Races: Online

She wanted his attention—no, that wasn't it. But what if it was?

In Kraelonia Academy, a certain young woman was distracted with her sudden thoughts. It had come upon her at a time when she was meant to be upset about him. Instead of getting furious, she would feel the exact opposite of it. The Half Elf momentarily stared at the people in the front row and there he was, Han, accompanied by his other friends.

A warmth burned in her chest—

She averted her gaze, and she folded her hands together, fiddling with the edge of her cloak. This was unacceptable. Perhaps she had gotten a little attached due to his unceasing contact and presence, yet it was a stupid thing to harbor feelings for someone so different from her.

It hadn't even been that long since she had met him. In her people's measurement, this would be meeting someone for the first time. This might have even been nothing more than a blink. But despite all that, even if one were to reach a lifespan that many other Races would envy—it didn't mean that time flowed differently to her.

Perhaps it even made each moment have more weight to her. Memories that were truly able to shine and stick to her mind. The heat in her chest tempered slightly through her own experiences. A normal Elf could perhaps not feel the passage of years, staying in one place for over a century would render each day meaningless.

But she didn't.

She had met people, young and old, men and women from Demons to Humans. There were those who had a spark like him. And all of these emotions swirling inside of her were only the result of that. It had been quite some time since she met someone like him. Someone who did not care about what others thought of him, unrivaled in his desire to enjoy each minute of his life… he was also kind of stupid. Thoughtful and yet thoughtless at the same time.

A beautiful contradiction.

It was perhaps part of being Human or even simply being alive in this existence. Joy. Sorrow. Anger. Bliss. Pain. But she shouldn't be feeling this way about someone she had simply met, especially when it didn't seem like the young man felt the same way as her.

And even if he did… This was still unacceptable.

Ellynn hadn't even planned on staying that long here in the first place.

.. .

In the front of the classroom, Professor Jeanne Orleans spoke to the Students with a warm tone and smile, "—hope that all of you have been well while I was gone. It will be good for us to resume back to our previous lessons before my leave. Is there anyone who has actually read what I instructed four days ago?"

Some hands shot up in the room.

The Cleric would begin calling out people.

And yet, even with all of that happening, Han was distracted with his situation. It consumed his thoughts right now, and even if he tried to listen—it wouldn't work. What the Mermaid wanted was a difficult thing. He didn't know what to do about it. And all it did was make him remember another thing that he needed to prepare. The Wood Elf was visiting and expected a gift as well.

Was he some kind of Human tour guide?

'I desire to go to one of those events that occur at the side of beaches, weird contraptions that carry your men and women around in a circular motion. Small projectiles hitting a painted ring. I want to experience what it is that you people do in your short lifespan, what it is that you indulge in at the cost of other things—is it truly worth the price?'

But she had agreed to give him what she wanted—and if all she wanted was close to the beach… no, he wasn't even sure if she was around the area. He was thinking of some postal delivery for the pearls and not her actually visiting. Who knows if she was oceans away? Han wouldn't be able to wait that long for a lucky break.

So it meant that he needed to share his address.

Would she be able to find him? Would Races Online give them some kind of map to reach him? He could faintly recall a feature like that. He just hoped that whatever the Mermaid did here in this world was also possible back on Earth. Han wasn't going to be able to tour her around if she still had fins.

He told her that.

Han hoped that it didn't sound bossy or anything. But even then, what were the chances that on the time that she arrived there would actually be what she wanted? It took him a minute of deciphering her words that she meant a beach carnival. That meant he needed to plan a trip to a city that actually had an all-year beach excursion place, tickets and whatnot…

It almost felt like he was planning for a date.

The thought was enough to elicit a chuckle from him—well, this was different. If he considered taking the Mermaid to the beach as a date, then the same thing applied to the Wood Elf. And he wasn't willing to consider that. Speaking of which, this was a mixed class so… he looked over his shoulder.

Ellynn was there, finally. She was once again seated at the back. It made him frown. But the people she had sat with during breakfast weren't in this class, so that made some sense. If there was actually anyone that he didn't see, it would be Timothy. Did the young man decide to skip class?

Maybe he wasn't aware of it.

Penelope shot him a glare—and that was the time that Han decided to pay attention to the front row once more. Which happened to be the perfect time, because Professor Jeanne looked exactly at him.

Her stare was enough to make him worry for a second.

"Han, right?" she asked.

He nodded briefly,

She sheepishly ducked her head, "It's a little bad timing that I wasn't able to teach properly when you first arrived. The same goes for Timothy?" She peered around the classroom and frowned slightly. It vanished and was replaced by a kinder smile. "For now, I hope that the two of you could catch up to the lessons in this class—it's actually quite easy. I'm sure that your seatmates will be more than happy to help you."

"Definitely, Professor Jeanne," Donovan said and glanced at him with a smile, "We'll make sure to help him." Sir Leon de Harrington also gave his own nod.

Han scratched the back of his head, he chuckled. "Wow, that sounds… comforting."

Did this guy like the Professor enough to smile at him? Now that the Professor was satisfied, however, she then continued with her discussion. And it was something that he didn't quite catch this time around.

"—the reason for the beast uprising seven years ago was brought on by what incident?"

History.

He was supposed to love lore—but now it only made him kind of sleepy. This was the last class for the day, and after this… he was supposed to do something. What exactly was it? Han mentally summoned his status screen and message options. Did he have some kind of notes too?

A journal appeared.

He blinked.

He had this all this time? Well, this would help him gather his thoughts.

] Think about a gift for the Wood Elf on his arrival (ask when)

] Prepare for the Mermaid (confirm details)

] Gather Ingredients Daily (future purposes)

] Learn about Healing Potion recipe

] Ranking Tests

"Ranking tests…" he muttered to himself and his eyes widened. He glanced and looked at Sir Leon de Harrington currently listening to the Professor speak. Even Donovan was doing the same thing. Professor Jeanne Orleans wasn't exactly dull in speaking, but he hadn't been able to pay attention.

Maybe they had notes?

He had [ Hastened Learning ] as a Skill to help him, but this was one of the tests. Now he just remembered about Professor Carnus' own test tomorrow—he had barely avoided the orbs and now he needed to learn an impressive spell to avoid running around? Is that the reason as to why Timothy wasn't around?

The dude was skipping classes to learn!

Han should have done the same… he sighed inwardly and fought the urge to hit his head against the table. Maybe he should have insisted on staying back at the village instead of coming all the way here? The Demon Lord eventually ran out of an interest in him so it meant that he wouldn't attack again, right?

Besides, if it was strength and power he was worried about—then all he needed to do was fight crop vegetables and wrestle the cows in Becky's farmstead. He could have even fought the critters in the Enchanted Forest and got trained under the Wood Elf about magic.

He really should have considered that before.

Well, there was no more time crying about spilled milk. He doubted that the Wood Elf could give him anything valuable if they were to trade in real life—maybe some prized wood, but he wouldn't be able to sell it. There wasn't much use to becoming powerful if one wasn't able to use it.

But the only way for him to actually put his Skills into use was for him to come into contact with those who used them as well.

] Tell the truth to Mou Gu?

Why did it feel like he was forgetting about something else?