Chapter 197: Unexpected Duel
Standing in the academy hallway, near a large window that offered a clear view of the outside, Ash remained silent.
The grass, trees, and flowers swayed gently in the wind, painting a calm, almost dreamlike picture. But above that peaceful scenery, the sky was shrouded in dark clouds.
It was going to rain soon.
Ash wasn’t alone. Beside him, Elva stood quietly. Her eyes didn’t leave him—not even for a second. And this time, she was smiling. But her smile wasn’t soft or kind.
It was sharp, the same dangerous kind she had worn the day she appeared during the academy’s entrance exam. The kind of smile that made your instincts tingle and your guard rise.
"I knew you were special," she said, her voice smooth but laced with amusement. "But special enough to return alive from the Elven Continent? Now that... I didn’t expect. So tell me, what exactly happened?"
Ash was a little surprised at how directly she asked. Most people would have hesitated, circled around the topic, tried to be clever. But Elva had always been straightforward when she wanted something.
Even now, her gaze never wavered. Still, instead of answering immediately, Ash looked outside the window. His fingers brushed the edge of the window frame, and his expression softened just a little.
After a moment of silence, he replied.
"I’m nothing special. Honestly, I’m not even that talented. You could say... I just happened to have some information. That’s what made me seem different."
He wasn’t lying. Without the knowledge from the novel, and without the Runes, Ash wouldn’t have survived even the early stages. He wasn’t born strong. He wasn’t chosen by fate. He was just someone who got lucky with knowledge.
"My strength isn’t mine either," he added quietly. "It’s borrowed. And maybe one day, I’ll lose it all. Or maybe I won’t. I don’t really know. The future’s not something I can predict."
He meant it. Not even the Runes could guarantee anything. Their origin was a mystery, but after everything he had seen and felt through them, Ash had begun forming theories.
Runes might not be simple magical tools or power-ups mentioned in the novel. They could be something much deeper. Something fundamental.
He believed they could be the manifestation of the world’s Laws—forces that kept balance, order, and structure alive.
If that was true, then the Runes might not even belong to him in the first place. They could return to their source one day. Or someone stronger could take them by force.
And if they were taken...
What would happen to him?
Would the powers just disappear?
Or would his soul tear apart from the loss?
He didn’t know. But the thought never truly left him.
Even now, that fear lingered at the back of his mind.
Still, none of this was certain. They were only thoughts, not proven facts. Guesses based on the strange way the Runes interacted with his body and soul. Nothing more.
So with a calm voice and a small smile, he continued, "Using some knowledge... and a little borrowed strength, I convinced them. Simple, right?"
This time, he turned his head and looked straight at Elva.
As for why he told her—why he said all this even if vaguely—it was because he trusted her. Not fully. Not as a person. But as a teacher.
Elva, or more precisely, Vice Principal Elva, was the only person in the academy who actually cared about the students. She didn’t show it often. Usually, she hid it behind a strict expression or acted overly cheerful to throw people off. But Ash had noticed.
Because of her, bullying inside the academy had almost vanished.
If any student was found harming others, the punishments were serious. From expulsion, to repeating a whole academic year, to worse.
Because of her, Ash had enjoyed at least one or two peaceful months during his weakest time. That short period was the only time when he could breathe without watching his back.
And for that... he owed her something. If not as a person, then at least as a teacher.
Although, there was one thing that irritated him.
She was way too curious and overly clingy kind. She always wanted to know more, especially about secrets.
Maybe that was just a bad habit of hers?
"I see. As long as everyone is safe, it’s fine, I guess."
Elva spoke in an even tone, her voice calm and without any particular emotion on the surface. But to Ash, it strangely felt as if she was actually relieved that everyone had made it out alive.
There was a subtle warmth hidden beneath her words. A softness that made his heart feel strange for a moment.
She’s relieved that I’m safe... or maybe she just meant everyone is safe. But still, why does she even care? I don’t get it...
That quiet curiosity scratched at the edges of his thoughts, refusing to go away. And in the end, it got the better of him.
"Why do you care?"
Elva blinked, staring at him with a slightly confused expression, as if she didn’t quite understand what he meant. Realizing that his words weren’t clear, Ash rephrased them.
"I mean... why do you care whether someone lives or dies? It’s not like the students are your family or close friends, right? So why do you sound relieved when someone ends up alive and well?"
At that, Elva’s expression faltered. Something in her face shifted. Her gaze lingered on Ash with an odd intensity, as if she was quietly assessing him, trying to figure out what kind of person would even ask such a question.
Then she answered, her voice firm yet not unkind.
"Do you really need a reason to save someone?"
Ash didn’t respond immediately. His eyes lowered as a faint shadow passed across his face, like a curtain slowly being drawn. He stared at his hands, his expression hard to read—as if he didn’t want her to see what he was truly thinking behind that silence.
But Elva wasn’t finished.
"I’m a human too, you know. And if humans don’t help other humans, then who will? Do you think the monsters lurking in the dungeons will be the ones to care? Or some unknown hero who always arrives in time?"
Her words hung in the air, soft but steady. Yet Ash’s eyes narrowed slightly. There was something in him that couldn’t fully agree with that ideal.
"I don’t think that’s enough," he muttered, his voice carrying a quiet weight. "I can’t just accept that reasoning."
He slowly looked up, his gaze calm but filled with something colder, something more cynical.
"What if the person you save today becomes a serial killer tomorrow? Wouldn’t you regret it then?"
"What if, in your attempt to save someone, you end up dying instead? Or worse... what if someone close to you dies because of that decision? How would you live with that?"
"Would you still think saving others is the right choice? Would you still feel relief then?"
His voice echoed faintly through the corridor, lingering in the dim silence. Outside, the black clouds above had thickened, casting deeper shadows over everything.
The air felt heavier, as if even the world had paused for a moment to think about his question. The darkness that surrounded them grew denser, pressing down on their shoulders, and suddenly, everything felt just a little colder.
She took a breath, slow and steady, as if carefully choosing how to respond... like she was trying to find the right way to explain something she had already thought about a thousand times.
"... Maybe I will regret it," she finally said, her voice soft... but there was something unshakably honest in it, like this wasn’t the first time she had asked herself that question.
"Maybe the person I saved will turn out to be someone cruel, someone who’ll hurt others without hesitation... someone who doesn’t deserve the chance I gave them."
Her fingers gripped the window tightly, enough to make a small crack appear along the edge of the frame... yet she didn’t seem to notice.
"And maybe... one day, I’ll lose someone I care about because I chose to save the wrong person. Maybe I’ll even die trying to help someone who didn’t deserve it... someone who might turn around and stab me in the back the moment I lower my guard."
She looked up at the dark sky above them for a moment, lost in thought.
"But even then... I don’t think I’d stop."
Her gaze shifted back to Ash, steady and clear.
"If I start deciding who deserves to be saved based on what they might become later... then am I really any different from the monsters we fight against? If I choose who lives and who doesn’t, based on a future I cannot see, then what does that make me? Will I still be a human at that point? And if not, then who am I to make that choice? Do humans even have the right to decide who should be saved or abandoned?"
The questions didn’t feel like they were meant for him... they hung there like echoes of a truth she had lived with for far too long, unanswered and heavy.
"You asked me why I care?"
Her voice softened even further, but somehow, each word grew heavier... like she was finally peeling back the last layer of what she truly felt.
"I care because it’s the only thing I can do..... it’s the only part of me I don’t want to lose. Becoming powerful and all... that’s fine. But if, in the process, one’s humanity fades away..... if you become strong but stop feeling anything for others..... then everything is in vain."
Her tone didn’t waver, but there was a hint of something more, something raw and buried beneath those calm words.
"And if that means being called naïve or foolish... then so be it. I’d rather be a fool who still feels, who still cries, who still hopes..... than someone who walks through life untouched, unscarred, and unmoved by anyone."
***
Strange...
Ash thought to himself as he walked down the dim corridors, the silence broken only by the occasional gust of wind brushing past him. He was heading toward the sparring class, footsteps quiet against the stone floor.
But his mind... it was elsewhere. It was still lingering on what Elva had said earlier.
I am a human, so I should help humans? What sort of logic even is that...?
He didn’t understand what kind of reasoning she followed. No... if he was being honest with himself, he didn’t even want to understand it.
He already knew the kind of person he was. Selfish. The type who wouldn’t hesitate to let others die if it meant achieving his goals. In fact, he hadn’t felt anything—not even guilt—the first time he took a human life.
It had been one of the person working under a city overseer, a corrupt man who had been greedily swallowing up the funds meant for the orphanage, while the children slept hungry in cold rooms.
Yeah... being selfish is much better. Yup... very much better. I will.....not be human, I guess..
Ash didn’t know, but Elva’s words were somewhat affecting him. Though the change was not that much, her words lingered like a quiet echo in his mind.
Before he could dwell on it any longer, he saw a group of students rushing past him in a hurry, their voices echoing with excitement.
"Come on, hurry up! We’ll miss it if we don’t run."
"Yeah, it’s a duel between Elysia and Ray!"
"This is going to be interesting. Doesn’t Ray have feelings for Elysia? Then why is he the one challenging her to a duel..?"
What the hell...?
Ash looked at the students running and felt a strange unease spreading in his chest.
Damn it...
***