I'm Helena. Just days earlier, I was a normal girl living with my parents in a world that made sense, a world where magic only existed in stories. But now, things have changed in ways I could never have imagined. I've been thrust into the Academy of Witches, and today, we were learning something beyond any childhood fantasy—how to harness our magical eyes.
After our morning session on magical theory, we moved on to the next class—Practical Magic. It was being held on the training field, the same one we'd seen during our tour of the academy.
"Alright, girls!" A bright voice called out, catching our attention. "Welcome, my little peanuts! My name is Nadia, and I'm your practical magic instructor. You can call me Nad-sensei."
Nad-sensei was a tall, energetic woman with short-cropped hair and a mischievous grin. She paced around, her eyes glittering with excitement, clearly eager to get started.
"So," she began, "let me ask you a question. How do you think a witch fights?"
There was a brief silence before Iris, standing a little ahead of me, hesitantly raised her hand. "With incantations, right? Like mages?"
Nad-sensei nodded, smiling. "Yes, mages use incantations to cast their spells. But witches—particularly witches with magical eyes—fight in a different way. We use something else as well: the concentration of mana."
I could feel the curiosity bubbling up among us. Magic had always seemed like something distant, something out of reach, but Nad-sensei made it sound tangible—like something we could all grasp.
"As you know," she continued, "mana is all around us, like the air we breathe. You can't see it with your regular eyes. But with your magical eyes, it's a different story. The moment you unlocked the first stage of your eyes, you began to sense it. Now, I'm going to teach you how to concentrate that mana into something you can use."
With a flourish, she raised her hand, and in the blink of an eye, a glowing sword materialized in her grip, shimmering with a bluish light. We all gasped. It was beautiful, and yet it looked powerful, a weapon formed from pure magic.
"This," Nad-sensei said, holding the sword aloft, "is the kind of power you'll be able to wield once you master your magic eyes. But it all starts here—by concentrating the mana around you."
She waved her hand, and the sword dissolved back into thin air. We were all watching her in awe, but there was no fear in the air this time—just excitement and anticipation. We were ready.
"Now," she said, her voice taking on a more serious tone, "it's your turn. Close your eyes, focus on the mana around you, and draw it in. Use your magical eyes to guide the mana and shape it into a weapon."
I glanced at the other girls—Elara, Iris, Morgan, Laura, Ibelia, Felice. We all seemed to share the same determination. This was our moment, our chance to prove ourselves. I closed my eyes, just as Nad-sensei had instructed, and tried to focus on the mana around me.
At first, there was nothing. Just darkness and the quiet sound of my own breathing. But then, gradually, I felt it—a subtle shift in the air, like a warm breeze brushing against my skin. The mana. It was there, all around me, waiting to be called upon.
I opened my eyes slightly and could see it faintly with my Schleierblick, swirling around us like mist. Slowly, I reached out with my mind, trying to gather it, just like Nad-sensei had shown us. I could feel it responding, gathering into my hands. It was delicate work, like shaping clay—but with mana.
Beside me, I noticed Elara had already conjured a weapon—a sleek, shining spear that hovered in her hands. She was quick, almost unnaturally so, her eyes glowing faintly as she manipulated the mana with ease.
But there was no jealousy—only a shared sense of purpose. We were all learning, all growing. I focused harder, trying to pull more mana into my hands, shaping it into something solid.
Around me, the others were succeeding too. Iris had formed a small dagger, its edges gleaming in the sunlight. Laura had a shield, not yet fully formed but growing more solid by the second. Even Morgan, who had struggled earlier, was starting to form a staff, though it flickered in and out of existence.
My hands tingled as the mana began to coalesce. A shape was forming—a long, thin blade. I gasped as the sword came into existence in my grip, shimmering with the same ethereal glow I had seen in Nad-sensei's weapon.
"I did it!" I whispered, the weight of the sword feeling strangely real despite being made of pure magic.
Nad-sensei walked among us, inspecting our progress with a satisfied smile. "Well done, Elara," she praised, glancing at the noble girl's spear. "And good work, Iris, Helena—everyone is doing great. You're all getting the hang of it!"
I smiled to myself, feeling a rush of pride. We were doing it—actually doing it.
"Now," Nad-sensei said, "let's see how well you can maintain your weapons. Mana concentration isn't just about conjuring something and letting it sit there. You have to keep control of the shape and mass. Otherwise, your weapon will either collapse or become too heavy to wield."
She demonstrated again, conjuring another sword, but this time, it looked heavier, bulkier than before. She swung it, but the movement was sluggish, unbalanced.
"See?" she said, shaking her head. "Too much mana, not enough control. Your weapons need to be light enough to maneuver but solid enough to hold their form. This is where your magical eyes come in."
As we continued practicing, I noticed how the world looked different through my magic eyes. I could see the mana flowing through everything, even the other girls. Each of them had a faint aura, a glow that pulsed in time with the mana they were gathering. It was beautiful—and strange.
Elara's aura was particularly strong, her spear glowing more brightly than any of our weapons. But she wasn't the only one making progress. Iris's dagger had become more solid, its edges sharper, while Laura's shield now gleamed like polished silver. Even Morgan's staff had taken on a sturdier form, no longer flickering as it had before.
We practiced for what felt like hours, each of us refining our weapons, shaping and reshaping the mana until it felt natural. The atmosphere was filled with excitement, each success building on the last. We weren't just learning how to fight—we were learning what it meant to be witches.
By the time Nad-sensei called an end to the session, we were all exhausted, but there was a collective sense of accomplishment in the air. Elara was the first to dismiss her weapon, her spear dissolving into nothingness with a wave of her hand. The rest of us followed suit, our weapons fading away as the mana dispersed back into the atmosphere.
"Well done, girls," Nad-sensei said, clapping her hands together. "You've all made excellent progress today. But remember—this is just the beginning. Your magical eyes will grow stronger with time and practice. Keep honing your skills, and soon you'll be able to conjure weapons in the blink of an eye."
As we made our way back to the dormitory, I felt a strange sense of camaraderie with the others. We had all succeeded today—together. There was no fear between us, no distance. Just a shared understanding that we were on the same path.
Elara walked beside me, her usual confident expression softened by the day's events. She glanced at me, a small smile playing on her lips.
"You did well today, Helena," she said, her tone genuine.
"Thanks," I replied, returning her smile. "You too."
For the first time since arriving at the academy, I felt like I wasn't alone. We were all witches now, learning to master our magic eyes, and for the first time, I felt like I belonged.