When Everything Still Seemed Normal

Elena watched as the students gradually began to disperse.

Yenne stood a bit ahead, scanning the surroundings with her usual introspective and distant look. She seemed to be evaluating who to form a group with, but unlike Elena, she showed no rush or interest in interacting with others.

Unlike most nobles there, Yenne didn't care about social bonds. In her past life, Elena remembered that well.

Yenne had spent most of her time buried in magical studies, isolated, indifferent to noble social circles or power dynamics.

Personal relationships were never her priority.

'Maybe I should take advantage of that lack of emotional filters...'

Yenne's social detachment had definitely contributed to her isolating herself too much. Because of that, in her past life, she was captured before anyone even noticed she was gone.

Elena knew she couldn't let that happen again.

Without overthinking the kind of distractions that cloud the minds of normal teenagers, she made a move. No fear. No shame.

"Well, looks like it'll be just the two of us."

Lyra, who was walking beside Elena, stopped mid-sentence as she watched her friend suddenly walk away.

"Ahn?? Where are you going?!"

Elena ignored her and walked straight to Yenne.

In her past life, they had worked on a few tasks together. But in this new timeline, this would be their first direct contact.

"Yenne, do you already have a group for Professor Maelis's activity?"

Yenne turned her face slowly. Her black, cold eyes met Elena's calmly and, unfortunately, with zero sympathy or warmth.

'Damn...'

"I've already thought of someone."

"But..."

Before Elena could finish her sentence, Yenne had already turned her back and walked away without a second thought.

Elena stood there silently for a moment, then gave a small smirk.

'You little brat...'

Right behind her, Lyra appeared with an amused sparkle in her eyes.

"Wow... you just got rejected. Looks like the magic tower folks are really cold."

Elena didn't answer. Being turned down by Yenne wasn't what she wanted, but it was still something she had expected.

She just kept her eyes on the girl as she walked away.

And just as she predicted, Yenne's steps led her straight toward Kaen.

'I really don't know how things ended up taking the most unlikely turn, but it looks like something worked.'

===

Yenne approached Kaen, who looked lost in thought. His eyes were half-closed, staring into nothing.

"Kaen."

"Are you listening?!"

Kaen blinked slowly, snapping out of his trance. When he turned his head, he saw Yenne staring at him with her hands on her hips and a slightly grumpy expression.

"Since you're not doing Professor Maelis's activity with anyone, want to form a group? That way we can get it over with quickly."

Kaen listened while still trying to focus. His eyes drifted to her face. She avoided looking directly at him, lips pressed into a thin line.

'Yeah, she's definitely not used to asking for anything.'

It was a slightly irritated look, but still pretty.

But contrary to what Yenne thought, Kaen wasn't the least bit concerned with Maelis's class.

His mind was somewhere else.

The mana inside him still hadn't stabilized since absorbing the Vyralis Core. He needed some time alone to recharge safely.

However, leaving Yenne alone would be a problem.

He sighed internally. He raised one hand like he was about to brush her off and started walking.

"Sorry... I plan to do this alone. Good luck finding someone."

Yenne's eyes widened.

"What?! Seriously??"

Kaen turned his head slightly.

"No, I'm just messing with you. Let's go."

"Shhhf!"

Yenne let out a sharp huff, cheeks puffing slightly.

Kaen let out a quiet laugh as he saw her eyes flare up in a mix of anger and embarrassment.

'Her face is better than any rare ingredient.'

===

"Looks like they're getting pretty close lately."

The voice came from beside Elena, slow and full of mischief. Lyra was watching the two of them walking side by side toward the forest.

Elena kept her eyes on them as they joined Marco.

She felt a bit relieved knowing Yenne would be with Kaen now.

Still... something was bothering her.

'When did they even get that close?'

Maybe her presence alone, in this new life, had changed more things than she imagined.

"...Elena. Mind if I join you two?"

The voice pulled her back to reality.

Rayden stood in front of her, face neutral, but eyes sharp and focused.

Elena held his gaze for a second, then thought:

'Yeah... maybe I really am screwing up the timeline.'

====

Twenty minutes later...

Kaen, Yenne, and Marco were walking together through the forest.

Kaen's plan had been simple at first.

Use the chaos of the first field class to collect the ingredients for the Internal Pulse Essence. It was something he already knew from the game and could replicate easily.

The situation seemed perfect. He knew all the patterns of this event.

But what he didn't count on was being accompanied by two walking problems.

Marco might not be that bad. But Yenne was a whole different story.

Kaen just wanted to enjoy the moment. But despite everything, he knew that if something happened to them, he'd feel bad for doing nothing.

"Hmph. Why did we even come here? The professor said there was nothing useful in this area."

"There's something I want to do."

Yenne narrowed her eyes.

"Something? What do you mean?"

Marco pulled a folded piece of paper from his backpack.

"It's true... According to my notes, these are the ingredients we need."

He showed the paper filled with crooked scribbles, poorly written names of magical ingredients, and a few odd drawings.

Yenne looked at the paper and replied without hesitation.

"You're terrible at drawing."

"Pff... Keh."

Kaen let out a soft chuckle. Ever since his days playing Chronos Realms, he remembered that Yenne had always been brutally honest. He even felt a bit sorry for Marco. She never sugarcoated anything.

"Let me see that."

Kaen took the paper and studied the scribbles.

'Maybe I should give him a compliment to make him feel better...'

"...."

After a few seconds looking at Marco's drawings, Kaen turned to him with a horrified expression, like he had just witnessed a field Marco should never pursue.

"This... this is awful."

Yenne continued.

"It doesn't even look like a drawing."

Then Kaen added:

"Maybe it's abstract art."

"It's just a reference!"

Marco snatched the paper back, clearly embarrassed.

"Reference to what? You can't even tell what it's supposed to be."

Unfortunately for the three of them, none were good at alchemy. And judging by the circumstances, they'd probably spend a long time searching for the items on the professor's list.

'Well, it's not like I really wanted to do this anyway.'

Kaen stopped walking. He took a deep breath, trying to sense something. His eyes scanned the area around them.

"Let's stop here for a bit. Check those herbs around us."

He sat down cross-legged like he was about to meditate.

"Hey... what are you doing?"

"I'm going to think. Keep searching. Just don't go too far."

He spoke like he was babysitting two younger siblings. Yenne raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it.

"Are you serious? Meditating now? In the middle of Professor Maelis's class?"

"It'll be quick. Just give me a few minutes."

Yenne huffed.

"Hmm...? You..."

She stopped herself and took a deep breath. Arguing with someone like him wouldn't help. From what little she knew about Kaen, she could already tell he wasn't the type to listen.

'Is it because of the core he absorbed?'

Maybe that was it. Yenne crossed her arms and muttered:

"Tsk... Do whatever you want. But don't take too long or we're leaving you here."

===

Meanwhile...

Elena, Rayden, and Lyra were walking through another part of the forest, looking for magical ingredients.

"Looks like we found another one!"

Lyra tucked a glowing herb into the alchemy bag.

"Should we go deeper in?"

"...No. Let's keep looking around here."

Elena answered quickly.

Lyra raised an eyebrow.

"You sure? From what I know, Crimson Aluna flowers grow further ahead."

"Let's search a bit more around this area."

"But—"

"I said we're staying here."

Lyra raised her hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright... just saying."

While Lyra busied herself organizing the bag, Elena and Rayden continued walking.

"Elena... is everything okay?"

Rayden, who was walking beside her, finally asked.

"Hmm? Why?"

"We've been circling the starting area for a while. Is there a reason you don't want to go deeper into the forest?"

Elena paused for a second. She tried to keep her expression natural, but Rayden was more observant than she expected.

The truth was simple.

She wanted to stay near the starting point, where the guards were stationed. That way, if anything happened, she could run back quickly enough to help the professor.

Maelis was an excellent alchemist. But she wasn't a combat mage. If attacked, she wouldn't be able to defend herself alone.

Elena let out a sigh.

"Actually, I think—"

....BOOOOM!

A muffled explosion echoed in the distance.

Lyra rushed back toward them.

"What was that?!"

"It came from the Transmutation Garden!"

Elena's eyes widened.

"We're going back. Now!"

The group dashed toward the source of the explosion.

'Looks like it's started.'