The Angel Awakening to Reincarnation (3)
“Refri.”
It was one day after magic engineering class had ended. A now-familiar voice called out from behind him. It was Professor Klein.
“Yes?”
“Do you have a moment to talk?”
Refri had been staring at the clock every three minutes, desperately waiting for class to end. Additional conversation? He wanted to whine, Nooo, I don’t wanna… but he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
“Sure. What is it?”
“…Refri, have you heard the rumors?”
“Ahaha, there are so many rumors floating around our academy… Is it something about Soya?”
Klein shook his head.
“It’s about you, Refri.”
A rumor about himself. Refri had sensed that talk about him was spreading quite a bit within the academy lately. Especially after he’d joined forces with the volunteer club to give the student council a smackdown, even the prideful magic engineering students no longer openly ignored him.
Respect Angel Refri!
Refri smirked arrogantly.
“Rumors about me? Oh, that. It’s all exaggerated.”
“Pardon? Rumors about you? That’s not what I meant…”
But Klein tilted his head as if he had no idea about any such gossip. Refri suddenly felt awkward.
Klein continued.
“Have you heard the name James Tardun?”
James Tardun? The nemesis of necromancers, the Soul Circulator, Charon, the Guide… and his most famous title was…
“You mean the Shaman King James?”
The Shaman King. The most powerful shaman in modern humanity… the hero who led superhumans across America to establish the Eastern Academy. And from what the boy at the time of his reincarnation knew, he was also known as someone who hated the heavens and angels…
The Shaman King who resents the heavens and angels. Hmm… Someone I should avoid meeting as much as possible in this life—or rather, this heavenly life. But why bring up James?
Refri hid his unease and listened to Klein.
“Yes, the Shaman King himself.”
“Ah, I see. But why the Shaman King?”
Suddenly, Klein grabbed Refri’s hand tightly.
“Rejoice, Refri. The Shaman King is selecting a few of our students to perform the reincarnation awakening ritual.”
“Wow… That’s great news. But why—”
No way? No way?
Refri knew it well, but “no way” always turned into “of course” eventually.
“No, I told you to rejoice.”
“Right.”
“So what does that mean?”
Klein’s face was beaming with magic-engineering-level excitement. Watching him, Refri recalled the expression Soya made when she got super hyped about black magic.
Soya doesn’t listen to a word I say when she’s like that either.
Soya and Klein. Refri felt like teacher and student shared a lot of similarities.
“The opportunity for reincarnation awakening has come to you, Refri.”
“…Ah.”
“I guarantee it. You’ll surely awaken as a great archmage from a past life.”
With those words, Klein hoisted Refri up effortlessly.
“Once you awaken even a great archmage’s reincarnation, you’ll be…”
Klein chuckled hehehe, lost in rosy visions of the future. Refri tried to slip away in the moment.
“…Ah, Refri? Where are you going?”
But Refri got caught.
I should’ve used a Divine Ability.
Refri regretted not using his powers. Regret always came too late.
“W-Well.”
“Oh, could it be you’re so excited about the reincarnation awakening that you’re heading there early…?”
Klein’s touched expression. He nodded once, then snapped his fingers.
“I didn’t realize. Sorry about that. I’ll send you right away.”
“Professor, wait—!”
With that, Refri vanished in an instant.
There were many at Central Superhuman Academy gunning for reincarnation awakening. But only a select few had been picked by the professors as promising candidates.
One of them was So Junseok, a second-year swordsmanship student.
“What? The boss really got picked?”
“It’s just prelims. Don’t jump to conclusions.”
So Junseok spoke in a serious tone.
“Your tone’s annoying.”
“Right? Look at that smug grin reaching his ears, yet he talks like that.”
His friends immediately teased him upon hearing his words. They were all members of the “Superhuman Movie Club,” and So Junseok was their leader.
“Sigh, you guys are never serious.”
So Junseok shook his head. His friends groaned “Ooooh—” in mock protest.
“Oh, right. Junseok, did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“Remember that club war? The first-year who took us in when we got booted by the big clubs.”
“I remember.”
He was definitely the boy doing a double major.
“He’d be perfect as the lead in the movie our club’s shooting…”
An unforgettable pretty boy. They still regretted failing to cast him.
“Anyway, point is, he got selected for reincarnation awakening too.”
“I see. A rival this time, then.”
The club members were shocked by So Junseok’s cool tone.
“Rival? Whoa, boss… You haven’t forgotten what he did for us, right?”
“Yeah. He persuaded Naiad and stood up to the student council to save us little clubs.”
“Calling a kid like that a rival?”
More protests from the members. The club leader shook his head once and gathered his thoughts.
Honestly, he was grateful to that boy. Creating a volunteer club out of nowhere and spectacularly crushing the student council and big clubs’ tyranny.
Frankly, I was a little moved!
And not just lending Naiad’s lake—that was surprising enough—but turning the new club war into a hit without asking for anything in return.
As an expert, I know. To hype up a sudden event like the Naiad Lake club war, you need massive cheer squads. Advertising too. And cheer squads and ads all cost money.
It was true there had been cheer squads at Refri’s club war. But they weren’t people Refri had hired.
They were from a cult called the “New Angel Church,” terrifying folks who helped Refri wittingly or unwittingly.
The moment Refri announced the new club war, they’d stirred up buzz, run the ads, and even blocked people heading to the student council’s event.
Of course, Refri hadn’t noticed.
He’s not even rich, yet he spent all that money for strangers he barely knew.
The leaders of the small clubs he’d helped naturally had no idea about the “New Angel Church” involvement. They just thought Refri had made a huge sacrifice for them.
Thus, countless students in small clubs felt gratitude—and a sense of debt—toward Refri.
The Superhuman Movie Club was no exception.
“In our superhuman world, favors must be repaid. I know that well.”
“So?”
“But that’s that, and this is this.”
The club leader clenched his fist. It radiated unyielding resolve.
“That’s our club leader for you.”
“Still, go easy on him.”
And so, the Superhuman Movie Club leader packed his bags and headed to the center of Central Superhuman Academy. More precisely, to the ornate Western-style building next to the main hall.
Its name: Central Superhuman Academy VIP Quarters. Where the Shaman King was currently staying.
At the center of Central Superhuman Academy stood a massive Western-style building reminiscent of a European count’s mansion.
Standing in front of its flower beds, Refri looked around.
“Lots of people. Lucky, I guess…”
Refri had come expecting to get eliminated early. But if he advanced far in the prelims and the Shaman King peered into his soul…
If the guy who resents the heavens and angels learns my true nature… who knows what he’ll do to me.
In that sense, the huge crowd of prelim participants was a relief for Refri. He could blend in with the others and dodge the Shaman King’s gaze.
Getting caught as an angel is bad enough. But me awakening my reincarnation—that’s worse. My past life is Lephriel. If I awaken as Lephriel…
Refri shook his head vigorously.
As he trembled in fear, trying to minimize his presence like he wasn’t even there, a prickly voice came from beside him.
“What? This is that Refri guy?”
Refri turned to the voice’s owner.
“Who are you?”
“You kidding? A holy power user who doesn’t know me?”
A holy power user who doesn’t know me?
What did that even mean? Refri examined the owner closely.
Red button means second-year. Necktie pin with Professor Rebecca’s emblem means divine studies department. Tall, broad shoulders—looks athletic. And an ordinary subhuman face. No clue who this was.
Was there a famous second-year in divine studies? Refri tilted his head.
“Sorry, who are you…?”
“You really don’t know me?”
The divine studies senior grabbed Refri’s collar without warning.
“I’m Lamone Berios of the Berios Archbishop Family. You’ve received the grace of holy power, yet you claim you don’t know me?”
At those words, Refri finally recognized him.
When the Subhuman Empire was at its peak, one group monopolized holy power users. They worshipped the heavens and revered angels as the heavens’ apostles. To subhumans, they were simply known as the “Church.”
The archbishop families were the church’s core bloodlines. The families that selected archbishops wielded immense authority and power in the empire’s heyday.
But now…
Hah, in an era where the Subhuman Empire’s princess is teaching as a professor… What’s an archbishop family from a fallen world?
The archbishop families weren’t what they used to be, but Refri couldn’t completely dismiss them either. He bowed politely.
“Sorry, senior. I won’t forget next time.”
“…What a clown. Why on earth did the Saintess pick a loser like you…”
But he grinned sadistically, refusing to let go of Refri’s collar like he didn’t want it to end.
“And if you’re sorry, kneel already. What’re you waiting for? Huh?”
Then a voice rang out.
“Cut it out.”
One student shoved Lamone away. His name was So Junseok, leader of the Superhuman Movie Club and a famously strong second-year swordsmanship student.
“Mind your own business. This is divine studies department stuff.”
“Oh yeah? But that first-year’s in our swordsmanship department too.”
Starting with So Junseok, other students chimed in.
“Whoa, I’m embarrassed. Why pick a fight with our junior out of nowhere? Wanna die? Should we do it Professor Rusa’s way?”
From furious martial arts seniors.
“Professor. Shall I kill him?”
“…Hold back, Darkan.”
To a scary-faced third-year archery student glaring at Lamone.
Most of them stood by Refri, eyeing Lamone warmly.
“W-What? I’m from the archbishop family…”
Lamone trailed off, slowly backing away.