I woke up as usual, had breakfast, put on my uniform, and left my room.
I walked into my classroom, no different from the previous days. And again, as always, I was surrounded by people I wasn't even sure who they were.
"Hey, Celine! We're going to karaoke tonight, wanna come?"
One of the girls spoke with a smile on her face. So I showed her a slight smile too.
"Sorry, I have plans tonight."
The girl's smile slowly faded. She definitely looked upset but I could see right through her, she was just disappointed that she had let me slip away.
I dealt with a few more annoying students like this but then the professor entered our classroom. With that, they finally backed off.
Even though I didn't understand much from all the lessons until lunch break, I made sure not to fall asleep. So, finally, all the boring lessons were over and I stood up smiling.
Finally, it was time for practical training. The preliminary for the competition was next week, so I was incredibly excited about that.
I quickly returned to my room, got ready, and rushed to the training hall that the professor had arranged.
I knocked on the door. When the professor opened the door for me, she stepped back and welcomed me in. Then she closed the door and stood in front of me with a smile on her face.
She was quite ordinary, with not very long brown hair and eyes as brown as her hair, but she was one of the most powerful people I had ever seen.
"Yes! It's been exactly one month since you last measured your stats. Can you tell me what you've improved? I need to record it."
The woman opened her watch and looked at me.
"Agility and Endurance became E+ two weeks ago. My Electric Elementalist mastery went from E- to E about three weeks ago."
The professor nodded and took note of what I said, then smiled brightly again.
"Good, now I'm going to show you a technique I want you to learn this week. But I'm not going to explain it like before, instead watch and try to understand it. Believe me, if you can learn it before the preliminary, even if you fight Adrian, who is currently in first place, you might have a chance with a surprise attack."
The moment I heard that, my eyes lit up. Because I had seen with my own eyes how strong the boy Adrian was. After all, we had taken the entrance exam at the same facility. He was… literally a monster.
The professor gripped her sword, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Then her eyes opened and suddenly, I felt a wave of mana emanating from her.
The mana slowly made its way to her sword, but it wasn't like normal mana boosts. The mana surrounded the sword like a wild creature trying to break free. Professor lifted it into the air, but this time the sword became a blur
The sword, blurred as if its existence had been erased, was suddenly thrown downward and an explosive energy separated from it, slicing through the air.
The professor turned back to me after performing the technique, but I couldn't say anything to her because my mouth was hanging open.
"I didn't use the technique fully so that nothing would happen to the room, but I can show you a few more times if you want."
I nodded excitedly, and just like that; I spent the next three hours practicing this technique completely.
*******
My mana surrounded my sword, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't turn it into a wild form like the professor.
I gritted my teeth and poured more and more mana into it, even though I felt extremely tired, but then the mana flowing into the sword suddenly stopped.
Ah... I ran out of mana.
"Okay, enough."
The professor clapped her hands in satisfaction, but I was definitely not satisfied.
"Don't make that face Celine, believe me, you were quite good. The first day I tried to learn this I didn't make any progress, but you are different. You already understand the basics, it's just the execution you have problems with."
How can I understand the basics and have trouble practicing? If I understand the basics, shouldn't I be able to apply them...?
"Thank you, professor."
I kept what I wanted to say inside and bowed respectfully to the professor, then sheathed my sword and wiped the sweat from my forehead.
I am tired because all my mana is exhausted... I really need to rest, it seems.
"See you tomorrow, Celine."
"See you, professor."
I left the room with a fake smile on my face. then I took a deep breath and headed toward the dorms without a care in the world. I wanted to go to my room and go to bed quickly. I quickly wanted it to be tomorrow and wanted to practice again...
So I quickened my pace, but just then, I overheard something.
"Hey, they say Leo and his gang have disbanded!"
The three girls were gossiping with each other.
I thought it was something important...
"What? Really?!"
"Yes! And it's not an internal fight, someone deliberately scattered them!"
"There's more!"
The third one interjected excitedly.
"A student caught them bullying, then beat all seven of them at once and made them run away trembling with fear!"
Hmm? Such rumors are usually exaggerated... But there was a hero of justice in the academy who could take on all seven? Strange...
"One of the people who saw the group scatter said it was someone with gray eyes who beat them up!"
And when I heard that, I stopped moving.
A boy with gray eyes... I could only think of one person.
"How many people in the academy have gray eyes? Is it the smart guy from class 1-C?"
The girls continued to gossip amongst themselves, but soon they started talking about something else, so I stopped listening to them.
Aiden... wasn't he weak? Beating seven people to the point that they all fled in fear? And did he have such a sense of justice?
I thought about the assassination attack at the cemetery.
I still remembered his escape at that moment... Even though I didn't oppose him because I knew it was the most logical option, inside I called him a coward at that moment.
Later, when I heard that he had managed to outwit an assassin and was wounded, I guiltily left them twenty thousand wels and stayed in the hospital room for about half an hour, but that was it. I didn't think I would ever meet him again after that. At least not without hearing and learning more about him.
I thought about the strange feeling he gave me, it kept haunting me all the time. That alien feeling... it was the strangest thing I've ever encountered in my life. So I was sure he was special in some way.
With these thoughts in mind, I slowly made my way to my dorm room.
It was already dark, so I quickly made my way to the walkway, but I couldn't help but be surprised that no one was around. Everyone was probably working for the preliminary.
He's probably working too. After all, he's going to the preliminary too... Although, doesn't that mean that even if it's a fluke, we'll have to fight if we face each other?
I had a thousand and one things on my mind, my mind was getting tired along with my already tired body, but then I suddenly paused.
A familiar feeling. A strange feeling that I hadn't felt for a long time... suddenly enveloped my body.
I looked around quickly, trying to find the source of the alien feeling.
It was almost too faint for me to notice, but I could feel it. I could never forget this feeling, I couldn't forget something so 'strange' even if I wanted to.
I looked all around. And when I find what I searched, I realized that there was a big difference between what I saw and what I expected.
A dark-haired girl was walking toward the dormitories with a familiar jacket in her hand. It was the same jacket I had seen at the cemetery.
He had a girlfriend? So... that's something I didn't expect.
I looked at her back as she walked away.
It's not supposed to be my business. I'm not going to pry into anyone's life, but this strange feeling I get because of my skill... It pulls me in so much, it makes my head spin...
As a result, a few minutes later I found myself slightly hidden in a place with an easy view of room eight hundred and seventeen.
I knew what I was doing was nonsense, but... I was just curious.
When the girl came to the door, she hesitated for a moment. I used my mana, which had regenerated a small amount so far, to heighten my senses and focus on her.
I... Why am I really doing this? I'm being ridiculous, I'm acting like a stupid gossipy girl...
Aaahh... Just this once, I'm going to watch what happens as I try to figure out what this feeling is and see if I can learn something I can use in the future for recruiting him...
The girl knocked on the door a few seconds after I had developed my senses.
The faint feeling I had been able to get from the jacket until now was suddenly intensified when Aiden, dressed in quite normal clothes, opened the door and I was slapped by the sudden change.
At first, I couldn't understand what it was, this strange thing was just 'strange'. But now, more than getting used to it, I realized that I wanted to experience the feeling even more.
It was like a drug, like a cigarette that I couldn't even understand why people smoke, and the moment I realized that my eyes widened.
Am I... getting addicted to a feeling that I don't even understand what it is?
I quickly shook my head from side to side and suppressed my skill with my own will, so that the strange feeling slowly subsided, and once it was at a level I could resist, I focused back on the duo I was watching.
When Aiden saw the girl, at first he was quite surprised. Then a slight smile appeared on his face.
So she really was his girlfriend...
She handed him the jacket and Aiden gladly took it.
"Thank you again."
She bowed slightly, I was sure her eyes were fixed on the floor.
"No problem, would you like something warm? Coffee, tea, or something else."
"No, thanks. I just wanted to return the jacket."
Return...
"Well, have a good evening then."
Aiden spoke respectfully and then stepped back slightly.
"Good evening..."
She spoke flatly again and then Aiden slowly closed the door without saying anything else.
I just stood there with a blank expression on my face.
Why did they speak so formally and keep the conversation so short? Aren't these two in a relationship like that? Did I misunderstand?
I refocused on the girl, but then I involuntarily frowned.
Why doesn't she leave the doorway?
As I watched her, the girl took a deep breath. She lifted her head, looked at the door, and shook her head from side to side. Then she turned and walked away.
That's how I got to see her dark blue eyes, almost navy blue, but that's not what surprised me.
What surprised me was that what I sensed from those eyes, thanks to my intuition skill, was a sense of exhaustion and soullessness.
It was almost... something wrong was happening. The world seemed to darken around her, it was disturbing.
I stopped watching the corridor and leaned against the wall.
I lowered my eyes down to the floor, then finally thought.
So... that was it.
I said it once and that was it. Other people's business is none of my business.
Taking a deep breath, I started going down the stairs. Deciding to forget everything I had seen.
*******
After I got my jacket back and closed the door, I realized that it was perfectly clean, and it smelled very nice.
I don't think the washing machines in the rooms could do such a thing... Had she washed it by hand then?
After examining the jacket a little more, I looked through the peephole to see if she was still there, just out of curiosity. But then I saw the empty corridor and sighed.
She must have left already...
The jacket was already clean, so I hung it on the coat rack. Nothing important or different happened after that, to be honest. I just had a simple dinner and went back to bed.
But I was not sleepy and didn't know what to do...
I raised my wrist, then saw that it wasn't even nine o'clock in the evening.
Well... Let's practice at least. There's nothing else I can do anyway...
I changed into sports-appropriate clothes, strapped my sword to my waist, and jogged briskly toward the training building. When I entered the building, I quickly approached the reception desk.
"Aiden Tenebra, I'm going into one of the public halls."
Actually, I would have liked to go into the room I used with the professor... But those are specifically for professors' use and students can't go into those places on their own. At least without permission from the professors, and I... haven't gotten such permission yet.
The attendant looked at the screen in front of him and checked my ID. Smiling, he pointed me to the corridor on the left side of the lobby.
"You can follow the signs to hall number four."
"Thanks."
I gave him a smile back and walked as he described until I found room number four.
When I walked in, the first thing I noticed was that although the room was quite big, it was empty.
There were only a few people exercising... Apparently the other rooms were completely full, so they sent me to where the last few people were.
Sighing, I closed the door and then looked at the gym equipment.
Let's warm up first...
"Aiden?"
Suddenly startled, I jumped slightly from where I was, then turned around.
"Julian?"
I was surprised to see that it was really Julian calling me. I didn't expect to find him here, but then I paused, an involuntary smile suddenly appearing on my face.
I can build the basis for one of the preparations I want to make for the preliminary here.