Mark’s report took longer than Alexander expected—about an hour and a half.

  Their journey wasn't short and couldn't be summarized in one or two sentences.

  When he left the library, Mark said nothing to anyone and simply left—probably following some instruction from Lucas.

  Since he seemed excited, Alexander presumed he received his reward.

  "Your turn," said Lucas pointing to Stella—she already knew what to do and followed him to the library.

  The report lasted more than an hour, and—like the previous times—the person being questioned left silently.

  With Diana it wasn't much different. The only things that changed were she took longer than both previous ones—probably because she was trying to be more detailed—and seemed to want to say something to Alexander before leaving.

  When only Alexander remained, Lucas took him inside the large archive and told him to tell his version of events—and he did succinctly and directly in less than ten minutes.

  "Are you trying to hide something by telling your story so quickly and without details?" asked Lucas with a smile that wasn't a smile.

  "Not really," replied Alexander. "I just know you already have all the details. So why should I bother telling them again?"

  "You seem calm for someone who tried to kill your companions," said Lucas ironically.

  "First, let's get one thing clear: I didn’t try to kill anyone," said Alexander, sounding wronged. "It's not my fault they tried to bite off more than they could chew."

  "You know I wouldn't let them die," continued Alexander while looking around. "Especially since if I returned safe and sound while they died, their families would try to make me pay for it."

  Lucas guessed it must have been something like that.

  Seeing Alexander neither scared, hesitant, nor anxious, he decided to stop playing games and went straight to the point so he could leave.

  "What do you need?" asked Lucas, referring to the different sections and varieties of the collection.

  "To know if my contribution and achievement points are enough for me to obtain another technique," he replied.

  "You still dare talk about achievement points?" questioned Lucas, incredulous at Alexander's lack of shame.

  "Why wouldn’t I?" he retorted. "From where I stand, I made some pretty significant contributions."

  Lucas frowned slightly and asked reflectively: "What great contributions were those?"

  "More generally, I made the team support more effective, the mage more restrained, and the squire more capable," said Alexander. "On a more personal level, I gave half a treasure to the first, a magical beast as a familiar to the second, and awakened the third's {Talent}."

  "You may disagree with my methods, but you can't disagree with my results," pointed out Alexander.

  Hearing Alexander, Lucas began to reflect a bit—his words made sense.

  Part of what he did for the other team members should be the academy's responsibility.

  Not to mention the part of each person's potential he helped unlock in that period.

  While Lucas thought about what to do, something seemed to "click" in his head and he turned to Alexander. "You didn't seem interested in contribution and achievement points at the start of the event. Why are you trying to claim them now?"

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  "Because I realized that, unlike what I thought, I urgently need 2 techniques," replied Alexander.

  "If you need 2 techniques, why risk not winning the event and losing the right to at least 1 of them?" asked Lucas.

  "Because if I showed the creature we hunted in front of so many people, it was very likely some 'doubts' would arise," replied Alexander. "This would lead some idiots, as well as their families, to harass me… Now I'm just a cheater who managed to find and exploit a loophole."

  "I am free," said Alexander, explaining himself. "And I intend to remain so."

  Alexander's answer surprised Lucas. Few young people worry about their overall situation to the detriment of possible benefits.

  "Alright. The academy will grant you 2 techniques," said Lucas after "pondering" a bit. "Consider your contribution points zeroed."

  "No problem," agreed Alexander.

  "Then, once again, what do you need?" asked Lucas.

  "I want a movement technique and a technique that helps me do things simultaneously more easily," replied Alexander.

  "I can give you access to some techniques like that," said Lucas. "Why do you want these types specifically?"

  "I want a movement technique because I don't have one and I realized having one makes a big difference," explained Alexander. "And I want a technique that helps me do multiple things simultaneously because I almost collapsed at a critical moment the last time I tried to do that."

  Lucas nodded slightly—Alexander's arguments were plausible—and guided him through the academy's large archive to a specific area.

  "Here. These are the best movement techniques I can give you access to," presented Lucas upon opening a glass-fronted cabinet.

  Originally, Alexander had planned to finish the event mission, collect the growth points, and browse every technique in the archive until he found one that interested him. Since the techniques were locked in glass for better preservation and security, his plan failed.

  Resigning himself to the event rewards, Alexander leafed through all the movement techniques, one by one—his goal was to read a snippet of their performances and see which one he should choose.

  After reading the techniques, Alexander came across a particularly robust tome, titled [Luminous Water Ascending Flow]—a technique he found very interesting and complete.

  "I'll take this one," said Alexander.

  "Are you sure? Elemental movement techniques are powerful, yet very difficult to learn and practice," warned Lucas. "This one should be even harder, I don't think there's anyone at this academy versed in it to help you."

  "It's alright," assured Alexander. "I can tell it’s complicated, but I believe I can learn it."

  Seeing Alexander already seemed decided, Lucas didn't say much more and just guided him to another area. "These techniques can help you chain multiple techniques and skills more easily."

  Alexander read various techniques again—none caught his attention until he came across a very old book titled [Asura Mantra].

  Noticing Alexander’s interest in one of the techniques, Lucas paid a bit more attention to see which one it was.

  When he recognized it, his expression fell completely. "That thing definitely shouldn't be here. You'd better choose another technique."

  "If it shouldn't be here, but for some reason it is, I want it even more," said Alexander. "That must mean we are destined for each other."

  Lucas immediately seemed to want to dissuade Alexander, but something seemed to stop him.

  This was good for Alexander. He was out of arguments.

  Alexander didn't know if he was destined for this technique or not, much less cared about something like that.

  His true motivation was liking this technique and thinking he was practically immune to its negative effects.

  Alexander didn’t consider himself invincible or above others—nor was he free from fear of the backlash.

  He just knew it was very difficult for him—a being emptied of his emotions and feelings—to be affected by such an effect.

  According to the book's introduction, the technique's backlash was that, if poorly learned, it would split the individual's mind.

  It uses the learner’s own desires and feelings to split the mind into distinct personalities—the embodiments of anger, sadness, and joy/pleasure.

  Instead of worrying about a possible backlash, Alexander became more interested in another part of the introduction. This specific passage stated that, if practiced correctly, the technique grants the mental power of an Asura: the ability to perform 11 actions totally independently and simultaneously, just as an Asura controls 3 faces, 6 arms, and 2 legs.

  Having nothing more to do there, Alexander bid farewell to Lucas, returned home, and activated his talent to recover faster from his injuries—even while reading his new techniques.

  Lucas’s POV

  "Are you sure about this, Professor?" asked Lucas—after Alexander left—as if talking to the wind.

  "Why not?" replied the voice that declared Alexander's team the winner of the event. "This was a path he chose for himself."

  "I understand you don't want to interfere with his first choice, but this second one…" argued Lucas, surprisingly concerned.

  "I understand your point," admitted the professor. "However, trying to change a choice he feels a strong affinity for could be even more unpredictable."

  "So now all we can do is wait and see what happens?" said Lucas.

  "Exactly," agreed the professor.