Chapter: 2

At that moment, a sudden voice rang out.

“Karina!”

Startled, she jerked her head up. A girl who looked about the same age burst through the door and ran toward her. The girl froze in shock when she saw Biyeon straddling a woman and threatening her, her face turning pale.

“I–I’m so sorry! Karina’s been sick these past few days—she must have lost her senses!”

Making a huge fuss, the girl grabbed Biyeon and yanked her away without hesitation.

“C-come on, let’s go. We’re late for roll call!”

Pulled outside the room before she could even process what was happening, Biyeon stared blankly at the girl.

“What was that just now? You know you’re not supposed to lay a hand on the attendants, right?”

The girl looked to be no more than eleven at most.

Yet her eye level was almost the same as Biyeon’s.

Which meant…

“Karina? You’re bleeding! Are you okay?”

The girl noticed her hand belatedly and gasped. Biyeon, on the other hand, simply flicked the blood off her hand as if it were nothing.

Her gaze lingered briefly on her palm before drifting toward the glass window that covered one side of the wall.

Her reflection in the glass.

Her black hair was unchanged, but her eyes were a strange shade of violet. Thin arms and legs, and a frail, tiny body that looked as though it might collapse at any moment.

Only then did Biyeon understand.

“What the hell… is this scrawny stick of a body?”

She had awakened inside the body of a young girl named Karina.

The girl who had been staring at her in confusion placed her hand over Karina’s bleeding one.

With a strange glow, the torn flesh caused by the shattered glass began to knit itself back together.

Biyeon’s eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the girl.

Healing magic?

Not channeling inner energy through pressure points, but simply placing a hand over the wound and healing it—such a technique was unheard of. And to regenerate flesh in an instant at that? Even she, a peerless master who had reached the realm of Enlightenment, had never witnessed anything like it.

While Biyeon stood frozen in shock, the girl casually grabbed her hand.

“At this rate we’ll be late. Let’s hurry. If we mess this up, we’ll be disowned.”

Still dazed, Biyeon tilted her head.

Disowned? What was that supposed to mean?

Before she could dwell on it, the girl dragged her along by force.

They ended up in an open yard outside the building.

From there, the building’s exterior looked just as magnificent as its unfamiliar interior.

Biyeon was certain.

This was not the Central Plains she knew.

The architecture was completely different, as were the people’s appearances and clothing. And then there was the girl’s strange ability.

Perhaps this place was…

Just then, a man’s unfamiliar voice cut in.

“Karina. Ariel. Why are you so late?”

So the girl who brought her here was named Ariel.

The man addressing her wore a type of sword she had never seen before at his waist.

At least swords exist here too.

“Karina isn’t feeling very well,” Ariel replied.

“There are no exceptions for sickness. It’s the same for all the others. You know very well that the only exemption is disownment.”

Only then did Biyeon’s gaze shift to the children gathered in the yard.

There were around twenty boys and girls, all around her apparent age.

Some of them looked no more than eight years old.

“Don’t tell me… all those kids, including us, are adoptees?”

At Biyeon’s frown-filled question, Ariel tilted her head in confusion, as if wondering why she was asking something so obvious.

“Yeah. Though it’d be more accurate to say we’re candidates to become the successor of House Batius.”

Ba… Batius?

What the hell is this nonsense?

“Candidates for succession?”

Seeing Biyeon’s incomprehension, Ariel asked worriedly, “Karina, do you have a fever so bad your mind’s all muddled?”

She placed a hand on Biyeon’s forehead, then tilted her head again.

“Your fever seems to have gone down, though.”

Still unable to grasp the situation, Biyeon asked suspiciously, “Is that… Batius duke family really that important?”

“Of course it is! It’s one of the Four Great Ducal Houses that protect the Wolfhart Empire!”

An empire? And what are with these names?

She didn’t fully understand, but it seemed the successor of the Batius family would be chosen from among the adoptees.

“Then why would such a powerful family choose its successor from adopted children?”

“By the way, Karina, why have you been talking like an old person since earlier?”

“Huh?”

Flustered, Biyeon cleared her throat.

I should avoid suspicious behavior for now and gather information.

“My head hurts a bit. But why are they choosing the duke’s successor from adoptees?”

After glancing around, Ariel leaned in close and whispered.

“Rumor has it the Duke of Batius can’t have children.”

Ah. So they plan to choose the strongest child among the adoptees as their successor.

She didn’t care about dukes or heirs.

But fleeing without understanding where she was would be foolish.

For now, observing the situation and gathering information came first.

I’ll need to get used to the name Karina.

Just then, the training officer barked at them.

“You there—stop chatting!”

Startled, Ariel snapped to attention.

“Today we’ll start with a light warm-up—ten laps around the yard!”

At his command, Ariel gestured toward someone.

“Denian, come here.”

It was the youngest-looking child among the adoption candidates.

The small boy—barely reaching Karina’s chest—quietly walked over and stood beside Ariel.

Karina examined the boy called Denian.

How was that tiny kid supposed to run ten laps?

For her, this level of training should have been nothing.

Having survived the Black Blade Hall, the infamous training institution of the Demonic Cult, such drills were laughable.

…Or so she thought.

“Haah—haah—haah—!”

After finishing ten laps, Karina collapsed onto the ground, on the verge of passing out.

“Are you okay, Karina?” Ariel asked worriedly.

Beside her, Denian stared down at her blankly.

Why does that little brat look perfectly fine?

Sensing Karina’s gaze, Ariel kindly explained.

“Denian has the ability to strengthen his body.”

And when Karina looked at Ariel—who was also completely unfazed—

“I can recover wounds and stamina,” Ariel added helpfully.

What kind of abilities are these? Some kind of cultivation technique?

With a faint hope, Karina asked carefully, “What about me?”

Ariel’s eyes widened.

“Huh?”

She looked as if she didn’t understand why Karina would ask her that.

Only then did Karina realize it.

Damn it. This body not only lacks stamina—it has no ability at all.

Nearly passing out from a simple run?

If she had even a trace of her original inner energy, this would have been nothing.

I need to build my stamina first.

At that moment, a boy standing upright caught her attention.

Unlike the other children resting in exhaustion, the red-haired boy looked completely unaffected.

Noticing where Karina was looking, Ariel explained kindly.

“That’s Isaac. Among the second-wave adoptees, he’s the most likely candidate to become the successor.”

Second-wave adoptees? Then that means there was a first wave too?

Staring blankly, Karina felt dumbfounded as Ariel smiled sheepishly.

“I figured you might not remember this either.”

Is she just nosy? Still, having her around might be useful for gathering information.

Just then, a group of girls approached where they were resting.

“Karina, you’re on the brink of death again today?”

At the appearance of the sneering girl accompanied by two others, Karina lifted her head lazily.

What’s this frail-looking nobody?

In the past, she wouldn’t have been worth a single strike.

But unlike her mind, her body was utterly drained and refused to move.

Ariel stepped in front of Karina.

“Isabella! Karina’s not just physically unwell—she’s not in great shape mentally either!”

Are you mocking me right now?

At Ariel’s terrible attempt at defense, the girl—taller than Karina by a head—snorted.

“I seriously wonder how someone like you hasn’t been eliminated yet. Just give up already. It’s troublesome if you drag the rest of us down.”

This kind of treatment… it’s been a long time.

Before she became the leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult, there was the Black Blade Hall—where the previous leader gathered his children and disciples for training.

As the illegitimate child of the former cult leader, she endured endless abuse and contempt there.

What happened to those who looked down on me back then?

Karina forced her waterlogged body upright and spat out saliva that tasted of iron.

“People who are nothing always yap the loudest.”

Isabella stared at her in disbelief at the bold words coming from usually quiet Karina.

“W-what? You said you were sick—did something happen to your head?”

Do they think that just because I look frail, I must be weak inside too?

Karina let out a deep sigh and looked up at Isabella with an annoyed expression.

“Do you know what’s really the scariest thing in a training ground like this?”

Isabella held her breath, curious despite herself.

Karina grinned.

“Not the talented ones. Not the ruthless ones. Not the ones who try the hardest…”

As she spoke, Karina wiped the drool from her mouth, madness flickering in her eyes.

“…It’s the crazy ones.”