"Hmm," Katrina huffed discontentedly. "Alright, go ahead, ask."
"I read recently that powerful mages, capable of creating powerful storms and discharges incomparable to regular mages, sometimes can't fully control their power. Because of this, it can go out of control, for example, creating an electric field around the mage. It can protect them from metallic objects, but it can also harm living beings. Are you familiar with this?"
Hmm, yes, such a problem does occur at times, but a person must truly be an exceptional mage for that. It rarely happens with ordinary mages.
"I understand."
"By the way, I think I'm starting to remember you now. You were the one talking about wanting to rule the world. What do you need that for? Power, wealth, or perhaps you're lacking female attention?"
Damn, I didn't expect someone to ask me that; how awkward.
"I just don't like how the world is structured, that's all."
"How it's structured? It's been like this for thousands of years, and no one complained."
"Well, yes, everyone just got used to it. But I don't really like it when people treat others like objects, when they value one's lineage over abilities, when the rich can get away with crimes because not all laws apply to them. I want to change that, or at least a big part of it."
"Wow, what a noble knight. But ideals alone won't get you far; I doubt you'll achieve anything."
"Well, it's not just ideals; I do have a plan," I smirked suspiciously, but I didn't explain further and moved on to the next question. "Ever since the first day, you've avoided contact with all the other students. You always leave at the end of classes and come with the teacher. Tell me, are you intentionally using secret passages around the Academy to avoid encountering anyone?"
"Yes, I don't really like interacting with people. It sometimes ends badly," she looked away, as if it was uncomfortable for her to talk about it. "I see where you're going with this, so just ask what you came for."
"Everyone avoids you after the incident with the class leader. Why did you strike Ferris with lightning?"
"I didn't mean to do that; it just happened."
"You can't fully control your power, right? That's why the lightning was so intense, and the discharge from a single spell electrified everything around, isn't it?"
"Yes, I try to restrain my power, but there's still a barrier around me that I can't suppress. I've tried to dispel it several times, using up all my magic, but no matter how hard I try, it remains even in a reduced form and quickly regenerates."
"I bet this power becomes even more dangerous in your sleep."
"Yes, that's why I sleep far away from other dorms; I might harm the students. If I hadn't fallen asleep then, no one would have been hurt," she clenched her fists in frustration; she blamed only herself for what happened. After all, she was still a decent person. "By the way, I remembered something about you."
"Really?"
"Yes, before the opening ceremony, you pushed me by the shoulder, right?"
"I think so, and then you jumped aside and flew away..."
"Stop! Don't continue, I'm only interested in that moment."
"What's so unusual about it?"
"Just that everyone who touched me before that was affected by my defensive field. In the best case, it resulted in temporary paralysis; if I was angry or scared, it could be worse. Only my first magic teacher and my father could touch me for some time, but they are both quite skilled lightning mages. However, you didn't show any signs in that regard."
"Well, I did feel some tingling on my skin, but maybe you were in a good mood back then?"
"No-no-no, that's not enough. Even my teacher couldn't touch me for long," she squinted skeptically and raised her hand in front of her. Between her thumb and index finger, she conjured a tiny spherical lightning and, with a light snap, sent it towards me.
Despite its size, the lightning flew extremely fast, and I couldn't dodge in time. However, before striking me, it curved and began to disperse. In the end, its impact was no stronger than a light tap on the arm and left no trace on my shirt.
"What are you doing?!"
"Just wanted to make sure. The lightning was small; it wouldn't have killed you, but it behaved strangely."
"So, you were actually trying to kill me?"
"I just wanted to check something," Katrina gathered a ball of lightning in her hand again, but this time, it was the size of a fist.
"You're not planning to throw it at me, are you?"
"Mmm... probably not."
"What was with that contemplative pause?"
"Come on, such a charged bolt could indeed be lethal; it's not worth the risk. But I want to check something else," she mysteriously smiled and slowly approached me.
The lightning in the girl's hand formed a perfect sphere, with discharges interplaying inside it. It was amazing how, despite not fully controlling her power, she could easily maintain such a complex spell.
With every step she took, the sphere started trembling. At first, I thought it was due to vibrations from her walking, but as the sorceress brought the lightning almost close to me, the oscillations intensified. When Katrina brought the lightning almost touching me, the sphere began to disperse, and the electric sparks fell to the ground harmlessly, transforming into pure magic.
"What was that?"
"I wish I knew... Do you have any amulets on your body? Maybe some jewelry with an unknown past, or maybe a local witch gave you an amulet as a farewell gift?"
"I can't recall having anything like that."
"Then it's doubly strange. Such an effect is typical for defensive items. If a mage intentionally creates a barrier, any spells that strike it will be destroyed. This seems to be some sort of counter-spell that obliterates any attempt to materialize magic. These amulets are quite expensive, as they don't care about the strength of the spell, only the duration of contact with it. And as far as I know, people possessing such abilities are rare. Though, to be honest, I don't socialize much with outsiders, and I haven't come across such examples in the books I've studied."
"Oh, so maybe that's why my spells didn't work?! It wasn't that I didn't have enough power; it's just that my magic dissipated before I could form a spell."
"That sounds plausible. But I don't understand why you're happy about it."
"Well, if it was just a lack of power, then with time, I could improve, but if I'm a mage who can't gather magic, even if I have plenty of it, then how am I going to deal with this?"
"Oh, there might be some trouble with that," Katrina said. "I don't know much about it, so I doubt I can help you much. Now, what are you going to do next, hm..."
She eyed me skeptically. "Did you really come all the way here just to ask about this? That's a lot of effort for such a trifle."
"Haha, well, maybe that wasn't the only reason," I awkwardly scratched my head. "I've been observing you for a long time, that's true. There's something about you that I like, so I wanted to suggest..."
"Hold on," she abruptly interrupted me. "I don't like where this is going, but I've heard about such things. People with intense emotions might confess their feelings to me or something like that, but I'm not interested. I don't know you, and you don't know me, and you have no idea what I'm striving for. So, you better not even start because it will be a waste of time. And you'd be better off spending that time on self-improvement rather than chasing unrealistic goals."
"Tch, and you're going to teach me something? With such an attitude, you'll continue to be alone until the end of the fifth year."
"That doesn't matter to me. I manage perfectly well on my own."
"Meh, I shouldn't have thought so highly of you after all."
"Think what you want; it doesn't bother me. If you want to leave now, I'll see you out."
Katrina quickly gathered her belongings and walked towards the building's wall, where she opened a secret door, but my impression of her remained rather unpleasant.