Two weeks passed since the Joint Combat Exam.
Autumn was rapidly bleeding into winter.
The Northern Forest grew colder by the day, but Ed’s camp remained completely secure.
He had fortified the perimeter, creating a sturdy shelter that kept the freezing winds at bay.
For Ed, these two weeks had been a slow, agonizing grind.
Thanks to the ‘Mana Rotation’ skill, he was passively gathering atmospheric mana with every breath.
It was a constant dull ache in his chest, but King Grey’s iron will forced his undeveloped mana core to adapt, stretching and fortifying his energy channels day by day.
No one in the academy had any idea of his silent progression.
However, while Ed thrived in his isolation, the rest of the academy was suffocating under the pressure of the impending mid-term evaluations.
And no one felt that pressure more than Janica Faelover.
It was late afternoon when she stumbled into Ed’s camp.
She looked terrible.
There were dark bags under her eyes, and her usually bright aura was dim.
She clutched a crumpled letter from her family in her hand—a reminder of the crushing expectations placed upon her.
She walked over to her usual wooden stump and buried her face in her hands, a quiet sob escaping her lips.
Ed didn’t stop whittling the piece of wood in his hands.
“You are carrying dead weight, Faelover,” he stated flatly.
Janica looked up, her eyes red.
“Everyone expects me to be perfect…
My family, the professors.
If I fail, I let everyone down.
It’s so heavy, Ed.”
“Expectations are invisible chains forged by weak people who want to control your potential,” Ed replied ruthlessly.
“They only care about the prestige of being associated with a genius.
Drop the dead weight, Janica.
In a real war, a soldier who worries about the spectators will be the first to die.”
It was a brutal, unsympathetic answer.
Yet, it offered a strange sense of clarity.
Janica looked at the crumpled letter in her hand.
Drop the dead weight.
To her, that didn’t mean ignoring her duties; it meant she needed to achieve a level of power so absolute that no one could ever question or pressure her again.
She needed to silence the expectations once and for all.
“Thank you, Ed.
I think I know what I have to do now.”
She turned and walked back toward the academy.
Ed returned to his carving.
However, his newly acquired Spirit Affinity immediately picked up on a faint, cyan glow hiding in the branches of the oak tree above his camp.
It was a lesser wind spirit.
Janica had left it behind to act as her eyes and ears, completely convinced that Ed, famous for having absolutely zero spirit affinity, couldn’t see it.
Ed didn’t look at the spirit.
He simply kept whittling.
He knew she was listening.
A few minutes later, the crunch of boots on dry leaves announced another visitor.
Lortelle Kehelland stepped out of the shadows of the tree line, draped in a high-quality winter coat, her signature merchant smile plastered across her face.
“Good evening, Mister Ed,” Lortelle greeted smoothly.
“I couldn’t help but notice Senior Janica leaving your camp looking much more resolved than usual.
You certainly have a strange talent for taming the academy’s pride.”
“Get to the point, Kehelland,” Ed replied, his eyes fixed on his knife.
Lortelle chuckled, reaching into her coat.
She pulled out a heavy velvet pouch.
The unmistakable clinking of high-grade gold coins echoed in the quiet forest.
She tossed it onto the log next to Ed.
“The Elte Company needs to build a relationship with Janica Faelover,” Lortelle explained, her voice turning purely business-like.
“We want exclusive rights to her spirit-summoning capabilities.
Act as a bridge.
Convince her to sit down with me.
Help me befriend her, and that gold is yours.”
High up in the oak tree, the lesser wind spirit vibrated anxiously.
Back in her dormitory, Janica sat on her bed, her heart pounding as she listened.
She braced herself for the inevitable betrayal.
Down in the camp, Ed picked up the heavy pouch of gold.
He tossed it lightly in his hand, feeling the weight.
Then, without a second thought, he tossed it right back at Lortelle.
Lortelle’s merchant smile vanished.
“Mister Ed… New chapters come out on g.com first.
did you miscount the weight?
That is more than enough to live comfortably for a year.”
“I don’t sell out my allies, Kehelland,” Ed answered.
His voice carried the heavy, unyielding authority of a king protecting his vanguard.
“Faelover is currently on the verge of a complete mental collapse.
If your company corners her with political demands right now, she will break.”
Ed stood up, his gaze bearing down on the merchant.
“A broken mage is a useless ally.
Take your gold and stay away from her.
If you interfere with her, you are interfering with my territory.”
Lortelle stared at the boy.
For a fleeting second, a sharp, unfamiliar sting of jealousy flared in her chest.
Why was this cold, pragmatic boy suddenly playing the protective knight for the pink-haired genius, while treating Lortelle like a mere vending machine?
It annoyed her more than losing a business deal.
Lortelle quickly masked her irritation with a complex smile.
“You are a very strange man, Ed Rothtaylor.
Very well.
I will withdraw my request.
For now.”
She turned and disappeared back into the forest, her pride slightly bruised by the realization that she wasn’t the only one he valued on his board.
Ed sat back down, glancing subtly at the branches above.
The lesser wind spirit was glowing brightly, trembling with overwhelming joy.
Far away in the dormitories, Janica buried her blushing face into her pillow.
He had called her his ally.
He had claimed her as his territory.
He had rejected a literal fortune just to protect her.
I won’t be a burden to him, Janica thought, her gaze shifting to an ancient, highly complex summoning formula she had found in a restricted library section.
The text promised to call upon a High-Ranking ruler of the spirit realm.
She didn’t know exactly what element would answer, but she didn’t care.
I will become undeniably strong, so I can stand by his side.
In the forest, Ed smirked internally.
A flawless tactical investment.
He had no idea that his pragmatic words had just given her the final push she needed to attempt a summoning far beyond her control.