elra

An Otherworldly Scholar - 147

AN: long chapter

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Nokti and Virdian stood on top of a chair, pressing their snouts against the kitchen windows. Breakfast had just finished, and the little ones had the morning free of lessons, so they were scattered around the orphanage. However, the snake twins refrained from joining the other kids in their games. Instead, th...

Family Trip Update

Hey everyone!

Hope you all doing well. This is the last week of my family trip so my free time has been sparce. For that reason I will be posting only one chapter this week, on Friday (it will be a bit longer than usual, though). This month's bonus chapter will also be delayed because I want to edit it a bit more before posting.

As ...

Announcement!

Hey everyone! 

I'm sorry for the lack of chapter this Tuesday. The family trip has been a lot more hectic than I expected so I have had little free time to sit at the laptop and finish/polish the chapters. Next week I'll be returning to my house (finally!), so the publishing schedule will return to normal. 

Thanks for your...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 146

Sitting in the dark alley, the sound of water dripping from the gutter banged on my hyper-sensitive ears. A distant cart rattling against the cobblestone, horse hooves hitting the ground, townsmen chatting and yelling. No sign of armed guards. I took a deep breath but [Awareness] came back to life with every small sound near me, searching for th...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 145

“Focus, Caretaker,” Janus grunted, his voice muffled under a dark cloth.

We were lying on the rooftop of a big, old house that occupied the entire block, covered by an old chimney occupied by a family of swifts. Across the street, Kellaren’s manor rose like a lone peak among the stacked houses of the Western District. The houses seem...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 144

Lady Jorn put her hands on her hips and looked over my shoulder. Her eyes examined the orphanage at the speed of light, absorbing even the slightest details. I noticed her eyes stopping over the shattered shingles from that time I shot my shotgun to drive away Raudhan Kiln and his “henchmen”, but she remained silent. Her [Awareness] was feed...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 143

Spring was around the corner yet the day was even colder than the previous day. My mind wandered to the Heat Stones, but due to our guests, I couldn’t use them to warm the ballroom if I wanted to keep my Runeweaver Class a secret. I rubbed my hands together, however, neither Captain Kiln nor Sir Janus seemed to feel the cold. Elincia had broug...

Announcement

Hey everyone!

I'll be on a family trip until August 2nd. The publishing schedule should not change, as I have most of the work ready. The chapters might be a few hours off depending on the daily activities.

Have a nice week!

An Otherworldly Scholar - 142

Dear Robert Clarke. If you value those close to you, you will stop overstepping into our affairs. Commoners should not blend with nobility. Drop out of the tournament, otherwise, we would be forced to act. Not even your patron can protect you from a threat nobody can see. —A friend.

My body froze, and my thoughts broke down. Wer...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 141

The ground around Vigdis Herran froze. The layer of ice crept outwards, like the tendrils of a deep-sea creature, and Ilya had to retreat to prevent her feet from being caught in the area spell. Ilya walked past the boulders until her back hit the edge of the stands. The air in the arena grew colder, and I could see her breath forming small clou...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 140

“The winner of the fight is Kaeli Herran!” The Master of Ceremonies announced, walking into the center of the arena and stumbling on the stubby bushes.

As Kaeli cut the connection between her skill and the environmental mana, the small trees and bushes dried up and withered in a matter of seconds. The boulders and rocks, however, didn�...

Artwork Poll

It's time.

June (2024) Bonus Chapter

Zaon's Crippling Social [Awareness]

Zaon lay down on his bed, glancing at the ceiling. He knew, deep inside, that a boy his age should be in the backyard, flexing his new skills and bragging with those who didn’t have a class. Yet, he wasn’t. And that was making him nervous and feel sick in the stomach. It was always t...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 139

“A Mountain Druid shouldn’t be fighting on the plains,” Kaeli Herran grinned as specks of golden mana emerged from the ground and formed a radiant halo around her.

The ground trembled, and the sand liquified, but Zaon jumped back before getting caught. The hair on my neck stood to its ends as mana saturated the arena. I had felt this...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 138

Firana fell on Duke Jorn’s arms, her face pale as paper. Before I could notice, I was running into the arena. The smell of soot assaulted my nostrils as I walked over the black patches of charred ground. Dreva Herran sat on the ground with the help of Sir Janus and Prince Adrien. I used [Identify] on Firana before I even reached the group.

An Otherworldly Scholar - 137

I put a few drops of mid-grade Health Potion on a small piece of cloth and applied it on Wolf’s bruised eyebrow. The Fortifier’s barrier wasn’t as efficient against blunt damage as it was against piercing and slashing, and Jorvyn Herran's blows had reached Wolf’s face. Across the pavilion, Jorvyn received similar attention, although his ...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 136

“I believe Wolf is worried he would drag us down because of his lack of Class,” Ilya said, her eyes fixed on the arena.

I cursed myself. I had been too busy earning the Prince's trust, coming up with countermeasures against Kellaren, and trying to decrypt the mysterious rune that I had overlooked the kid’s mental state. After the fir...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 135

“Miss Elincia is in danger,” Zaon said.

My blood froze. Zaon couldn’t be right. Not a minute had passed since Elincia and the kids crossed the door into the fighter’s pavilion, and guards were supposed to protect the place. However, Zaon seemed confident on his Sentinel’s Oath. My feet were already moving before I could make any ...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 134

The kitchen remained silent as Corin recited the message.

“Lowell’s Orphanage will not face Team Farcrest. Instead, your next rival will be House Herran.”

I froze in place. The happiness from Zaon’s Class disappeared in a single swipe, and the feeling of helplessness invaded me. I couldn’t remember the last time good news w...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 133

AN: a bit longer than usual.

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Elincia and I stayed up late, sitting at the desk and thinking about ways of deceiving Kellaren’s guards. We counted on Sir Janus’ [Shadow Step], Lord Vedras’ Invisibility Potion, and my illusions as our primary strategy to move unnoticed through enemy territory. Still, it never hurts ...

Artwork - Wolf & Ilya

An Otherworldly Scholar - 132

AN: sorry for the delay, this one was super hard to write.

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Ilya, Wolf, and Firana entered the ballroom. Although I told them we wouldn’t be training, they wore their sparring clothing. At least their motivation was at an all-time high.

“Didn’t I say no training today?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Wolf shrug...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 131

The mysterious rune refused to yield. No matter the line of commands I engraved in the Rune Debugger, the skill always triggered the yellow signal. The attempt of enchantment wasn’t dangerous but not useful either. I used the Effect-Trigger-Source formula of the light stones and the warm blanket, putting the mysterious rune in each position to...

May Bonus Chapter

Time off was a rarity at the orphanage. With a dozen orphans prowling around, there was always something to do. A scraped knee to patch, a nasty Dust Bunny trying to steal from the pantry, a leak in the roof, or an unexpected visit to the market. Luckily, the planets had aligned that morning, and I found myself with nothing to do. Breakfast was ...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 130

Astrid fought to ease her breath, her yellow eyes clouded by terror. I held the bloody towel against her forearm, but the ominous rune on the desk caught my attention. It wasn’t like anything I had seen so far: a circle with protrusions of variable lengths inside and outside its perimeter. The shape of a rune had little to do with its effect, ...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 129

Firana vehemently shook her head, almost like she was trying to convince herself Corin’s words weren’t real. If you want to regain control of the Aias Mercenaries, I will follow. Despite my initial surprise, [Awareness] told me the girl was being truthful. I could sense the concealed fervor in her voice.

The light from the en...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 128

I was returning to the orphanage with the package Lord Vedras gave me under my arm and the Invisibility Potion inside my pocket. My mind wandered over the past few hours, and I couldn’t help but think we were more alike than I initially thought. Vedras had thought that giving me knowledge was the better way to gain my trust. And he was absolut...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 127

I pushed the doors of Lord Vedras chambers open. The tall windows let light pour into the well-furnished room, casting white and silver glimmers on the glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Bookshelves and mosaics with scenes of a hunt covered the wall. I recognized the shape of the distant mountains in the background. The artist copied the...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 126

Elincia stuffed her mouth with roasted meat before the tournament aides escorted us out of the VIP box. The first day of the competition was over, and half of the teams were eliminated. Other than Lord Gairon’s team being defeated in the first round, there weren’t any other upsets. The six teams representing the Ducal Families managed to qua...

An Otherworldly Scholar - 125

The mood in the VIP box was tense. Lord Gairon’s team had suffered at the hands of the Imperial Academy team. Even the theoretically unfavorable matchups ended up with the cadets winning. By the end of the bracket, the cadets had won the four combats and were more than twenty points ahead of their rivals. Prince Adrien drank from his cup with ...