Aria Velmora

After the group moved some distance away from Asher, one of the boys spoke angrily. He couldn't understand how Asher dared to speak so disrespectfully to the Princess.

"How dare he talk like that? Who does he think he is, speaking to the Princess in that manner? Even if he's an Astrean, he isn't even the heir!"

"Yet look at his attitude," the boy continued, clearly irritated. Before he could say anything else, Celestine calmly interrupted him.

"There's no need to worry about him," Celestine said, her expression becoming serious. "He has no value beyond his mana control. Nothing more."

"He lacks ambition," another person remarked.

"It's useless to befriend him," one of the girls added. Celestine then turned toward Aria, who had remained unusually quiet throughout their conversation.

"What are you thinking about, Aria?" Celestine asked.

Aria, who had been lost in thought, quickly returned to reality and answered simply, "Nothing."

Since childhood, Aria had possessed the ability to sense other people's emotions. She couldn't determine whether someone was lying, but she could always feel what they truly felt.

Nobles were especially difficult for her. They smiled, congratulated others, and acted friendly, yet beneath those pleasant expressions, jealousy often burned within them.

To Aria, many nobles were like snakes, patiently waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike when their target least expected it.

As Aria grew older and became more beautiful, she discovered that most of her so-called friends weren't much different from those nobles.

Their words remained sweet and pleasant, but their hearts were filled with envy, making it difficult for Aria to trust anyone around her.

As for boys, Aria didn't even want to think about them. Whenever they approached her, the emotion she sensed most often was simple, unmistakable lust.

Of course, not every boy was driven by lust. However, even those without it usually approached her carrying hidden motives, such as greed, ambition, or personal desire.

Aria understood that such emotions were natural parts of human behavior. Yet knowing the truth behind everyone's pleasant words was incredibly exhausting.

Then she entered the Academy.

And she noticed someone completely different.

Asher.

He possessed none of those emotions. Aria couldn't sense lust, jealousy, hatred, sadness, or any other negative feeling coming from him.

His heart seemed either completely calm or genuinely happy. There was nothing hidden beneath his emotions, and that alone made him extremely strange.

No.

It wasn't merely strange.

It was unnatural.

Sometimes, Aria felt as though Asher wasn't even human. His reactions simply didn't resemble those of the people she had known throughout her life.

When a professor called Asher an idiot, he didn't become angry. Instead, for one brief moment, Aria sensed absolutely nothing from him.

Then, unexpectedly, genuine amusement appeared.

Was something wrong with him?

Aria didn't know.

Because of that uncertainty, she began observing Asher more closely, hoping that eventually she would understand what made him so different.

One day passed.

Then another.

Five days passed, yet nothing about Asher changed.

He attended classes, usually sleeping through them or staring outside the windows as though the lessons had nothing to do with him.

Sometimes, he would suddenly laugh without any apparent reason. Aria couldn't understand what could possibly make him behave like that.

Perhaps that strange mental state was responsible for his extraordinary mana control. His mind seemed completely free of negativity and remarkably peaceful.

However, on Saturday, after classes ended, Aria saw Asher sitting in the garden.

He took a strange device—a laptop—and a pair of headphones from his subspace before settling down and beginning to play a game.

For the first time, Aria saw something completely different from him.

Anger.

Excitement.

Even sadness.

His emotions were genuine, clear, and completely unhidden. Aria could sense every emotion without difficulty, leaving her more confused than before.

At first, she had believed Asher simply couldn't feel anything. But now, she realized that couldn't possibly be true.

She understood him even less than before.

The moment Asher stopped playing, all those emotions disappeared again. His mind immediately returned to its usual tranquil and peaceful state.

Then, without warning, rain began falling from the sky.

Students immediately rushed indoors to escape the rain, but Asher remained outside without showing any intention of leaving.

He simply stood beneath the rain, smiling like an idiot without a single care in the world.

Unable to understand him any longer, Aria finally decided to approach him and ask the question that had been bothering her.

"Why are you always so happy?" she asked.

Asher looked at her with a confused expression, seemingly unable to understand why she would ask something so obvious.

Then he answered honestly.

"Because I'm alive... and I have nothing to worry about."

Standing beneath the rain felt surprisingly good. Asher didn't need to worry about catching a cold or becoming sick afterward.

Having a body that rarely fell ill was incredibly convenient, especially when he wanted to enjoy something as simple as standing outside during rainfall.

Then Asher noticed Aria walking toward him.

What did she want?

Asher couldn't help but think that girls were troublesome. Nothing good usually came from getting involved with them.

He still remembered his previous life clearly.

When he first started college far from home, he mostly kept to himself and avoided unnecessary interactions with other people.

He went to class, returned to his rented room, and spent his free time playing games with his friends.

That simple routine was enough for him.

As for talking to girls?

No thanks.

Asher preferred peace and quiet.

Besides, he wasn't particularly good-looking in his previous life, so nobody really approached him anyway.

Because of that, his first semester passed without any major problems.

Well...

Almost.

There were plenty of fights in college because of girls.

Asher never became involved in those fights, but watching them from the sidelines was surprisingly entertaining.

Then, one night, something completely unexpected happened.

Asher was eating dinner in his room when someone suddenly knocked on his door.

He opened it and found a girl standing outside.

Two police officers were standing beside her.

That was the first time Asher had properly interacted with a girl after entering college.

And before he even understood what was happening, he found himself being interrogated by the police.

They searched his room and even checked his balcony.

Yet nobody initially explained what had happened or why they suspected him.

Eventually, however, Asher managed to figure out the ridiculous truth behind the entire situation.

Some idiot in the building had apparently thrown a water balloon at a girl, and she had immediately called the police.

...Anyway.

Back to the present.

Aria was standing in front of Asher, asking why he was always so happy.

What kind of question was that?

Still, Asher decided to answer honestly instead of overthinking it.

"I'm alive. I have enough money to live without worrying about anything. Why wouldn't I be happy?"

After answering her, Asher left for the cafeteria, ate dinner, and eventually returned to his room.

As usual, he spent six hours cultivating before finally going to sleep.

There were no worries.

No stress.

And, more importantly, there were no classes the following day.

The next morning, Asher woke up normally and ate breakfast before deciding what he wanted to do with the rest of his day.

After breakfast, he headed toward the training ground and booked a private training room for himself.

Once inside, he set the difficulty to Gold level and began training.

He continued training for three hours before finally deciding that he had done enough for the day.

Afterward, Asher headed to the cafeteria for lunch and ate before returning to his room.

Once he was back, he spent the afternoon playing games until evening, enjoying his free time without worrying about anything else.

Later, Asher went outside and took a peaceful walk through the garden.

Afterward, he cultivated for some time until it was finally time for dinner.

Once he finished eating, Asher returned to his room and went to bed earlier than usual.

Tomorrow was important.

The one-week deadline would finally come to an end.

After that, Asher would be allowed to challenge Rank 10.

And once he defeated Rank 10...

He wouldn't have to worry about attending classes anymore.