Chapter 66: The Truth Iris Hides.
Noah had spent the morning trying to think of a different way to approach Iris.
After observing her for several days, he already understood that the problem wasn’t something personal.
Iris avoided crowded places, which explained part of her behavior, but it didn’t solve the main issue.
Noah still needed to give her the crystal brooch.
The Clover app hadn’t sent him any more messages, but the item was still tucked in his pocket and he couldn’t keep waiting much longer.
During the first class, Noah glanced toward Iris several times.
She was copying the professor’s explanations without lifting her head.
Noah decided not to try anything.
’If I keep approaching her without a plan, I’ll just make her run away again.’
During the first break, Iris left the classroom before he could even put his notebooks away.
Noah didn’t follow her, and Ren watched him from his seat.
"Are you not stalking her today?"
"I’m not stalking her."
"That’s what you said yesterday."
"I found out she’s not avoiding just me."
Ren closed his notebook.
"That doesn’t improve the situation."
"At least it means she doesn’t hate me."
"Were you worried about that?"
"A little."
Ren looked at him with a serious expression.
"What did you do to make you think she might hate you?"
"I didn’t do anything."
"What an unconvincing answer."
Noah sighed.
"I can’t explain it to you."
"Then I’ll keep assuming the worst."
"Thanks for the support."
"No problem."
When lunchtime arrived, Noah left the classroom without looking for Iris, since he had decided to eat alone.
Yume had sent him a message saying she had to meet with a professor, while Luna was helping with an academic activity and didn’t know how long it would take.
For the first time in several days, Noah had lunch completely free.
He bought food from one of the vending machines in the main building and looked for a quiet spot.
The cafeteria was packed and the courtyards were also full of students.
Noah ended up walking toward an old, barely used area of the university.
The building was connected to the rest of the campus by an outdoor corridor. There were several closed classrooms and a small interior garden with wooden benches.
Noah didn’t remember ever passing through here before.
’This place looks perfect.’
He walked toward one of the benches when he suddenly heard a voice.
"Don’t go in alone!"
Noah stopped.
The voice came from behind a low wall that separated the garden from an area with ventilation units.
"They’re going to surround you."
Noah recognized Iris’s voice, so he approached carefully, not wanting to scare her again.
When he looked behind the wall, he found her sitting on the ground.
Her back was against the wall, her legs bent, and she was holding her phone with both hands.
It took Noah a few seconds to realize what she was doing: Iris was playing a video game.
On the screen, several small characters were advancing across a map divided into lanes. Each player controlled a unit with different abilities. There were also defensive structures, neutral creatures, and a central area where multiple teams competed for resources.
Noah recognized the type of game immediately.
’It’s similar to a MOBA.’
It wasn’t identical to any game from his previous world, but the rules felt familiar.
Two teams, different roles, abilities with cooldowns, objectives scattered across the map, and a base that had to be destroyed.
Iris moved her fingers with great speed, and her expression was completely different.
She no longer looked cold or distant; instead, she furrowed her brow, muttered orders, and reacted to every move her teammates made.
"Don’t go in there."
On the screen, another character advanced into a dark area and Iris pressed her lips together.
"I warned you."
A second later, three enemies appeared and took out the player. Iris closed her eyes.
"She didn’t have vision and no one was nearby, so... why did she do that!!?"
Noah had to hold back a smile, since he had never heard her talk so much.
Iris took a deep breath and focused again.
Her character was a long-range unit that used floating crystals to attack, and Noah immediately recognized the connection.
’Even in the game she has crystal abilities.’
Iris moved carefully across the map.
She didn’t attack impulsively; she calculated distances, waited for enemy mistakes, and took advantage of every opening.
At one point, she let two opponents advance too far and then activated an ability that raised a crystalline wall behind them, trapping them.
Iris used a second skill to slow them down, and her team eliminated them.
Iris’s expression changed and the corners of her lips curved slightly as she raised a fist close to her chest.
"Good."
It was a small, silent celebration.
Noah stayed hidden behind the wall.
He knew he shouldn’t watch her without permission, but he also understood that he had found the first thing that truly seemed to interest her.
An announcement appeared on the screen saying an enemy had started attacking a neutral creature in the upper part of the map. Iris quickly checked the positions.
"We won’t make it."
Her team started moving toward it, but Iris shook her head.
"It’s too late. Better attack the central tower."
No one listened and everyone headed toward the creature. Iris clenched her teeth.
"You’re going to lose the objective and the fight!"
The battle began, but Iris’s team arrived late.
The creature had already been defeated and the enemies still had almost all their abilities.
In just a few seconds, three members of her team were eliminated.
Iris tried to retreat, but one of the opponents chased her.
She used a crystal barrier to cut off the path, but another enemy appeared from the side and her character fell.
The screen showed the defeat message and Iris remained motionless for a moment before slowly lowering her phone.
"Pieces of idiots."
Noah’s eyes widened slightly, since Iris never said anything offensive in class.
She looked at the screen again and checked the stats.
"Ten minutes wasted because no one knows how to trade objectives!"
Noah couldn’t help speaking.
"They should have pushed the central lane."
Iris froze and slowly turned her head.
Her eyes met Noah’s behind the wall.
Noah raised both hands.
"Sorry."
Iris turned off the screen and stood up too quickly.
"How long have you been there?"
"Not long."
"How long!?"
Noah hesitated.
"Since before the fight for the neutral creature."
Iris stared at him without answering. Noah pointed at the phone.
"I didn’t mean to spy on you."
"But you did."
"Yeah, but it was accidental."
Iris put the phone away in her bag.
"I’m leaving."
"Wait."
Noah took a step toward her.
Iris stepped back and Noah stopped.
"I won’t try to force you to talk."
She watched him with distrust.
"I just wanted to say you were right."
"About what?"
"Your team shouldn’t have fought for that objective."
Iris frowned slightly.
"I already know that."
"They could have used the enemy pressure in the upper zone to destroy the central tower and control the entrance to the lower resource."
Iris didn’t move while Noah continued.
"Then they could place deep vision, force the other team to split up, and set up an ambush near the second objective."
Iris held the strap of her bag.
"That only works if the support unit still has its mobility skill."
"Yeah, but she used it thirty seconds earlier."
Iris looked at him with greater attention.
"You noticed?"
"Her cooldown looked long."
"It’s forty-five seconds."
"Then she shouldn’t have gone in."
"No."
Iris stopped trying to leave and Noah realized that, for the first time, she wasn’t trying to escape.
"Do you know the game?"
she asked.
"Not exactly."
"Then how do you know those things?"
"In my..."
Noah stopped himself, since he couldn’t mention his previous world.
"I played something similar a while ago."
Iris narrowed her eyes.
"This game doesn’t have a previous version."
"I didn’t say it was the same one."
"What was it?"
Noah had to improvise.
"I don’t remember the name very well."
Iris looked at him for several seconds.
"That’s strange."
"I know, right?"
She took out her phone again.
"Do you understand rotations?"
"I think so."
"And resource management?"
"Also."
"Do you know what lane freezing is?"
"Yes."
Iris seemed a little more interested as she tested him.
"When should it be used?"
"It depends on the opponent’s position, map control, and whether you want to force them to overextend."
"That’s too general an answer."
"In a side lane, after gaining an advantage, you can keep your units close to your structure so the enemy has to advance. But if your team needs pressure to take another objective, it’s better to push and rotate."
Iris remained silent and Noah pointed at the nearby bench.
"Can I sit?"
She looked at the bench and then at the corridor.
There was no one nearby.
"You can."
Noah achieved his first objective.