This message was enough to blow the fuse of Zavier's mind. He had never anticipated how vast the system knowledge had been until this moment. Suddenly he felt that he must respect this system more.

[Sorting the techniques based on the physical and mental level of the user…]

[Found 734 techniques that the user can handle with his current strength.]

"System find me the best among those techniques. I want something that has the least possible side effects and gives me the most significant boost in strength."

Zavier blurted out as soon as he saw the system message on display. In reality, he didn't have to say anything at all. The system would have still found the best possible match for him because it seemed to him that the system was even more worried about him than he himself was.

[Sorting the techniques based on the power output and the cost of activation…]

[Found three techniques that match the user's requirements.]

"Which one is the strongest among them?"

[Blood Blade]

[A skill long forgotten in the annals of history but once it was considered to be the deadliest of all black magics. It was as cruel as it was powerful and deadly to the enemies. Only the most glorious geniuses in history had the ability to learn the devastating technique but even they were all short lived.

The users of this technique were even considered evil in the past due to how cruel the technique was. In the current world, no one practices this technique because the users who have such a genius talent never have to resort to this method to increase their strength.]

[Requirement: The skill requires the user to store all his energy in the form of blood. The black magic infused in the blood of the user acts as the trigger for the skill. The caster has to use his own blood as the medium and the weapon to cast the powerful skill essentially using his own life to attack. After successfully casting the skill, the user will be forced into a state of weakness due to loss of blood if the energy within it is depleted. The status effect can be removed by consuming more blood or through sufficient rest during which the body can regenerate the blood lost.]

[Side-Effect: Using Black Magic, and that too as powerful as this comes with potentially permanent side-effects. The user has to undergo the awakening of his blood to store the energy within it treating it like a living object or at least like a weapon that is very high-maintenance. The user has to consume blood from an outside source, whether human or otherwise, at least once a month to keep on living or the awakened blood in the user's body will consume the user from the inside out. Therefore, the user has to shift to a vampiric lifestyle once he has learned this skill.]

When Zavier heard about the side-effects and the cost of activation, he knew that the skill was bound to be powerful though he felt it to be quite evil. Beggars couldn't be the choosers and in the situation that they were in, any increase in strength could prove to be a difference between survival and a cruel death.

But still, Zavier wanted to know what the other two options entailed.

"What about the other two skills that have similar power?"

[User can rest assured that Blood blade is the most suitable skill for you in the current situation.]

[Lightning Spirit]

[…]

[Requirement: User has to be struck by lightning and survive until a lightning seed is born in the body of the caster.]

[…]

[....]

[Abyssal Star]

[…]

[Requirement: The skill can only be practiced under the light of the Abyssal comet that can only be seen by the fated ones when it travels across the world every two millenniums.]

[…]

[.....]

Zavier could see that although there were little to no side-effects, the requirements for practicing the two skills were so harsh and based on luck that even he didn't have the ability to practice them. The only skill available to him was the Blood Blade that had the potential to slowly kill him at least once. Dying was inconsequential to him but that didn't mean that he didn't fear dying at all. After experiencing it a couple times, he had to say that he wasn't very fond of it. And as for the requirement of high talent, Zavier had nothing to be afraid of because if he was sure about one thing ever since he had come to this world, that was his own potential and his own talent that he had received from the cosmic consciousness.

After a whole day of standing at the precipice of a fight while fearing the return of the mage who Valerie had fought off in the morning, all of them were tired beyond their limit. They wanted nothing more than to sleep their worries away but the threat of their enemies kept looming over them like a naked sword hanging above their necks with no guarantee of when it would fall.

Though Zavier felt tired as hell, he wasn't about to hand his life over to his enemies for nothing. He was expecting that something might happen that night and was busy thinking of countermeasures.

Just like him, Valerie was thinking of the same. Despite being injured, she was only thinking about her students who were her responsibility. She had resolved to bring them back to the school no matter what price she had to pay.

Just when Zavier intended to go and discuss his intentions with Valerie, both of them stood face to face.

Zavier looked haggard and worn out but Valerie looked even worse than him. She had not only been affected by a toxin that was currently eating away at her health, her constant worry about the students made her situation even more precarious than it already was.

One could only feel pity for her considering the situation that she was in. Zavier had never ever thought that he would ever see her in a situation like this where she looked so vulnerable and weak.

"Is there something you need? If you need anything, you can just tell any of us. Currently your only priority should be rest so that you can keep the toxin from spreading any further and causing your body more harm."

"It's nothing I can't handle. That aside, I wanted to discuss something with you."

Zavier smile a little and understood that Valerie wanted to discuss the same thing with him.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

Valerie asked while trying to hide the pain behind an expression that revealed nothing but strength and confidence.

"Because we really seem to think alike. That was something I would never have thought would happen before. I came to discuss the same thing with you. I am afraid that this night would not be a calm one so we should be on the lookout for any impending enemy activity."

Valerie seemed satisfied with the level of caution being exercised by Zavier and showed a relieved expression on her face.

"What do you suggest then?"

"I think we should take turns keeping a lookout so that we can all replenish our strength."

Valerie was expecting the answer and wanted to take the initiative for the first shift.

"I think so as well. I will take the first shift and then you can take over afterwards."

But that was of course unacceptable for Zavier who was already adamant on forcing her to rest.

"You don't need to trouble yourself. We will take turns doing that. You just need to recuperate."

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