After the afternoon class ended, many students chose to stay in the library or laboratories, while others went in groups of two or three toward the commercial district.
Noah and Rover had dinner together in the cafeteria before heading back to the dormitories together.
The road back to the dormitory area was quieter than the way there.
On the simulated sky canopy, the afterglow of the setting sun cast an orange-gold warm light, stretching the shadows of the two very long.
They walked side by side, maintaining a comfortable distance neither too close nor too far exactly like two classmates who had not known each other for long but got along well.
“What did you think of the professor’s lecture?”
Rover suddenly asked.
“It was very systematic and solid.”
Noah chose his words carefully.
“Especially the part about combining the resonance model with monitoring data… it gave me some new insights.”
This was the truth.
The system’s knowledge consisted of crudely instilled fragments of information, while the old professor’s explanation provided a systematic framework for understanding and integration.
“This professor is a leading academic authority in the field of Void Matter Magnetic Storm basic theory research at Startorch Academy.”
There was a trace of respect in Rover’s tone.
“The hypotheses he proposed in his early years were later experimentally verified by the Black Shores Research Division.”
She paused, her voice softening slightly.
“Being able to listen to him lecture here is a rare opportunity for us.”
Noah nodded, but in his heart he thought:
For someone like you, is listening to this kind of introductory course really considered a rare opportunity?
Or are you, in the identity of “Raeliana,” re-experiencing some kind of daily life that you had long since lost?
However, he ultimately did not voice the question.
Some questions should not be asked yet.
When they reached the entrance to the dormitory area, the simulated dusk on the sky canopy had already deepened.
The streetlights lit up one after another, casting warm yellow halos.
“Zone C.
I’m heading this way.”
Noah stopped and pointed toward the road on the right.
“Mm.
Then, see you tomorrow.”
Rover gave a slight nod, the corners of her lips curving into a faint arc.
“Rest well, Noah.”
“You too, Raeliana.”
Noah watched her back disappear around the corner of the Zone A buildings before turning toward the male dormitory in Zone C.
Too many things were swirling in his mind:
Twenty years ago, the system warning, worldline changes, Chisa’s future, Rover’s hidden purpose, and those traces of interference that had not yet surfaced.
At present, there were far too many unknowns and variables.
He was thinking so intently that he did not notice.
Or rather, with his current perception ability, he could not possibly notice.
High up in a lush ancient tree beside the entrance to the dormitory area.
Within the dense shadows of the tree crown, a figure was quietly sitting on a horizontally growing branch.
It was a beautiful girl wearing a Startorch Academy uniform.
Her suit jacket was casually open, revealing the shirt underneath.
Her white ponytail was tied into two bundles at the back of her head, with a few black strands mixed in at the tips.
However, the most eye-catching feature was the two flexible vines hanging down behind her head.
Those were not decorations, but living plants that emitted Resonance fluctuations, with buds of camellia flowers hanging from their ends.
The girl rested one hand on her cheek while the fingers of her other hand unconsciously twirled a lock of hair at her temple.
Those red-and-black pupils gazed curiously through the gaps in the leaves at Noah’s receding back.
Her gaze lingered for a while in the direction Noah had left, then slowly shifted toward Zone A, where Rover was heading.
Compared to the curiosity from earlier.
At this moment, her eyes became even more intense and focused, carrying a kind of near-pathological obsession.
Yet deep within that obsession, thick confusion and scrutiny were also surging.
Her lips opened and closed soundlessly as she murmured in an almost infatuated whisper: “My dear Seed of Fate…”
“Who exactly is the person beside you?”
The vines swayed gently.
The flower buds glowed faintly in the dusk.
The girl maintained that posture and watched quietly for a long time.
Only when night completely swallowed the roads of the dormitory area did she nimbly leap down from the treetop.
The camellia girl’s figure blended into the shadows and disappeared, as if she had never existed.
Meanwhile, Noah, who had already returned to his Zone C dormitory, knew nothing about any of this.
He collapsed onto his bed and stared at the ceiling, letting out a long breath.
What a long day.
And tomorrow, even more unknowns were waiting.
Outside the window, the cross-shaped furnace core at the edge of the sky cast its final trace of scorching afterglow before slowly shifting into a cold, clear tone.
Inside the room, Noah lay on the bed.
He casually browsed the Startorch Academy’s online forums and internal electronic library, trying to piece together more fragments about this world from twenty years ago from the information he could collect.
At that moment, an icy prompt sound suddenly rang out in his mind without warning:
[New side mission released: A Kind Reminder from Miss Camellya]
[Mission Content: Repel Camellya’s night assault and give her a proper lesson both physically and mentally, so that she will not easily offend again in the short term.]
[Mission Description: A certain senior Bloom Bearer who harbors excessive attachment toward Rover believes that your existence is interfering with her reunion with the Seed of Fate and has resolved to teach you a lesson.
Please handle it appropriately, Host.]
[Success Reward: Evaluated based on completion level (including counterattack intensity, lesson effectiveness, confrontation performance, etc.).]
[Failure Penalty: Will directly affect the favorability evaluation of the target character “Rover” toward the Host in the main mission “Entrance Examination”.]
Noah jolted, nearly springing up from the bed.
“Camellya?!”
He cried out inwardly.
“She’s actually here too?
She actually came with Rover!”
As an old player who had been there since the server launch, Noah was all too familiar with this fiery-tempered Miss Camellya who harbored an almost pathological obsession with Rover.
He simply had not expected that this pendant who stayed by Rover’s side would appear here and so quickly set her sights on him.
The system’s mission requirements were very clear.
Not only did he have to repel her, but he also had to counterattack and leave her with a lesson.
Make her suffer a bit so that she would not casually come looking for trouble in the future.
Failure would affect his favorability with Rover this was a price he could not afford.
“This mission finally has a bit of the feel of a Great Villain System…”
Noah licked his somewhat dry lips.
A trace of inexplicable excitement and tension flashed in his eyes.
But immediately, the practical problem presented itself: How to deal with her?
Camellya came from a background in physical arts and was also quite good at ballet.
Her movement techniques and knife skills were both excellent.
Although her normal strength was not considered top-tier even within the Black Shores, dealing with someone like him who had only recently awakened his Resonance power and was still a Common-class weakling probably wouldn’t even require her to use her Resonance power.
If she were to employ her Havoc Resonance power along with those elusive camellia vines… he would likely be subdued in an instant.
Direct confrontation was the worst option.
He had to outsmart her.
…
Add to library！Check out other Stories!