The Dawn of the Sword. That was the name of the novel Lucian had read about this world.
It was a novel featuring a protagonist named Arthur, set in a modern world, but with mana.
And right now, Lucian was standing on the Academy grounds: wide stone avenues flanked by trimmed hedges, glass-fronted modern lecture halls, and an ancient Gothic clock tower.
The Academy was called Aegis Royal Academy, and the normal sight was students in sharp three-piece monster-hide uniforms balancing their smartphones while some dueled with rapiers and others worked through theory tables.
Just like a normal academy, except for a sealed subway entrance leading down to what was called the "Hollow."
But that was not the main focus. For now, focus on the main cafeteria, with its high-vaulted ceilings, polished oak tables, and the smell of lavender air freshener drifting through the packed, bustling room.
And right there, at a certain table, Lucian Croft sat alone, looking fragile and unremarkable. His hair was short and slightly disheveled, dark charcoal-black and unstyled, as if he had just run his fingers through it.
He was wearing the standard Aegis Royal Academy uniform, a black-and-silver blazer that was visibly worn.
Sitting alone wasn't the problem. It was just how he looked, no, how he was: sipping pale, translucent blue soup from porcelain bowls, draining each one in a single go, one after another, which had drawn quite a bit of attention.
Ahhh! This is really unbearable! His ash-grey eyes narrowed, sweeping across the surrounding tables, and only when he looked back down at the soup did one corner of his mouth curl up in disgust.
It feels like fucking distilled water with a pinch of chalk. He had almost vomited when the first few sips hit his tongue. If not for the effect that slightly dulled the endless, abnormal hunger, he would have thrown the fucking thing away.
Mana Broth. The only cheap mana-containing food that fit his budget, or rather, all of his money. A total of 1 silver crown and 4 copper bits was all he had left after buying these 2 bowls.
The reason he was eating it despite the taste? Simple.
Somehow after being discharged, he was hungry. Hungry like a beast. Normal food without mana had only negligible effects that couldn't even touch it.
Sandwiches, grilled chicken, all of that he had already tried. It confused him.
The plan has failed, and this endless hunger is killing me, he gritted his teeth silently. He had thought through all sorts of plans, what he would eat, the possibilities of picking up another passive skill, but who could have known this endless hunger would come out of nowhere?
Not to mention it was keeping him from thinking straight. For some reason, the corner of his vision also felt like there was a glowing, reddening light.
"Ugh, is that the Croft heir? The one who collapsed at the Lysander estate? He looks even more pathetic than before." As always, unpleasant words found their way to his ears while he was trying to think.
Another student passing by, looking at Lucian sitting there with his cheap Mana Broth. They could feel the dense aura rolling off him, as if he were about to roast them alive.
"Tsk! He's staring at that broth like it's a luxury meal. Look at him. He's probably counting every copper bit he spends."
Keep talking. It's not like I care about you, you fucking nobodies. He lashed it out in his head. If not for this cursed hunger making his mind restless and his patience drop to zero, he would have gone looking for any material he could eat and torn their mouths off.
But then a voice caught his interest.
"Wait, isn't he engaged to Lady Seraphina? How is he allowed to sit here like a beggar?"
Lucian's glare sharpened into a dangerous, narrow slit. Right. Is this natural?
No, he denied it immediately. Is this Seraphina's doing? He considered it, but when he recalled the previous incident, she probably hadn't had the time to pull something this small.
Besides, this wasn't her style. If she wanted, she could just hire a bunch of thugs to beat him up.
So he had a hunch. His gaze paused on the empty air, then drifted to the porcelain bowls in front of him.
Status? No, what's the command again. Profile?
Right then, a familiar transparent screen flashed before his eyes:
[THE GLUTTON'S CRUCIBLE]
Host: Lucian Croft
Vessel: Rank 1 (Ember)
Phantom Starvation: 75%
Active Passive Skills:
[TOXIC IMMUNITY (TIER 1)]
[HARDENED SKIN (TIER 1)]
The rest looked normal. He even smiled at the active skills. But then it looked like he had finally found the problem.
Phantom Starvation. That was it. His eyebrows furrowed, a few strands of his disheveled hair falling over his narrowed eyes.
But 75%, should I increase it or decrease it?
That could be figured out later. For now, he had pinned down the source of the problem.
The real problem was: where could he get cheap mana food? Mana-dense food was expensive compared to normal food because it contained mana, which others used to refill their energy, heal wounds, or push through to higher ranks.
And here I am, eating it like normal food. Fuck. He cursed under his breath.
With no other choice, he racked his brain, pulling up everything he could remember about the novel. He wasn't exactly omniscient, couldn't remember every plot point, but one thing clicked in his mind.
Which was...
...
Walking behind the grand culinary hall, down a narrow stone alleyway lined with grease traps, steaming exhaust pipes, and industrial steel dumpsters, Lucian kept his ash-grey eyes relaxed, though the corners kept twitching.
His nose prickled from the smell of sour grease, raw iron, and boiling offal. Looking around, it reminded him of the back of a large grocery store, the kind with big green dumpsters.
One person was already there when Lucian arrived, standing beside the area and watching him with the tired eyes of a man used to this job.
A middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties, deep wrinkles, face unshaven. He looked at Lucian and said, "Kid, you lost? The student canteen is around the front." But Lucian's eyes weren't on him.
They were on the pile of trash. Or what looked like trash to most people.
Meat. There was meat.