Valerian exited the bathroom, his long hair still slightly wet from the bath. As he made his way to the bed where the spatial ring with his outfit lay, a warm gust of wind dried his body and hair.
By the time he was standing in front of the bed, his body was already completely dry. Ignoring the ring for now, he moved onto the bed and let himself fall into it.
It was extremely soft and comfortable; the plush blanket and pillows made for the perfect place to fall asleep. But Valerian couldn’t sleep just yet; he still had to attend the banquet tonight.
The rulebook he had just read made it very clear that the apex of every year was required to attend any official school events, representing their year with dignity and pride.
Which was unfortunate for Valerian, as he hated attending any kind of event, be it noble or school related, his motivation was nonexistent.
Most of the rules in the academy revolved around rankings and duels between students.
It was permitted to challenge another student to a one on one duel; if the person challenged was at a lower rank than the challenger, they had the right to refuse the duel without consequences.
However, if someone challenged a person who ranked higher than them, the challenged student had to accept and fight. This was implemented so students couldn’t simply sit on the ranks they had achieved during the ranking tournament, but actively had to defend them.
Yet the duel didn’t have to be about rank, students could fight over anything, whether it was money, a favor, or who got to sit next to the person they both liked in class.
The loser had to honor the agreement, or else they would face heavy repercussions.
If they chose to fight for rank and the lower ranked person won, they would take over the position of the loser, while the loser was demoted to the rank of the winner. Rising through the rankings was something every student was expected to aim for, as a higher rank granted access to better dorm rooms, more resources, or even a personal mentor.
And then there was the elite class.
Only the top twenty students were allowed to join the elite class, which provided a tremendous boost in education and opportunities to grow stronger.
The other students were randomly distributed among the 5,242 other classes, meaning rank 21 could end up in the same class as the very last rank. Normally, fitting over 5,000 classes into a single school would be impossible, but once again, Sylas Starlight made it happen.
Other than that, there wasn’t really anything important or interesting about the rules. It was mostly the standard regulations: no stealing, no unauthorized fights, and so on.
Valerian let himself sink a bit further into the soft mattress. The gentle blanket and sweet fragrance enticed his tired soul to simply lie down and sleep.
Yet he knew he couldn’t afford to sleep just yet. He propped himself up and crossed his legs.
’I should be able to heal my soul with [Genesis Spark], right?’
It was a thought that had crossed his mind during the bath: that perhaps his newest affinity could mend the damage he had dealt to his own soul. Curious, he pulled up the description of the affinity.
[Description]
[Affinity: Genesis Spark: The primordial ember of creation born from the dying sovereign of azure flames. Transcending conventional healing magic, it possesses authority over life itself, capable of mending fractured souls, revitalizing dying vitality, and creating fresh life from the most desolate wastelands.]
Looking at the hologram before him, his eyes locked onto the line about healing fractured souls. Mending a soul was far beyond the scope of conventional life affinity. Healing wounds that would normally prove fatal or even reviving someone shortly after death were both possible through life magic, but healing the soul, the non physical essence of a being, was entirely out of its reach.
’Still, it should work.’
Valerian trusted the information displayed by the status screen. The only thing left to do was test it.
He channeled his mana through his [Genesis Spark] affinity. Immediately, a wave of warmth surged through his body as the affinity searched for any physical damage to mend.
Finding none, it settled into a neutral state, waiting for Valerian’s command.
’Let’s see... healing the soul.’
Honestly, he had no idea where to begin. How did one channel something directly into their soul? Where did the soul even reside? In the brain, inside the mana core, or somewhere else entirely?
He channeled his affinity aimlessly through his body, attempting to direct it toward what he presumed was his soul. Yet all his concentration bore no fruit; the exhaustion didn’t lessen in the slightest.
’This is way harder than I thought.’
Normally, anything related to mana and magic came naturally to him thanks to his title as the [Child of Mana]. But locating the soul wasn’t something accomplished through mana alone, leaving him completely at his wit’s end.
-Maybe I can help-
Valerie’s voice echoed through his mind, offering an alternative.
’Yeah, that could work. You should know how to reach my soul.’
Valerie was linked directly to Valerian’s soul; as the personification of [Law Breaker], she had come into existence alongside him, their beings fundamentally intertwined.
-Just... channel [Genesis Spark]-
Complying without hesitation, Valerian activated his affinity. Once the initial physical scan concluded and the energy shifted back into its neutral state, Valerie began guiding the mana on her own.
Valerian relinquished control over his mana, allowing Valerie to take over completely, trusting her implicitly.
The warmth flared hotter in his chest before abruptly vanishing. Before Valerian could even question what had happened, the warmth returned, except this time, it wasn’t localized to his chest, but in a space entirely disconnected from his physical body.
It was an uncanny sensation, as though he could feel the burning aura simultaneously in the air around him, within his physical flesh, and in an entirely different plane altogether.
The affinity began repairing what Valerian could only assume was his soul, and the deep seated fatigue began to recede piece by piece.
’Haaa, this feels good.’
-Ew-
Refusing to let Valerie ruin his mood, Valerian simply basked in the soothing sensation of his soul strain subsiding.
Unfortunately, before the strain could fade entirely, the warmth sputtered out and retreated back into his physical frame, leaving him completely baffled.
’What just happened? Why did the healing stop?’
-That’s all your current affinity can manage. It couldn’t heal your soul completely, but it managed to patch up some of it. Sorry...-
Valerie’s voice carried a hint of sadness, tinged with disappointment in herself for failing to restore him fully.
’It’s not your fault, dummy. I just need to get better at utilizing [Genesis Spark].’
While Valerie fell silent after that, Valerian rose from the oversized bed that was far too vast for a single person, stretching his limbs.
Although the exhaustion hadn’t completely cleared, it had lessened enough that he no longer felt like collapsing on the spot.
’Now for the final test.’
Sending a pulse of mana through his space affinity, the fabric of space folded around him, and he materialized several meters ahead.
Valerian could still feel his body push back against the distortion of space, but at least the sharp pain was gone, replaced by mere resistance.
’Good enough.’
Content with the result, Valerian glanced at his watch. He still had three hours before the banquet and needed a way to pass the time.
’What should I do?’
There was nothing pressing on his schedule that required immediate attention, leaving him with three hours of unexpected downtime.
’Should I go see her...?’
The thought of finding Seraphine lingered for a moment; he wanted to properly finish the conversation they had started before his summons to the principal’s office. At the same time, a slight hesitation held him back from facing her again so soon.
’Ah, whatever. We’ll run into each other at the banquet anyway. I’d rather get some rest.’
Having made up his mind, he returned to the massive bed and collapsed onto the soft mattress, surrendering to the pull of sleep, though not before leaving a final instruction for Valerie.
’Can you wake me up in two hours or so?’
-Sure, I can do that. Good night.-
’Good night.’
With that, sleep finally claimed him as he rested after an exhausting day. Unfortunately for Valerian, he had no idea that Valerie was just as drained as he was; she drifted off to sleep mere minutes after him, leaving him with only a handful of minutes before the banquet was set to begin, and before he was supposed to deliver his opening speech.
A/N:
Hey, I just wanted to let you guys know, in case you haven’t joined the Discord yet, which you should, by the way, the novel has reached 1,000 collections on Webnovel!
As a thank-you for the support, I want to try and prepare a mass release by the end of the week.
So thank you for your support, and I will see you in the next Chapter!
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