The academy was painted in the evening glow of the sun.

Jaden sat on a bench beside the pathway leading to the House of Shadow. A heavy frown rested on his face as he focused on the glowing screen before him.

————[System]————

Host: Jaden Cross

Job: The Shutter Summoner

Level: 16

Experience: 10/200

Mark: [Shadow], [Sun]*, [Moon]*, [Nature]*, [Storm]*, [War]*

Grimoire: Platinum (Bound – 5/7)

▪︎ Bronze - Sun [+]

▪︎ Bronze - War [+]

▪︎ Silver - Nature [+]

▪︎ Silver - Storm [+]

▪︎ Gold - Moon

Skills:

• [Capture] – Seal targets into pictures using Slots (Film).

• [Summon] – Manifest sealed creatures temporarily.

• [Binding Codex] – Synchronise growth with bound Grimoires.

• [Site Tethering] – Save seven locations to teleport to.

Available Features:

• [Profile] – Status overview.

• [Epiphany Zone] – Training & comprehension mind space.

• [Picturebook] – Codex of Summons, Spells, Arts.

• [Quests] – Track active missions, objectives, and rewards.

Slots: 4

————[System]————

'I'll have to hunt nightmares or star beasts around the city to level up faster. Since I don't gain experience from captures without slots, that's the only way,' he thought.

His eyes suddenly sharpened as another thought flickered in his head, 'I can't stay weak... I don't know why Ansel keeps threatening me, but I can't just ignore him. I still remember how the protagonist always got crushed by someone like him after ignoring the antagonist.'

He stood up from the bench and walked towards the House of Shadow. Right at that moment, a soft chime-like voice called out to him from behind.

"Jaden."

He turned towards the voice and looked at Maria.

"Miss Ma—" he parted his lips to speak, but his words were cut off by her as she placed her index finger on his lips.

"You can call me Big sis, now. We are no longer in the class," she added with a light smile and before he could say or think of anything, she continued, "Let's go to your dorm. We have something important to talk about."

He gave her a nod and walked towards his dorm with her.

A few moments later, she sat in a chair while he sat on the bed and fed mana to the devouring pups.

'How fascinating...' she thought as she watched the pups' fur shimmer with a strange, clandestine glow with curious eyes.

She leaned forward in her chair to take a better look, and at the same time, Jaden opened his eyes. The pups jumped from his lap and let out soft sounds before sitting in the empty corner.

He shifted his gaze to Maria and questioned, "So, Big sis... what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

She pressed her hands together and replied, "It's about you not being able to use your sword art without using mana..."

His expression darkened as he asked, "What do you think is the issue?"

He questioned, but he had already thought of an answer himself — Talent. According to him, he simply lacked the talent that others had.

He assumed that the only thing he had was a bit of talent in controlling mana, which was also the reason why he used mana every time, because he subconsciously knew that without mana, he would not be able to do anything — he believed his assumptions and thoughts to be true until

"You have less talent with the sword than with mana. That is why your mana talent is holding you back from advancing your swordsmanship," Maria explained.

She looked at him and continued, "But there is no need to be worried about—" However, she had to stop because he was staring at her with wide, distant eyes.

"What's wrong?" She asked worriedly.

He shook his head and asked with slightly trembling lips, "W-what did you say?"

She frowned and repeated slowly, "There is no need to be—"

However, he cut her words off and muttered, "N-no before this."

An annoyed look appeared on her face as she thought, 'Is he trying to boast about his talent? How childish.'

"I said that your mana talent is too good and is the reason why your sword skills aren't improving..." Her annoyance melted into confusion as tears welled up in his eyes.

"...Why are you crying?" She asked.

"I-I thought I had no talent and it was happening because of that," he answered while wiping off his tears. A warm smile stretched across his face.

She blinked a few times, slumping back into her chair with a mutter, "This is even worse than boasting..."

She stood up from her chair as she muttered, "I can't take this."

Jaden frowned at her words and tried to stand up, but before he could do so, she threw a martial arts manual at him. He caught it and looked at her in confusion.

"That's a 4-star sword art. It's the one mother found a few years ago. I thought of giving it to James, but it does not suit him. So, learn it." She said before stepping out of his dorm room.

As she left, a blue screen flickered before him.

[Found learnable martial arts [1] within the vicinity.]

————[System]————

Learnable Martial Arts:

Sword Art

• Seven Gate Sword Art – A sword art that evolves as the wielder opens the seven inner gates of the soul. [Unranked]

————[System]————

He frowned at the screen and mumbled, "Unranked? Didn't she say it was a 4-star sword art? Is it because we haven't seen anything above 4-star yet?"

Outside his dorm,

As Maria descended the spiral stairs, a sly smirk crossed her face, "This is going to be fun..." She ruffled her hair, loosened her shirt and began to fix it back.

Right then, a young woman with silver-white hair and violet amethyst-like eyes reached the stairs before her.

Selina looked at Maria's haggard appearance, but didn't say anything and just continued to climb the stairs.

That was until Maria spoke in a tired voice, "Judy didn't have to do it so hard..."

Selina stopped in her tracks as her body trembled slightly, 'Calm down,' she told herself, though her steps quickened up the stairs.

An evil grin stretched across Maria's face as she chuckled in amusement.

______

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Goals

• 100 power stones = extra 1 chapter.

• 100 golden tickets = extra 1 chapter.

• 100 collections = extra 1 chapter.

• Golden Castle = extra 5 chapters.

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