Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest

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They quickly called Elisa, Monica, and then Anna. Each demonstrated their power in their own distinctive way. Elisa surged with thunder and light, tearing the doll apart with a few vicious swipes of her draconic claws. Monica engulfed it in ghostly flames that reduced it to ash. Anna summoned her golem, which crushed the target into smithereens.

The display earned gasps of praise and surprise from the other students. It seemed the demonstration was designed to reveal everyone’s true capabilities, fostering greater respect—especially toward those who had been underestimated but proved genuinely talented.

Then Elena was called.

“Elena, please step forward.”

“Y-Yes.”

She felt nervous, but she summoned a ghostly sword—an unusual form of magic—and swung it once. Dozens of slashing attacks erupted, striking the doll until it exploded into countless cubes.

BOOOM!

“Was that enough?” she asked calmly.

“Heh, more than enough!” The director laughed heartily. “Like Olivia-chan said, you’re really strong!”

“Olivia-chan?” Elena raised an eyebrow.

“Hahaha! Anyway, with this we’ve finally finished. Everyone now has their IDs!” he announced. “Students, please proceed to your first classes in the assigned classrooms, one group at a time.”

Elena walked alongside her friends and Matsuo’s group toward a spacious classroom: Class A-1. Inside, they met several others, including three Oni, a Yuki Onna girl, and the rest ordinary-looking sorcerers.

As Elena sat down and chatted quietly with her friends, she noticed the professor still hadn’t appeared. She glanced around. “Um, where’s the teacher?”

“Right here~!”

FLASH!

A white portal suddenly opened above them. The director himself leaped down, landing lightly and flashing a peace sign. “I’m back. Sorry for being so late—being director and teacher is no easy feat.”

“W-What?” Matsuo stared in shock. “Director, you’re teaching us?”

“Yes, hahaha! We’re severely short on professors, so I volunteered~” he explained. “I also wanted to personally guide this year’s prodigies and most talented students. I hope you don’t mind.”

“N-No, but…” Elena murmured. “Um, what was that magic just now? Space magic?”

“Ooh? Curious, are we?” He grinned. “You could call it magic, but I didn’t need to cast it. It comes naturally to a genius like me, heh. Most of you probably already know, but certain traits can greatly facilitate magic use. In my clan, very rarely, someone is born with my special eyes. They allow me to see the flows of Mana in the air and manipulate them at will. They also… expand the senses in many other ways, but yeah, that’s the gist.”

“Ah…” Elena fell silent for a moment. “Could it be possible to learn what you did as a spell, professor?”

She was deeply interested in Space Magic. It might let her return to Arcadia, find her brother, and reunite with everyone there. She had worried about them constantly since being forced to log out, unable to return.

“Hahaha, very curious indeed! It all depends on your affinity with that element,” the professor replied. “But judging by your talent… I think you could learn it! After a couple of years of serious study.”

“Oh…” Disappointment flickered across Elena’s face. She had hoped to master it immediately rather than wait years to grasp something so vital.

Then another voice cut in, dripping with arrogance. “Hmph. You’re just a first-year and you think you can learn Spacetime Magic? You must be delusional.”

It was the silver-haired Russian girl, Sofia Mikhailov. Her personality clearly clashed with others.

Anna flared with anger. “And who the hell are you to speak to her like that?”

“Hah?! And who are you anyway? A half-elf?” Sofia laughed mockingly. “Why don’t you go back to the forest and dance in the mud or something?”

“W-What?!” Anna fumed, rising as if ready to lunge.

But Sofia’s friends quickly intervened.

“Hey Sofia… do you have to be so mean?” Alma sighed. “Come on, we just got here…”

“Be nicer. I know you’re nervous, but that doesn’t justify acting this way…” Emily added with a sigh. “Sorry about that! Sofia isn’t a bad person; she can just be… a little annoying sometimes.”

The silent, red-eyed girl beside them, who had been quietly watching the director, now turned toward Elena and Anna. “I wanted to ask—why do you need to learn Spacetime Magic so badly?”

“Eh?” Elena blinked, caught off guard by the sudden question.

“Fufu, my bad. Forget I said anything,” Maria chuckled, crossing her arms and shifting her attention back to the director’s lesson.

Elena only felt more on edge in this classroom full of powerhouses. She sensed even greater surprises waiting.

“Don’t worry, dear. It’s fine. They’re just children. Let’s try to get along with everyone.”

Her mother’s gentle voice spoke telepathically from within her heart, calming her.

Elena felt an invisible hand rest on her shoulder. She nodded with renewed confidence.

“Thank you, Mom.”

What she didn’t realize was that someone had detected that faint, spiritual, divine presence.

Maria’s red eyes gleamed as she gazed at Elena with quiet mystery.

Then she glanced at Frank and smirked.

“This Academy is really full of interesting people… I’m glad I chose this exchange student program.”

Her intentions remained unclear, her motivations even more so, but Elena instinctively felt something unsettling about her.

As the director finally began the lesson, Harumi heard her Heroic Spirit’s voice resonate in her mind.

“That girl is Elena… Ruler’s Master, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, Assassin. To think we’d meet like this… Luckily she’s also pretending not to know me.”

“Master, wouldn’t it be wise to forge an alliance with her? She doesn’t seem malicious, and Ruler was a just and kind heroic spirit.”

“…I’ve considered it, but let’s not get overconfident, Assassin. We can never fully know their true intentions or motivations.”

“Hmm. You want to win the Holy Grail for your brother, right?”

“Yes… My brother fell ill after facing a group of Angels. My mother has already given up, mourning him while waiting for his slow death. But I won’t give up. I’ll use that wish to save him.”

“A noble wish. I will do everything in my power to help make it come true.”

“Thank you, Assassin—no, Yasuke. I never imagined I’d find a friend in someone so ancient.”

“Hahah, aren’t vampires also quite ancient beings?”

“Hey, I’m only eighteen! Hm?”

As Harumi conversed telepathically with her Heroic Spirit, she noticed her boyfriend Frank behaving strangely. He was gasping for air, sweating lightly, and scratching his hand incessantly.

“…?”

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