Varocia : From Gamer to Mentor

"There are two ways I can think of right now."

Olgan looked at the three pairs of eyes watching him intently, though one pair pretended not to care.

I might need to throw a few [Fire Ball]s to discipline this tsundere for not paying attention in class later! he thought jokingly.

"The first method is to forcibly increase the HP drained," he said.

Edith looked puzzled. "Isn't it impossible to bypass the restrictions set by the System? Do you have a way to exploit the System directly as well?" Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.

He shook his head. "That's impossible—at least for now. By 'forcibly,' I mean you should try draining more of your HP. I don't have much experience with this, but perhaps you could use your mana to drain more HP than intended."

She pondered for a moment. "I've never tried that before. I mean, who would think of decreasing their own HP with mana? But it does seem feasible…"

"If that doesn't work, there's a simpler method. The moment you activate your skill, try slashing at yourself. This might create a loophole, tricking the System into believing that your HP was drained by that exact amount instead of the usual 5%."

Her eyes lit up. "That might work! But I need to test it first... what about the second method?"

"The second way involves using an item. Since there's a Class like Berserker with many drawbacks and negative effects, I'm going to assume there are pieces of equipment with similar functions, right? For example, cursed items?"

She nodded vigorously. "Yes, there are some cursed equipment, but I never thought about using those worthless things to grind EXP before. It's worth a shot!"

"Wait for me for a moment!" she exclaimed before dashing out of the training "dojo". He decided to call it a dojo for now since it resembled one, just a much larger version.

"I heard of your deeds from Princess Edith, but I never expected you to have so many unconventional ideas like this," Aqualia remarked, pushing up her glasses.

Why did you suddenly bring out glasses? he wondered, though he kept his question to himself.

"Hmph, it's not an honorable way of training, not befitting of a knight," Lenna scoffed, turning her face away.

"You seem to enjoy it with Edith, though," Olgan teased, a smile creeping onto his face.

"I did not!" she shot back, but her glare quickly turned slightly dejected again.

"You wore the same expression before. What's wrong?" Concern crept into Olgan's voice.

Lenna remained silent, but it was Aqualia who revealed, "Lenna is very loyal to Princess Edith and loves her dearly. However, the faster Princess Edith rises, the sooner she will be discarded. Such is the fate of all Prince and Princess Knights."

Olgan was shocked and confused, thinking of Edith. A person like her would abandon Lenna later?

"Even if she surpasses Lenna's levels, I highly doubt Edith would abandon Lenna."

Aqualia adjusted her glasses. "It's not that Princess Edith would abandon Lenna, but her Class itself."

"What do you mean?" Olgan asked, genuinely perplexed.

"I'm not sure if you've already heard this from Lenna herself, but Princess Knights, while all attributes remain the same, lose all their skills when the person they swore to protect passes away. That's not all; the same fate befalls them if that person surpasses the Princess Knight's levels," she explained calmly.

He was taken aback. "That doesn't make sense. I know Princess Knight is a Class designed to protect the 'Princess,' but is it necessary for them to always be stronger than the 'Princess' herself?"

Aqualia shook her head. "I'm not the one who made the rules, so I don't know. Regardless of the reasoning, she will become much weaker the moment Princess Edith reaches Level 41. While Princess Edith would never think of abandoning her, Lenna herself will likely try to distance herself. A Level 40 without any Class' exclusive skills—active or passive? Sorry to be blunt, but she'll just be a burden to Princess Edith."

Lenna is indeed Level 40... Olgan swallowed hard before turning to Lenna. "Is that why you feel both happy and downcast about Edith's rapid growth?"

Lenna took a moment before nodding, her expression heavy with emotion.

He fell silent, opening and closing his mouth a few times before saying, "So you have acknowledged me enough to believe I might be able to guide Edith to Level 41 quickly on this unexplored path like the Berserker?"

Lenna's eyes widened, her gaze turning fierce. "I. Have. Not. Acknowledged. You! Seriously, why do you always ruin my mood whenever I'm down?"

Olgan chuckled. "At least you're back to your usual self now."

She was momentarily stunned and coughed a few times before turning her head away, flustered.

Hesitating a little, Olgan reached out and took her hand. "I can't promise it'll be possible, but I will find a way to give you a chance to ascend beyond Princess Knight. Of course, not the conventional path."

Lenna's hands trembled for a moment before she pulled away, turning her back to him, her expression hidden.

To lighten the mood, Olgan leaned in and whispered in her ear, "You didn't try to deny the possibility. That means you acknowledge my capability, right?"

He felt an intense killing intent directed at him, making him shiver, "I. Will. Never. Acknowledge. You!"

Aqualia watched their antics with interest.

Before anything else could happen, Edith returned, holding a black sinister armor.

"I brought this as you requested!" she exclaimed, her voice brimming with excitement before turning strange. "What's wrong with you two again?"

"N-nothing," Lenna stammered, her face flushed with a mix of embarrassment and anger as she glared at Olgan.

Olgan's interest was immediately captured by the black armor as he received it from Edith.

"Inspect."

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Name: Cursed Armor of Bloodthrist

Grade: Cursed

Description: A suit of normal armor that has been bathed in blood for a long time, morphing and transforming it into a sentient armor that thirst for blood.

Effect: While wearing the armor, any skills the wearer cast will drain the wearer HP by 25%.

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"What trash!" he couldn't help but cursed after reading the description.