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Chapter 44
“…Monsters possess the attribute of darkness. In effect, that means there are five attributes of mana. In addition to the four attributes—water, fire, wind, and light—there is also darkness. However, darkness is a type of mana unique to monsters, so we humans do not wield it….”
“I’ll definitely win this exam.”
“Be quiet….”
As my head drooped forward, falling down, Rihart caught it with his hand and whispered arrogantly.
I barely lifted my head, which felt as heavy as a lump of lead, forced my eyes wide open, and stared at the professor standing in the distance.
My vision kept blurring; the professor’s figure wavered and faded.
No, I have to wake up….
In the end, I sent an SOS to Rihart.
“Wake me up, please….”
“Why should I?”
Well, if I fall asleep during class, that’s good news for someone like Rihart, who’s always desperate to beat me.
You’re really not much of a friend.
Pulling the corners of my lips downward, I ignored him and stared straight ahead.
To fight off the drowsiness, I viciously pinched my left hand with my right, but it wasn’t very effective.
‘I shouldn’t have suddenly done such intense exercise.’
Thinking of Ran, who had mercilessly made us do everything from cardio to strength training, made my teeth grind.
The effects of excessive exercise were only temporary.
The burst of energy I’d felt while working out had vanished; now my body and mind were simply exhausted.
Just imagining the worse muscle soreness I’d have to endure starting tomorrow gave me a headache.
‘If I kept training at the same intensity long-term, my stamina would definitely improve. But could I endure that long?’
As all sorts of thoughts tangled together under the weight of my sleepiness, I felt a firm hand wrap around my shoulder.
Instinctively, I looked down. Long fingers rested on my left shoulder.
“Is this a dream?”
Just as I was about to turn toward Rihart—the obvious owner of that hand—a soft breath blew against my right ear.
“Ahh!!”
My hair stood on end and chills shot through my entire body.
Without even thinking, I jerked backward as if springing away. My unbalanced body toppled, and I landed hard on my backside.
“Ugh….”
Suppressing a groan of pain, I quickly scrambled back into my chair—but every gaze in the classroom was already fixed on me.
Embarrassment chased away the last of my sleepiness.
I shot Rihart a glare full of resentment.
He raised his eyebrows in apparent surprise, then suddenly looked rather pleased.
I wanted to pinch the lips that seemed to say, ‘You’re awake.’
“Archel Nodovan.”
“Yes!”
Rubbing the ear that still felt strangely sensitive, I straightened my posture.
Professor Ranovan then directed a question at me, as if prepared to scold me if I failed to answer properly.
“Tell me what you know about the characteristics of monsters.”
“Monsters appeared on this land alongside the Absolute Evil, Rasyum. There are no records of monsters prior to that. From documents recorded at the time Rasyum descended upon this land, we find descriptions of strange and dangerous beings beginning to appear. From that, we can infer their origin.”
Unlike the nearly established theory regarding their origin, the exact nature and habitat of monsters remained unknown.
Where they came from and where they went—no scholar had yet uncovered the answer.
After Rasyum was sealed, the number of monsters openly appearing decreased significantly—but that was all.
Unfortunately, the danger posed by monsters always lurked around us.
“That’s correct. The monsters that appeared alongside Rasyum occasionally reveal themselves before us. Fortunately, we possess mana to counter them.”
Can I sit down now?
As I cautiously tried to lower myself into my seat, the professor addressed me again.
“Among us, there are those who possess mana particularly effective against monsters. Do you know who they are, Archel?”
I straightened up again and nodded.
Anyone living on this land would know the answer.
“The Awakened.”
“Correct. The Awakened can defeat monsters far more easily than ordinary mana users.”
After tapping the chalk a couple of times, Professor Ranovan gestured for me to sit and continued.
“The conditions for Awakening remain, like the true nature of monsters, an unknown territory. However, it is an undeniable fact that after Awakening, the very quality of one’s mana changes drastically.”
The Awakened were rare.
On this vast continent, you could count them on one hand.
Since the triggering conditions were unclear, Awakening couldn’t even be induced.
Countless experiments and studies had been conducted, yet none had yielded meaningful results.
‘Awakening….’
The word could be used in many contexts—it meant realizing or coming to awareness.
Just look at the affection status window.
Under the information of the male lead candidates and Lena, in tiny letters, wasn’t the word “Not Awakened” written?
‘Now I’ve concluded it refers to the awakening of love, but at first I couldn’t figure out what “Not Awakened” meant, and it was frustrating.’
Surely, in a romance simulation game centered on love, the awakening of mana wouldn’t be more important than the awakening of romance… right?
I forcefully shoved away the resurfacing doubts about “Not Awakened.”
Then, as if I had never dozed off, I fixed my gaze forward and focused on Professor Ranovan’s lecture.
Sleep had long since disappeared.
“Ta-da~”
“Wow, teacher, what is that?”
“It’s a pen with a cool tiger on it. Since Luca likes tigers, I prepared this for you. If you get this question right, the tiger is yours.”
“I reviewed!”
“Teacher, what about mine?”
“Alice, yours has a bunny on it.”
“Kyaa!”
“And the white polar bear is for Benjamin!”
Day by day, the atmosphere in the talent classroom grew warmer.
Among them, Aven handed out gifts to the children every day like Santa Claus.
Of course, true to the spirit of volunteer teaching, he also came thoroughly prepared for class, so under Aven’s affection and attention, the children steadily built up their foundational knowledge of economics.
“Teacher, then how much is this worth?”
When Alice pulled out a worn coin from her pocket, Aven smiled brightly.
“Gum money?”
“Gum money…?”
“It’s a metaphor, Alice. Let me see. This is 1 Bronze, the lowest denomination coin in the Tersen Empire. If you collect ten of these….”
For now, it was simple arithmetic, but as their knowledge grew, they’d surely learn much more from Aven.
Leaving behind Aven—whose eyes sparkled as he taught the children—I stepped out of the classroom.
It’s not that I’m a delinquent teacher.
Aven was just making excellent use of the break time.
‘Should I go up to the third floor?’
The second floor was assigned to first-years, the third to second-years, and the fourth to third-years. So naturally, the higher the floor, the older the children.
I slipped my hand into the pocket of my skirt and hesitated.
Inside were a new handkerchief and some handmade cookies I had prepared for Johan.
It was an apology for Izael burning his handkerchief.
‘Seriously, what is wrong with him?’
I recalled that day when Johan’s handkerchief had turned into black ash before my eyes for no apparent reason.
…A sigh escaped me.
I didn’t want to interrupt Johan while he was working, but if I went up now, maybe we’d pass by each other briefly?
In the end, deciding to quickly empty my pocket, I cautiously headed toward the stairs leading to the third floor.
But before I even reached my destination, I spotted a familiar back at the landing between the second and third floors.
The golden hair—like melted honey—fluttering in the breeze from the window belonged to Johan.
‘What perfect timing!’
My steps quickened with delight.
As I climbed the last step and his name reached my lips—
“Yo—!”
He crushed the stem of the plant in the flowerpot on the windowsill.
“…han.”
My loud voice deflated like air escaping a balloon.
Frozen in place with my hand raised in greeting, I blankly stared at his back.
Perhaps my voice had reached him, because Johan—standing with the sun at his back—turned around.
His golden eyes, warmer and more benevolent than the midday sunlight, settled directly on me.
“Archel.”
He called my name calmly as he approached. There wasn’t the slightest trace of disturbance on his face.
As always, he looked nothing but peaceful.
‘Archel, there’s no need to return anything to a hypocrite like that.’
Izael’s words echoed in my ears.
