LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 2: The Aura Farmer - 2
(Special Credit to Honoured_Writer & Martian Cactus for the Beta Reading Labor!)
-Story Start-
Class 1-B of Kuoh Academy's High School Division.
Current lesson - Math.
The disparity between the number of male and female students was smaller among the first years than in the older years.
This class is a prime example.
Thirty-five girls.
Five boys.
The class passed by at a rather calm and leisurely pace, as most students paid rapt attention to the teacher.
With the obvious exception, of course, being Kobayashi Ren.
There he sat, perfectly positioned at the back of the class, behind a small desk adjacent to the window.
His head lay gracefully atop the palm of his hand, as he gazed in deep profoundness at the beautiful campus outside.
The sun's gentle beams lightened his soft features.
Truly, an elegant sight worthy of being painted on a canvas and immortalized for millennia.
And to top it all off...
He wasn't sitting on a chair.
In a feat of impressive core strength, Ren was sitting in the air with his legs casually folded, completely unbothered.
-Ren POV-
This position is ideal for Aura Farming.
Window seat of the farthest row, and flexing my core strength by sitting on air!
Not a feat beyond human limits, but an impressive feat nonetheless.
Head tilted a cool 60 degrees on the palm of my hand, a listless yet deep look directed outside...
Beautiful.
Ah... paying Toujou-san 5,000 yen to switch seats was all worth it.
"Kobayashi-san! Are you even paying attention?" Naka-sensei's voice called out to me with her usual exasperation.
She had yet to learn her lesson, but in a way, I am grateful since it is a fine opportunity for me.
Without averting my gaze from the window, I replied with a bored, unbothered tone, "The value of X is the square root of 3."
...
Silence in the classroom, as I felt both the impressed and unimpressed looks of my fellow classmates settling on my figure.
Naka-sensei sighed, "That is... correct."
I scoffed loudly, a smirk forming on my face as she seemingly backed off and continued teaching the others.
Whispers of me being a weirdo and know-it-all were muted in my mind all the same.
They're just jealous!
Whispers of my physical feat being rather impressive also were prevalent.
Thanks!
...
Ahem!
One of the many things I appreciate in this school is that if you have good grades, you get some leeway with your behavior.
Of course, as an avid Aura Farmer and a devotee of Preparation - I made sure to study all the Year's curriculum in advance.
'H-How does he know?! H-He's so smart!'
'H-He didn't even look at the board or listen to the teacher!'
Foolish classmates!
It is deception, I am always listening, I just make it seem like I don't.
Speaking of leeway for good grades...
It is rather contradictory given the three pervert senpais aren't really academically noteworthy.
I wonder what keeps them here, knowing Shitori-san?
...
'She might secretly enjoy their perversion... I'ma tell sis about this, she loves to tease her.' I confirmed to myself with a firm nod as the bell rang.
Getting up from my air seat, I strode with nonchalant confidence despite my muscles feeling a little sore.
But this was both an Aura Farming method and a form of conditioning, sitting like this.
Two birds, one stone.
'Damn, I love myself.' I thought with a smile as I slid the door open, and a notification rang in my mind.
[+5 Aura Points]
Wow!
Did I really do that well?
I usually get 1-2 Aura points from Offscreen performances... not five!
This is a jolly good day!
I never managed to figure out how the calculations for that work over the months...
Bah, the day is not over.
After school, preparations must be made!
-------------------------------
Kuoh's Central Park.
It has always been a beautiful place I had utilized to practice deep mindful meditation since I was 12.
The chirping birds, the beautiful fountain, the laughter, and the peaceful stroll of my fellow Kuoh townsmen...
Even as the evening bleeding sun began to set, the sky a dim orange - this place hadn't lost its luster at any time even throughout the years.
And to think, this place will be where the Central Camera will activate for the first time since I've gotten the System in exactly 32 hours...
Of course, to maximize Aura Farming even now, I am scouting from atop a branch of one of the thick oak trees that decorate the grounds.
My arms folded perfectly as I level my dissecting gaze upon this park, particularly the Fountain Area.
"One of the downsides of my invisibility skill is that people may run into me and it'll ruin everything," I mumbled in contemplation.
Sure, I could stand or sit still for a good few hours, however, since I'm invisible and this park is normally jam-packed even at night, I'll certainly be run into by someone.
That would ruin my Aura Farming...
Given the fact I have no clue regarding what event will occur in front of the lens of the 'Central Camera', I'll have to conserve my Aura Points for an emergency.
I need to think...
...
After a few minutes of contemplation, and profoundly stroking my chin with my thumb, I narrowed my gaze on one of the many benches in front of the fountain.
An idea popped into my mind.
"Deception, it is." My lips lifted into a broad wry grin.
But first, I need to head home to grab the necessary tools.
-------------------------------
My most modest home was not any different than the other houses that decorated most of the neighborhood.
A small two-story building with a decently sized front porch.
It was a home afforded by an upper-middle-class income, and the only striking difference it had from my dear neighbors was the pretty sign of 'Kobayashi'.
It was most definitely not as eye-catching and suspicious as some of the other homes of rich conglomerate heiresses that made themselves at home in my warm hometown of Kuoh.
And were totally not supernatural creatures I had not accidentally discovered with my Perfect Measurement Skill.
COUGH GREMORY.
COUGH SHITORI.
I always knew there was something up with them!
Regardless, I must head into my home, specifically my room to fetch the necessary tools to enact my plan.
With the calm and confident stride that is a signature of Moi, I absentmindedly opened the front gate and entered the porch.
Walking along the small cobbled road, I reached the door and withdrew my key with minimal necessary movements or fumbling for it.
Elegance is key.
Inserting it into the keyhole of the door and turning the knob with a resounding click in one swift movement, I entered the living room.
Taking off my shoes at the entrance, I walked forward into the spacious living room.
To my right - the kitchen.
To the left - the entire living room itself, coupled with a TV, desk, and Dad's favorite sofa.
At times, I contemplate whether he loves that Sofa more than he loves Mom.
Can't blame him, frankly.
After a hard day's work, that sofa is nothing short of divine.
To my front, a stairway leading to the second floor, the location of my room.
With a swift turn of my head to the right, I noticed that Mom was absent.
Though I have memorized her grocery shopping pattern that she took upon herself as the self-appointed housewife, so this was not a surprising absence at all.
Without further delay, I strode up the circular staircase, my steps light on the wooden floor as I made sure to let loose naught a sound.
The reason?
The daunting door located in front of the stairs upon reaching the second floor.
No matter what one may attempt, without the ability to bend reality or change the set-up of the rooms in the house through supernatural means... which I hope I can learn to do through the system by the way.
This door will always meet the one who reaches the second floor.
It is an inevitable, unavoidable encounter.
Do not be fooled by the rosy pink coloring of the sign boldly placed at the center of the door.
An innocent label of:
"Natsuki's Room~"
While my Mom and Dad's routines and patterns have been perfectly memorized... this woman's patterns are sporadic, unpredictable, and chaos incarnate.
I can never know where she is, nor when she is here.
I can only pray she's absent due to her internship or anything else really.
And, much to my dismay, that is my fate.
Prayer is my only method of avoidance.
My kryptonite as an Aura Farmer had always been... her.
With steps as silent as the desert's night, I slid to the room located at the far left, passing multiple doors of rooms functioning as both a storage room and a bathroom respectively.
Finally, arriving in front of my room.
An Aura Farmer needs no bold label to signify that this is his abode.
The conclusion must come from the trace evidence of the abode itself.
Opening the door with the turning of the knob and a gentle push, I absentmindedly as routine turned on the lights, revealing my rather... plain room.
NOT!
One might assume that 'Home' is a place of respite and relaxation.
A place to let down your guard.
I think not.
Aura Farming happens at ALL times, even at home.
Thus, my place of respite is equipped with both the tools and decorations for maximum efficiency:
A bed beside the window, with a remote control that allowed me to raise the upper section for a comfortable sitting position and a small lamp attached to the wall beside the window and bed.
A large, beautifully decorated mahogany wood closet I had used my lifetime savings to acquire.
Most importantly, a throne seat made out of 'fake' gold and 'fake' leather - my budget ran out for that one.
Picture this:
A freezing winter night.
Thunderstorm outside, as I read 'Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.' with a cup of vintage wine in my right hand as the lamp gently lights up the book and my features in the dark.
Last winter was delightful.
I wonder how many Aura Points I'll get for doing that, now that I have a System attached to me?
However, I had to replace the wine with juice since I was underage.
Mom raised no thug.
And no, requesting a 200-year-old aged bottle of wine for my 16th birthday didn't work out, apparently.
Even a 100-year-old was out of the cards!
...
Sighing with a helpless shake of the head, I approached the closet located beside my many sets of various dumbbells and training equipment.
Sliding it open, I dove deep into the large closet, my brows tightened as I exerted my memory in attempts to recall where I had put that...
"Nice." I found it.
With both my hands I grasped two out of three necessary tools for the upcoming scene.
A hard hat.
And a yellow vest that construction workers use.
...
Huffing, I put them on the floor beside the bed, as I dove back into the closet searching for the lynchpin of the operation...
Now for the third tool.
After a good few minutes I found it, a small yellow sign with a drawing and warning on it:
"Caution, Wet Paint!"
With a satisfied nod, I put it beside my bed alongside the other two tools, and with this...
My plan is established.
...
I knew 5th Grade's Theater Play would come in handy!
'Throw these accessories out, you're clogging up your closet with useless garbage!'
Take that Mom!
I coughed lightly, with a satisfied smirk, "Now? It's time to train."
A balance between growing one's strength and Aura Farming must be established.
I strive to perfect this balance, as in my current state the supernatural beings in my school would slap my existence away.
Deception and Bluffery may work for a time.
But this state of being as the prolonged status quo?
...
UNACCEPTABLE!
Though, to be honest, I need more information.
The fact I'm clueless about these supernatural girls is concerning - concerning as in I can't Farm Aura properly without knowledge.
And as I had surmised through my self-development journey for Aura...
Knowledge is power.
Unconveniently though... the Aura Shop sells no skills in relation to information.
Not in my price range, anyway.
To Be Continued!