“Selena? Are you waiting for me? But wait…” Nathan looked back and noticed what was going on. “Since when did you know?”
“From the beginning. I just happened to see you meeting her in the cafeteria after the terrorist attack.”
“Just happened?” Nathan squinted his eyes. If it was about the terrorist attack, they definitely went separate ways. Alisha wasn’t enough to connect him with Vivian. Was it really a coincidence?
Selena fell silent for a moment before looking away. “I was curious.”
Nathan chuckled. “Hahaha!”
“Why are you laughing?”
“Nothing. I’m just thinking that your face and your way of speaking are so different from each other to the point where it makes you cute.”
“…” Selena’s body twitched. Even though she didn’t blush, it was clear that she was embarrassed and was a bit angry at Nathan for teasing her. She said, “There is nothing cute about a girl who has lost her expression.”
“You don’t have to smile to show you are happy, you don’t need to cry to express your sorrow…Your words, actions, or just even your small habit can express everything. That’s what the ‘experts’ on Re-Edit said.”
“Re-Edit?” Selena tilted her head in confusion.
“It’s nothing. Just a community for us commoners. Don’t worry about it.”
Selena nodded.
“By the way, how much do you know about the next event? I heard you bet on it in the summoners war.”
“I don’t know much, but I have heard something like another trip. But this time, it’s a group survival or something. Then again, they are pretty much changing it every year, so no one can really guarantee that is true.”
“I see.” Nathan nodded in understanding. “Alright. I don’t know if we can get a mission or not since I have to wait for my teacher’s confirmation, but if we can’t, you’ll probably need to choose the mission.”
“Alright.”
“There is something I’m curious about. The crystal that I gave you…” Nathan paused, hesitant to ask it since it was private information.
“After doing some calculations, I should have had around 2,500 Ena in the beginning. I have a large amount of Ena to begin with, which causes the academy to scout me immediately.
“Currently, I have 1,300 Ena in my reserve and each proto-class core gives me 10 Ena. I don’t know if it’s high, but it shouldn’t be low.” Selena worded it in a way that she was aware of her talent, but not bragged too much about it.
However, Nathan couldn’t help but take a step back, looking at Selena as if she was a monster.
He was screaming, ‘What the heck? 10 Ena per core? I only get like 5 Ena every three cores. How is this fair?
‘Do you know how many cores I have swallowed? And what’s the heck with that monstrous absorption rate? I don’t know the scale for each quality, but with that talent, her quality should be at the perfect level and… it’s possible for it to be at a high tier. In other words, the highest quality the world knows. It’s insane.’
From Nathan’s reaction, she realized that people had their respective rate, and Nathan’s was much lower than her. It might even be lower than a half, not lower than a quarter.
She finally realized that despite having such a talent, Nathan was able to keep up just fine. He must have worked extremely hard and wasn’t too shy to ask for guidance.
It was because of this quality that Selena respected him much more than the rest of the class.
‘Well, I can probably reach that once I absorb more and more cores to level up. When I reached the Good Quality before summoning Anubis, I got 2 Ena per core, so it’s doable. I’ll just continue at my own pace and get the last laugh,’ thought Nathan.
Nathan crossed his arms and muttered, “If we are looking at the absorption rate, there is a high chance that in the future, there will be an additional test for the admission exam. They’ll be testing the student’s rate so that they don’t have to get more cores than they can expect from others with higher talents.”
Nathan simply said that people like him would be cut off in the future, yet he remained calm as if he could become a prime example that this talent, while it affected a person’s growth, was unnecessary to take into account.
Selena paused for a moment before asking, “Can I ask you something I’m troubled with?”
“Yes?”
“I’m thinking about learning from all four departments right now. Am I being too greedy? The Combat Department will be good to hone my fighting skill, the Magic Department can give me some ideas what I’m supposed to do, the Command Department will allow me to gain a better field of vision while still fighting in the front, and lastly the Research Department can help me understand my familiars.”
“Aren’t you being too greedy?”
“The Magic Department and Combat Department are basically the same for my fighting style, so it’s not like I waste my time. The Command Department is probably taking too much of my time, but I have been in the Research Department this whole time.”
Nathan thought for a moment. “Why don’t you just join the Magic Department together with me? I think it should be possible for us to spar? I also need some experience in close quarter combat. Fenrir and Anubis will probably be enough to teach us.”
“Oh!” Selena nodded in agreement. If Nathan was willing to ask them, she had no reason to reject. “I’ll still help you with the exploding Ena. If you want to learn anything else, you can ask me. I’ll teach you if it’s something I can do.”
“Thank you. In that case, let’s meet again tomorrow and prepare for the next event. It should be one and a half months after the battle royale, right?”
“Yes. We have plenty of time to get missions.”
Nathan nodded and waved his hand while walking away. In his heart, his fire was blazing at full force. He truly had to work even harder from this point on or Selena would completely surpass him.