Lin Yue stared intently at Allen below the testing platform, watching as that faint spark of power in Allen’s eyes ignited, only to be snuffed out just as quickly.
A rush of blood surged straight to his head.
He even began to regret not choosing Bena back then and ruthlessly (censored) her, making her change this meddlesome nature of hers.
The perfect setup for the protagonist’s awakening had just been cut off by her single sentence: “I can’t stand bullies throwing their weight around.”
Now, looking at Allen’s expression, was there any sign left of an impending explosion?
“It’s over…”
Lin Yue gritted his teeth, his voice so low that only Airela beside him could hear.
Airela tilted her head in confusion.
“Lin Yue, what did you say?”
She glanced at Lin Yue’s tense profile, then at Isabella below the platform, and quietly added: “Miss Bena seems to be helping that boy, doesn’t she?”
Helping?
She’s only making things worse!
Lin Yue nearly lost control and cursed out loud, quickly taking a deep breath to force down his anger.
He couldn’t exactly explain to Airela that the guy needed to be humiliated in order to awaken his golden finger, could he?
That just sounded perverse.
Airela watched Lin Yue gritting his teeth and stamping his feet, looking every bit the villain, which left her completely at a loss.
He’d been so excited just now when he saw that boy, so why did it now seem like he insisted on someone being bullied?
She couldn’t figure it out.
Lin Yue, meanwhile, was growing more and more frustrated.
He could only watch helplessly as Allen, comforted by Lilian, slowly straightened his back, and the fists he’d clenched gradually relaxed.
The power of law that should have shattered its shackles simply and silently faded away.
Damn it…
This damned woman, the protagonist isn’t dead, but you’re “carrying” me now?
Can you even beat the Demon God?
No one asked you to help him.
And the culprit, Isabela, was making her way back to the audience seats.
As soon as she sat down, Isabela leaned over and whispered, “Sis, what was that about just now?”
Though Bela knew her sister’s temperament, Bena would usually think twice about things that easily offended others.
Isabela replied, her face full of displeasure, “I just can’t stand that type of bully—so hateful, just like certain people.”
Unconsciously, Isabela’s gaze drifted toward Lin Yue, only to find him gnashing his teeth, apparently at her.
This guy, his expression is so interesting.
Seeing Lin Yue pull such a wildly different face from usual, Bena suddenly found it funny and couldn’t help but let out a giggle.
No, why am I laughing at this scumbag… Hmph…
Meanwhile, on Lin Yue’s side, Airel had witnessed every bit of their interaction, her mind instantly conjuring up a whole script of handsome guys and beautiful girls bickering, flirting, and getting jealous over each other.
Isabela and Lin Yue… Could they be jealous of each other?
She’d overheard someone say the Hawke family and the Valiana family were once engaged, but it got called off for some reason.
That explained things—Miss Isabela went down to help Allen, Lin Yue got jealous, so he’s grinding his teeth and pounding his chest… But who is Miss Isabela jealous of?
Ah…
Just then, this young lady realized something very serious.
“Ugh, what should I do about this…”
Lin Yue sat back in his seat, pondering his options.
Looks like my own decision has triggered a butterfly effect.
Isabela, who was never supposed to appear here, had actually changed the protagonist’s growth path on her own…
“Airela, I… huh?”
Lin Yue turned his head, about to leave first, only to see that the previously clingy Airela was suddenly sitting far away—almost two seat-widths apart.
“Um… Sorry, I didn’t know at first, I didn’t do it on purpose…”
Airela fidgeted with her hair awkwardly, her face a little flushed, lost in her own thoughts.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Lin Yue looked at the unusually distant Airela, a bit confused.
“N-no, nothing, sorry to bother you, haha…”
Well, forget it, he didn’t really care what she was thinking anyway, and her distancing herself actually made things easier for him.
“Alright, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go first. You have the written test too, remember to review.”
Though he didn’t want to interact with Airela, he didn’t want the boss of chapter one to be assigned to the regular class for failing the written exam, either.
“Okay, got it…”
It’s over, it’s over, she definitely didn’t want to become a third wheel…
Airela patted her flushed cheeks, determined to find a chance to clear things up with Miss Isabela.
…
Lin Yue twirled his pen as he wrote the answers he thought were right on the test paper.
“Thank you for your hard work, teacher…”
He followed a group of students to hand in their exams, imitating their polite words.
“Mm.”
He probably wouldn’t fail, right?
Some of the questions were as abstract as advanced mathematics, but most of it was magic basics, so at least he could write something.
If he failed, there was still a make-up exam.
If he failed that, he could just go home and sleep.
“Wait a minute…”
The middle-aged teacher in glasses coughed and reached out to stop Lin Yue.
“You’re Lin Yue, right?”
“Yes.”
The name was on the paper—nothing to hide.
“There are many hidden talents at this school. Keep a low profile, especially since you’ve already been expelled.”
Was this a friendly reminder?
Do I look that dumb?
Ahem, can’t say villain lines like that.
“Got it. Thank you.”
With that, Lin Yue left the exam hall and stretched.
As for the protagonist’s awakening, there was still no good opportunity yet.
Lin Yue searched his memory and remembered: in two weeks, there’d be a sparring match.
With Lilian’s help, Allen would win and get his first magic wand.
All he needed to do was act the villain at that time, harass Allen’s reverse scale Lilian a bit, and the effect should be about the same.
Lin Yue was planning to go back and make a detailed plan, but then realized he hadn’t even applied for a dormitory.
Simple reason: when they kicked him out, they only gave him enough money to survive three days at best.
At Avilena Academy, where the cost of living was sky-high, even eating a meal would use it all up—no way he could pay for a place to stay.
“Hmm…”
No way he could take adventure quests now—he’d die.
Looks like he’d have to rough it in the wild for a bit.
Otherwise, he’d be sleeping on the streets tonight.
Thinking of this, Lin Yue remembered a good place.
Avilena’s territory only had some low-level magic beasts—not a bad place to survive for a while.
And low-level magic beasts were edible.
…
Lin Yue changed into more practical clothes for the outdoors and surveyed the forest environment.
Back in the original story, he’d wandered around here plenty.
How to put it—this place was basically this game’s own “Ten Mile Slope.”
Still surviving in the wild, Lin Yue didn’t idle—he skillfully found a water source, set up a fire, bought some spices, and made traps.
Before long, evening had arrived, and Lin Yue had everything ready.
Looks like besides learning magic, he’d have to work on his physique, too.
The original Lin Yue was a bit of a scoundrel, but he’d kept up basic warrior training, so his physical fitness was much better than his own back in reality.
Lin Yue rotated his arm, wondering if the trap had caught anything.
Squeak, squeak…
Ah, a rabbit?
Lin Yue looked at the small creature still struggling desperately in the trap, a bit surprised.
A rich meaty aroma began to spread, especially tempting in the silent forest.
It was a complex flavor, sweet, salty, and savory, that had never existed in this world before.
He raised an eyebrow, looking at the poor rabbit he’d prepared in the pot, suddenly feeling like he’d forgotten something important.
Forget it, eating comes first.
Lin Yue glanced at the bubbling pot, judging it should be almost done.
Opening the lid, that unique, sweet-salty-savory fragrance wafted out—a combination never before seen in this world.
Lin Yue wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling a surge of accomplishment.
Though this world had plenty of spices, there was no Huaxia cuisine—everything was just the usual cheese, salt, and meat.
Lin Yue was curious what kind of flavor a rabbit from this game would have.
Here in the wilds of Avilena, he actually felt safer than he had in the Hawke domain.
After all, this was the beginner area—if you ran into trouble, someone would have your back.
Suddenly, a certain violet-haired magical genius flashed through Lin Yue’s mind—this was her territory.
If nothing went wrong, she’d be arriving soon.
Sure enough, before long, faint footsteps sounded.
Lin Yue looked up and saw a long-haired girl with pale purple locks leaning against a nearby tree trunk, arms crossed, watching him out of boredom.
Her eyes, like violets shattered by firelight, were innocent and impossibly beautiful.