Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 199: The Stages of Star Mark Power

"Um. Lady Bathing Goddess, do I need to follow you?"

Watching An leave, Merci whispered to the Bathing Goddess for instructions.

"Well, there's no need to say anything, right? An is so cooperative, Xiao Li should be able to accept it now. It's not that I just said it when I got here. I felt from the beginning that the maid-sama could have any bad intentions."

The Bathing Goddess said nonchalantly,

"And now that we have obtained consent, we must hurry up and investigate Ms. An's childhood bedroom!"

"."

Merci, I always feel like there's something wrong with this goddess.

However, since Professor Ritas thought that it was not a mistake to let the Bathing Goddess accompany him instead, Merci naturally had nothing to worry about.

Under the enthusiastic command of the goddess of bathing, Merci took a rough tour of Ann's childhood home.

During this time, she passed by a room that was suspected to have been used by An's mother.

The scene inside was extremely messy, with almost everything thrown randomly on the ground. However, it was obvious that this was not the result of a robbery or a fight. Because there was only a door leading to the bed and the dressing table, so even if the surroundings were messy, there was still a "path" left.

Seeing this scene, Merci almost couldn't help but start to clean up the house.

"Tsk, Ann's mother seems to be a particularly sloppy person. Look at that string-like lining over there, can she just throw it away casually?"

If there is only one thrown there, people who see it may feel a little embarrassed. However, if there are a lot of them thrown there, people who see it can only marvel at it.

Bathing goddess and Mercy, I used to think that Ann's comment on her mother, "a collection of all the flaws of human nature," was a strange phenomenon that sometimes the closer the person, the more vicious they are in their criticism. But now it seems that this "mother" really has many flaws.

"Big uh, Merci, do you have a feeling? It's as if the time in this whole room has stopped."

When Merci heard what the Bathing Goddess said, she immediately felt the same way.

She didn't know how long Ann had been away from the cottage, but no matter how many years it had been, the things in the room should not have shown any signs of deterioration. There was not even any obvious dust in the cottage.

Leaving the room full of clothes and miscellaneous items, Merci came to a room displaying many what appeared to be works of art.

The not very spacious room was filled with sculptures, paintings, documents and other things. Although this room had the same feeling of being crowded as the "boudoir", it did not look dirty or messy.

"Come to think of it, there is no kitchen in this cottage. So, what do the mother and daughter eat every day? Don't they eat anything? So, An and her mother are really fairies who don't care about worldly things!"

“Should, shouldn’t be.”

If nothing else, Ann would definitely eat. Mercy would occasionally meet Adeline and Ann in the college cafeteria.

It seems that it is Chef Kenny’s “Creative Cooking Day” once a month. As long as the creative dishes of that day are well received, they will most likely appear in the college restaurant.

"Lady Bathing Goddess, here are some of Ms. An's childhood works."

Unlike the bathing goddess who talks about everything, Merci just focuses on what is in front of her.

What she was referring to were some doodle-like drawings that were obviously made by children, as well as some animals (monsters) of unknown species made of clay.

"Hey, An is interested in this."

As she spoke, the Bathing Goddess suddenly remembered something.

During the holidays, there was a "color abandonment" incident in the academy, so Ritas was invited by the princess to investigate. At that time, Ritas gave a high evaluation of the "painting" painted on the ceiling. When An heard Ritas' words, he looked quite happy.
It is also unknown whether An has discovered Ritas's hidden identity as a famous artist.

"You can see Ms. An's progress."

Mercy carefully looked through Ann's paintings and saw that the quality of those works was visibly improving.

For Merci, who was always unable to do delicate things and saw no progress no matter how hard she tried, just seeing this "improvement" made her very moved.

When she turned to the seventh or eighth page of the drawing paper, Mercie was stunned.

"This is the bathing goddess"

"Hmm? It looks familiar. I wonder where I've seen it before. Isn't this the space in the painting?"

With his still immature brushstrokes, An painted a fairy-tale picture of blue sky, white clouds, hills and small houses.

“It was originally painted.”

Listening to the words of the Bathing Goddess, Merci breathed a sigh of relief.

"If it's not based on the painting, is there any other possibility?"

"I, I thought it was a painting by Ms. An, and it became reality."

Merci felt that she was saying something strange, and said this while scratching her face a little embarrassedly.

Her unintentional words suddenly caused the Bathing Goddess to fall into silence.

"That. The Bathing Goddess?"

"Oh, it's okay, it's okay. Turn the page quickly and let me see what An has drawn next."

Merci, who always felt that the Bathing Goddess' tone was a little serious, began to slowly flip through all the drawing papers at a speed that the Bathing Goddess could see clearly.

The contents on the drawing paper became increasingly refined and beautiful, which made Mercy envious.

And when I had unknowingly finished reading all the drawing papers, the sound of the bathing goddess breathing a sigh of relief came from the white disc.

"Well, what should I say? The painting is really good."

"Yes, yes."

"Anyway, I'm overthinking it. Let's go look for something else."

Although she was a little confused, Merci nodded obediently.

After taking a quick look at the works in this room, which was probably a studio, the Bathing Goddess and Merci felt that Ann's evaluation of her mother lacked some objectivity.

Apart from other things, the "mother" should be quite talented in art. Moreover, she covers a wide range of fields and can be called versatile. As time passed, the goddess of baths found that Mercy's mood gradually became low except for her initial high spirits.

"If Merce is bored, we can go to other rooms. Oh, I forgot that girls are not usually interested in art. When choosing a date location, clicking on the 'museum' option is a big no-no!"

"No, no, that's not the case."

Mercy waved her hands.
"I-I was just thinking about something else."

"Weight or something?"

"No, no, although there have been some things recently. No, no, in short, no!"

After Merci moved her hands until phantoms appeared, she slowly calmed down.

"I saw it before. I saw the 'Star Mark' on the mouth of the woman who hurt the professor."

Mercy said, lowering her head slightly.
"So, we were clearly using the same power. However, I was too weak and could do nothing in front of her. The flames I released were also pushed back and almost burned Ms. An and the professor."

It was not until Merci said this that the Bathing Goddess realized that the girl had been suppressing her inner disappointment and pretending to be in a normal state, especially in front of Ritas.

Moreover, it is only natural to think about it.

Throughout the summer, Merci was undoubtedly the one who put the most effort into Courtrine's training. Even from Noah's occasional complaints, it could be seen that Merci had been training on her own even when Courtrine was not around.

However, when Merci's strength was needed before, the results of her efforts were not apparent at all.

Moreover, Merci had no one to compare herself with in the past. Or, if she were compared with the other people in the bathing seminar, Merci was actually the best one in terms of power control and improvement.

In other words, no one knows what will happen when the power of the Star Mark Emblem is truly utilized.

Until this day.

Merci felt firsthand that in front of the one who could truly be called a "Star Marker", everything she had accumulated so far was so powerless.

"Actually, strictly speaking, it can't be said that they are the same power. The power of the star pattern is also divided into stages. In my opinion, the power of that woman should be in the third stage. And your power is currently only in the first stage."

"Then how can we improve the stage of the star pattern?"

Mercy asked urgently.

"this"

The Bathing Goddess doesn't know either.

To be precise, she didn't know how to upgrade the star pattern in the real alien world where Ritas and others were.

Accumulate experience, click on key nodes in the growth tree, then collect key materials, and tap "Confirm Upgrade". Merci probably doesn't understand, right?
"Actually, don't be so anxious, Merci. Even if there is a big gap between you now, it's just that she got ahead of her. This level of lead is of no value. It only takes two years, no, one year! You will definitely catch up with her and surpass her. You have something far more precious than her recklessness. So, just improve yourself patiently, and you will eventually become a 'guardian' who can protect everyone."

The goddess of bathing used her "holy" voice and soothing tone to persuade Mercy, whose heart was filled with anxiety and blindness.

Merci, who had a soft personality, couldn't help but pursed her lips, obviously having taken the words of the Bathing Goddess to heart.

just
“That woman.”

"Yes, that woman is already here."

The Bathing Goddess did not realize that her and Merci's moods were not the same at the moment.

“Is this the drawback of not following the established path? The strength of the enemies doesn’t increase gradually, and suddenly a big, bad one pops up. There is no balance or numerical design at all.”

Mumbling something that Mercie couldn't quite understand, the Bathing Goddess pondered for a moment and decided to tell Mercie a little bit.

"For now, I will tell you about the characteristics of several stages. However, I hope you will only regard the next stage as your goal, and not aim too high."

As Mercy nodded repeatedly, the Bathing Goddess organized her words and began to explain.
"I wonder if you still remember the time when your own Star Mark went berserk, or if you remember the time when someone else's Star Mark went berserk. When the Star Mark power explodes uncontrollably, the Star Marker's posture will change. And if you can control this posture autonomously, it is actually the 'second stage'. The second stage is equivalent to you being able to fully use all the Star Mark power in your body. However, you should also understand the dangers involved."

Mercy memorized the words of the Bathing Goddess carefully.

She really didn't remember what she looked like when she went berserk. However, she remembered the scene when Noah went berserk. Similarly, she also remembered the huge and powerful thorn maze.

And this exaggerated force that is enough to draw in everything around it is actually just the "second stage"?
So what should be done so that the power of the "third stage" can surpass the "second stage" that has released all the star pattern power in the body?
Soon, the goddess of baths answered Merci's doubts.

"As for the third stage, all of the Star Marker's power will be transformed into a part of his power."

"all?"

"Yes, that's all. Soul, body. To use your power as an analogy, your entire body will turn into flames. In fact, some powers will show some signs in the first stage. For example, when you and Noah use the power of the star pattern, your hair will change into a shape corresponding to the power, right? It's just that the third stage will be more thorough. In short, everything you can imagine that you have will be transformed into power."

If the first stage of the star pattern power can only exert 30% of its power, the second stage is 100%. And the third stage, which turns everything into firewood, is 300 or 500%.

Moreover, if we just talk about fighting, a body that turns into silk threads, flames or mist is undoubtedly more convenient and difficult to target.

After the Bathing Goddess finished speaking, she suddenly felt a little regretful.

Of course, in the game, cultivating all Star Emblems to the third stage is the common pursuit of all players.

And when you play the game and see the character you control using the third stage of star power, you will only feel that it is gorgeous, stylish, and simply invincible.

However, if we put this third stage into a different world that actually exists, isn’t there something wrong with it?

Before, the Star Marker used the power in his body as a tool. But in the third stage, the Star Marker himself became the tool. The person who drives the power becomes the slave of the power.

"After the third stage, can the power of the star pattern continue to evolve?"

While the Bathing Goddess was reflecting on whether she had said something she shouldn't have, Merci continued to ask.

Since the woman in white is already a third-stage Star Marker, if you want to defeat her
"The fourth stage? Maybe there is."

The Bathing Goddess said uncertainly.

Although the upper limit of the player's character in the "Star Mark" game world is the third stage, some hostile characters suspected to be Star Mark users are clearly using special powers far beyond the third stage on the battlefield.

(End of this chapter)