Florin dragged her weary body toward Leafanel's garden.
Though she hadn't sustained major injuries from the battle with Chelven, the imnse ntal and mana exhaustion left her with a severe headache.
But right now, checking Leafanel's condition was the top priority.
'This scent...?'
As she arrived at Leafanel's garden, she realized that sothing about the atmosphere was different from before, causing her to tilt her head in curiosity.
She hurriedly ran into the garden, but strangely, it didn't feel like a bad change. Rather, it was quite... a pleasant scent.
Of course, no matter how good a scent might seem in a garden filled with dark energy, Florin, who was sensitive to the energy of followers, was sure of one thing.
"Ah...!"
Leafanel.
Her eyes were closed, and her hands were clasped tightly as if in prayer. She was still tainted by dark energy, but her appearance was noticeably different from the last ti she had seen her.
"Her heart..."
Although the space was filled with a violet hue, a mysterious energy with shades of green and yellow was emanating from Leafanel's chest in the form of a small fla.
Although that energy was still weak, it was undeniably close to a divine aura.
It was... The energy of Leafanel, the divine spirit capable of completely purifying the dark energy polluting the Heavenly Tree.
"You've returned..."
Florin cautiously approached Leafanel and gently touched her cheek.
The mysterious barrier that had once covered Leafanel's body had long since vanished.
Although Leafanel still had her eyes closed and didn't respond, the re fact that she wasn't wary of Florin's approach showed that she welcod her presence.
Florin gently caressed Leafanel's cheek and gazed at her face for a while.
From a young age, due to being born with the curse, she had been unable to properly interact with or speak to others.
The only one who had beco her companion was Leafanel.
Though Leafanel had the ntal age of a child, she had lived for many long years, and with her wisdom and pure eyes, she listened to Florin's stories.
In reality, they both needed each other.
Leafanel couldn't move from her place, and Florin couldn't face anyone due to her curse.
"I'm glad... Truly."
Because of this, no one was happier about Leafanel's return than Florin—not even Baek Yu-Seol or anyone else.
Although now her curse had weakened, allowing her to et various people and even share her true feelings face-to-face, the return of her most precious companion who had supported her through her lonely past was the happiest event of all.
And...
As she thought of the boy who had helped her regain her most cherished bond, Florin gently smiled.
The soft texture of Leafanel's cheek under her hand felt comforting.
Though they couldn't have a conversation right now, it would be okay.
Now that her heart had returned, she would soon recover and return to how things used to be.
"Just like before... I'll tell you stories. And this ti, you can tell your stories too, Leafanel."
Florin placed a gentle kiss on Leafanel's forehead as she continued to pray with her eyes closed.
Not knowing when it would be, but she would wait for the day they could reunite again.
—
When he opened his eyes, it was the weekend.
The last date he rembered before losing consciousness was also a weekend.
He could have considered himself lucky, but Baek Yu-Seol held his forehead and sighed in frustration.
Starting in the second sester, all practical training would be reflected in the grades, so being absent was quite a setback.
Since Baek Yu-Seol aid to graduate without studying, practical training was an essential subject he couldn't afford to skip.
"Ugh..."
As he looked around, a familiar space greeted him.
The infirmary of Stella Academy.
The hospital gown of Stella Academy.
As always, whenever he fainted after a fierce battle, he would end up here.
Co to think of it, it was strange that the academy hadn't sanctioned him despite the number of incidents he caused outside the academy.
Recently, he started to feel that the treatnt he was receiving appeared a bit special for just a commoner student.
'I survived this ti too...'
Baek Yu-Seol lifted his head and looked at the system ssage floating in the air.
It was roughly stating that he would receive sothing special as a reward for advancing through an episode in a very unique way.
But that wasn't what mattered right now.
Recalling the feeling just before he lost consciousness, Baek Yu-Seol shuddered all over.
'I landed a hit on Chelven.'
It was none other than the frail Baek Yu-Seol himself who had done it.
Even though his invincibility had been completely dispelled, Chelven was a martial dark mage who had honed his hand-to-hand combat skills with a single trait to survive before gaining any blessings.
Players might have calculated his magic attack power at only about 10 points, but his physical attack power was quite formidable.
He was still a danger level 9 dark mage after all—his skill wouldn't just disappear.
Despite this, Baek Yu-Seol had managed to drive a sword into his chest.
At that mont.
He still rembered that feeling.
It was as if...
The world had slowed down. The fluttering leaves seed to freeze in mid-air, and he could even capture the trembling body of a falling drop of water.
The swirling sandstorm, the trembling pupils of Chelven, the contorted muscles and joints—
He could perceive it all.
In that frozen world, Baek Yu-Seol focused entirely on Chelven.
His attack appeared flawless. He closed in on all sides and ticulously calculated the flash, but Chelven could see it clearly.
A mont felt like an eternity, and Baek Yu-Seol instantaneously controlled his Flash to exploit Chelven's gap.
'I've won.'
The thought crossed his mind unconsciously—it was a perfectly tid attack.
However, in the end.
'I didn't hit his heart.'
Chelven expelled his dark mana at just the right mont to deflect Baek Yu-Seol's sword strike. It was an unbelievable reaction speed.
No one had ever reacted to the speed of Flash until now.
'I could have won.'
If he had just a bit more experience.
If he had properly honed the Blessing of Pink Spring Moon and could fully control the ability of [ntalist].
Soone might ask if he wasn't being too arrogant with just three or four-star abilities, but in this world, not everything was determined by stats.
Just as a class 3 lightning mage could defeat a class 6 lightning mage, strategy and experience mattered.
Baek Yu-Seol lacked experience.
The countless PvP experiences he gained in Aether World Online might have worked against young magic warriors, but they were of no use against a true dark mage like Chelven.
From now on, Baek Yu-Seol would have to face such real opponents.
'I must completely master ntalist!'
Baek Yu-Seol thought that this ability, ntalist, was too special to be considered rely a derivative of the Blessing of Pink Spring Moon.
In that frozen world, he could vaguely sense the presence of Silver Autumn Moon.
'Combining two blessings to create a single derivative skill...'
He had never heard of such a case, but he believed it wasn't impossible.
Baek Yu-Seol was sure of it.
If he could properly combine the Blessings of Blue Winter Moon, Silver Autumn Moon, and Pink Spring Moon, he could obtain a special power that would allow him to stand shoulder to shoulder with the protagonist-level characters.
'This is no ti to be sitting around.'
Baek Yu-Seol imdiately jumped up and hurriedly headed to the Class S training ground.
"Oh my? P-Patient! You need to rest a bit more!"
"I don't have ti for that."
The nurse who happened to co by tried to hold Baek Yu-Seol back, but he abruptly discharged himself and left.
"Oh my goodness..."
The nurse couldn't hide her astonishnt as she watched Baek Yu-Seol, who hadn't fully recovered yet, head straight to the training ground.
This quickly spread through the academy by word of mouth, and soon, students began referring to him as the madman who trains even when injured.
"I underestimated him."
When Pung Harang heard the news about Baek Yu-Seol, he let out a small laugh.
He had wondered what Baek Yu-Seol was up to, skipping classes for an entire week without permission, and then he heard the bizarre rumor that Baek Yu-Seol had suddenly fought a dark mage, gotten injured, and ended up hospitalized.
It was quite shocking.
While the identity of his opponent wasn't revealed, students speculated that the dark mage must have been quite formidable if Baek Yu-Seol was injured to such an extent.
"He may have gone straight back to training, but given that he's injured, he won't be able to participate in the 'League of Spirit,' right?"
Pung Harang didn't bother responding to his friend Mack's comnt, but Mack genuinely seed to hope Baek Yu-Seol wouldn't compete.
"Ah! I really hope he doesn't participate. Whatever he does, he just sweeps everything up."
"He wasn't on the official player list anyway. At this point, it's impossible for Baek Yu-Seol to join the intra-academy competition."
"You never know. There could be a special case like Fla's. She didn't intend to participate, but she got forced onto the list because of that prince skalben, didn't she?"
"Ah! I wish I could be on the sa team as a girl like Fla. Why are all my teammates just slly guys? Oh, by the way, I heard Fla is looking for new teammates. Should I try my luck?"
Mack grinned as he said this, and Pung Harang glared at him.
"What? Why are you looking at like that? Your expression is scary; when you stare like that, it's really intimidating."
"... Sorry."
"Well, I guess that happens. Oh, by the way, are you interested in that girl nad Fla?"
Pung Harang was genuinely taken aback by this question and his eyes widened.
"It's nothing like that, so don't worry about it."
"Co on, what do you an it's nothing...? Alright, I got it. Can you just not look at like that? I don't want to be the first Stella cadet killed by a glare."
With that, Mack quickly got up and headed down the hallway as if fleeing.
"I have my next class to get to!"
Whether he was being serious or just scared of Pung Harang's gaze wasn't clear... But knowing Mack, Pung Harang suspected he was probably just teasing.
Pung Harang also packed up his textbooks and stood up. There were no classes on Saturdays, and it was self-study ti, but he studied even on weekends without taking breaks.
He planned to review what he had learned over the past week and preview the material for the coming week.
As Pung Harang headed toward the Class S building, often referred to as 'The Domain,' he spotted soone familiar there.
"Hey. Just trust and give it a try, okay?"
"Hmm... I don't know. I'm not really interested in sports."
"Co on. With your build, who'd believe you're not into sports? Hey Eisel, say sothing too."
"I don't want to do it either..."
"No way, you're doing it."
"What? Why do I have to..."
"Because you're really pretty."
"Well, that's true, but... Does that an I have to participate in the League of Spirit...?"
It was Fla, Eisel, and Ma Yu-Seong. Being among the top five in their grade, those three elite students naturally attracted attention, causing all the passersby to glance over and watch them.
'League of Spirit...'
Could Mack's words have been true?
It seed she was recruiting people here and there to form a team.
"Oh, then how about this? I'll offer you an amazing deal."
At first, Ma Yu-Seong and Eisel appeared like they were going to decline, but Fla seed to know exactly what would entice them.
Slowly but surely, they seed intrigued, and finally, they nodded.
"Great! Just fill out this application form, and I'll be off since I'm busy!"
Fla handed the match registration forms to Ma Yu-Seong and Eisel, then quickly dashed into the Class S training area.
Pung Harang tried to ignore them and head to the study room, but he couldn't help but be curious since Fla was heading toward the training area.
'If it's the training area, it's probably Baek Yu-Seol.'
At this point, what did it matter?
If it was Fla, she would obviously ask him for a favor.
'If that's the case...'
This was the perfect ti to face Baek Yu-Seol head-on.
He was also a contender in the Stella League of Spirit and was even a candidate for victory.
'I can't miss this good opportunity.'
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