Hearing Ren Isana's praise, Asuna didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "It's really nothing special, just a little hobby of mine. After all, I'm not used to eating takeout."
Though she spoke modestly, the corners of her lips curled up slightly. It was obvious she thoroughly enjoyed his compliments.
Tonight's dinner was Asuna's treat. After finishing his meal at her place, Ren took his leave. He couldn't exactly stay overnight, could he?
"I'll head back and get to work, Asuna!" Ren said his goodbyes. Asuna watched him leave without saying much else.
Upon returning from his new apartment, Ren began organizing his belongings. He put all his clothes and other items away, then prepared to set up the Magic Array in his own room.
While he was at it, Ren processed the materials Yukino and Megumi would need for tomorrow, grinding and mixing all the Crystal Cores together.
He even tossed the materials he was going to use into the mix. After ensuring this wouldn't degrade the overall quality, he finally started working on his room's layout.
This was Ren's way of taking a little kickback. After all, his Magic Stones were of a lower grade compared to the ones Yukino and the others provided, but now he had blended them all into one batch.
Naturally, he only dared to do this because he was certain the mixture wouldn't lower the quality. Otherwise, he wouldn't have risked it. But as long as the quality remained the same, what was wrong with slightly upgrading the Magic Array in his own home?
Since the end result would be identical and cause no issues, Ren confidently processed the materials without a shred of guilt.
By the time he finished setting up the Magic Array in his apartment, it was already late into the night. Looking down at his handiwork, Ren nodded in satisfaction.
Thanks to his first experience, he was exceptionally skilled this time around, finishing much faster than he had at Asuna's place. He was confident he would be even quicker when drawing the arrays for Yukino and the others tomorrow.
With his room's Magic Array complete, Ren moved his bed, wardrobe, and other furniture back into place.
Once that was done, he stored the leftover materials in a thermos. If these weren't preserved properly, their Magic Power would completely leak out within two or three days, rendering them useless.
After putting everything away, Ren washed up and got into bed. He activated the Magic Array, plugged his phone into the charger on the nightstand, and set it to continue reading his downloaded books aloud.
Having done all this, Ren quickly entered a meditative state. With the array's assistance, his meditation tonight was noticeably leagues better than yesterday's.
In the blink of an eye, the next day arrived. Ren got out of bed, brimming with energy. The Magic Array on the floor had already deactivated.
Feeling out his current condition, Ren was absolutely thrilled. This sleep-meditation method was simply amazing!
Waking up to find himself significantly stronger, he carefully sensed his current Magic Power reserves and nodded in satisfaction.
He could now be considered a Tier 3 Mage, having already learned quite a few spells. He had grasped a variety of beginner-level magic. At this thought, the corners of his mouth curled up, his mood exceptionally bright.
He got up to wash his face, grabbed his weapon and the leftover materials from last night, and headed to school. Having moved to a new apartment, his route to school had changed.
He had to head in a different direction, though the distance was roughly the same. Ren stepped out and pressed the elevator button. The doors opened shortly after, as the elevator was already on its way down.
Ren paused in surprise when he saw the people inside. Aside from a few upstairs neighbors, Asuna was also there. What a coincidence.
But didn't Asuna usually go to school very early? Why was she only heading down now?
Normally, by the time Ren arrived at school, Asuna would already be sitting in the classroom reading.
"Good morning!" Asuna smiled and greeted him as soon as she saw him step in.
"Morning, what a coincidence!" Ren replied as he entered the elevator. Since there were other people present, Asuna didn't say much else, merely smiling and nodding.
Once the elevator reached the ground floor, Asuna finally complained to him, "That Magic Array you set up for me yesterday worked too well. It made me sleep in today."
Despite her words, her face was full of utter satisfaction. She had finally experienced the thrill of AFK leveling.
All she did was sleep, and she woke up the next day with a noticeable increase in her Magic Power capacity. How could anyone not be addicted to that feeling?
"No wonder you were so late today, so it's my fault. I'll treat you to something good tonight!" Ren laughed, immediately joking back with her.
The two walked out of the apartment building, chatting and laughing on their way to school. Along the way, Ren bought breakfast for both of them, and they ate as they walked.
On the road, Ren sharply noticed that the patrol squads on the streets had decreased, returning to their usual numbers. Noting this, he couldn't help but speculate inwardly.
*Is the incident over? Has the Dimensional Rift that appeared here been dealt with? I wonder what kind of place that Dimensional Rift led to.* It was hard not to be curious!
Ren and Asuna soon arrived at school. By the time they entered the classroom, quite a few students were already there, chatting in small groups.
Their arrival drew some attention, but no one let their imaginations run wild. Walking into the classroom together was an incredibly common sight at school.
Rather than focusing on weird gossip, everyone was much more concerned with their studies. As soon as Ren sat down, a classmate leaned over and said, "Ren, Ren, give us a lecture!"
This was a literal study god. There was still some time before class started, so wasn't this the perfect opportunity to ask him about anything they didn't understand? This trend had already started yesterday.
Faced with his classmates' inquiries, Ren didn't refuse. Instead, he asked, "What don't you understand? Ask away, I'll explain it to you."
Hearing Ren's agreement, several people grinned and eagerly gathered around to ask for his guidance. Truthfully, everyone felt incredibly lucky to have such a powerhouse in their class.
Whenever there was something they couldn't grasp from the teacher's lectures, they had a top-tier student who understood it effortlessly and was more than happy to share his knowledge.
It was an absolutely fantastic situation. If Ren were to run for class representative, it was safe to say the majority of the class would support him.
Who could refuse a class rep who was willing to tutor them? Especially when that class rep was ridiculously strong!
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