Chapter 22
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Elective Class (1)
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Isabel Helm.
She was gazing at the girl walking beside her right now.
It was because of the way Libia Clawit—her first friend, whom she'd known for a long time—had been acting ever since enrolling at the academy.
'Last week, she looked so exhausted that anyone could see it, and she couldn't focus on classes at all...'
Starting midway through last week, Libia had worn a face that screamed exhaustion to anyone who saw it, unable to concentrate on a single lesson.
It was the kind of look that made it obvious something was wrong, so Isabel had been worried.
But then, over the weekend, something must have happened.
The troubling expression from last week had vanished completely, and Libia was back to her usual vibrant self.
Isabel had no idea what had gone down,
but seeing Libia full of energy again that morning had put her mind at ease.
That is, until the moment a certain boy stepped into the academy lecture hall.
Aden.
The one who'd overtaken both her and Libia to claim top spot at the academy.
He was someone she could call her second friend since starting here.
So when he entered the classroom, she was just about to offer a simple greeting tinged with a bit of pleasant surprise—
"Aden—!"
Libia shouted his name from right beside her, loud enough to make everyone in the classroom turn.
'Embarrassing...'
As all eyes converged, even Isabel felt secondhand shame from her seat next to Libia, but that wasn't the point.
After that, the affection shining clearly every time Libia talked to Aden,
her over-the-top reactions to his every move,
the glances she kept throwing his way even during magic and swordsmanship classes—not to mention practical combat.
It was a change anyone with eyes could spot.
Her first friend clearly had a massive crush on Aden.
'What on earth happened...'
She had no clue what went down over the weekend,
but whatever it was, it had happened in just two days—a time too short to sway someone's heart.
Libia had clearly fallen for Aden over some trigger Isabel didn't know about.
'I'm curious.'
Isabel, who had never felt or understood the emotion called love,
was intensely curious about her friend's first crush.
"We should head to our elective classes now. They're in opposite directions, so let's split here—" "Libia."
Unable to hold back her curiosity, she cut off Libia's words and spoke up.
'I'm a mage, after all.'
Mages were explorers by nature.
Suppressing curiosity went against a mage's code,
she thought, firing off the question to Libia with utter conviction.
"You like Aden, don't you?"
"Huh...?"
A beat of silence followed the question.
Then,
Libia's face flushed tomato-red as realization dawned.
"No, no!! What are you even saying—!!"
"Well, you've been staring at Aden all day—" "Uwaaaaaah—!!"
Before Isabel could finish, Libia let out a shriek and clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Isaaabel—! Keep it down!"
"It'sh sho noisy."
Her words came out muffled through Libia's hand.
"Remove it."
Libia's hand was uncomfortable over her mouth,
so Isabel glared lightly while mumbling for her to move it. Libia pulled away.
"Isabel, say it quieter! What if someone hears?!"
"You're the loud one, Libia... So it is true, then."
Libia looked flustered for a second before sighing in resignation.
"Haa... It's a secret from Aden!"
"Why? If you like him, just confess."
Puzzled by the "secret" bit, Isabel asked,
and Libia shot back with a subtly annoyed expression.
"Tsk tsk—! You wouldn't get it; you haven't awakened to love yet!"
"What? You're just scared to confess."
Libia's body twitched at the words.
A reaction like she'd been hit right in the mark.
Isabel gave her an incredulous look,
and Libia hurriedly continued.
"That's not it! Anyway, class is about to start—hurry up!"
It was an obvious deflection, but lecture time was indeed approaching, so Isabel nodded without protest.
Libia's Imperial Swordsmanship and her Advanced Magic were in opposite classrooms anyway.
"See you, Libia. Confess and give me the update."
With that teasing parting shot, she headed to her own classroom.
She ignored Libia's outraged yell from behind.
'Class... Won't be able to focus.'
It was her first elective, but concentrating seemed impossible.
She still had tons to ask Libia,
'What about Aden made Libia fall for him?'
That was the big one.
Even objectively, Aden's looks were outstanding.
Sure, his appearance was probably part of why Libia liked him,
but if it was just that,
she wouldn't have brushed off all the handsome guys who'd approached her since childhood so easily.
That's why Isabel was dying to know the real reason.
But if Libia wouldn't spill, there was no way to find out,
so she'd ask her friend directly later.
'Why not confess, though...'
That part really didn't make sense.
Whatever happened, if she liked him, shouldn't she just confess?
Finding flaws in someone like Libia was the hard part.
Her raw power and talent were top-notch,
her status as a duke's daughter and Sword Saint's disciple,
her bright, kind personality,
and finally, looks even a girl would call beautiful.
Not a single shortcoming—why was she so scared to confess?
'Libia's sneakily timid like that...'
Isabel worried she'd end up bawling if someone snatched him away.
After finishing the last mandatory class, Practical Combat,
and returning the borrowed training sword from Sunday, I was heading a bit late to the elective classroom.
Libia and Isabel had already gone to their respective elective rooms,
so as I walked alone, I thought about the elective I was taking today.
Imperial Swordsmanship.
One of the academy's electives,
where you could learn the skill {Imperial Swordsmanship}.
In the early game of Frontier Chronicles, it wasn't a highly sought-after skill,
so the class hadn't been popular in-game either.
But once the opportunity to upgrade it to {Emperor's Sword} was discovered in the late game, it became a pretty hot elective.
'Emperor's Sword...'
The skill Emperor's Sword.
A top-tier one-hit kill move in Frontier Chronicles.
One-hit kills paired perfectly with skills like {Defying Heaven} that unleashed explosive power in short bursts.
Of course, I already had the most broken one-hit kill: {Heaven Defying Sword}.
But as the ultimate in that category, each of its three techniques came with brutal penalties.
Starting from the weakest: deduct 200 / 300 / 400 HP from your stamina stat—a simple but painful cost.
It was a skill for do-or-die moments, betting it all when there was no retreat.
Unlike {Heaven Defying Sword} and other one-hit kills, though, {Emperor's Sword} was the only top-tier one without penalties beyond cooldown.
That's why it was a must-have for me during the academy's first break.
Lost in thoughts about the elective, I arrived at the classroom door, pushed it open, and stepped in. A bunch of unfamiliar faces filled the room.
As I entered, the students' gazes locked onto me.
Discontent.
Curiosity.
Suspicion.
Not exactly welcoming stares.
I scanned the room for Libia.
It didn't take long.
Amid all those eyes on me, she stood out, waving happily my way.
"Libia."
"Aden! You made it!"
"Not yelling this time, huh."
"Ugh... That was a mistake, I told you—!"
I teased her about the morning as I headed to the seat beside her.
She shot me a shy glare in response.
"Not a lot of friendly looks here..."
This elective was my first class mixed with students from other classes.
Probably had to do with my image around the academy right now.
'After that entrance ceremony mess...'
It made sense.
Everyone here was an academy enrollee—kids who'd likely heard they were prodigies at least once.
So openly dismissing them at the ceremony? No way they'd look kindly on me.
"Aden's getting hated."
I inwardly agreed with Libia.
Most stares faded once I sat,
but even as I chatted with Libia beside her,
a few kept glaring daggers.
"Yeah, tell me about it..."
"Want me to say something?"
"Nah, it's fine. Just my karma."
Karma.
All blowback from that academy speech.
But I didn't regret it now.
If I could go back, I'd make the same choice.
'About to start.'
Creak—
Right on cue, the door opened, and one man entered.
A man with a scar near his eye, exuding middle-aged charisma, his red hair striking.
—"Nice to meet ya—! Fresh sprouts!"
"Nice to meet ya—! Fresh sprouts!"
The great former Knight Commander of the Madel Empire.
Pretty famous among players,
Imperial Swordsmanship Professor Kael.
He burst in with a voice booming through the academy.