<h4>Chapter 23: Hidden Piece</h4>
Rachael, Charlotte, Sharon, and I were sitting around the long dining table.
The maids had already left after serving the food and were waiting outside.
"..."
The dining room was awkwardly silent, with only the sound of cutlery moving, until the ever-so-clueless Charlotte abruptly broke the hush.
"Master! We need another dining table, a small one."
It seems our Charlotte suddenly realized that the table was too big for only four people.
"Then I leave this task for you toplete."
"Lvm tom me!"
While chewing, she mumbled something nobody could understand.
"Okay, why don''t you try saying that without your mouth full."
Slurp!
Gulp!
"Pahaa! ... Master, I said leave it to me."
In front of me, Charlotte loudly slurped down the noddles and eximed in delight.
"Ugh! Charlotte, your etiquette?"
"Master, food is best enjoyed without the constraints of etiquette."
She looked smug as she replied, and I found myself inwardly agreeing with her.
''I know, it''s the best if you can enjoy it the way you like.''
Nevertheless, the words that left my mouth werepletely different from what was in my head.
"Are you a barbarian?"
"Master! I am your Shadow."
"Then behave like one... Also, are you implying that I am a barbarian?"
"How could I, Master?"
Charlotte ced a hand on her breast and then exaggeratedly said, while looking up,
"May the Lord make me choke on coke if I ever lie to you, Master."
"That doesn''t sound very believable."
"Master!"
"Idiot!"
With that, Charlotte and I got into a childish argument, which gradually diffused the awkward atmosphere in the room.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Sharon and Rachael giggling at our antics, yet as our friendly banter continued, Rachael''s smile froze and her expressions began to morph.
nk!
Subsequently, the fork that she was subconsciously clenching tightly, slipped from her hand and fell on the floor, which seemed to have immediately awoken her from her dazed state.
"Ah, Oh!... I am sorry."
After a moment, her facial expressions returned to normal, and she hurriedly apologized before bending over to pick up the fork.
Charlotte and I also stopped quarreling and returned our attention to our meals.
But I must admit that I was a little taken aback by Rachael''s series of actions.
Despite the fact that I had done a lot of things today to influence Rachael''s opinion of me, the progress seemed to have exceeded my expectations for some reason.
This was undoubtedly a good development, and I was naturally very happy.
Realizing that this was also an opportunity, I decided to break the tension between us.
"Rachael, how was your day? Were there any problems during work?"
Rachael, who listened to me while eating and drinking, raised her head.
She appeared genuinely surprised by my question, as if she couldn''t believe I would speak to her first.
"... Good, I... No problem... Thank you."
Flustered, the words that spewed from her nervous mouth were like a song from a broken radio.
But I didn''t mind it because it was the first sentence she had spoken to me sincest night.
Pleased with the result, I replied with a calm, tender smile.
"I am relieved to hear that, and there''s no need for thanks between us."
"...Yes."
Despite the fact that the interaction hardly qualified as a conversation, I noticed Rachel''s lips had a slight upward curl, and her body movements seemed more leisurely than usual.
''Looks like my guess was correct, Rachael''s feelings have started to change.''
Putting aside my feelings for her, Rachael was a crucial part of my ns because her very existence could determine the course of many future variables, especially the Protagonist, who was her brother.
Speaking of which, there was a good chance that the protagonist woulde straight here to find Rachael after returning from the Dungeon Crack, even if I didn''t go looking for him.
''Calcting the time, it should be when Rachael''s event urred in the novel.''
''It looks like I need to do some nning to make sure I get the most out of it.''
Noting that in my head, I slowly finished my meal, wiped my lips with a napkin, and then stood up.
Soon, everyone had finished their meals and had returned to their rooms, with Charlotte following me and Sharon following Rachael.
Already used to sleeping with someone to cuddle with, I wanted someone tonight, but since I couldn''t call Rachael, I thought of the next best thing.
"Charlotte, sleep with me."
With a serious expression, I confronted my trusted shadow bodyguard.
"Huh?!"
Charlotte''s face turned red at my words.
With nervousness and anticipation, Charlotte asked while lowering her head and tapping her fingers together.
"Master, is it finally my night with you?"
At that moment, I realized my verbal error, and my eyebrows twitched at her actions.
If it weren''t for these traits, I would have really broken my character.
"Idiot!"
I flicked her forehead and said, "I am talking about sleeping in the same bed, nothing else."
"Oh, oh, Okay."
A look of disappointment appeared on her face, but she quickly changed it into a cheerful one.
We both changed into our respective nightclothes, and Charllote fell on the bed, with me pulling her in for a hug as she fell asleep cuddling with me.
However, contrary to her, I waspletely awake.
A lot of thoughts were going through my head as I looked at the red-haired sleeping beauty with a sharp gaze.
It wasn''t that I was a wimp with no backbone to reject a beauty like her who came into my arms on her own.
But as the author of this story, I knew it wasn''t time to clean her up yet.
However,
"It will be soon, very soon."
* * * *
Next day,
I woke up refreshed after an extremelyfortable sleep.
Charlotte''s pillow was beyond my expectations, and in the overall ranking, it was the second best I have experienced so far, even surpassing Maria''s and just below Seo-ah''s.
Regrettably, I was drunk out of my mind that night, so I couldn''t recall Rachael''s, or I could have made a better ranking.
Anyway,
Simr to yesterday, I rose from the bed, took a bath, and got ready.
Today, however, I decided to wear a dark blue textured suit.
Surprisingly, today''s breakfast was made by Rachael and to say it was delicious would be an understatement.
Furthermore, Sharon bringing up the topic of future ns and then introducing Rachael into the conversation seemed to have cheered the girl up.
Making the breakfast less awkward than the dinnerst night.
Progress with Rachael was going at a solid pace, and I was confident that by the time her event came, I would be able to greatly profit from it.
Which would also help to increase Rachel''s favorability towards me to unbelievable heights.
Anyhow, soon it was time to go to the Magic Tower, and I left with Charlotte, while Rachael was being taught by Sharon at the vi.
Coming back to the first auditorium, a familiar scene from yesterday appeared in front of my eyes.
Sylvia was once again bullied by the same group of girls.
Looking at this sight, I couldn''t help but chuckle involuntarily, because I remembered how Sylvia struggled to pass the test yesterday.
She thought that everything would be alright as long as she passed the test and became a Tower apprentice.
''Should I say she was really naive?''
The girls picking on her were also Magic Tower apprentices, and if results werepared, they fared better than Sylvia.
Therefore, even if the situation worsened, the clever Mages of the Tower would never support Sylvia.
To be honest, Sylvia shouldn''t have been like that, and with her superior talent and ss, she was supposed to face p her way to the top.
But thanks to my intervention, everyone in this auditorium had already trampled on her conceit, and she was now known as the worst yer.
This situation was exactly what I wanted.
So without further ado, I approached the group of girls, who, when they saw meing, had a look of fear in their eyes.
"Leave!" I said only one word in an authoritative voice, my cold eyes looking down on them.
The leader among them, a hazel brown haired girl, couldn''t help but grit her teeth at my actions.
Nheless, at the end, she didn''t choose to confront me, and with just an "Humph!" She turned around and left for her seat with the other girls.
My gaze turned to Sylvia, who had her head lowered.
"Are you alright?"
"Um..."
"You shouldin to the Tower Mage about it."
"Um..."
No matter how I tried to talk, her ungrateful attitude remained the same.
It appeared as though she found my presence repulsive.
''Do you think Ie to help you and am a soft persimmon? Want to take out your frustration on me?''
''I was thinking to go easy on you today since I am happy about getting the reward, but now it looks like there''s no need for it.''
A cold, ruthless light shed past my eyes.
"I would not be able to go with you today, so be careful when outside the Tower." I said this, pretending to be concerned.
Then, as if thinking of something, I reached into my pants pocket, took out my business card, and left it on her desk.
"Take this card of mine, and call me if you have any problems outside."
With that, I didn''t wait for her response, and sat down behind her with a yful look on my face.
Not long after that, Roman arrived and started teaching.
It was a good ss where everyone was able to learn about some unique things that opened a new perspective for them on how they looked at the world.
However, it was totally opposite for Sylvia, who was constantly and secretly attacked by my skill: ''Intimidation.''
Her mind was in chaos, and whenever Roman questioned her based on what he had exined, Sylvia wasn''t able to answer even once.
To be honest, it was truly an entertaining ss for me, looking at Sylvia''s crumbling expressions.
But when it ended, another, bigger happiness awaited me as Roman called me outside after the ss.
Finally, it was time for my reward.
Anyway, I only gave one response when Roman asked what I wanted as my reward.
"I want knowledge."
"Knowledge?"
"Yes, I want the highest permission in the Magic Tower Library you can give based on my reward."
* * * * *
The Library inside the Magic Tower contained the soul and blood of all Mages that had existed in the long history of Nexus World.
It was a treasure trove of endless knowledge.
One doesn''t even know how much experience, and how many types of skills one would be able to acquire here.
But my ss wasn''t a mage-type, and I knew that even after struggling extremely hard, I might barely be able to learn a skill or two here.
Therefore, for me,ing to this library had only one goal.
"The ''Hidden Piece'' that would help me take the first step to an invincible future"
The Magic Tower Library had a total of 5 floors, and after much wrangling, I was barely granted permission to enter the second floor, where the hidden piece was.
In fact, it was just called hidden, but it wasn''t really hidden, and after taking out only a few books on the topic of ''Increasing Mana Reserves,'' I was able to find it easily.
"Finally!"
In my hand was an old, brown leather book.
"System scan."
Ding!
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[Failed Mana Reserve Enhancement Technique]
[Minimum Requirements: Mana Affinity (B), Mana: 11]
[Description: A failed mana technique created by a delusional Mage who thought that by storing mana in different parts of the body, he would be able to increase his Mana Capacity.]
——————————————————
What the description said was 100% urate, one could never increase their Mana capacity with this thing.
Instead, when you use this technique, you end up losing your mana capacity.
However, what most people don''t know was that if this technique were used on every part of the body, although the person would lose a huge amount of Mana capacity, but the body as a whole would also undergo a qualitative change.
Which would lead to the development of an extraordinary trait inside them.
[Revered Physique (S)]
Whenbined with Mana affinity, it was a trait that could eliminate all limitations and open up endless possibilities.
"Truly, sometimes, one man''s waste is another man''s treasure."
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[A/N: Shout out to "MrGibberish" for the Spacecraft and "opiium" for the Pizza.]
Thanks a lot, guys, your support means a lot to me.
Now I can brag too because of your support. I am very happy.
[I know I said to upload this chapter in the morning, and I am behind schedule.]
[I have no excuses, I AM SORRY. I fell asleep because I had barely gotten to sleep for two days and woke up with a headache. I will try my best to catch up with the next chapter and upload it as quickly as I can]