1RomanceEB Chapter 106: Kei’s Status
Chapter 106: Kei’s Status
"Hahhhh..."
As he remained lost in thought, desperately trying to come up with literally anything to say, Kei who had seemingly run out of patience and completely misinterpreted his silence let out a long sigh of frustration.
She looked down for a moment, collecting herself. Then, after calming down, she raised her head and looked at Kelly once again.
This time, her own face wore a perfect poker face, mirroring Kelly’s cold expression. And when she spoke, her voice was just as cold.
"I don’t even want to know what you’re thinking. It’s alright everyone has their own secrets, I guess... I respect that. So, let’s not talk about your weird transformation."
As she said that last part, Kelly noticed the slight crack in her voice, as if she hadn’t expected him of all people to keep something from her.
’No, you don’t understand... even I want to share this badly with someone. It’s just... I don’t know how to talk about this. I don’t know you enough. I don’t trust you enough to know how you’d react. And for now... I just want to keep it to myself.’
But regardless of what Kelly was thinking, Kei continued.
"But right now, I need your help, and I’m guessing you’ll need mine if we want to get out of here. So even if you don’t like it, we have to cooperate with each other as much as possible. The least we can do is show each other our status."
Silence followed her words. Kelly simply kept staring at her, unsure of what he was supposed to say. Kei, seemingly picking up on his hesitation, spoke again.
"I understand what I’m asking. Don’t worry as a show of sincerity, I’ll go first. It’s up to you whether you want to show yours."
Without waiting for his reaction this time, Kei spoke clearly, intending to make her status visible for both of them.
"Open Status."
KEI HAYASHI, AGE: 18, FEMALE
JOB: MAGUS
LEVEL: 15
WISDOME:50
STAMINA:80
STRENGTH: 30
SPEED:50
ENDURANCE:30
SOUL STRENGTH:1200
MAGIC:FIRE MAGIC, ICE MAGIC, WIND MAGIC, EARTH MAGIC
SKILLS: AMALGAMATION, CHANT ANNULMENT, RECOVERY, MANA AWARENESS [MANA MANIPULATION], AMPLIFICATION, LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION
Looking at the status before him, the only thought running through Kelly’s mind was profound shock.
’In terms of skills, soul strength, and affinities, she’s only behind Agawa. When it comes to wisdom, she could actually outpace anyone in our class even Agawa. She even has a superior version of Agawa’s Short Chant skill. If I had to guess, even her mana quality and quantity should be far greater than anyone else in the class. All of her skills are perfectly suited for her job. The only thing separating her from the top three is the lack of an S-Rank skill. But even without that, she’s the strongest mage in our entire class. All in all, she’s the closest thing to a perfect mage her job, skills, and affinities all complement each other perfectly. If it weren’t for our resident Hero, she would be the perfect protagonist.’
Kelly couldn’t help but stare in awe at Kei’s status. Her potential as a mage was better than anyone else in their class. What Kelly didn’t know was just how close he was to the truth.
To be honest, Kei was someone who could once have been called a once-in-a-millennium talent among humans. Her aptitude and natural talent as a mage were so extraordinary that even within the great empires of this world, she would have been considered a true genius.
In the future, her sheer talent might even surpass the elves themselves, the race known as the greatest mage-oriented species in the world. But that future was still far away. For now, she was still just a mage. A very powerful one, yes, but still someone struggling to survive. It would take years before she could truly reach the terrifying potential hidden inside her.
’Anyway... I stand corrected. I should never make her angry. And judging by that throbbing vein on her forehead, I’d say I’ve already outdone myself.’
"Well, don’t just stand there staring at me. Say something."
Kei’s voice broke the awkward silence hanging heavily in the cave. Kelly, however, completely missed what she actually wanted to hear. Instead, the only thing he managed to say was,
"You are stronger than before."
"Yeah, I don’t think that’s something you ought to complain about."
Kei replied while giving his body a slow once-over, clear contempt dripping from her voice.
"Y-you misunderstood, I wasn’t complai..."
Realizing she wasn’t actually listening to him, and that every word coming out of his mouth was somehow making the situation worse, Kelly let out a quiet sigh and decided to stop struggling against fate.
He went straight to the real issue.
"I appreciate your trust in me for showing me your status..."
"There’s a difference between survival and trust, Kelly."
Before he could continue, Kei cut him off with blunt honesty, making him pause.
"Nonetheless, I appreciate it, but"
"You know everything before a ’but’ doesn’t count."
Kelly took a short pause at that. Then, with as much seriousness as he could put into his voice, he continued.
"I can’t reciprocate it..."
’Sorry.’
He wanted to apologize.
He truly did. But once again, his voice refused to obey the thoughts in his mind. So instead, all he could manage was
"I hope you understand."
As soon as he finished saying that, a short silence fell between them. The air itself seemed to grow heavier, filled with the quiet distance forming between them. After a while, Kei slowly stood up. Her face was blank completely emotionless. Without looking at him again, she turned toward the entrance of the cave, presenting only her back to Kelly as she began walking toward the exit. Her voice, cold as ice, drifted through the air.
"I don’t want to."
Kelly could only sigh as he watched her walk away. For a brief moment, he instinctively lifted his arm slightly, as if he wanted to stop her to say something, anything. But his hand stopped halfway. And slowly, it dropped back down. In the end, he did nothing.
He simply sat back down, resting against the cold cave wall, his legs drawn close, staring upward with a thousand thoughts running through his mind.