Chapter 77: New Class, New Ally? [BONUS - ]
Ethan finally made his way to Class 5D after spending a few minutes figuring out where exactly the classroom was located, and the moment he stepped into that section of the academy, he immediately noticed how different everything looked compared to the lower-ranked classes he had been used to. The structure was more refined, the facilities were clearly more advanced, and even the atmosphere carried a different feeling, as though the academy itself had drawn a line between the lower ranks and those who had managed to climb higher.
Unfortunately, Ethan did not have enough time to admire any of it.
Something came flying directly toward him.
His body reacted before his brain even had the chance to process what was happening, and he instinctively raised his hand, catching the object cleanly in his palm.
"Phew, you actually caught it. Thank you, Sentinel—"
The girl’s relieved voice suddenly trailed off.
Ethan looked toward her in confusion, only to see her frozen in place, her icy-blue eyes widening as they moved from his face to the uniform he was wearing.
That was a Guide’s uniform.
Not a Sentinel’s.
Which meant that the person who had just caught her miasma-infused object with his bare hand was actually a Guide.
Her expression became one of complete disbelief.
Ethan, however, barely noticed her reaction because his attention had already shifted to the object resting harmlessly in his palm. It was a small, clear crystal ball filled with swirling dark spiritual energy, the thick black substance inside unmistakably miasma. He glanced from the strange ball to the shattered pieces of glass scattered across the floor, and then finally toward the person who had caused the entire mess in the first place.
His eyes landed on an icy-blue-eyed blonde girl whose beautiful hair had been gathered into a neat ponytail.
Ethan’s brows knitted together.
How could someone this pretty possibly be this clumsy?
Before he could dwell on the thought any further, a male voice drifted across the classroom.
"Lara, I told you to be careful with it, and you know it’s dangerous if Non-Sentinels touch it."
The boy walked over while speaking, apparently still completely oblivious to Ethan’s presence, before continuing in a tone filled with unmistakable pride.
"Now that you’ve broken the cover, you should hand it over to me. You know only I can look out for the ball properly for you, so you should stop trying to handle something this dangerous yourself."
Ethan stared at the crystal ball in his hand.
His thoughts were oddly simple.
Why the hell had this girl infused a ball with miasma and then casually carried it around inside a classroom when she knew perfectly well that it was dangerous?
Lara, however, did not seem particularly interested in listening to the boy’s lecture. Instead, her gaze remained fixed on Ethan’s hand.
"You should look," she said, her voice filled with growing excitement. "He’s actually a Guide, and he caught the miasma ball with his bare hands."
There was clear admiration in her eyes as she looked at Ethan.
"And nothing happened to him."
The boy finally followed her gaze.
His eyes landed on Ethan.
For a moment, he simply stared.
Then his expression twisted into disbelief before he let out a laugh.
"You? How is that possible?"
Ethan merely shrugged, completely unbothered by his disbelief.
Lara, on the other hand, seemed even more fascinated.
"See? Your theories were wrong," she said, already moving closer to Ethan so she could inspect him properly. "Or maybe this Guide has extraordinary abilities."
She looked him over with barely concealed admiration, her eyes moving from his face to the hand still holding the miasma-infused crystal ball.
Ethan frowned slightly.
"What exactly is going on?"
Lara immediately introduced herself.
"I’m Lara, and I’m a Guide too, just like you. I was trying to test something with my spiritual energy and see whether I could purify this miasma, but I’ve always had to keep it inside a glass container because it isn’t purified yet and could harm me."
She glanced down at the shattered glass before continuing with an embarrassed expression.
"Unfortunately, I tripped, the glass broke, and the ball bounced away. Then you caught it."
Her gaze returned to his hand.
"Despite being a Guide."
She sounded genuinely amazed.
"That is quite surprising."
"Hmph."
Jake’s dissatisfied voice immediately interrupted them.
He had been watching the way Lara looked at Ethan, and the admiration in her eyes clearly wasn’t sitting well with him.
"That isn’t possible," he said, his voice carrying an obvious note of jealousy. "A Guide can’t simply hold something infused with miasma. Only Sentinels can do that."
Ethan glanced at him.
"Well, I’m a Guide, and I’m doing it."
Jake’s expression darkened.
Ethan then turned his attention back to Lara, deciding that there was no point wasting his time arguing with someone who clearly didn’t understand the basics.
"Sentinels have the ability to naturally resist small amounts of miasma, while Guides don’t have that same physical resistance," Ethan explained. "But that doesn’t mean Guides can’t come into contact with it at all. A Guide can use their spiritual energy as a shield around their hand or body, preventing the miasma from making direct contact with their skin. As long as the amount isn’t overwhelming, it won’t cause any harm."
He slightly raised the hand holding the crystal ball.
"That was what I did. I wielded my spiritual energy as a shield around my hand before catching it, so the miasma never actually came into direct contact with me."
Lara’s eyes widened with even greater admiration.
She nodded repeatedly.
"That’s brilliant. You’re truly brilliant."
Jake’s expression had already become ugly.
He had thought he finally had the perfect excuse to spend more time with Lara, using her experiment as a reason to stay beside her and perhaps get closer to her, only for this new student to show up and ruin everything within minutes.
His hands clenched at his sides as jealousy burned in his eyes.
Then he suddenly snorted angrily.
"Just you wait and see. I’ll report you for spreading false information and making ridiculous claims!"