She could sense a warmth enveloping her entire body. As she focused deeply on her inner element, she could see the fire element almost clearly. Yes, fire was her core element. And with practice, her control of it was growing finer and finer.
It's just that with fire control only, she couldn't do much. She needed some wind magic to spread the fire far enough to cause substantial damage. Now, it was just a small trick a top student could do.
Lanying tried to control the shape of fire with her mind. Bit by bit the strange spread-out fire was turning into a uniform small sphere. Perfect! She opened her eyes. Now she could use her low-level wind magic to send it to any desired location.
Her fire element was blue. It was a secret she had never revealed to someone. And unlike what she has read in the "Book Of Magics", her fire didn't burn anything unless she summoned it to do so.
Instead, it left its own unique mark wherever it was sent to. Which was why so far she had been using her fire element to trace something.
When her father disappeared she was just 12. And soon after that at 13 she lost her elder sister too. If not for the diary left by her father, she would have long given up on practicing magic skills and might have spent her whole life living on the subsidiaries provided by the castle.
Lanying decisively got down from the bed. The mark left by the blue fire could only be seen by her. So while she explored the academy after the orientation ceremony she could just take a look at it without having to worry about others getting suspicious about a sudden mark's appearance.
She picked out the uniform set provided by the academy that was inside the chest. It didn't take her long to change into it. The deep midnight blue robe with shimmering silver floral patterns flew in the sudden wind that entered the wind. The hood had a soft, comfortable inner lining of the mink that would make one feel warm even on wintery days.
The full-sleeved pitch-black shirt was fitted with an off-white corset that clinched tightly to her waist. She tied the silver corset laces to adjust it.
The skirt flared like a flowy fabric starting right after the corset end. The edges were embroidered with tiny silver stars.
Lanying looked at her reflection in the mirror. She really liked the uniform. She spun a bit effortlessly.
'Knock knock'
She almost tripped over while spinning as the knock interrupted her. She felt all her frustration directed toward whoever was standing on the opposite side of the door.
She looked outside. It was sunny outside. Which meant it was almost time for the student orientation. The person was probably here already to pick her up.
Dusting off the invisible dust from her uniform, she opened the door. It was him. Just as she had expected.
Changmin was a bit stumped. He had previously visited Brightstone hidden from the eyes of the guards. So much so that the sight of students donned in uniform was way too common to him to give a second glance.
But he seemed to notice every detail about the uniform today. The tinies embroideries, the texture, the silver buttons, the corset - how come he never bothered noticing them before?
Lanying waved her hand in front of him as she felt awkward with his silence. 'Was something wrong with the outfit? Did she wear it in the wrong way?' She felt embarrassed just thinking about it.
"Ahem, You are supposed to braid your hair. It's just one of the few dress codes here." Changmin said, snapping back as he coughed to clear his throat.
"Oh...I see. Please wait for a moment."
Lanying took the comb kept in the rack to brush through the waves. As she parted the hair into three parts. She was a bit confused. Wait, she knew this. Left over center then right over left right? Or was it left over right and right over center?
Changmin watched the woman struggle with her hair with intrigue. After a while, as he saw her tangle her hair into a tangled mess, he couldn't stand still anymore.
"I think I could help you with this." He said. He could barely hide the smile.
Lanying looked at his expression.
'It's obvious you are laughing at me. What's the use of acting so nice and kind?'
But she couldn't miss the orientation. Nodding, she handed the comb and satin hair tie on his hand.
He walked closer to her. As he started to gently untangle her hair with his fingers, a mild fragrance wafted off to his nose that made him unconsciously lower his head.