Chapter 329: Away from Academy

=== STATUS ===

Name: Noah Eldritch

Race: Human

Age: 19 Years

Strength: 724 [+112]

Speed: 737 [+120]

Stamina: 720 [+101]

Endurance: 712 [+104]

Charm: 803 [+103]

Mana: 7313 [+1100]

Core Rank: Condensed (High)

Potential: Mythical Core / Origin Core (???)

Profession: [Combatant Lv.3]

Technique: [Frozen Lotus Blade Art], [Flowing String Archery]

Affinity: Ice

Spells: [Ice Shard], [Frost Bind], [Snow Mist], [Ice Blizzard], [Crystal Bloom], [Winter Howl]

Innate Ability: [Ice Creation]

Passive Abilities: [Adaptive Learning], [Heart of Absolute Frost]

Active Ability: [Monarch’s Decree], [Puppet of the Frost Dragon]

Bloodline: [Monarch of the Frost]

===================

"Damn, my powers have increased by quite a lot."

Noah looked over his status with satisfaction.

He had made tremendous progress in just six months since arriving in this world.

Well... technically, it had been much longer than six months.

He had spent seven months inside that mysterious realm, after all. But from the perspective of the outside world, only a month had passed.

And now, there was something else he wanted to try.

His newly acquired ability.

[Puppet of the Frost Dragon].

’How exactly does this Frost Dragon puppet work?’

He was eager to find out.

It was another morning, and today marked Noah’s first class of the second semester at Novaris Academy.

He glanced at the calendar.

Today was the 24th day of the sixth month, Year 2048.

After getting ready, Noah put on his academy uniform, a gray coat over a white shirt, accompanied by a red tie.

"Finally, I have to attend lectures again..."

He sighed and glanced toward the bed.

"But damn, I’m already bored."

His gaze landed on Nancy, who was peacefully sleeping on the bed.

Noah stared at the cat for a few seconds.

"You sleep all day. You’re so lucky. How good must your life be?"

He couldn’t help but envy her carefree existence.

Unfortunately, unlike Nancy, he had responsibilities.

There was no point in complaining.

"Sigh... let’s go. At least the instructor is Morgana. I can handle it."

With that, Noah left his dormitory room.

---

"Is there something on my face?"

Noah looked toward his left with a slightly confused expression.

Lyria was sitting beside him.

"No... I mean, you never sat beside me before during class."

"Well, there was a reason—"

"Because the two of us sit at the front, he used to avoid sitting beside us. But for some reason, he isn’t doing that anymore."

Arisha, sitting on Lyria’s other side, casually interrupted.

She spoke as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

"She’s not wrong."

Noah couldn’t help but agree. There was no reason for him to hide it anymore.

"It’s good to sit in the front. From now on, this is our fixed seat."

From Noah’s other side, Damien spoke.

"Tch. I was hoping Arisha would sit here, but I guess there’s nothing I can do about it now."

"Haha, you really don’t hide what you want."

Damien chuckled before patting Noah on the shoulder.

Noah glanced behind him.

A few seats away sat Ophelia.

The moment she noticed Noah’s gaze, she met his eyes and simply gave him a small nod.

Noah returned his attention to the front.

’Now I need to learn as much as possible about these side characters, especially the heroines.’

His expression became slightly thoughtful.

’Who knows? Maybe they have sad stories like Marina’s. I need to look into it.’

Just then, the classroom door opened.

A woman entered the room.

It was Morgana.

Her sky-blue hair was tied into a perfectly neat bun, while her amethyst eyes swept coldly across the entire classroom.

"It appears everyone is present."

She walked toward the instructor’s desk.

"Welcome back, everyone. The last month has been rather hectic. Monsters suddenly began emerging from an unknown location across various parts of the empire, including Novaris City itself."

Morgana placed one hand on the desk.

"Fortunately, the situation has now been resolved. The academy also had to delay its reopening because of the incident."

Her cold gaze swept across the students once more.

"But now, it is time to refocus on your studies and training."

She paused briefly.

"I hope all of you are ready."

"YES!!!"

The students answered in unison.

"Good."

Morgana nodded.

"Now, let’s begin our first lecture."

---

Somewhere Far Away from Novaris Academy

In the largest city of the Aurellian Empire, a metropolis far grander than even Novaris City, stood the very heart of the empire.

Aurex Prime.

The magnificent city stretched across the horizon, filled with towering skyscrapers and beautiful modern buildings.

At the heart of the city, overlooking everything from atop a massive hill, stood the imperial palace.

It was enormous.

Its architecture combined modern grandeur with the majesty of an ancient royal fortress.

Inside the vast throne room, massive pillars stood along both sides, supporting the towering ceiling.

At the far end of the chamber was a grand staircase leading toward a majestic black-and-gold throne.

And upon that throne sat a man whose very presence carried the aura of a conqueror.

His dirty-blond hair was neatly combed, while a well-groomed beard framed his masculine features.

One arm rested casually on the throne’s armrest, while his other elbow supported his cheek.

His silver eyes stared forward with an indifferent expression.

He was one of the strongest human across the continent, Viserys Augustus, the Emperor of the strongest Empire, The Aurellian Empire.

A man with white hair stood beside his throne, reporting something to him. He was Baeon, an higher ranking minister in council and trusted person to Emepror.

"Hmm... so the daughter of Narukami has returned."

Viserys’s expression remained indifferent.

"That’s unexpected. But it is certainly interesting information to receive after I returned to my palace."

"Your Majesty," Baeon continued respectfully, "the monster hordes that had been emerging from the unknown location also stopped appearing and mysteriously perished on the very same day Lady Akari Narukami returned."

Viserys’s silver eyes narrowed slightly.

"And here I have been traveling from place to place, searching for a solution to the situation."

His voice remained calm. "Many others tried as well... yet no one succeeded."

He paused for a moment. "Did you arrange a meeting with her?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. I have already sent a message to the Narukami family." He bowed his head.

"Lady Akari has agreed to come here tomorrow to meet with His Imperial Majesty."

Viserys leaned back slightly against his throne. A faint glimmer appeared in his indifferent silver eyes.