Free Web NovelChapter 6: The First Conflict Emerged
After sitting quietly alone in the classroom for a few minutes, Alden finally snapped out of his daze. He looked around and realized the massive room was completely empty. He glanced at the desk beside him; the silver-haired girl who had been sitting next to him was already gone.
Suddenly, his gaze landed on a neatly folded handkerchief left behind on the wooden desk. It undeniably belonged to Alicia, considering absolutely no one else had been sitting in that exact spot except for her.
"What should I do with this?" he muttered to himself.
"The next class is for the Combat Division, so it will probably take place down in the training grounds... Should I just take it and give it back to her whenever I see her again?"
He shook his head and leaned back in his chair, staring blankly at the front blackboard.
"Well... forget it. It is not my business if she forgot her personal stuff. That is her problem."
He stood up from his chair.
"Let’s just go to the cafeteria... I feel incredibly hungry."
He started to walk away from his desk. But after taking only two steps, he stopped, sighed heavily, and turned back around. He picked up the soft handkerchief and shoved it deep into his pants pocket.
"Let’s just take it for now... Seriously, how kind-hearted am I? I can’t even ignore helping someone I don’t even personally know."
He scoffed at his own joke.
"Well... whatever. I will just demand that she properly thanks me before I give it back to her. I definitely don’t do anything for free."
Muttering to himself, Alden made his way out of the empty classroom. The moment he stepped out the door, the loud sounds of energetic chattering from the long corridor greeted him.
As Alden walked through the crowded hallways, he saw various guys and girls eagerly trying to get to know each other. Some of the overly confident boys were openly flirting with the girls, foolishly thinking that their flowery, arrogant words would actually make the girls fall for them instantly.
The academy didn’t restrict dating at all. Every single student admitted into the academy was at least eighteen years old. It was the minimum age where a student was legally considered a mature adult capable of finding their own path in life. Plus, there were already several students who were officially engaged to each other. Most of these engaged students were high-ranking nobles. Noble families loved to bind their official heirs to suitable partners early on, usually choosing someone they considered politically appropriate and highly beneficial for their family’s future.
’Sigh... What an absolute pain... I really don’t like massive crowds and loud voices.’
Alden kept walking briskly through the corridor, completely ignoring the annoying background noise. Soon enough, the massive double doors of the main cafeteria appeared right in front of him. He pushed the doors open and stepped inside. The room was massive, filled with various students sitting comfortably at separate tables with their new friends or their personal familiars.
The moment Alden stepped inside, several freshmen from Class A immediately spotted him and started openly staring at him. Alden swallowed his awkwardness and kept a completely blank face. He focused entirely on walking straight toward the serving counters to get his food first, after ignoring the piercing gazes surrounding him.
’Well... this is exactly what I expected. Honestly, I would have felt much worse if they hadn’t noticed me or just ignored me. That would have made me feel like a complete fool who forcefully attempted to stand out in the classroom for absolutely no reason.’
Alden walked up to the counter and ordered whatever meal seemed the most appropriate. He picked something that wasn’t overwhelmingly heavy but still packed with nutrients. His frail body was already severely malnourished, so he definitely needed to eat healthy, high-calorie food. However, he couldn’t eat so much that he would feel sluggish, especially since he still had to train his body later today.
A young cafeteria worker brought his steaming food over, and Alden carefully took the heavy tray from her hands.
"Thanks..." he muttered politely.
"Oh, it’s fine..." she replied with a small, polite nod.
Alden turned around, holding his tray firmly, and started searching for an empty seat. The cafeteria was incredibly spacious; it was large enough to be considered a small indoor training ground. The only difference was that this room was highly polished and heavily decorated with luxurious architecture. There were several dozens of large tables and comfortable chairs neatly arranged throughout the massive dining hall.
Alden walked continuously, weaving his way past swarms of bickering, loud students. Some of the people he passed looked at him with genuine curiosity, while others openly glared at him with mocking, arrogant gazes.
As he kept walking deeper into the room, he suddenly felt a very intense, burning gaze stabbing directly into his back. He deliberately didn’t turn around to look. He absolutely did not want to engage with any unnecessary problems right now, and with his garbage stats, he definitely wasn’t ready to get into a fight.
After walking for a bit longer, Alden finally spotted a completely empty seat tucked far away in the back corner of the cafeteria. It was isolated from the rest of the noisy tables. He quickly walked forward and sat down in the chair, letting out a sigh of relief.
But suddenly, his gaze caught movement directly across from him. Sitting quietly at the opposite end of his exact same table was a familiar silver-haired girl. Her striking lavender eyes were focused solely on the expensive food neatly arranged on her tray. She ate her meal in total silence, chewing slowly with the perfect etiquette of a high-ranking noble.
Alden stared at her blankly for a few seconds before forcefully looking down and focusing entirely on the food on his own tray.
’Damn... she really looks exactly like a living porcelain doll. I am definitely not getting used to seeing her face up close. Well, whatever. It shouldn’t concern me at all.’
Then, he remembered the item in his pocket.
’Wait, I completely forgot. I have to return her handkerchief right now.’
He hesitated, his social anxiety creeping in.
’But how exactly should I call out to her? I have literally never actively approached or called out to a girl in my entire past life. It’s not that I hate girls or anything, it’s just that I really, really don’t like getting any sort of attention...’
As Alden sat there silently eating his food and avoiding eye contact, he suddenly heard the sound of several footsteps approaching from behind. A dark, imposing shadow suddenly loomed directly over his back, blocking out the cafeteria lights.
Alden deliberately didn’t look back to see who it was. He just silently continued to eat his food, completely minding his own business and blatantly ignoring whoever had just walked up to his table.
[Ding!]
[New Quest Appeared!]
[MISSION: Confront your Haters]
[REWARD: +5 Stat Points increased for all basic attributes]
[WARNING! Failure to successfully complete this quest will instantly result in a permanent -10 Stat decrease across all attributes.]
As the system notification rang directly inside his brain, Alden stared deadpan at the new quest window floating directly over his food.
’Damn it all... my basic stats are already way lower than the academy average! Does this stupid system actually want me to die of sheer frailness?!’
He gripped his fork tightly.
’What an pain in the a*s...’
