Chapter 96: Normal Guy

I felt left out.

Though it was my choice not to participate in the battles, my teammates seemed to have become flexible with each other.

Their moves weren’t coordinated, as that would take days if not months of effort.

But their attacking styles had clearly adapted to each other. I didn’t really feel a need to intervene.

Still, I had to take care of my own personal rankings.

Glancing at the scoreboard, I could see Noah at the top along with his group.

“They are quite fast.”

Diana, who now stood near me, said while looking into her own bracelet.

“Well not them… Just him.”

Tilting her head, Diana looked up at me.

“Are you talking about Noah?”

I stared at her grey eyes, which seemed to reflect a world within.

Royalty really had it different.

“Yes, that friend of yours.”

I answered while looking at Extro, who was trying to climb Big Guy’s back.

What was he trying to achieve?

“He isn’t my friend.”

Diana said after a short pause, her voice barely audible.

Like it was something meant for me to hear.

“Is that so?”

I began to move towards the dead bodies of the centipedes lying around us.

Diana didn’t reply, but I could sense her discomfort.

In the game, Diana hadn’t met Kael till the final arc. That had led to her becoming closer to Noah due to their shared interests.

And one thing led to another, with both of them getting engaged for political reasons.

After all, a few years from now, Noah had become quite the big shot in the world.

But when it was time for their fight against Kael, Diana hadn’t hesitated to help Noah in the battle.

Well, that was what the gaming community discussed online. I had never reached that part of the game, so I didn’t know the exact details of all the things that had happened during and after Kael’s death.

The only confirmation that I had was that the current Diana didn’t seem to have much hate towards me… Or more specifically, towards the original Kael.

I still had a decent chance to get closer to her.

I crouched down to inspect the body of the centipede.

I had an urge to absorb the mana essence from all these monsters, but I had restrained my desires.

Leaving aside the fact that I had to kill the monsters with my own hands, I didn’t think it was strategic to rank up at the moment.

I was still the strongest in the academy, and it would take Noah some time before reaching my level.

If I made full use of my abilities, I would be able to easily evolve my core into the Gold rank, but I simply couldn’t.

Ranking up this fast would raise suspicions among the instructors.

Even though the headmaster knew about my high mana control, there was no reason to let him learn more of my secrets.

I had tasked Alfred with finding some solution to this problem.

I wanted something that could hide my original rank from the eyes of other people. That way I could easily rank up while gradually showing an increase in my public rank.

And that would help me better in differentiating my two identities as the student Kael and the head of D.X.

If my rank was the same as that of X, then it could lead to people connecting the dots between the two of us.

Though there was only a slim chance for people to suspect me, I didn’t want to leave any loose ends.

So till the time Alfred designed some solution for my current predicament, I had to remain at the same rank.

Maybe after some time I could become a Gold core… I know it would still sound unbelievable, but if I rank up after a month or two, people would at least attribute it to my monstrous talent and not some other hidden ability.

“Why did you keep giving me advice during the fight?”

Diana had again appeared beside me.

As my other teammates were currently resting after being worn out from their continuous battles, we had some time to spare.

“Hmm… Isn’t it normal to correct something that’s… incorrect?”

I continued to stare at the corpse below me without raising my head.

“Hm.”

Diana just nodded at my words.

For some reason, her voice felt upset. Did she want me to justify my behaviour or try to do something childish like the normal teenagers in love do?

Well… I had no reason to.

Though I considered myself a normal guy, I was in no way going to make her feel special right after my return in three whole years.

People tend to lose interest in things that have already satisfied their curiosity. So I had to keep a part of her actively thinking about me.

At least that was what those books on romance say.

You daydream about the person you like.

Honestly speaking, I had no reason to believe any of it, nor did I think all those love advices that I had read were any useful.

But I had to start from something.

Anything was always better than nothing.

But somewhere, the logical part of my mind was telling me to shift my tactics. Even I didn’t believe such dry conversations would lead to any fruitful outcome.

Damn that Alfred! I had to do all these things only because of his foolish condition.

Couldn’t he be a bit more open about the terms of his request?

But no!

Only a Veltran Royal could help me in fulfilling my part of the deal with the madman.

“And it was Alicia’s wish to get to know Noah better.”

Diana’s soft voice reached me.

Looking at her, I could see her eyes downcast while she was using her foot to play with the sand below, her hands behind her back…

I take my words back!

Though I had a low opinion about the instructions given in those books, I was sure that the way things were proceeding… I was doing it right.

“You rely on mana more than your own body.”

I kept my cool, as I had to now direct the conversation towards the meaningful part.

Towards what I needed out of the girl before me.

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