"Come here."
Amelia's tone was casual, almost friendly, as if she hadn't just been tossing him around like a training dummy moments ago.
Soren hesitated for half a second, then complied, walking closer while keeping his guard up out of habit more than logic.
Whatever this woman wanted to do next, he doubted resistance would help.
Grab!
Before he could even process the movement, Amelia seized his arm, her grip firm but not painful.
"Wha—?"
Ding—♪
A familiar chime rang out from his bracelet.
"Huh?"
A notification appeared in front of his eyes.
[30 Points have been transferred from Amelia Indras Einhardt to Soren Arden]
"..."
Soren stared at the message, his brain refusing to catch up.
'Did she just—?'
He slowly looked up at her face, only to find her smiling broadly, eyes bright with unmistakable satisfaction.
"It's a reward," she said simply, as if that explained everything.
"A… reward?"
"Mm." She nodded. "You landed a hit. That deserves something."
Soren opened his mouth, then closed it again.
'I genuinely don't know how to deal with this woman.'
He had been prepared for many possible outcomes today, failure, humiliation, even serious injury, but being casually gifted points by one of the academy's most famous students had not been on the list.
"Oh, wait."
The thought struck him a moment too late.
He turned sharply, ignoring Amelia's curious look, and hurried over to where Olivia lay slumped against a tree.
She was fast asleep.
Her breathing was slow and steady now, exhaustion having pulled her under the moment the tension ended.
'Before I forget.'
Careful not to wake her, Soren gently lifted her wrist and brought his bracelet close to hers.
Ding—♪
[15 Points have been transferred]
"That should do it…"
He exhaled deeply, shoulders finally sagging as the last of the pressure drained from his body.
'With that, we should comfortably make the top ten.'
"Hahhh…"
A long, relieved sigh escaped him.
It was over.
At least, the fight was.
Step… step…
Soren paused.
'Oh. Right. She's still here.'
Turning back around, he met Amelia's gaze again.
She was standing a short distance away now, arms loosely crossed, her expression unreadable.
"—"
"…?"
'Huh?'
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
.
▶ Main Quest Complete! [First Steps (2)] ◀
[Difficulty: A-]
[Reward: Random Magic Skill, 150 Points.]
.
[Status Window]
Name: Soren Arden
◈ Stats
Stamina - 1.0 (E-) [Increased by 0.1]
Strength - 0.9 (F+) [Increased by 0.2]
Agility - 1.3 (E-)
Mana - 1.4 (E-) [Increased by 0.1]
Divine Power - 0.5 (F+) [Increased by 0.2]
Charm - 8.7 (S-)
◈ Skills
- Life Magic
- Basic Magic
└ Ignition (C-) [Increased by 1]
└ Shock (D-)
└ Gaia (E+)
└ Shield (E+) [Increased by 2]
└ Shockwave (E) [Increased by 1]
└ Breeze (E-) [Increased by 1]
└ Bloom (F+)
└ Aqua (F+)
└ Freeze (F+)
- Concentration (E) [Increased by 1]
- Blood Magic
└ Hemokinesis (F)
.
The midterm practical ended almost immediately after that.
There was no dramatic announcement, no drawn-out ceremony.
The examiners called an end to the exam, the field was cleared, and the remaining students were instructed to stop all combat.
Olivia placed second.
Soren placed third.
First place went to Raylin, the top-ranked student in Arcane Studies, whose performance had apparently been flawless and uneventful.
When Olivia heard the results, she froze for a moment, then burst into tears.
She grabbed Soren's hands tightly, crying openly as she thanked him over and over, her words tumbling out in a rush.
He barely had time to respond before she suddenly pulled away, wiped her eyes, and ran off with a radiant smile, shouting something about finding Alex.
'She really is… adorable.'
Watching her go, Soren felt a quiet warmth settle in his chest.
With those results, he had completed the quest far beyond the minimum requirement.
The rewards he had been so desperately fighting for were finally his.
Still, as he stared at his status window, his brow furrowed.
"It's unexpected, though…"
Blood Magic.
Even after playing ❰The Knight of Stellaris❱ for years, this was unfamiliar territory.
He knew of blood magic; anyone who had reached the mid-to-late game did, but players couldn't use it.
There was a reason for that.
Blood magic was exclusive to vampires, and vampires were almost universally hostile enemies.
Meeting a cooperative one was nearly impossible, let alone learning their magic.
'From what I've seen fighting them… it's dangerous.'
Blood magic used blood itself as a medium, sometimes external, sometimes the caster's own.
The problem lay in the cost.
Vampires possessed a true heart, an organ that stored mana-created blood and allowed them to expend it freely.
Combined with their monstrous regeneration, the risks were minimal for them.
Humans didn't have that luxury.
For someone like Soren, reckless use of blood magic could very easily mean death.
And that left him stuck.
'I don't know what I'm supposed to do with this.'
The skill was powerful.
Ridiculously so.
Offensively, defensively, even supportively, blood magic excelled.
But power without control was a liability.
"What's up?"
Amelia's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Hahh…"
'And there's also this problem.'
Right before the practical had ended, she had asked him something that still echoed in his head.
— Can we be friends?
It was such a simple question.
Too simple.
He glanced sideways at her.
She was sitting next to him now, posture relaxed, her earlier grin gone. In its place was her usual languid expression, calm and observant.
'I don't get it.'
She had sought him out to fight.
She had tested him.
She had rewarded him.
And now this.
Asking to be friends.
This hadn't even happened with Alex.
In the original story, Amelia fought Alex, evaluated him, then watched him from afar before ever approaching him directly.
That alone had caused a stir throughout the academy and even within the royal family.
That was supposed to be special.
'So why… me?'
If he had simply replaced Alex in those events, it would have made sense.
But this was different.
And the worst part…
Despite all the confusion, he felt happy.
'I mean… who wouldn't?'
Amelia Indras Einhardt was one of the three main heroines.
Beautiful to the point of being unreal.
If this were Earth, she would have stood out even among professional models.
No, she surpassed them.
And even though she wasn't his favourite heroine, he still liked her.
'But does this count as NTRing the protagonist…?'
He honestly didn't know.
He had sworn he wouldn't interfere like that.
But now that the choice was in front of him…
"Ugh…"
"What's wrong?"
Her voice was close.
Too close.
And only now, without the chaos of battle…
'…Her voice is ridiculous.'
It hit his preferences perfectly.
'No. Stop. Behave.'
He took a steadying breath, forcing himself to calm down.
"I was just thinking about a new spell I learned."
"Oh?" Her interest was immediate. "What is it?"
A crimson magic circle formed above his palm as a sudden wave of dizziness washed over him.
"「Hemokinesis」."
A small sphere of blood emerged, hovering unsteadily.
"Huh?"
Amelia's lips curved upward, the word "interesting" slipping from her mouth more than once before she turned back to him.
"So what's wrong?"
"I'm human."
"Oh. Right."
She nodded, expression turning thoughtful.
Before she could say anything else, a familiar, gentle voice called out.
"Hello, Soren."
His body reacted instantly.
He shot to his feet, startling both Amelia and Lilliana.
Amelia stumbled back slightly, irritation flashing across her face as Soren rushed forward and grabbed Lilliana's hand.
"Soren…?"
She looked down at their joined hands, confused and slightly flustered.
"Please teach me blood magic."
The words came out faster than he expected.
Lilliana's status window flickered into view.
.
[Lilliana Roseblood]
Age: 22
Gender: F
Race: Dhampir (Beastkin)
.
The key part here was 'Dhampir.'
Half-vampire.
The perfect solution.
But Lilliana's face drained of colour, her already pale complexion turning almost ashen.
"I'm sorry… I can't."
"Huh? Why?"
It was an answer he hadn't been expecting, given Lilliana's track record, so he was caught off guard.
She didn't answer immediately.
Instead, her gaze lingered on his eyes.
"Soren… you're human, aren't you?"
"I'd like to think so?"
"Then…" Her voice trembled slightly. "It's dangerous. I'm sorry. But I can't."
She pulled her hand free and turned away, leaving with an expression that made his chest ache.
"This is hard…"
He understood her fear.
But that didn't change his resolve.
'I need to learn it.'
'I worked my ass off for this skill, I'd rather die than leave it unused.'
He sat back down beside Amelia.
"Can't you just learn?" she asked plainly.
"..."
Soren pinched the bridge of his nose.
'Right. She's a genius.'
————「❤︎」————