Meanwhile, Albedo, the focal point of all of this discussion, was sitting across from Elara, her hands cupped around the warm coffee he’d just bought her.

However, her expression was actually pretty worried, her lips pressed in a thin line as she stared at Albedo.

“Did she really say that? How is that not public information?” Elara asks.

“My guess is since it involves the Star and Holy Rank, they don’t want non-awakened to know it, but it’s seriously important. Techniques being marks on the soul, if you choose the wrong primary technique too early, it can kill any chance of ascending above Diamond rank.”

Elara anxiously bit her fingernails after she heard that, “I knew I was behind combat wise, but now I feel like I lost before I even got a chance.” she said, “My technique is quite basic even for a supportive fighter. And what happens…”

“Elara.” Albedo called out but she didn’t hear him.

“If the exams get too difficult for someone with my techniques, will I just…”

“Elara!!” Albedo put a bit more power into his voice as he called out to her, and reached out, grabbing her hand to snap her out of rambling.

“It’s fine,” He said confidently as he noticed the surprise on her face.

“You’re not bound to a primary technique until you truly engrave it onto your soul through continuous refinement. You’ve just started. You can still change. You have the luxury of exploring. Most people don’t even realize they’re walking the wrong path until it’s too late.”

“And what,” she asked hesitantly, “if I pick the wrong one again?”

“I’ll help you find the right one,” Albedo said simply.

That made her blush, “Y-you will?”

He didn’t tease her for it, just nodded, “You helped me get potions when I needed them. Let’s call it a favor repaid.”

Elara smiled and looked away quickly, “Thanks. I….I should go now. I have an elective selection meeting soon.”

“Alright.”

She stood, gathered her things, and paused for a heartbeat longer than necessary. “I’ll let you know what electives I pick later?”

“Sure.”

She offered him a small wave and walked off, leaving Albedo alone at the window table. He sipped the remainder of his coffee and was considering leaving only to hear a voice call out to him from behind.

“Hey, Albedo! Come join us!”

Albedo turned to see Miranda, waving from a nearby table, sitting alongside Lucian, Dorian, Veronica and Lira.

Albedo wasn’t surprised to see them already friendly with each-other. This was the main group Lucian spent his time with in the Novel, and were his strongest allies right until the end.

He thought for a moment and decided to approach them, since he didn’t really have a reason to refuse.

He had no reason to approach them. But neither did he have a reason to refuse.

Lucian Arclight, no matter what, was the protagonist of this world. That much he was sure of. Allying with him, as long as it didn’t cost Albedo his pride or independence, was always preferable to being on the wrong side of his story.

He approached and took the empty seat beside Lira, who gave him a quiet, unreadable glance.

Albedo approached calmly and took the empty seat beside Lira, who gave him a quiet, unreadable glance.

“Wasn’t expecting you to sit,” Miranda grinned, sipping her drink. “Not with how quiet you were this morning.”

“You called. It’d be rude not to,” Albedo replied coolly.

Lucian chuckled. “Fair enough.”

“Quick, what electives are you gonna choose? I heard the Hunting Elective has a mock battlefield with artificial gravity shifts,” Dorian said in between bites of pastry, “Do y’all think it’s true?”

“If it’s true, I’m picking it for sure.” Lucian said with a grin, “What about you, will you pick that too?” Lucian turned and asked Albedo.

“Maybe. Depends on the instructor.”

“That’s fair,” Lira murmured beside him. Her tone was quieter than the others, but still audible, “Some of them are… intense.”

Albedo nodded and after a short thought, he said, “I’ll probably go with Hunting and Beast Taming.”

That earned a few surprised looks from around the table, especially from Miranda who eagerly laid on the questions.

“Really?” Miranda tilted her head, “Beast Taming? I thought about picking that too, but it’s such a pain. Not to mention unnecessarily expensive and risky. We already have limited resources, and if it fails, it can really put you behind.”

“That’s true,” He admitted, “But if you know what you’re doing, the return can be worth it. Plus I’m confident I won’t fall behind

“Well, I’m not,” Miranda said flatly, then chuckled, “So that’s a hard pass for me. I’m leaning toward Runic Engineering, figuring out how to inscribe basic combat enchantments sounds a lot more useful. Still not sure what my second elective will be though.”

“Runes are handy,” Veronica agreed with a nod, brushing her white-gold hair behind her ear, “But I’m aiming for Battle Tactics and Strategic Formations. That’s always been my passion.”

“You definitely give off future general energy,” Dorian snickered, “What about you, Lira? Gonna join the beast wranglers with this guy?”

Lira gave a small smile, her fingers idly tapping the side of her mug, “Yes. My Mom is a Beast Tamer and I wanna follow in her footsteps.”

Albedo glanced her way as he heard her say that.

‘Who knew this girl would be known as the Queen Of Beasts due to her Beast Taming skills later in the Novel’

He thought. Everyone on the table here would become well known across the world for their skills, but Lira was undoubtedly the biggest surprise in the Novel, as she came out of no-where, her talents blooming later.

Meanwhile, Lucian took another bite of his pie, then leaned forward, “Aside from Hunting, I’m still deciding, honestly. There’s alot of other combat focused electives out there to choose from.”

Albedo wasn’t surprised Lucian was choosing 2 combat electives, since he knew from the novel this was his way of getting stronger.

Lucian’s Gift was ‘Transcendence’, which improves the speed of his training the more he engages in combat. The more he battles, the faster he ranks up.

It also negates all damage to his foundation that could come from ranking up too quickly, and has other benefits such as improving the combat power at every rank.

Even by the time the Novel finished, Lucian was still finding new bonuses to his gift, and this was over 1,000 chapters in, showing how OP it was.

“You’re such a battle addict.” Veronica said.

“I can’t help it, fighting is when I’m having the most fun.” Lucian replied.

“Then it’s a good thing you’re naturally gifted,” Veronica replied dryly.

“Gifted and handsome,” Dorian added with a wink, trying to be a wingman.

“Please stop talking.” Miranda deadpanned, making everyone laugh.

As the group’s energy mellowed into a quiet lull, Lucian leaned back and muttered, “Tomorrow’s gonna be interesting though.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Miranda snapped her fingers, “We have our first Combat Class tomorrow morning, don’t we?”

Albedo nodded, checking the schedule that was sent to his watch where it was clearly displayed, ‘Introductory Myth-Class Combat: Core Theory and Practice – Professor Kayle Belair.’

“Yeah,” Dorian added, “Think we’ll get to see her fight?”

“She’s a Star Rank, isn’t she?” Veronica asked, brow raised, “If she does fight, I doubt we’ll survive the aftershock.”

“I heard,” Dorian leaned in slightly, voice conspiratorial, “That while she was a student, she was already fighting on the Abyssal battlefield, taking on multiple Diamond level monsters by her self and a corrupted Star-Rank while being diamond. They say she wields light so precisely she can sever someone’s will before their mana even reacts.”

“She has an artifact too,” Miranda added. “The ‘Radiant Sigil’ one of the Twelve Imperial Relics. Don’t know what it does though.”

Albedo said nothing.

He remembered what in the Novel, Kayle was eventually nicknamed the Sun Goddess due to how skilled she was at manipulating light. Even the Pope of the Church had invited her to join on multiple occasions, though she declined.

“I’d love to see her fight,” Lucian said softly, “Not just for spectacle. But to understand what someone truly mastered looks like.”

Veronica nodded. “And to see the gap between us and the heights of power.”

The table fell quiet for a moment, each of them picturing tomorrow’s class and awaiting it eagerly.

***

LATER THAT DAY!

Albedo was sitting in on of the SkyRail’s chambers, his eyes closed as he leaned back, enjoying the ride as the train glided smoothly through the elevated crystal rail lines stretching between the Academy and Pantheon.

~DING!~

He suddenly got a notification on his phone, and checking it, he saw a message from Elara.

“I’m gonna be doing Alchemy and Support Combat as my Electives. Wish me luck.” Elara said, and Albedo quickly responded, wishing her luck.

Once that was done, he returned to his previous position, wanting to relax as he was going to train later that day, and wanted to be as rested as possible.

However, just as he leaned back and closed his eyes, he suddenly felt the air in the chamber shift, like an alien presence was there.

It was faint, almost imperceptible, but to someone like Albedo, with extremely enhanced senses due to his physique, it was very clear.

Then, he felt the mana in the chamber twisting, and his eyes snapped open as he realized something was wrong.

The windows no longer showed the Academy in the background as they traveled further away from it.

Instead, a hazy, mysterious fog pressed against the windows, and there was an eerie stillness all around him. As for sound, that was also eerily silent.

Then, one by one, the other passengers in the chamber stood up, but their movements were anything but natural.

Their eyes glowed faintly red beneath their hoods and hats. Each of them, around eight in total, turned to face him in perfect unison.

They had creepy smiles on their faces and blood slowly seeping out of their eyes while their bodies released malevolent aura that Albedo could recognize anywhere.

It was the same aura the attackers had the night his parents were killed.

“…Tch, Abyssal Worshippers.” He muttered and stood up slowly, summoning Havoc and Ruin.

Finally, after a short wait, one of them stepped forward, a woman in a grey cloak with silver runes embroidered across her sleeves.

Her voice came out reverent, yet distorted, as though layered atop another whisper that didn’t belong in this world, making Albedo wonder if she was possessed by a higher being.

“Albedo Neverwinter. The Eye sees you.”

He didn’t blink, “Who?”

“The Abyss welcomes your strength. Your pain, your hate, offer them to the Dark.”

They began to move, spreading out slowly around him, encircling like wolves around a cornered beast.

“You were not marked randomly,” the woman continued, “The touch of the Abyss has always been near you. We know your past. We’ve merely… opened the way.”

Albedo exhaled slowly, the breath steaming slightly as the ambient temperature began to drop unnaturally, his eyes growing cold as he heard them speak.

‘So they’ve already begun targeting me…’

He wasn’t surprised. Not really. In the Novel, this also happened to Lucian. The Abyss couldn’t hide their hunger seeing someone with incredible potential without great backing.

However, different from the Novel, they sent more people this time.

Eight cultists? Ambush magic? They were taking no chances.

“You people really have no idea what you’ve just walked into.” Albedo said as he tightened his grip on Havoc and Ruin.

The cultists didn’t respond, but their hands began to glow with Abyssal runes, and the air thickened with killing intent.

Albedo spun both guns and grinned slightly. While this wasn’t revenge on the exact people who killed his parents, it was good enough.

“Come at me, fuckers.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep