Noah sat alone on a wooden bench inside the training hall.
The hall was relatively quiet at this hour. A few students could be seen training in the distance, while others chatted among themselves. Sunlight stread through the tall windows, illuminating the polished floor.
Yet Noah paid attention to none of it.
His arms were folded across his chest, and his eyes remained glued to the translucent blue screen floating before him.
A wide grin slowly spread across his face.
The screen displayed sothing that made him happier than almost anything else.
Just two days ago, he had been fighting for his life.
At that ti, he had only been at the Low Stage of the Awakened Core Rank.
He still rembered the terror of facing Marbas, the desperate battle, and the feeling of standing at death’s door.
But now things were completely different.
Sohow, after everything that had happened, he had broken through two stages in one go.
His Core Rank had reached the High Stage of Awakened.
That alone would have made most students celebrate for weeks.
However, that wasn’t what excited Noah the most.
There was sothing even more unbelievable.
Sothing that still made his blood boil with excitent whenever he thought about it.
The bloodline was Monarch of The Frost.
At first, Noah hadn’t paid much attention to it. There had simply been too many things happening.
The injuries, the mysterious system ssages. The strange voice that had appeared.
The deaths of the students. The endless questioning from the academy instructors after they recovered.
All of it had left him ntally exhausted. Only after finally having so free ti did he sit down and carefully examine his status.
And the results had nearly made him jump from the bench.
=== STATUS ===
Na: Noah Eldritch
Race: Human
Age: 19 Years
Strength: 260 [ 158]
Speed: 247 [ 142]
Stamina: 258 [ 153]
Endurance: 235 [ 145]
Charm: 612
Mana: 2553 [ 1505]
Core Rank: Awakened (High)
Potential: Mythical Core / Origin Core (???)
Profession: [Combatant Lv.2]
Technique: [Frozen Lotus Blade Art], [Flowing String Archery]
Affinity: Ice
Spells: [Ice Shard], [Frost Bind], [Snow Mist]
Innate Ability: [Ice Creation]
Passive Ability: [Adaptive Learning]
Bloodline: [Monarch of The Frost]
=================
"I can’t believe it..." Noah muttered under his breath before shaking his head.
Then he laughed. "I hit the jackpot!"
And honestly, he wasn’t exaggerating. The increase in his stats alone was absurd. His mana had increased by an unbelievable amount.
His bloodline had awakened. And perhaps most importantly... His potential had changed.
It was now at Mythical Core. Also known as Origin Core.
Even though the system still displayed question marks, Noah understood one thing.
His future potential had reached an absurd level.
Only Damien had possessed potential on that level before.
The protagonist. The chosen hero. And now Noah’s na stood beside it. How could he not be happy?
His gaze briefly moved toward his Charm stat. The number was honestly ridiculous.
Noah snorted. "Still useless."
Being handso wouldn’t help him defeat demons.
Nor did he have any plans to beco so womanizer.
Though... He couldn’t deny that teasing girls was surprisingly entertaining.
Especially when they reacted so easily.
"Noah!"
A familiar voice suddenly called out. The status window disappeared instantly. Noah turned his head.
A smile appeared on his face.
"Mary."
She stood several ters away, looking much healthier than she had after escaping that nightmare.
Yesterday had been chaotic.
Every surviving student had been questioned by academy instructors regarding what happened inside the mysterious dungeon.
Because of that, Noah barely had a chance to talk with her.
"Hello, Mary!" Noah greeted cheerfully. "What’s up? You okay?"
Mary walked toward him before stopping nearby.
"I’m okay," she replied softly.
Then her eyes narrowed slightly.
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
"Seeing that huge smile on your face..." she said while adjusting her glasses, "...it seems sothing really good happened to you."
She tilted her head slightly.
"You look happier than anyone else right now."
Noah chuckled.
"Of course I’m happy."
He leaned back against the bench.
"Everyone I care about survived."
His voice beca quieter.
"And more importantly..."
A grin appeared again.
"I survived."
Mary couldn’t help but laugh softly. "That’s true."
However, her smile soon faded. Her gaze lowered toward the ground. For a few monts she remained silent.
Noah didn’t interrupt. He simply waited. Eventually Mary let out a small sigh. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks.
"T-That day..."
She nervously played with a strand of her hair.
"While we were running..."
Her voice beca even quieter.
"You held in your arms and protected from whatever was coming behind us."
The blush deepened.
"I never got the chance to thank you properly."
She looked away.
"So... thank you."
Noah blinked. He still rembered that mont. At the ti, he hadn’t even thought about it.
His body had simply moved on instinct. Even now, he was slightly surprised by his own actions.
Still... Mary was his friend.
And after hearing those students dying behind him, he couldn’t bring himself to let the sa thing happen to her.
A gentle smile appeared on Noah’s face.
"You don’t need to thank ."
Mary slowly turned toward him. Their eyes t. Her black eyes behind the round glasses.
His blue eyes reflecting the afternoon sunlight that ca from huge windows.
Noah’s expression softened.
"You are my friend, Mary."
His voice was sincere.
"A good friend."
He shrugged lightly.
"How could I just stand there and watch sothing happen to you?"
The smile on his face widened slightly.
"My body moved before I could even think."
Mary’s cheeks turned even redder.
"And honestly..."
Noah scratched the back of his head.
"I’m just happy you made it out safely."
Mary imdiately looked away. Her heart skipped a beat.
For so reason Noah looked different lately. Maybe it was because he had grown stronger.
Maybe it was because of his recent experiences. Or maybe it was simply the confidence he carried now.
Whatever the reason, his smile felt strangely dangerous.
"N-Noah!"
She quickly pushed her glasses upward.
"Don’t say things like that so casually!"
Noah tilted his head. "Hm?"
Mary’s face grew even redder. "T-They sound..."
She struggled to finish her sentence. "They sound..."
Noah grinned.
"How do they sound?"
Mary imdiately pointed a finger at him.
"Argh! It’s weird!"
She puffed her cheeks. "You shouldn’t say things like that to girls so casually!"
Noah burst into laughter. "Hahaha!"
Mary glared at him.
"Stop laughing!"
"Okay, okay," Noah said while raising both hands in surrender. "I won’t."
Mary narrowed her eyes suspiciously. She clearly didn’t believe him. A few monts later, Noah suddenly stood up.
"Want to go for a walk?"
Mary blinked for few seconds before nodding.
"Hmm. Okay."
Together, they left the training hall.
The academy grounds were peaceful as evening slowly approached.
Students walked between buildings. So trained on the open fields.
Others sat beneath trees enjoying the cool weather.
Noah and Mary simply walked side by side.
Then Noah suddenly spoke. "You know, Mary..."
"Hm?"
"You look adorable when you’re embarrassed."
Mary nearly stumbled. Her entire body froze.Then she slowly turned toward him.
Her eyes narrowed behind her glasses. "Noah."
"Yes?"
"You’re doing it again."
Noah imdiately started laughing.
"Hehe~"
"What can I do?" he asked innocently.
"Your reactions are just too good."
"Hmph!"
Mary turned her head away. Her arms folded across her chest. A cute pout ford on her lips.
Noah couldn’t stop himself from smiling.
"Hey."
No response.
"I’m sorry."
There was only silence.
"Mary?"
She said nothing.
Noah rubbed his chin dramatically.
"Hmm...If you don’t forgive ..."
Mary glanced sideways.
"...I’ll start talking like that again." Her eyes widened slightly.
Noah leaned closer.
"Dear Mary~"
"Dammit, Noah!"
Mary imdiately snapped her head toward him.
"Don’t do that!"
Noah pointed at her triumphantly.
"Look."
"What?"
"You’re talking again."
Mary stared at him. Then groaned. "You’re impossible."
The two continued walking through the academy campus while Noah quietly celebrated another successful victory.
After a while, Noah’s expression beca thoughtful.
"By the way..."
Mary looked at him.
"Hm?"
"How did you find that door?"
He genuinely wanted to know. If not for Mary, they would all be dead.
Mary blinked.
"Oh..."
She looked slightly embarrassed.
"That was because of my innate ability."
Noah listened carefully.
"My ability allows to observe things very closely."
She adjusted her glasses.
"It’s nothing special."
Noah imdiately disagreed.
"It sounds special."
Mary smiled weakly.
"My eyes are simply sharper than most people’s."
She looked forward while rembering that mont.
"The wall looked normal to everyone else. But I noticed sothing different."
Her voice grew more confident.
"A tiny difference in texture.It was almost impossible to see. But I could."
Noah whistled.
"That’s actually amazing."
Mary smiled slightly.
"Maybe...or not maybe."
Noah nodded firmly. "It saved all of us."
A brief silence followed. Then Noah asked, "So the door opened easily?"
Mary thought for a mont before nodding. "Yes. I used the last bit of strength I had."
Her expression beca distant. "And pushed. It opened imdiately."
Noah laughed. "Damn. We were lucky to have you."
Mary looked surprised.
Noah smiled. "The real hero there was you. Everyone survived because you found that door."
Mary imdiately shook her head.
"No. That’s not true."
She looked at him seriously. "If you all hadn’t fought the demon...If you hadn’t stalled him...I never would’ve had ti to search."
She smiled softly. "We survived because everyone worked together."
Noah nodded. "True."
For a few monts, both of them simply walked in silence.
Then Mary suddenly spoke.
"Hey, Noah?"
"Hm?"
"Can I ask you sothing?"
Noah put his hands inside his pockets.
"Sure."
Mary hesitated briefly.
Then she looked at him. "Do you know why Ophelia seems to hate demons so much?"
Noah blinked in surprise.
Mary adjusted her glasses.
"Most people probably didn’t notice...But I did."
Her expression beca thoughtful. "She tried to hide it. But every ti she looked at Marbas..."
Mary’s eyes narrowed slightly. "There was so much anger."
"So much hatred."
She looked toward Noah. "It felt personal."
A light breeze passed through the academy grounds. Noah’s expression slowly beca serious.
Because unlike Mary... He actually had a pretty good idea why.
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