Chapter 18~ A Chance Encounter at the Library
(Combined Chapter)
After the records were inscribed into Coleman Academy’s recording crystal, Dillin, who had removed the golden butterflower accessory from his hair, made his way to the library.
Ever since his return from the Elf Temple, Dillin had been pondering. The enchantment on the golden butterflower had an effect that randomly and significantly boosted the intensity of one skill, explaining why his Divine Analysis Technique had undergone a sudden qualitative leap overnight. However, the enchantment did not include anything that could transform a human into an elf, let alone turn a man into a woman.
Yet Dillin needed this accessory to transform into Tillysha, which led him to surmise that it wasn’t the accessory granting him the ability to turn into an elf. Instead, it might be using the accessory as a medium to trigger a switch within himself.
Of course, this was just his speculation; he couldn’t be sure.
Dillin’s trip to the library wasn’t out of any sudden concern or motivation to strengthen himself.
Casually shoving his hands into his pockets, Dillin calmly clutched the golden butterflower accessory, his eyes shining with determination as he focused on the panel visible only to him.
[Extensive Reading], Reward: Half a Token.
[Testing the Waters], Reward: Two Tokens.
In the shimmering panel emanated by the golden butterflower, these words were written in Elf language, yet Dillin understood them perfectly.
Do they look familiar?
Yeah, very familiar. When Dillin summoned the interface, he felt an eerie sense of deja vu, as if triggering a deep memory.
Isn’t this just like the endless daily and weekly grind from some over-the-top game? Every day, you had to run through those absurd and repetitive daily tasks, fulfilling the producer’s bizarre whims for pittance that wasn’t even enough to satisfy your hunger. Dillin knew this drill too well from his previous life — it was utterly frustrating!
How come even in another world, he was still tormented by the weekly grind?
But it didn’t end there. At the top right corner of the panel was an icon resembling a calendar. Opening it, Dillin found it eerily familiar.
A Sign-in Table.
On the first day, the sign-in reward was a blindness potion. Nope, the vibe was too strong, so strong that Dillin felt like throwing up.
…And seriously, why so many flashbangs? Could we have something new for a change? What was he supposed to do with so many flashbangs?
Dillin frowned deeply as he looked at the colorless alchemical potion he received for signing in, imagining a scene where a blond-haired loli being chased by enemies was frantically throwing flashbangs in their faces on a battlefield.
Speaking of which, what exactly was the market price of these “flashbang” alchemical potions in Coleman City? Dillin had never really paid attention to the city’s demand for alchemical drugs.
Half a token for each daily task, two tokens for each weekly task. By calculation, he could afford to spin the wheel five and a half times in a week, and only get a complete thirteen spins after two weeks.
Yeah, this was the kind of stinginess where they broke the prizes into fragments, forcing you to synthesize them yourself. It was too familiar, just like those games where you had to collect all the fragments of an item.
Same old grind. Two weeks for only thirteen spins—it seemed like little, and it was indeed little.
To get the grand guaranteed pull, he needed one hundred and fifty spins, with no increasing odds. This meant he could spend countless spins and still end up with nothing, even after spending quite a bit of tokens.
And remember, these limited-time promotions don’t wait for anyone. Not even if you’re racing on an AE86.
However, even though the daily and weekly tasks rewarded little, it didn’t mean Dillin couldn’t obtain tokens elsewhere, such as…
Dillin’s gaze fell onto the red font below the daily and weekly tasks, framed intentionally in red as if enticing someone’s attention.
[Time-Limited Trial: Secure the Champion Title of the Newcomers Crown Cup], Reward: Fifty Tokens.
Fifty tokens, equivalent to nearly two and a half months’ worth of daily and weekly tasks. The reward was immense, but so was the difficulty.
Winning the Newcomers Crown Cup? How easy was that?
Dillin’s current goal was merely to avoid being expelled from the academy. Asking him to secure the championship was quite a leap.
Let’s focus on the pressing matters at hand, and not dream too far for now.
Dillin sighed.
The daily task [Extensive Reading] wasn’t about actually reading extensively. It simply required using the Divine Analysis Technique to analyze a dozen books at once, fulfilling the formality, completing the task.
As for [Testing the Waters], this task was a bit harder. It required him to k*ll a monster in Coleman Forest, any level of monster would do, as long as it was slain.
Seeing the half-token credited, Dillin felt some reassurance.
Even a small fly counts as meat, right? It’s better to take what you can get, even if all he draws are flashbangs. After all, the only ways to improve his current predicament were either banking on becoming a Devine Maiden or counting on the treasure trove of the golden butterflower.
Dillin leaned more toward the latter. In fact, he harbored doubts and even a fear about the term “Devine Maiden.”
He wasn’t a naturally born Devine Maiden, nor was he native to this world. For the locals, becoming a Devine Maiden symbolized sanctity and dignity, but for him, it was all unknown.
He hailed from a world without magic or martial energy, where everything felt foreign to him. Adapting might take some time.
Moreover, everything he was doing now was merely a temporary solution. Deep down, Dillin didn’t truly believe he had the capability to transform into a Devine Maiden and ascend to the Crown Cup’s stage.
As Dillin’s thoughts meandered aimlessly, he didn’t notice three breathtaking Elf girls walking into the large, spacious library. Their pointy ears silently announced their identities.
………
The entrance of these three Elf girls instantly drew many eyes. In the quiet library, the sound of chairs scraping against the floor and books being set down echoed one after another.
However, these didn’t affect the actions of the three Elf girls, who appeared accustomed to the attention. They were clearly used to being the center of attention wherever they went.
Perhaps, they even felt it was their due?
If not for the dazzling and familiar silver hue, Dillin might not have noticed their presence.
His gaze subconsciously turned toward the familiar figure, and at that moment, the figure seemed to sense it and glanced his way too.
Their gazes intersected for less than half a second before they instinctively averted them.
The difference was that the silver-haired Elf girl turned away hurriedly, as if she feared being caught staring at him. Meanwhile, Dillin calmly shifted his gaze once the girl stopped looking at him.
Aistride, the Elf Princess, possessed a certain allure capable of ensnaring not only the opposite s*x but even her own. No man could survive the magnetic charm stemming from the noble lineage and divine authority, a charm embedded in her very being, which intensified after she underwent Devine Maiden transformation. Simply put, countless female students had fallen for her at first sight, let alone male students.
Aistride was the most popular female student at Coleman Academy. Who could count the countless numbers of her fans or fanatic ones?
Dillin was the first male to witness her transformation. Normally, the first person to see such a stunning transformation would be deeply affected, even more so when they shared more than a month together and worked as teammates for weeks. Such an attachment could even transform someone into a mythical creature like a ‘Tengu’ for life.
Yet, inexplicably, when Dillin saw Aistride today, his heart remained as calm as water.
In the past, whenever Dillin saw Aistride, he would instinctively look away and walk around her, knowing their social statuses were miles apart and to avoid awkwardness. He tried his hardest not to notice her, but he always failed.
If he were truly over her, seeing her should have been as normal as casually passing by and politely nodding at an acquaintance.
Now, when Aistride appeared in front of him, Dillin was startled by his unusually indifferent reaction. It was as if it was just a normal event, not something extraordinary. He wouldn’t care less, and if she approached him, he would respond politely, otherwise, he would continue reading his book, acting as if nothing happened.
Dillin carefully tasted this sensation.
To put it in an inappropriate analogy, it was as if the object of his perception had lost its appeal.
Though it wasn’t appropriate to compare feelings and people with ‘objects,’ this was the most reasonable explanation Dillin could think of.
The reason behind this, Dillin himself wasn’t sure.
Speaking of which, Aistride used to be a little girl before transforming. After the Devine Maiden transformation, she turned into an enchanting fairy instantly.
Wondering what Tillysha would look like after undergoing the transformation, Dillin redirected his gaze to Aistride, the leader among the three elves, using her as a reference to roughly simulate what his own transformation might look like.
However, because of his deep concentration, he completely failed to notice that these three elf girls were moving closer to him.
“Hem, excuse me, student, constantly staring at someone, especially at such a close distance without restraint, is quite rude, isn’t it?” A unfamiliar female voice broke into Dillin’s musings.
“Huh?” Looking at the chestnut-haired elf girl standing so near, with her fair complexion and beautiful appearance, and her slight bow as she tapped on his desk, Dillin realized that he had been staring at Aistride, lost in thought.
“Sorry.” Dillin averted his gaze and apologized to Aistride and her two elf companions.
Aistride stood nearby, her head slightly lowered, her hands hanging down and intertwined, remaining silent.
They seemed like complete strangers to each other.
“Student, know your limits,” the chestnut-haired elf girl said meaningfully as she glanced at Dillin before leading Aistride and the other companion away.
Know your limits, meaning ‘weigh your own worth.’
However, such words didn’t faze Dillin. Preoccupied with imagining his Devine Maiden form, he hadn’t paid much attention to what she said.
“Princess Aistride, that was your former Divine Son, right?” After moving to a spot far from Dillin, the chestnut-haired elf finally asked.
“Yes.” Aistride nodded gently as the sunlight filtered through the wooden window, casting a soft glow on her silver hair, reminiscent of the moonlight in the night sky.
The chestnut-haired elf said nothing. She thought that human she just saw was rather ordinary, so ordinary that even among humans, he stood out for his lack of distinction.
But she didn’t want to invite her princess’s displeasure, so she remained silent.
She could see that her princess still harbored a lingering longing for that young man.
But the chestnut-haired elf didn’t think it mattered.
Aistride couldn’t let go because she was too young, had only met that human, and had no exposure to any other man. So, naturally, her focus remained on him. The elf believed that once Aistride met more high-class elf gentlemen, her perspective would surely change.
The chestnut-haired elf was confident in her belief.
