Noblesse: Bloodbound

      I stepped back into the room. Okay, time to brainstorm: what’s next? ‘Cause apparently ‘waking up in a coffin with an overpowered, tragically handsome Ruler of the ancient magic race’ was just today’s warm-up act. If it’s a gender-swap Sleeping Beauty tale, I’m all in. As long as it ends with fluff.       In the manhwa, Raizel had left the apartment almost immediately and waltzed straight to school. Pure coincidence or lazy writing? Who knows how long he’d actually spent sightseeing.       No idea what time it was now. Streets were quite bathed in pale gold light. Too early for students, too late for drunkards, ideal for one’s dirty business. Either way, no rush.       The real question: Was it safe to leave Cadis as is while I search for Frankenstein? The coffin is officially lost. At least until afternoon. M-21 and M-24 appear even later. Fine, leave it be. Dragging it to school wasn’t an option. Sneaking out with a coffin? Yeah, no.       Next priority: the return route. Bet, I can’t sense Noblesse’s location from a distance. Then how was I supposed to find the spot? And to explain navigation to one obsessive follower where his Master is “resting”? Hmm.       I need to memorize every landmark, street sign, and turn. What do I got? Focus. Fifth floor. Balcony — second from the right. Else? Building’s blue. Streetlamp and blue dumpster across the road. Seriously? I’m treating a trash bin like a lifebuoy. Crap.       Wait a sec. How did Rai even get down? Don’t tell me he just jumped and tweaked bystanders’ perceptions. Damn.       Better use the door.       Locked. Huh– of course. No keys on me, none in the dresser — the only furniture besides the coffin. Oh, great. Balcony jump it is. This leap of faith might as well test my body’s limits. But before–       Checked the Noblesse. Hmm, he’s upgraded from corpse-chic to Sleeping Beauty with 3% battery. Progress!       Dead serious, I thought– then muttered aloud:       “Stay put, wait for help, charge your stamina.”       Jokes aside. Just added this to my collection of awkward rescue moments.       Priority one: clothes. Wandering Seoul in a bedsheet wasn’t exactly my fashion statement.       Cadis copied a school uniform in Chapter 1. Could I repeat that?       Stepped onto the balcony. The first student appeared, then another. White blazer, grey-blue shirt and skirt, knee-highs. A 3D model flashed behind my eyelids like a holographic preview. Every stitch, every fold. Perfect replica. My chibi-double winked, then wrapped itself in the sheet and– Snap. Fabric rippled, then settled into uniform. A prickling heat coiled from my shoulders down, solidifying into cloth. I blinked. Flawless fit. Now I looked like one of Ye Ran’s students. So that’s the interface? My subconscious or Raizel’s power giving tutorials? Shrugged. If I just need to visualize an outfit, then– Wow! Fast, cheap, and beautiful? Screw the rules, I have magic!       Adjusted the skirt. Rocked on my toes, testing the loafers. Comfy. Looked downstairs. More kids flooding the streets now, streaming diagonally right. Time to move. But how to land unnoticed? Hey, System, got a ninja mode? Pretty please?       Suddenly the tires screeched. Horns blared. Everyone turned toward the noise. Perfect. So I do have 1% plot armor.       Deep breath. Balcony ledge– (What to press for a quick save?) Step off.       Whoa. Landed feather-light behind a tree. Felt like hopping off a chair, not a five-story drop. Weird. But experiments later. For now– forward, toward canon. Peeked out. No stares. Play it cool. With a poker face I caught up to three girls, tailing them to Ye Ran.       Memorized the route: café with disgustingly cheerful yellow umbrellas (too sweet… kill me now), two rights, then at left at the traffic light. System, can I just download a mental GPS pack instead? White walls, bike lane– Wait, this street looks familiar. Yeey, the destination’s close.       The student herd surged ahead. A few guys sprinted past, late. I sidestepped as another blur nearly bowled me over.       “Waiting for a written invite?” someone snorted behind me. “No time to waste like that. Pedro’s guarding the gate today.”       WHAT?       Turned. Oh. Shinwoo.       Who else? Lanky redhead, disheveled uniform, tie stuffed in his pocket, bandaged nose, gray gym bag dangling. Canon compliant.       He froze mid-step, staring. What? I’m not Rai– Of course, I’d never seen my own face here. No mirrors in the lab, and “coma patient” wasn’t a look anyone explained. But no dirt or blood, right? Nothing suspicious. Maybe he noticed my eye color? Sweat!       The pause grated on my nerves. I raised a questioning brow calling lad to action.       Shinwoo blinked, checked his watch, then bolted past. “You’ll be toast if not rush!”       Phew! That was close. First thing to do after talking to Frankie — find a mirror!       Followed the kid. The gates loomed ahead. Impressive. Heavy wrought iron, cameras, some jacked teacher playing bouncer. The Chairman took students’ safety seriously.       And that voice? More suited to barking orders at recruits than scolding sleepy children.       “To be late on a day that I am guarding the gate… I can’t let you off easy, especially since you’re in my class,” Pedro bellowed.       Shinwoo winced. “Just… supporting my fellow latecomers, sir?”       “Pfft–HAHAHA!” Seeing this in person was gold.       Six offenders knelt before a stele engraved with “I am the master of my fate…” by William E. Henley. Teacher Park’s idea or the Chairman’s? Either way, savage. To kneel under the words from Invictus. Meta-irony. Gotta love their sense of humor.       Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.       Pedro paced, bat on his shoulder. The air reeked of impending doom.       “HAN SHINWOO. Late again!” The bat hit lightly on the kid’s head.       “Ouch!”       Shinwoo shivered, rubbing the spot with a forced smile. The others snickered. Hey, one more canon compliance here: Yuna detected.       “Five laps for being late!”       Groans erupted:       “WHAAT?”       “Five laps?!”       “Teacher, that’s too many!”       “It’s too early for that…”       Park smirked. “You all will run, but… SHINWOO. If you run seven, the rest do three.”       Oh-ho. Pedro knew about his crush on Yuna (currently hiding giggles). Knight saves damsel in distress. Classic move. The other five glared. The loverboy sighed.       “…Fine. I’ll run.”       Sucker.       Watched them trudge off. Teacher was slick — playing cupid via sadistic PE. You never know what your guardian angel’ll look like, huh?       While Shinwoo suffered heroically (bet, cursing builders for making the field so large), I took in the campus sights. Typical anime school sprawl: buildings, fields, a pool. All annoyingly pristine.       Oh, the kids returned — panting.       “Class is about to start. So get back to your classrooms, if you’re done!” Park barked.       Time to enter stage left. Strolled toward the stele. Pedro did a double take.       “Did…DID YOU JUST GET HERE?”       Silence. Cadis’ mute act led to comedy gold — wanted the front-row experience.       “This is unprecedented insolence!” The teacher squinted. “Wait…” Stared. “I’ve never seen you before.”       Circled me like a shark. I bit my cheek. His mental gears practically screeched.       Shinwoo staggered up. “Ugh… I’m done… Huff… Huff…” He wheezed, hands on knees. “Oh my. Hufff… I gonna die. Huff…” Then noticed Park’s odd behavior. “Huh? Hey, you’re the….”       “You know her?”       “No, sir.” Kid scratched his head. “Uh, I just met her today.”       “Is that so? So you have never seen her either… Yet she’s here.”       Shinwoo mirrored Pedro’s stance. “Maybe she’s a transfer student, sir?”       “Hmm?”       Oh, yes. The Union sent me. In a coffin. Bet, they over watched Weekend at Bernie’s.       “The whole school would know of someone with a face like that!” This genius mused, pointing at me. “And look at this girl’s figure–”       Pedro nodded. “I believe you are right.”       “Excuse me?! Discussing me like THAT?!” (What’s next? Ask for my measurements?) Knew this was Rai’s canon dialogue, but rude. Would trade this “compliment” for a mirror.       “Did you transfer here today?”       Nodded. Their synchronized aha! faces were priceless.       “You should have told me earlier…” Happy smile. “So, which school are you from?”       Oh, just a black-site lab experimenting on Nobles. No fixed address. Will you buy it for “Union’s school of life”?       “Not very talkative, huh?” Park frowned. He leaned closer. “Who taught you your manners — to answer with just a nod? I’m talking to you. ANSWER MY QUESTIONS!” Boomed, appealing to my sense of decency.       Shinwoo shrugged. “Maybe she doesn’t speak Korean?”       Yeah, yeah. What did Cadis say in the manhwa? Probably some gibberish Son Jeho passed off as Lukedonian. So speak non-Korean? No guarantee they wouldn’t recognize another language. Then I just needed not a real, but a fake one. Bingo. Why not pretend The Fifth Element’s alien:       “Ouacra cocha o dayodomo binay ouacra mo cocha ferji akba ligounai makta keratapla.”       Blank stares. Sorry, Leeloo. Son Jeho’s Lukedonian sounded epic. My attempt? Like a cat walking on a keyboard.       Kid’s whisper was barely audible. “Wh-what did she just say?”       Pedro stroked his chin. “She’s… from far away.”       Wow. Astounding deduction (not).       “Oh!” Shinwoo nodded sagely. “I see, she’s from far away.”       “Hmm… Guess she lived overseas.” Park muttered. “That must be it…”       “Pfft–HA!” Captain Obvious strikes again.       “Her looks are Korean enough, but something feels slightly off. She looks like she could be foreign as well…”       The teacher huffed.       “Hey, are you possibly of mixed descent, or a foreigner?”       Nodded like a bobblehead.       “Yup! We were right, sir.” Shinwoo beamed.       “Compared to you, she definitely has a completely different vibe,” Park grinned. “Just look at her legs! They’re so much longer than yours! HAHAHA!”       The kid bristled.       A height complex? But he’s tall. I’d get it if it was shorty Woo, but this? Insecurities for nothing. Guess I’m above average height, especially for a girl.       “You’re right! It was the same for me when I compared you to her looks! You guys are basically different species, sir. Kekeke!”       Pedro preened.       Is this Korean dude humor? Just stared. Their laughter died awkwardly.       “HAN SHINWOO.” Park dropped the bat on his shoulder. “You’ll be responsible for taking her to the Chairman.” He walked off, whistling.       “S-sir?” Kid groaned. “You’re just going to leave, sir?”       No answer. The teacher pretended not to hear. But the melody sounded louder. Troll level: expert mode.       Shinwoo sighed, adjusted his bag, and shot me a look:       “Tsk– Damn. Hey, let’s go.”       Played follow-the-leader at a leisurely pace. We circled the stele, reached the main building’s entrance, where lad did that shoe-changing ritual with his indoor slippers while giving my loafers the side-eye. Nothing was said by voice, but I got the message. Then down the hall, up to the second floor, and finally — the Chairman’s office. Kid knocked like entering a dragon’s den.       “Come in.” (A smooth baritone, not a Smaug voice. So what was he afraid of?)       The door remained mid-open–       “Ah, Mr. Shinwoo? What brings you here? You’re in trouble again?”       He knows you by name, hotshot. Yikes. Doubt Frankenstein knew every student by face. Except the troublemakers. Barely held back a grin.       “Haha, no, sir.” Lad scratched his neck. “I brought a transfer student.”       “A transfer student?” Voice sounded like pure disbelief.       “Mr. Park told me to bring her over to you.”       “I see, thank you. You may go to class before it’s too late.”       “Yes, sir.” Shinwoo turned to me. “Go inside. I’m off to class,” he muttered, heading back to the stairs.       Alone before the door. This was it — a moment of truth. Heart hammered like a double pedal death-metal drum solo. Would Frankenstein buy my legend? (Internal scream!) Canon might not cover imposter-Noblesse scenarios. (Internal growl.)       Deep breath. (Ba-dum-tss!) Showtime.