Free Web NovelChapter 198: Vanessa Eldrienne (2)
[Ruvian’s POV]
’Looks like I’m worried for nothing.’
From what the nurse said, Vanessa would likely recover and be fit enough to take the Vazrun Island Test.
Ruvian inhaled deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose as he leaned against the smooth wall, near Vanessa’s curtain.
The nurse had reassured him that nothing fatal had happened. Yet seeing Vanessa’s expression still made him feel a little sympathy. The skin under her eyes was pale and swollen from crying too much.
Ruvian understood the reason for that.
Her nightmare.
At that time, Vanessa was still too young to be executed together with the rest of her family. Because of that, the royal family decided to spare her life and send her to an orphanage instead.
But that was only on the surface.
Not long after that, the orphanage suddenly caught on fire in the middle of the night. The flames spread too fast, almost as if someone had planned everything beforehand. It was obvious that the real purpose was not to burn the orphanage itself.
They wanted Vanessa dead.
Many people died that night, and Vanessa would have also become one of them if not for a certain someone.
She was one of her father’s most loyal servants.
Before the execution happened, Vanessa’s father had secretly ordered his servant to protect Vanessa no matter what happened in the future.
And because of that order, the woman rushed into the burning orphanage. She carried Vanessa out from the flames and escaped together with her that night.
Ruvian glanced through the moving curtain, just enough to glimpse her face turned toward the wall, her features schooled into the soft neutrality of sleep, her nose was red.
’Every time she is hurt, her nightmares return....’
That was one of her hidden traits, embedded in the structure of her character; a symptom of an unresolved trauma that was never allowed to heal.
Even now, she hasn’t overcome that yet. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Ruvian stared at her face for a moment.
Then, he activated [Character Sheet].
===============
{}---『RUNEHEART』---{}
◇ Name: Vanessa Eldrienne
◇ Age: 17
◇ Spellcore: Tier 3
◇ Rank: Second-Class Magus
◇ Magic Affinity: [Psionic]
[Mana Resonance: (340/1,000)]
==[General Attributes]==
Strength: D+
Agility: D+
Endurance: D+
Vitality: D+
Perception: B-
==[Mage Attributes]==
Mana Control: C+
Casting Speed: C+
Magic Power: C+
Mental Strength: D
Mana Sensitivity: C
Mana Essence: [3,200/3,200]
==[Innate Blessings]==
- [Blessing of Thousands Scent]
==[Affinity Mastery]==
- [Pure Mana, Psionic (Intermediate)]
===============
The novel never explained much about Vanessa’s actual fighting ability. Still, from everything Ruvian had seen from her [Character Sheet] so far, it was clear that she was at least as strong as Silvena, or maybe even stronger.
With those kinds of stats, entering Class B or even Class C should not have been difficult for her at all. Yet somehow, she still ended up in Class E.
That alone already explained many things.
’Her original plan was probably to stay low.’
Ruvian could more or less understand the reason behind it.
Someone like Vanessa would naturally avoid standing out too much. The more attention she attracted, the more dangerous things would become for her.
Especially with her background.
But what Ruvian could not understand was why she suddenly ruined that plan herself.
Instead of quietly staying in the shadows, Vanessa kept confronting Julian again and again. Every single time, she only made herself stand out even more in front of the academy.
It was almost the complete opposite of someone trying to lay low.
Ruvian quietly sighed.
At this point, even he could no longer tell what exactly Vanessa was thinking anymore.
Then, he inspected her blessing. To be honest, Ruvian was slightly surprised to find out that Vanessa also possessed a blessing.
’I never thought that she was also a character with one.’
[Blessing of Thousands Scent]
[Description]: Grants extraordinary olfactory perception. The bearer can remember and tell apart thousands of different scents with good accuracy. Even weak, hidden or unknown scent can be noticed easily. The blessing also protects the bearer from bad, rotten, poisonous, or corrupted smells, so their strong nose will not be disturbed or harmed by such odors.
’Hmm... so that’s her blessing.’
Ruvian stared at the translucent blue page.
A faint look of curiosity slowly appeared in his eyes.
What exactly counted as a "scent" to this blessing? Was it only normal smells? Or could it detect something deeper than that?
The scent of mana? Emotions? Bloodlust? Intent?
Could she recognize people just from their scent alone? Track someone from miles away? Or perhaps even notice lies and emotional changes through subtle differences in smell?
And more importantly...
What were its limitations? Surely such an ability couldn’t be completely flawless. There had to be a boundary somewhere.
As Ruvian continued staring at the translucent blue page, countless thoughts quietly passed through his mind one after another.
But suddenly, from the corner of his vision, he noticed that the girl in front of him, who had been "sleeping" this entire time, had her eyes twitch slightly.
’...’
Ruvian slowly shifted his gaze toward Vanessa.
Then, almost as if sensing his gaze, Vanessa immediately adjusted her sleeping posture again and let out an exaggerated sleepy murmur.
"Mnn..."
The movement was so forced that it made Ruvian frown slightly.
’She... she wasn’t sleeping all this time.’
Ruvian inwardly sighed.
"Hey."
Hearing Ruvian calling her out in a heavy tone, her eyes twitched again.
Ruvian stared at the girl lying motionlessly on the bed for a few seconds before letting out a quiet sigh.
"...If you’re going to pretend to sleep, at least do better." (+100PP)
The moment those words came out from Ruvian’s mouth, the room immediately fell into an even deeper silence.
"...."
Then, Ruvian let out another quiet sigh before speaking again.
"Haa... and also, for your information, someone who was asleep usually doesn’t hold their breath when they get caught either." (+100PP)
Vanessa’s body became stiff like a statue.
Even though her eyes were still tightly closed, a tiny bead of sweat slowly formed near her temple.
’H-how did he notice?!’ (+50PP)
Her cheeks gradually turned slightly red from embarrassment as she was internally panicking.
*****
"What do you want from me?"
Vanessa finally gave up pretending to sleep before slowly sitting up on the bed.
Her dark purplish hair was completely messy from tossing around too much earlier, strands sticking out everywhere like she just lost a fight against her pillow.
Combined with her slightly flushed face and sleepy eyes, she looked way less calm than usual.
Ruvian only glanced at her for a short moment before shrugging lightly.
"I just came to visit a fellow classmate who got beaten into pulp during combat elective. Why? Is that illegal now?"
Vanessa immediately frowned a little after hearing that.
’What...? Is this guy actually insane?’
’I mean... he was already kinda crazy before — from those rumours, but still....’
’Why would he suddenly care about me?’
It wasn’t like they were even that close to begin with.
Vanessa narrowed her eyes slightly while silently glaring at him. But then, her expression paused for a moment. Only now did she realize something felt different from him.
Earlier, she had been too busy dying from embarrassment after getting caught fake sleeping to notice it.
But now that she calmed down a little...
’...His smell?’
Vanessa’s brows faintly narrowed.
Ruvian smelled slightly different today.
There was still his usual scent, but mixed together with another faint smell she recognized very clearly.
It almost smelled similar to Julian from the other day.
’But why does he smell like that guy?’ (+100PP)
Then, Vanessa unconsciously leaned slightly forward before quietly sniffing the air again.
Seeing that, Ruvian faintly lifted one eyebrow. Still, he already had a rough idea why she suddenly acted like that.
’Could it possibly be...’
"Hey."
Ruvian suddenly called out to her again.
Vanessa immediately lifted her gaze toward him.
"Did I... smell that bad?"
The moment those words came out, Vanessa’s eyes instantly widened.
’Ah, you dummy! Can’t you hold back your curiosity for one second?!’
"N-No! Actually — yes! I mean — not like that! Wait, just listen first!"
Vanessa hurriedly waved both of her hands around in panic, almost looking like she was trying to stop him from misunderstanding.
"You have a weird scent on you! But it’s not a bad odor or anything! You actually smell really nice, in fact! W-Wait — no! That’s also not what I mean!"
Her face became even redder as she kept scrambling to explain herself. Vanessa almost wanted to slam her own face into the wall at this point.
’Ugh. What’s wrong with me! How do I explain this to him without making myself sound like a complete weirdo...’
Ruvian quietly stared at her.
"Hey, just say your point."
Her brows faintly knitted together.
Even though Ruvian had told her that, it was still very difficult for her to describe it properly.
The scent felt cold... but heavy at the same time. Like wet iron left inside dark rainwater. Or something rotten hidden underneath expensive perfume.
"Haa... alright, the point is, there’s another scent mixed on you. Something like corruption. And it smells very similar to Julian."
The moment Vanessa brought that up, Ruvian’s expression instantly froze.
His eyes visibly shook.
"...What did you just say?"
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[Chapter 198: Vanessa Eldrienne (2)]
Plot Points= 32,930
