LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 17 - Dream of a Dream Demon (2)
“I’ve heard that those freshmen’s abilities are not to be taken lightly. Especially the fourth class.”
“I heard. They said one student got the highest evaluation possible in Arnold’s class.”
It didn’t take long for rumors about Epsilon’s fourth class to spread.
By the end of the day, practically every student in the academy was talking about it.
As usual, Lennox was attempting to slip past the students unnoticed, but he abruptly stopped and listened to what they were saying.
“I heard that there’s a Dryad in that class who’s quite talented.”
“Pfft, talented my ass. He’s probably just doing the bare minimum.”
Lennox recalled Lucius’ appearance as he listened to their exchange.
An appearance that felt pious, like a priest in a temple. A calm demeanor with an inexplicable sense of power.
He can’t put it into words, but one thing is certain.
He was not a demon who could be described as weak in any sense.
‘To begin with, it’s not anyone else; it’s Teacher Arnold. There’s no way he would give him the highest rating without a reason.’
As he thought that far, curiosity arose.
What happened in that class to cause such a stir?
“However, Kendrick remained. I’d never seen that kind of demon before, so I assumed they were extinct.”
“Yet again, you’re saying something silly. What race are you calling extinct?”
Demons are a race that was born with the protection of a demon god.
Unless the demon god withdrew their protection, there was never a case of a demon race being wiped out.
Even if war broke out, the situation remained the same. Even if the entire race perishes, there is no need to be concerned because new demons are born in the gestation chamber.
‘But I have to admit that the number of dryads is noticeably low.’
Come to think of it, it was their combination that stood out too much.
Was it a mistake to choose Lucius as his partner?
Even though he tried to cut off any interest, it seemed that it wasn’t a good choice, judging by how his mind kept being occupied.
It’s been a while since he decided to give it his all.
He hasn’t been dreaming lately, and his energy has recovered a bit, so this was worthwhile.
After exhaling, he took a deep breath and focused his concentration.
Stealth and infiltration using the dream demon’s power to walk between dreams.
If used properly, he could sneak into the midst of a crowd without anyone noticing, but it was a difficult skill to control, so he couldn’t use it easily.
He entered the students’ subconsciouses while concealing his presence. His objective was to listen in on the rumors related to Lucius while he was in this state.
“Did you hear about that story? Teacher Arnold summoned a dragon during class.”
“Crazy… They said it was Named, but it’s really different.”
T/N : The named monster is more powerful than other monsters without names.The most mentioned thing was the dragon that Mr. Arnold had created.
“I heard there is a person who received the highest score on the entrance exam. Both theoretical and practical.”
Next was a student named Kian, who made a great contribution to killing the dragon.
There was less talk about Lucius than Lennox expected, but he thought it was because they were busy telling the story of defeating the Shadow Demon Dragon.
It was said that Lucius had collected 50 cards by himself against the students in the class. Everyone shook their heads, wondering how a dryad could do something like that alone.
As Lennox listened to that story, he became increasingly distraught.
‘Even if we’re talking about the students’ level, facing 19 people is tough for me too. Especially if there’s a common goal like the cards.’
If that’s true. If he has that kind of skill.
…Why is Lucius so friendly to him?
Why is he approaching him?
“If it was Epsilon, has he been assigned a temporary partner? I wonder who his partner will be. There will be a joint class soon.”
“What is it this time? Wasn’t it a tournament last year?”
Lennox touched his forehead while listening to the story.
There are many classes and activities involving partners because Cyrus has a partner system.
When they begin participating in earnest, it becomes impossible to conceal who their partner is, but what will happen if it is discovered that Lucius is his partner?
He wondered if there would be any accidents during class like before.
“Ophelia…”
His father gave him a sword.
Proof of his father’s concern, affection, and expectations.
The sword he couldn’t bear to throw away and kept stored in a corner of his room flickered in his mind.
He despised his father at times like these.
If only Ophelia had never existed, none of this would have happened.
‘What should I say to Lucius?’
He couldn’t figure it out, no matter how much he thought about it all day.
Rehashing the events of that day, talking about it, and being rejected afterwards felt all too familiar.
It seemed like betraying Edion, his partner who had befriended him.
He worried about Lucius looking at him with the same eyes as everyone else. He felt that if he set unrealistic expectations for himself, his heart would be wounded again.
‘I’m scared.’
His heart is racing. Unbearably anxious.
* * *
Lucius returned to the dormitory as soon as class ended. And while Lennox was away, he took a close look at Ophelia, standing in the corner.
Soon, Lennox’s presence was felt at the door. Lucius put Ophelia down and waited for him to come in.
30 minutes passed like that.
‘What are you doing at the door when you’re not coming in?’
Lennox stood motionless in front of his dorm room for a long time. Sensing him hesitate like that, it appeared that he was feeling pretty troubled about starting this discussion.
While he was thinking, Lucius got up from his seat. And opened the door wide.
Rattle.
As expected, Lennox looked very surprised. Then he hesitantly lowered his raised hand, as if he was trying to knock.
Looking at Lennox, Lucius smiled faintly and asked.
“How long are you going to keep standing there?”
“I was lost in thought.”
“Do you need more time?”
“No, I’m going in.”
Lucius shrugged and let him in.
Lennox didn’t say anything until he sat down and drank a cup of herbal tea.
Lucius thought he should bring up the topic first, but Lennox finally spoke.
“It happened two years ago, when I was still in Alpha Class.”
His fingers brushed the teacup. His eyes were looking back on the not-too-distant past.
“The partner classes back then were ordinary. It was one-on-one sparring.”
It was a fact that Lucius already knew from the reports.
Lucius nodded his head.
“My partner at the time was Edion Tara. He was the first friend I made after entering the academy. If it weren’t for him, I couldn’t have been promoted to Alpha so quickly. I received a lot of help from him.”
“If it was help…”
“We clicked in everything. Although I’m not sure if that was fortunate or not.”
It was largely thanks to Edion that Lennox, who had a quiet personality, was able to adapt easily to school life.
“And as soon as the sparring started, Ophelia went wild.”
Lucius frowned after hearing his words.
Ophelia appeared to be overreacting, but she was not insane enough to go on a rampage for no cause.
As Lucius contemplated deeply, he asked again, “Did she go on a rampage?”
Lennox nodded. Then he gave Ophelia a look.
“I don’t know why. Suddenly, a fountain of blood spewed out from the sword and surrounded the stadium like a dome. Edion and I were the only ones in there.”
“Who was the teacher in charge?”
“It was Mr. Arnold. He broke Ophelia’s barrier from the outside. But before that,”
Lennox took one deep breath.
“Edion died. I… I killed him.”
The materials Lucius had researched in advance did not contain detailed information about the incident. After hearing the story, Lucius could understand the reason.
‘A student died in the blink of an eye. Moreover, in a location isolated by a barrier… Arnold couldn’t confirm the situation either.’
Lucius sighed.
Whether the killer is an adult or not, killing a demon who is underage is a serious crime.
To protect Lennox, the incident had to be treated as an accident.
An incident that occurred during class. The immaturity of the young children and the negligence of the instructor’s supervision led to the accident.
‘Mr. Arnold seems to have believed in Lennox’s innocence, but other students may not see it that way.’
It was clear that they thought he was a traitor who killed his partner and covered it up in Zakhar’s name.
Since they couldn’t confirm what happened inside, the only thing that mattered to them was the result.
Lucius stared at Lennox.
“Why did you have to kill your partner?”
“…”
“I don’t think you would kill your partner for no reason.”
Lennox’s throat momentarily tightened at Lucius’ words.
Feeling at a loss for how to respond, Lennox lowered his head.
After a while, Lennox raised his head and spoke, squeezing out his words.
“If I hadn’t killed him, I would have died. And if I were to make an excuse, it seemed like Edion wanted it.”
“Hmm…”
“It wasn’t just a simple rampage. The energy was too sinister for that.”
There were too many unclear parts.
Although Lucius understood why Lennox was in this situation.
Lucius turned his gaze to Ophelia.
First of all, what can he be sure of is:
“Ophelia probably didn’t go on a rampage. She only acted to protect you. Creating a barrier that isolates oneself from the outside world using blood is a trademark ability of vampires. Since it is a sword that drinks blood, she could have done that much.”
Lucius is well aware of this because he frequently fought with the Demon King.
It was a kind of spatial magic that disoriented the opponent, making oneself stronger.
“But it’s difficult to speculate on Edion’s condition. If it were a typical rampage, Teacher Arnold wouldn’t have missed the signs. The premonitory symptoms would have appeared before the duel.”
“It’s pointless to analyze it now.”
Lennox had a bitter smile on his lips. He was feeling sentimental for a while and looked at Lucius.
His calm, settled pupils were subtly shaking.
“I won’t say I’m sorry for getting you involved. As you know, Cyrus requires students to have a partner.”
Lennox bit his lip as he looked at Lucius’s indifferent gaze.
Lennox wanted to end this conversation as quickly as possible.
Over the past two years, Lennox has already received sympathy, pity, and criticism from many students. He didn’t really want to know what Lucius was thinking about.
“I have nothing more to say. You wanted this too, didn’t you?”
His lips twisted.
But contrary to Lennox’s thoughts, Lucius didn’t sympathize or empathize with him.
Nor did he have any intention of blaming or reproaching him.
Just…
“Are you okay with things staying this way?”
Lucius asked what Lennox planned to do next.
It’s easy to settle for the past. There’s nothing as effortless as selling someone out and then regretting it.
But he can’t run while looking back.
“If things stay this way, you may not be able to surpass the Third Growth. The recurring nightmares have tormented you too much. It’s not too late yet, but if we don’t address it immediately, it may become irreversible.”
“…”
“That incident isn’t over yet. There are still too many questions that need to be answered.”
Lennox raised his head as if on the verge of tears at those words. And as if he didn’t want to hear anymore, he screamed.
“Know! I know!”
“Hey, Lennox.”
“I know my body’s condition better than anyone. But that’s already in the past. Edion is already dead. He won’t come back.”
“Lennox.”
“Lucius, you’re right. If I welcome the Third Growth in this state, I’ll die. Every day, I can feel my body getting weaker.”
“…”
“I should be able to just push it away. Live as if that guy never existed. But I can’t do that. When I close my eyes, that day’s events come flooding back, driving me crazy.”
How could one forget?
The days Lennox spent with Edion are still vividly etched in his memory.
The sensation of piercing through his body still lingers at his fingertips.
Nothing has ended yet.
Even though he knows it’s not over, there’s nothing he can do.
Yet, it has to end like this.
But how can he move on?
“Thank you for listening. Thank you for your concern. But let’s stop here. I don’t want to hear any more.”
Lennox stood up after glancing at Lucius once. And then he went straight to his bed and laid down.
This leaves a bitter aftertaste.
Lucius, observing the deeply rumpled blanket like a hill, summoned the Pnan plant.
Even just for a brief moment, he hoped that Lennox could get some peaceful sleep.
‘I guess I’ll have to do a little more research. Something seems off.’