Dragon's Wrath: The Cursed Returnee

The theoretical courses were all boring, so Ethan had no idea which one to decide, even how he was going to study them. However, someone appeared and suddenly gave him an option.

"It looks like you finally decided to take this place seriously," Emily said after she saw Ethan facing those papers with a serious expression. "If you are having problems choosing a theoretical course, you can choose this one, and I will help you with your studies."

The course Emily recommended was: the origin of mana. Although it seemed interesting, Ethan already knew that he wouldn't learn anything. As far he could tell, mana was an energy that always existed, and the inhabitants of some worlds only began to use it by accident. Most likely, it was an energy that appeared at the beginning of the universe. Although that was cool and all, it probably wouldn't help him in any way since it was a theoretical course.

"Who are you, and what did you do with the real Emily?" Ethan asked. "The real Emily would never be this nice."

"It was just a recommendation…" Emily sighed. "The teacher of this course is an old man who doesn't care if you sleep during the class, so it is perfect for someone like you, right?"

"I can't possibly imagine what you are talking about…" Ethan avoided Emily's eyes since he was thinking of using those kinds of courses to just take a nap.

"Ian is also in that one, so he will probably annoy you more than me," Emily shrugged. "It is a win-win situation for both of us."

Ethan sighed since he wasn't quite sure of that. Regardless, at that point in time, it was impossible to negate that those three were destined or something like that to interact with each other. At least, that was what Ethan's instincts were telling him based on the recent events.

"Well, I will accept your recommendation," Ethan said.

Although that hadn't been his intention, with those courses, Ethan would be forced to attend the school from Monday to Saturday. Although that wasn't half bad, given that now he had an excuse to use the simulator every day, it was kind of a pain to attend school seriously. He will have a hard time becoming a serious student once again. Fortunately, he didn't have to bring books, notebooks, or anything like that to the school.

Since the use of mana outside the simulator or in the training fields, Emily just tried to teach the basics of the courses to Ethan while they were heading to the instructor's floor. Although she was being unusually nice, it was probably because she knew that the boots would help her quite a bit. Also, because she was probably too prideful to accept the help of someone and not repay the favor. In any case, Ethan only confirmed what he already knew. The theoretical courses will only serve as a place to take naps. Emily was also attending the origin of heroes course, and she didn't learn anything interesting there.

Regardless, both of them found Lyla quite quickly, and they also found someone problematic with her: Ian. As expected, upon seeing Ethan and Emily together, he showed an annoying smile. Ethan decided that it was time to make Ian pay for his deeds.

"Good morning, Miss Lyla," Ethan said. "I would like to enroll in some other courses."

"Is that so?" Lyla asked with a big smile on her face. "Somehow, I knew you would do that, but I didn't think it would happen so soon."

"Well, I learned a lot yesterday," Ethan said. "So, I decided to try a bit harder."

"Really? Although I don't like to judge a book by its cover, I assumed you would have an easier time in my course than learning support magic," Lyla said. "Still, you spent the whole class yesterday sleeping."

Ethan froze on the spot… as expected, he had underestimated Lyla a little bit. Although she seemed a bit naïve, she was someone who stayed in a fantasy world to learn sword dance for quite a while. Her instincts and perception couldn't be underestimated.

"Sorry, it won't happen again," Ethan forced a smile. "Not this week, at least."

"No problem," Lyla said. "I could tell that something happened overnight with you, so I decided not to tease you for sleeping in class. However, that won't happen again."

Ethan had a hard time controlling his smile since the chance he had been waiting for came sooner than he expected. Still, he didn't lose that chance.

"Thank you very much," Ethan nodded. "Still, please refrain from teasing me. I'm at a sensitive age, so I might misunderstand some actions when they come from the opposite sex. Still, I need to confirm it, even though it looks obvious. You are not interested in younger men, are you?"

"Nope," Lyla replied with a smile, even though that wasn't a conversation she was supposed to have with her student.

"As I suspected," Ethan also smiled. "If I could guess, I would say that Miss Lyla likes men around her age who are reliable and sincere. I have the impression that Miss Lyla is looking for just one true love. His name will probably be: Chad Tyrone."

"Well… aren't you a quite perceptive one," Lyla said, a bit embarrassed. "You are not completely off the mark. Still, we should end this conversation here."

"Of course," Ethan said.

Ethan was already more than satisfied because he saw in the corner of his vision that Ian had broke into a cold sweat. In fact, he froze on the spot. The idiot really loved his teacher, but he didn't imagine her preferences until now. It was only obvious because when love is part of the equation, few people can notice such a thing with a clear head.

In any case, that had been quite refreshing. Ethan felt like he had repaid in double all the problems Ian caused to him. Still, Emily was there, and she couldn't help but look at both of them with eyes full of suspicion. Regardless, after Lyla registered Ethan in those courses, those three headed to the F section of the school. After leaving that floor, Ian became depressed but soon recovered.

"It is fine. Age is just a number," Ian said. "Besides, I'm reliable and sincere. Two out of three, I'm quite well, aren't I? It is clear that we are destined to be together."

"Yeah, right," Ethan frowned. "If you are reliable and sincere, then I am Chuck Norris. If age is just a number, prison is just a place where you eat meals for free."

It looks like it was no secret that Ian was in love with Lyla. It became quite obvious, considering that he acted like that when Emily was around. Or perhaps they were friends, even though they were an odd combination.