Chapter 293 Volume V - Chapter 11: A Familiar Figure
The festival is just one week away...
Almost everyone around me, people I know and don't know, became strangely excited as the day of the festival drew closer.
It wasn't hard to understand why. The fact that an annual event was happening again, especially after the recent events, was a chance for many to let loose.
It was like that for me too, actually. I was looking forward to this 'festival' day with curiosity and excitement. After all, it was the first time in my life that I was going to attend one.
Yet, unlike most people around me, I didn't let my excitement stop me from doing what I needed to do. I continued my training every day, I continued to transfer mana to the disk that would help me heal Aiden.
But... at the same time, that was really all I was doing. My life had become a routine. Train yourself in the ways Lithoa showed me, study a little bit, practice a little bit of mana, think about how you can use your skills in different ways, and repeat it day after day...
Julian wasn't at the academy so I also didn't have any friends to spend time with. I mean... Sue and, as far as I know, Alice were still at the academy, but to be honest, I wasn't on good enough terms with either of them that I could simply call them up and invite them to go for a walk around the academy and hang out.
So... after a long time, if I ignored the times when it was impossible to see someone like in the Neutral, I was alone, and this loneliness made me fall into a daily cycle because I had nothing better to do.
The same cycle for almost two weeks.
However... this cycle was broken today, when the festival was only a week away.
When I woke up in the morning, everything was as it should be. The only difference from yesterday was that the date had moved forward by one day. I had breakfast, talked to Julian for a few minutes, and then headed to the training building, no different from the previous days.
The time I spent practicing was also ordinary. I practiced Qilsak Style, worked on my newfound mastery, which I was slowly getting used to using, and transferred mana to disk.
I was done with the training within a few hours. My mana was near the bottom and I was tired. Of course, the approach of lunchtime was also a factor in me taking a break from training.
For all these reasons and more, after a short shower, I left the room and headed to one of the nearest cafes.
All the while... Lithoa was nagging me.
'It's strange... really strange. I feel like your growth rate has slowed down.'
I paused involuntarily for a moment, my eyebrows twitching slightly as I squinted.
'What do you mean slowed down? Isn't that normal considering my general level has increased?
'No, this is not that kind of slowdown. What you're talking about is something that should be happening anyway. It should be getting harder and harder every time you go further and further beyond your body's limits. But... what I'm talking about is a slowing down in your improvement rather than growing stronger.'
I sighed lightly as I became even more confused.
'Isn't that the same thing?'
Lithoa quickly countered what I had said, with a hint of anger in his voice.
'Of course not! At least not for what I mean. Anyway... I feel like it's probably because you've settled into a routine and haven't had anything to challenge you lately. Don't worry about it too much, at least not until I think we should think about it.'
All I could do was roll my eyes. Lithoa must have been even more annoyed by my nonchalant attitude because he opened his mouth to say something, at least I heard the first letter of his word.
'S-'
But... he couldn't go on.
Because I had paused suddenly, unexpectedly.
'Huh? What happened?'
I didn't answer him, but instead focused on what I saw as I squinted slightly.
Because just when Lithoa was about to get angry with me, I saw someone. I was still in one of the corridors of the training building when a silhouette out of the corner of my eye caught my attention.
It was someone wearing a hoodie. I couldn't really see the face or the body because of the hood, but with the body build the figure looked like a girl. She was also shorter than me. Her steps were slow, she was in no hurry. But she also looked like she was trying to hide herself.
As soon as I saw her, I thought of only one thing. The question Julian asked me when I was talking to him about two weeks ago... He had asked me if I had seen someone in a hoodie in the training building, and he had also told me a rumor about this hoodie.
Is it possible?
This question really filled my mind for a moment, and I took a few steps toward the hooded silhouette, curious. But I didn't go up to her, I started to follow her quietly.
'What are you doing?'
'I just want to confirm something. Please wait a moment.'
Lithoa didn't say anything else after that, he decided to stop as I asked him to. And I... continued to walk stealthily behind the person I was following.
When we left the training building, she turned left without a moment's hesitation. I saw some of the students looking at her curiously, and then I saw the same students turning their eyes to me, each with a different expression on their faces.
But I ignored every one of them, keeping my distance and continuing to walk along the roads of the campus. I tried to perceive where she was going, but I failed.
If she wanted to go to a café, we had already passed one on the way. The dormitory buildings were on the other side of the campus. The only thing we walked toward was the park used for students to spend time.
Is she going to meet someone then? I can't think of anything else she could do in that big park...
So we kept walking, but... when the park came into view, that's when she finally changed direction.
When I suddenly saw her turn left off the road and enter a wooded area, my brows furrowed and I couldn't help but pause involuntarily.
Was she really going to meet someone?
I squinted my eyes and moved further into the woods. I followed the broken branches and trampled grass as I made my way toward the borders of the campus. My field of vision continued to slowly narrow as the trees tried to thicken. I continued to move forward without caring.
But... just as I was passing by a tree, I reflexively paused. My eyes widened as the ring on my finger, the danger-sensing artifact, suddenly sent a strange sensation throughout my body.
I raised my hand, shielding myself as I spread my mana throughout my body as fast as I could. The next second... a flash caught my eye, the reflection of sunlight shining off a cold, polished metal and onto my face. The next second I found the same cold metal in front of me, approaching my face between my shielded hands.
But... it wasn't very fast. I would even say it was slow. It was really nothing compared to the creatures in the Neutral. It was just... I was caught off guard for a moment.
With the back of my left hand, I pushed aside the knife that was only a few centimeters away from my face, then I grabbed the arm holding the dagger-like weapon with my right hand and pulled it toward me. Not only that, I put my right foot forward slightly and gave the person I was pulling a quick trip.
A not-so-loud thud sounded in my ear, and then the dagger that had been swung at me flew off to the side.
"Ah!"
The person I grabbed by the arm groaned slightly from the momentary blow and I found her on the ground. Her hood had opened slightly as I threw her, exposing half of her face.
Her brown hair fell in tufts in front of her face and her eyebrows were slightly furrowed. She was looking at me with both eyes through her hair that had fallen in front of her, and she was grimacing because she was slightly hurt. At the same time... she seemed a little surprised to see me. It seemed only now that she realized that I was the one who had been following her.
But... none of that mattered.
The person in front of me was indeed someone I recognized. With her long hair and thin figure, she did indeed look different than before. But even though I hadn't seen her for almost half a year, it wasn't hard to recognize her. Who else had those violet eyes that resembled an amethyst?
But despite all that, I still found it hard to believe that she was really the person in the rumors.
"C- Celine?"
"Damn, let go of my arm! You're hurting me."
I froze in place for a moment as her voice echoed in my ears again. As my grip on her arm loosened, she quickly released herself from my grasp and patted her arm with her other hand as if I had indeed hurt her.
As her violet eyes fixed on mine, or rather focused on my face, she first paused to my surprise. Then she sighed with a slight smile on her face.
"Well... I didn't want to meet again like this, but yes, it's me."
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