Chapter 15: Accidental Death? Or an Accident?
After a short but heavy sleep, Hodell opened his eyes right on time in the middle of the night.
As usual, the first thing he did upon waking was curse the Erhai School one hundred and eight times in his heart.
If I had not picked up the Scholar subclass, if my Intelligence had not been high enough to block that information pull, would the Erhai School really have been able to cover for me?
He shook his head.
Even if they could, the cost would have been greater than the value gained. After all, this was connected to an A Level mission. In front of something that important, he was still only a tool.
That brush with danger had left real pressure on him.
He needed a stronger foundation.
E Level missions are not that hard to complete, but the consequences afterward are never reflected in the rank itself.
He sat up, rubbed his brow, and silently made his decision.
Tonight, he would return to Mirror Lake and properly test [Scrap Utilization].
Liuli Star had no moon.
The night sky was a flowing curtain of dark color, with starlight scattered across it like paint dragged by a careless brush.
It really does look like the Milky Way inside a painting.
After indulging the thought for a second, Hodell moved silently toward the lakeshore. Once he confirmed there was no one around, he bent down and casually picked up a pebble.
[Pebble]
[Quality: Gray]
[Basic Parameters: Density 3.1 g/cm³. Diameter 5 cm. Weight 203 g.]
He focused and activated [Scrap Utilization].
A faint tremor passed through his palm.
The pebble's information changed.
[Pebble]
[Quality: Green]
[Status: Structural Activation. Gains brief levitation ability under energy guidance.]
[Remark: Hey, I can fly.]
The pebble gave a slight buzz in his hand, then slowly floated upward, rising about an inch above his palm as if invisible threads were pulling it.
Hodell watched it for two seconds, then relaxed his control.
The moment his energy withdrew, the levitation vanished. The pebble dropped back into his palm, and its information immediately returned to its original gray state.
"Levitation…"
He raised a brow.
Interesting.
Mostly useless, but interesting.
He tried again.
[Pebble]
[Quality: Green]
[Status: Contains unstable light energy.]
[Remark: God said, let there be light.]
This time the pebble emitted a soft white glow, as steady as a miniature lamp.
Once he let go, the light vanished at once.
Again.
[Pebble]
[Quality: Green]
[Status: Thermal Energy Accumulation. Surface temperature rises significantly. Warm to the touch.]
[Remark: Suitable as a hand warmer.]
Again.
[Pebble]
[Quality: Green]
[Status: Information Recording. Briefly becomes an information carrier capable of recording and replaying sound or image fragments no longer than 3 seconds.]
[Remark: A divine tool for secret filming.]
Again.
[Pebble]
[Quality: Green]
[Status: Weak Magnetization. Gains slight magnetic attraction.]
[Remark: Will not pass a metal detector.]
He kept going.
One pebble after another.
More than ten trials later, the pattern had become clear.
Every time he raised a pebble from gray to green quality, the effect was different. Random. Strange. Temporarily practical at best. Yet without exception, the moment it left his hand or his active energy guidance, the effect disappeared immediately and the stone reverted to its original state.
Hodell looked down at the growing little pile of ordinary pebbles by his feet and shook his head.
"As expected."
He crouched by the water, thinking it through.
"I cannot control the direction. The effect is random. And it is not persistent. Forget using it to mass produce reliable explosive stones."
Then his gaze shifted.
"But a pebble is not equipment. It is just a thing made by nature. It was never designed with combat in mind. Maybe [Scrap Utilization] will show better results when applied to real gear, tools, or weapons."
He kept turning the little ability over in his mind.
The deeper he thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
And the more useful it might eventually become.
As the night deepened, he decided not to stay longer. After clearing away any obvious traces, he rose and quietly left Mirror Lake.
Then a voice drifted out through the dark.
"…It succeeded. Using it as a carrier, the resonance frequency exceeded every model prediction. It is not just stable, it is practically alive…"
Hodell stopped.
Who is that, getting this excited in the middle of the night?
Because Liuli Star had no moon, the night was darker than the nights of his previous life despite the heavy starlight. People did not usually wander around after dark for no reason.
He hesitated only a moment before deciding to move closer and take a look.
Under the eaves of a distant building, Professor Freeman stood there without his usual mage robes, wearing only a dark coat. His face was flushed an unnatural red, and his whole posture vibrated with suppressed excitement.
Opposite him stood a tall figure wrapped in something like a cloak.
"The affinity of the soul stone for the primate brain is beyond imagination, but it is guiding… it is actually guiding…"
As Freeman gradually calmed, his voice lowered until Hodell could no longer hear clearly.
The cloaked figure replied with only a few short lines.
Freeman stepped forward so abruptly that he nearly grabbed the other person on the spot. The cloaked figure immediately shifted half a step back and spoke again.
Whatever those words were, they hit like cold water.
Freeman's entire body seemed to collapse inward. The excitement drained from him at once, leaving behind nothing but hollow frustration.
Soon after, the cloaked figure left.
Freeman remained standing there in a daze for a long while before stumbling back into the house, looking almost lost.
The Erhai School is still moving in the dark…
Hodell narrowed his eyes.
Freeman was the same professor who had overseen his entrance assessment. It was entirely possible he had ties to the Erhai School.
Could stealing the pollen just be a smokescreen? Is there something even bigger underneath it?
Because he had not heard enough of the conversation, he could not draw a firm conclusion. He remained hidden for another half hour, confirming that neither party had noticed him and that no one was pretending to leave in order to lure him out.
Only then did he slip away.
…
The next morning, the academy woke beneath a gentle wash of light.
Yet the atmosphere was clearly different.
Carlo hurried over the moment he saw him, lowering his voice dramatically.
"Have you heard?"
"Heard what?" Hodell asked, though the answer was already taking shape in his mind.
Carlo leaned closer and lowered his voice even further.
"Something big happened. Do not tell anyone else I told you first…"
Before he could continue, Professor Marcus entered the classroom on time.
The room fell silent.
Marcus stood behind the podium, and even at a glance, he looked more tired than usual. In his hand was a deep purple crystal.
Without any opening pleasantries, he began speaking in a low, steady voice.
"The soul stone is a Class One controlled item. The rumors that it can carry souls are nonsense."
He lifted the crystal slightly.
"Its true function is the amplification and fixation of mental states. It can be used in the treatment of mental trauma, but it can also very easily produce irreversible mental damage, or even total destruction."
His gaze swept over the room.
"Anyone who touches such a thing without permission is playing with fire."
There was a brief pause.
"Freeman's accident is the newest lesson."
Then he opened his notes and continued the lecture as if nothing more needed to be said.
"Remember this clearly. Once certain boundaries are crossed, destruction follows."
After class, the oppressive atmosphere remained clinging to the room.
Hodell immediately pulled Carlo aside.
"What exactly happened?"
Carlo's face had gone pale.
"Professor Freeman is dead."
Even though Hodell had already suspected it, hearing the words still hit with force.
Dead?
Carlo continued in a hurried whisper.
"It happened last night. They say he was operating a high precision soul energy measuring device when the core soul stone fragment overloaded for unknown reasons and triggered a mental energy storm. His brain was completely destroyed. They could not save him."
Hodell went still.
Freeman, who had been talking to that cloaked figure in secret just a few hours earlier, was now dead in an "accident."
That was too precise.
Too clean.
Too convenient.
But if Freeman was truly connected to the Erhai School, why kill him?
Or perhaps that is exactly why.
"Ryan? What are you thinking about?" Carlo asked, interrupting his thoughts.
"Nothing," Hodell replied, smoothing his expression at once. "It is just… sudden."
Carlo nodded grimly.
"Yeah."
The two of them continued toward the next class together.
This time, the classroom was not a normal lecture room but a workshop style space. Beneath a huge dome, dozens of pale blue column shaped crystals had been evenly arranged throughout the area.
Hodell glanced around.
"Today's setup seems different."
Carlo nodded.
"It is [Multi Source Energy Coordination and Stability]. Practical teamwork. Apparently it mainly tests group chemistry and precision in magic control."
At that moment, the professor's voice carried clearly through the room.
"The rules are simple. Four students will simultaneously inject mana into the Synergistic Stability Crystal assigned to their group. Your goal is to let your mana converge at the core and form a stable composite energy sphere with uniform brightness. Maintain it for more than five minutes, and you pass. Synchronization is key. Any deviation from any participant may cause total collapse."
Hodell's nerves immediately began pulsing in warning.
Why is this yet another class that sounds specifically designed to expose me?
Too late to switch to the Magic System properly now, huh?
Just then, a student who usually liked showing off raised his hand and asked a question so foolish it bordered on heroic.
"Professor, why do four people need to cooperate? Would it not be easier if one person just controlled the mana by themselves?"
The professor was surprisingly calm.
"Because an individual's mana always has limits. Collective synergy and shared structure can achieve effects no single person can maintain alone."
Just then, a voice rang out beside him.
"Student Ryan."
Hodell turned.
Celia was looking at him, and in her emerald eyes was clear expectation.
"Today's class requires groups of four. Can we be together? I still want to ask you about energy structure application methods."
That alone would have been manageable.
Then Lula arrived too.
Her eyes were practically shining.
"Student Ryan, if possible… I would also like to join. There are still several things I want to ask you about."
And then, to make things even worse, Eric walked over as well.
His tone was a little stiff, but sincere.
"Student Ryan. If you do not mind, I would like to be in the same group too. I misjudged you before and assumed you were just some transfer student with connections. My attitude was poor. I would like a chance to make up for that."
Please stop being so reasonable, Hodell thought with inner despair.
Celia had sharp eyes and terrifying observational ability.
Lula was a walking botanical trap whom he had barely survived once already. Even after spending time cramming basic material on Liuli Moss and related glowing mosses, seeing her still made his knees feel a little weak.
As for Eric, anyone from a poor background who could force their way into Liuli Cloud Dream Academy was obviously not ordinary.
At that exact moment, Carlo's eyes darted around, and he suddenly grinned like a scoundrel who had discovered the world's funniest misunderstanding.
"Oh my, with you four top students grouped together, I would feel ashamed to stand beside you. Ryan, let us meet again at lunch."
He then nudged Hodell with his elbow several times in a way that seemed to say, You understand, right?
Hodell's alarm bells exploded.
Wait.
Did even Carlo see through me?
No way.
That cannot be right.
I once dreamed about going back to my old world and winning an Oscar. Do not destroy me like this.
Then his thoughts caught up.
And he remembered.
Marriage and family structure on Liuli Star centered around groups of four. Two men and two women formed what the locals considered the most stable long term family unit. They believed it allowed for balanced internal and external roles, better emotional support, higher resilience against risk, and more efficient population control, since the replacement rate per unit stayed perfectly stable.
Carlo was not hinting that he had seen through Hodell's disguise.
He was making a terrible joke.
Hodell nearly bit his tongue.
So my acting has not failed. I just ran straight into this civilization's social customs.
He almost wanted to lift his head and ask the stars what crime he had committed.
By then, the four of them had already gathered around a Synergistic Stability Crystal in the corner of the workshop. The pale blue crystal glowed softly beneath the dome's filtered light.
Eric was the first to place his hand on the base.
"Let me handle the base frequency," he said seriously. "Try to align with my rhythm."
Celia and Lula took the positions to either side.
Hodell inhaled slowly and placed his palm against the final input point.
Come on, you can do it.
Lula, who stood opposite him, froze slightly.
She glanced at Hodell, then at the other two, and suddenly seemed to interpret his words very differently. Among the four of them, she did seem to be the one under the most pressure academically.
A faint warmth appeared in her expression.
"Thank you," she said softly.
Hodell had no idea what she was thanking him for. Inwardly, he was still speaking only to himself.
Come on, you can do it, Hodell.
At first, everything went smoothly.
The four streams of energy began to converge at the crystal's core. A soft sphere of light gradually took shape.
"Very good. Hold it," Eric said, fully focused on maintaining the structure.
Celia carefully adjusted the edges of her flow to preserve stability.
Lula's output was also impressively steady, almost as though she had calculated every fluctuation in advance.
Hodell cautiously drove [Energy Simulation], trying as hard as possible to keep his pseudo mana aligned with the other three.
Then the problem surfaced.
At the surface level, his simulated mana matched well enough.
At the deeper structural level, however, its nature was completely different from Eric's true mana. It was like sliding a false gear into an otherwise perfect mechanism. The shape matched. The teeth aligned. But the core material was wrong.
The moment their energies sank to a deeper level of fusion, conflict appeared.
Oh no.
Hodell's pupils tightened.
Once energy reached a certain level, its deeper qualities began to show. Energy was not just a single universal fuel. For Espers, it was the source of ability expression. For Martial Artists, it became their offensive force. For Mages, it was mana. For Psychics, it fed the reaction furnace of the mind. For Mechanics, it was the engine behind technology.
At low levels, the distinction was not obvious.
But at his current stage, and with his incomplete understanding of mana as a system, he could not fake full magical nature down to the roots.
Buzz!
The Synergistic Stability Crystal trembled violently.
The internal balance shattered.
The previously stable sphere of light began flickering with dangerous intensity before a pale beam of energy burst out of the core and shot straight toward Eric, who stood closest to it.
"Watch out!" Celia cried.
Eric had no time to dodge.
If he severed his connection too violently, he would trigger direct backlash. In that instant, he could only watch helplessly as the energy beam rushed toward him.
Hodell reacted on instinct.
He cut off his own link to the crystal and forced [Energy Simulation] to its limit.
In the beam's path, a tiny energy singularity formed in an instant.
A split second before the crystal's blast struck Eric, it collided with the singularity, twisted violently, and canceled itself out.
Everything happened so fast that most people barely understood what they had seen.
Eric stood frozen.
Cold sweat slid down his temple.
Slowly, he turned and looked at Hodell with an expression that mixed shock and gratitude.
The professor hurried over immediately. After confirming Eric was unharmed, he began demanding an explanation.
Hodell was already preparing to launch into damage control.
"Professor, my talent is somewhat unusual. I may not be suited for multi source coordination. I am very sorry. The accident was caused by me…"
"No," Eric said sharply.
His voice was solemn.
"I am the one who should apologize. I increased the output too quickly. If Ryan had not reacted in time, I would have been injured."
Celia and Lula crowded over as well, their expressions full of relief and lingering fear.
Seeing that none of them were tracing the problem back to the deeper nature of his energy, and that all of them were instead focused on his quick reaction and rescue, Hodell felt his whole body loosen slightly.
Could a mage actually be an Esper in disguise?
Most people would never leap to something that ridiculous.
After all, the Magic System cared just as much about talent and innate qualification as the Superpower System did. Magical aptitude on Liuli Star was not a simple matter.
There were broadly two types of mages.
The first were natural born talents.
They awakened mage appropriate genes at birth, possessed mana naturally, and activated it properly through meditation and structured training. These were the classic gifted mages.
The second type had no natural mana awakening, or lacked full mage talent altogether. For them, external implantation of magic circuits could create a foundation that allowed the birth of mana and the qualification to follow a magical path.
This was similar in principle to how some Espers awakened naturally while others required gene awakening fluids.
The implanted circuit became the foundation of the mage's path. It had to be refined and strengthened continuously over time.
The biggest difference was flexibility.
A naturally gifted mage could theoretically pursue all kinds of magical paths.
A circuit based mage usually inherited a strong bias toward one field and could only become a specialist. The circuit was a permanent choice. Once implanted, it defined the road ahead.
That did not make specialists weak.
Quite the opposite.
They were the majority across the Star Sea.
After all, individual energy was limited. Truly mastering one field was often more practical than having shallow command over many. Some naturally gifted mages even chose to implant specialized circuits later in life because it acted like a massive enhancement feat, sacrificing versatility for terrifying power in one domain.
.....
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