Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Scholarship

The corner of Melanor's eye twitched as the crunching sound inside her mouth from the carrot, without even trying she could easily tell that the stew was badly prepared, as she swallowed she turned her head to face her daughter who had a second large serving in her bowl. She slightly shook her head and turned to face Reiki and saw that he was eating at a steady pace without his expression changing.

Melanor said. "Reiki... Do you want to try other elven delicacies? I can whip something up in a couple of minutes." Reiki emptied his bowl and drank a sip of water, he said. "How about tomorrow? I'm fine with the food on the table." Reiki served himself another large portion of the vegetable stew and started stuffing himself.

Tasting the cheese as he ate an entire slice of bread like breathing air both of the elves were staring at him like a new species. Melanor with a smile stood up from her table and said. "I'm... Going to head out for a while. I'll be sure to bring something back." Reiki looked at her plates and saw that the bread and cheese were already gone while the vegetable stew was mostly untouched.

Melanor walked to the front door as it closed behind her leaving both of them alone. Moranor that still had a faint blush on her face stared at him, her eyes narrowed and she said. "What are you playing at?" Reiki emptied his second bowl and was about to serve himself another one when Moranor took the large wooden ladle from the stew, she continued. "Answer me." Reiki ate all of the cheese and bread on his plate and said. "I've been taught to not be wasteful."

Moranor slowly placed the ladle back in the stew as Reiki served himself another large portion. Moranor crossed her arms and said. "How does it taste?" Reiki chewing on a carrot swallowed and said. "It's good." Moranor scoffed and sarcastically said. "Why are you lying?" Reiki kept his calm and said. "So what if I'm lying about whether the food is good or bad?"

Moranor gritted her teeth and said. "Are you mocking me?" Reiki ate another slice of bread that was followed by him eating a piece of cheese he ripped off from the wedge on his plate. He said. "Not really." Moranor smacked her hands on the table making everything on top of it visible wobble, she said. "If I knew you were going to be like this I would have-." Reiki interrupted her and said. "In short, you're mad because I called the food you made good?" Moranor's eyes widened as she kept staring at him, she said. "Exactly!"

Reiki made eye contact which caught her by surprise for a moment but she quickly steeled herself. He said. "And may I ask why you're mad about me complimenting your cooking?" Moranor narrowed her eyes as she kept staring into his, she said. "Because I already know it's terrible! I don't need you to remind me!" Reiki stuffing his face with more bread and cheese followed by a couple of spoonfuls of stew, after swallowing he said. "Then it's simple, practice."

Moranor ate some cheese and said. "I don't need to practice something so useless, I can already get an occupation to buy all the necessities, even food." Reiki emptying his third bowl served himself while saying. "We have something called positive reinforcement, it's when you fail as long as you did your best. We encourage others to not be discouraged from a small setback."

As he ate another spoonful of the stew, Moranor scratched the back of her head in frustration and said. "What does it have to do with our conversation?!" Reiki let out a sigh, placing the spoon in the half-empty bowl filled with stew. He said. "You're mad because I said this stew is good right?" Moranor said. "Right! So!?" Reiki pointed at the bowl of unevenly sliced vegetable stew that had raw and somewhat cooked carrots and potatoes in it. He continued. "This is your small setback, all you have to do is practice."

Moranor scoffed and said. "Easy for you to say if you were here a few dozen years prior you wouldn't even eat what I made. I'm not eating raw or burnt food because I want to, just so you know." Reiki served himself another bowl and said. "Then I'll eat it." Moranor's eyes widened as her eyes narrowed in a split second, her mouth slowly forming into a small smirk. She said. "So you're saying, you'll eat what I cook? Without any questions and claiming it's good?"

Before he could take another bite of stew he placed the spoon back in the bowl and said. "I will." The smirk on her face grows. She said. "Even when it's not safe for human consumption? Or parts of it look black or purple? And possibly even move?" Reiki emptied his fourth bowl and emptied his glass of water. He said. "Even if it started speaking demons tongue I would eat it without complaining." 

Moranor, still wearing her brown boots, placed both her feet on the table, making the utensils shake. With a mysterious smile on her face, she said. "I hope you don't chicken out, but even if you did I know all too well that humans don't keep their word." Reiki let out a chuckle and said. "Challenge accepted. Do your worst."

...

At the front door, Melanor was standing in the front listening to their conversation. She had a small smile on her face as she took a deep breath and swung the door open to see Moranor had her feet on the table. Her daughter immediately tried to sit correctly but her mother was suddenly next to her, with a sweet smile on Melanor's face she said. "Dear... What have I said about etiquette?"

Moranor made a loud audible gulping sound and said. "Y-You said-." Melanor placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder and said. "You're going to wash the plates, right?" Moranor used the corner of her eye and saw the sweet smile on her face, she said. "Y-Yes, ma'am."

Melanor's sweet smile vanished as she turned her head to face Reiki who was emptying the large bowl of vegetable stew into his bowl, she stared at him with a compelling look for a couple of seconds and said. "I brought something that you might like." From the pouch on her belt, she pulled out a white round wooden box, as she slowly took the lid off she placed it on the table and showed Reiki the contents.

Inside of it was a couple of dozen chocolates, in various shapes and roughly the same size. Moranor who dropped her spoon on the table stood up from her chair and hugged her mother's sleeve and happily said. "Choco! Mom, what's the occasion?!" Melanor turned her head to face her and coldly said. "Finish your meal." Moranor started to make a sad frown and started pouting as she went back to her chair to sit, using the edge of her eye to look at the chocolate from time to time while she was playing with her food.

Reiki saw that there was writing on the inside of the lid, his pupils had a thin blue ring that started to change in thickness as the writing blurred and slowly turned into Japanese. Melanor seeing this casually placed her left hand behind her, her hand started to glow with a faint layer of mana as she said. "What's the matter, Reiki?" Moranor seeing this was watching in interest, Reiki mumbled. "Temperature. Control." As he picked up the lid and looked at it in fascination, with a growing smile on his face he showed the writing to Melanor and said. "Is this an inscription?!"

Seeing the smile on Reiki's face the thin layer of mana behind her back disappeared as she stared at his eyes observing the thin blue ring in his pupils that stopped moving. Noticing that he didn't have any ill intent she said. "It is, what about it?" Reiki turned the lid to get a closer look and said. "I've never seen one before! Let alone something like this!" The ring in his pupils vanished as the writings turned into elvish, Melanor seeing this from the side and observed his actions.

With a closer look, he saw that the writings themselves were embedded in the wood, his right hand started fidgeting as he turned his head and said. "Am I allowed to touch it?" Melanor nodded and kept on observing him, using his hand he felt the writings were cold just enough to keep a consistent temperature, bringing the lid closer to his eye he saw that the writings were faintly glowing. A small frown suddenly formed on his face as he turned to look at the box in Melanor's hands. She said. "Reiki, what's the matter?"

His eyes widening, he said. "Can you let me see what's inside that box!?" Melanor passed the white round box to him, as he carefully placed all the chocolates on the lid he carefully took the brown fabric-like substance and placed it on the table. On the bottom of the brown fabric was another inscription written in elven language, the blue thing ring appeared once again in his pupils as he read. "Mana. Freeze."

Melanor's eyes narrowed while observing the blue mana ring in Reiki's pupils, as his hand got closer the moment he touched the inscription he felt a surge of mana similar to being shocked go through his hand. Quickly getting his hand away from it he said. "Ouch!"

[System: User has received 873 lightning Damage.]

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[System: User has received debuff minor shock.]

While rapidly shaking his hand for a few seconds, he stopped his hand and saw that it was uncontrollably trembling with a slight numbness going through it. Melanor just watched him as Moranor let out a chuckle. Melanor said. "Reiki, do you know how inscriptions work?" Reiki looked at his trembling hand for a few moments as he saw it was starting to fade after a few seconds, trying to curl it into a fist he started to regain some nerves.

Looking back at the box in his hand he said. "I know there are dozens of branches, but the three most well known are talisman, engravings like this one, and formations." Scratching the back of his head for a bit, he continued. "In engraving, you first use the canvas."

Pointing at the lid and the box in his hands. He continued. "Then like the name, you engrave characters on them, using certain tools. Then while slowly pouring mana in the tools every time it touches the canvas it would help with the tempering. Carefully adding a thin layer of paste depending on the element like shards of fire, water, earth, and wind crystals mixed into it to help with the flow of mana, If their day to day items like this require little to nol maintenance." Melanor made a small nod next to him and said. "Then can you explain why it's using lightning as a source of power?"

Reiki nodded and while staring at the inscription he said. "That's because compared to other elements lightning is the most versatile when it comes to sources of energy. Unlike the others that have reactions upon making contact with the opposite element, controlling the volume and uh... Quality? Lightning can be used to awaken the dormancy of crystals, it's like an individual in cardiac arrest! Their heart stops but the voltage of lightning can help restart the heart that's responsible for blood flow. If the two inscriptions like this one are connected by a sort of method the lightning sends a consistent current to revive the one at the top at a certain interval. This is the reason for these things with very little maintenance, it should probably cost about an inch and a half crystal to upkeep."

Reiki took the same spoon he was using to eat and slowly moved it towards the inscription, the spoon was less than an inch away from it as it shot out some sparks of lightning. He said. "I didn't expect it to be this volatile." He placed his ear on the bottom of the wooden box and heard very faint sounds of currents cracking, he tapped it a few times to see if there would be any effect in the flow.

Melanor stared at him and said. "This is a surprise, I thought... This kind of information would have been kept secret to children your age." She took one of the chocolates on the lid and picked up a star-shaped one and ate half of it. Reiki finally placed it down on the table and said. "They do, the only reason I know is because of the school's reading materials for a scholarship, but I lost it when I didn't go to the first day of school."

Moranor looked like she was about to laugh but was able to hold it in, Melanor placed her hand on her cheek and thought for a few seconds. Reiki turned his head to the chocolate he placed on the lid, he thought. Those do smell good. Taking a couple of more sniffs of the chocolate as he was about to pick up a square-shaped one Melanor snapped her hands and said. "You're the one who lost the scholarship at Ishin academy!?" Reiki held the square-shaped chocolate in his hand as he used his other hand to softly scratch his cheek, he lazily said. "Never knew I was this famous." Placing the chocolate in his mouth he said. "This is good."

Moranor turned her head to face her and said. "Mom when you said Ishin academy... You didn't mean that one did you?" Melanor was staring at Reiki, who was choosing which shape of chocolate he'll be eating next. Melanor said. "There's only one academy that's named Ishin, no other branches, no records of any of the principals, and with a budget that would make all the money in the world except a certain place look like a small hill."

Reiki, who was about to eat another piece of chocolate, said. "Correct, that's the same one." Tossing the chocolate in his mouth without any effort, Moranor said. "So what if he got a scholarship? Other academies have them."

Melanor let out a big sigh and said. "Dear if you could read a few things now and then you would understand why. Ishin Academy is a graveyard for geniuses, every student who failed to meet standards or didn't get the desired position the school demanded in competitions would be kicked out within minutes. And every year there would be only one student who gets the scholarship, trigonometry, herbology, understanding of mana, theories of magic, inscription, blacksmithing, combat capabilities, and much more making the list easily reaching 50." Moranor's gaze was glued onto the chocolates.

Melanor continued. " Anyone can apply to take the test to get the scholarship, but the requirements are you need to pay a ridiculous fine, get an average of 75, and have one crafting job. Those who fail can still take a regular exam to get in, but depending on their performance they might get a discount at best."

Using the corner of her eye to look at Reiki who was biting the triangle-shaped chocolate in his hand, Melanor continued. "The very few who got the scholarship can be counted using a single hand and the highest one to pass only got an average of 74." Melanor used her hand to point at Reiki who was behind her. She Said. "He got an average of 97, the second-highest only got an average of 53. Every year tens of thousands enroll at Ishin, but every week at least about 1,300 students get kicked out. The highest record being 5,632 being kicked out in a week while the lowest just barely avoided four figures at 998, every day children of politicians, nobles, and sometimes somewhat famous adventurers are at the gates are waiting for the principal to go outside and try to convince him to let their child back in." Moranor gulped while she stared at the chocolate as she ate some raw vegetables. 

Melanor continued. "There were also a few times when they tried to use force, but the most memorable was when 4 politicians hired a dozen triple A-rank adventurers and stormed inside the school. An afternoon passed and all of their bodies were being dragged to the gate and hanged for the crows to eat, with the name of the politicians carved on their torso of who hired them." Staring at her daughter Melanor let out a sigh and said. "Is this enough of an explanation to you? Or do I need to explain how it was founded?" Moranor shook her head sideways and softly said. "N-No, ma'am." Turning around to face Reiki she narrowed her eyes and said. "I have a question for you, Reiki." 

Keeping his hands at his side he kept his calm as Melanor was staring daggers into him. She said. "Why didn't you attend the first day? All four of the others only went on the first day and didn't even appear for months at a time. What was so important that you threw away your future and possibly even your family's life savings?"

Reiki stayed silent for a few seconds as he placed his right hand on the back of his neck as he let out a sigh and said. "On that day I woke up early and did everything, shower, ate breakfast, and packed my backpack. When I was about to board the train I was rummaging through my bag to double-check my notebooks and noticed I was missing a couple of the learning materials to return, I went back home and saw my little sister yawning as she was walking down the street to her school. Before I could unlock the door I heard a muffled scream followed by the sound of an engine roaring. Running towards the sound I saw a white van speeding down the street. I threw my bag on the ground and started running after it with my own two feet."

Melanor stayed silent as she was watching Reiki's every move, her pupils were faintly glowing as she was staring at his chest for a split second. With a single clap of her hands, she said. "Understood. I need to do something outside for a bit, Moranor make sure you do the dishes." As she walked to the doorway but there was a lack of sound of a door opening and closing. Moranor was staring at him with narrowed eyes and said. "If you had an-."

Reiki turned his head to face her and with a serious expression, he said. "No. If I said I didn't regret my decision at the beginning I would be lying. But after a long time of thinking... I decided my family is more important than my education. I did it once, I will do it again." As he carefully placed the brown fabric in the box and placed all the chocolate inside, and closed it with the lid, letting out a chuckle as he used the spoon that had some cracks of burn on the outside and started eating in a chair again.

Moranor's gaze was on the white round box near Reiki, while she was mixing the contents of her bowl, he said. "If you empty that bowl and do half of the dishes I'll give you some." As he stuffed himself with bread and more cheese. Moranor's eyes quickly went to him, she placed her hand on her chin and said. "I want 80%." Reiki immediately said. "Refused." Moranor used her hand and repeatedly smacked the table like a child and said. "Why!! I saved you! And right now you're eating most of the food on the table!"

Reiki emptying his bowl, with the large bowl in the middle of the table empty he let out a loud burp and said. "Excuse me, and to answer your question, can you find it in yourself to call this." He pointed at the large empty bowl in the middle and continued. "Food? If you can call this food,  I'll give you the entire box."

Moranor stared at him with her face with disbelief and a couple of smacks on the table she crossed her arms and turned her head to look at the wall and said. "Fine, I'll settle for 79%." Reiki started to stack some plates and took his glass, he said. "I'll give you 20% if you help with the dishes." As he stood up from his chair he stood in place for a moment and said. "Where's your sink?" Moranor laughed but forced herself to stop and said. "Behind me on the left."

...

Melanor was walking towards somewhere and suddenly vanished and waited underneath the shade of a tree. An elf wearing a green robe covering his face was kneeling in front of her and said. "Your order commander?" Melanor looked behind her for a few seconds and turned her head to face him and said. "Find everything about a human named Akihito Reiki."

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