'Huh?'
That's… strange.
At first, I wasn't entirely surprised that the flames were black; I figured it was because my element was darkness, but…
"Why is it cold?"
Confused, I released my hold, and the flames dissipated. The moment they did, the oil lamps in the room stopped flickering and dimming, and the room brightened instantly. The eerie chill that had engulfed the entire room also vanished.
A look of pure curiosity crossed my face. I began searching the empty room for something to burn. My gaze immediately fell on the wooden box in the corner.
I immediately stood, walked over, knelt in front of it, and opened it.
Inside were some cloths, documents, and a few other things that probably belonged to the previous Cedric.
I rummaged through the contents and pulled out an old, worn-out white shirt. It had several stains and a tiny tear in one spot.
'This should do,' I thought, turning from the box and stretching out my hand, which held the cloth.
[Flames of decay]
Instantly, black flames erupted from my hand and engulfed the cloth. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but then a strange process suddenly began that made my mouth drop open.
The cloth began to change color, from white to a sickly green, then black. After which, it then disintegrated into gas and a puff of black and green dust.
But that was not all…
I sniffed in the air a few times, and I was sure I could perceive something rotten in the air.
It was then that I understood.
'Flames of decay.'
These flames didn't burn; instead, they forced everything they touched to decay.
***
The next day…
I woke up aching all over, not just because I ended up sleeping on the bare floor, but because I hadn't slept much during the night.
After my initial test of Flames of Decay, I kept spamming the skill, both to get the hang of it and to increase my chances of leveling it up.
In the end, I only managed to fall asleep barely two hours ago after completely draining my mana.
As for Aika? Well, she never came back the entire night I was awake.
'I wonder if she's back now.'
I raised my right arm and pulled back my sleeve to confirm. There, I saw the large tattoo of a raven.
'Ah, she must have come back while I was asleep.'
I sighed and let my arm drop to the side. My eyes then drifted right, where a screen appeared in my vision displaying the time: [07:27]
Yes, thanks to my attribute, I could see the time in a non-diegetic UI manner.
Shivering at the early morning cold, which was amplified by this cold basement, I pushed myself off the floor with a bit of effort, then made my way out of the room to the public bathroom.
Unlike the cadet dorms, which had private showers, this dorm did not. So, I had to share the bathroom with the tenants of the Ground Floor.
On getting to the bathroom, I stopped in front of a rundown mirror to study my reflection. This was the first time I'd seen my own reflection since arriving in this world.
Staring back was a handsome face with a chiseled jawline. I remembered seeing Cedric in the game; he had looked lean and scruffy with scars that hid his true beauty.
But thanks to Chrysalis, I looked far better than I remembered. I had striking blue eyes, really long flowing black hair, and flawless skin.
To be honest, I prefer this majestic look to what I used to look like back in Seoul as Kim Sam-woo. Back then, I looked worse than average.
'I wonder what Seo-yeon saw in me then to make her love me.'
I chuckled at the thought, then turned away and headed to the showers.
***
Twenty minutes later, I reached the large campus hall leading to the classrooms for the first years.
Honestly, I wasn't in the mood for any boring lectures. All I could think about was waiting until later after classes when I could finally go to one of the training centers alone.
All the nobles here had been trained in the ways of the sword and other weapons right from when they were young, allowing them to instantly use their bonds in their weapon forms; which meant, many nobles here were excellent combatants. As for me, the only small amount of combat knowledge I possessed came from my time in the mandatory service.
And so, I needed to train. Not just to develop my fighting skills, but also because training was a great way to earn EXP.
Speaking of bonds in their weapon forms, I still had no idea what Aika's weapon form was.
Though I hoped it would be a long-ranged weapon like a bow or something similar. My reason for wanting this was simple: I dreaded short-ranged weapons.
Everyone knows that those with short-range weapons have the highest mortality rates. Imagine attacking a six-meter-tall monster up close with a sword. It could just smash you, and that would be the end of it. I much prefer long-range combat weapons so that if I aim from a safe distance and shoot, and I see that I have no chance of success, I could easily run away.
Ha.
Weapons aside…
I finally reached the classroom assigned to Cedric. I stood in front of the large door for a moment, then sighed. 'I just hope everything goes smoothly today.'
I was just about to reach out and push it open when I heard an irritated male voice near me:
"Eh? So the rumors were true. The defective noble really did come back."
My body twitched at his comment.
I don't know if it's because I'm from Korea, where almost everyone respects their elders and uses honorifics, but hearing people who are clearly younger than me speak with such blatant disrespect truly pisses me off.
I tilted my head and glared at the brown haired boy with cold half-lidded eyes. I could see him flinch, and for a moment, a mixture of fear and confusion crossed his pale face.
After a few tense seconds, however, he clicked his teeth and stormed past me into the classroom, muttering something under his breath.
I shook my head, deciding not to let that encounter ruin my mood. After collecting my breath, I slowly walked into the classroom.
The room was grand, with long desks cascading upward. The moment I stepped in, many of the cadets who were chatting with each other stopped and turned to look at me. Some with disgust, many with anger, and all were burdensome.
'I need to show my bond soon. It's the only way I can put an end to this bondless hatred,' I thought as I made my way to an empty spot I spotted in the back corner, ignoring the stares and the murmuring of the cadets.
Not long after I sat down, I yawned and began getting into position to sleep. After all, there wasn't much that would be taught that I wasn't already aware of.
However, just when I was about to rest my head on the table, I heard a female voice beside me:
"Hey…"
Unlike the others I've encountered who spoke with voices filled with contempt, this voice was different. It was kind.
I turned to my right to see who it was that spoke. Sitting beside me was a timid, average-looking girl with long blonde hair and glasses. She had that apologetic, slightly mousy vibe around her, and an ugly-looking owl was perching funnily on top of her head.
I flinched when I saw the owl because that ugly thing was genuinely scary.
'Huh? Who is this?'
While I was still racking my brain to see if I could recognize her, she spoke again in her timid voice:
"What happened?"
When I arched a brow in confusion, she immediately added in a more concerned tone. "Why'd you just suddenly disappear? I got really worried, you know? When I tried reaching you through our whisper-scripts but couldn't, I got afraid that maybe something bad had happened to you."
'What? Why is she speaking like she's a friend of Cedric?'
My eyes drifted from her face for moment.
'Gamer Privileges?'
Instantly, a screen materialized in my vision.
[Activating Gamer Privileges…]
'Who is she and what relationship does she have with Cedric?'
[Name: Audrey Seres Platini]
[Audrey is a close friend of Cedric and the only person who didn't treat him unkindly for being bond-less.]
'Oh… so they were friends?'
"…Cedric?"
Audrey's voice pulled my attention back to her. For a brief second, I saw her glance in the direction I was looking at before her gaze returned to me. She kept looking at me intently, waiting for me to speak.
Truth be told, I was already feeling a bit uncomfortable. What was I supposed to tell her? That I had suddenly vanished because my parents wrote to me calling me back home, only to be sold off by them? And that after all that, I killed myself?
I sighed inwardly, then finally lied, making the excuse sound deliberately evasive. "I just got sick of everything. So I needed some time away for myself."
I could see her expression grow more worried, but she seemed to be understanding and didn't press.
Thank goodness... now I can go back to sleep.
I looked away from her, and just when I was about to rest my head on the table, I saw a notification flash in my vision.
[You have acquired 5 Karma points.]
[Available Karma points: 405]