A New Day
Eugene woke up after a long, exhausting night of thinking. He got out of bed and headed toward the bathroom, took a hot shower as usual, and began brushing his teeth while the warm steam wrapped around him.
"Hmmm… it's the first time I've noticed my eyes look like this!"
Eugene stared carefully at his eyes—not out of amazement at them, but to avoid looking at the burn on his body. He did not even want to close his eyes; he wanted to start getting used to it.
After finishing, he went out and got dressed: a white shirt, brown trousers, and brown shoes.
He headed toward the door. As soon as he opened it, cold air spread into the room, giving him a slight shiver.
"Achooo!"
"It's cold…" he said, trembling slightly, the hair on his arms standing up from the chill.
He left the apartment and began walking through the corridors that led to the exit of the residential complex.
It was a large complex that included all the rooms of first-year students. In the middle was a small garden, and a few meters ahead stood the academy's restaurant.
He exited the complex while looking around. Students were walking, playing, reading, and eating.
"Heh… strange. Most of them are awake early today, unlike usual.
I don't blame them—today is a holiday, and they want to make the most of it."
He put both hands into his trouser pockets and headed toward the library.
He arrived at the large brown library door. When he opened it, he found a large number of students inside.
He felt a bit surprised and said to himself,
"Since when did all these people love reading?!"
The library consisted of three floors. A large brown bat statue dominated most of the furniture. Old maps and shelves filled the place, along with some dwarves cleaning dust off the books.
He greeted the librarian—
An elderly woman in her early sixties, with slightly curly black hair, a face full of wrinkles, a slightly hunched back, and wearing glasses with a single lens.
The library smelled like vanilla. It was slightly cold; everything inside felt soft and almost shining.
He continued walking until he reached the stairs and went up. He arrived at the first floor.
Entering the first floor, he found that most of the students were first-years or groups of elementary school field trips, there to learn about some of the empire's history.
The academy library had always been considered one of the largest libraries and research complexes in the capital, New.
Eugene continued searching among the shelves until he reached a small blue book.
"Finally, I found you."
He took the book and continued searching, then took another book, black and red in color.
After that, he headed toward the gathering area—areas with tables for readers, along with some biscuits and tea.
Eugene began looking for a place to sit. While walking, something small hit him from behind on the back of his head.
"Ouch!" —he instinctively slapped the spot where he was hit.
He pulled his hand back from behind his head and saw a small thing flying through the air.
Eugene panicked slightly, but then noticed that the thing looked like a fairy.
Pointing at it, he said,
"Are you a fairy?"
The fairy shook her head, trying to regain her focus, then raised her head toward Eugene and moved it up and down, signaling yes.
"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to hit you—I thought you were an insect!"
Eugene felt a bit nervous about what he had done.
But the fairy shook her head with a small smile, as if to say it was no problem.
Eugene's eyes widened slightly for a moment, then he asked the fairy,
"Excuse me, but do you know where the seating area for students is?"
The fairy nodded and pointed to the left.
"Thank you very much—"
Eugene thanked her, and the fairy left. Eugene arrived, pulled out a chair—a luxurious wooden chair—before a smooth, shiny round table.
"This furniture is really luxurious."
He placed the two books on the table, took the first one, the blue one, titled:
The Farmer's World Guide – First Year.
Eugene opened the book and began reading and flipping through the pages.
First page:
Farmers are individuals specialized in sensing a spiritual energy that forms the meaning of life, which merges with a physical and cosmic concept of a specific substance to form an imprint.
Eugene frowned for a moment and began skipping pages, passing the introduction since he already knew it. After some time, he reached page 34:
In the world of farmers, every potion you drink belongs to one of six elements—or rather, six different paths, or seven that align with your ambition, destiny, and personal awareness. It is a complex system that interacts with itself to provide the greatest benefit from each imprint, creating multi-purpose attacks.
"So I need to choose my next potion carefully in order to benefit from every element."
Eugene's mind was filled with curiosity and impatience to learn more about the world of farmers. If his talent was less than good, then he had to master a way to increase his power safely and properly.
He said slightly aloud,
"Then I need to increase my stock of information and gain more knowledge and learning."
"Shhh!" —the students around him turned to look at him, asking him with their eyes to lower his voice.
He spoke in a very low voice with a slightly embarrassed tone,
"Oops, sorry."
He returned his focus to the book and began flipping back until he reached page 16:
Once a farmer drinks his first potion—
He said with slight happiness and sharper focus,
"Yes, this is the page. I've been looking for it for a while."
He continued reading:
He feels strange changes that align with his potion.
Eugene thought to himself,
"Exactly like the feeling that the air became clearer and slightly thicker, like a gel."
These changes result from the cells in his body beginning to grow while containing the potion's genes.
And the best ways to increase cultivation speed are:
First: Trying to understand the imprint—its characteristics, weaknesses, advantages, and more—in order to build a deep understanding of how to use it at maximum efficiency in battle.
Second: Using primitive resources suitable for each rank and each imprint; fire-element resources cannot be used on an ice imprint.
Eugene raised his shoulders and dropped them in confusion, saying,
"That makes sense… it would be stupid otherwise."
He lightly slapped his forehead and said,
"Eugene, you idiot, don't waste time—focus."
Third: Not relying solely on imprints, especially at the beginning of your path as a farmer. Therefore, you must develop skills such as shooting, martial arts, trap skills, and others.
Eugene remembered the moments of harsh training that he had once considered a waste of time, but now he appreciated the academy much more. It was clear they knew what they were doing to make students better and stronger.
At the same moment, he remembered Ralph and his group when they used to relax during training sessions.
He smiled slightly and chuckled softly, saying sarcastically to himself,
"Ah, I used to envy them for not training properly, but now I feel happy. They'll most likely become weak farmers… and then I can take revenge for Rim."
Then he whispered with a small, pleased tone,
"And that way I'll prove to her that I'm better than her and become the coolest brother in Rin's eyes."
Eugene drifted into a river of daydreams, imagining himself while Rin clapped in the background with star-shaped golden eyes, and Rim burned with jealousy because he surpassed her.
Narrator:
What a wonderful friend you are!
But he pulled himself back from his daydreams, closed the first book, and opened the black-and-red one titled:
The Monster World Guide.
Eugene opened it, and unlike the Farmer's World Guide, he began reading it from the very first page.
First page:
Monsters are demonic creatures that differ in shape, abilities, and danger. Among them are intelligent, rational beings, and among them are savage, mindless ones.
The Organization of Light classified them into ranks and types, from the most dangerous to the rarest.
Eugene flipped the page, searching for something specific, and after a few minutes, he found what he wanted.
Page forty-six:
Class: B
Type: Forest Tree Spirits
Monsters composed of black matter, bones, and interwoven tree branches, with hollow eyes.
"This is the same monster that attacked us that day."
Eugene recalled the memories of that day—specifically the moment the monster devoured the guard. A shiver ran through him, and he returned his focus to the book.
These monsters track sound. Inside their heads is a glass sphere that is the reason for their cohesion. It is said they are formed from a cluster of trees mixed with CGM material and negative energy.
They are considered very fast compared to monsters of the same class, violent and mindless, possessing no abilities other than extending the tree roots that make up their bodies.
They usually live deep within dark forests.
Eugene continued reading, but he began to feel a bit sleepy, even though he had woken up late, so he decided to take a short nap.
He rested his head on the table and fell into a deep sleep.
Eugene woke up late, returned to his room, and continued sleeping. Days passed—weeks, nearly two months.
Narrator:
It seems Eugene forgot some events. That's natural—these are old events, and he won't remember them all.
As the days passed, Eugene slightly mastered the use of a handgun and learned some martial arts. He went out and sat with Fred, Rin, and Rim; they shared food and horror stories, sometimes in the middle of the night.
But Moses—he had disappeared since that day.
Silent footsteps, like the dark night, echoed in the middle of a long wooden corridor. Candles lined the walls, cold air filled the place.
Inside a room with its door slightly open, some light spilled out, along with the sound of papers being shuffled—someone was searching for something among documents.
Suddenly, the man walking silently pushed the door open, raised a gun, and pointed it at the person searching through historical files.
The candlelight illuminated the face of the man holding the gun.
It was Moses!
Pointing the gun at James?
"I found you. Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
Moses asked in a tense, firm voice, his hands trembling slightly.
James raised both hands in fear.
The place was dark, with the candle lighting the left side of each of them.
James spoke nervously,
"Calm down—why are you pointing a gun at me?!"
Moses tightened his grip on the weapon and replied in the same tone,
"Do you think I don't know who you are?!"
James tilted his head slightly, looking confused,
"Who am I? What do you mean?"
Bang!
Moses fired next to James's ear as a clear threat.
"Don't play dumb and confess."
James spoke while lying on the ground after Moses fired at him,
"Alright, man, I admit I entered the academy without permission, but I truly want to apply for a position in protective sciences within the academy."
Moses raised an eyebrow and lowered his weapon slowly, then suddenly raised it again and said,
"That's not what I mean. Confess that you are the owner of this symbol, in disguise."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a paper bearing three red stars.
James looked at the paper in surprise, then quickly understood everything.
"Oh, you think I'm the person who owns this symbol just because I had it."
A slight smile appeared on James's face as he said,
"I knew you knew the owner of this symbol!"
Moses grew confused and lowered his weapon, asking with a tone of doubt,
"You mean you're not the owner of the symbol?"
"Of course not. All that happened is that I saw this symbol in an old book. Researching it led me to some old rumors and deleted information, and I learned that you know about the symbol.
So I decided to use the excuse of applying for a job at the academy in order to enter and research this symbol further—especially with the largest information and research library being inside the academy."
Moses felt torn between believing and not believing him.
"And what guarantees that you're not lying?" Moses asked, staring at him sharply.
"Man, logically speaking—if I were truly the owner of this symbol, and you're clearly tense, I would have killed you immediately. Second, go ask about me at the Pyramid University in Pyramid City. Almost everyone in the city knows me.
And I'm twenty-nine years old—how could I be in two places at the same time?"
Moses found the answer convincing enough in the end. He was mostly right.
Moses placed his hand on his head for a moment, then looked back at James and said,
"Fine. I'm not fully confident in you, so I'll keep an eye on you. But I will punish you for entering the academy without permission."
James agreed, nodding his head.
"Stand up. I'll talk to you later. For now, leave the library."
James stood up, took the candle with him, then left and closed the door behind him.
Darkness spread through the room, along with cold air and the sound of their footsteps as they exited the library.
End of Chapter
This is the Saturday chapter. It was delayed due to some circumstances