Fantasy Libary 26

Title: An Unexpected Invitation

Seidoukan Academy, Underground Storage Facility.

The lighting remained dim, illuminated only by the faint green glow emanating from chunks of Manadyte. The shimmering light cast a soft hue across the room.

*CRACK!*

The sound of shattering echoed as pieces of Manadyte crumbled into dust. The Mana contained within flowed out, transforming into streams of green light that, under the pull of a brilliant red glow, converged toward Ark.

With his eyes closed, Ark held the activation device for Ser-Veresta, which shimmered with a deep crimson light. The light drew in a massive amount of Mana.

As the energy infused him, Ark’s strength as a Genestella continued to grow, his aura becoming more impressive with each passing moment.

“Huff...”

After a while, Ark exhaled deeply and opened his eyes.

“That’s enough for now.”

At his command, Ser-Veresta ceased its radiant glow, halting the flow of mana. The remaining energy dissipated into the air.

Stretching out his empty hand, Ark experimentally flexed his fingers before smiling in satisfaction.

“Not bad. A perfect improvement.”

This marked the third time Ark had absorbed energy from Manadyte with the help of Ser-Veresta.

Although it was only the third session, his progress was already evident. His physical abilities and prana had significantly increased.

Now, compared to when he first arrived in this world, Ark’s strength had multiplied several times over.

“At this point, I could easily defeat Arcadi Finken without relying on Ser-Veresta.” He thought confidently.

When Ark had initially challenged Arcadi Finken, he had only absorbed Manadyte once. His physical abilities and prana were inferior to the former Page One member.

Back then, if Ark hadn’t relied on the combat instincts granted by his Authority, he would have barely been able to hold his own against Finken.

Now, after two additional absorption sessions, Ark’s body and energy had improved so drastically that he surpassed Finken in both aspects.

With his enhanced strength, skills, and awareness, there was no longer any reason to believe he would lose to Finken.

Even without Ser-Veresta, Ark estimated he could defeat Finken in ten moves or less.

This realization brought a wide smile to his face.

“Now, I finally have strength comparable to Page One. I’ve truly gained the power of a top-ranked competitor!”

With newfound confidence, Ark mused, “Even without Ser-Veresta, I could break into the top ten. Maybe even the top five.”

Thinking of Julis, he smirked. “If I faced her now—without Ser-Veresta—I wouldn’t lose. Unless she holds back, the fifth-ranked Witch of the Resplendent Flame might not be able to withstand me.”

And with Ser-Veresta?

“I don’t need to wait for the next Official Ranked Battle—I could challenge that shy little girl right now.” He murmured, a faint smile playing on his lips as he thought of Kirin.

“I wonder how she’s doing...”

The incident outside the girls’ dormitory, where Kirin had saved Julis, had become a hot topic online. Of course, Ark’s involvement was also mentioned.

The post highlighted that after Kirin saved Julis, Ark had stepped in to save Kirin from a sneak attack.

Reportedly, Kirin hadn’t been seen since the incident, only appearing in her first-year middle school classes. Even then, she seemed restless, as if the event had done her more harm than good.

“She probably got scolded by that controlling uncle of hers.” Ark guessed.

Since then, he found his thoughts occasionally drifting to Kirin.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t run into her around the academy recently and didn’t know how she was doing.

*BEEP!*

Lost in thought while adjusting to his enhanced body, Ark was startled by a notification.

In front of him, a virtual interface popped up, displaying an incoming message.

“Huh?”

Ark stared at the virtual window displaying the message, momentarily stunned.

“Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld?”

Indeed, the sender was none other than Julis herself.

The content was simple: as thanks for saving her during the sneak attack, she planned to treat Ark and Kirin to a meal over the weekend.

“Who would’ve thought Her Highness would invite someone out to eat?”

Honestly, Ark was surprised.

If his memory served him right, Julis wasn’t just beautiful and strong, but she also had an extraordinary lineage. However, her overly honest personality and blunt way of speaking made her incredibly difficult to get along with.

Julis had joined Seidoukan Academy in her third year of high school and had been there for about a year. Yet, during that time, she hadn’t made any close friends except for Claudia, who occasionally appeared by her side.

And now, this same Julis was proactively inviting people out to eat?

“Could it be... a date?”

Something amusing seemed to cross Ark’s mind as he smiled meaningfully.

“Outside the academy, huh?”

Ark found the idea intriguing.

Now that he thought about it, since arriving in this world, he hadn’t left Seidoukan Academy to explore the outside world.

Although Asterisk was essentially a city of duels, it also had normal residential areas, shopping districts, and commercial zones alongside the six academies and the stage for the Festa.

“A rare opportunity. Might as well check it out.”

It would also give him a chance to see how Kirin was doing.

Still, Ark wondered if the girl, under the control of her overbearing uncle, would even be allowed to accept the invitation...

After pondering this, he didn’t waste any time typing a reply to Julis.

“I’ll be there on time.”

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

Weekend, Outside Seidoukan Academy’s Gates

On this day, Ark, now accustomed to his enhanced strength, unusually chose not to start his morning with training. Instead, he dressed in casual clothes and headed to the meeting spot.

“Ark! Over here!”

As he stepped out of the school gates, a voice called out to him.

Surprisingly, the speaker wasn’t Julis herself, but someone else.

The young man had messy black hair, a relaxed demeanor, and was dressed casually: a shirt, a thin jacket, and jeans. His appearance and outfit seemed rather ordinary.

Seeing him, Ark’s expression turned into a calm, amused smile.

“So it’s you, Amagiri.”

The speaker was none other than Amagiri Ayato.

Standing next to Ayato was Julis herself.

In contrast to Ayato’s simple attire, Julis was dressed in a strikingly different, almost childish style compared to her usual demeanor. She wore a black and pink one-piece dress, slightly short at the hem, with lace-patterned knee-high socks covering her slender legs. She carried an umbrella in her hand, completing the look.

If anyone who knew Julis saw her like this, they might think they were hallucinating.

Even Ayato, standing beside her, clearly looked surprised, his nervousness making him seem like an awkward friend feeling out of place.

“You’re here?” Julis glanced at Ark, giving him a quick once-over, then nodded in satisfaction.

“Good. This is much better. At least you’re dressed neatly, unlike someone here, who’s dressed so sloppily it’s hard to look at.”

Ark wasn’t dressed too formally either, but his white shirt paired with a black jacket, black pants, and sneakers gave off a simple yet stylish vibe that was far better than Ayato’s casual outfit.

“It’s just something I grabbed from my closet.” Ark replied honestly. Then, before Julis could say more, he smirked at the two of them.

“You know, you didn’t have to invite us. You could’ve just gone on a date by yourselves.”

With that one line, Ark managed to shock both Julis and Ayato.

The two immediately reacted.

“What-!”

“That’s not it!”

Ark smirked inwardly as the flustered pair tried to defend themselves.