It’s an Academic Fact That Rankers Are Model Students – Chapter 168

Chapter 168: Ceram, the Black-Skinned Silva (2)

” I’m sorry about earlier. Were you very scared? “

Kyung-joon, who now speaks fairy language very well.

The silva mother looks surprised at Kyung-joon.

The same goes for the silva girl next to her.

And then she bows politely to Kyung-joon.

” No. Thank you so much for saving us earlier. My name is Ceramic. “

The silva girl also peeks out from behind her mother and greets him.

” M, My name is Sera…… Thank you…… “

” It’s okay. It’s not like everything’s been resolved yet. “

” Still…… “

After refusing the silva mother’s offer to repay him by giving him this and that, saying that she could give him more in three days.

Kyung-joon was about to return to the Study Villa.

But then.

” Um, I have a question for you…… Is that okay? “

” A question? “

A question after just meeting?

Kyung-joon had no idea what it was.

But after hearing the silva mother’s next words, Kyung-joon changed his mind.

” You said Ceram when you were talking to the arliv earlier……. “

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

This time, he really returned to the Study Villa.

” I confidently accepted the quest, but……. “

[Quest Time Remaining: 47:34:52]

About a day after stopping the arliv attack.

The research was progressing smoothly, but a proper prototype had not yet been made.

The mana that purifies the black magic stone with Ceram’s earth magic, that had to be put into fertilizer.

It wasn’t about purifying one arliv at a time, but about purifying many arlivs over a long period of time through fertilizer.

The condition was that the fertilizer had to purify slightly faster than the rate at which the arlivs were contaminated with black magic stones.

<But that’s not going so well.>

” You’re telling me. All the prototypes so far have been either too fast or too slow. “

<It’s always hardest to find the right balance.>

If the purification speed of the fertilizer was too slow, it wouldn’t purify in the first place, and if it was too fast, the effect of the fertilizer would wear off too quickly, which was another problem.

Only by making a fertilizer with the most appropriate purification speed could thousands of arlivs be purified simultaneously.

Since arlivs were tightly connected to each other through a network, no matter how fast the purification speed was, it was meaningless if they couldn’t do that.

Because if they got contaminated again, that would be the end of it.

<If it doesn’t work out, can’t you just give up the quest? Then the 3-day time limit will be extended to 3 weeks.>

” Well, that’s true. “

As Teemo said, if he couldn’t make such a fertilizer within 3 days, he could just give up the quest before the time limit.

Instead, Ceram’s fellow silvas would be miserably absorbed by the arlivs with the forest’s mana.

” But now it’s a bit late for that. “

Kyung-joon said so and looked at the quest window in front of him.

Two epic quests were floating.

[Quest List}

▶Ceram, the Black-Skinned Silva – Epic

▶Arliv Purification – Epic (Related)

To clear both of these quests, he had to purify the arlivs and save the silvas.

Otherwise, either the arlivs would be wiped out or the silvas would be wiped out, there was no other way.

Knock, knock, knock.

A knock came from behind the door.

” Come in. “

At Kyung-joon’s words, it was Ceram who opened the door of the villa and entered.

” Kyung-joon-nim. I made it as you said. “

” Oh? Already? Good. Let’s see. “

The arliv purification fertilizer that he had asked Ceram to make.

He checked to see if it was properly made this time.

[Brown Purification Powder with Earth Energy (Experimental FA59)]

▶Ordinary fertilizer infused with earth energy. It has the effect of purifying plants and making them grow well.

▶Hmm, one spoonful of this. One spoonful of that. But just a little bit of growth boost…… (Heaps!) Oh my……. -Fairy C who’s been feeling uneasy lately-

▶Item Grade: Rare

” Hmm…… “

Kyung-joon tilted his head at the subtle status window and made a chewing sound.

” So, what do you think? “

” Well…… It’s the highest grade I’ve seen so far…… “

It was a Rare grade, the highest grade he had seen in 59 prototypes so far.

But the fairy C’s line attached to the item description.

The fertilizer looked fine on the outside, and so did Ceram, but he felt very uneasy for some reason.

” ……Let’s go out for now. “

There was no way to properly judge the effect until he tried it himself.

Kyung-joon and Ceram went out to the yard outside the villa to test the effect of the purification fertilizer.

” Then I’ll use it right away. “

” Yes. “

[Corrupted Branch]

▶It is a corrupted branch of a arliv.

▶Item Grade: Inferior

Kyung-joon took out the contaminated branch he had received from the arliv and planted it in the ground in a familiar manner.

Then he took out the purification fertilizer that Ceram had made and sprinkled it on top.

The purification fertilizer, a combination of Ceram’s earth magic and agricultural chemistry knowledge.

Swoosh.

It immediately seeped into the ground and began to be absorbed by the arliv’s corrupted branch.

” Oh?! “

Swoosh!

The contaminated branch began to grow rapidly!

A phenomenon he had never seen before!

And after a while.

▼Dark Trent (Moster)

” Kieeeeek! “

The branch that was reborn as a dark tree monster!

” Wow! Amazing! “

Kyung-joon cheered and emitted light.

[Unique skill 『Photon Strike(Lv.2)』 ]

Pwabaam!

” Ki, Kieeeeek~! “

The Dark Trent was engulfed in a single strike of light and instantly incinerated.

Flutter, flutter~

In a black Christmas-like scene with black ash powder falling.

” In the end, it turned into something that looks like it ate radiation again. “

Kyung-joon sighed deeply and asked Ceram in a resigned tone.

” This is the 59th time already, Ceram. Be honest, are you worried sick about the arlivs and the silvas? “

” Hehehe, as I said before, it has nothing to do with me. More importantly, hurry up and make the next, 60th fertilizer…… “

” Sigh, put down that stone necklace in your hand and tell me that. There’s no persuasiveness at all. “

Kyung-joon scratched his head and briefly pondered what to do, then continued.

” Hoo, Mr. Ceram. Let’s stop pretending. “

” ……What do you mean? “

” First of all, that stone necklace, you said it belonged to your mother. You’ve been fiddling with it this whole time because you’re worried about your mother, aren’t you? “

” I wonder if you can even call a being who abandoned her child as soon as it was born a mother, hehe. In the first place, I’m not even sure if this necklace really belongs to my mother…… “

” Then stop lying. “

Ceram’s words were lies.

Kyung-joon couldn’t use magic like TikiTiki’s 『Eye of Truth』 to reveal the truth, but this time, he was sure.

” Mr. Ceram, you’re so knowledgeable about stones, metals, and things like that that you were able to understand how to purify the black magic stone so quickly, so you’re not telling me you don’t know what that stone necklace is, are you? “

” ……What do you mean? “

Ceram still pretended not to know.

To such a Ceram, Kyung-joon tossed two stones and handed them to him.

They were 『Magic Memory Stone』 and 『Video Memory Stone』.

Kyung-joon said.

” You still don’t know after seeing these two? “

” ……. “

Ceram already knew what these two stones were.

That’s why he couldn’t say anything.

Kyung-joon continued.

” Before, the arliv replayed what happened in the past, saying it was the memory of the tree or something, right? “

If the arliv was the memory of the tree.

Surely Ceram would also be able to replay the memories contained in that stone necklace.

Because that stone necklace was not an ordinary stone necklace.

It was made of Magic Memory Stone, Video Memory Stone, or something similar.

So in other words.

” Mr. Ceram. You already know, don’t you? “

Why Ceram’s mother had no choice but to abandon him.

How sad and regretful she must have been because of it.

And with what kind of heart she engraved his name there.

Wouldn’t Ceram have already known by looking at the memories of his mother engraved on the necklace?

Looking at him still fiddling with the old stone necklace and adding to its grime, he must have.

If not……

” Or you haven’t played it yet. “

Was there any other reason why he was afraid to find out, and had left his mother’s ‘real’ belongings unchecked until now?

” Haha…… You already knew that, didn’t you? As expected of Kyung-joon-nim. “

” What do you mean, amazing? You gave me all the hints. “

Ceram had told him.

That black-skinned silvas were considered demon spawn, and were killed as soon as they were born.

But Ceram was not killed but ‘abandoned’.

He survived to the end and was now standing in front of Kyung-joon.

So now was the time to check.

” You said they were strangers before. “

When he told Ceram that the silvas were being attacked, Ceram said that they were ‘strangers’ and that it was none of his business.

” Is that true? “

Kyung-joon asked again if he still thought so.

This was a double-edged question.

It wasn’t just about asking how Ceram felt.

It was also a question of whether he was really going to stand by and do nothing.

” ……. “

Ceram said nothing for a moment.

He just kept his usual merchant-like smile and kept adding to the grime on the stone necklace in his hand.

He needed to take drastic measures with this guy who was so frustratingly lost in thought.

Kyung-joon gathered his mana and sent it towards Ceram.

” K, Kyung-joon-nim?! What are you……! “

Ceram was startled by Kyung-joon’s sudden action.

Wooong!

But Kyung-joon’s mana had already reached Ceram’s stone necklace, and the letters 『CERAM』 engraved on it began to glow brightly.

[The Inferior item 『Ceram’s Grimy Stone Necklace』 will be reappraised as the Unique item 『Emotion Memory Stone (by CERAMIC)』.]

[The third quest piece of the Epic Quest 『Ceram, the Black-Skinned Silva』, the special piece, will be unlocked.]

[Ceram, the Black-Skinned Silva – The Third Piece -]

▶The grimy stone necklace clutched in his hand. It was the only item his mother left him and a link to the silvas. Currently, the silva tribe that abandoned Ceram is being attacked by the arlivs.

※ (Special Piece): The stone necklace of Ceram is engraved with the 『emotion』 left by his mother.

[The future development of the quest will be greatly influenced by the special piece.]

[The emotion engraved in the Unique item 『Emotion Memory Stone (by CERAMIC)』 will be played back.]

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Gurgling.

Gurgling, gurgling.

A river was flowing.

Beyond it was a forest of reeds.

Rustle.

The reeds swayed slightly, and a green-skinned fairy emerged from them.

She was a mother carrying her child.

In both hands, she held a pile of freshly gathered branches.

Using green mana, she made a small box out of the branches and coated it with asphalt and resin.

She floated it on the river several times to make sure no water seeped in.

And then she carefully laid her child on her back on the neatly laid reed leaves.

Unlike the green-skinned mother, the child had black skin.

” ……. “

She looked at her sleeping child with sorrowful eyes and conveyed something to him, then gently placed a necklace next to him.

Then, she carefully sealed the box with mana and floated it on the river.

And so the child Ceram in the box was able to survive without dying, the first of the black-skinned silvas.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Teardrop.

A teardrop ran down his cheek.

The emotion engraved on the stone was none other than 『sadness』.

A truly heartbreaking sadness stemming from the fact that a mother had no choice but to abandon her child.

” ……. “

To Ceram, who was speechless and kept crying, Kyung-joon added his last words.

The words that would put an end to Ceram’s short yet long story.

” Come to think of it, Mr. Ceram, you have a little sister now, don’t you? “

” Pardon……? “

Three days after receiving the quest from the arliv.

Ceram somehow managed to complete the item Kyung-joon had requested.

Because there was a reason and justification, the fact that he could no longer be a stranger.

That’s how much of a cheat it was to bring up someone else’s family.

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