Chapter 30: Sparring session

"Who are you?"

Aelorian said slightly irritated, noticing that a young blond man had approached her, disturbing her peace.

After everything that had happened today, her opinion of humans had fallen and the last thing she wanted to do right now was interact with any of them.

"And why do you address me so freely?"

The corners of Cale's lips twitched when he heard her indifferent voice with a hint of irritation. He tried to explain himself at once, pointing to his face.

"You don't remember me? It's me, Cale."

Seeing that she was still frowning, looking at him, he added.

"As kids, we used to spend a lot of time together in your grandfather's backyard when he'd go off to elders' meetings."

Finally, something flashed in her eyes.

"You... yeah, you definitely look like that kid."

Finally relaxing, Cale pointed to the window, beyond which stretched a large garden.

"How about we take a little walk and chat?"

"Some other time. The test starts soon, and I'd rather take the time to prepare, which I advise you to do as well."

Cale felt anger begin to boil inside him.

'Why is everyone saying no to me today?'

The image of the man he blamed for all of this immediately popped into his mind, making him clench his fists even tighter.

'Then there's only one thing left for me to do.'

A light of determination gleamed in his eyes as he headed for the exit of the classroom.

***

Rain stood in the middle of the room while a mature woman in a large round hat sat across from him and said something to him.

Judging by the behavior of one of her subordinates who had brought him here, Rain had expected the principal to be an extremely formal person, but it turned out not to be so. She talked freely with him, not caring about the difference in their positions, sometimes even making jokes about him.

At first he listened to her words until they turned into a lecture on how bad it was to skip class and that the only reason he wasn't expelled was because of her good will.

Then he decided to focus on more important things - her tits, moving with every move she made and stirring his imagination.

"Are you even listening to me?"

Unfortunately, his case was interrupted by her words.

"Of course, every word of it."

After looking at the young man's honest face for a while, Ophelia sighed.

"Okay, I guess it would be useless to tell you that."

Taking that as a sign that he could leave, Rain turned around and walked toward the exit. At that moment, a small object flew toward him at high speed. Reflexively, he turned around and caught it.

Even with his enhanced senses, he was only able to react at the last moment.

"Not a bad reaction~"

From under her hat, Rain could only see her smile. He looked at her for a few seconds and said nothing, then turned his gaze to the object in his hand.

It was a small silver badge with the sigil of their academy, decorated on the sides with gold inlays.

Ophelia didn't wait for him to ask a question and kindly explained.

"It's a badge of the person in charge of second year students."

Rain looked at her with a blank expression, wondering if she was joking.

'Who in their right mind would give this to a student who hasn't been here at all for the last few months?'

Seeing from her expression that the principal wasn't kidding, Rain wanted to refuse, but the next second he found himself outside her office.

"Remember that with power comes responsibility~"

With those words, the door slammed shut, leaving Rain to himself.

He was slightly embarrassed by her last words.

'Has she noticed the change in me? Or by power, did she mean that badge?'

He looked at the object in his hand with a complicated feeling, but soon dismissed those thoughts.

'Given her demeanor, she might have said that phrase just because it sounds cool.'

While he listened to the principal's chatter, the break was over and it was time for the next class. Rain didn't return to his classroom, but went in a different direction.

The reason was that the next class was a long-awaited practice session where Rain wanted to test his newfound powers.

After reaching the right place and quickly changing his clothes, he entered a large training room already filled with students sparring in pairs.

Scanning the space with his eyes, Rain quickly found his target. It was a blonde-haired elf in a tight battle suit that perfectly emphasized her passionate curves and perky breasts.

She was the only one standing without a pair, occasionally muttering something to herself. When Rain got close enough, she sensed his presence and turned around.

Rain noticed at once that, unlike the last time she'd been angry when she'd met him, she now had a radiant smile on her face.

'She wants to use sparring to beat me?'

Rain quickly guessed the most possible reason for her good mood.

'Then I have bad news for her.'

Walking past her, Rain walked over to a rack of swords, and when he had chosen one that suited him, he returned to the waiting girl.

It was only when they took up opposite each other that the elf broke the silence.

"I already thought you'd decided to run away."

"What's the point of running away from winning?"

His confident words only made the smile on her face grow wider.

Although she had previously decided to put her desire to beat him on hold because of an upcoming test, that didn't mean she had forgotten about it. And in the time Rain had spent in the principal's office, she had managed to find out some basic information about him, including his recent absences and his approximate strength level.

It gave her absolute confidence in her victory.

Before the sparring began, Rain glanced at the girl with two long daggers in her hands.

__________________________

[Name: Aelorian Elcyne]

[Age: 18]

[Titles: Child of the stormy winds]

[Cultivation: Inner Balance Expert]

[Talent: S]

[Bloodline: Spirit of the Boundless Wind - Level I (24%)]

[Attitude: How many ribs do I have to break for him?]

[Affection: -30]

__________________________

Rain noticed the new line in her status, but he didn't have time to think about that right now, so he returned his attention to the girl in front of him.

A second later, on cue, they lunged at each other.