"That mixture will never work," Asher said, sitting in front of Alyssa.
As the end of the year approached, he'd had multiple small conversations with Alyssa.
He didn't know what kept him going. This was the first time, apart from his family and Damian, that he had been talking with anyone else this long.
Asher turned the page and slid the book across the table.
"Look for this," Asher said, his eyes meeting Alyssa's.
"Okay," Alyssa responded as she accepted the book and his advice.
At first, she resented conversing with Asher because she thought he was mocking her, but he would only correct her when he saw her doing something wrong.
Their conversation never became personal or extended beyond the confines of the large, empty room filled with countless books.
Occasionally, Alyssa would glance up to observe Asher.
'Why, why do you have those eyes?' Alyssa wondered as her frustration grew.
It constantly irked her that Asher had those lifeless eyes, just like hers.
'You have everything! Power, money... family.'
Thoughts like these kept returning in her head.
'Nobody hates you, nobody mocks you,'
'You don't have to deal with a sickness like mine.....'
'Then why...'
Asher had everything Alyssa lacked and wanted, but despite that, his eyes appeared emotionless. The voices in her head, constantly repeating these words, led her to develop a slight resentment towards Asher.
Her mental strength was deteriorating due to the environment at World Academy. Still, she continued to observe and converse with him.
Alyssa channeled her mana with a bit of pain and went to get another book.
She came back and sat. When she looked up, she saw Asher watching her with a light smile on his face.
For the first time, he had smiled.
"So you can smile?" Alyssa asked, marking the first time their conversation strayed from the books they were reading.
Asher raised his eyebrows and tilted his head a bit. He touched his lips, realizing he was indeed smiling.
"Why?" Asher muttered, confused as to why he had smiled.
He had never found anything amusing before.
In the grey world he inhabited, nothing had ever piqued his interest.
He only behaved in a way that he deemed normal for someone of his status.
Beneath his cold exterior, unlike others, resided a boy that was plagued with headaches and had the urge to destroy everything around him.
His smile soon faded, and he looked back at Alyssa.
His interest in Alyssa grew further. Neither of them knew what drew him to her, and it was the same for Alyssa.
They were unaware of how his smile had surprised Alyssa, who had never seen him smile or show any emotion during their months of acquaintance.
She returned her attention to the books she had brought to the table.
As she flipped through the pages, she didn't notice that the voices in her head had stopped.
Their interaction was indeed strange.
Several weeks later.
"You know who I am, right?" Alyssa asked.
"Alyssa Astaria?" Asher replied.
"Not that, my mother's family..." Alyssa trailed off, looking at the book in front of her.
"Garcia," Asher supplied.
"Then why.." Alyssa began to ask something but stopped herself.
"I'll go now," she announced, channeling her mana to stand, and Asher watched as she left the room.
It wasn't that she didn't want to hear Asher's answer, but rather she was afraid of it.
All this time, she had subconsciously come to appreciate these small moments with Asher, but she was scared that if she asked the question, the answer might disappoint her.
It was a strange feeling for this lonely girl, but in a world filled with hatred, these moments with Asher were her only peaceful refuge.
The scene changed, and Asher found himself standing in front of many students.
"The teams have been formed. This is a C Rank Dungeon, so I want you to try and clear it as much as you can," Professor Elsa announced, surveying the randomly formed teams for this Joint Dungeon Class between the five classes.
The teams were comprised of the top 60 students from the first year.
Asher looked around, noticing Amelia, Kevin, and Elena standing beside him.
"I will lead," Kevin said staring at Asher.
"Okay," Asher responded, turning his head and ignoring Kevin.
His eyes scanned the crowd for Alyssa, noting which team she was in. Amelia noticed Asher's search.
"Yo, you're with Amelia," Damian approached, tapping Asher's shoulder.
"What's your group?" He asked, and Damian pointed to a spot where Matthew, Alyssa, and Ria were gathered.
Asher looked at Alyssa, who was using her mana to hover and stand on her own.
'She will run out of mana,' Asher thought. His mana sensitivity had been improving daily due to his bloodline ability.
These days, Asher found himself questioning his actions and thoughts that revolved around Alyssa.
"I want you to make sure she doesn't get hurt," Asher told Damian, pointing at Damian's group.
"You mean Ria Adler?" Damian asked quietly.
Asher shook his head.
"That girl?!" Damian was a bit surprised, but he didn't draw anyone's attention.
"If you want, I can," Damian replied. It was the first time Asher had asked him for help.
'Why is he getting involved with the Garcia girl?' Damian pondered.
He didn't know why, but he agreed to Asher's request nonetheless.
Turning, Damian looked at Amelia, who was chatting with Kevin and Elena, and a strange look crossed his face.
"I'll go now," Damian said, swiftly heading towards his group.
Asher didn't miss the look on Damian's face.
But at the moment, instead of focusing on others, he was busy trying to figure out why he was so interested in Alyssa.
Shortly after, Asher was inside the dungeon. This time, he wasn't eager to hunt monsters. Being with Alyssa had taught him to calm himself significantly.
Whatever drove him towards madness, it calmed when he was around Alyssa, and the symptoms kept reducing the more time he spent with her.
One conclusion Asher drew was that his interest in Alyssa stemmed from the fact that she alleviated his strange 'illness' that only he knew about.
Asher moved with Kevin, who was leading the group.
Their formation was arranged so that Asher handled the rear while Elena and Amelia were in the middle.
"We'll rest for now," Kevin announced, looking around at the bodies of various monsters that littered the area.
They had been fighting for hours straight, with most of the creatures killed by Kevin, supported by Amelia and Elena's magic.
They erected small tents they had been given and created a resting spot. Kevin sat down with Amelia and Elena.
Asher observed them and their interactions around him. He could tell that Amelia felt a bit awkward around him. Both Elena and Kevin refrained from engaging him in conversation, a situation he didn't mind at all.
This time, his madness was subdued due to Alyssa's presence, but before he met her, he wasn't sure he could maintain his sanity around others.
This was why he avoided Amelia after his first realization of his internal madness.
"One of us has to remain on guard duty to ensure monsters don't come too near," Elena pointed out.
"Oh, I can-" Amelia began to volunteer, but Kevin interrupted her.
"No, you and Elena are crucial members of the team. It'll have to be either me or him," Kevin said, looking at Asher.
"I'll go," Asher stood up, understanding the direction the conversation was taking.
Amelia wore an awkward expression, her relationship with Asher having remained uneasy since the party incident.
"Okay, we can switch between us two after 12 hours," Kevin proposed, watching as Asher headed deeper into the dungeon.
"Phew, now he's gone," Elena sighed in relief.
"I wouldn't have felt comfortable around him without you," Elena confided in Kevin.
"I can understand how you feel about him. I mean, look at his eyes," she said to Amelia.
"It was fine," Amelia responded.
"You don't have to bear all this alone. We're friends, after all," Kevin said with a smile on his face,
"You're a Ranker and he's not; this clearly shows the talent gap between you two," Kevin asserted.
Elena observed Kevin and Amelia's expressions closely, occasionally joining the conversation.
While they were chatting, Asher was advancing deeper into the dungeon.
'Somebody's here,' Asher thought, crouching down at the sight of some human food in the dungeon.
'Could it be the instructor?' he pondered, but quickly dismissed that possibility.
'Mana Spread,' Asher thought, extending his mana throughout the dungeon, detecting a large amount of mana concentrated in one area.
"What is that?" Asher frowned, unsheathing the black blade he had obtained from the auction.
He hadn't sensed any human presence yet, but he could feel an enormous amount of mana in one place inside the dungeon.
****
While Asher was reliving his memories, the snake figure materialized once again, its iris of blood-red hue locked onto Asher.
Shadow-like energy floated towards Asher as the snake began to coil around his neck.
[ System is blocking Rune of Eirdin ]
[ Reducing the negative effect ]
This notification hovered around Asher, who was unaware of it.
[ ?!? is experiencing the negative memories instead of Host ]
The peculiar beast moved its head to face Asher, who sat with his eyes closed.
"Why...do...you...hate...this...world?" The snake queried in a strange language, continuing to delve into Asher's memories.
[ ?!?'s bond is increasing ]
Strangely, the beast found its existence similar to Asher's.
