Chapter 10: Human Relationships

During the morning theory class, Aiden sat upright, his hands resting flat on the desk, looking as if he were paying close attention.

In truth, his gaze was scattered, and his fingertips tapped the desk unconsciously, clearly his mind had already drifted elsewhere.

He was examining the Magic Card he had drawn yesterday.

After a night of study, he had already figured out the mechanics of this Card Drawing System.

Everything in this world was built upon magic.

Even what was called “technology” was essentially magic-driven.

Though there were many different combat professions, at their core all fought through magic.

For example, sword-wielding warriors were actually Magic Swordsmen, their swords enhanced by magical power.

When the Goddess reincarnated Aiden into this world, she did not fundamentally reshape his body.

This meant he was inherently different from the people here—he lacked the Magic Circuit of Origin, the fundamental prerequisite for learning magic.

Yet in this world, without magic, one could hardly take a single step.

So the Goddess came up with a compromise: she turned all magical skills and weaponry into card-like objects, similar to a card game.

This way, even ordinary people without any magical talent could cast magic through these cards.

In front of Aiden, on the system interface provided by Rubira, a Magic Card glowed faintly with a golden halo around its edges, slowly spinning. At the center, elegant script read “Mirror Reflection.”

When an opponent casts a magic attack, using this card can completely nullify that attack and reflect the exact same magic back at the caster.

This effect seemed incredibly powerful, but Aiden noticed a line of small text in the bottom right corner of the card: Cooldown time 60 minutes.

This meant it could basically only be used once per battle, making the timing of its use extremely critical—it had to be precise and deadly.

Aiden closed his eyes, tapping his fingers lightly on the desk as he simulated the upcoming duel with Rufus in his mind.

He needed to predict the moment Rufus would most likely unleash a powerful spell, or even manipulate the situation verbally, ensuring this card’s effect was maximized.

If Rufus wasn’t defeated after its use, Aiden himself would be the one to fall.

Beside him, Cerise appeared to be diligently taking notes, but her eyes kept flickering toward Aiden.

She noticed that although the boy sat straight, his gaze wandered, clearly daydreaming.

This reminded Cerise of yesterday’s theory class, when Aiden was also dozing off but still managed to flawlessly solve a magic structure problem that even she found difficult.

Seeing him so absent-minded again, Cerise grew even more curious—what secrets was this transfer student hiding?

She recalled the rumors she had heard:

Aiden scored full marks on the theory section of the Transfer Exam.

She simply couldn’t understand how he managed that, since she had reviewed some of those exam questions herself and knew how challenging they were.

Adding to that were Aiden’s heartfelt words during Practical Training yesterday, and the completely uneven duel scheduled for the afternoon.

These thoughts churned in her mind, making it impossible for Cerise to focus on the lecture.

Her notebook contained only scattered words, and the teacher’s explanation passed through her ears without settling.

Alvin, the Magic Theory teacher at the podium, quickly noticed Cerise’s distraction.

He remembered Rufus’s earlier “instructions” to “pay special attention” to this girl.

Rufus’s father was a famous Noble in the empire and reportedly one of the academy’s shareholders.

As the family’s future heir, many teachers secretly tried to curry favor with him, Alvin included.

This so-called “special attention” was actually an intentional subtle harassment meant to make Cerise’s school life difficult—pushing the powerless girl into a corner until she had no choice but to seek refuge under Rufus’s protection.

“Cerise, it seems you aren’t paying attention because you understand these principles quite well. Please answer my question.”

At an advanced point in the lecture, Alvin suddenly stopped and pushed his glasses up, directing his question toward Cerise.

She stood up confused.

She truly hadn’t been listening closely, and this advanced theory was something Alvin had mentioned casually, clearly beyond what the current students should grasp—it was material for deep future study in the subject.

Alvin was counting on Cerise’s inability to answer and deliberately trying to embarrass her.

Cerise opened her mouth but no sound came out.

Her fingertips trembled slightly as she unconsciously clenched her skirt.

Whispers from the surrounding students surged like a tide.

This was the scene she had feared all her life.

Since childhood, under her mother’s guidance, Cerise had tried desperately to prove girls were no less capable than boys—not just ornamental objects in men’s eyes.

So whether theory exams or practical training, she always gave her all to be the best in her cohort.

She had naively believed that as long as she was strong enough, no one would look down on her.

But Alvin’s question was like a bucket of cold water poured over her.

At first, she did not realize it was a deliberate test, only feeling ashamed for not knowing the answer.

The faint murmur of the students brought back memories of her childhood—of the time after her father abandoned them and neighborhood children mocked her as “a fatherless child.”

Cerise’s body began trembling uncontrollably, Alvin and the classmates’ faces blurring before her eyes.

She felt like the little girl hiding behind her mother, helplessly lowering her head under everyone’s pointing fingers.

Her nails dug deep into her palms, but she felt no pain at all.

Who could save me…

Just as Cerise was about to bow her head in admission of fault, confessing she hadn’t paid attention and couldn’t answer, accepting her weakness, she suddenly felt a gentle nudge on her elbow.

Aiden quietly pushed his notebook forward.

Its pages were neatly filled with answers—each principle explained clearly and thoroughly, covering every angle, even supplemented with relevant examples of magical application.

Cerise looked at Aiden in surprise but didn’t hesitate, smoothly responding with the content written in the notebook.

Alvin’s expression shifted from smugness to shock.

His glasses slid down to the tip of his nose, and he forgot to push them back up.

This was advanced knowledge taught only at the High Magic Academy level—how could a second-year student be so familiar with it?

It was clearly illogical.

But despite his full suspicion, he couldn’t openly challenge him in front of the class, so he gritted his teeth and nodded.

“Well answered… please sit down.”

To cover his embarrassment, Alvin quickly turned back to the blackboard and began explaining the origin stories of this magical theory as if telling a story.

His voice was much louder than usual and his movements awkward.

Cerise sat down with a sigh of relief, quietly sending Aiden a grateful glance.

“Thank you… Aiden.”

“It’s nothing, don’t mention it.”

Aiden smiled indifferently, then closed the notebook and tossed it aside.

With Rubira, the world’s encyclopedia, any theoretical question was easy for him.

Seeing Aiden’s casual demeanor, Cerise felt a stir in her heart.

Her fingers instinctively clenched her skirt tighter, and silently, she made a decision.

Rufus wouldn’t hold back in the afternoon’s duel.

If Aiden got into trouble, she wouldn’t stand by and watch.

Because she wasn’t used to owing anyone a favor—especially not a boy.