Chapter 22: Second life
This time, Elva entered the room.
Her presence alone was enough to steal the attention away from the unfolding drama.
The moment she stepped inside, an almost instinctive shift occurred.
Conversations halted mid-sentence, lingering gazes broke apart, and the suffocating tension that had been thick in the air dissipated as if it had never existed.
The students immediately turned toward her. Some widened their eyes in surprise, while others immediately straightened in their seats, their spines going rigid as if compelled by an invisible force.
Her very presence commanded respect.
Ash observed silently from the back, his fingers lightly tapping against the desk.
His initial impression of Elva remained unchanged—she was dangerous, but in a way that was difficult to put into words.
She wasn't just strong—she was the kind of person who could own any room without uttering a single word.
A true monster among humans.
Her eyes scanned the room slowly, moving from one student to the next as if she were searching for someone in particular.
And then, they stopped.
For a brief moment, her gaze locked onto Ash's at the very back.
And then—she smiled.
Not the fake, pleasant smile that teachers often wore when trying to maintain appearances.
No, this one felt genuine.
Amused.
As if she had found exactly what she was looking for.
A bad feeling settled in Ash's gut.
She walked forward, her every step exuding a commanding grace, her presence carrying an undeniable weight that made people unconsciously hold their breaths.
Reaching the podium at the center of the room, she turned to face the class, clasping her hands together before greeting them with her usual, almost playful tone.
"~Good morning again, little lambs," she said, her voice laced with amusement.
"Good morning, Teacher!!!!!!!!!!"
The entire class responded in unison, their voices filled with energy, as if desperate to leave a good impression.
Ash, however, remained silent, merely observing the way the students reacted to her.
Elva nodded, pleased with their enthusiasm.
"Now, let's not waste any time," she continued, flipping open the attendance register she had brought with her.
"First, I will take attendance."
Elva's voice rang out as she began reading the names aloud, her tone casual, yet carrying an underlying weight.
"Melissa, Rank 1."
"Present."
"Grace, Rank 2."
"Present."
That was when Ash noticed something strange.
She wasn't just reading a list of names
It only took him a second to understand what was happening
She's taking names with their rankings?
His stomach dropped.
I knew it. I'm fucked!
Ash clenched his jaw, lowering his head slightly as he exhaled through his nose.
Of course, she's doing it in order…
Every name she called was followed by an immediate response, the students answering with unwavering confidence.
"Ray, Rank 23."
"Present."
The protagonist's name came and went, the class barely reacting beyond a few murmurs.
"Gerri, Rank 45."
"Present."
"Paulita, Rank 50."
"Present."
And then—
"Ash, Rank 1001."
Silence.
For the first time since Elva had started calling names, no response came.
Elva blinked once before glancing up from the register, her expression unreadable.
"Ash, Rank 1001."
A second call.
This time, Ash forced himself to reply.
"Present."
!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!
The word barely left his mouth before he felt it.
Every head in the classroom turned.
Dozens of eyes locked onto him in unison, their gazes filled with shock, curiosity, and even thinly veiled amusement.
Some students looked at him as if he were an anomaly, an error in a system that shouldn't have existed.
Others simply sneered, shaking their heads before turning back around, dismissing him as unworthy of their time.
Whispers filled the air.
"Rank 1001? Is that even real?"
"How did someone like that get into Class 1S?"
"He's literally dead last."
"Hah. No wonder I've never seen him before."
Ash could feel their gazes drilling into him, their judgment heavy.
Yet, despite that, his expression didn't change.
He didn't flinch.
Didn't react.
He simply leaned back in his chair, resting his elbow against the desk and propping his chin on his hand.
Let them stare.
Let them talk.
In the end, their opinions meant nothing.
Still…
He couldn't deny the slight irritation bubbling beneath his skin.
He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to relax.
This was inevitable. But on the first day? Tch. Annoying.
It was clear—he was the lowest of the low in their eyes.
But that was fine.
He was used to this type of negative attention—both in his previous life and this one.
The weight of their stares didn't bother him.
Not really.
He had felt it all before—the judgment, the dismissal, the quiet amusement of those who thought themselves superior.
Still, among the sea of gazes, a few stood out.
Melissa.
Her intense stare bore into him like a blade.
Looks like she's angry… and surprised, I need to talk to her about the bet after the class is over.
Her expression was unreadable, but the tightness in her brows and the way her lips pressed into a thin line spoke volumes.
Ash held her gaze for a second—no more—before breaking eye contact.
Then, another gaze.
Ray.
Unlike Melissa, his expression wasn't filled with anger but pure, unfiltered surprise.
As if he couldn't quite believe what he just heard.
Ash let out an inaudible sigh, his thoughts drifting briefly.
'I'm glad I left the Ring of Healing back in my room…'
He wasn't in the mood for another unnecessary problem.
Breaking eye contact, his gaze naturally drifted to the last one.
Elysia.
Her eyes weren't filled with anger or surprise.
They held confusion.
A quiet question.
Something about the way she looked at him made his heart flutter—an unfamiliar, almost nostalgic sensation that caught him off guard.
For a moment, he felt… something.
Something warm.
Something that made his chest tighten in an unexplainable way.
It was as if she was back…
His fingers twitched slightly.
He knew this was ridiculous—he knew—but he still found himself staring back at her for longer than he should have.
Why does she always remind me of her…?
The thought came unbidden, slipping past his usually composed mind.
Did she… also come with me?
An absurd and Impossible idea came to his mind.
He had made a single wish—to transmigrate. Nothing more.
Then why—
"Cough."
His thoughts shattered like fragile glass at the sound of Elva clearing her throat.
"All of you," her voice carried an unmistakable authority, "Ash Burn is a student recommended by me. If anyone has a problem with that, you can bring it up to me."
Her tone was casual, but the underlying message was clear.
Challenge his presence, and you challenge her.
A tense silence stretched across the room.
Elva smiled. "~Sooo, does anyone have a problem?"
No response.
"Good."
She clapped her hands lightly, shifting gears without missing a beat.
"Melissa and Ray—you two will be the class representatives for the girls and boys, respectively."
Melissa barely reacted, still staring at Ash.
Ray, on the other hand, straightened, nodding firmly.
"And now, follow me in a straight line," Elva continued. "We're heading to the Affinity Testing and Course Selection."
"Yes, Teacher!"
The class responded in unison.
Ash exhaled slowly, his mind filled with questions as he stood up.
***
[Elysia Moonglow]
I am Elysia Moonglow.
At least, that is who I am now.
In my past life, my name was Nancy Scott. I was just an ordinary girl living a quiet, unremarkable life on Earth.
I had no grand dreams and no extraordinary talents.
My days were simple—waking up to the soft warmth of the morning sun, walking through the same streets I had known since childhood, and sharing small moments of laughter with the few friends I had.
Life was peaceful. Small. And yet, I never once thought it would end so suddenly.
I died in a car accident!!!!
I barely had time to register what was happening before everything around me faded into darkness.
My body felt weightless, as if I were floating in an endless void. Then, just as quickly as it had ended—
It began again.
When I opened my eyes, I was no longer Nancy Scott. I was no longer lying on the cold pavement, struggling to breathe.
Instead, I found myself in an unfamiliar room, staring up at a cracked ceiling.
My hands, now small and delicate, trembled as I reached out to touch my face.
This wasn't my body.
This wasn't my world.
I had been reborn.
At first, I thought it was a dream—a cruel trick my dying mind had created in its final moments.
But as the days passed, reality settled in.
I had transmigrated into a completely different world, one filled with magic and wonders I could have never imagined.
But even in this strange, new life, one thing remained painfully familiar.
I was an orphan.
Just like before.
There were no loving parents to welcome me into this world, no familiar faces to ease the fear and loneliness creeping into my heart.
I was just another nameless child among many in the orphanage, struggling to understand why fate had given me another chance only to take away the warmth of family once again.
I wanted to cry.
And I did.
At night, when no one was watching, I buried my face into my pillow and let the tears fall, wondering why life had been so unfair.
Wondering if this second life was a blessing or just another cruel joke.
But time didn't stop for my grief.
The days turned into weeks, then months, and eventually years. I learned to survive, to adapt.
The orphanage wasn't kind, but it wasn't cruel either. It was simply a place that existed, just like the children who lived within it.
Then, one day, everything changed.
At the age of 10, I awakened my magical abilities. The orphanage, which had always been indifferent to my existence, suddenly had a purpose for me.
They taught me how to control my magic, encouraged me to push past my limits, and when the time came, they sent me off to the best academy on the human continent.
I should have been excited.
This was a world of magic, of possibilities beyond anything I had ever known. I had been given a chance that most orphans could only dream of.
But instead, I felt lost.
Even among the other students, I felt out of place. They were confident, strong, belonging to families with long histories of power and influence.
I, on the other hand, was just a girl from an orphanage with no family name to call my own.
Making friends wasn't easy.
Talking to people had never been my strength, not in my past life, and certainly not in this one.
But I tried.
And then, after finishing the first test, exhausted and thirsty, I realized I had forgotten to bring a water bottle.
My throat was dry, my body tired, and I felt foolish for making such a simple mistake.
That was when I noticed him.
A boy stood nearby, carrying an oversized bag that was practically bursting with food and water bottles.
His silvery-white hair caught my attention, slightly different from my own, but similar enough that I paused.
His face, however, held no trace of concern, no sign that he even cared about the weight of his bag or the stares of those around him.
I hesitated before stepping forward.
"Can I have a bottle of water?" I asked, my voice quieter than I intended.
He turned to me, his expression unreadable. For a moment, I thought he would ignore me.
But instead, he wordlessly reached into his bag, pulled out a bottle, and handed it to me without hesitation.
Then, without another glance, he walked away.
I didn't even get the chance to thank him.
Something about that brief encounter unsettled me. He hadn't asked for anything in return, hadn't even asked for my name.
It was such a simple act, but for some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had met him before.
That thought lingered in my mind, refusing to fade.
---
During the third test, I finally made my first real friend. Her name was Grace Starhaven, a girl with a bold personality and a kind heart.
Unlike me, she was effortlessly social, someone who could make friends with anyone.
With her, I didn't feel so alone.
Then, on our first day in class, the teacher called out our names for attendance.
"Melissia, Rank 1."
"Grace, Rank 2."
The names continued, each one followed by a rank that signified their performance in the entrance exams.
Then—
"Ash Burn, Rank 1001."
The moment I heard that name, my body stiffened.
A strange sensation washed over me, as if a buried memory had suddenly resurfaced.
It wasn't just the name.
It was everything to me in my previous life.
Somewhere deep within me, a question formed—one I hadn't thought about in years.
Was he happy?
Was he doing well?
And then, a quiet voice answered.
"Present."
I turned toward the voice, my heart pounding for reasons I couldn't understand.
And there he was.
The same boy who had given me the water bottle.
The boy with silvery-white hair and tired, distant blue eyes.
For a moment, he met my gaze.
And in that moment, something inside me ached.
It wasn't recognition, not exactly.
It wasn't something I could explain with logic or reason. It was a feeling, raw and unshakable.
Something about him felt familiar.
As if I had known him before.
As if I had lost him before.
The realization struck me so deeply that I couldn't look away. And for a second—just a second—I thought he felt it too.
But before I could think further, the teacher's voice cut through the silence.
"Follow me."
And just like that, the moment was gone.
But as I followed her out of the classroom, my mind was still reeling.
Because for the first time since coming to this world, I felt something I hadn't expected to feel again.
And I wasn't sure if I was ready to find out what it meant.
***
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