The autumn sun cast long shadows across the university grounds as Raven stepped off the campus shuttle, the cool breeze carrying the familiar scents of fallen leaves and possibility.
His reflection in the glass doors of the main building stopped him for a moment.
'Should I decrease the charm a bit?'
Clear skin, defined jawline, that natural magnetism that came with his awakened bloodline.
Even he had to admit the transformation was striking.
No wonder people were doing double-takes as he walked through the courtyard.
Students clustered in their usual groups, but today something felt different.
Eyes lingered on him longer than necessary, conversations paused as he passed.
A few girls actually stopped mid-sentence, their gazes following his movements with obvious interest.
'...the favorability meter,' he was watching the translucent heart icons flickering above various heads.
Most hovered around 15-25%, but several spiked higher when they made eye contact with him.
He was scanning the crowd, trying to remember which building Elena's first class was in, when a familiar voice cut through the morning chatter.
"What the fuck... are you Raven?"
Turning toward the voice, Raven spotted a familiar figure rushing toward him—a heavyset guy with glasses, blinking rapidly like he couldn't trust his own eyes.
The shock on his face was almost comical.
"Dennis," Raven nodded calmly, watching his old friend's mouth hang open.
"Dude, what the hell happened to you?" Dennis grabbed his arm, looking him up and down like he was examining some kind of miracle.
"Did you get surgery or something? I mean, damn, you look like you could be on a magazine cover!"
"Just started taking better care of myself," Raven replied in that composed tone, finding it good enough that he had met someone his past self knew—getting Elena's location would not be difficult.
"Diet and exercise?" Dennis laughed, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Come on, man, don't bullshit me. Nobody transforms in a day like this naturally. You look like a completely different person!"
Other students were starting to notice the commotion.
A small crowd began forming around them, curious whispers spreading like wildfire.
If not for Dennis being there to vouch for his identity, Raven doubted anyone would have recognized the duo at all.
"Believe what you want," Raven shrugged, already growing tired of the unnecessary attention.
"Where's Elena's first class again? Literature building?"
Somehow he guessed that woman might be in one of his old classes; either way, the guy in front of him wasn't that helpful.
"Elena?" Dennis's eyebrows shot up.
"Elena Martinez? Bro, what do you want with the Ice Queen? That girl hasn't shown interest in anyone since freshman year."
'Now this...' Hearing that—even knowing she was already engaged, yet no one seemed to know about it—made it clear that she was intentionally hiding her relationship, not wanting to stretch things.
He just stated, "Just need to return something to her."
"Return what? And why do you... wait."
Dennis's expression shifted to suspicion.
"You didn't actually think you had a chance with her before, did you?
Because let me tell you, even looking like this now, she's way out of everyone's league.
Girl's got standards higher than the damn moon."
"I see."
Raven was already walking toward the literature building, Dennis scrambling to keep up while still babbling about Elena's impossibly high standards and how she'd turned down the football captain, the student body president, and half the graduate students.
To Raven, all of this spoke of a hidden side to that woman.
She was cold and all, yet hid her relationship status—clearly not happy with that man, but also kind enough to reject those guys, knowing she was engaged to a man who could destroy those people's lives.
From a few details, he got the gist of that girl's personality, adjusting his approach to her a bit—from the caring demeanor he'd shown that webtoon woman.
'Wait, what was the name of that woman?'
While moving, he realized that he should have used the system to see her status, to check her name at least.
The classroom was mostly empty when they arrived—only a handful of early birds scattered across the lecture hall.
But Raven's attention immediately locked onto the figure seated at the back corner.
Elena.
She sat with her eyes closed, hands folded across her desk, looking for all the world like she was meditating.
But there was something about her posture that suggested she wasn't finding inner peace—more like she was trying to shut out the world entirely.
Even from a distance, Raven could see why Dennis called her the Ice Queen.
Everything about her radiated that untouchable, effortless elegance that made other girls look like they were trying too hard.
Her long black hair fell like a curtain around her face, and even in simple jeans and a sweater, she managed to look like she'd stepped out of a fashion magazine.
There was an aura around her that seemed to say 'approach at your own risk.'
Above her head, a faint heart icon flickered: ♡ 67%
'Interesting,' Raven thought as he made his way up the steps toward her desk, not expecting her to have such favorability toward him.
The sound of footsteps approaching made Elena open her eyes—and immediately, Raven understood why so many guys had tried and failed with her.
Those blue eyes were like looking into deep water, intelligent and calculating, but completely detached from everything around her.
She looked at him with the same mild curiosity she might show a new species of insect, head tilting slightly as she took in his appearance.
"Are you Raven?" she asked, her voice carrying that cultured, controlled tone of someone who'd never raised it in anger or excitement.
"Yes."
She blinked once, slowly, processing this information like she was filing it away for future reference.
"You look different."
"People keep telling me that."
"Hmm."
She studied his face with the detached interest of a scientist examining a specimen.
"Better diet?"
"Something like that."
A moment of silence stretched between them—not awkward, exactly, but loaded with unspoken observations.
Raven found himself genuinely intrigued by her demeanor.
She wasn't trying to impress him or fill the silence with meaningless chatter.
She was simply... evaluating.
And that told him his charm wasn't going to work on her.
Of course, he could increase it, but that would just weaken his foundation.
Because if he got a woman impressed by his charm, then if someone more charming came along, she would simply shift to him.
So it was better to charge them with emotional intensity rather than physical attraction.
But it was commendable for this woman to be able to hold her ground without blushing, overall making him feel impressed by her.
'System, show me her status.'
Naturally, he didn't expect much from her status, especially since those with bloodlines and power would have enormous stats compared to her.
It was even more likely that some status formats wouldn't show, like Mana and such.
DING!
[Host: Elena Bloodmoon]
[Level: Unspecified]
[Race: Human (Dormant Vampire Bloodline Potential)]
[Class: Reincarnated as Human, Betrayed Blood Queen, Lost Soul of Worlds.]
[Status Window] (Modern World Comparison Added)
Strength: (Can lift 20-30 Kg of weight)
Agility: (Good reflexes, can dodge a bee)
Endurance: (Good Endurance, Can run 5-6 km with mild gaps)
Intelligence: (Sharp Intellect)
Charisma: (Charm that can attract gazes)
Mana: 0 (No regeneration in current world)
Blood Art: [Locked] (Requires Awakening)]
'!'
Raven's eyes widened clearly as he saw the status in front of him, depicting the woman who, to be honest, had just made him see her in a completely different light.
'Now... this is interesting.'