Chapter 100: A Dragon’s Touch

Lina turned her eyes toward the entrance to find her brother standing there. Slowly, her lips curved upward, forming a smile.

She chuckled and looked back at Fois. You're done for.

As the crowd watched in fear, Noa closed the distance between them. He looked around at the others, wondering why they looked at him like that, and turned toward Lina.

He stopped in front of the counter. “Lina, what's up?”

Taking advantage, Lina quickly slipped behind him, grabbing his sleeves with both hands and peering at the royal from behind his back.

She pointed at Fois and the woman. “Noa, they’re trying to steal my sword!”

Noa looked at Fois, then at the woman who had a magic circle ready to fire at them.

Fois stared at Noa. Who is this commoner now?

While the shop owner trembled, not knowing what to do, Fois grabbed the sword from him. “This sword is mine. Who are you to interfere?”

‘Hey, I think we should leave,’ a woman whispered.

Another hissed with furrowed brows. ‘You think we're allowed to?’

Noa ran a hand through the front strands of his hair with an annoyed growl. He looked at Lina. “Do you want that sword?”

Lina nodded earnestly.

Noa looked at the sword in Fois’ hand and smiled at him, a glint in his eyes. “You heard her, right? So give it to her.”

Ignoring Noa, Fois turned away and signaled the woman. “Get rid of him quickly. We're going to be late.”

Noa leaned toward Lina and whispered, ‘Who the hell is this idiot? Does he not know anything?’

Cupping a hand to the side of her mouth, Lina replied, ‘I don’t think so. I heard they weren't present during the opening parts. Oh, and watch out.’ She looked at the fireball coming toward them.

[Nihility Decree]

Null Essence formed a circle in front of Noa and Lina. The fireball sent by the mage struck it and was instantly consumed, leaving nothing behind.

As Fois turned to leave, a purple sword materialized before his throat, inches away from drawing blood. Startled, he stumbled back with wide eyes.

“Who told you that you could leave?” Noa asked.

Noa strode toward Fois. After staring at his sweating face for a moment, he extended a hand toward the sword in Fois’ grip. But his hand was intercepted.

Noa looked to his right, finding the mage standing there. “You’re not allowed to touch the Young Master!”

She began casting a spell with her other hand.

“Fuck off.” He slapped the woman, sending her flying to crash heavily into a wall.

Fois stared at the sight in horror, trembling. T-that's a high-ranking mage in our kingdom!

He slowly turned his face back toward Noa, who looked back at him with a sweet smile.

“So?” Noa extended an open palm.

“B-but we tried to purchase it first!” Fois said, glancing frantically at the shop owner. “She was second, isn't that right?!”

Just you wait till I go back and tell this to Father!

The shop owner nodded hastily.

Noa’s sweet smile suddenly drained of all warmth, his purple eyes piercing directly into Fois'.

“You think I care even if you own it?” Grabbing Fois by his collar, Noa hoisted him off his feet. “I don't give a fuck. If she wants it, she can have it.”

Behind him, Lina smiled in deep satisfaction.

W-what was that? First he did something to my fireball, and now slapped me so easily?

Behind Noa, the woman was just pushing herself up when she saw Noa holding Fois in the air. She quickly stood and saw Fois glaring back at her, giving a silent command.

She began casting another spell—a grander and far more potent one this time—aiming directly at Noa's back.

The chanting ceased, and she felt the touch of a dragon.

Her eyes widened in terror as her perception shifted within a surreal realm.

She found herself standing in a vast domain of endless darkness. Looming before her miniature form was a colossal dragon forged of dark purple energy, staring straight down at her. One of the dragon's massive talons rested flat against her chest, inches from piercing through her heart.

She was snapped back to reality. Trembling, she looked down at where the dragon's claw had touched. In its place was a black blade emerging from a rift in space, its tip resting against her chest.

“Careful now,” Noa said from the side. “Looks like my sword came out on its own to greet you.”

Do something, you useless woman! Fois screamed internally.

“So are you gonna give that to me or not?” Noa asked.

With no options left, Fois placed the sword in his hand, though his eyes remained bloodshot with rage.

Tossing him aside onto the floor, Noa walked toward Lina and handed the weapon over. “Here you go. Next time, solve it on your own.”

Lina instantly hugged the sword to her chest and beamed at him. “I was going to, but thanks anyway.”

“Let’s go then—” Noa turned toward the exit, his gaze falling upon the frozen crowd. “The hell? Why are you guys still here? I thought all of you left.”

Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, Noa strolled toward the doors.

Lina looked back at Fois, who was glaring at her furiously. She pointed two fingers at her own eyes, then snapped them toward him with a glare. Then, she hurried up to walk beside Noa with a bright smile.

Behind the counter, the shop owner grinned as he counted the heavy pouch of gold he had received.

A few steps from the door, Lina decided to draw her blade from its sheath.

It was empty.

There was only the hilt attached to a jagged, broken stump of cheap iron—not Admelia at all.

The shop owner’s grin vanished in an instant. Clutching his gold pouch tightly, he bolted toward an emergency exit.

[Blink]

He was kicked to the floor, the impact splintering the wooden floorboards. Noa stepped onto the man's chest, staring down at him with quiet fury.

“I-I'll give you back the money! Please spare me!” the shop owner begged.

“What did you say? I couldn't hear it properly.”

“I-I meant I'll give you double the money!”

Noa finally lifted his foot. “Now I can hear you.”

Near the exit, all hope drained from Lina's face, leaving her utterly defeated. Dammit… I still didn't find a good sword.

***

The academy grounds gradually filled with students, all wearing the same uniform. Lively chatter echoed through the grand corridors of the massive buildings as everyone navigated toward their assigned classrooms.

The eyes of all the students drifted toward a figure walking serenely through the halls. Her long, snow-white hair stood out against her dark clothing, and her piercing crimson eyes swept over the onlookers with a gentle smile.

‘Wow, I knew she was beautiful yesterday even from afar!’

‘Don’t get jealous, girls.’

‘Where is she heading all alone?’

Meanwhile—

I didn't think I'd ever go back to studying in my life again, Lucion thought, glancing at his peers.

He was making his way toward his assigned room—Class B-1—holding his textbooks in hand.

There are so many questions and problems even though the first arc just started. His gaze sharpened as he paused along the right side of the hallway. Who should I try to get sponsored by now? What happened between Rellion and Crimvane? How is Vionette Crimvane alive? Who are Noa Ravel and Lina Ravel? How did Elina join them? And how exactly did Sylene evolve her skill without the Prince of Velmora, bringing everything back on track? Status.

[Name: Lucion Vale]

[Race: Human]

[Age: 17]

Attributes

• Attack: D

• Speed: C

• Defense: E

• Aether: D

• Intelligence: C

Skills

[Basic Aether Sensitivity (Common)]

[Mental Clarity (Common)]

[Threaded Observation (Uncommon)]

[Perfect Recall (Rare)]

[Poison Nullification (Rare)]

[Vein Lock (Rare)]

Curses

[Black Vein Erosion]

I couldn't even scratch Astris with these stats… Honestly, what student could? I need to get strong enough to at least hold him off. And then there was that mysterious entity inside the—

A delicate hand hovered through the empty space between him and his system. It moved up and down, as if searching for something.

“Mmm? Is it here?”

The hand finally grabbed the floating system window. Lucion turned pale and his gaze snapped toward the owner of the hand.

Vionette looked back at him with an amused smile. “Don’t stare at it so intensely in public like that. People might think you've gone mad.”

She withdrew her hand and resumed her stroll, offering him a playful wave.

Lucion watched her retreating back in terror. W-what on earth is that woman?! First she noticed me at the colosseum, and now this!

Steering clear of her path, Lucion took an alternate route toward his classroom, his pace more hurried than he intended.

…

“Lucion? Lucion! LUCION!”

Lucion twitched and looked at Adrian, who was currently adjusting his glasses while examining his face intensely. “Ah, yes. What is it?”

“What do you mean 'what is it'? Just look at your expression.” Adrian tilted his head slightly, squinting one eye. “Did something shocking happen?”

“Um, no. I was just lost in thought.” Lucion shook his head.

Let's just forget about that woman for now.

They stood near the entrance of the classroom. The room was arranged like a modern lecture hall—long, curving rows of student desks step upward like stairs facing a low front stage equipped with a professor's desk and a whiteboard behind it.

There are four main classes—A, B, C, and D—each split into two divisions, with each section having 250 students. Lucion turned his head to survey the rows. And out of all those classrooms, I just had to be placed in the same one as her.

Sitting at the far right end of the middle row was a girl with black hair featuring blue streaks, her amber eyes glinting softly. She wore an easy smile as she twirled a pen between her fingers.

Literally the second major boss of the game! It could have been any class but this one!

“Hey, I think the professor is coming.” Adrian started walking. “We should sit down too.”

Adrian and I have grown close enough to be study buddies. Maybe it's because of what happened yesterday?

***

A day prior—

After Sinia dismissed them, Lucion remembered his assigned dormitory building, floor, and room number before heading out of the assembly hall. Near the gates, he encountered Adrian, who asked to walk together, to which he agreed.

They eventually reached the residential complex.

“This is my building. I'll head in now,” Lucion said, walking toward the entrance.

“Y-yes, goodbye,” Adrian replied.

Lucion walked toward the entrance of the building, but Adrian remained right beside him.

Lucion glanced at him. “Why are you following me?”

Adrian adjusted his glasses and looked down at a piece of paper where he had noted his room address. “I'm not following you; I'm heading to my dormitory.”

“Oh…” Lucion looked ahead. “Seems we're in the same building.”

“Y-yeah.”

They passed through the main guarded entrance and stepped into the magic-powered elevator.

Both exited on the same floor. They exchanged a bewildered glance.

“Same floor too, it seems?” Lucion muttered.

“I guess so.”

They walked down their wing and turned left. Both stopped and looked at each other again.

“Same corridor too?”

“This is getting awkward…”

Continuing down the hall, Lucion watched Adrian stop in front of a door. Lucion found his own assigned door and infused his Aether into it, which the academy had made as such so only the owners could open them.

“Ah! No way…”

Lucion looked to his right, where the voice came from. Adrian was also infusing Aether into his own door—the one adjacent to his.

Lucion muttered, “Don’t tell me—”

“What the hell? It says the room number is 740, but why is there no 740 on this floor?”

Lucion cut his sentence short, and together with Adrian, turned toward the third voice. There, at an intersection a short distance away, stood Astris, staring at the paper Lirth had written for him.

Lucion let out a disappointed sigh. “He's lost again, isn't he?”

“Do you know each other?” Adrian asked.

“Not really. Just ignore him.”

As they watched, Lirth stepped up behind Astris and brought a light fist down on his head.

“I knew it! Good thing I followed you after seeing you wander into the wrong building.” She grabbed his hand. “I'll show you the way on your first day.”

***

Present—

Vionette hummed a light tune as she strolled down the corridor toward the Headmaster's office, taking in the opulent architecture.

Rookie protagonists, not even trying to hide their systems. Of course, I can't see it either, but him staring into thin air even during the opening ceremony makes it far too obvious.

She stopped at the end of the hallway before a white door adorned with an etched plaque:

‘Headmaster's Office’

Should I have scheduled an appointment? Closing her eyes, she rolled her shoulders. Ahh, fuck it, whatever.

She knocked twice on the wood.

Inside, Sinia looked up from her desk in surprise. “Who is it? I didn't schedule any meetings today.”

“It’s Vionette Crimvane.”

Sinia set her pen down and tilted her head back in confusion. “Vionette Crimvane? You may enter.”

Vionette opened the door, and the sight left her momentarily breathless. The office was as grand as expected, but what truly caught her attention was the figure in the center.

Behind an ornate mahogany desk sat Sinia, perched upon a high-backed leather chair. The seat was slightly too tall for her frame, leaving her feet dangling just above the floor, her toes barely brushing the carpet.

Vionette instantly leaned her head back behind the doorframe to hide her face, though her quiet giggles and shaking shoulders betrayed her instantly.

Sinia gripped her pen tightly once more, her knuckles turning white. “Princess of Crimvane…!”