016. Scholarship Society
With his overwhelming [Charisma], Li Aozi's words pierced into Vic's heart like a sharp blade.
It wasn't just the aggressive tone of Li Aozi's words; what truly intimidated Vic was Li Aozi's broad, muscular build and fierce aura.
In this life, not to mention his past one, Li Aozi had fought his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood on Azure Star. Even casually throwing a few punches created a pressure in the air that seemed to carry a menacing energy.
"It looks like you're eager for me to toss you off this flying carpet, fall 70 meters to the ground with no magic protection, and see your guts and brain splatter into mush, only to have wild dogs come by, eat you, digest you, and poop you out into filth. Since you think nothing has any meaning, that should be fine with you, right?"
Li Aozi said casually. Vic's face immediately twisted in discomfort:
"I didn't say that…"
"Then shut your mouth, you idiot. No one likes a disloyal person. Keep running your mouth, and you can just go home and live off your parents, you snake!"
Li Aozi was being rather gentle, considering Vic's young age. He refrained from bringing Vic's ancestors into the insult, keeping things relatively restrained.
After this friendly "reassurance," Vic didn't dare argue anymore. He shrank into a corner, though Li Aozi still heard him muttering under his breath:
"Bunch of sheep, just wait, you'll all get squeezed dry."
Li Aozi had no idea why this kid harbored so much resentment and didn't care to find out.
The atmosphere gradually calmed down. Due to Li Aozi's actions, he gained significant attention from the group of examinees. His unique appearance and strong charisma made people naturally want to gather around him.
As the saying goes, "Those who follow the righteous path will have more allies." Some of these students could very well become his classmates or friends in the future, so maintaining good relationships was worthwhile.
For the Tanas people, they had spent a long time immersed in full-time study, their hearts still pure and largely inexperienced in adult social interactions.
Truthfully, Li Aozi wasn't very social either, but with such high [Charisma], people naturally gravitated toward him. After a while, a female examinee named Miti Leah suddenly suggested:
"I have an idea—since we're all going to Oran City for the exam, why don't we form a study group and help each other out?"
The Crystal Tower's exams were quite interesting. Due to the large number of questions (3,500 objective questions, 600 subjective questions, 12 experimental questions, plus a 10,000-word essay), and the sheer number of examinees, the Ministry of Education had decided to spread the exams over five days. Each day, examinees could take up to 12 hours of exams and could choose how many questions to tackle each day—the questions were generated randomly by magic spirits, so there was no risk of leaking or cheating.
With a five-day exam period, a large number of questions, and the need to commute between the exam site and accommodations daily, not to mention dealing with meals and other needs in such a high-pressure environment, it would be difficult to manage without some form of support.
Banding together to help each other wasn't a bad idea.
Cardife's eyes lit up, "That's a great idea! We're all friends here, and looking out for each other would make things much easier."
"I've been to Oran City twice before, so I know which hotel is best."
"But with so many people, won't it be hard to manage? I mean, men and women together in a large dormitory doesn't sound right…"
"I'm fine with it. But how will we cover the expenses? We need to rent a flying carpet to get to the exam site, book the hotel, and pay for meals. That all costs money."
Although the idea was good, there were still plenty of concerns about how to execute it.
However, Cardife and Miti, the main proponents of the plan, both turned their eyes toward Li Aozi.
Li Aozi wasn't particularly interested at first, but suddenly, an idea struck him. He remembered that the Tanas people had a special perk that could be exploited.
[And that perk, like [Perpetual • Love Hunter], was a growth-type 'perpetual' specialty.]
Given his current situation, whatever knowledge his avatar learned, his main body would also master, and if the avatar gained a specialty, the main body could benefit too.
Although his main body was still far from reaching the Gamma tier, that didn't mean he couldn't raise its combat power.
If his main body could acquire that perpetual specialty… Li Aozi could go ahead and complete the [Astral Echoer] class advancement quest and use the optimization to forcefully boost himself to Gamma tier.
—No.
Not just that.
With his increased [Intelligence], Li Aozi could clearly recall the minor details that had once been lost in the sea of information.
He remembered that during the [Echoer] quest, there was an opportunity to obtain a [Tier Advancement Ticket]—which could forcefully promote him by one tier, regardless of conditions or level.
In other words, if he got that specialty, he would be well on his way to Delta tier.
Specialties, knowledge, Omega Energy, equipment—these things could all be gathered through his avatars.
[Damn… How did I not think of such an obvious strategy before? How dumb was I?]
By rights, with 8.4 points of [Intelligence], his main body should be at least college-level, but there were some critical things he simply couldn't remember.
[This [Intelligence] stat is incredibly useful. If it weren't for having to face social enemies, I'd pump hundreds of points into [Intelligence] and be unstoppable. My brain is providing a constant stream of information, and it feels amazing…]
The most powerful aspect of perpetual specialties was that one specialty could serve two purposes, and they generally had strong growth potential. Moreover, once the perpetual effect was triggered, it would directly convert into combat power.
Take his [Perpetual • Love Hunter] specialty as an example. It was one of the most compatible specialties with [Mutants] on Azure Star, not only providing +1 to the main attribute growth value but also increasing gains by 30%, allowing his attributes to balloon quickly to overcome challenges. And the further along he got, the more those numbers would skyrocket.
Most perpetual specialties were useful for Li Aozi, especially since the paths of [Starfall Master], [Mage], [Architect], and [Biochemist] had similarities.
[This [Intelligence] stat wasn't wasted at all. I feel like I can recall even more detailed information, and these insights are like flashes of inspiration that pop up unexpectedly.]
Li Aozi massaged his forehead as he carefully recalled the steps needed to acquire that perpetual specialty.
The specialty challenge was triggered in the form of a quest.
With his high intelligence, his thoughts flowed easily, and he quickly formulated the right approach.
"It sounds good to me," Li Aozi said. "I think the idea is solid. But since we have 27 people here, shouldn't we give our support group a name?"
"How about Study Group?"
"That's too generic, no one would remember it. How about something like 'Landing Group,' wishing that we'll all land a spot?"
"Fun fact: Names usually reflect what's lacking."
"Then let's call it 'Unified Heart Group!' We're all focused on joining the military, united in our loyalty!"
"That sounds more like a gang… Right, since you suggested it, Leozi, why don't you decide on a name?"
"Me?"
Li Aozi fell into thought.
"Yeah, I'm sure you have good taste, right?"
He thought back on all the names he had come up with for various skills.
"Phoenix Bomb", "Heaven's Flame of Karma", "Ghostly Slash", "Murphyderia's Severed Sky Sword"… All brimming with a certain over-the-top energy.
"Scholarship Society," Li Aozi answered instantly.