When the Serial Killer Next Door Gained Harem System

Oh... so she really tried to cast a spell on me. She was testing whether I was lying about being Ambly-blessed. I couldn’t blame her. Even as a teacher, she didn’t seem to know what Ambly’s mark actually looked like. So it probably wasn’t common knowledge.

"Mind control, Mrs. Vance?"

Her eyes flew wide open and she snatched her hand back. "Huh... you either have an immense mental threshold, or you’re telling the truth."

"Telling the truth," I said. "I have no reason to lie."

"Maybe." She nodded. "Anyway, I just wanted to check myself in person. You’re free to go, Mr. Walker."

"Thank you, Mrs. Vance." I replied, then rubbed the back of my head. "One more thing... when will we be tested for the combat class... thingy?"

"That test won’t be happening today. If we’re lucky, tomorrow. But don’t count on it." She said. "Because of the upcoming tournament, the arena is almost always full."

"Ah... right, okay."

"Mm." She nodded. "Don’t be late to your next class, Mr. Walker."

"Yes, ma’am."

I turned and went back inside the main hall. My eyes immediately found Mio sitting at one of the tables close to the giant elder tree, quietly reading something. I didn’t want to bother her, so I kept walking and slipped into the hallway instead.

I found the classroom and stepped inside. A few eyes turned toward me right away. Some students leaned in and whispered among themselves, their voices low but clearly curious.

Jeez, Ambly was something else in this world. Just what did she do to get this much respect from humans? I guessed I had to read more books about her... and, if possible, find anything on that whole torture thing Mio had mentioned.

Out of boredom, I pulled up the system and began examining it while standing near the back.

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> Ace | LC: 37 | EXP: 35/177 | LVL 3

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> HP ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▱▱▱ 73/100

> MP ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 70/70

> STA ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▱▱▱ 69/90

────────────────────────

> Class: MAGE

> Known Abilities:

• Fireball

• Heal

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> PERKS

• +10% More magic damage

• +10% CRIT chance

• Backstab DMG

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> [ BAG ] [ MAP ] [ SHOP ] [QUESTS]

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I clicked on the Quests option absentmindedly, not realizing the other people would be able to see me. To them, I probably looked like a crazy person fingering the air or something. Eh, as if I didn’t have enough eyes on me already...

The Quests tab had two parts. The first was something called Daily Quest. It seemed like if I completed it, I would earn fifteen EXP. The description was simple: swing any type of sword or dagger for ten minutes straight, no breaks. Eh... I could do that. Free fifteen EXP sounded pretty good.

I didn’t need to accept it since it was already active, so I moved on to the next part: the quests that had time limits.

"Hmm..."

These limited quests looked good... but difficult at the same time. High risk, high reward type. For example, getting five monster cores from The Circle. Really? Knowing what kind of place The Circle was... that would be a hard pass from me. If I didn’t accept the quests in time, the time would run out and a new one would appear, it seemed.

"Well... I need EXP, though..."

╔══════════════════════╗

★ NEW QUEST ★

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> Title: Training

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> Objective:

• Kill ten wolves.

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> Reward:

+ 35 EXP

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> Deadline: Two days

╚══════════════════════╝

I could do that. Kill ten wolves? I had a damn fireball in my arsenal. I could just hunt wolves with that. Without really thinking, I accepted the quest with a nod. Thirty-five EXP. No LC, whatever that was, but I could take it.

Now... next option. Shop. I clicked on it, but had to close it quickly as a teacher entered the room.

He was a good-looking older man with a well-groomed gray beard that reached his chest and long gray hair tied back neatly. He had a strong, upright build that made him look more like a retired knight than a scholar.

"Good morning, everyone," he said with a warm but authoritative voice as he walked to the front. "I am Professor Eldrin Voss, and I will be teaching you Magic Foundations this semester."

He looked over the class, his eyes scanning each student. When his gaze landed on me, it lingered for a moment on the fingerless glove on my hand.

"Interesting..." he muttered to himself, then continued the lesson without missing a beat.

I exhaled quietly.

"Guess I’m stuck for a while..."

ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎

Well, another lesson done. And the things I’d learned were actually useful. So, it seemed like normal people who were blessed by a god could cast any spell they learned. But for me, it was different. I could only cast the spells the system allowed me, which, for now, was only Fireball and Heal.

If I wanted more spells, I needed to level up. This new quest I picked up would help with that. But before I did any of that, there was something I needed to handle... getting myself into a dormitory.

"That’s it for today, class," Professor Voss said, rising from his chair. "We will continue tomorrow."

He gathered his books and left the classroom.

I exhaled and rolled my shoulder. It still hurt a bit, but the pain was nearly gone. Thanks to the healing spell, it didn’t even leave a scar.

I could feel the other students’ eyes on me, so I decided not to linger. I got up and left the classroom, heading back to the main hallway. I found an empty table under the giant elder tree and sat down.

A few seconds later, a shadow fell over me.

I looked to the right. Mio was standing there, one arm resting on her waist, looking down at me.

"Yo."

"H-hey," I replied. "Mio. What’s up?"

"You getting used to the academy?" she asked, pulling up a chair and sitting down across from me.

"Yeah... people are giving me weird looks because I’m... well, Ambly-blessed."

"That’s to be expected." She crossed her legs, leaning back slightly.

"Yeah... I guess..."

I rubbed the back of my head and shifted in my seat. The spot under the elder tree was popular, nearly every table was occupied. I was actually lucky to have found a free one.

Mio uncrossed and recrossed her legs, then looked at me. The silence between us felt heavy. It was obvious neither of us was the talkative type. That was why I hadn’t approached her earlier when I saw her sitting here during the break. Ugh... what was I even supposed to say now?

"Nice weather, huh?"

"Mm?" Mio glanced at me, then toward the window. "You could say that."

"Ace Walker?"

Hearing my name, I looked up. "Huh?"