Still, though…
He looked at his status screen again:
*****
Levi Ironwood
MP: 0/100 [LOCKED]
Class:
Concept:
Guild:
Level 14 [PROGRESSION DISABLED]
CON: 14 [LOCKED]
DEX: 9 [LOCKED]
STR: 10 [LOCKED]
INT: 6 [LOCKED]
MAG: 8 [LOCKED]
Skills: [ACCESS DENIED]
Attribute Points Available: 0 [ALLOCATION DISABLED]
[SYSTEM WARNING: User account is currently under restricted status]
*****
Goddamnit. Levi would be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a little disappointed. He had been looking forward to learning all sorts of new skills and techniques. However, it seemed like he was going to be fully cut off from the System for the foreseeable future.
Curiously, his MP showed it was at 0/100 even though he could very distinctly feel his magic thrumming under his skin. The System must not be able to detect his magic’s existence due to it technically being an extradimensional anomaly, then. It must’ve also been why Levi hadn’t sensed any magic in his body when he’d initially woken up that morning; his counterpart’s MP had fallen to zero when he’d died.
Interestingly, though, one line in particular stood out to him:
‘[SYSTEM WARNING: User account is currently under restricted status].’
Specifically, the word ‘currently.’ Did that imply Levi could somehow lift the restriction in the future? Gain access to the System if he completed some quest or accomplished some feat?
Levi needed to figure that out. He wanted access to all those shiny new skills, damn it. With that in mind, he picked up another book and continued reading with a renewed fervor, this time keeping an eye out to see if it mentioned anything about account restrictions or locked Systems.
He fought the urge to yawn – he'd already been reading for a couple of hours, and his body was tired from the fight against Winthrop. He would have to put it through some extensive physical conditioning later.
Another hour passed. There were no mentions of account restrictions, unfortunately, but Levi got to learn quite a bit about the geography and history of this world.
As he'd learned from the servant earlier that day, the known world consisted of a single supercontinent called Koxus, a massive chunk of land surrounded by ocean on all sides. What lay beyond the oceans remained a mystery; adventurers had gone out to explore before, but most hadn't returned, and the few who did spoke of such dangerous monsters that further exploration had been banned altogether. Henceforth, the area beyond became known as the Uncharted Realm. For all anyone knew, entire continents could be waiting out there.
Koxus itself was divided into four major nations: Luminarche, Yukihasa, Alass, and Valaria, along with various minor city-states, villages, and island nations scattered around. Levi was currently in Luxanne, the capital city of Luminarche. Luminarche was ruled by the king and a collection of nobles who governed their respective territories. They, along with adventurers, wealthy merchants, and high-ranking military officers, formed the upper class of society.
Below them were the commoners: farmers, artisans, blacksmiths, fishermen, and so on. Even below them were indentured servants, though Levi couldn’t find much information on them within the books.
In Koxus, adventurers were categorized by a standardized rank system: bronze, silver, gold, platinum, iridium, mithril, orichalcum, adamantine, Mythmaker, and finally Ascendant. Ascendant-tier adventurers were exceedingly rare, with perhaps less than twenty existing in a world of a hundred million. Mythmaker-tier adventurers were a bit more common, but not by much; there were maybe just a little under a hundred of them in total. It was said that just a single one of them could obliterate an entire army of men without breaking a sweat.
Incidentally, apparently Professor Heimler was a big deal. A really big deal. Professor Aldric Heimler, also known as Heimler the Bloodless, was a decorated war hero who ranked in the upper levels of Mythmaker-tier adventurers and was widely regarded as one of the strongest adventurers in Luminarche.
And Levi had unknowingly antagonized him earlier.
Oops.
In his defense, Levi had been operating under the assumption of ‘those who can’t do, teach’. He hadn’t expected the professor at a school for teenagers to be someone so powerful.
In retrospect, it probably hadn’t been very wise to provoke someone before fully knowing the whole situation of the new world.
But to be fair, the professor had been a bit of a prick.
Could Levi have beaten him if it had come to blows? It was hard to say. Levi didn’t know how strong Professor Heimler actually was, for one; historical accounts could only convey so much. Levi was also in a significantly weaker body, and while he could compensate for that with his magic, he had the additional issue of magical overburn to deal with.
However…
Levi had been the former servant of Death itself. He liked to think that counted for something.
In the ten long years he’d spent in Death’s service, he’d been sent after countless enemies: dark sorcerers who’d immersed themselves so deeply into the blackened arts that they became more magic than man, grandmaster warriors with centuries of martial experience who could sunder a mountain with a single swing of the sword, incomprehensible eldritch horrors whose very unworldly presence seeped decay and rot into the world.
Levi had killed them all. At least, he’d killed the ones that could be killed, and found a way to defeat the rest. Sure, he was normally left battered and bleeding afterward, but he survived. His enemies did not. At the end of the day, that was really the only thing that mattered. It was that simple fact that had led to him becoming one of the most dangerous individuals in his previous world, someone who even the gods and demons hesitated to attack.
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Could Levi have beaten Professor Heimler? Maybe yes, maybe no — and for Levi, that was good enough.
Magic was all about belief, after all, and there was nothing Levi believed in more than his own.
… But that was enough hypotheticals. For now, he had to continue conducting research into this new world. Sighing, he picked up another book and went back to reading.
Other students filtered in and out of the library, but they didn’t bother him so he didn’t bother them. They ranged from preteens to late teens; the Institute of Ascension functioned as a primary, secondary, and university institution all rolled into one. It was highly prestigious too, having branches in multiple countries–
“You must be Ironwood.”
A cold, melodious voice cut through the silence. Levi looked up from his book to see a girl standing across from him.
The first thing he noticed was her eyes – they were a light bluish purple, almost silver. She looked to be about a year or two under him, around eighteen or nineteen. She had aristocratic features, her skin pale and flawless. She wore a sleeveless dark top that hugged her figure, a skirt that reached the mid-thighs, and a pair of black stockings that rose up to meet the hem. Silver-violet hair cascaded down her shoulders in waves.
Levi had never seen her before. She hadn’t been in the hall earlier when he’d fought Winthrop, nor had she been in Professor Heimler’s class. He would’ve noticed her if she had.
“I am,” Levi said, “Though please call me Levi. And you are?”
She gave a graceful curtsy, an almost mechanical perfection to her movements. “Liliya Volkov,” she said, straightening up and fixing her light eyes onto his. “I don’t believe we’ve met before. It’s a pleasure to formally make your acquaintance, Levi Ironwood.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” Levi replied automatically before blinking. Volkov. He knew that name. His father, Lord Ironwood, had mentioned during their meeting that he’d convinced House Volkov to have their daughter partner up with Levi for the Ascension Trials. This must be her, then. He gestured at the seat across from him. “Feel free to take a seat.”
“Thank you, but I’ll stand,” Liliya declined. “I’m sure Marquis Ironwood already informed you, but we’re going to be partners for the Ascension Trials.” Her emotionless gaze revealed nothing. “I look forward to working with you.”
Levi paused. She didn’t sound like she looked forward to working with him. The very opposite, in fact. At least she’d tried to conceal it. For that, he’d give her credit. “Likewise,” he said. “I’m certain we will accomplish great things together.”
“Indeed,” Liliya said. “I was looking for you earlier. You weren’t in your class.”
“Ah, sorry,” Levi said. “I’ve been in the library all afternoon.”
Liliya tilted her head. “Oh? Did you skip class so you could come to the library and prepare for the Ascension Trials?” A faint glimmer of respect entered her eyes. “I admit, I didn’t expect that level of dedication from you. At least you’re taking this seriously…”
She trailed off as she looked down at the book sitting in front of him. Levi had closed it earlier when she’d arrived, leaving the cover plainly visible. Levi followed her gaze, both of them staring at the book’s title for several seconds.
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the System.
The silence stretched for several long seconds.
“Is that,” Liliya said slowly, “a first-year textbook on basic System theory? One that’s meant to be read by twelve year olds?”
“... would you believe me if I said I had hidden a literotica magazine behind the covers?”
The look she gave him could have frozen hellfire.
“I’ll take that as a no,” Levi said, suppressing a wince. “Well, you know what they say – it’s always good to brush up on your basics from time to time.”
“Right,” she said, sounding like she was trying hard not to say something she’d regret. “Better to know the caliber of teammate I’ll be working with, I suppose. It seems the rumors about you were not exaggerated.” She let out a measured exhale. “It’s fine. I’ll carry you through the Trials and make sure you pass. Just stay out of my way and let me handle things.”
Levi hummed. “It’s generally suggested to take the Ascension Trials in parties of five, no? It’ll only be us two. Are you sure you won’t need my help?”
Liliya’s eyes flashed. “Are you taunting me?”
Levi blinked. “What? No, I–”
“You know that this was supposed to be a solo quest for me,” Liliya said, her voice icy. “I was going to be the first person in the Institute’s history to clear the Ascension Trials all by myself. I’ve been preparing for this for months; you have no idea how hard I’d worked–” she cut herself off. When she spoke again, her voice was carefully measured. “I may not be able to disobey my family’s orders, but I refuse to let my efforts go to waste. You will be my partner in name only; in practice, I’ll take care of everything all by myself.”
Ah. So that was the situation here.
From his research, Levi had learned that there were two ways to graduate from the Institute of Ascension and become a fully-fledged adventurer. The traditional method was taking the graduation exams, a set of comprehensive written and practical assessments. Most students chose this route, as it was the safest and easiest.
However, the Institute recognized that some students weren’t exactly the academically inclined sort. The sort that would’ve failed the written portion of the exam no matter what, and probably several of their classes to boot. The Institute deemed this wasn’t exactly fair, since some of the greatest and bravest adventurers had been about as literate as a troll. That, and there was always a need for meat shields to tank damage.
Thus, the Institute offered another way to graduate: the Ascension Trials. Originally created as an alternative path for delinquent students, over time they’d become the proving grounds for the determined and ambitious, since they were arguably significantly more difficult than the graduation exams.
Students who chose this path had to clear an entire silver-tier dungeon. Dungeons naturally spawned across the continent, and were ranked using the same tiers as adventurers (minus the Mythmaker and Ascendant tiers): bronze, silver, gold, platinum, iridium, mithril, orichalcum, and adamantine. They were classified such that a full party one tier lower could clear them with relatively high difficulty – meaning five bronze-tier adventurers could theoretically handle a silver-tier dungeon.
The average Institute graduate was bronze-tier. Parties of up to five were permitted, and most students used all five slots. Even then, the Ascension Trials were considered to be exceptionally dangerous. Going as a party of four was a noteworthy event. Going as three was borderline suicidal.
Liliya Volkov had planned to go solo.
Such a feat was unheard of. Never before in the Institute’s history had there been a graduate who’d conquered the Ascension Trials all on their own. It would’ve instantly made a name for her, starting off her adventurer’s journey with a bang.
And Levi had fucked that up for her.
“I see,” he said. He hesitated. “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any offense.” For once, he truly meant it. “I can cancel the arrangement if you’d like,” he said. “Let you take it alone.”
His offer seemed to incense Liliya even more. “How generous of you. Do you think me to be a fool?” she asked, her voice caustic. “You know full well that neither of our families would allow that.”
“That wasn’t what I meant–”
“It must be a sweet deal for you, no?” Liliya’s voice could’ve cut glass. “You cheated the Ascension Trials, something that would’ve gotten anyone else expelled were you not Marquis Ironwood’s son, and rather than getting punished for it, you get rewarded instead.”
Levi was silent for several moments. He could see that there was no point in talking right now. Her anger was too fresh. Like with Winthrop earlier, words would be useless without the action to back them up.
So he merely inclined his head. “Fair enough,” he said. “I apologize. When are we to take the Ascension Trials, then?”
Liliya looked like she wanted to say something more, but managed to restrain herself. She accepted the conversation redirect with a curt incline of her head.
“The Institute approved my updated Trial application an hour ago,” she said. “They already located a silver-tier dungeon for us near the Grove of Embers, out in Luminarche’s eastern wildlands. We leave in two days. I suggest you prepare well.”
Levi nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll be ready.”
She studied him for a long moment. “For your sake, I hope so. This isn’t a game. One wrong move will lead to your death.”
Levi’s lips quirked. “I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’ll have you to protect me, after all.”
She didn’t respond to that, instead shooting him one last intense look. With that, she turned and left, her footsteps not making a sound behind her.
Levi watched her leave, his expression thoughtful.
Two days, huh?
That should give him plenty of time to complete his main objective. His face turned grim as he stood, and with a wave of his hand, the books returned to their shelves. A second later, the world around him blurred and fractured into layers as his True Sight took hold.
Levi looked directly upward to see the same vile, unholy light he’d seen earlier that day. It shone clearly even through the dozens of floors separating them, such was its potency. His magic stirred in response, thrumming agitatedly beneath his skin.
He steeled himself. Classes would have ended by now, and he’d gathered enough information to work with.
Time to figure out exactly what he was dealing with here.