"Are you sure, Amanda? He actually reawakened and became a Dual Bloodline user? Is it true?" Headmistress Amber asked with wide eyes as she looked at Amanda for confirmation.
'Well, he did reawaken, but not as a Dual Bloodline user—it was the Primogenitor's bloodline,' Amanda thought silently as she nodded her head in agreement.
"So it's true," Headmistress Amber muttered in a daze as her gaze shifted to Victor.
"That's good. Amanda, you can train him in basic swordsmanship until we find a proper teacher for him. And after he passes the trial—which I'm sure he will—he can learn magic from you. If he shows a stronger affinity for lightning, I'll personally teach him myself," Amber said as she looked between Amanda and Victor.
Victor was confused and turned to Amanda, hoping for some answers.
'Hmm, this sounds beneficial. If I really do have an affinity with lightning, then I could get free spells from her,' Victor thought. High-tier spells are rare, just like sword arts, and you usually have to spend a fortune to get them. But the headmistress seems willing to share, and he got no reason to refuse. Judging by Amanda's expression, she must be pretty strong too.
"By the way, Victor, I've exempted you from all regular classes so you can focus on training. But for the first week, I suggest you attend classes with your juniors. Many of your peers from your own batch have already passed the trial and became rankers, so they're now in the ranker classes. Those who failed have already left the academy. You're the only one from your batch who's still here," Amber explained.
Victor, who heard this, simply nodded.
"Seems like a good idea," Victor nodded in agreement.
"Alright, do you remember your classroom? If not, you can ask where the elite students are, they'll point you in the right direction. You may excuse yourself now. Amanda, you stay—I need to talk to you," Amber said.
Victor nodded and left the room, while Amanda raised an eyebrow but relaxed when she heard Amber wanted her to stay.
After Victor left, Amber's expression turned serious as she looked at Amanda.
"Amanda, are you sure he's really Victor and not a fraud?" Amber asked.
"Yes, I'm sure. Why are you asking?" Amanda replied with a frown.
"What if he's a reanimated corpse puppet, or worse—someone is mind-controlling him? Did you check?" Amber pressed.
"Yes. Before bringing him here, I discreetly checked him," Amanda said confidently.
"I see… but I still can't shake this nagging feeling that he's hiding something big," Amber muttered as she bit her nails, making Amanda furrow her brows.
"Maybe he is hiding something, but I don't believe he has ill intent or has turned evil. If he had, we would have noticed it. Besides, he's not strong enough to hide that kind of thing from us given the difference in strength. And let's be honest—we all have our own secrets," Amanda said casually. Even she had secrets, and she didn't doubt Amber did as well. Among rankers, it was an unspoken rule never to reveal all of your cards, no matter how close someone was to you.
"Sigh… you're right. Maybe I'm just overthinking," Amber said, though she still couldn't shake the nagging sense that something was wrong.
---
Outside, just as he exited the headmistress's office, Victor let out a long breath.
"Sigh… that meeting was really intimidating. As expected of a ranker… Headmistress Amber here is even stronger than the Amber from my original world," Victor muttered with a sigh.
Just as he was about to keep walking, he heard a faint voice call his name.
"Victor…"
He turned around, and sure enough, he saw a beautiful girl walking toward him with a group. She seemed to draw every gaze in the corridor effortlessly. Her uniform was different from the rest, but what made Victor frown was that he didn't recognize her at all—at least, not until the students around him started whispering.
"Look, those are the new rankers."
"Hey, that's the Ranker Olivia—Victor's girlfriend."
"Idiot, don't you mean ex-girlfriend? She started dating Kevin a month ago."
"Holy shit, is Kevin and Victor going to fight over Olivia? Honestly, I prefer Kevin. He's a mage and a noble, like Olivia. They make a better match."
"Stupid. If Victor fought Kevin now, he'd lose instantly. Kevin's a ranker like them."
'Fuck… damn, that's Olivia? This Olivia is way more beautiful than the one I knew. And I actually used to date such a beauty?' Victor was stunned by her looks for a moment before snapping himself out of it. A tinge of jealousy crept in as he thought about his other self.
"Excuse me, do I know you?" Victor asked in a genuinely confused voice, which caused a hurt expression to flash across Olivia's face.
"Victor, you bastard!" the handsome man beside her shouted angrily and was about to charge at Victor—but he stopped when Olivia shot him a cold look.
'That must be her new boyfriend,' Victor thought, not sparing him another glance. Even if she got married, what did it matter to him anyway? He had never truly dated her, and he wasn't about to start caring now. He had far more important things to worry about.
"Tch." Kevin snorted coldly but didn't make a move.
"Do you really not know or remember anything about me?" Olivia asked, a frown creasing her face.
"No, I don't," Victor replied flatly. "The only thing I know is what Miss Amanda told me—that we used to date. But I don't remember it at all. And honestly, you already have a new boyfriend. Even if I do one day regain my memories of us, I doubt I'll regret anything. Anyway, I have more important things to do, so… goodbye." Victor turned and walked away, leaving them behind.
"Olivia…" Jasmine looked at her best friend worriedly, then glanced at Victor with hesitation.
"Che." Blaze, Kevin's best friend, glared at Victor coldly.
"..." Olivia said nothing. She simply bit her lip, then took a deep breath. Her expression hardened into neutrality as she swept her gaze over the onlookers. Intimidated, they quickly scattered.
"Olivia, are you okay?" Kevin asked hesitantly.
"Yes. I'm fine. At least now… I no longer feel guilty," Olivia said calmly before turning away. The group followed behind her.