บท 18: Quirin

In the arena, Elijah looked around him in confusion. Some people immediately had a partner because they already knew each other. But for Elijah, who spent all his time practicing in the back garden of the dormitory, the teenager didn't know anyone there other than his class members.

"Hello, you must be Elijah, right?"

Just when Elijah thought that everyone had grouped up, someone approached him while smiling kindly. Elijah recognized the student as a third-year mages special class student. Elijah nodded, a little confused as to why a stranger would suddenly approach him like this.

"You look like you don't have a partner yet. Want to pair up with me? I've just learned Chain magic. If you want, I'll just use that magic against you."

Chain magic was magic in the form of a chain that could be used as a weapon of attack or defense by restraining the enemy using a chain that was difficult for the enemy to remove or destroy. It was an advanced magic that was difficult to obtain. So, out of curiosity, Elijah finally read the status information of the man in front of him.

[Name] Quirin (20 years old)

[Level 48]

[HP] 2000/2000

[MP] 1800/1800

[Stamina] 1000/1000

[Physical Skill] One-handed level 23

[Magic Skills] Dark level 22, Fire level 14, Teleportation level 10, Magic shield level 8, Paralyze level 6, Chain level 1

"Hm? Why do your eyes keep moving, as if you're reading something, Elijah? Does something like a collection of information appear when you look at me?"

Elijah immediately stopped his reading, then looked at Quirin with a furrowed brow. From the skill that the man possessed, Elijah already knew that Quirin was no ordinary person. The man smiled and acted as if he was not a dangerous person. If only Elijah had not been able to read the status information, he too might have been fooled by Quirin's style of appearing as an ordinary person.

"That kind of thing is impossible. I'm just trying to judge you. Do you have a problem with that?"

Quirin had already realized something was off with him, so Elijah felt lying would only arouse greater suspicion. Elijah remained calm as Quirin gave him a long look with a small smile. Quirin should have been just an NPC like the others. But when Elijah was with him, he could only feel that the man in front of him was very dangerous.

"No. There is nothing wrong with trying to judge an opponent before starting a fight. So, what do you think of me? Can you win against me?"

"Of course. I just need to bounce your attacks once with Magic Shield, right?"

Quirin laughed again as if the answer Elijah gave was funny. The man stopped his laughter as he could only see the serious expression on Elijah's face. Honestly, the expression Elijah showed to Quirin reminded the man of the person who had rejected him first in the past.

Quirin had a feeling he would feel a second rejection this time. But calmly, Quirin asked anyway while continuing to take out the chain that moved flexibly to attack Elijah.

"Elijah, do you want to be my friend?"

"No."

Elijah's answer was short but firm. Quirin smiled. As he had expected, hanging out with someone who had a clear goal like Elijah or Sofia was impossible for him.

"That's too bad. I really like strong people like you."

Elijah learned Magic Shield magic quickly, and managed to guess Quirin's attack pattern at the same time. After a few minutes, Elijah managed to reflect Quirin's Chain magic. Meanwhile, the battle was over if a first-year student managed to bounce off a third-year student's magic seamlessly.

"Still. If you change your mind, you can come to see me whenever you want. Almost all the third-year students know me. So, if you ask any of them, they should be able to lead you to me."

Elijah did not reply to Quirin, nor did he intend to consider the offer. Elijah stared at Quirin's departure with a furrowed brow. In this world, Quirin was the first person who seemed suspicious about his identity.

'System, is there a possibility that the NPCs in this world could guess my identity?' Elijah asked through his mind to the system.

[... As long as the User is careful, there shouldn't be any problems with that.]

The system that seemed to have been offline since Elijah entered the academy answered, but the answer could not satisfy Elijah at all. Elijah should have known he couldn't rely on a trash system in a world with this hell-level difficulty. Elijah no longer called out to the system and looked at Quirin, who had returned to chatting intimately with his friends.

'In that case, is it possible that there are other Users besides me in this place?' Elijah asked again. He had never thought of that possibility before. But now that someone had openly suspected him, Elijah wondered if it was possible in this world.

[That kind of information is confidential. Users do not have the authority to access the answer.]

'What do you mean confidential? System?'

Elijah already knew that the system had gone back offline after giving Elijah a suspicious answer. Elijah massaged his forehead in frustration after that. For now, it seemed that all he could do was avoid meeting Quirin as much as he could.

Although Elijah did not know if it would matter if someone knew his true identity, as much as possible, Elijah did not want to be bound by the existence of this fake world.