14 - Introduction (1)

"Huff... E-Ellen.. I want to rest..."

"Go ahead."

It was early morning, sun still hasn't set yet. But there's already few people running on the academy track field. Two of them are me and Sylva.

"I don't expect you to be a person who do a morning workout." Someone talked while running by my side.

"Really? Cause you are wrong." I replied. The person who was beside me is Seraphina.

"For a mage, you have a great stamina huh?" I said.

"I try to." Seraphina replied.

After that, only breath could be heard as we run side by side. Until Seraphina break the silence.

"Seems like your aura control is better than last time." She said.

"Yeah? How did you know?"

"I... just sensed it, the energy around you flow more naturally." Seraphina said while looking at me for a moment.

And yeah, since last night, I trained my breathing technique and managed to stabilized my aura flow.

Right now while running, I maintained the same breathing, circulating energy throughout my body.

I've been running around this trackfield for 40 minutes in total. Seems enough for now, I stopped running at sat beside Sylva. It was really tiring. Never I thought that I would do these kind of training again.

"Your stamina is great Ellen. You ran for 40 minutes without break. While I took one every 5 minutes or so." Sylva said, still gasping for air.

"Well, I am a knight."

"Ohhh yeaah. My stomach doesn't feel so good. My head also started spinninggg." Sylva said. She was struggling to sit down.

"Just lay down." I said while placing her head on my lap. "Your body didn't send enough oxygen, thats why. You need to train your stamina, it's important even if you're a mage."

"Yeaah." Sylva replied, usually she would fluster from this interaction. But, because of her state, she can't afford to do it.

Tap Tap Tap

"Is she okay?" A blue haired boy approached us with a soft smile. A face that captivates many people, and a personality thats very likeable.

"Sword Saint." I said mindlessly.

He seems startled after hearing my word. "Haha, don't call me that. It's weird, just call me Art." He replied while sitting down beside me.

And this guy, he is the original protagonist of this world. Art Enteralis.

"Here, give some for her. It's a headache medication." He said while hading me a bottle of pill.

I looked at the Pill and pass it to Sylva's hand. "You hear him, drink it." I said while helping Sylva sit down.

"U-uh, thank you." Sylva said while slightly hiding herself behind me.

However, Art don't really mind it. "All good." He said. "Well then, I better get going."

"Talking about generic protagonist." I mumbled. Art is almost a generic protagonist. Kind, has a sense of justice, kind of naive. However, he's capable of logical thinking.

Unlike those unrealistic protagonist who wanted to save everyone without any cost. Art could sacrifice millions for billions. Something that I like about him.

"Wh-what? Did you say something?" Sylva said after gulping the water to swallow the pills.

"Nothing special." I said as I stand up. "I'm going back."

"W-wait—" Sylva quickly stand up and followed me. But because she's still dizzy, her body fell. Fortunately, I catched her.

"Be careful, your body hasn't fully recovered yet." I said with a frown. Again, one thing that I hate is people overworking their body.

Hearing my word, her face quickly turn sour. "Sorry..." Sylva replied.

"Well, I didn't mean to get mad." I said with a sigh. "Come on." I'll walk slowly."

Sylva's expression brightened instantly.

---

Ellen isn't only training her body. But also her mind. In order to live in this world, she crammed every general knowledge last night. Thats why her room is full of book.

But when it came to the real classes, she can't help but falling asleep.

The droning sound of the professor's voice filled the classroom, a monotonous lullaby that dragged my mind deeper into sleep.

And as always, the dream formed. Not a whimsical fantasy, not scattered nonsense. My dream was a memory—a reminder of my ego.

And it was always the same.

"Yo, Hee-Jin. You look great today! Something happen?"

A woman in sloppy clothes approached—a tank top under a battered jacket, a cigarette hanging lazily between her lips. She grinned at me, exhaling smoke into the air.

"Fuuuuh... Come on, answer me," she said, voice teasing.

"Why do you care? Just start the damn lesson," I snapped, my mouth moving before my mind could catch up.

She only laughed. "Great spirit! So, what do you want to learn today?"

Silence.

Without warning, I lunged at her with a knife in hand, my movements precise and deadly. Yet she easily parried it with the flick of her arm.

"You bastard," I hissed.

"I'm not 'bastard.' I'm Chae Yujin," she replied with a grin before effortlessly tossing me aside.

Again, I sprang forward. We exchanged attacks in a blur, until she kicked my shin, stole my knife, and sent me sprawling backward with a brutal strike.

"Ugh... That's dirty!" I shouted, clutching my leg.

"Dependency on weapons is the sign of a third-rate assassin," she said mockingly, tossing the knife aside. She grabbed a Go pawn from the table, hurling it with pinpoint accuracy where I instinctively dodged.

Then she moved again, tying a scarf around my wrists, restricting me. Her fists blurred as she threw punches at my head. I dodged, barely keeping up.

"Don't just dodge. Break free," she said before sinking a heavy punch into my gut, knocking the life out of me oo. I crumpled.

Lighting another cigarette, she crouched beside me.

"You've got great reflexes. But reflexes alone won't save you. Learn to predict the enemy."

She helped untie the scarf and ruffled my hair like I was a kid.

"Well then, let's sneak outta this damn facility. I want some street food."

"Ain't you supposed to teach me?"

"Hey, this is also a lesson. Security here's tighter than a bank vault. It'll be fun."

"Whatever..."

Chae Yujin. A woman strong enough to gaim freedom. However, this force of nature was assigned as my private instructor.

And as she called out to me in that dream, a soft smile slipped onto my face.

"You were really beautiful," I whispered, remembering the day I lost her. The day when I tries to destroy the damn facility.

.

.

.

"Ellen Ymara."

My eyes snapped open at the sound of my name.

Silence fell over the room. Every head turned toward me. The professor stood at the blackboard, arms crossed, beside a complex diagram of a magic circle.

Ah. Magic theory. I took a few classes about this, didn't I?

"Come to the front," he ordered.

Still sleepy, I rubbed my eyes and stood. As I shuffled forward, a girl next to me hurriedly slid her notebook toward me. I took it without hesitation, skimming it in quick strides.

A glance was enough. My mind clicked into place, the gears grinding into motion.

When I reached the chalkboard, I was already ready.

The problem was a flawed magic circle. Analyzing it for weaknesses and correcting it.

I picked up the chalk.

"First here," I tapped the outer ring, "the mana flow destabilizes because the anchor nodes are misaligned."

I erased part of the design and redrew it, clean and efficient.

"Second, the inscription at the core creates redundancy, weakening the structure. Removing it will strengthen the spell."

Step by step, I dissected the circle. Calm. Precise. Like a surgeon.

When I finally set the chalk down, the chalkboard was filled with clean corrections and annotations.

The professor's brow lifted, clearly surprised.

"...Correct," he said after a long pause.

Murmurs spread through the room.

I yawned.

"Can I sit down now?" I asked.

He sighed. "Go."

As I walked back, I could feel the mixture of awe and irritation from my classmates. I plopped back into my chair, returned the notebook with a small nod, and leaned my head into my hand.

And I just realized, the girl beside me is cute. Maybe staying awake wouldn't be so bad after all.