Ducking the black stone more in my coat, I sighed. "I guess it's time for the ability test, but I really wonder what I would get."
As I reached behind the amphitheatre, I found people entering an arena built there.
How did I not notice such a massive structure? I guess I can blame that on magic.
Entering it, I found people making lines, waiting to be tested. Some had happy faces, others sad.
And the judges were above, overlooking us. They seemed to care about ability rarity more than names. Typical.
I joined a line; it was moderately long. Vahn was on the other line beside me.
With every guy tested, I advanced more, until I was on the same level as Vahn. He gave me a look of "wish me luck."
I wanted to laugh. Man, you're literally the son of luck himself, I thought internally.
Then it was my turn. The Cristallian ball was in front of me. I instinctively put my hand on it.
It shone with many colors, then stopped at translucent.
I blinked my eyes, rubbing them, but nothing changed.
"So I'm not dreaming?"
The judges above cast a dismissive look at me and then sneered. "Another useless student, haha. Maybe we should make a barn for them."
His friend beside him also laughed. "True, blame it on the academy's 'fair chance' of testing."
Selene cast them a cold, chilling gaze, sharp enough to kill someone, and they hurriedly shut up.
They had already lost too much to get this position in the academy, and they knew better than to provoke Selene thanks to her special background.
Selene walked to Lucien, then turned to the judges. "I will use my succubus arts to scan him and see if he has ability or not."
The judges couldn't help but nod. Honestly, she only asked them just to keep appearances, and they knew she would do it with or without their approval.
Then slowly, she walked to Lucien, taking a glove from her fair hands. The moment she touched Lucien's cheek, her body jolted.
Her skin started tingling. She caught her breath, blurting, "He will be admitted to the academy, under my class."
The judges merely cast a curious gaze but didn't dwell on it.
Later, when the crowd had thinned and the sun began its slow descent behind the amphitheatre walls, Lucien sat alone on the stone steps. He pulled the black stone from his coat and turned it in his fingers. It gleamed dully, reflecting the last shards of daylight.
"Translucent…" he muttered. "Does that even count as an ability?"
He laughed once—dry, humorless—and let the stone rest on his palm.
Behind him, footsteps echoed softly. He didn't need to turn to know who it was.
Selene stopped a few steps away, her presence quiet but heavy, like the air before a storm. "That wasn't normal," she said.
Lucien tilted his head. "You mean the test?"
She shook her head once, hair catching the fading light. "No. You. The crystal couldn't classify your essence. It only does that when…" She paused, eyes narrowing as if searching for the right word. "…when it's afraid."
Lucien's grip tightened around the stone. "Afraid? Of what?"
Selene looked at him for a long moment. The wind picked up, swirling the dust around them. Then she turned away, her voice barely audible.
"Of something that shouldn't exist."
She walked off, leaving him there with the dying light and a question that didn't feel safe to ask again.
The black stone pulsed once in his hand—soft, heartbeat-like—and then went still.
Rubbing my stomach, I sighed. Hunger had been gnawing at me all morning, and finally, I had free time to eat.
"Don't worry, stomach, we will eat soon," I replied to my grumbling stomach.
Walking to the cafeteria, it was a… mess.
Every table was taken. I let out a dry chuckle. "Great," I muttered to myself. "Of course it's gonna be full."
Placing my order, I grabbed the tray with practiced ease and carried it out. Then I spotted a small garden outside.
"Finally, some peace after such a morning."
But I froze.
There, sitting alone on a stone bench, was a girl with long, black hair. She was eating, eyes focused on her plate, and didn't even glance at me. She looked… territorial.
"This is my spot," she said coldly, without looking up. "I found it first."
I smirked. "Huh, a little rebellious. Screw you. It's a public garden."
She huffed, a sharp exhale of annoyance, and went back to her food.
I found myself curious. As I sat down nearby, I noticed she had picked the same dish I had—my favorite. And I knew, immediately, that it was her favorite too.
"Why this?" she asked suddenly, voice careful but probing.
"Because it's mine too," I said casually, though in my mind I was already shaking.
Haha… I already know your favorite food. Or maybe… you're the one who made me like it in the first place.
A unique-level NPC named Laura.
A tsundere swordswoman, born to a commoner family, making her way through life as a mercenary to provide for her family.
Talented, ruthless, and strong—so strong that she caught the academy's attention.
So she gets recommended, respected… but envied by girls, especially ugly noble girls.
The noble girls had hated her beauty and skill.
Their jealousy had brewed into hatred.
One night, at a party, they tried to ruin her, throwing acid at her face. Humiliated, scarred, but not broken—she had retaliated and killed them.
The academy didn't care about the nuance. A commoner killing a noble? The kingdom would not allow it. Pressure mounted, and Laura had been expelled.
Then hunted by the kingdom of Lavidia, she survived in the shadows.
I blinked, snapping back to reality.
Then I looked at her face. Really looked. And, without thinking, words blurted out subconsciously.
"You're… too beautiful."
Her chopsticks froze midair. Her head jerked up, eyes wide.
"What?"
Her heart, usually armored and steady, betrayed her. It shook. A little, maybe more than a little. She had never had a boy say that to her before. Not like this. Not with such blunt honesty.
For a moment, silence hung over us, punctuated only by the quiet rustling of leaves and distant chatter of the academy.
I tilted my head and smiled faintly. Well… that's a reaction, I thought.
Laura's cheeks burned. She looked down at her plate, pretending to focus on food she wasn't really tasting. Her fingers trembled ever so slightly.
Well, that's not a bad reaction? I thought, looking at her.