"Ugh!" Arthur opened his eyes and looked around in a daze while holding his head, which felt very dizzy.
"Was it a dream?" Arthur asked himself, then saw Runa and Anna beside him, who were looking at him with worried expressions.
"Why do you both look like that?" Arthur asked in confusion, noticing that their eyes were red as if they had been crying.
"Young master, wooo~" Runa cried loudly and hugged Arthur tightly.
"I thought I was going to lose you, wooo~" She continued to cry and rubbed her face against Arthur's chest.
Hearing this, a question mark appeared on Arthur's face, and he looked at Anna, who was still looking at him worriedly as if to ask, "Isn't this too much?"
As if understanding Arthur's confusion, Anna spoke in a hoarse voice and explained
"When we woke up our cores and regained our senses, we found you lying on the ground unconscious," Anna explained.
"Then we rushed over to you and tried to wake you up, but you didn't respond at all."
After hearing Anna's explanation, Arthur finally understood and asked, "How long was I unconscious?"
"About ten minutes, not very long," Anna replied, sniffing.
"Why are you both crying so much if I was only unconscious for ten minutes?" Arthur asked skeptically.
But before Anna could answer, Runa, who was still hugging Arthur tightly, spoke in a hoarse voice, "It's because we couldn't feel your breath or life force."
"Your body was as cold as a corpse, and it scared us."
What?!" Arthur widened his eyes in disbelief.
"Am I not breathing?"
"No signs of life?"
Arthur repeated Runa's words, then bowed his head in thought.
"If what Runa said is true, it means that the encounter with that woman really happened and my soul was transferred to that strange white room, which caused my body to become as cold as a corpse because there was no soul as a source of life."
"I guess you could say I was dead for a few minutes," Arthur muttered, trying to make sense of everything.
He was absolutely sure that Runa wouldn't lie to him and that what she said couldn't be wrong.
"Damn, it seems like I've died twice now, doesn't it?" Arthur cursed in his heart, then immediately looked down at Runa in his arms.
"Okay, everything is fine now, and I'm okay," Arthur said, caressing Runa's face in a soft tone.
"Hmm~" Runa snorted lightly and hugged Arthur tighter as if she didn't want to let go.
Seeing this, Arthur smiled helplessly and gently coaxed her: "Alright, let's get up first."
"Are you going to keep crying like a baby?"
Anna, who saw Arthur pampering Runa, felt annoyed and cursed under her breath, "This maid is really trying to spoil young Master Arthur!"
"Hmm~ good, young master." Runa immediately released her embrace and rubbed her eyes gently.
Her gaze never left Arthur's body, as if she were still afraid of any hidden wounds.
Arthur smiled, feeling lucky to have met an innocent girl like Runa.
However, he soon noticed his surroundings and saw other noble children in an unconscious state, still trying to awaken their core powers.
Upon seeing this, Arthur frowned slightly and then looked suspiciously at the two little girls.
"Have you guys awakened your cores?" Arthur asked, his expression strange as he noticed that the other children were still awakening their cores, but these two girls were already conscious.
Hearing Arthur's question, Runa nodded excitedly, and just as she was about to answer, Anna cut in, saying proudly, "Of course, young master Arthur!"
"I've awakened my core, hehehe~" Anna smiled foolishly and felt very proud.
Her expression was different from the politeness and gentleness she had shown when she first met Arthur.
After all, she was still a little girl, and the sense of not wanting to be inferior to others was still in her soul.
Runa frowned slightly and was annoyed with Anna, who had interrupted her.
She was not a foolish little girl, and she knew that Anna had been eyeing her all along because of her closeness to young Master Arthur.
However, Anna's status made her hesitant to fight back, at least not for now.
"Oh!" Arthur raised one eyebrow and was quite surprised by Anna's statement.
But he quickly remembered the status of the two girls in the novel: the side heroine and the villain heroine.
"No wonder they are really talented and can awaken their core power very quickly."
"They must have awakened a very strong talent."
"Just like in the novel," Arthur smiled a little, then his expression immediately turned curious.
"What element did you evoke, young lady Anna?" he asked.
Arthur actually knew, but he pretended not to know.
After all, if he said that he knew, the two of them might become suspicious.
"Hehehe, guess what it is, young master Arthur~" Anna smiled slyly and looked at Arthur with an arrogant but cute look.
"Oh?" The corners of Arthur's mouth lifted slightly, and he looked at Anna with a funny look.
"This girl dares to tease me?" Arthur laughed in his heart and did not fall into her trap.
Soon he shrugged his shoulders unconcernedly and said boredly, "How would I know?"
Anna's smile froze, and a look of disbelief appeared on her face.
"Young Master Arthur, don't you want to guess?" She asked hurriedly.
Anna couldn't believe that Arthur wasn't following the script.
Shouldn't he guess her element and be wrong over and over again, and then she would arrogantly tell the truth and receive his praise?
Anna felt confused in her heart.
Arthur glanced at Anna casually and shrugged his shoulders, as if to say, "I don't care."
Dealing with a girl like Anna requires a different approach, as she grew up in a unique environment and was trained by her family to be an heiress.
Consequently, her mindset is more advanced than that of ordinary children.
It's important not to be overzealous when interacting with Anna, as she is still a young girl who requires special consideration.
Beating Anna in a field where she's considered an expert would undoubtedly make her feel defeated, which is a statement that fits perfectly.
Anna puffed up her cheeks and turned her gaze to the side in annoyance.
Arthur's attention turned to Runa, who had been quiet.
"And how about you, my little maid? Have you awakened your core power?" he asked with a gentle smile, which contrasted with his treatment of Anna.
"Anyway, I trust my personal maid; she will definitely not let me down." Arthur smiled gently and stroked her hair.
"Of course I didn't disappoint the young master!" Runa's eyes lit up, and she clenched her small palms in excitement.
She continued, "I awakened a high-level wind elemental core!" Runa stared at Arthur, awaiting his praise.
Arthur's face displayed surprise on the surface, but he couldn't help but enthusiastically praise Runa, "As expected of my little maid!"
He rubbed her hair and said it softly.
It was clear to Arthur, who had read the novel, that Runa was going to awaken a high-level wind elemental core, but he decided to pretend to be surprised to make her happy.
"Hehehe~" Runa squirmed with pleasure and smiled stupidly.
The talent awakening system in this world is quite unique.
One should not underestimate this seemingly mundane class distinction since core awakening marks one's entry into the true elemental world and serves as the ultimate foundation.
This classification also determines one's future use of the elemental art system, which is the name of the magic system in this world.
Furthermore, on top of the extremely rare talents of the four main elements, there are those who awaken elements outside of the four elements.
These are known as "special" elements and are even rarer, with only a few people awakening them.
The reason why these individuals are referred to as "special" is that their elements fall outside the category of the four main elements, which are believed to be the core elements that shouldn't exist.
For example, there is Abel, who possesses the electricity element core that could evolve into the even rarer lightning element.
Emperor Balka and Elena possess light elements, while Alicia has an ice element.
These are just a few of the "special" individuals that Arthur is aware of.
Beyond them, there may be other unique individuals with even rarer elements that he has yet to discover, as he only knows about them from the novels.
The "special" individuals who possess these rare elements do not pass down their abilities to their children or descendants, unlike those with the core four main elements.
This is because the "special" individuals are not supposed to exist, or more accurately, they are considered to be beyond the control of this world!
This is why Arthur believed that Elena and Alicia should have the potential to become Elemental Lords, just like Abel, because their talents were truly rare, if not even stronger.
As he pondered the "special" individuals, he began to think and recalled the woman's words that he awakened the core of space, which is also special, right?
Arthur concentrated his thoughts on the core power residing within his heart, attempting to sense any unusual activity.
As he delved deeper into his awareness, he suddenly felt a strange pulse that made him gasp in surprise.
"What is this?!"
