Luca followed Fred across the campus, and before long, they arrived at the instructors’ residential area.
The place was unexpectedly vast, almost the size of a small town. The roads were paved with cobblestones, greenery was carefully pruned, and two-story wooden pavilions lined either side of the streets. The architecture had a classical charm that quickly calmed the mind.
Luca noticed that, although the area looked ordinary on the surface, the elemental energy in the air was far more active than in other parts of the academy. It was highly likely that a spirit-gathering formation was buried beneath the ground.
Setting up such a formation was an incredibly costly endeavor. To cover an area this large would require at least a million gold coins. The lavishness of Red Maple Academy even made Luca feel a bit astounded. It seemed his professor had truly spared no expense when it came to the living conditions of the instructors and students.
But considering Red Maple Academy’s status in the Southern Territory and even the entire Clinton Empire, it was understandable.
After turning a few more corners, Fred finally stopped in a relatively secluded corner of the residential area.
This pavilion was visibly different from the others. It had a courtyard outside, planted with various flowers and plants, and the overall environment was much more tranquil and serene.
“We’ve arrived. This is where you’ll be staying,” Fred said with a grin. “You’ve really got some enviable accommodations. Quite a few instructors wanted to move into this pavilion, but the headmaster refused them all and gave it to you instead.”
Luca smiled and said nothing.
Fred handed him the key and added, “Once the headmaster is done with the freshman assessment, he’ll probably arrange your teaching schedule. For now, take some time to settle in and get familiar with your surroundings. If you need anything, just come and find me—I’m staying in that building right across the street.”
He pointed to a pavilion diagonally across the road.
“Got it. Thanks, Director Fred.” Luca accepted the key with a smile and thanked him. After Fred left, Luca entered the pavilion.
The pavilion had excellent lighting, with sunlight flooding the interior. A faint, calming fragrance lingered in the air—this was the scent of Spirit Fragrant Wood, a rare material from the Eastern Territory known for its ability to soothe the soul and calm the mind. All the furniture in the pavilion was made from this wood.
The floor was spotless, indicating that someone regularly cleaned it, making it ready for immediate occupancy and saving Luca a lot of hassle.
Walking into the bedroom, Luca closed the door and began examining the spoils he had gained from clearing the Trial Tower.
It had truly been a bountiful harvest. In addition to reaching level 30 and acquiring several intermediate-level skills, he had also obtained a Platinum Grade piece of equipment, a high-tier material, an intermediate-level item, and, of course, the Gold Grade magic runes set.
Luca started by examining the equipment and items he had obtained.
[Spirit Ring: Platinum Grade special equipment, no wearing restrictions. Increases mental attributes by +180, magic points (MP) by +2000, and magic regeneration speed by +200%. Skill: Mana Surge. When activated, instantly restores 50% of your total MP. Cooldown: 24 hours.]
[Essence of Water: Purple-Gold Grade high-tier material, extracted from the purest water veins at the deepest part of the Starfall River. When used to craft equipment, it has a 30% chance to awaken the high-tier water-element spell “Aquaflux.”]
[Elf Fruit: Platinum Grade intermediate item, harvested from the deepest parts of the Elven Forest. Consuming it increases mental attributes by +200 and grants the “Elven Blessing” status—elemental skill damage +10%. Can only be used once.] freёwebnovel.com
His luck this time had been pretty good—all the items he received were quite useful.
The Spirit Ring could be equipped immediately, while the Essence of Water could be used to craft high-tier magic runes. The Elf Fruit was similar to the elemental potion Franklin had given him earlier, though its effect was slightly weaker. However, it could be stacked with other effects.
Next, he examined the three intermediate-level skills he had acquired upon leveling up. Lich’s Curse could weaken a target’s strength by 20%, while Nightmare Seal was a type of illusion magic.
If this skill were cast on an enemy, Luca could cause the target to experience various hallucinations and dreams at any time within the next three days.
This skill was highly versatile, whether in combat or for more underhanded purposes.
But the one that thrilled Luca the most was the skill Magic Runes Berserk.
[Magic Runes Berserk: Intermediate class skill. When activated, a Demonic Rune Mage can spend 5,000 MP to increase magic rune skill effects by 35%. Duration: 3 minutes. Cooldown: 6 hours.]
With Magic Runes Berserk paired with Rune Amplification, he could instantly double his power, if not more!
If he were to face the Skeleton Emperor again now, even without using Ice Pattern Awakening, Luca was confident he could take it down!
Suppressing his excitement, he took out the Elf Fruit, which glowed with a faint green light, and took a bite.
The taste was soft, sweet, and slightly sticky, similar to that of a green dragon fruit.
In fact, using the Elf Fruit to brew potions would yield even better results, but Luca didn’t have the time to gather the necessary ingredients. Consuming it directly was slightly less effective, but it was convenient.
Before he even finished the fruit, Luca felt a gentle force spreading throughout his body, seeping into every bone and muscle, making him feel as if he were soaking in a warm spring—his whole body felt comfortable and relaxed.
[Ding! You have consumed “Elf Fruit (Platinum Grade)”. Mental attributes +300!]
[You have gained the status “Elven Blessing”—elemental skill damage +10%!]
The sensation came quickly and dissipated just as fast.
After the game notifications popped up, Luca could clearly sense his increased sensitivity to the elemental energies in the environment. He could distinctly feel the flow of elemental forces in the air and could manipulate them with ease. It was similar to how he felt after consuming the elemental potion, though the improvement was slightly less pronounced.
Luca swapped out his Wanderer Set and equipped the Magic Runes Set and the Spirit Ring, then opened his attribute panel.
[Name: Luca (Gold Grade)]
[Level: lv30]
[Talent: The Person Favored (SSS-level)]
[Main Class: Demonic Rune Mage]
[Secondary Classes: Witch Doctor, Dreamweaver]
[Health Points: 11,800]
[Magic Points: 25,400]
[Attack: 5233-5494]
[Attributes: Strength 922, Spirit 2130, Stamina 816, Agility 543]
[Special Attributes: Charisma 100, Perception 100, Aptitude 100, Luck 100]
[Titles: Unrivaled in Elegance and Charm, Peerless Appearance, Dangerous Perception, The Son of Luck]
[Magic Runes: Frostborn (fixed)]
[Skills: Magic Rune Drawing lv10, Potion Refining lv10, Dreamweaving lv3, Dream Manifestation lv3, Heavenly Thunder Purple Fire lv3, Witch Doctor’s Hand lv10, Magic Runes Berserk lv1, Lich’s Curse lv1, Nightmare Seal lv1, Eye of Nightmare lv1, Rapid Drawing (equipment), Rune Amplification (equipment), Mana Surge (equipment), Elven Blessing (enhancement)…]
…
After reaching level 30, Luca’s attributes had more than doubled compared to before. More importantly, his health had surpassed 10,000, which was on par with the HP of an ordinary monster of the same level.
For a combatant to have the same health as a monster, that was truly extraordinary—he had clearly surpassed conventional standards.
Luca nodded in satisfaction. Defeating high-level monsters was undoubtedly the fastest way to enhance his strength.
Unfortunately, such monsters were hard to come by. They were mostly found in secret realms.
If he wanted to quickly increase his power in the future, he would need to explore more secret realms.
There was also the issue of his weapon.
The Mithril Mage Spear could no longer keep up with his current capabilities. Now that he had reached Gold Grade, he needed to find a new weapon.
It was a shame that Orf hadn’t prepared a weapon for him—he likely didn’t have a Gold Grade mage spear on hand. However, Orf had left Luca with 20,000 gold coins, which would be more than enough to buy a Gold Grade mage spear.
“That money might be better saved for something else,” Luca thought, recalling the quest given by Old Carl. The quest reward was a mid-tier piece of equipment, and he could choose it himself. It just so happened that he needed a new weapon.
Luca stored away all his items and prepared to ask around for the location of the blacksmith, Luke, to see if he could get his hands on a suitable weapon.
As he was thinking this, a game notification suddenly appeared.
[Ding! Someone is visiting you in the real world. Would you like to temporarily exit the game?]
At the same time, an image popped up in front of Luca.
It was his mother, Sini.
What was she looking for him for now?
Puzzled, Luca chose to exit the game.
A flash of light.
The game pod door opened with a soft click.
“Is it time to eat?” Luca sat up and asked Sini with a cheerful smile.
Sini rolled her eyes and snapped, “Eat, eat, eat—that’s all you think about every day. I’m asking you: are you having an online relationship in the game?”
“Online relationship? What online relationship?” Luca was stunned, completely clueless about what Sini was talking about.
Sini put her hands on her hips and glared at him angrily. “Don’t try to deny it! Susie just came by to complain, saying you’ve been flirting with girls in the game. I didn’t believe her at first, but now she’s here at our house!”
“You’ve really done it this time! Do you have any idea how young she is? How could you even think of doing something like that?”
With that, she reached over and pinched Luca’s ear, twisting it a full 180 degrees.
“Ow, ow, ow! Mom, I swear, I’m innocent! I didn’t flirt with any girls—Susie’s framing me!” Luca winced, sucking in a sharp breath from the pain, frantically protesting his innocence, feeling utterly speechless.
That troublesome Susie! She had no boundaries when it came to what she would say. When did he ever flirt with any girls in the game?
But something Sini had mentioned left him even more confused.
What did she mean by “came to the house”?
Just as he was wondering about it—
Sini grew even angrier. She picked up the broom beside her and said coldly, “You still dare to lie?! The girl is waiting in the living room right now. Go deal with it yourself! If she’s pregnant… I’ll—I’ll break your legs myself!”
When she mentioned pregnancy, Sini almost shoved the broom into Luca’s face.