Chapter 4: Human Instincts

Arthur finally made it to the dormitory building after following the professor's directions.

He was still bummed out by what was on his status card…he was still weak despite being in a body that responded perfectly with the mana this time. If only by sheer luck he had his demon strength from before. But after trying to lift some weighty things back in the infirmary, he noticed the struggle in carrying them. And that confirmed that he was indeed a human and he had regained nothing from his previous life apart from the similarities in looks.

'I'm doomed.'

He stopped at the first building which also happened to have a list showing each student's name and the room they were in. It was tall, but compared to the four other buildings that followed, it was the shortest and oldest with small cracks that were being camouflaged by the red paint. A color that he hated.

From where he was standing, he was able to finally catch a glimpse of the rest of the students as they marched into their respective dormitories after classes. No one seemed to mind his presence, and he hoped to keep it that way.

The academy uniforms were mainly comprised of blue buttoned coats with a collared shirt inside and a pair of black gentleman trousers for the boys while the girls were in short blue skirts that matched the buttoned coats. But as he continued to observe he started to notice a few things: the blue had different shades…some were in azure-colored coats while others were in dark blue like the students who had picked up Bairon earlier. Were they upperclassmen?

Another thing he noticed was that some had swords while others had no weapons on them. 'What kind of magic school is this?' he pondered

"Can't find your name?" A female student happened to notice him. He hadn't sensed her, but she was already standing on his left, staring at the same list as he was. It was like she had appeared from thin air.

Arthur suddenly felt his entire body take a step away from her almost as if it was a reflex reaction to her presence.

'What has just happened?' he flustered, wondering why he had just moved right now against his will.

The girl didn't mind his sudden movement, but she instead faced him with a radiant welcoming smile on her face.

"You're that kid everyone has been talking about. The one who almost killed a professor, right? I almost thought you were expelled, but I guess you are worth something," she said, scanning him with her round bright blue eyes. She was dashingly gorgeous, with dark eyebrows, long straight eyelashes, and a not-so-white face that could surely make men drool from how eye-catching it was. She also had beautiful blond hair that crossed her shoulder blades and reached midway through her back.

"It was an accident," he muttered nervously. It was what Professor Obsidian had told him to say to any student that approached him about what happened on that day. He had gained unwanted popularity from being a commoner in a prestigious school like Ace Academy, and as the unhinged kid who almost killed a professor on the first day. Though he remembers the professor blocking all the rapid fireballs he had launched in his panic with ease.

She narrowed her eyes in doubt. "Fine, then show me your status card," she demanded.

"Why should I?"

"Because I command you, lowblood!!" she answered with bitterness.

The term lowblood already sounded irritating in his ears, meaning that he had heard it enough times before he even reincarnated into this body. It made him uncomfortable. Who the hell did she think she was to call him that?

And just when she was about to speak, he found his name on the list indicating that he was in the Daleon dormitory, which was the very same building they were standing next to.

"I have to leave now, bye!" he waved then rushed off to the building's entrance without letting her say anything else, leaving her perplexed by his behavior.

"What?!" she roared, "You just leave like that…what is your problem? Don't you know who I am…?"

She was so loud to the point that she was starting to catch the attention of a few students that were around. But Arthur couldn't care less about who she was, he wanted some rest after the bad day; the girl's drama would make it worse. Showing his status card to someone that good-looking would only be embarrassing for him, she would probably laugh at his statistics and inform everyone else in the academy of how weak he was.

'I can't afford that.' he thought.

He was Just about to climb up the stairs leading to the first floor where his room was when the same girl appeared behind him and called him out at the top of her voice. "Stop right there, Arthur Bellrock!"

His name sounded different coming from her mouth. And in response to being called, his body froze instantly like he had been glued to the ground or worse. It was like she had put a spell on him without actually casting one.

'What the hell is happening to me?' he panicked, trying to command his body to move. But it was not responding to his mind. This situation forced him to recall the moment before his death when the silver-haired mage froze everyone else in the village apart from him. He shuddered at first, but quickly caught his breath and tried to cool down the terrors that were now flashing within his mind…this is a second chance and he was safe as a human.

"Arthur Bellrock, turn around…!" the girl commanded.

And after hearing his name and the command following it, he slowly turned and faced her without any resistance against her power.

"What is this?" he asked in a trembling voice.

"It's my control skill, Siren's voice. It's an S-class skill that can let me do whatever I want to you and then make you forget everything if I want to," she replied with a smug look on her face. "But don't worry, there's more to the skill that I can't expose for obvious reasons."

'All this for a status card…! Is she crazy?' He thought as he glared directly at her. He could now sense her presence, and he could tell from the monstrous energy coming from her that she was not someone he should ever mess with.

"Arthur Bellrock, show me your status card," she ordered.

Without control over his own body, he made his status card appear in the girl's hand, and she quickly looked through it before returning it without saying a word.

"Freed." She spoke and a sensation was released throughout his body once her skill's effects were canceled.

'Thank goodness.' He sighed, feeling glad to have his body back in his control.

"My name is Elizabeth Vermilion, the youngest daughter of the Vermilion family," she introduced herself to him, now speaking to him like a normal person.

'Why is her accent so different? It sounds like it's southern, but a combination of two different accents…' he noticed.

"We're in the same year, and Master Obsidian is our mentor. He asked me to show you around and not ask for your status card, but I was curious," she smirked.

"Arthur!"

"Huh?" he had dazed out of the conversation.

"Are you even listening?"

"I'm sorry. I guess I'm just tired from what you've just done to me." He snarled, referring to the control skill she had used moments ago to get his card. So that is what Professor Obsidian meant when he said skills boost a magic user, giving them an upper hand.

"Okay," she sounded less hostile towards him, though he could still feel the authority in her tone. "I also stay on this floor too, so I can help you find your room. Take it as an apology for being hostile towards you and calling you a lowblood."

Arthur nodded, seeing that she was now less annoying and more reasonable. They had just met, but he was already having the same feeling of attachment to her as he did with Bairon. Were these human instincts?

"Follow me then." She climbed up a few stairs and ahead of him and he followed her to the first floor of the Daleon dormitory.

This small meeting marked the beginning of his life as a human.

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