I sighed, taking my seat beside Selena, who looked a bit confused.
"What?" I asked, noticing her expression.
She muttered under her breath before speaking louder, "When did you… regain your mana?"
Her expression was strange, almost as though something was terribly wrong.
"Yesterday? Why?" I replied, unsure of the reason for her bewilderment.
Why does she seem so surprised?
"You regained your mana yesterday?" she asked again, grabbing my arm tightly, her eyes widening with realization.
"Yes, but why are you so shocked? How do you even know about my mana situation?" I asked, but she didn't bother answering. She seemed lost in her own thoughts.
Well, whatever.
She wasn't the only one acting strangely, though. I caught Rizel smiling at me. Damn it, why is she smiling? Wait, she's even waving! Can't she see the teacher staring right at her? Tsk. Anyway, I noticed the visible shock on Allen's face. It was probably too much for him to process. After all, my lack of mana wasn't exactly a secret to him or the other top nobles.
But aside from Allen, his lapdog Eric was glaring at me with narrowed eyes. That bastard. I need to find a way to cripple him, at least enough to keep him bedridden for the rest of this semester. I plan to leave the academy before the second one begins, anyway. There's no reason for me to stay here anymore. The only reason I even came to the academy in the first place was because of a gut feeling that Renay might actually be a heroine. And the thought of the protagonist claiming her made my blood boil.
But now? I don't feel that same intense emotion anymore. If anything, I just want to find a quiet place to rest for a few years—a place far away from all these problems, far away from these people. A place where I can forget my fate as the villain.
Aside from Allen, Eric, and Rizel, there was also Ariana. She looked like she'd seen a ghost. But the person with the worst expression was…
Her.
Eloisa.
I exhaled deeply, trying to calm my raging emotions.
Though I no longer feel the obsessive desire I once had for Renay, that doesn't mean I've forgiven Eloisa for what she did. Oh, no. I'll kill her for it—and in the most painful, agonizing way possible.
"Eyes up here, everyone," I heard the teacher, Melina, call out. She now held a translucent spherical crystal orb in her hand.
The affinity tester, I realized, recognizing it from the descriptions in the novel.
It was used to determine the element—or in rare cases, elements—that a person had the highest affinity for.
But that wasn't really my concern since I didn't plan on pursuing sorcery as a course.
I won't even be going for the magic swordsmanship course. Instead, I'll focus on two other fields: necromancy and alchemy.
Most students avoided alchemy, much like I avoided medicine back on Earth. Probably for the same reasons, too. It required extensive knowledge, wasn't flashy, and had a steep learning curve. The academy allowed students to pair alchemy with another lesser course, which encouraged more to take it since it was open to everyone.
"While everyone can technically cast spells from any affinity, there are specific ones we are naturally attuned to," Melina explained. "For example, someone with a fire-related bloodline and another with a water-related bloodline both attempt to cast a fire spell—who do you think will have the upper hand?"
It was a rhetorical question, so she didn't wait for an answer.
"At the start of your sorcery class, you will all have the chance to assess your affinities using this," she said, holding up the orb, "to help focus your energy in the right direction."
Just then, the bell rang.
"That's all for today," she said, standing up and walking out of the class.
Golden-blonde hair, crimson eyes, a slender face, a curvaceous body, and an undeniably domineering presence—Melina Frostberg. One of the heroines of the game, and the soon to be master of of our boy Lucas.