Chapter 16

In "War of Generations", the Royal Academy was where the first arc took place and also the place where the main story began.This place was also the place where I was supposed to meet my death.

I looked at the magnificent building in front of me. Anxiety, fear, curiosity and excitement filled my mind.

I took a deep breath and grabbed my magic bag tightly to calm my restless heart.

It's alright. The equipments I have can boost my power to around level 45 in terms of stats. The boss in this arc was only at level 35, which is around Ash's current power.

"What's wrong, Rain-sama?"

Mari, who was behind me suddenly interrupted my thought.

"It's nothing. I'm just nervous because I'm about to meet strangers"

I answered truthfully.

That's right. I'm more worried about how to get along with my classmates rather than the monster invasion.

The protagonist and his party will deal with it for free, so I just need to stay alive until it's over without exposing my equipments.

As for doing my best to save other people? It's not my concern. I'm not gonna risk my life for the sake of strangers. Humans are selfish creature. Even more so for a noble.

However, the problem of how to get along with my classmates exists as long as I'm a still studying here.

I used to be popular in high-school, but everything went down to hell on my 3rd years due to my ex cheated on me.

I don't want to repeat that same tragedy, so I will set my boundaries of what can and cannot be done.

1. Love is forbidden, avoid at all cost.

2. Get average grades.

3. Stay away from perverts.

4. Do not sleep in class.

5. Avoid having interaction with the protagonist party at all cost.

6. Make friends if possible.

7. Keep a close eye on Irina and the villainess party. Depending on the situation, lending a hand is permitted.

8. Wearing the equipments in front of other people is forbidden. Access is granted if life is being threatened.

9. Spend 2 hours/day in the library to look for more informations about the world.

10. Make connection with the people who are not related with the protagonist party.

I, Rain Scarlet hereby declared I shall abide by the 10 commandments. May Ash Scarlet becomes bald if I ever broke my vows.

I feel relieved after I made my vows.

"Let's go, Mari"

"Yes, Rain-sama"

I went inside the gate with Mari following behind me.

Laurasia's Royal Academy was located near the capital. The reason why it wasn't located in the capital was because the royal family doesn't want their childrens to rely on their influences but also they wanted the academy to be close enough for them to send support when something happens.

It was built on top of a dungeon. This place was originally a place to mine magic crystals. 300 years ago, a certain duke proposed to build an academy above it for the purpose of nurturing the next generations.

Ever since then, this place became a source of income and materials for the kingdom. However, due to years of mining, the mana inside the dungeon became thinner making the monsters weaker and less magic crystals were being mined which slowly leads the kingdom into decline.

Nowadays, the dungeon is only being used to give the students the experiences of exploring dungeon. The traps inside were changed into something that won't endanger the student lives.

The boss in the deepest floor was only at level 30. I don't know about Irina, but Ash definitely could clear this dungeon alone with empty hand.

In terms of potential, he lost to Irina since he only have 2 affinity of fire and earth. However, he has extremely high magic and physical resistance. Moreover, his armor makes him immune to all debuff.

Back in the game, the only strategy to win against him was by grinding his HP bit by bit and uses a lot of items to survive until he was killed.

On the second phase, he unleashed his power that can instant kill a party member every 3 turn.

Everytime he killed a party member, his HP recovers by 10%. He also has permanent damage cuts buff on him and only received 3% Hp as maximum damage every turn.

The only trick to pass this phase is by having 2 tanks wore equipments that increase evasion uses"Taunt"and rotates every 3 turns and then pray hard for the rng god to make his attack miss.

There is a limit of up to 10 revival items can be used in this fight. And if that wasn't enough, when his HP drops to 10%, he summoned a mini boss that could deal AOE magic that cannot be evaded and also heal his HP by 5% every turn.

This stage was one of the hardest to beat. Due to the players complains, the developer even released a dlc pack containing equipments with high defense stats that recovers HP by 10% every turn and a skill book that gives 1-turn damage immunity buff for the entire party with 10-turns cooldown.

You need to make a party that could tank and heal and give buffs but also can deal burst damage to kill the mini boss as fast as possible before getting wiped out.

I don't know whether I should be glad or sad having him as my big brother.

I sighed as I recalled my terrible experiences fighting him. I might never beat the game if I didn't buy the dlc pack.

We reached the dormitories as my minds drifts around.

Mari deals with her luggages and started tidying up as soon as we arrived at our room. The academy only provides one room for each students. If they bring an attendant with them, they have to share the room.

This was intended so the successor have a close-aide once they graduated. However, some of the students bring their favorite maid to help them with their urges.

My luggages mostly consisted of books required by the school, some casual clothes and some daily necessities. I didn't bring anything else with me because I thought it was unnecessary.

Most people usually bring a lot of items with them because they need to maintained their connections by exchanging gifts.

Irina had done that, so I don't have to do that.

I opened the windows and inhaled. It was around 16:00, so the sun felt warm. I could see some students were walking in groups. Some were talking to each other while sitting on the bench. Some couples were holding hands while walking.

Even though school started tomorrow, they already wore their uniforms.

Ah, youth.

No matter how many times I see it...

"It makes me sick"

I said so with a wry smile as I looked at them.  

"Mari. Do you know how to make friends?"

I looked at Mari with hopeful eyes.

∆ ∆ ∆

"As the next generations, the burdens to make this kingdom great again fell into your shoulders. My generations failed to do so, however we gained a lot of experiences in exchange for our failures"

"The academy was built to close the gap between commoners and nobles..."

"We have to stand as one..."

"And so..."

"Thank you"

Clap. Clap. Clap.

A round of applause was heard so loud as soon as the principal ended his speech.

Yawned.

The moment I heard the clapping sound, I instinctly clapped my hands.

No matter whether it's this world or earth, the student entrance ceremony speech is always boring.

I unknowingly fell asleep midway.

Luckily I sat in the middle so my seat was blocked due to the people sitting in front of me.

Although, the people besides me probably noticed.

"Hey, what did the principal said again?"

The person next to me suddenly tapped my shoulder and asked.

I turned my face and saw that it was a silver-haired girl with petite body. She has a cute face, her blue eyes was especially beautiful. Judging from her uniform, she was a new student like me.

"Umm, I don't know...?"

I replied as I tried to recall the things I heard before I fell asleep. However, nothing comes to mind.

"Ugh, did you fell asleep?"

The girl asked with troubled face.

"Yeah. Aren't you the same?"

I answered while looking at her with weird look.

"H-How did you know?"

She was taken aback at my answer.

Err, well, anyone who looked at her can see that she definitely fell asleep.

Should I tell her? But, what if I hurt her feeling? Forget it. A bitter truth is always better than a sweet lie.

"There is saliva on your cheeks and your mouth..."

I hesitantly said so in a low voice.

She opened her eyes wide and her face became red, then she hurriedly took a handkerchief from her breast pocket and wiped her face.

"Cough, cough. T-Thank you for your kind reminder. My name is Lucia Celestia"

She blushed as she introduced herself.

Lucia Celestia? I have never heard her name in the game. I tried to recalled my memories about the NPC in "War of Generations". The name of Celestia family was once mentioned in one of the side quests to obtain a legendary weapon called ＜Azuria Staff＞.

According to the game text, the Celestia house was the descendant of the high-priestess who once served the Goddess of life, Lilith.

1000 years ago, Lilith wages war against the Thunder Dragon, Cerion. However, the reason of the war was not mentioned. As the descendant of the high-priestess who served Lilith, the Celestia family was caught in the middle and got destroyed.

Is this a coincidence? Or did some of them managed to survived?

If she is really from that Celestia house, then should I befriend her?

The Celestia house was not mentioned in the main story, so it should be safe to befriend her.

Before that, what did Mari said to me again about how to make a friend?

Let's see.

First, always put a smile. Second, greet them properly. Third, call them by their first name. Fourth, if it was a girl invited them for a tea. Fifth...

What was the fifth again? I remembered she told me a lot of things.

I tried my best to recalled what she said.

"T-That... Umm... C-Can you stop s-staring at me?"

She said with a trembling voice.

Ah. I didn't realized my gaze stay at her the whole time I was thinking.

She was using her hands to hides her face. I could see her ears were red. I guess she was embarrassed.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to. My name is Rain Scarlet. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lucia"

I coughed to ease the atmosphere.

"N-Nice to meet you, Rain"

She said in a low voice. Even I who was sitting next to her could barely heard her voice.

"Can I call you, Cia?

I said with a smile on my face.

"Eh...? Ah... Umm... Y-yeah"

She opened her eyes wide. Probably shocked due to my sudden request. I guess it's understandable since we just introduced ourselves. Wait a minute? Does it makes me look like I'm hitting on her!?

I was shocked at my own thought.

Calm down! Back in Japan, it was quite normal for a guy to called a girl with a nickname when they met for the first time. Although it only happened in group blind date...

"T-That... Umm, how should I put it? I-I'm not a bad guy. I don't have any bad intention, so d-don't be nervous"

I said with a smile trying to calm her.

"O-Okay"

She anwered timidly.

I saw that she has calmed down, although her hands was still trembling for a bit. Why do I suddenly feel like I'm a bad guy?

Cough.

"Cia. Does your family worships the Goddes of Life, Lilith?"

Forget it. Since things had turned this way, I might as well took the chance to know more about her family situations.

Lucia turned her gaze at me in shock.

"H-How did you know...?"

Her voice was shaking.

"Intuition, I guess? So, is my guess correct?"

"I don't know"

She shook her head.

"However, there is a statue of Lilith in my house. Me and my mom used to pay respect to it. When my mom fell ill, I prayed everyday to the Goddess of Life to cure her illness. However, her illness get worse everyday. I stopped believing the Goddess afterwards"

Her eyes flickered when she mentioned her mother.

"Is your mother alright now?"

"She passed away last year"

She smiled as if to hides her sadness.

"I'm sorry"

"It's fine"

And then we both fell into silence.

What is this? Why did I feel like I have become a bad guy.

Damn! What should I do? I don't know how to console a little girl at all! If it was a mature woman, then I would ask her to drink and washed away her sadness with alcohol.

Will candy be enough? I have it on my pocket. I heard from my friend back on earth that giving sweets can heal a young girl sadness. He was a siscon though.

Dammit!

"Want to eat it?"

I took a bunch of candies from my pocket and offered it to her.

She was taken aback.

"C-Can I?"

She said hesitantly, but I could see stars in her eyes.

Oh?

"Y-Yeah, you can have it all"

"Thank you, Rain! You're a good person!"

She happily accepted it and put a bunch of it into her mouth.

It worked? It's freaking worked! What the hell!? Isn't she way too easy!? Even a 5 years old kid is much harder to coax.

Seeing her happy expression, I let out a wry smile.

I feel like she would gladly follow a smelly middle-aged uncle into the back alley if they gave her sweets.

No, can't do! A pure girl like her must be protected at all cost!

Instead of letting some random guy kidnap her, it's better for her to follow me!

I clenched my fists as I made my decision.

Thus, I made a cute girl as my first friend. A girl that would change my fate.