student wouldn't be bad either?"
[Arrogance +1]
"..."
Dark suddenly realized he had improved. He hadn't even mentioned that plant.
…
If one could get into a state of focused learning, the feeling was actually quite pleasant.
Because you could genuinely feel yourself making progress.
Humanity's thirst for knowledge was innate. Continuously acquiring knowledge, exploring the unknown, and solving mysteries were what paved the way for one great era after another.
After studying earnestly for an hour.
[Greed +1]
"Crap!"
[Wrath +1]
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