Unable to understand what was going through Kanda Sorata's mind, the model student Aoyama Nanami turned back with a hint of disappointment.
Seeing this, Sorata simply smiled. Then, under the teacher's disapproving gaze from the podium, he leaned on his desk and closed his eyes as if to sleep.
However, what looked like sleep to everyone else was actually a deep meditation within Sorata's sea of consciousness. There, the Kryptonian gene chain, formed from three thousand six hundred law runes, rotated slowly. Chains of law rune information appeared in the outer layers, but every time they made contact and attempted to fuse with the Kryptonian gene chain, they shattered and disintegrated instantly.
Endless chains of information, each composed of countless law runes, flickered in and out of existence. Every one of these represented the bloodline ability of a powerful being. Sorata was attempting to deduce the second stage of the Superman bloodline, modifying it to handle magical creatures he might encounter in the future.
The dragon that appeared earlier that morning made Sorata sharply aware that while this world's hidden supernatural forces might not be particularly strong, they were certainly active.
And although the Kryptonian bloodline was indeed incredibly powerful, its weaknesses were equally apparent. These included vulnerabilities to various forms of Kryptonite, heavy dependence on yellow sunlight, and an extremely low resistance to magical and mystical forces.
Such flaws would only be erased once the bloodline evolved into the Silver or Golden Superman level, but no one knew how long that would take.
Furthermore, Superman's abilities were quite one-dimensional. Other than heat vision, he lacked the versatile range of skills found in cultivation, martial arts, or magic systems.
That was why Sorata had not chosen to condense a full Golden Superman bloodline imprint when he began. Instead, he started with just the most basic Kryptonian gene structure.
First, he had no way of knowing whether this world held something that could counter the Superman bloodline. Second, he was very aware that relying on the Kryptonian bloodline alone wouldn't be enough to reach the peak of existence across all realms.
In his long-term plan, Sorata intended to use the Superman bloodline as a foundation. He would improve it through multiple stages of bloodline purification and evolution. At each stage, he would fuse a new True-level God or Demon bloodline ability, ultimately forging a perfect and unmatched bloodline.
Of course, this was all theoretical. He had no guarantee that it would work.
In his previous life, Sorata had reached the peak of the True God-Demon tier in just a few decades thanks to the unique environment of the Nightmare Space. But compared to those terrifying entities who had existed for millions of years in other universes, his foundation was far too shallow.
Failure had been inevitable.
Now that he had been given a second chance, and no longer had the oppressive pressure of the Nightmare Space pushing him forward, Sorata was finally able to slow down. He planned to make up for the time and experience he lacked as a soul.
The baptism of time did not only refer to gaining strength. It also meant gaining perspective and understanding. Sitting in class with a calm and detached mindset, simply observing the people and atmosphere around him, granted Sorata insights that power alone could not offer.
"Abyssal Demon Undying Body fusion failed. Void Dragon No-Magic Body fusion failed. Light Celestial Light Body fusion failed…"
"Are True God-level bloodlines really this exclusive?" After attempting over thirty powerful bloodline combinations and failing each time, Sorata had to give up for now.
"So exhausting… Might as well take a real nap." With a yawn, and his spiritual energy nearly depleted, Sorata finally drifted into actual sleep in the eyes of everyone else.
But just as the teacher stepped out of the classroom, Sorata woke with another yawn, cleared his mind, stood up, stretched lazily, and walked out.
When he reached the art classroom, he found Shiina Mashiro sitting alone. All around her, classmates chatted in groups and shared lunch, but no one sat with her.
Japanese schools placed great emphasis on social harmony, especially among students. If a new transfer student didn't quickly blend in, they would quietly be excluded and treated as an outsider.
Despite being beautiful and talented at drawing, Mashiro rarely initiated conversations, making it hard for others to approach her. She was the type people admired from afar but didn't know how to connect with.
Sorata walked over and said, "I knew you'd still be here."
"Also, didn't I tell you to wait for me in the cafeteria after class this morning?"
"I forgot where it is," she replied, looking up at him with innocent eyes.
"You were so confident yesterday, saying you remembered after the tour," Sorata sighed.
"Let's go."
Under the surprised gazes of their classmates, the quiet and elegant girl followed Sorata out without a word. Instantly, a couple of boys exchanged looks of disbelief and jealousy.
While many schools in Japan didn't have cafeterias, Suimei High did, since it was affiliated with Suimei University of the Arts. It had both student and teacher cafeterias.
After eating convenience store bread the previous day and finding it unappetizing, Sorata brought Mashiro here to try the real food.
"Fried pork cutlet, fried tofu, miso soup, two servings of rice," Sorata ordered.
"I want this one," Mashiro pointed to another item.
"No."
"Why not?"
"No money."
Any other high school boy might have been embarrassed to admit that in front of a beautiful girl, especially with people watching. But Sorata looked more annoyed than ashamed.
"You've eaten my living expenses for the whole week in just two days. This is all that's left. After we eat, I have to go ask Chihiro-sensei for your money."
"This is all we can afford for lunch."
"Sorata is so annoying."
Having been pampered her whole life and lacking any concept of money, Mashiro pouted slightly and followed Sorata obediently with her tray.
"Picky eater? Why are you giving me your vegetables?" Sorata raised an eyebrow.
"Rita said not to waste food." Mashiro transferred the food she didn't like into his bowl, then began eating contentedly.
"Wow… that's the new transfer student from the art department, right? She's stunning."
"Shh, don't talk so loudly. They all live in the Sakura Dormitory. You'll catch the Sakura virus."
Unaffected by the surrounding whispers and stares, Sorata walked Mashiro back to her classroom after lunch before heading to the faculty office.
"Chihiro-sensei, did you forget something?"
"Huh?"
Sengoku Chihiro looked up from her tea with a lazy expression.
"Shiina's living expenses. Yesterday she ate two Baumkuchen cakes, two lunch sets worth sixteen hundred yen, and broke some packaging at the supermarket which we had to compensate for. Plus today's lunch. Total cost, five thousand one hundred yen. Pay up." Sorata held out his hand expectantly.
Watching a student demand money from a teacher so directly caused several nearby staff members to glance over, intrigued.
"That's easy to say. But Kanda-kun, it's already the second day of school and you still haven't submitted your college application form, have you?" Chihiro smoothly changed the subject.
"I can fill that out anytime. Right now, we're talking about Shiina's living expenses. You can't tell me you don't have the money."
"She already drained my budget for the week. If there's no money, I'll have to hand her over to you. I can't afford her either," Sorata said firmly.
"You can't treat something like the college application so casually. It's your future, you need to take it seriously," Chihiro said, trying again to shift focus.
"Fine. I'll think about that when I get back. But right now, let's settle the living expenses."
With the stares of the other teachers pressing down on her, Chihiro finally relented. She pulled out all the cash she had on her, a little over three thousand yen, and handed it to Sorata.
"I'll give you the rest later. I didn't bring enough with me today."
Sorata narrowed his eyes. He couldn't help but suspect that Chihiro had used Mashiro's money on something else. She had definitely come back last night with a lot of new cosmetics…
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Try Other Fics I Have
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