Chapter 337: One Hell of a Reward

Ruvian wasn’t sure when it had started.

The office around him was already losing its color, everything slowly turning gray as Haruna and everything else her came to a stop.

’The memory...’

Before he could even finish the thought, the scene vanished.

The next thing he knew, he was back in that endless darkness, countless white crystals drifting silently around him.

Now that the worst of his emotions had finally passed, however, a quiet sense of embarrassment began creeping in, especially when he remembered that Morvayne had been standing there and watching him the entire time.

Unable to bring himself to look her way, Ruvian cleared his throat softly before asking,

"Anything else you want to see? Another memory, perhaps?"

Morvayne paused for a moment before answering without the slightest hint of shame.

"I am, in fact, still rather curious... and I would very much like to see more. But Child, it seems you are about to regain consciousness. What a surprise."

There was a faint trace of disappointment in her voice as she continued,

"So I suppose we will have to postpone our little exploration until another time."

’What? I’m about to wake up now?’

Just as that thought crossed his mind, the endless realm suddenly trembled around him. Before Ruvian could react, his vision blurred.

Then, everything vanished.

*****

His eyes slowly opened again, only to be met with darkness, while a faint green glow pulsed beside the bed he was lying on.

His vision remained slightly blurry from the tears that had yet to fully dry, but he could still make out the healing artifact resting near him.

Judging from the patient clothes covering his body and the familiar smell of medicine in the air, he had woken up inside the infirmary.

The moment he tried to move, however, a sharp ache throbbed through his head, forcing his brows to tighten as he immediately stopped.

Ruvian coughed softly and raised one hand toward his forehead.

"Ugh... my head is killing me."

Suddenly, a voice came from beside him.

"Don’t worry. I’ll be the one to kill you someday."

Groggily, Ruvian turned his head to the right. There was another boy lying on the bed beside him, dressed in the same patient clothes. Even through the darkness and faint green glow, there was no mistaking that white hair.

Ruvian’s expression immediately soured. "How many times are you going to say that? What are you, a Pokémob?"

Julian’s brows furrowed in irritation, though there was also clear confusion on his face. "I’ll say it as many times as I want. Also, what the hell is a Pokémob?"

Ruvian let out a dejected sigh and sank back against his pillow.

Of all people, he hadn’t expected to be placed in the same infirmary room as this bastard.

"It’s nothing," he replied before asking a more important question. "Also, what’s the situation now? What happened after I passed out?"

Julian clicked his tongue, clearly not in the mood to explain anything. Still, after a brief silence, he answered.

"The exam has been terminated. The officials said the Leviathan will depart tomorrow afternoon, since it is already far too late to travel now. Apparently, they would rather not risk sailing while the sea is still covered by this unnatural night."

He shifted slightly on the bed before continuing, sounding increasingly annoyed.

"As for the closing ceremony and the announcement of the results, they still intend to hold them. Either during the journey back or shortly after we arrive at the academy."

Ruvian frowned slightly.

"What time is it now?"

Julian sighed.

"Nearly two in the morning."

’Hmm... so I was unconscious for about twelve hours.’

Ruvian glanced toward Julian again.

"What are you doing awake at this hour?"

Julian’s expression immediately darkened.

"Ha! How exactly am I supposed to sleep when the person beside me has been crying and whining about his mother in his sleep?" He folded his arms with an irritated huff. "If not for that, I would have been asleep hours ago."

Ruvian froze.

His eyes widened slightly before his face stiffened, and an uncomfortable heat slowly crept up the back of his neck.

’Wait... I was saying that out loud?’

He stared blankly at the ceiling for several seconds.

’Goddammit. Why the hell was I talking in my sleep too?’

The memory itself had already been embarrassing enough. Knowing that Julian had apparently listened to him mumble about his mother only made it far worse.

However, Ruvian had no intention of admitting defeat.

His pride might have suffered, but unfortunately, his pettiness was still perfectly healthy.

"Aren’t you one to talk, you mama’s boy?"

Julian’s expression changed instantly.

A pillow flew across the darkness and struck Ruvian directly in the face.

"Bastard!"

Ruvian pulled the pillow away, only to find Julian glaring at him with his face faintly red.

"Those were completely different circumstances!" Julian snapped, sounding far more offended than he had any right to be. "You were the shameless bastard intruding into my memories in the first place, so have some dignity and keep your mouth shut about it!"

Ruvian’s lips twitched.

Julian pointed at him sharply from across the room, his noble composure already long gone. "And if you dare bring that up again, I swear I will kill you even after you are dead!"

Ruvian stared at him for a moment before slowly placing the pillow beside himself.

"Fucker... you’re not getting this pillow back."

"I don’t even need it! Ha!"

After that, both of them turned away from each other, and the room quickly fell silent.

The atmosphere had become painfully awkward. Julian seemed to be mumbling something under his breath, but Ruvian couldn’t quite make out what he was saying.

It was then that something important suddenly crossed his mind.

’Wait... right. Normally, whenever I’m unconscious, I don’t receive any notifications from the System.’

His eyes narrowed slightly.

’I wonder... how many Plot Points did I get?’

It should be a lot.

A lot, lot.

After all, he had survived the bounty hunt, fought Julian, and made his achievements known to practically every scholar participating in the examination.

Then there was everything that happened afterward.

He had confronted a Supreme Primordial Demon, saved Julian from his doomed fate, and, perhaps most importantly, caused the entire examination to end far earlier than it was originally supposed to.

And those were only the things he could immediately think of.

’All things considered... there might be even more than that.’

Before all of this, his Plot Points had already reached around 74,000.

So how much did he have now?

With that thought in mind, Ruvian immediately inspected his [Runeheart].

==========

{}---『RUNEHEART』---{}

◇ Name: Ruvian Castelor

◇ Age: 17

◇ Spellcore: Tier 3

◇ Rank: Second-Class Magus

◇ Magic Affinity: None

◇ Relevance Tier: Stage IV – Pivotal Canon

◇ Plot Points: 274,000 (PPs)

◇ Current Arc: Arc 3 – The Vazrun Island

[Mana Resonance: (100/1,000)]

==[General Attributes]==

Strength: C+

Agility: C+

Endurance: C+

Vitality: C+

Perception: C+

==[Mage Attributes]==

Mana Control: B-

Casting Speed: C+

Magic Power: B-

Mental Strength: S

Mana Sensitivity: C+

Mana Essence: [15,000/15,000]

==========

==[Innate Blessings]==

- [Blessing of Indomitable Will]

==[Affinity Mastery]==

- [Pure Mana, Wind, Darkness (Advanced)]

- [Water, (Intermediate)]

- [Dark Mana (Basic)]

===============

The moment his eyes fell on the number beside his Plot Points, Ruvian’s pupils shrank.

For several seconds, he simply stared at it, wondering if the lingering headache was somehow making him see things.

’274,000!!???’

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[Chapter 337: One Hell of a Reward]

Plot Points= 274,000