The research into [Curse slash] took a deep toll on Ajax’s stamina and most of his mana was spent on training with the mage instructor on controlling his intent and what remained after that was put into his plants.

On the upside his plants had already taken deep roots and some bushes were already starting to grow, it might only be a couple more months until all of them would start sporting flowers and his bees could get to work.

As for his research into the curse mana Ajax still wasn’t sure if it was something he should be doing right now, curse mana was getting dicey especially since the goddamn plague doctor had managed to buy himself a one week stay of execution through some legal loophole. Ajax had only taken a single peek into the infected city and he wanted the guy to hang.

Hanging was not in the literal sense obviously, with the way stats and skills got people could survive hanging for hours at a time and executions had gone the way of the French and relied on a guillotine to put a definite end to a person. Ajax was in complete agreement with that change though he couldn’t help but wonder if dullahans was something that existed in this world where so many magical beings had already been found.

The research however did prove rather fruitful. Almost all of their testing had been focused on fire magic so they could get a sense of it and the results were promising. When it came to fire mana it seems that curse mana was only compatible with it before the spell formed, afterwards it was almost as good as water mana at snuffing out a fire.

When they did combine however the result was a lot more deadly but also lacked almost any control. The flames not only burned but corrupted and rotted everything they touched, the worst part was that some materials would become more combustible as they rotted and that could cause small explosions that would spread the flames.

As for their research partner Evelyn, Ajax found that she had little to no interest in him at all. The one time that she showed any interest outside of their curse mana research was when she asked him point blank if whatever he did to put himself so far ahead of the curve could still be used by her. After Ajax had told her that she couldn't, she didn’t broach the subject again.

The second element they had half a session with was ice. Unlike fire Ice was not only compatible with curse mana but it didn’t lose its compatibility once the spell was fully formed. The pitch black ice that was formed as a result was much heavier than regular ice, not only that but just like the fire spells the caster lost all control over them once the ice mana mixed with the curse mana.

What really interested Ajax and Evelyn however was the fact that this new ice gained a very odd property to shatter reflectively to physical damage, the effect meant nothing when it was hit with an arrow as the range seemed small, no larger than a few feet. However those few feet could mean that a knife wielder would be pelted from head to toe by some very sharp ice shards.

They had yet to test if those ice shards would also infect the target with a curse or if it would remain as black ice but Ajax had a strong feeling that it would work as a delivery device which could prove invaluable against melee fighters.

Evelyn also seemed extremely pleased at the news, so much so that she shared with Ajax that an opportunity would arrive in a month's time for all the freshmen at the Academy, an opportunity that the nobles had been waiting for. With their progeny reaching past level twenty they were now at a spot where they could form their first bond with a monster of a similar level.

“Why do they form bonds with fully grown creatures?” Ajax had asked when he found that out.

“Because they are not meant to be lifetime companions.” the old man explained. “ In most cases a strong companion simply won’t form a bond with a human, at least not an inexperienced one.”

“And having a companion gets them experience?” Ajax asked incredulously. “ I would have thought a dead bond would be a warning flag to avoid that human.”

“That is the reason they also choose such low level creatures. Even if they are treated well and progressed most of them would still die in a century, one and a half at most. The bond skill might not have a level but any creature you attempt to bond with after the first will be given a lot of information on how you treated your first bond.” the old man explained.

While Ajax didn’t find that method all that agreeable he had to admit it was a lot better than the practice of forming a bond just to kill it in hopes of unlocking some extra skills. That the treatment of the companions was recorded was also a point in its favor as it would mean the companions would be treated very well.

Even with all of that going on Ajax simply pushed all of it to the back of his mind, he had something else to focus on now as the entire class was heading towards the goldmine for their second delve as a class.

Unlike their first delve where they had their professor, two instructors, two teaching assistants and a very high level healer joining the students their second go around was much different. They quickly made their way inside the dungeon before professor Silvertongue addressed all of them.

“Alright everyone, quiet down.” he raised his voice and all of the chitchatter died out. “Now as you are all aware for the next four cycles the delves will be a competition that takes the form of a tournament.”

That got a small cheer from the more competitive students as they were all looking forward to the game. Ajax had been slightly dejected when he heard about it since he had been hoping to simply practice his alchemy during these low level delves, but he was pleasantly surprised to find out that he would have all the time he needed for his brewing.

“Two rules that will stand and are not to be broken under any circumstances.” the professor continued. “You are not, and I repeat not, allowed to trigger the obelisk. Any student, regardless of who they are that is found to have done so will not only find themselves expelled but they will be fully prosecuted for recklessness or murder depending on what happens afterwards.”

That rule made perfect sense. Even with Ajax’s classmates abilities being strong enough to delve this entire floor a stampede like the one caused by triggering the obelisk would be lethal to all of them.

“The second rule is that you are not to launch damaging attacks towards other students. Stealing is allowed but should you be caught in the act you will be eliminated for the rest of the delve. You are only to steal things that were collected from this floor of the dungeon.”

A few students looked around trying their best to appear innocent at that. “Don’t think I am kidding, if I get a whiff of anything else being stolen I will find out who it was and they will be cleaning all the toilets in the Academy with a toothbrush for an entire month.”

“Now, we are in variation one of this floor. You all should know the location Ajax will head to and I will be moving around the floor keeping an eye on things, Dave will be here by the arch as well.” The professor said as Ajax grinned at the idea that he could stay in one spot for essentially a few days to just practice his crafting, he had stocked up on ingredients and he was hoping to make some progress.

“Everyone, go ahead and split up in your teams.” With that everyone split off into six man teams.

Ajax thought that the tournament was well thought out. It was not only a test of skill, where killing and collecting the most from the dungeon floor would determine the winner. Since the teams were to be formed of five students and a novice healer from the Healing Union and all team members had to be different every week for four different delves this involved both strategy and political maneuvering to win.

It was a foregone conclusion that Annabeth, Benedict or the prince will be the ones taking the first spot, Lexi was mentioned as a dark horse but as the heads of the three factions in the class the battle for first place was clear. As was to be expected the teams this week were split into the usual factions but starting with the next delve it would be near impossible not to have an infiltrator from another faction in your team.

With that Ajax had already started his trek towards the clearing he would be staying in for the next few days already looking eager to get started with his crafting.