After their awkward pick-up line exchange over lunch, Soren and Amelia had been overly conscious of one another for a while, but like everything, it slowly faded away as time passed.
Currently, Soren was sitting with Lilliana in class F, as he had something important to ask.
"So what's wrong, Ren?" Lilliana asked, showing no signs of embarrassment in using his nickname outside of the dorm anymore.
"Well… I was wondering if I can attend higher-ranked lectures."
"Oh, right, that makes sense."
Unlike what Soren had expected, Lilliana just nodded, understanding his question.
"It makes sense?"
"Well, you did rank the highest amongst the lower classes in the written exam during the midterm."
"So can I?"
"I've already spoken to both the class E and class D teachers about your situation, and they agreed to accept you into their class depending on how you do in the final examination."
"So I have to wait until the second semester?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Then that's fine."
"I thought you'd say–Huh? You aren't disappointed?"
"Why would I be? I was just hoping to attend some higher-level lectures here and there, but here I am being given a chance to boost my class after only a single semester."
"That's true."
"Oh, I also wanted to ask if it was at all possible for me to attend some lectures for other majors."
"Could I ask why?"
"Well, not to sound arrogant, but as you saw during my duel against Alex, I'm able to use magic whilst moving, I fight with an axe, and I can even use divine power to some extent. So I just wanted to learn how to use everything better."
"I don't think there's any rules against that, as there have been students who have enrolled in both divine studies and martial studies at the same time, among other variations… but I've never seen a student enrolled in all three."
"So how does it work?"
"In the example I gave of a divine studies student taking martial studies too, they would substitute a few classes per week with martial studies lectures, or maybe even take some on top of the classes they already have, but at the end of the day they would still be registered as a divine studies student so their ranking and everything else would still be under that role."
"I see, that works then."
"Should I put a word in for you for the second semester?"
"Yes, please."
"So magic is your main focus, then martial, then finally divine, am I correct?"
"Yeah, in all honesty, my divine power is pitiful. I'd just like to learn how to increase it and how to utilise it slightly better, so I doubt I'd take many lessons from that major."
"Alright, I've written that down. Should we eat now?"
"Yes!"
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
As the final bell signalled that all of his lectures for the day were over, Soren didn't immediately get up from his seat.
The reason for this was that Amelia had asked him to wait for her, since she had something to do, and he decided to comply with her request, as he had no reason not to.
The problem, however, was that there was nothing to do.
Back on earth, he would just fiddle with his smartphone during downtime like this, but here he couldn't, which usually led him to messing with his magic, but at the moment, Soren's magic was almost exhausted from his usual secretive practice during lectures.
In the end, he decided to check something he hadn't looked at in a bit while out of sheer boredom.
"「Status」" He muttered in a lethargic voice.
Fortunately, a significant amount had changed in the almost two weeks since he claimed the second hidden piece.
.
[Status Window]
Name: Soren Arden (1★)
◈ Stats
Stamina - 1.6 (E) [Increased by 0.3]
Strength - 1.3 (E-) [Increased by 0.1]
Agility - 1.5 (E) [Increased by 0.2]
Mana - 2.2 (E+) [Increased by 0.1]
Divine Power - 1.0 (E-) [Increased by 0.2]
◈ Skills
- Basic Magic
└ Breeze (D) [Increased by 3]
- Blood Magic
└ Blood Absorption (D+) [Increased by 4]
- Pain Tolerance (E-) [Increased by 1]
- Basic Axemanship (F+) [Increased by 1]
.
It was an almost unbelievable amount of growth in such a short timeframe.
Part of this was because Soren was still in his growth phase, where stats and proficiencies were easy to raise due to their low levels, but the rest was purely a result of his own effort.
From [Blood Absorption] and [Pain Tolerance] being raised with Lilliana, to [Basic Axemanship] and his physical stats being raised with Amelia.
Even his secret training during lessons that raised his mana, divine power and [Breeze].
Soren was putting in an almost inhuman amount of effort, all the while balancing his studies and social life.
Surprisingly, though, he didn't struggle; he didn't even view himself as balancing things, as most of his training was done in the company of others, making time pass easily.
If the Soren from the day of transmigration saw himself now, he would probably shed tears, saying how this was the one thing he didn't want, but to the current Soren, his daily life was enjoyable.
Ever since coming to terms with his own strengths and weaknesses, he had been able to enjoy life to its fullest, even becoming closer to his friends in the process.
Thud!
As if mocking his pleasant thoughts, the classroom door swung open roughly and in the doorway stood a boy, much taller than Soren.
If Soren had to describe him, then he would have simply said that he fit Lilliana's type to a T.
But that wasn't important right now.
The moment the boy opened the door, everyone's eyes became fixed on him; then, as if by reflex, they shifted to Soren.
'Why are they looking at me?'
He couldn't help but be momentarily confused, but then it clicked: nobody came to this classroom unless they were here to talk to Soren.
'Damn it… This time it's not me!'
Soren lamented his situation before turning his attention back to the door.
The boy standing there scanned the room with a fierce gaze before finally locking eyes with Soren.
"Soren Arden." He said as he walked towards his desk.
"For fuck's sake."
He couldn't stop the curse from escaping; he had just been thinking to himself that he was being wronged, then the boy suddenly called out his name, making denial unavoidable.
It was just as Soren had wiped his face with his hand in an attempt to calm down that…
Slap
A small piece of cloth hit his face.
"Eh?"
Soren was confused by the situation taking place.
"What's going on?"
"I challenge you to a duel, Soren Arden."
Soren looked at the boy standing in front of his desk and the piece of cloth on the floor, alternating between them, before it finally clicked.
But just because Soren understood didn't mean he would take it well.
"Piss off."
He had too much going on in his life to waste his time fighting some random thug that he didn't care about; there were no benefits to be gained from winning, and too much to lose if he lost.
– Gasp!
– What about his noble dignity?
Soren heard the muttering of the bystanders, but ignored it.
He was well aware that the way he spoke and acted lacked the usual noble dignity that nobility was expected to carry themselves with, but Soren never cared about that; after all, he was practically a disowned child, and beyond that, he enjoyed treating those around him casually.
Upon hearing Soren's refusal, the boy's face contorted with rage for a moment before his lips slowly curved up, forming a mocking grin.
"Ah, I get it. You're scared. Is that why?"
Soren didn't even bother responding to the obvious provocation; instead, he simply rolled his eyes, but the thugs' following words caught him off guard.
"Do you always need women to stand up for you? Don't you find it pathetic? Not only do you drag Princess Einhardt around with you, but you've also managed to pull in Lady Rupindolf. Do you have no shame?"
Soren closed his eyes for a moment and let out a deep breath.
He knew the words spoken by the boy were purely provocation, but that didn't lessen the impact.
"What's in it for me?" Soren finally asked.
"What?"
"Surely you're not going to come all the way to class F to pressure a student ranked 96th into duelling you so that you can beat them up, only to offer nothing in return. There is zero reason for me to accept your challenge."
"Do you not care for your noble dignity?" The boy asked in genuine surprise, as if he had not been expecting this outcome whatsoever.
"Fuck that, what's that going to get me? Noble dignity doesn't feed me, doesn't clothe me, nor does it make me stronger. So give me a reason."
Soren, being a transmigrator from a world much different from this one, where he had lived a life far from the ideas of nobility, had no pride in his nobility at all; if anything, he only felt resentment for the title he held, as all it meant was that he had more problems to deal with in this fantasy world.
It may have been different if he had felt the power of nobility even a few times.
Still, he hadn't once felt that; the only time being a noble had meant anything was with the Hammond situation, but even then, with Esper by his side, it wouldn't have mattered anyway.
"Wow, the rumours were true, you really do act just like a filthy commoner."
Unfortunately for him, his words meant nothing to Soren.
"Whatever, have you got anything to offer or not? I've got plans."
"Fine, the winner can make any one wish of the loser, is that good enough for you?"
Slam!
The door swung open once more, and in walked Amelia with her usual lethargic expression.
It was only once she noticed the atmosphere that her expression finally shifted to one of hostility.
The guy in front of Soren, seeing Amelia's face, backed down anxiously and slowly walked towards the door to leave.
Just as he passed by her, however, he opened his mouth to speak, just loud enough so that Soren, who was nearby, would be able to hear.
"I will save you, Princess, just wait for me."
After saying everything he had to say, he was about to leave the classroom under Amelia's glare when Soren finally spoke up, a smirk plastered across his face.
"I get it now. Fine, I accept."
"Accept what?" Amelia asked.
"I accept this guy's duel. The loser grants the winner a single wish, right? Of course, since he's so noble, I'm sure he won't mind if I set the date and time, since he was the one who challenged me. Let's see… How about three days from now, after classes end, is that good with you?"
The guy made a bitter face as he responded.
"...Sure."
With those words, he turned and left, not even sending a single glance back towards the classroom.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Do you think I'll lose?"
"...He's weak, but you're weaker."
"I know."
"Okay."
After finishing their conversation, Amelia took a seat next to Soren and leaned against his shoulder.
"Don't lose," she muttered, causing Soren to smile.
"I won't."
————「❤︎」————