Dragon Necromancer: Starting With First Dragon Bloodline-Chapter 32: Arguing with Her

"Even your answers were nearly identical. Why is that?" Irina asked, looking at Noa and Thalia with cold curiosity.

The crowd froze again. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

They all looked at the pair, judging them.

Everyone had answered the last question without trouble.

But the top rankers had messed up, and they all wanted to know why.

"It was about the Graveworms, right?" someone asked, getting nods from his fellow applicants. "Why would they make such a simple mistake?"

"Perhaps they are from a place where these useless beasts don’t exist," another one guessed.

"Is there even a place like that? Those pesky little worms are everywhere."

"Who knows?"

Amid the chaos, Noa didn’t register a single word being said behind his back.

His mind wandered.

His thoughts reached Thalia, and his eyes lingered on her.

’She didn’t write that down? But why? She should know that Graveworms are the weakest creatures,’ Noa lamented, trying to read her mind. ’Is it because of me?’

It took him a moment to realize how much faith his maid had placed in him.

Thalia was constantly proving her worth.

She was exceptional—as a maid, as a friend, and as someone who always stood by his side. Even in this situation, she had no doubts that Noa could achieve his dreams.

She even risked her wish despite putting one wrong answer on purpose.

’This girl!’ he grinned and patted Thalia, offering her a warm smile.

She blushed instantly and lowered her head.

There was a trace of pride on her face, and the way she fidgeted, Noa could tell how glad she was for making that choice.

Then, instead of wasting more time, he shifted his gaze.

There were countless answers he could have said, countless more Thalia could have come up with in his stead.

Still—

He had a different idea.

Out of nowhere, the shadows in the hall deepened.

The change was unnoticeable to everyone else, but Noa felt it instantly, his augmented senses catching the shift before it fully settled.

Graveworms didn’t possess elemental affinity.

But Noa did.

So when he summoned Ashe to his shoulder, the surrounding darkness stirred in response.

"Wait! Is that what I think it is?"

"Damn! He really has Graveworm as a tamed beast."

"Pathetic bastard. Why did he even come here? What can he even do with that useless piece of crap? What nerve he has!"

"That’s why he studied so hard. Now it makes sense."

Seeing a small, gray worm slither across Noa’s body, the crowd erupted into chaos once again.

They wanted some drama, and Noa delivered.

There was no point in hiding his beast—the academy would have considered his talent anyway, putting him at a tremendous disadvantage despite getting near the perfect score.

"Holy shit," the short boy beside him exclaimed.

This wasn’t something he had expected.

"I smell that there is more about you than meets the eye. There is no other explanation for how you pulled a cute girl like her," Marlo said and blushed as he glanced at Thalia.

Noa, on the other hand, ignored his dumb comment.

The only person whose reaction he was looking forward to was the instructor.

Irina’s gaze sharpened as soon as Ashe appeared.

She took a step forward.

The green flame behind her cast heavy shadows across her face, hiding her expression. "Fascinating," she murmured. "The weakest beast... and you still had the balls to write that."

Her voice was colder than steel.

Noa, however, nodded at her words.

He didn’t react. Nor did he want to show her something.

’If I manipulate shadows here,’ he thought, clenching his fists as silent murmurs still echoed around him. ’They will know... They will see.’

However, casually displaying that he had elemental aptitude despite owning Graveworm was too risky.

But he wasn’t out of options either.

A person can gain elemental affinities when their beast breaks through.

The chances were slim, but not zero, not with enough resources.

Noa planned to hold a ritual in the academy, then act as if shadow had never been his initial affinity.

Hence, he decided to hold back.

The mockery he received? The insults others threw and would continue to hurl his way? The way everyone turned on him, looking down on him like he was nothing?

None of it mattered to Noa.

It was only a matter of time before he proved his worth and made others regret scorning him.

"You still calling her the weakest beast?" he asked Irina, almost scowling at her for disregarding his answer to the last question.

The tension thickened.

Gasps followed.

No one expected Noa to be this gutsy.

They thought he was a nerdy, unlucky fellow who would lower his head the moment the instructor questioned him.

To their surprise, Noa’s actions were completely different.

Marlo leaned closer, whispering. "Bro, either you are the dumbest guy here, or you have balls of steel."

As others waited for Irina to snap, the woman’s expression didn’t change.

She kept peering at him.

Then she spoke firmly, her voice remaining unshakable. "Graveworms are failures on the evolutionary tree. They are weak, unstable, useless, and unworthy of precious resources."

There was no room for argument.

She didn’t leave any.

"You must think your answer was clever," she said, frowning. "But the world doesn’t value sentiment over facts."

Silence settled.

The air grew heavy, and everyone, including Thalia, was ready to hear a response.

Taking a sharp breath, she was ready to defend him when Noa squeezed her wrist. "Don’t," he muttered under his breath.

Then he looked at the woman.

His face showed no emotion.

Neither did his voice.

"That’s what I meant when I said it was all about the tamers. Graveworms or Lantherion doesn’t matter as long as I am in control."

Noa sounded bold, confident even.

Irina was surprised by his conviction, and even more caught off guard when Noa mentioned her beast’s species without ever seeing it.

And before she or anyone from the crowd said anything, Noa murmured,

"If we are done here, I would like to know where my dorm is and when classes start."