Atticus's Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground

Chapter 1333: Burning Gaze

"I don’t like that look in your eyes."

Despite the crowded hallway, only the sounds of two pairs of footsteps echoed. There were no whispers, barely any sound, as two figures walked through the hallway.

Scaela Solmar was known by all to be a simple woman. Born and raised the daughter of a marquis, she had been revered and respected by all even as a child.

This awe only intensified when her talent for the Redflame path bloomed. She surpassed her peers and was even able to hold her own against people centuries older than her. She became a talent known across the Verge.

As time passed, everyone got used to her talent. There were no more surprises, this was all she could offer. Then she became a god... and shattered those thoughts.

Amongst the people in the Willhall, Scaela Solmar was the youngest. Merely a few centuries old. Compared to the other gods, who had lived for millennia, she should have been amongst the weakest.

Yet she sat in the front row in class. A seat reserved only for those considered the strongest of a faction. Yet none dared to even whisper as she walked the halls. None dared to meet her eye.

Only one thing could cause such a thing, absolute power.

Scaela didn’t turn to face the one who’d just spoken. Her childhood friend always had a way of telling her mood from a glance. Denial was useless.

"His eyes were interesting," said Scaela, with a smile that made many of the gods around gulp.

"Don’t."

"It hurts you don’t trust me, Jarek. When have I ever gone against my father’s wishes?"

"Every single time he asked you not to do something," the man, Jarek, answered like it was a matter of fact.

He was taller than Scaela, almost standing at eight feet. His physique was slender, hair red and blazing, and crimson eyes barely visible through his half closed lids.

A long, thin sword rested on his left waist, and he walked behind Scaela with a measured gait.

Scaela laughed.

"You would think by now he’d have learned his lesson."

"Please don’t do anything this time, Scaela. Think about it. Have you ever seen the marquis this serious about anything?"

Scaela went silent, then shook her head. "No. But that’s what makes me so curious. Why does Father care about a newly ascending god? Why would he want to kill him? It makes no sense. He’s a marquis."

"His reason should be none of our concern. We only need to focus on increasing our power."

"You know..." Scaela ignored him, the scene from the battle arena flashing in her gaze. "When we locked eyes earlier, I used Burning Gaze on him."

Jarek narrowed his gaze, turning toward Scaela with a shocked expression.

"Then—"

"Yes," Scaela cut in, never losing the glint in her eyes.

"He withstood it?"

"If only that’s all he did." Scaela chuckled, and she could feel Jarek’s confused stare.

"He copied my Burning Gaze and countered it."

Jarek’s heart almost burst from his chest. He was about to ask if she had been mistaken, but held himself back.

He’d almost forgotten just who Scaela was. She was unpredictable, but never wrong about something like this.

"How?" he finally asked.

"That’s what I would like to know too," she finally glanced toward him. "How did a newly ascending god copy a Viscount-ranked art?"

Burning Gaze was exactly as it sounded, a gaze of fire. It was a Will Art that converted all of the user’s flames into their eyes, concentrating their will into their gaze.

The moment they locked eyes with a target, the condensed flames would erupt and burn through the person’s gaze, igniting them from the inside out.

Of course, using this against another god outside a sanctioned battle was against the rules. So, Scaela had set the attack to stop midway.

But the moment she used it on Atticus, before she could even think to stop it, he’d already copied it and used it back on her.

Scaela had been so shocked that she joined the rest of the gods, simply watching as Atticus walked out of class.

Her first thought had been, had he learned the art before? But she cleared her thoughts the next moment.

Burning Gaze was a Redflame Will Art. The faction’s Will Arts were strictly for faction members only, and the grade of what a god could learn was dependent on their power and standing.

The factions regulated their Will Arts so tightly that learning one usually started with taking an oath of silence.

Which meant, there was no way Atticus had learned it beforehand.

’He copied it.’

Scaela found her lips curling into a wide smile. Defeating Kale hadn’t been enough. But to think he’d copied an art so fast...

Jarek sighed. "I don’t like that look in your eyes."

When he didn’t get any response, he decided to be more firm.

"You can’t go against the marquis’ words this time. We both know he’s serious. Let the Count handle it. I’m sure it’ll be over soon."

Scaela’s smile vanished, replaced by a frown. Her mind replayed her meeting with her father. She had never seen him so serious.

"I hate that," she shook her head. "Alright. We watch."

Jarek released a sigh of relief. He was glad he’d gotten through to her. But her next words made him pause.

"For now."

Jarek didn’t miss the smile on her face as she picked up the pace. He sighed.

’Looks like things are about to become eventful.’

He picked up the pace, catching up to her. His mind was muddled. Although he had used the marquis to caution Scaela, the truth was, Atticus made him uneasy. He couldn’t understand it.

It was like it came from deep within his gut.

’I wonder how the Count will handle this.’

...

"What will you do?"

Count Thane didn’t offer an immediate response, choosing to remain silent instead. The admissions officer, Masner, stood at a distance.