Chapter 158: Hello, Mr. Devil
On a sunny morning, the girl opened her eyes, glanced at the alarm clock, stretched lazily, and reluctantly lifted the covers.
She got out of bed, wearing her pajamas. With sleepy eyes, she stood in front of the washbasin and looked at her reflection in the mirror.
Wearing her Iron Beast pajamas, she had long black hair, light blue eyes, and a face adorned with delicate features. It was brimming with energy and happiness.
"Good morning, Michelle Hope."
She greeted herself.
While getting ready in the morning, the girl splashed cold water on her face, which helped her become more awake. She then turned around and opened the toaster, placed bread inside, and took out peanut butter. As she waited for a simple breakfast, she approached the vanity table and lightly applied powder to her face. She quickly drew a somewhat sloppy eyeliner.
Ordinary girls don't usually apply makeup in such a careless manner, because most people use makeup to make themselves more beautiful, or to appear younger, or even more mature.
But she was different. She applied makeup to make herself appear even more ordinary and down-to-earth.
She changed into her school uniform, then put on black-framed glasses and styled her hair into two braided pigtails, giving herself a very simple and plain appearance.
But she was especially pleased with her reflection in the mirror, even clenching her fist and saying, "Today will be another unremarkable day."
...Haha, how interesting...
A laughter suddenly reached her ears.
She was startled and looked around, but didn't see anyone. Then, she glanced outside the window and saw people walking by.
She thought she had misheard it.
After finishing breakfast, it was almost seven o'clock. She grabbed her textbooks for the day and left the student dormitory.
The sunlight filled the dorm room just right. Before she left, her gaze lingered upon the empty bed.
"Goodbye for now..."
She greeted the empty bed.
She let out a soft sigh, locked the door, and was about to leave when she suddenly felt like someone was watching her. It seemed like a tall young man, but when she turned around, there was no one there.
"Strange," she murmured, lost in thought for a moment. Then, she walked out of the student dormitory building, getting ready to hurry to her class.
...
In the Alliance, there were several top national universities, and the collective of these institutions was called the Swordflower Alliance.
Because each of the university names was given based on the names of flowers or swords.
This was a phrase from the first Prime Minister of the Alliance, Liliana.
--Defend with swords, bestow flowers upon the people.
Michelle attended the Tulip Academy, a university that ranked three places higher than Far East University in international rankings. It was also considered a top-notch university worldwide, dedicated to nurturing exceptional talents in various fields of the Alliance.
For five hundred years, the Alliance worked on bringing different races together at the Tulip Academy. They developed a governing system of officials to ensure fair treatment of all races. Because there was no longer any prejudice based on historical burdens, racial discrimination was no longer present. The education system was built on this foundation. That's why at the Tulip Academy, you could see non-human races everywhere, while pure-blooded races were rare and there were a large number of mixed races.
Michelle herself was a mixed-blood, one-quarter Dragonborn, one-half human, and one-quarter witch.
She walked between the school corridors, holding a book, appearing particularly inconspicuous among the large crowd of students.
Michelle's mother was born in a witch village within the Kingdom, and later married a humble merchant before moving to the Alliance.
The father disappeared at sea while fishing due to a failed business venture, leaving the mother with no choice but to return to the witch village. She grew up in the village, fully embracing her rustic lifestyle.
For the witch clan, a plain and ordinary life is what truly matters nowadays. Perhaps due to inherited paranoia from racial persecution, they choose to lead a peaceful existence, preferring to stay secluded and undisturbed.
The witch village where Michelle resided was just one of the hundreds of ordinary villages. The number of witches had significantly dwindled compared to the past.
Once, the mother lived elsewhere and dedicated herself to nurturing her child, hoping that she would venture out and explore the world beyond, rather than being confined to a small place for her entire life.
She even told Michelle inspirational stories, like the one about having half Dragonborn ancestry. The lineage of the current Dragonborn could be traced back to Liliana. Although Liliana never married, she was still recognized as the revered ancestor of the Dragonborn. Michelle shouldn't forget the noble bloodline of their ancestors and strive to become as great as Liliana.
Michelle, being filled with inspiration, diligently studied and, living up to the expectations of her mother, managed to pass the entrance examination for the Tulip High School of Excellence before reaching adulthood. In addition, she was granted a scholarship from the Noble Blood Foundation and an academic scholarship from the Swordflower Alliance.
When she arrived alone in this unfamiliar city, and at the unfamiliar school, she found herself feeling somewhat lost. On one hand, she struggled to adapt to the fast-paced life of the big city, and on the other hand, the pressure of studying weighed heavily on her.
The Tulip Academy is a place where highly talented individuals come together. It naturally becomes difficult for average individuals to enter. The selection process is based solely on talent, allowing the best of the best to become true elites.
In this small place, even the most exceptional talents were just considered average.
The top ten in the entire province may not even make it into the top hundred on a national level.
In a matter of months, Michelle struggled to adapt to the pace of life, and worked hard to correct her accent. She also tried to learn how to dress and apply makeup, abandoning the habits she had in her small town. Additionally, she made an effort to expand her social circle and make new friends. However... her grades started to decline!
Michelle had an epiphany. She realized that if she wanted to succeed in her studies, she shouldn't waste time on such matters.
Instead, she had been trying hard for six months, but still hadn't made many friends. She had plenty of superficial friendships, though.
But these people whispered behind her back and their opinions of her were not very good, they didn't even have much of an impression of her.
She decided to return to simplicity and diligently focus on her studies, striving to excel with utmost dedication.
But her talents were not outstanding, at least not in this context.
Her witch talent was inherited from her mother, and she possessed strong mental power. This meant that she could easily focus her mind, learn quickly, have a strong memory, and be free from distractions. After reading a book three times, she could practically remember the entire content. Additionally, her Dragonborn lineage endowed her with remarkable self-healing abilities, so she didn't have to worry about getting injured. After all, the robust physicality of a Dragonborn was considered a given fact. Especially with a little exercise, she could become exceptionally strong and powerful.
This characteristic of having a strong body was particularly evident in Michelle's half-dragon mother. Michelle remembered seeing her parents fight in bed when she was young, with her mother pinning down her father, and her father crying and begging for mercy, saying, "Not even a drop left."
So Michelle always wore long skirts and school uniforms, avoiding unnecessary physical exercise. She didn't want to wake up one day to find six-pack abs on her stomach.
She purposely put on black-framed glasses and tied her hair in braided buns, causing her to transform from a beautiful young girl into an ordinary village girl within a few short days. People who knew her were surprised by her sudden transformation, wondering how she had changed so drastically.
She felt quite proud of this because, with such a disguise, she could study peacefully.
In the Tulip Academy, there were many different majors and subjects. As a witch, her main focus of study naturally revolved around "spellcraft," specializing in astrology and elemental magic. Astrology was one of the mystical branches of spellcraft. Yesterday, she tried to perform an astrological ritual to test her luck, but nothing came of it. It not only didn't work, but it also made her dizzy. It must have been a side effect. Today, during class, she had trouble concentrating. She kept seeing double images and had a constant feeling of someone being nearby.
As an elemental sorceress, she discovered after testing that her sensitivity to the attributes of earth, wind, water, and fire was not particularly high. The highest attribute she possessed was earth, but it wasn't an ideal trait for her. The career development prospects for this attribute included civil engineering, geological surveying, and battlefield construction...none of which suited a girl like her. These careers often treated women as men and men as mere tools.
She decided to pursue the study of water and wood elements. She wanted to explore the field of life sciences and later consider branches related to medicine. Medical aesthetics would actually be a good choice as well, as it could be quite profitable.
Her favorite was the Summoning Art, but unfortunately, this field is already saturated. Only elemental creatures are willing to go into battle, and the summoned beasts she cultivated are treated as pets. A group of Summoning Art practitioners have now become veterinarians and breeders.
Interesting, has the magical system really developed to this stage now?
It had already started to be considered as a formal career plan, which was quite promising.
Can this Withered Tree Spell revive and cure baldness? Ah? It can't? Well, if it could, the professor giving lectures wouldn't be bald himself.
Here we go again, it's the sound of illusions.
Michelle could vaguely sense that someone was nearby, even nodding and evaluating her textbook with keen interest.
She turned a page in the book, but the other person reluctantly said, "Slow down, slow down, I haven't finished reading yet."
Michelle didn't want to pay any attention. After all, every time she turned her head, she couldn't see anyone there. She wondered if she was being teased by little elves.
She continued her classes, diligently taking notes. She planned to master a level-three spell before the end of the semester. Spell crafting required stepping up in levels, combining three level-one spells to create a level-two spell, and three level-two spells to create a level-three spell. The combination and arrangement of spells depended on individual preferences. Lower-level spells had higher repetition, while higher-level spells were more unique. There was no single optimal solution for a specific spell, which was the complete opposite of science and what made it mysterious.
When class was over, she once again heard the person beside her talking incessantly in her ear.
Generally speaking, mystique may suppress technological development, but the industrialization process of the alliance is not slow either.
By systematizing spells, it lowered the entry barrier, but to a certain extent, it limited the exploration of individual potentials,
Has no one ever read 'The Bloodline'?
You see that mare over there, yes, the one who looks so much like a unique horse? She actually became a druid, it's hilarious! Is she planning to grow her own grassland and feast wherever she goes?
She should have switched to the alchemy department and the empowerment department, wearing explosive-proof armor and charging forward with the main cannon of a Tiger tank.
Michael covered her ears and shook her head. It was really too loud!
I won't listen, I won't listen!
As the surroundings finally quieted down, she glanced at the time and realized it was already lunchtime. So, she got up and walked towards the cafeteria. After taking a few steps, she noticed someone following closely behind, as if they were shadowing her. She turned around and caught a glimpse of a young man standing in the sunlight, but he disappeared in an instant.
She was immediately filled with fright... Did she really summon something sinister last night?
