"We're in trouble..." Daniela was the first to speak as she leaned back in her chair, letting out a tired sigh. With one hand over her eyes, she murmured to herself, "So tired..."
Evelyn rested her head on the desk, defeated, her eyes sunken as she automatically closed them, trying to sleep. Leslie, on the other hand, was fighting to stay awake, her head swaying from side to side. It wasn't just them—the others were in the same condition, mentally exhausted, with their eyes almost lost. "So heavy..." I muttered to myself, gazing out the window.
Classes start at 7 a.m., and now the sun had already passed midday—it was nearly 4 in the afternoon, if I wasn't mistaken. Ten straight hours of class... and with the intensity of the professor's lessons, this reminded me of my university days back on Earth.
The best part was that the professor was still there, calmly organizing papers at her desk without any trace of fatigue. After she finished packing her things, her beautiful platinum eyes fixed on us: "I expect you in my office in one hour—Building 3, Floor 4, Office 1." With those words, she left the room.
"One hour..." At least we have time to eat something. I packed away my notebook. "First steps" was today's topic—basically, the history of the Empire, how it was founded, and who its founder was. Ancient history, nothing too important since it was only the second day of classes.
This will continue throughout the first week, or so Emilia had said—history and some common knowledge that you're supposed to learn as a child at home. I have to admit I knew absolutely nothing of what was being taught, so I had to pay attention and take some notes... I sighed, remembering my university days, a bit sad at the thought. Shaking it off, I stood up and looked at the others. "Shall we go?"
"Brother, if I were you, I'd start praying for mercy on my knees..." Elias said, a gloomy look on his face as he brought a spoonful of food to his mouth. He shook his head, "I don't think I can last more than two seconds under the professor's stare! It's terrifying!" He shuddered and lowered his head.
"Stop telling everyone about your traumas!" Olivia glared at Elias and tugged at his hand, leaning close to his ear. "Don't do it..."
"Well, basically, the professor embarrassed him in front of everyone for being too enthusiastic. It was funny and sad at the same time," Beatrice, sitting beside him, explained to the four of us. This made Elias' shoulders sag even more. "I thought the answer was right..." he muttered, trying to defend himself.
Watching the odd synergy between them... "Interesting... Olivia's treatment of Elias is much more like she's dealing with an ordinary friend, even daring to get close to him, something that didn't happen in the novel... In fact, this isn't the only change." I glanced from the corner of my eye to see a young girl sitting alone at a table.
Her black hair was the only thing visible, practically covering her entire face, and a gloomy aura surrounded her. A person with no information—there are around twenty max in the class, and no protagonist among them, so it was normal for someone to fill the gap. This time, it was this girl, always seated at the back of the room.
"Hey... what are you looking at?" Adrian asked, following my gaze. He stayed silent for a moment, adjusting his glasses. "The gloomy girl? You have some pretty strange tastes," he said with a small smile.
"Gloomy girl?" Raising an eyebrow, that's a... rather fitting nickname. Looking at her again, her hair was really messy. "What do you know about her?" I asked, intrigued.
"Well, from what I've heard, she's the illegitimate daughter of a noble house... I don't know much else." He glanced back at his plate, taking a bite and wiping his mouth with a napkin. "She's shunned by her own family for some reason, but..." He fell silent for a moment. "I guess it's because of her eyes... no, better said, because of the power of her eyes," he said quietly.
"You know something about that?" My interest was piqued. Maybe that's why she hides her eyes with her hair... "Her eyes are of different colors, from what I understand. Her right eye is red, and the other is blue. As for her powers, there are rumors that came from her own family..." Adrian leaned in a bit closer.
"It's complete madness, but they say that anyone unfortunate enough to look directly into her eyes dies instantly."
I widened my eyes. "Wait, that sounds way too overpowered." I glanced back at the girl. "Overpowered?" Adrian frowned. "Forget it... but are you sure about that?"
Adrian nodded, grimacing. "She's the twin sister of the leader of Class 1... Ariel Black Sun..." He shook his head. "I think they have a bad relationship, or at least I've never seen them together. Besides, like I said, her family rejects her... probably out of fear, I guess," he finally said, going quiet after that.
Reflecting on what Adrian had said, my mind raced, trying to recall any similar character or ability. But no matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find anything like that. "Killing with a single look..." Then again, no character named Ariel appeared in the plot either... Both of them are anomalies to me.
But from the brief interaction I had with him, I knew Ariel was dangerous and smart by the way he managed to deceive Daniela... And now it turns out he has a twin sister in our class, who also seems to be excluded by everyone else.
"Not eating?" Evelyn's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked into her beautiful red eyes and the way she stared at my plate... I smiled. "No... do you want it?" I offered her my plate of food, which she happily accepted with a sweet smile, quickly taking it for herself.
"Killing with eyes... killing... killing... it can't be..." A cold sweat ran down my spine. "System... is the Death Rune active?"
[Death Rune detected!]
[Seraph of Death found!]
[Fifth Seraph: Lost and forgotten, he found solace in the cold, eternal embrace of death.]