Chapter 27: A Girl’s Walk
[Moments Earlier]
"I should start heading out now..."
Alicia closed up the book she was reading and looked around her.
As expected, she was the only one left in the Royal Library. It didn't come as a shock to her, considering that this had been the case for her for as long as they arrived in this world.
She sighed as she rose to her feet, returning the book to its rightful location.
As she did so, her eyes darted to a particular spot—the place where a particular student usually occupied when he came to the library.
'He's the only one who comes here consistently. I didn't see him today, though. I wonder what happened...'
Alicia slowly stifled her worry, shaking her head a little as she made her way out of the library.
As much as she didn't want to admit it, she had noticed his absence today.
... The exact same way she noticed his presence every other day.
'It feels like we're sort of similar. And when we're in the library, we have this unspoken bond between us...'
Alicia quickly caught herself making these silly thoughts and nearly slapped her hand on her face.
'What the heck am I thinking about? That sounds creepy!'
As library buddies, she was just wondering where he was.
However, she wasn't going to be getting her answers.
'I can only guess. Maybe... he got tired of the library...'
Somehow, the very thought of that didn't sit well with her. She wasn't sad or anything, but she wasn't happy about it either.
Honestly, she just didn't know what to feel about it.
'I should take a stroll...' Alicia thought to herself once she got out of the library building.
She took in the fresh night breeze, allowing it to tickle her nostrils as her hair danced with the wind.
There were a lot of things to dislike about this world, but the freshness of the air and the allure of its surroundings were one of its good points.
'It's too bad they're trivial compared to the negative.' Alicia's thoughts trailed as she moved her legs and began walking.
Now was a good time for her to reflect on all the things that had been going on thus far.
She knew full well that she had been alienated from the main groups, and she could see why.
'I was so wrapped up in finding more information about this world, for the sake of the class, that I was soon tagged a bookworm.'
The repressed jealousy and dislike that so many of her classmates had were now surfacing, and she could see them for the hypocrites that they were.
'I'm not surprised, though. I already knew ever since my Skill selection with Seraph.'
That was when she found out her Karma Points were a mere 57.
'How was that even possible?' She had thought to herself.
She was the most popular girl in her class, and she had so many people who fawned around her.
But in the end, it was all fake.
'A lot of them must have really despised me. That's why I have such low Karma.'
It was only by some miracle that she was able to get her SS-Tier Skill, which granted her a free A-Tier Class and an additional free S-Tier Skill.
According to Seraph, certain Skills and Classes, if chosen, caused a chain reaction that either caused a discount for others to be selected, or gave freebies.
In essence, she had been extremely lucky in her selection.
If not, she would be stranded with only a few low-tier Skills and a subpar Class—sort of like Rey.
'I wonder what kind of Karma he had for him to be able to only avoid such a poor Class and Skill.'
His Skill wasn't too bad, but it wasn't particularly worth anything among their classmates since someone had a Skill just like his—but better.
His Class was the absolute worst, which meant his Stats were in shambles at this point.
'I thought he would want to reinforce his weakness with knowledge so he could have an edge in this new world...'
Frankly, she liked that.
She admired his consistency. Despite not spending as much time as her in the library, he showed up every day.
It was like their daily ritual.
'But it looks like... that won't be the case anymore.'
Alicia stared up at the moon and smiled, feeling its faint glow of moonlight bathe her.
A few guards were stationed about, but they minded their business and none of them disturbed her.
As such, she was able to freely enjoy her walk without any kind of interference.
"It's funny, isn't it? Even now, I keep trying to find out new information for my classmates, and they despise me more."
She had wanted to suggest the idea of the library to them from the very second day, but none of them would have responded positively.
Merely hearing about training soured their mood greatly, so she couldn't push it any further.
No one wanted this world to resemble school at all, so they didn't want to study.
That meant she had to do all of this herself.
Alicia didn't particularly mind, but she had been ostracized because of her time in the library, and now she was faced with a reality she couldn't escape.
"I have no friends. All of them are just... haaa..."
They were constantly gossiping about her past relationship with Adonis, despite it already being ages since that happened.
'We only dated for like a week, and it became such a big deal...'
They constantly badmouthed her and cast gazes on her that told her she wasn't welcome with them.
It was crazy! Despite being beautiful, intelligent, and powerful... she was being rejected by everyone around her.
'There is this one guy that talks to me. He looks at me creepily, though. I just... can't stand it.'
Alicia didn't quite know his name, but she knew he often hung around Adonis and Belle.
They were the most popular kids now, considering they were both powerful and socially likable.
Despite her being just as strong as them—perhaps with the exception of Adonis—she didn't have such recognition.
'I've given up on that at this point...' Alicia sighed as she closed her eyes.
She just had to focus on her own personal goals and her most important reason for visiting the library every single day.
'Maybe I can find a way to return home. I... I want to leave this world already.'
Bracing herself with both of her hands, a bittersweet smile formed on her face.
It felt like she was remembering a fond memory.
"Maybe I could ask Rey if we could study it together. Returning ho—"
~FSHHH~
The ruffling of a bush close to Alicia caught her attention instantly, so she approached it quietly.
She didn't even realize how close to the walls she had gotten.
Once she arrived there, a gasp nearly escaped her lips.
'W-what?! Isn't that Rey?'
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[A/N]
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