Chapter 8 : Leah

She was dressed in a loose-fitting academy uniform, which looked somewhat baggy on her.

Her eyes were half-closed, utterly calm, as if Lin Yue before her was nothing more than empty air.

Lin Yue’s heart tightened just a little—this was the first time he’d been so struck by a character he’d seen countless times.

She really is beautiful.

He had to admit, among the few characters in the original novel who hit Lin Yue’s particular “xp,” she was his favorite.

A few wisps of silver-purple hair clung to cheeks as white as porcelain, making those amethyst eyes appear even deeper and more mysterious.

Her eyes lifted at the corners, lashes long and fine—every flutter seemed to shake loose a sprinkle of starlight.

Her silky hair was lifted slightly by an invisible magical force, gently floating in the air.

This was the original’s ultimate genius, who became withdrawn and indifferent after losing her family and losing control of her magic.

At twelve, she had already reached the sixth tier—a monstrous official prodigy.

She was the master of space magic, the apex of genius, the ultimate Magister—Liya.

She was indifferent to everything around her, as if the entire world had nothing to do with her.

Lin Yue didn’t try to greet her. He simply focused on making his braised rabbit.

He knew that any unnecessary move would only make her dislike him.

Liya just watched quietly, her gaze unchanged.

It was as if she were merely watching a stranger by the fire, yet the unfamiliar and enticing aroma in the air made her frown slightly.

This smell… she had never encountered it before.

The meat was ready—the caramel-colored skin glistened with oil, radiating a tantalizing scent.

Lin Yue cut a piece, blew on it, and was just about to put it in his mouth when Liya suddenly moved.

She didn’t come down, merely reached out to open a small spatial rift, took the fork from Lin Yue’s hand, and brought it to her nose for a sniff.

That mixture of sweet, savory, and spicy aromas made her half-closed eyes widen just a little, a hint of curiosity flickering through them.

What is this?

Lin Yue was stunned for a moment, then quickly regained his composure.

He’d expected her to just snatch it away.

It was mentioned in the original that Liya actually loved eating meat; it was only later, when she became depressed, that she seldom ate.

And as for braised rabbit—this was a dish that didn’t exist in this world, so to her, it must have been something entirely new.

Liya hesitated for a moment but stuffed the meat into her mouth.

Her small mouth moved up and down—even though Lin Yue had cut the meat into tiny pieces, it still filled her mouth.

As soon as it entered, her eyes flashed with surprise, but as she swallowed, a tingling, spicy pain spread from her tongue.

“So spicy…”

She stuck out her tongue, huffing like a kitten scalded by hot food.

Suddenly, realizing someone else was watching, she forced herself to close her mouth, enduring the burning to protect her dignity as a sixth-tier Magister.

But all her expressions and actions were taken in by Lin Yue.

He said nothing, just picked up another piece to eat.

The campfire crackled; between the two of them, there was only the sound of chewing and the occasional gust of wind.

Just as Lin Yue thought she might not be able to handle the spiciness, she reached out for another piece—this time eating more slowly.

Lin Yue noticed her eyes seemed to change just a little—not as empty as before.

When Liya picked up a third piece, she finally spoke. Her voice was still flat, but carried a hint of subtle seriousness: “What is your name?”

Lin Yue looked up and met her gaze.

For the first time, her eyes sparkled with a pure, food-inspired interest.

“Lin Yue.”

He answered calmly.

“Lin Yue…”

Liya repeated the name, nodded, and asked no further, lowering her head to keep eating the braised meat.

Lin Yue watched her, resting his cheek on his hand.

He’d originally thought to avoid intersecting with any main storyline characters, but now, there was no helping it.

He couldn’t just kick her out, could he?

After Liya finished the last piece, she wiped the corner of her mouth and gave Lin Yue a look, her eyes carrying a hint of something hard to describe.

“Will there be more tomorrow?”

She asked.

Lin Yue saw the flash of expectation in her eyes, fell silent for a moment, then nodded: “There will.”

Liya didn’t say anything more, just turned and left—her back still lazy, but somehow carrying more life than when she’d arrived.

Lin Yue watched her figure disappear into the woods and stroked his chin.

It seemed, trying to completely avoid the key characters of the plot really was too difficult.

“Oh, right. That rabbit was my pet from a few days ago.”

As if suddenly remembering, Liya turned and spoke to Lin Yue.

Uh…

Now he realized what that odd feeling earlier had been.

So he’d just eaten her pet.

But she ate with such relish… Maybe it was fine?

“But it was delicious, so I’ll forgive you.”

She finished, a faint, almost imperceptible smile on her lips.

“My name is Liya. See you tomorrow.”

With that, she vanished into the night.

Looking at the adorable Liya, Lin Yue felt a rare sense of joy rise in his heart.

But when he recalled the scene of that petite girl, slain by countless spells, kneeling on the ground, the smile instantly faded from his face.

Liya would fall in the sixth act as the final boss.

…

The next afternoon, the school had already sorted everyone into classes.

Unsurprisingly, Lin Yue was placed in the regular class, but he had no complaints—he hadn’t even taken the aptitude test and still managed to get in, so it was already a win.

The classroom was just like a college lecture hall in real life; students could sit wherever they wanted, so he picked a seat by the window.

The lesson didn’t contain anything essential, just a simple overview of the curriculum and future study directions before dismissing—saving Lin Yue some wasted time.

If only I had a cheat or a system…

Lin Yue gazed out the window, his mind wandering.

“Sigh…”

If I could change everything without relying on the protagonist, there’d be no need to feel so frustrated.

Still, knowing the story in advance and remembering the main enemies’ moves was a kind of cheat, even if it was useless without power.

The current protagonist group was hovering around high-level first-tier magic apprentice at best, maybe just touching second tier.

In the game, level 15 was one tier; max level was 90, which happened to be sixth tier.

Every tier up cost exponentially more experience, leaving no chance to become an over-leveled sword god.

So if you relied on farming weak monsters, you might die of old age before ever reaching tier three.

No way to just play it safe… sigh…

But for now, the most important problem to solve was money.

Should I borrow from someone?

Given his good-for-nothing reputation, even if he explained that he’d been kicked out of his family, people would probably think he was bluffing and send him away.

He needed to find a job.

In the game, you could take on jobs, but they were all battle-related—he couldn’t handle those.

Better ask someone…

As students left the classroom, Lin Yue stood up, planning to grab a random “lucky one” to ask.

Right at the door stood a student who looked honest and quiet.

Judging by the shoulder insignia, he should be a senior.

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Yue walked over.

“Hello, senior.”

Lin Yue tried to make his tone as friendly as possible.

“Do you know of any part-time jobs nearby that are suitable for freshmen?”

Upon hearing the voice, the student turned around.

When he saw Lin Yue, his smile instantly froze.

As if seeing something terrifying, he hurriedly stuffed his books into his bag and shook his head repeatedly: “I don’t know, ask someone else!”

He finished, then bolted out the door without looking back—almost crashing into the doorpost on his way out.

“It’s… it’s Lin Yue Hawk!”

Watching him flee, Lin Yue felt as if the guy had left an afterimage behind.

People around began glancing at Lin Yue, whispering to each other.

“Hey, did you hear? This guy hooked up with a beauty as soon as school started, and she’s apparently a genius from the elite class!”

“Talk about good fortune, tsk tsk. I heard he was supposed to marry the two ladies from the Valiana family—what a waste!”

“That’s Lin Yue Hawk? The enemy of all women?”

“Ah? So that’s what Lin Yue looks like… huh… what a shame he’s a scumbag.”

Looks like everyone, men and women alike, had been spreading rumors about him.

So much for asking for help.

Lin Yue sighed and shook his head.

No helping it.

The original’s reputation was already bad, and now he’d just made things worse.

Just as Lin Yue was resigning himself to fate, he caught sight of a familiar figure.

Hm?

That’s…

A girl with glasses and twin pink ponytails was gathering her books, looking gentle and kind.

Mapell—a minor side character in the original, mainly meant for newbie guidance.

In the novel, after Allen woke from his coma, Mapell was the one who led him to the dormitory.

She’d even tried running for student council president, but the other two heavyweight candidates were so authoritative that she lost as a matter of course.

Competing with representatives of royal and divine authority—where did she get the courage?

After the fourth act, she never appeared again; the game gave no explanation, ending her story abruptly.

Maybe she was just there to make the plot richer.

Would she be willing to tell me?

Lin Yue hesitated for a moment, then walked over quickly.

Mapell was reading a magic book, head down, when she heard someone call her.

“Um… excuse me, hi.”

Mapell had just looked up when she saw a tall, black-haired boy in the academy uniform, standing quite close and saying something.

Black hair, brown eyes, delicate and calm features.

A type she hadn’t seen before.

She rubbed her eyes, wanting to be sure this really was Lin Yue.

The boy raised his brows slightly; in the sunlight, his brown pupils shone with a hint of gold.

There was no doubt—it was him.

But after recognizing him, Mapell didn’t flee like everyone else.

She simply froze for a moment, then softly replied: “Hello, Lin Yue. Is there something I can help you with?”

Seeing Mapell hadn’t run away, Lin Yue breathed a sigh of relief and quickly asked, “I wanted to know if there are any part-time jobs suitable for freshmen around the academy?”

As he asked, he scratched his head a little embarrassedly.

Mapell blinked, surprised by his question.

She thought for a while, then looked up at Lin Yue, answering seriously: “There are lots of shops in the commercial street behind the academy that hire part-timers, but… it might be a bit tiring.”

When he played the game, aside from eating at restaurants for buffs, he never really explored much—this helped him out a lot.

Thinking back, he remembered often seeing Mapell in the commercial street in-game—had he forgotten something?

“Okay, I understand.”

“Thank you, Mapell.”

“N-no problem.”

Mapell’s cheeks flushed a little.

She lowered her head and softly added,

“But, when you go, you’d better wear a wig or something, otherwise, it could… could be troublesome.”

That was a good suggestion.

After thanking her, Lin Yue left the teaching building and headed for the commercial street.

Mapell smiled as she saw him off, but suddenly murmured with doubt, “How did he know my name?”

At the same time, Airela was walking down the corridor, searching for Isabella, who had entered the elite class with her.

She had to make it clear that there was nothing between her and Lin Yue.