Hill suppressed her excitement, carefully putting away the draft paper with the drawn Hand Grenade Spell magic circle, before changing clothes and lying down on the bed.
She opened her own panel and saw that her sudden inspiration just now had indeed gained her quite a lot of experience points!
Name: Hill Hamill
Level: 9 (855/900)
Race: Bloodkin
Sequence: None
Skills: [Night’s Favor I], [Extraordinary Magic I], [Blood Emperor I]
A whole 30 experience points. You know, the last time she got such a huge amount of experience was when she accidentally drank the blood of the Goddess of Light’s earthly agent.
It seemed the panel’s experience calculation was rather humane. Drinking blood, meditating, or taking in other nutrients useful to her body could all count as experience.
Now it was further proven that sudden sparks of inspiration like just now, which helped her take another step on the path of magic, could also earn her experience points.
In short, any action that improved herself could be converted into experience points for her growth.
After looking at her panel, Hill was so excited she couldn’t sleep.
“855 experience… Hehe!” Hill rolled around on the wooden bed. Just a little more experience, at most a few days, and she would reach level 10!
If she wasn’t mistaken, reaching level 10 meant she could advance to an Extraordinary!
In the manuscript given by Teacher Inks, there was also a record of the [Apprentice] path’s Sequence I advancement ritual—praying to the Goddess of Magic in one’s heart, and proving one’s qualification to step onto this Sequence.
The manuscript also mentioned that back then, Teacher Inks had taken out all her achievements during her studies, and like a humble apprentice, presented them one by one to the Goddess of Magic, who was her mentor at that moment. Seeing this, Hill couldn’t help but recall her previous life’s experience, feeling an intense sense of déjà vu—wasn’t this just a thesis defense?
If you failed the defense, the merciful goddess wouldn’t punish the apprentice, she would simply leave silently and wait for the next summons.
Hill wasn’t sure whether her learning these days could gain the Goddess of Magic’s approval. Perhaps her supposed cleverness was utterly pale and feeble before true magical geniuses, not to mention attracting the favor of the goddess.
Thinking of this, Hill calmed down a bit. Her thoughts gradually settled as she began to organize all she had gained in this period.
Knowledge drawn from magic books, occasional questions to Inks and their answers, as well as the simplifications of magical knowledge while teaching Lady Anna and Otis—she wondered if those could count as well?
But there was no point in dwelling on this now. She would seek confirmation from the Goddess of Magic after her experience bar was full.
Or maybe, before that, she could try to seek recognition from Teacher Inks first?
She wondered what kind of expression Teacher Inks would show after seeing her independently developed Hand Grenade Spell and Flashbang Spell?
How exciting!
Indeed, the tomorrows of this world were becoming more and more worth living!
Good night, Hill.
The next day, Hill couldn’t wait to find Otis in the classroom.
“My dear, beautiful, and generous Miss Otis. You are the most sincere, the most loyal, and as a kind friend, I have something very important that needs your help. If you’re willing to lend your support to this small favor, I will surely do all I can to repay your kindness in the future.”
After all, she was asking for help, so she put herself in a very humble posture, her tone so coy it could make one’s whole body go soft just listening to it.
Besides, it wasn’t just the two of them here. Though class hadn’t started yet, the academy’s management was strict—wandering the halls meant punishment. Students could only stay in classrooms outside of special times.
The moment she finished, a wave of jeers rippled around them.
Although the noise quickly died down, Otis’s cheeks immediately flushed red. She’d gotten used to Hill’s glib tongue these days; this girl seemed completely ignorant of the word “shame.” Though her words were a bit syrupy, many high-born nobles just happened to like such flattery, so there wasn’t really anything wrong with it.
The problem was, Hill had said all this in front of so many people—it was just too embarrassing!
But since so many had heard, Otis didn’t want anyone to doubt their friendship.
She gave a small cough, quietly tugged at Hill’s sleeve under the table, and replied, “I’ll help you out. But… let’s talk about it when we get back…”
Though her voice was low, some still heard it.
At once, the classmates started whispering among themselves again.
“I’ve long heard Hill and Otis are good friends, but I didn’t expect them to be this close! From the way Hill spoke, she’s probably been to the Montbatten house as a guest several times!”
“That’s the Montbatten family! Their wealth is legendary, their name rings out across Mossrock City!”
“But what’s the big deal? If I’m not mistaken, in a few months the Kingdom’s Inspectors will arrive. No matter how talented that Hill is, there’s no way she could become an Extraordinary in such a short time!”
“Shh! Keep your voices down, Hill has sharp ears. Last time I muttered something about her, she looked back at me straight away and scared me half to death!”
“What’s to be afraid of? She’s just a lowborn…”
“I said, keep it down!”
“So, what exactly do you need?”
After school in the afternoon, Otis smoothly invited Hill into her carriage, where they could talk without any gossiping classmates around.
Hill grinned. Now that it was just the two of them in the carriage, there was no need to be so restrained. Instead of sitting across from Otis, she sat right beside her, letting her enjoy the fragrance of the young lady at close range.
“You… you’re hungry again?” Otis was now rather experienced—after all, every week a bloodkin would come to her house and the two would spend a relatively private time together in the study, which was Hill’s mealtime.
Ever since that day, Lady Anna had also joined the magic lessons, and was studying quite diligently, forcing Hill to move her mealtime earlier, and losing her chance to enjoy a “pre-meal dessert.”
As for what that dessert was…
It was probably the young lady’s bashfulness.
“Does your family have anywhere outside the town that’s a bit more secluded, somewhere people don’t usually go?” Hill finally stated her true purpose.
“What do you need it for?” Otis asked curiously.
“I want to test out some magic I’ve developed recently.” Hill didn’t hold back, and savored the look of disbelief and shock on the girl’s face beside her.
Yes! That’s it! Give me more, just a little more!
Hill never denied she was vain—but only the right amount of vanity.
Showing off before thousands was just asking for trouble; if you’re not the protagonist, best not to get protagonist syndrome.
The little vanity she got from Otis just now was perfect.
“You actually already…” Otis covered her cherry lips, her eyes showing a complicated mix of emotions.
She looked at the complacent, even a bit childish, girl beside her. Thinking about how far Hill had already gone, she couldn’t help but feel a little lost.
Hill advancing in Sequence and becoming an Extraordinary was already a certainty. Even if she didn’t inherit the title, she’d become an honored guest of the Montbatten family. At that point, Otis could still stand with her as an equal.
But if Hill went even further, from Norkan Town, to Mossrock City, and then the entire southern province. If her name reached the Royal Capital, and she became the talk of the whole Kingdom!
By then, could she still stand beside Hill as a friend?
Would she still be qualified to be Hill’s food?
Would the stronger Hill still be so enamored with her blood?
For a moment, Otis felt no joy for her friend’s achievements.
All she felt was the fear of parting!
Soon, she and the girl who joked and laughed with her would become people from two different worlds!