KAPPA 47 (Patreon)

With Elle assuring him she and Mari wouldn't need help moving, Cairn and Kaia made their way to the most densely populated and most developed region of the Capital, home to the Insitute of Magical Research's Three Palaces, the Palace of Wisdom, the Palace of Stability, and the Palace of Innovation.

Unfortunately, as neither he nor Kaia were students, Cairn could not enter the exceptionally secure campuses of the Three Palaces directly. Instead, after telling the guards at the entrance the purpose of their visit, they had to wait in a lounge-like area under heavy surveillance. The Institute of Magical Research took the safety of its students and the protection of its secrets 'very' seriously, so much so that not even members of the Royal Family could walk around with impunity.

"This is taking way longer than expected..." remarked Cairn, bored out of his mind as he and Kaia had been waiting for over three hours. Including the time it took them to walk and tram over, it had been nearly five hours since they set out from the Rainy Day Inn.

"She might have been in the middle of class or busy with something she couldn't put down," proposed Kaia, unbothered by the passage of time as she knitted a new scarf. The fact she didn't have a Knitting Talent at this point was a wonder to Cairn.

"The least they could do is bring us snacks or offer us drinks," protested Cairn, directing his gaze to a figure decked out in a suit of predominately white armor. However, unlike the full plate traditionally worn by Knights, it resembled a blend between past, present, and future technologies. Cairn honestly found it a little badass, but it was clear the armor was intended to do most of the heavy lifting as the person wearing it was Level 29 but only had mediocre Talent development. It just didn't matter as the armor was basically a magic-powered Iron Man suit, increasing their Str by 300, their Agi by 180, and their Dex by 100 while providing 730 Physical Attack, 883 Magic Attack, and more than 2,000 Physical and Magical Defense. Its only weaknesses were that it placed a tremendous strain on the user and, once its power core was depleted, it was just a hunk of metal.

As Cairn was contemplating what Level he would need to be at to defeat such a pay-to-win existence, a feisty-looking woman with faded, golden-blonde hair done up in a ponytail entered the waiting area, shouting, "Are you the fools that interrupted my research!? Where's Asim!?"

Looking toward the voice, Cairn spotted a tall and voluptuous woman wearing a white tank top, brown short shorts with fur trim, and leather boots. She also wore a studded choker, but her most notable features were the large rounded ears atop her head and the tail protruding from her lower back, a medium-length appendage covered in muted golden fur that ended in a tuft of brown.

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Name: Zarah

Species: Lionel(50%), Human(50%)

Gender: Female

Age: 16

Title: Prodigy(Talent Growth+100%. Talent Growth weighted toward Intelligence.)

Class: Scholar(Epic)

[Attributes]

Level: 25/85(155,813/159/807)[Prodigy(20/20)], [Scholar(5)]

HP: 10,005/19,976

MP: 24,492/50,587

Str: 62+45

Agi: 49+29

Vit: 208+150

Int: 379+284

Dex: 62+47

Cha: 142+102

Talent(s): [Intuitive Understanding(25/85)], [Mind Palace(5/20)], [Lionel Physiology(12/42)], [Translation(45/90)], [Gemcraft(42/85], [Ancient Runeology(38/85)], [Runic Engravings(30/80)], [Martial Arts(22/80)], [Enchanting(20/77)], [Forbidden Knowledge(17/60)], [Hypoglycemic(-/-)]

Skill(s): [Analyze(MAX)], [Strong Punch(MAX)], [Disenchant(7/10)], [Scribe(5/10)], [Lion's Roar(2/10)]

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"Are you Zarah...?" asked Cairn, brows raised in genuine surprise even though he knew the answer. Asim hadn't been exaggerating when he called his sister a genius. Her starting Class, Prodigy, provided a 60% boost to all of her stats, so even though she was clearly better suited to scholarly pursuits, she was much stronger than other people at the same Level. Not to mention she had a Talent Cap of 85, one of the highest Cairn had seen for someone without a special lineage...

"And who the hell are you?" asked Zarah, her golden eyes scanning Cairn and Kaia from head to toe before focusing on the former.

"We're friends of your brothers," replied Cairn, pulling out Asim's letter as he added, "He asked that I hand this to you as circumstances forced him to return to Austral midway through our journey."

Snatching the letter from Cairn, Zarah held her left hand up to it, creating a complex, rapidly rotating magic circle between her palm and the surface of the letter, remarking, "Seems legit enough," before opening the letter to peruse its contents.

"I'm guessing you're Cairn and Kaia?" asked Zarah, raising her gaze from the letter less than ten seconds after opening it.

"Last I checked," quipped Cairn, beginning to get annoyed with Zarah's somewhat snobbish behavior. They had traveled more than 3,000km and had waited over three hours for her to arrive. The last she could do was apologize or give an excuse for why she was late...

"Hmmm..."

Looking between the letter and Cairn, Zarah had an 'unimpressed' look as she remarked, "Says here you're some big shot that managed to gain the favor of the Cardinal of Austral. My brother asked me to lend you a hand if I wasn't too busy with my research."

Though Zarah's Talent Cap made her more than worthy of joining their Party, Cairn didn't hesitate to reply, "That certainly sounds like Asim. But we're fine as is. You don't need to trouble yourself with us."

"Now I'm tempted to help just to spite you..." remarked Zaraha, casting one final look at the letter before returning it to its envelope. Afterward, she reached into her cleavage, not caring that Cairn was standing before her as she pulled out a familiar, smartphone-like device.

"You registered with FreeCo yet?" asked Zarah, unlocking her OmniComm and flipping it around to reveal her status as a C-Rank Freelancer.

Before Cairn could think to lie or refuse, Zarah casually revealed, "Despite my appearance, I'm an Associate Professor with the Palace of Wisdom. If you find any high-paying jobs or manage to acquire some rare materials in the Dungeon, send me an invite or shoot me a message. I'm also willing to accept sponsorships and direct financial support."

"For what...?" asked Cairn, reaching into his breast pocket to pull out his OmniComm. He doubted he would ask Zarah for help, but if he met with Asim and the latter found out they hadn't exchanged contacts, it would be awkward.

"Research isn't cheap," replied Zarah. Then, noticing Cairn's OmniComm was a model she didn't recognize, she raised her brows slightly but didn't mention it. Instead, seeing through Cairn's intention of ghosting her, she added, "I don't want my brother to accuse me of being unfriendly, so be sure you invite me if you head to a C or B-Rank Dungeon. I'm not much of a fighter, but I can hold my own. And if we encounter any magical traps, I can disable them."

"I'll keep that in mind," replied Cairn, extending his OmniComm so Zarah could tap hers against it. A few seconds later, they both received prompts asking if they would like to add one another to their contacts. After that, a similar exchange occurred between Zarah and Kaia, the former checking to make sure she had them added before saying, "Then, if there's nothing else, I'ma hit the hay. Don't forget to call me if you need me. If you don't, I'll contact you."

Finished with what she had to say, Zarah turned to leave, her ass and tail swaying as she walked. She wasn't 'trying' to be seductive, but she didn't need to. With more than 240 Charisma and a body that would have made people in his previous life protest about the over-sexualization of women in video games, Zarah's perfectly sculpted ass practically demanded the attention of others...

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After leaving the Palace of Wisdom, Cairn and Kaia began the nearly two-hour return trip to the Rainy Day Inn, the latter waiting until they were on one of the trams that circled the entire city to ask, "What did you think of Asim's sister? She seems very...capable."

Though she couldn't see the Statuses of others, Kaia had the impression that Zarah was a 'monster.' The way she carried herself and the fact she had become an Associate Professor at such a young age were testaments to that fact.

"She's definitely a genius..." affirmed Cairn. "But I can't see her joining us for the expedition, so we should just invite her to clear a random Dungeon before severing ties with her. Just like the Church, I don't want to get too involved with the Institute of Magical Research. Academic institutions are usually melting pots for pretentious, elitist assholes..."

"What was her Talent Cap...?" asked Kaia, feeling significantly less averse about teaming up with Zarah than Cairn.

"85," replied Cairn, looking down to meet Kaia's gaze as he asked, "Why? Are you thinking about having her join us...?"

While he was the de facto leader of their group, Cairn had made it clear to Kaia and Elle that their voices were just as important as his. If Kaia had a reasonable justification for Zarah joining them, Cairn wouldn't disregard it just because he thought the half-lionel Scholar would be trouble.

"She is Asim's sister," reminded Kaia. "If she is willing, we should try to befriend her. Having more allies, especially those with tremendous talent, is better than having too few..."

"You're...not wrong..." conceded Cairn, frowning as he realized just how childish he was being. His main reason for not wanting Zarah to join them was because she was hot, not because she behaved arrogantly. However, so long as he didn't make a move on her, it didn't really matter if she made one on him. He just had to remain faithful to Elle...

Shaking his head, clearing his wayward thoughts, Cairn said, "Before we invite her, or anyone else, to join us, we should try and reach Level 30. If the people joining our Party are consistently more powerful than us, it will undermine our leadership and authority..."

"Is that why you refused to let Felix join us...?" asked Kaia, tilting her head slightly.

"It's definitely one of the reasons..." replied Cairn, his voice trailing near the end. Before Kaia could ask, however, he added, "It takes me a while to trust people. Felix seems like a good guy, but until I get a better feel for his character, I can't trust my back to him..."

Though she was tempted to point out that Cairn had trusted her enough to enter a Dungeon and endure a swarm of rats for her less than a week after their first meeting, Kaia just smiled and moved closer to him, resting her head against his chest as she said, "I understand..." in a faint tone.

Ignoring the looks of disgust the other people on the tram directed their way, Cairn hugged Kaia's head with a faint smile. He rarely opened up to people after his parents died in a car wreck in his previous life. The few he chose to trust, he felt protective and moderately possessive of, so when Felix showed up, Cairn felt like he would 'take' Kaia from him. The latter's actions made it clear that wasn't the case, so while he wasn't excited by the prospect of getting close to a cat-eared twink, Cairn made a mental note to at least try and get along with Felix. Rather, since Felix sent nearly all of his earnings to support an orphanage, Cairn already knew he wasn't a bad person...

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(A/N: Though I can predict the answer, I might as well ask what you guys and gals think of Zarah joining Cairn's Party. There are quite a number of ancient ruins and puzzle-based traps in the Dungeons of the Frontier, so it could be very beneficial to have a Scholar.)