I awoke several hours before I normally did. It was pitch black in my room, and I couldn't see a thing. This didn't matter since I already had the layout memorized down to the last-minute detail.
I removed myself from under the covers and got out of bed. I carefully maneuvered through the darkness until I arrived at the door. I reached up and twisted the knob slowly until it opened. Peeking out the door, I noticed nobody else was around.
I stepped out into the hallway, making sure to keep my footsteps light. The long corridor was dimly lit by torches on the wall. I looked around once more before I started toward the Library.
It was when I made it to the entrance that I heard a whisper near my ear, "Raine? Is that you?"
I nearly shrieked in horror when I heard that. While it was the soft voice of a little girl, it was still scary to hear in the dark.
I turned to see a girl with short brown hair coming out from the dark. No, more accurate to say, the darkness was falling off of her.
"Oh, Cassandra, you scared me." I said with a hint of relief in my breath.
Cassandra was becoming more and more visible as she got closer. She was utilizing her special light magic to cloak herself in the night. She must have unlocked part of her aura ability, like me, as expected from a member of the royal family.
Typically, a young noble has their full aura unlocked at age eight. However, nobility with a strong enough bloodline would be able to use a small fraction of it before unlocked.
I was born with a 'dual aura', which gives the person two aura abilities. While this is powerful compared to normal aura users, Aaron was born with four aura abilities. That's not just cheating, that's game-breaking.
"Raine, it's quite late, what are you doing here?"
"Just looking to get in some reading. What about you?" I replied.
All I did was return the question, however, she looked flustered. Perhaps she didn't expect me to ask her such an obvious question. Whatever the reason, it made her rather angry.
"None of your business!"
"Oh," I let slip a dejected frown, "okay."
That's right, this was her personality. I didn't mind it much, I've dealt with far worse in my previous life. However, it was a personality like this that would make people dislike her in the future. If I wanted her survival, I would need to make her just a bit more honest.
I opened the door to the library and walked in. Cassandra quickly followed suit,"W-wait! I wanted to read too."
'There we go, just a bit of honesty doesn't hurt now, does it?' I watched her hastily make way for the magic section. I wondered what she was doing there, but I continued toward my destination.
I walked over to the etiquette section. It was here that I would start preparing for the ethics quiz in the future. I grabbed as many books as I could hold and teleported them to the table I would read on. I went back and repeated this about four more times until I had enough books.
Cassandra finally made it back from her area with two books in her hand. When she saw the enormous stack of books I had, her jaw dropped, "D-do you plan to read all of that!?"
"Yes, of course."
It's understandable why she would be shocked. Four-year-old planning to read over twenty books in less than five hours was less than believable. This is where my 'perfect memory' comes into play.
We both sat next to each other. I opened a book and started flipping through the pages. I scanned each page from top to bottom, it only took a second to complete each page. I was done with the first book within three minutes. I simply placed the book in a separate pile and picked up a new one.
Cassandra stared in awe as I completely devoured the knowledge of each book in less than five minutes. It took me just under an hour to complete the stack of books.
I exhaled and looked over to my side. Cassandra was barely halfway through her first book. I looked closer at the title which read, 'Advanced Light Spells.' That was a spellbook that contains fourth-rank light spells and up. I know this because I read through all of it. While I wanted to applaud her diligence, unfortunately, she would be unable to use the spells.
"Er, Cassandra."
"Huh?"
Cassandra raised her head when I called her name. I didn't want to have to tell her this, but if she read through the entire book without this knowledge, she'd end up distraught.
"You know, one is unable to use magic spells unless they have gone through mana awakening, right?"
Cassandra's eyes widened suddenly, she looked shocked at my words. While it's true I can practice and use spells, this is thanks to my 'quick learner' skill that I have. Normally, one would either have to go through aura awakening, or wait until their mana awakening.
"If that's true, then how come you can?"
"I'm special."
I tried to brush her off with a simple reply, but she got angry. She stood up from the chair with a determined look. She began slowly turning transparent until she managed to become completely invisible, "Well. Explain this!"
I almost let out a chuckle at her outburst. I found it funny how I was being yelled at by absolutely nothing but air. I explained to her that that was a natural-born ability, not a spell.
"But if it's not a spell, then how do I use it?"
She looked incredibly embarrassed to ask, but she posed a great question. After reading nearly every book in this library, I determined a proper answer.
"Evolution." I continued, "To be more precise, it has to do with the conflict between humans and demonic creatures."
"As humans evolved to fight with aura, human children were still unable to use it until age eight. However, the children of stronger parents were found to have evolved past that and were able to use small amounts of aura to survive."
Cassandra lost her embarrassed expression and became focused on my explanation. She seemed interested in knowledge like this.
"Just like how I'm able to use my inherent ability to use spatial magic, you are using your born talent as a light magic user." I explained, "Nowadays, thanks to the recent peace, few nobles can use the aura while young. The Royal Family is an exception, due to the sheer strength of our parents. We really hit the genetic lottery."
"I see." Cassandra had a gloomy expression. It was as if she had been let down.
I quickly moved to comfort her, "Um, while this is true, once you reach age eight, you'll be able to learn all sorts of spells! And those spells don't just include light."
"Thanks, Raine." Her expression softened a bit, mission accomplished I guess.
I moved to the pile of books on the table. I began putting them back on their respective bookshelves. With this, I am fully prepared for the ethics section of my training. All I have to focus on now is fitness, which I can do when the time comes.
I made it back to the table where Cassandra was. While I was replacing my books, she had already placed her books back as well.
When we walked out of the library, we agreed to do this again at the same time every day. This is an excellent opportunity for both of me and Cassandra. I can assist her in her studies while also developing her character and getting her to be more honest.
She activated her cloak and disappeared and I teleported back to my room.