Chapter 114: Unnamed
NOAH'S POV:
The first time, I ever saw Seraphina use a curse, was during our first clash.
It was a moment during that battle when my pin missiles transformed from metallic to granular stone.
Back then, I thought she used some kind of magic--turns out, that was a curse.
To cast a curse, one must have a heart.
Curses find their roots in emotions.
If you never felt love or emotions running through your veins at their most intense levels, you can forget about casting a curse.
Those powerful emotions only come
in brief moments of life, when we lose our loved ones or some messed up tragedy hits us square in the face.
It's in those dark times, when you're drowning in your deepest sorrow, curse magic comes alive.
You take all that pain and anguish, and turn it into a curse.
As long as I keep studying curse magic, I reckon I'll be able to cast a curse someday.
A multitude of curses exist, each possessing its own distinct nature: the Curse of Death, the Curse of Fear, the Curse of Loneliness, and emotions, in its own twisted way, can be transformed into curses.
But, curses requires the burning hatred within one's heart as fuel, rather than mana.
Suddenly, a flaming sphere, the size of a football, hurtled towards me with speed.
With swift reflexes, I evaded the attack by subtly tilting my head to the left, without needing to shift my stance. The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))
Currently, I was engaged in a one-on-one against Seraphina.
Well, not exactly a 1v1; it's more like she's testing what I've learned.
The only element she was using was fire because so far I've only learned the [Bindrune of fire].
Of course, it's not necessary to mention, but she was holding back.
Four orbs of dandelions, the size of tennis balls, materialized around her wrists before circling them in planetery motion.
She targeted her right palm towards me, and immediately two fireballs slid from her wrist to her palm before charging my way.
I stretched out my palm, summoning the "[Bindrune of fire]."
The spell and the bindrunes clashed with each other, but Seraphina's flames easily overpowered mine, shattering my balls before heading my way.
Undeterred, I quickly forged another [Bindrune of fire] in my left hand, executing a backflip to evade the incoming projectiles by a hair's breadth.
As I flipped, the bindrune in my left hand stamped into the ground.
Meanwhile, the four fireballs surrounding Seraphina's left hand swirled around, sliding across her body in a precise trajectory, before converging into her right hand.
All of a sudden, she unleashed a volley of flames towards me.
The ground erupted in fiery red, turning the whole scenery into a hellish sight. The heat intensified, causing me to sweat profusely.
Seraphina seemed unfazed by it all.
She approached me from the distance and my battered figure was kneeling in one knee.
Refusing to give up, I threw my hands out in a T-pose, then swiftly brought my palms together with a resounding—????????!
Locking my fingers together, I thrust my hands above my head before slamming my plams forcefully onto the ground.
Like a scene straight out of a volcano movie, the bindrune which I strategically stamped on the ground previously, burst forth.
It unleashed a colossal pillar of flame that shot towards the heavens.
I could see a hint of amusement flicker across Seraphina's face. It was a move I invented myself, a little technique that caught her off guard.
Using what little control I had over my pyromantic abilities, I tried to redirect the flames towards her.
But my lack of control caused it to weaken and eventually vanish into thin air.
With lightning speed, Seraphina's form blurred before my eyes, and before I could react, a searing pain erupted in my stomach.
There she stood, in a front stance, her fist coiled and embedded deep into my gut. It was a martial art move.
I spat the remnants of morning breakfast as my body soared through the air, tossed around like a flimsy rag doll.
Somehow, I managed to regain my balance mid-air, swiftly planting my feet firmly on the ground.
But, my body continued to slide and skid for several meters before finally grinding to a halt..
For a moment, I entertained the idea of using battle mode, but immediately dismissed it.
As Seraphina's fist rocketed towards me, I swiftly raised my arms, crossing them in a defensive stance.
Suddenly, I felt something tickle my nose.
I opened my eyes to find a butterfly perched on the bridge of my nose.
But it flew away.
??????????! —Slurping my latte I was about to leave when..
-"Noah?"
***
Third person's POV:
Aeravat, Emily, Takahashi, Aurora, and Sophia could be seen strolling together, engaged in lively conversations.
They were the famous group among the first-year students, known by almost everyone in the academy.
However, something seemed different this time.
One could notice Myung Joon trailing behind them.
It wasn't that he enjoyed being with them, but rather, he was compelled to do so.
The Unit1 supervisor had made it clear that he should mix with his colleagues, as his initial behavior on the first day didn't sit well with him.
Unlike others, he was just silent. Not saying anything. He neither disliked his unit nor hated them.
"Myung Myung?Why are you so quiet?"—Emily playfully taunted.
She was always super cheerful and friendly with pretty much everyone.
"Miss Reed, it's Myung Joon, not Myung Myung. And I am not talking because I don't want to. "—Myung Myung replied in a cold tone.
"Leave that loser Emily, he got no social skills."—Takahashi chimed in, sneering with the intention of stirring up some trouble.
Myung Myung, as always didn't gave a flying fuck about Aoi's existence.
The group talked about the new system of academy and of course there was another hot topic.
Svetlana Darkthorn.
The prodigious mage from powerful Darkthorn family was a late enrollee into Arcanum.
Her mom was legendary for being the strongest mage in the whole human domain.
That's some next-level stuff. Even Aurora and Takahashi couldn't help but be somewhat intimidated by her status.
Word on the street was that she was probably just as powerful as Aeravat, if not even stronger.
And she wasn't just powerful.
She was drop-dead gorgeous...and by drop-dead, I mean D-A-M-N beautiful.
Aeravat and the rest tried to befriend her, but for some reason, she kept her distance from them.
She wasn't rude, but always declined their approach.
Nobody knew why she was so cold towards them.
But, she was a sweet and warm girl to everyone else, so it didn't seat well with Aurora.
The boys in her unit were already falling head over heels for her.
She got like five proposals just this week.
In simple words... She had an army of simps.
Yep, she was a special case.
All of a sudden, Aeravat's footsteps came to a screeching halt, causing everyone else to also freeze in their tracks.
They followed his gaze, trying to figure out what had caught his attention.
There, seated leisurely without a care in the world was another such special case.
His black long hair flowed down in beautiful curtain bangs.
Unlike the others, he stood out in his suit, his pristine black shirt providing a striking contrast against his alabaster skin.
As his face tilted upward, basking in the sun's radiant rays, a butterfly gracefully landed on his nose.
The sight of his beauty caused Sophia's heart to skip a beat, and she found herself involuntarily swallowing.
Lost in admiration, she failed to notice that Aeravat had already approached and stood in front of him, signaling that time had passed while she was gawking at him.
'Why am I feeling like this?!' Sophia thought, her cheeks turning a rosy shade as she tried to calm herself down.
Sophia was familiar with Noah, but he had always been just a random.
Now, she couldn't quite understand what happened to this boy.
He was just.... different.