Shoujo Hater-Chapter 6 - 5: A Sudden Change

After Lin finished his work, he left with Camellia and her mother for dinner. He wasn’t really hungry, but he didn’t want to make them feel strange, so he just sat with them and ate quickly before quietly slipping away.

Then he headed to his next destination, the training grounds.

As he kept walking, the sky was already dark, but that wasn’t a hindrance. If anything, the darkness was his ally.

Since his body belonged to the Noctarine clan, his training speed was naturally ten times higher than that of ordinary humans. But in the dark, that multiplier increased again, meaning he was training at almost a hundred times the rate of a normal person.

“But that isn’t even the frightening part of this bloodline.”

What was truly terrifying was that all of this was happening without awakening. If he ever managed to break the seal on his lineage, he would reach a level far beyond anything imaginable.

Lin started running, focusing on the flow of mana around him, trying to feel it more clearly.

He didn’t notice the passing of time.

In his previous world, Jin had always been like this. When he focused on something, time stopped existing, as if he became part of whatever he was doing.

Before he realized it, four hours had passed in deep concentration. His training was dual-layered, strengthening both his body and his senses.

It had felt exhausting at first, but his body adapted quickly.

Without noticing how long he’d been at it, he completed four hours of running while absorbing mana, letting his body gradually adjust to the flow.

Then, for two more hours, Lin applied a new method of mana circulation. Instead of gathering mana in the heart like everyone else, he pushed it outward, letting it spread through his entire body like flowing blood, reaching every cell and massively increasing his physical mana tolerance.

This was a training method that did not exist in this world yet. In fact, no one would discover it until after the worlds connected.

But Lin remembered it, and thanks to his talent, he succeeded on the first try.

“Whew... finally done. Let’s check the status window and see the results.”

The system responded to his call, and the status window appeared:

[Status Window]

Name: Lin Noctarine (Reincarnated)

Clan: Noctarine (Partial Seal)

Age: 13

Level: 6 → 15

Strength: 20 → 80

Agility: 25 → 60

Endurance: 28 → 70

Mana: 100 → 200

Blessing: Inactive

[Skills Acquired]

Mana Gluttony (F): An abnormal ability that allows extremely fast mana absorption and conversion into internal energy.

Darkness Adaptation (F): All stats increase by 50 percent when in a dark environment.

“Alright... this looks much better.”

His progress had exceeded his expectations, and with time, he could push those numbers to an absurd level.

But Lin’s momentary excitement faded the instant he remembered the real problem he was facing. Just like anyone who receives many good things, he didn’t appreciate them because he had one negative thing. And that one negative thing was escaping this hell.

He knew very well that if he wanted to survive, he needed to find a way out within the coming months.

If he stayed in the mansion too long, he would become an exposed target, and that was the last thing he wanted.

So he had no choice but to follow the main plan he had made earlier, a plan built on two parts.

The first part was training with the knights.

They were his best chance of escaping this place, especially since they would begin an exploration shift in three months. Joining them would be a perfect opportunity. Unlike the mages, the Frost family focused heavily on magical talent, which would attract unwanted attention if he stood out in that field.

The second part was finding a proper place to train.

Fortunately, Lin remembered something from the webtoon.

“The secret place.”

According to the information he had pieced together from that cursed webtoon, there was a hidden spot in the back garden. Its exact location wasn’t clear, but it was described as a small isolated room that Frosita used often in her childhood.

If he could find it, it would be the perfect starting point.

Since his training was finished, looking for it wouldn’t hurt.

Lin began walking through the darkness, pretending to wander aimlessly. That made it easier to move without drawing attention.

After several minutes of searching, he noticed something strange, a small crack between the stones, barely noticeable.

He approached and touched the stone carefully, feeling it shift slightly beneath his hand.

“Found it.”

But before he could do anything, a voice cut through the darkness.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Lin froze.

He didn’t need to guess whose voice that was.

It was obvious as the sun. No one else sounded like Frosita.

Her voice was calm, without emotion, yet it carried something else, something that made a cold shiver run down his spine.

As he turned slowly, he was shocked.

There, in the darkness, Frosita stood before him.

He hadn’t heard her approach. He hadn’t sensed her presence at all, as if she had been standing there the whole time, silently watching him.

“Damn it... when did she get here?”

She stared at him for a moment before speaking again in that same cold tone:

“The things I touch... no one is allowed to take them.”

Cold sweat formed on Lin’s forehead.

Her other personality wasn’t supposed to awaken for another two months.

But this way of speaking, this possessiveness...

“Don’t tell me her split personality is already starting?”

She suddenly stepped toward him instead of away. He stayed still, but the closer she came, the stronger the invisible pressure that froze his limbs.

She stopped right in front of him, far too close.

“Lin...”

She whispered his name, her cold voice laced with something disturbingly alluring. She raised her hand slowly. For a moment he thought she would touch his face, but instead her fingers stopped at his neck, as if measuring something.

She pressed lightly.

A cold sensation slid across his skin. It wasn’t quite a threat, but it wasn’t innocent either.

“You know...”

Her whisper was low, velvety, almost like a dangerous warning.

“There are some things people can’t escape from. Some people... some people belong to me, whether they want to or not.”

Then, as if the entire scene had been nothing but a passing whim, she stepped back, ignoring the shock written on Lin’s face.

She turned and began to walk away, but before disappearing into the darkness, she glanced back.

And she smiled, a smile that had no right to exist on the face of the normal Frosita.

“Oh, and by the way...”

“Don’t try to hide from my eyes, Lin.”

“You’re mine in the end.”

Damn it... her split personality has already begun.