Uninvited Guests and Unexpected Talents

Unfortunately, their peaceful meal was about to be disrupted.

"Hey there!"

Ashen grimaced before he even looked up. He already knew who it was.

"Chris… What is it now?"

The guy spent most of his free time pestering people to join his little gang. He'd even targeted their group of three multiple times despite everything that had happened in the survival phase. 

No matter how often they rejected him, he wouldn't quit.

"What's with that face?" Chris chuckled. "I didn't interrupt your little dating spot, did I? If so, my bad. Haha."

Ashen sighed.

"Well, you did interrupt our date," Seraphine cut in before Ashen could reply, her expression clearly displeased. "So could you please leave?"

Ashen wasn't even surprised by her irritation. Chris's recruitment efforts were obviously focused on her, with Braun and Ashen as afterthoughts. 

If anything, Ashen was sure the guy resented him for always being by her side.

Chris, ignoring the obvious lack of enthusiasm, pressed on. "C'mon, don't be like that. I'm just here to ask if you guys wanna hang out?" He gestured toward the entrance, where his growing clique waited.

"Today's a rare day without Coach's torture, so we figured we'd explore the city. The tutorial area has way more than just the academy, you know?"

Ashen leaned back in his seat, unimpressed. "Man, give it a rest. No matter how many times you ask, the answer's not changing. We just don't click. Let's leave it at that, yeah?"

Chris's expression darkened. His grip tightened on the edge of the table, his fingers whitening as he held himself back. 

He wasn't dumb. He knew that if he lost his temper here, his chances with Seraphine would drop to zero.

Taking a deep breath, he turned to her instead.

"You're really gonna stick with this guy the whole time?" he asked, forcing a smile. "There's a whole academy full of people to meet, and plenty of things to do. You're missing out."

Seraphine rolled her eyes. The moment she'd seen him throw his fellow humans to the beasts to save his own skin, he'd been on her blacklist. And it wasn't even about morals, she simply knew that, at the first sign of danger, she'd be the next person he sacrificed.

His followers were out of their minds for trusting him.

"I'm not 'stuck' with anyone, Chris," she said flatly. "I enjoy Ashen's company, and I'm exactly where I want to be." 

She paused, then shot him a disdainful look. "Oh, and by the way? Even if you were the last person on this planet, I wouldn't join your little cult. So save your breath."

Chris's polite mask cracked for a split second. His jaw clenched, his fingers twitching slightly at his side.

Ashen smirked. "You heard the lady. No one's stopping you from leaving."

Chris took a slow breath through his nose, then exhaled sharply.

"Fine. Don't regret it later."

With that, he turned and stalked off.

Seraphine scoffed. "Regret following that trash? Unbelievable."

"Easy there, tiger," Ashen chuckled. "Don't give him more attention than he deserves."

"Right." She exhaled, shaking off her irritation. "Oh, that reminds me! I asked you to help me with something, didn't I? Now's a good time."

Ashen quirked a brow. "Oh, yeah. You needed a quiet place, right? Any preference?"

"Ugh, not my room." Seraphine crossed her fingers in an 'X' shape. "I'm sick of those stuffy walls. My dorm's smaller than my bathroom back in Esperra." 

She sighed dramatically. "Let's go with the place you had in mind."

Ashen shrugged. "Fine by me."

After finishing their meal, they headed out, with Ashen retracing his steps to the spot where he had first overheard Chris's secret conversation with that mysterious figure.

He'd returned to this place several times to relax, and apart from that one encounter, he had never run into anyone else. The courtyard was secluded, surrounded by lush greenery that gave it a tranquil atmosphere.

As they walked, the lively sounds of the academy gradually faded, replaced by the occasional chirping of birds.

Seraphine trailed behind Ashen with a curious expression until they finally arrived. She did a little twirl around the fountain before plopping onto its edge.

"This spot's pretty cool," she mused, glancing around. "It could even be our little secret base. Haha."

She shot Ashen a big thumbs-up, grinning cheekily.

"As long as you like it," he said with a shrug. "Now, are you finally going to stop being mysterious and tell me what's up?"

Seraphine perked up. "Right! Remember that 'Laws and Concepts' class we had? Well, after that, I tried applying what the professor taught us to healing wounds, and you know what? I actually succeeded!"

She spoke with pure excitement, her face practically glowing.

Ashen, on the other hand, was taken aback.

"Wait, you managed to comprehend a concept?" He frowned. "Didn't the professor go on and on about how that's nearly impossible without first acquiring the system?"

Seraphine quickly waved her hands. "Of course not, silly. I know I'm great, but I'm not that great."

Ashen exhaled, a little disappointed. "...Right. So then, what?"

Seraphine placed a hand on her hip and raised her index finger, as if she were about to give a lecture.

"You remember how the professor said that crafting any kind of spell requires will, image, and knowledge?"

"Yeah?" Ashen prompted, starting to see where this was going.

"Well, thanks to my breathing technique, I can move mana freely through my body. After a lot of trial and error, I thought… what if I directed my mana to a specific area, visualized the effect I wanted, and added the right knowledge to it? And it worked!"

"You actually pulled it off?" Ashen blinked, genuinely impressed. He had experimented himself and knew it wasn't as easy as she made it sound.

Seraphine's excitement faltered for a moment. 

"Ugh, actually… now that I think about it, I'm not entirely sure if it worked." She tapped her chin. "But the color of my mana changed to light green! That's gotta mean something, right?"

Ashen gave her a wry smile. 'Still as airheaded as ever. And here I thought she was turning into some kind of genius for a second.'