The chime of the Institute's evening bell roused Isaac from sleep, a deep, resonant toll that vibrated through the floorboards. Outside, the sun had begun its descent.
What time is it?
A glance at the time revealed it was already six o'clock. Four hours of reading, and yet his body still felt horrible. Legs sore, knees sore, everything was sore in general. The final light of dusk slanted through the stained-glass window, orange and gold.
Welcome dinner… Right.
I gotta go for that. Can't skip stuff like usual, and I can't afford to be late if I wanna laugh my ass off.
But…
What the HELL, Aveline?!
You said this slop was SHIT. And I read it and find out it's peak?!
'Reincarnated into the Finale'.
Sounds shitty from the title, but I am completely blown away.
The definition of what 'slop story' is so fucking different from that of Earth.
What the hell, bro?
Halfway through the story, the plot points are unique, and the plot twists are good. The characters are relatable, likable, and all of them are well developed, with them making logical decisions rather than being some stupid fucking loser. And hell, the power system is fleshed out rather than some basic Sword Aura Aether Martial Art bullshit.
This intrafictional piece of work is considered worse than the minimum, so much so that it's slop?!
How the fuck?!
If this were to be published back on Earth, not only would this reach stardom, but it would probably surpass, give or take 50% of popular literature.
Isaac lampooned.
Multiple thoughts recurred in his head, but one mainly prevailed.
These fuckers are smart. Really fucking smart.
Goddamn it.
I can't prove that everyone is a smartass, but I KNOW it.
For this to be considered, slop would mean the literacy rate of the entire world must be in the fucking high heavens. I'm seeing this author use words that I've never seen in an English dictionary before.
And I have read A LOT.
Ah jeez.
Another big divergence.
The main story better be the same lah.
| New Attribute: 'Media Literacy' unlocked |
| New Tittle: 'Mass Reader' unlocked |
???
Bu— W-wha— H-huh— Why— Exc— S-seriou—
HUH???
Ain't no fucking way this system just used 'authority' to give me fucking media literacy.
Are. We. Deadass?!
Yo… I don't need useless shit like this, bro… I need actual Attributes that benefit my daily life. I don't benefit ANYTHING from avoiding 'WE CAN'T FUCKING READ!' dude.
Tsk…
…
That's so stupid, man…
Nevermind.
"Temporal Anchor: Stats."
Name: |ERROR|
Class: Anomalous Entity
Title: "Eulogist of Every Truth", "Audience? of the Acts", "Adept of the Howling Void", "Mass Reader"
Age: 17 (Biological Age). 19 (Mental Age)
Stats:
- Strength: 1-Star
- Vitality: 3-Star
- Agility: 3-Star
- Intellect: 5-Star
- Stamina: 100%
Attributes:
Temporal Anchor (Passive?): A reminder that you're an outsider, you have been granted the authority to 'perceive' into the inhabitants of this world—With sufficient usage, you may see more…
Hollow Frame (Curable Debuff): While the mind is expansive, the body is a hollow joke—merely a shell incapable of expressing full potential in the material plane.
Media Literacy (Perpetual Passive): A product of narcissistic reading comprehension. An abrupt and uncanny faculty that renders narrative structure perceptible to you as if it were a physical memory—you apprehend Introductions, Catharses, Complexity, Culminations, Depth, Developments, Dynamics, Ideologies, Internal Conflicts, Main Themes, Philosophies, and Symbolisms with the same immediacy as one reads a sentence, be it aspects of a story or characters themselves.
Element Affinity:
Wind (Main Element): 2-Star
Mana Remaining: 300/300 MP
I DON'T FUCKING NEED THAT!
Urghhhh… This useless System bro~
Son, I'm gonna cry…
Isaac frustratingly dragged himself upright and retrieved his uniform from the wooden closet. It felt cool against his skin, and for a moment, he wondered if the NPCs of this world appreciated how comfortable such a uniform was.
Presentable, mostly. I should smooth my hair down…
Tsk... Stubborn.
Figures.
The state of his room was quite a mess. Dormitory rules were for students to be responsible for the cleanliness of their rooms until the deep clean at the end of every month. In a single day of moving in, Isaac single-handedly messed up his dorm. Pens and mechanical pencils all clicked out.
Fuck… All the documents of my passport and student registration are everywhere…
If the wind blows open that binder, then my room will be even more of a mess.
Should I close it… Nah, too far across from me.
Isaac exited his room into the busy hallway of seniors and juniors in the hallway. It was filled with murmured conversations and the thud of footsteps streaming toward the Tleli Dining Hall. He fell into step with the crowd, shoulders brushing against those of his peers.
Since arriving in this world, Isaac felt the faintest sense of security. Even with his new family, there was that nagging sense of fear. But within the narrative, he was finally just another student among many, drawn by the promise of a warm, welcoming meal and evening chatter.
By my logic, what are the odds of some Spell being aimed at me right now in this narrative fortress?
Less than one in a hundred.
How comforting.
Eat shit H̷̱̱͇̱͒̅͗̂͌̀́̈́͒͂̒̔͛̒̎̓͘̚͝ą̷͇͚͓̳̫̦͇̲̖̜̼̰̜̎̊͋̓͜͝ͅṛ̴̛̝̼̮͉͖͈͙̗̭̱̭͚͇͕̲͔͎͓̑͐̔̅̔̑̈́̋̎́͗̓͆̑̕͜͜͝b̸̳̱̭̹̺̯͈̝̯̫͕̠̱̄̌̊̄̅̍̓̒͒͌͒ȉ̷̛̜̯̟͎͓̤̮̖̼̹͎̟̲̫̼̈͆̋̉͛̾̿̆̿̏͜͝ň̷̡̡͖̠͉̻̬͓͎̼̺͓̘̪̫̽͌́͂̇̐̈́̉̈́̚g̴̛̤̫̝̝͙͓̙̘͚̗̠̘̤̦͙̱̈̃̋̇e̵̢̢̺͓̬̼͕͕͉̜̥̱̮͇̤̤͍̖͌́̋̋̾̀͌̒̇̄̊̊̋̋̎̂̅̚̚r̶̡̲̘̲̖̥͓̪̗̬̯͚͉͎̰̩̦̯̤̀̀͌̃͘͘͝ ̶̢̡̲̻̻̤̟̭̱̹̖͔̠̳̅͊͜ǫ̷̧̡̠̱̫͎̠̥͈͇͎͉̅͑̔͊̀̋͂͛͂̔̒͘͝͝ͅf̴̙̑͐̉̄͐̍̃̿͑ ̶̹͇̬̥̙͖͖̤͇̹͖̪̹̭̖̖̝̻̽̊̏̆́̀͒̆̈̂̆͌̀́̚̕͜A̷̭̝̫̲̪̖̥̼̟̾̍̃̊̍̃͊̔̀̉̈́̚͜͜ ̸̨̧̗͎̦̤̞͖̳̝̈́̌͛̇̋̈͆̐̚͘Ş̴̡̯̘̪͉͎̹̠̼̭̞̩̘̼̟̥̠͙̽̃͂̓̚͜͜ķ̸̡̡̨̜̜̜͎̯̰̰͓͔̮͕͍̍͒̄̔̊̔̓̅̌͝y̷͕̩̣͈̩̗͖̌̓͌̐̉̓͒͝ ̶̢̡͔̥͉͓̝̱̻̺̰̫̮̱̗̟̓̒̽̔̿̊̉͗̓͊̈́̔̈́̈́̓̄̕͘̕̕F̶̢̫̟̘͙̱̼̥̆̃̇̂o̴̰͔͇̜͈͖̺̗͚̖̟̤̻̾̑͐̇̎̑̆́̔̈́̀̾͘ŗ̸̱͉̼͍̥̬̞̭̬̙̳͖̅͊̎͑͒́̽̓͠͝g̶̡̢̡̨̬̳̫͎̲̟̹̻͉̳̤̪̮͍̺͖̑̾̃̊̂̅͒̓̕ͅo̶̖͙͆̎̀̍͊̔̀̀͊͑͊̎̉́̂͋͘͘͝͠͝t̷̢̠̪͚̣̭̊̌̿t̵̢̢͉̭̞̰͇͇̱̝͔̞̤̗͇͕̼͎̲͒e̷̛̯̲͂̔̊̄̔́n̶̢̝̙̰̮̻͚̫̫̼̩͘ͅ.
The stream of students flowed to the House of Tleli. It was clever, arranging the dining hall here, beside the Fire Resonance Archetyped Students and Staff. Where else would the kitchens go, if not next to those who summoned the flame itself?
Likewise;
The Gym is closest to House Yves, in which Earth Mages sculpt both land and body with equal fervour. The Sport Facilities were near House Meris, where Water Mages move with grace even on dry land. The Training Ground next to my House, of course, to keep those in fiery battle cool.
Isaac's nose perked up; the scent reached him before he even crossed the entrance, most prevalently, roasted meat glazed with honey and herbs mixed with the smoky scent of charred wood.
Isaac's stomach growled; he had not eaten lunch due to how engrossed he was in Aveline's book.
The queue stretched with students shuffling forward. Behind the serving counters, Fire Wave Binders, now, chefs dressed in crimson aprons, tended to cauldrons and grills with stylish ease. A flick of the wrist adjusted the flames, maintaining the soups at the perfect temperature.
Wow~ Incantationless Casting just to cook.
Isaac takes his place in line, eyeing today's offerings:
Most appealing…
Ember-Seared Ribs. I wouldn't go for it back on Earth. But I'm so skinny that I might as well bulk up from the fat. Tempting… Stone-Baked Flatbread and hummus, I think? No protein tho… And, 'The Daily Catch', can't tell what kinda fish that is… Hmm… Too sus for me.
Seeing as I need all the protein and calories I can ascertain in a short period before Act I.
I think…
"I'll go for the Ribs. Thank you."
An Earth Kynetic ahead of him sighs as her bowl of tide fruit soup floats into her hands. Isaac found this funny. The fact that these smarties were using what he deemed a separate type of science to serve soups to students.
In general, the hall was a living mosaic of Module showmanship.
Tleli tables clustered around central braziers, Fire Concordants casually toasting the raw skewers between conversations, utilizing their Concordees. A student's sleeve had literally caught fire, and they laughed without concern.
Yves's enclave resembled a mountain of muscle and meat, Earth Catalyxi stacking their plates with amino acids and creatine in the form of beef. In fact, Yves' students were arm-wrestled over a loaf of bread.
Meris's corner rippled with laughter, their meals half-dissected in floating platters, one Wave Binder even separated the base, aromatics, and fats for the pure fun of it. A pair of siblings raced shrimp through a maze of floating broth to 'intensify' the final flavour. Interestingly, Isaac noted the appearance of humanoid creatures with scales lining their arm and necks.
Land-Mermaids?
Hoh…
Then, there was Esyphyr.
The Esyphyr tables were positioned beneath the high windows, where the evening breeze drifted through, lifting napkins and loose leaves of parchment into the air. Isaac was directed to the spot reserved for the entering cohort of students.
He sat down. And with no second thought.
Gobbled.
The first bite of ribs was delicious. Ridiculously delicious.
Oh… Oh~ Holy shit~
So smoky~
He leaned back, licking honey from his thumb. The Institute might be the source of legacies to come, but it really did feed its students well.
3 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 1 Mississippi… 0 Mississippi… -1 Mississippi?
The dining hall doors swing open.
Oh, come on, my memory isn't that bad.
A hush from one student spread through the Hall, and somehow, the wind stills, like the calm before the storm. Even the rowdy Tleli Students' conversations seem to dim like their flames, bowing like subjects before crowns.
And such.
Eleven figures entered.