===ANNOUNCEMENT===
For the last chapter question:
is the hidden world bigger than earth?
The answer is No, what bigger means here is the society is bigger than they think, they are many who connected to the Hidden World
=====
49. The Silent Witch (2)
Yesterday Lex parted with the others after he finished the Mission they taken, it was a simple cleaning Mission.
The next day
On the Morning, it was the same as yesterday the three of them Lex, Mio and Max ate their breakfast together
('do I have to see this everyday now!?') Max Wailed, but no one there who will care for him, he was ignored for the entire morning once again
***
After breakfast Lex went to the Tenth Area, The Silent Witch still in the same position as usual, today too she wore a white buttoned shirt and black skirt with little difference with yesterday
"hehe, just you wait Master! I had my trump card today!!" Lex voicelessly said, because he knew his voice would be heard here that he can proudly say it out loud like that.
"but still let's wait a bit…." Lex then sit on the floor in the center a bit far from The Silent Witch. The center Circle where The Silent Witch usually sits had a diameter about 10 meters, The Silent Witch sat right in the middle of it, while Lex sits on the corner of the Circle, while looking at the Silent Witch in the middle
"the way she sat… the way she read… the way she flip the pages… it's beautiful like something jump straight out of painting…" Lex mesmerized by Silent Witch
"I had nothing to do… should I draw her?" Lex thought when he saw the white board in his hand "let's take some sketch" Lex loved Anime in his past life, he learned how to draw because he wanted to draw his favorite character, so it's not like Lex was complete newbie even if the genre differ the basic sketch is the same
***
"now it's time for my trump card!" Lex approached the Silent Witch when it's almost time for lunch. Means it's almost time for morning class to end
"Masters! Prepare yourself! This is the trump card I learned long time ago in Anime, a Sliding dogeza!!" Lex did as he said, he slid gave her the perfect dogeza and white board on his hand, which had the sketch of The Silent Witch and "please make me your disciple!" text
*fwooooooshhh *fwoooooooshhh *fwooooooshhhh *bump!!
(urgkkk!!! I felt sick! I flied longer today…)
It takes a few minutes before Lex can stood up again he tried to approach the center but like yesterday he can't approach her anymore, there's only one chance each day.
"I won't give up Master!!" he voicelessly shouted
"haa~~ even if I said that~ looks like I won't anything from this place at least for the time being~~ what to do~~" Lex gloomy left the place
Once again the Silent Witch peeked at Lex's back as he left the place, when she saw Lex left, the Silent Witch brought out a small luxurious box then she put the sketch of her into it carefully with a little smile on her face
***
"Lex let's go take some Mission" Max suggested right after they finished their Lunch,
The dejected Lex went on his way to the cafeteria while pondering what to do in the future
(I won't learn anything from her, it's necessary to take another path, but I can't give up on her! What a dilemma….)
(I've only got one chance, should I ask her in the morning, like that I had more time in the morning to take another morning class? But I can't carry out my plan to spend time with her like that! Aaahh~~ what a dilemma! I need more than 24 hours a day!)
(my most free time… it would be on the afternoon, but there's no guarantee Master will be at that place on the afternoon… mm, but most likely she'll be there I need to check it later…)
(and if I spend my afternoon with her, another problem will appear! 'if a man will not work, he shall not eat' I can't take Mission like that and I don't have Merit to eat… what a dilemma~ ~)
(how many times I said dilemma today? Unexpected quote of the day! What a dilemma!!)
(arrghh!!! Focus!! Threw out your stupid thought for now Lex!!)
(haa~~ we're back to square one, should I borrow Merit from others? But how long one month? one year? Two year? That doesn't seem feasible… mm… I need to look for Mission which can be completed in the shortest time available)
(yosh! Let's start with that!)
When Lex reached cafeteria he found Max and they ate lunch together in the middle Mio too made her way toward them joined them, which made the three of them ate their lunch together
And we're back to Max "Lex let's go take some Mission" he invited Lex
Before Lex can answer him Mio interrupted "I can't go with you Lex"
"I knew, do I looks like someone you need to babysit?" he asked back, from the way Mio said it's like Lex would absolutely ask her to go with them today again
"kusu kukuku" Mio laughed and gave Lex a bright smile "I knew you would answer me like that, well then bye~" she left
"haa~ then don't test me like that" he softly complaint toward his now gone dear, "well then, Max sorry but I can't go with you"
"huh?" Max surprised he didn't expect to get rejected "why!?"
"Max, you should know I can't use Mana, no? there's no benefit for you by sticking with me"
"benefits!?" Max became angry when he heard that he stood up "did you think our friendship only came from benefit all this time!!!" his voice became louder that it started to gather attention
"calm down! It's my fault I said in the wrong way, but the core is the same, at least we're on the equal status at that time, and we're no longer can become an equal friend if you stick with me any longer Max"
"excuse me" Max apologized to his surrounding before he sat down again "what equal status, it's you who's helping all this time"
"it's equal, I knew you want to become stronger, and I don't want to stand out so I used you, we're benefitted from each other, and you repaid me on that one-month preparation class"
"but it's not enough!" Max cried back
Lex still calmly replied to him "you had grown up Max, you actually understood what I mean, right?"
"kughh" Max groaned just like what Lex said, Max actually able to understand what he means, now that he calmed down
"Max you had your own plans and I had mine, it's not like we're going to cut out ties as friend, but you do what you can to chase your dream and I take mine, it's just our step is no longer the same like before"
"or what? do you still need me to babysit you like before? You heard my conversation with Mio aren't you?" Lex provoked (damn! so this is why she said something like that! I thought it was strange! Haa~ my debt slowly but surely growing…)
"ughh…, I understand…" Max replied spiritlessly
"haa~" Lex said when he saw him like this "do you still had time to dilly dallying like this? Mark my words, at most is one year, you're going to chase my back again like before!" Lex declared as he stood up and left Max alone
"….." Max was speechless looking at Lex's back ('yeah, Lex's right I don't have much time he's going to pass me again') Max remembered the Mock Battle between Lex and Cleos ('I really don't have much time, he's coming for sure and at faster pace that anyone can think of, he's Lex Spifer')
"thanks, but I will make you chase my back longer than that" Max said with no one to hear him. He stood up toward his own path
***
(now that I said something so dramatic like that…. What to do!!! Aaaa~~~ why do I had to say it like that!! What can I do!! Uuu~~ let's stick to what I decided before)
Started that day, Lex tried every low leveled Mission he can take and he compared which one he can finished with the least time, he checked the Tenth Area too, even in the afternoon The Silent Witch is always there
On the morning, there's one Path that Lex can take with his condition now, The Sixth Path, Scout Path. He didn't how it is if it were compared with others but he himself think that he got a pretty good instinct and good sense of Mana, which isn't wrong, Lex was at the tops among all Members about that
Lex dumbfounded When he was given a programming book on the Scout Path
"what? confused? what happened if you were asked to scout a building instead of an area" Turner Crimson said "and in this day and age, you think a high rise building still using a manual lock? Are you stupid? Ah! Right! I knew you were all stupid Birdbrain! It's my fault to expect you all to understand"
(I didn't expect I would learn programming on this life…. I tried it before but I can't understand it… but this time I was able to learn it easily…. Still I didn't expect to learn programming on this path at all!!)
Lex and the others learned programming to the pro-hacker level before they went to their next subject
Then he switched to visit her on the afternoon and went to take Mission after he visited her with enough time just before dinner, sometimes he took a Mission after dinner too
In the end Monster Subjugation gave the most Merit among all Mission and if the place is near it was the Mission with least time too,
Whenever there's low leveled Mission to subjugate Monster near their base, Lex always took it without as second thought, with a simple knife he bought with Merit on the Main hall he took on the Monster whether the Monster in pack or solo.
And like that another year has passed.