Chapter 554: Chapter 553- Helpful system

Ariana was restless.

After hearing about what had happened the previous night, about Annabelle raising her voice at Adrian, she knew the girl must be devastated. Adrian’s hesitation could only have wounded her more deeply.

The thought had kept Ariana awake for most of the night.

Yet the cruelty of her position allowed no room for such worries. Despite the sleepless night and the anxiety gnawing at her mind, she still had to attend the students’ physical assessments.

Today was the final day.

After that, there would be a month left before the long holiday.

Ah… she could hardly wait.

In this line of work, what was more exhausting than battling Acolytes?

The discipline.

Waking early every single day. Dressing properly. Remaining fully attentive at all times. Never allowing herself even a moment of slackness, because the moment she did, it would set a poor example for everyone watching her.

Being a headmistress had its merits.

But as the head of the academy, she had been unable to accomplish many of the things she once dreamed of.

Runebound Academy was still ranked last among all academies.

Their standing had improved significantly during the recent contest, but the ambush near the end had ruined everything. With the results dissolved, Runebound had once again fallen back to the bottom.

’I can almost feel you glaring at me from up there,’ Ariana muttered under her breath.

She thought of her old teacher, the stern man who had entrusted this position to her, believing she could raise Runebound to greater heights.

Though, in truth, he had never said those exact words.

The man himself had never been a particularly good headmaster. Most of the time he served as a Warden, guarding the eastern frontier of the nation.

He was a warrior first.

A teacher or administrator second.

Perhaps that was why he chose Ariana as his successor.

Because he saw a reflection of himself in her.

’But in doing so… Runebound ended up with two consecutive failures as its head,’ she sighed.

The thought alone made her feel more exhausted than the sleepless night.

Just then, the space before her shimmered faintly with mana. A moment later, two familiar figures appeared.

One was blushing.

The other was smiling.

Ariana’s lips curved upward when she saw Annabelle standing beside Adrian. But the moment her gaze lingered on the raven-haired woman, she noticed the subtle change in her posture, the warmth in her expression, and the deep cherry-red blush spreading across her face.

Ariana was far from naïve.

The signs were unmistakable.

A grin slowly stretched across her lips as she rose from the bed and approached them.

With her arms clasped behind her back, she tilted her head slightly. “The last time I saw you, Bella was just a sweet little girl fighting me over puddings. But the person standing here now…” her eyes gleamed with amusement, “…looks like a grown woman with quite a story to tell.”

Annabelle’s blush deepened until even her neck turned red.

She quickly hid behind Adrian and muttered shyly, “Darling… she’s teasing me.”

Adrian chuckled and raised his hands in surrender. “Sorry. I can’t help you here.”

Ariana narrowed her eyes playfully before reaching out and pulling Annabelle from behind him.

“Ah—!” Annabelle let out a small yelp as she was dragged toward the bed.

Ariana made her sit and then crossed her arms over her chest.

“Look at you, hiding from me when it’s finally time to share good news,” she huffed. “I’ve listened to countless complaints about how your Darling treated you like a child.”

She leaned closer with a mischievous smile.

“So what about now, hmm?”

Annabelle fidgeted where she sat, her body trembling with embarrassment.

Adrian stepped closer and wrapped an arm around Ariana’s waist, pulling her gently toward him. “Don’t tease her too much. She was already struggling to meet Ruby’s gaze this morning.”

Ariana let out a haughty laugh. “Absolutely not. She spent ages digging for secrets about how things work between us, making me tell her all about your preferences and habits. Now it’s finally her turn to share.”

Annabelle finally protested, flustered. “That was only for research purposes, okay! A-and… I wasn’t even in my senses to remember much about last night.”

Ariana sighed and shook her head. If she pushed her any further, Annabelle might genuinely faint from embarrassment.

Adrian gently caressed Ariana’s toned stomach and asked, “Heading to work?”

Ariana nodded. “Yes. Today’s the last day of assessments. What about you?”

“I’m leaving with Elana,” Adrian replied. “We’re heading to her parents’ place.”

Ariana nodded in understanding. She remembered him mentioning it earlier.

Elana’s parents still did not know that she could wield independent magic.

If the truth ever surfaced, Elana would need their support to bear the weight of it.

She believed they would understand her. Yet even with that belief, she had hesitated until now. That was why she asked Adrian to accompany her, to help explain everything and soften the shock.

“When will you return?” Ariana asked. “You’ve been moving around constantly these days. Are you sure you don’t need a break?”

Adrian nodded reassuringly. “I’ll use the Time Chamber. I still have artifacts to finish for Raven, but she told me to take it easy. So today I’ll mostly rest while I’m inside.”

Ariana nodded approvingly. “Good. And make sure you take a shower before leaving. You reek.”

Adrian chuckled. “I didn’t see you pushing me away earlier.”

Ariana grinned. “I could kiss you even if you were covered in dirt and guts. This is nothing.”

Adrian’s ears warmed slightly.

Her shameless flirting always left him momentarily speechless.

Meanwhile, Annabelle pouted from the side. “Darling… this is unfair. I was expecting a little more attention, you know.”

Ariana and Adrian exchanged a glance.

Then they both burst into laughter at the same time.

….

Adrian had begun to notice that he did not need much sleep anymore.

Unless he spent hours buried in books, pushing his mind through long reading sessions, exhaustion rarely touched him. Only then did he feel the faint need to rest.

His body, however, felt entirely different.

It carried a strange resilience now, as if it could continue for a week, perhaps even ten days, without proper sleep.

He had become aware of this change recently, after realizing he had gone through an entire week with barely three hours of sleep in total.

And yet he felt perfectly fine.

Was it connected to his mysterious origin?

Adrian stretched his arms slightly and asked within his mind,

’Tell me, system. Am I immortal now?’

[Most likely, host. Host’s life expectancy is now on a completely different level ever since the host awakened his core.]

’You mean my death?’ Adrian asked calmly as he stepped into the bathing pool.

The warm water embraced his body as he lowered himself in.

[Indeed, host.]

A soft sigh escaped his lips as the heat eased the tension from his muscles.

For a moment he simply rested there before asking another question.

’What if I had never died? Would I have never awakened my origin?’

The system answered without delay.

[If not for a battle, old age or illness would have eventually threatened the wall that keeps you with the ordinary mortals. So, it was inevitable.]

Adrian hummed softly in understanding.

So it really had been unavoidable.

No matter the path he had taken, the result would have arrived eventually.

He had been destined to awaken.

Destined to become a powerful bridge between Darkness and humanity.

Adrian let the thought linger as he sank slightly deeper into the warm water.

Who could have imagined it?

The same man who was supposed to run away in humiliation, branded a failure by those around him, now carried a role far greater than anyone had ever expected.

Adrian shook his head lightly before muttering, “At this point, my stats no longer matter. But can you modify it in a way that lets me know how strong I am compared to the version of Nytharos I fought?”

[In comparison to the Fallen God’s fragment the host fought… analyzing…]

The system paused briefly.

[In terms of mana capacity, the host has already surpassed the Fallen One.]

Adrian’s brows lifted slightly at that.

[However, in terms of raw speed, the host still lags behind. Aside from that, the host has yet to unlock several spells that would significantly increase the host’s versatility in combat. At present, the host relies heavily on teleportation to escape unfavorable situations.]

Adrian listened quietly as the system continued.

[Do you wish the system to prepare a list of offensive, defensive, and strategic spells, along with their detailed incantations and methods of mastery?]

Adrian blinked in surprise.

“You can do that? Really?”

[Indeed, host. The system has simply refrained from providing such resources due to the host’s lack of available time.]

Adrian chuckled softly at that response.

“Well, I appreciate the thought,” he said, leaning back in the warm pool. “But you’re right. I still have quite a few responsibilities to take care of.”

His thoughts drifted naturally to one person in particular.

Elana, for example.

He was going to take her to her home today and promised to stay with her for one night.

He still hadn’t thought how he would approach her parents about this topic but he knew for the love of their child they wouldn’t show any extreme reaction.

Well, yes, Elana did mention that her mother was a little religious and her father has served the church back in the day, but again, Elana didn’t have a choice in this. And of course, between their daughter and their beliefs, they would choose Elana.

’Haah…I hope everything goes fine.’

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A/N:- Thanks for reading.

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