Chapter 41

[Characteristic]: Blood Lineage

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At first, I tried not to pay attention.

She was a character I didn’t remember, so she wasn’t particularly important. But for someone like that, there were way too many suspicious things.

‘Why is she hiding her name?’

The name registered in the Student Department is Silfi Rudina.

But the name that appears on her status window is ‘Silfi Rudrik.’ From this, it was clear that she had deliberately hidden her name and enrolled.

And one more thing.

There was something I realized belatedly.

‘······Her last name is the same as Kazan Rudrik.’

Is this just a coincidence?

Or does it mean she inherited Kazan’s blood?

This part needed further investigation.

Because all Noa knew about Kazan was that he was a hero representing an ancient desert kingdom.

‘Next······.’

Her rank is also suspicious.

If it’s D-Rank, it’s just D-Rank, but seeing another rank displayed in parentheses like Silfi’s was a first for me.

The unfamiliarity extends to her characteristic as well.

‘What’s Blood Lineage?’

The first thing that came to mind was the possibility of her being a vampire.

But I immediately shook my head.

All vampires in this world can’t walk under sunlight.

Meanwhile, Silfi was running around the field perfectly fine under the sun. So the possibility of her being a vampire was close to zero.

Suspicious. Way too suspicious.

Around the time Noa narrowed her eyes.

“Uh, um······.”

Suddenly, Silfi spoke up.

With a somewhat awkward expression.

“Is there something on my face?”

“······No, nothing.”

It seems I was staring too blatantly.

Noa evaded the question and quickly turned her head. She thought that, aside from the Sword Maiden and the Witch of the Stars, there was one more person she needed to keep an eye on.

As time passed.

“Let’s end today’s class here.”

Professor Miel announced the end of the class.

He looked at the exhausted students and lightly clapped his hands.

“You all worked hard running since morning. Go wash up and head to your respective classrooms. Then, we’ll see each other again at the closing ceremony.”

With his farewell.

The students all headed to the showers.

2.

Swoooosh!

The cold water pouring from above.

Feeling his overheated body gradually cooling down, Ulan finished his shower.

After drying himself with a towel.

He clenched his fist tightly.

‘I’m overflowing with power.’

Even after all that running, he still had energy left.

No, to be precise, it felt like his stamina was recovering immediately after being used.

‘Just because I got a tattoo, this kind of effect?’

Looking at the Hero’s Enchantment reflected in the mirror, Ulan’s eyes sparkled seriously.

‘Maybe in this life······.’

I might really reach the Realm Beyond Mastery. And perhaps faster than I thought. With renewed resolve, Ulan left the shower room.

And at that moment.

He ran into a familiar face.

“Ah, Ulan.”

A girl with light blonde hair tied up.

Ivella Elea’ad.

She had just finished her shower as well. Meanwhile, Ivella, who had spotted Ulan, widened her eyes in surprise.

The reason was simple.

Ulan’s steel-like, solid arms. Especially the prominent veins.

‘No, how can veins look so······.’

Attractive?

Just thick arms with veins popping out, yet they instantly caught her attention. She felt an inexplicable wildness emanating from him.

“Why are you staring like that?”

“······Huh?”

“Is there something on my arm?”

“Ah, no. I was just lost in thought.”

“What were you thinking?”

When Ulan asked, Ivella closed her mouth.

There was no way she could say it.

Because most of what she was thinking was about wanting to touch those thick veins or feel his solid arms.

“Ahem! That’s, um, a secret.”

This won’t do. I need to change the topic.

While thinking that, she noticed the class schedule Ulan was holding.

“Is that your class schedule?”

“Yeah. It’s the schedule.”

“Can I take a look?”

“Sure.”

Ulan handed over the schedule immediately.

Fortunately, she succeeded in changing the topic.

Ivella let out a sigh of relief and looked at the schedule with curious eyes. The first thing that caught her eye was the next scheduled class.

‘Understanding and Detection of Magic Flow.’

Abbreviated as ‘Magic Detection.’

The sudden appearance of a Magic Department class made Ivella look intrigued. Students who chose the Military Department as their main major rarely picked Magic Department classes.

On the other hand, Ulan was an exception.

‘I heard he’s also skilled in magic?’

I vaguely remember hearing that.

If he’s already incredibly strong in combat, how powerful would he become if he learned magic too?

Ivella glanced at Ulan.

With a look of admiration.

‘And the next class is······.’

Professor Stella’s ‘Practical Hunting.’

Seeing this, Ivella swallowed her disappointment.

She had originally wanted to take this class too. But it filled up faster than expected, so she couldn’t register.

‘Huh? But how did Ulan get in?’

Ivella had gone to register for classes after 7 AM. Meanwhile, Ulan started registering after noon.

So, while she was pondering this.

“······!”

For a moment, her thoughts stopped.

Her turquoise eyes fixed on the next scheduled class name. It was Weaponry.

And the moment she saw it.

All the questions and random thoughts swirling in her head vanished cleanly.

“U-Ulan! Did you register for Weaponry?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s Professor Ethan’s class, right?!”

“Um, probably.”

At his answer, Ivella’s face lit up.

There was only one reason.

She was taking the same class as Ulan.

‘Thank goodness.’

A deep sense of relief welled up inside her.

It was understandable. Ulan was the first friend Ivella made at the academy. He was also someone she admired.

“Hehe, then I’ll see you again in the afternoon.”

She laughed happily.

Just then, the bell from the clock tower in the plaza rang. It signaled that the morning classes would start soon.

“I’ll go ahead. See you later!”

“Alright. Do your best.”

Ulan waved as he saw her off.

A short while later, after Ivella had completely disappeared.

A familiar voice reached his ears.

“Sorry. Did you wait long?”

It was Noa, who had just finished her shower.

Her face, washed with warm water, had a healthy glow. Her damp hair gave off a pleasant scent for some reason.

Also, with the weather warming up, the thick fur clothes and coat she usually wore were nowhere to be seen. In other words, Noa was now dressed relatively lightly.

“Stop staring. It’s embarrassing.”

Perhaps sensing Ulan’s gaze?

Noa covered her face with her palm.

“You look even smaller without the coat.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“In every way.”

“······Sorry for being small.”

Noa made a sullen face.

She immediately grabbed Ulan’s arm.

“Let’s hurry to class.”

With the warmth from her small hand.

Ulan nodded.

3.

Five minutes before class started.

Professor Dirck watched the students pouring into the classroom. Among them, only one person caught his eye. It was Ulan.

‘······What’s his deal?’

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out why Ulan wanted to take this class.

Then a sudden guess came to mind.

‘Could it be that he got an S-Rank in the aptitude test, so he thinks he’ll keep doing well?’

It’s a somewhat reasonable guess.

Barbarians have primitive and simple brains. Finally understanding the situation, Dirck twisted his lips into a sneer.

‘A barbarian who doesn’t even know the subject.’

He probably doesn’t realize.

That this situation is like sticking his head into a wolf’s mouth.

‘I won’t miss this time.’

Even though he failed during the aptitude test due to Dean Diplyn’s intervention, this time he had no intention of letting it go easily.

Moreover, his brother-in-law, Count Dermore, was also uncomfortable with the fact that Ulan hadn’t failed.

‘You’re definitely getting an F.’

Dirck had two chances.

Midterms and finals. He planned to make sure Ulan got the lowest grade possible in both.

‘But before that······.’

He had to repay Ulan for knocking him out during the aptitude test. He had already thought of how to repay him, so he swallowed a bitter smile.

Not long after.

Ding! Dong!

With the bell signaling the end of the break.

Professor Dirck’s class began.

Chapter 13. You Shouldn’t Have Done That