I Killed The Main Characters

Chapter 47: Exhaustion [2]

Jacob waved a hand dismissively.

"Maybe it's a temporary fluctuation in the academy's mana fields. We've had those before."

Sharon pressed her lips together, unconvinced.

"It's more than that, Jacob. This feels different."

Jacob finally turned his head, looking past Sharon toward a corner of the room.

Maya sat there, head lowered, staring blankly at the papers on the desk.

She hadn't spoken the entire time.

"Maya," Jacob called out, his tone soft but curious.

"You've been quiet. Are you alright?"

Maya flinched, snapping out of her trance. She looked up and forced a small smile.

"I'm fine, Professor. Just... exhausted, I guess."

Jacob nodded, his expression more thoughtful than concerned.

"You've been doing a lot of work for me lately. I appreciate it.

You can head out for the day if you need to rest."

Maya stood up slowly, collecting her scattered papers and shoving them into her bag.

"Thank you, Professor. I think I will."

But as she moved toward the door, something tugged at her thoughts—something she didn't want to think about but couldn't fully shake.

The memory of finding Ariana in Noah's room the other night resurfaced.

The sight of her there, so comfortable, with Noah sound asleep beside her... it gnawed at her.

Maya didn't want to admit it, but something about it bothered her.

It wasn't just jealousy—it was something deeper.

A feeling she couldn't quite define.

She dismissed it, shaking her head slightly as if to clear the thoughts away.

Before she could leave the office, Professor Jacob's voice stopped her.

"Oh, Maya," he said, his tone casual but probing.

"What about the incident from the other night?

Did you manage to look into it?"

Maya turned back, standing in the doorway. She hesitated for a moment before answering.

"There wasn't much to go on, Professor.

Three students were found—one dead, two unconscious.

The dead student's mana core exploded from overexertion.

The other two had their cores shattered by some kind of magic."

Jacob nodded slowly, his face unreadable.

"Alien magic?"

"That's what the doctors at the infirmary said," Maya replied, her voice more measured now.

"They couldn't identify the spell. It was precise, like the attacker knew exactly what they were doing.

The students' cores were destroyed in a way that seemed almost... intentional."

Jacob didn't respond for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Then he simply said, "Thank you, Maya. You've done well. Keep me updated."

Maya nodded and left the office, her footsteps echoing down the long hallway.

As she walked, her mind drifted back to something the infirmary doctors had told her.

All three students had runic marks tattooed down their spines—marks that seemed more like a brand than a natural part of their magic.

She couldn't shake the image from her mind.

She reached into her bag as she walked and pulled out a small, glowing object.

It was the artifact the guards had found near the scene of the attack—a strange, alien device she had never seen before.

It didn't look like any magical tool or weapon she recognized.

The runes carved into it were unfamiliar, and the way it pulsed with a faint golden light unsettled her.

She stopped in her tracks, staring at the object.

"What is this thing?" she muttered to herself.

For a brief moment, the thought crossed her mind—Noah.

He had a strange knack for understanding things that were out of the ordinary.

Maybe he could help her figure out what this artifact was.

Maybe he'd seen something like it before.

With a sigh, she tucked the artifact back into her bag and continued walking, her mind wandering to Noah once again.

"He probably knows what this strange artifact is…" she said quietly to herself, her voice barely a whisper.

***

Noah sat by the window, the sunlight streaming in, casting a golden hue on the pages of his book.

His elbow rested on the desk, his cheek propped lazily on his hand as his eyes scanned the pages with a bored expression.

He let out a long sigh, his gaze drifting momentarily out the window before muttering to himself.

"Can't believe I'm back in school again..."

The monotony of the moment was interrupted when a shadow fell across his desk.

His eyes flicked upward, mildly annoyed, to see someone standing in front of him.

It was Ariana, hugging two or three books to her chest, looking slightly nervous but managing a small, awkward smile.

"Hey…" she started, her voice soft as she hesitated for a moment.

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, clearly struggling to get her words out.

"I just... I wanted to thank you, Noah.

For helping me with Professor Sharon's course.

I've been meaning to say it earlier, but you've been so busy…"

Noah's eyebrows raised slightly. His thoughts shifted.

'Has she been following me around?'

But he quickly dismissed it.

It wasn't the first time students observed others at a distance.

Especially since he'd been spending a lot of time studying in the library and, when not there, training at the grounds.

Ariana's voice broke through his musings.

"I didn't want to bother you," she continued, "you looked really exhausted, and—"

She suddenly froze, her eyes widening as if she had just remembered something important.

"Oh, right!" she blurted, slightly panicked.

Noah blinked in surprise, wondering what had gotten into her.

Before he could ask, Ariana stepped aside, revealing another girl standing behind her.

"I almost forgot—this is my friend."

Noah hadn't noticed the girl at all, which was odd.

He prided himself on being observant, but then again, he had a habit of blocking out anyone who wasn't important to him.

In his mind, those who didn't play a major or minor role in the game world he once knew were just like NPCs—unimportant and easily ignored.

He glanced at the girl now. She certainly didn't blend into the background.

Her hair was an eye-catching shade of orange, leaning more toward red, and her red eyes gleamed with curiosity.

Pink lips curved into a confident smile, and she had a curvaceous figure that was hard to ignore, especially with the way her black skirt hugged her hips.

The girl stepped forward, her movements graceful and deliberate.

"You must be Noah," she said with a smile, extending her hand toward him.

Her voice was smooth, self-assured, and her gaze held steady, showing no sign of nervousness like Ariana's.

Noah glanced at her hand, hesitating for just a moment before he reached out to shake it.