"Are you awake? It's Vera."
There was no response.
Vera sighed. "I guess she's asleep."
She started her way back to the room when the door abruptly opened, and a figure rushed out of the room and engulfed her in a hug from the back. Petra was in a state of undress, clearly having just been in bed.
"Petra... I'm sorry. For earlier. For screaming and shouting at you." Vera turned around as she returned the embrace.
Petra only tightened her hold on Vera in response. They stood still like that for some time.
"It's okay." Petra finally spoke up as she patted Vera's back and let go.
"To-tomorrow, can I have Miss Ilmarë over? I also need to apologize to her."
"She'd like that."
"Goodnight Petra." Vera bid her goodbye as she walked back to the room, Petra waving back at her. My eyes met Petra's and we exchanged a small nod before she returned to her room.
"I... I did it, Dina!" She pumped her fists at me.
"Good job." I smiled back at her and walked out the door, heading back to my room.
I felt a tug at the back of my shirt mid-stride, nearly causing me to fall back to the floor. Thankfully, I managed to steady myself. I looked, and there she was. The culprit was pinching the fabric of my shirt. She was looking down, unwilling to meet my eyes.
"Stay."
A pause.
"Just for tonight."
"Okay."
Having secured my consent, she pulled me back into her room.
That night, we fell asleep cuddling as I wrapped her in my embrace.
The next morning, we headed straight to the field from yesterday instead of dropping by Professor Ilmarë's office since it was closer from the north entrance. We were about ten minutes early, yet every other member of Combat Class 1 was already there. There were a mix of races present among them. Two humans, one snow elf, one forest elf, and one beastwoman.
The humans and elves were in the middle of a conversation, while the beastwoman sat a bit away, leaning on a tree trunk. The beastwoman was the same person who asked Professor Ilmarë those questions yesterday. She had sleek straight gray-white hair that fell like waterfalls. She had rounded gray-white feline ears with markings on the side of her head peeking out through her hair. A long and thick bushy tail marked with rosettes was wrapped around her and covered her face.
We didn't want to intrude on the ongoing conversation so we elected to sit down a few meters away from the feline beastman. Petra, just like yesterday, had a chair ready for her to sit on.
Professor Ilmarë arrived exactly on time. Her impassive face not betraying anything.
"Gather."
We gathered closer in front of the professor and she started speaking.
"As all of you have already unlocked your mana and is proficient enough with it to withstand yesterday, I will be accelerating the training compared to your peers." She gave me a pointed look as she said the word 'unlocked'. I got the hint and stayed silent.
"With how few there are of you and with us having three days, I will group you in two and dedicate a day on each group. On the third day, I will pit the two groups against each other."
We all nodded. The beastwoman from earlier didn't hesitate to speak up. "How will the groups be formed?"
"These four were talking before I arrived so they'll be Group One. The three of you stragglers will be the Group Two. For now, I'll dedicate the day helping Group Two."
"What will the other group be doing?"
"Same as yesterday. They can leave as soon as they can. They can talk to each other during this. Group One will be on the other side of the field. Group Two, come with me. It will start as soon as I stop." At her words, Group One broke away from us, while we followed the professor. She led us close to where Petra was staying. The beastwoman sat a bit away from me and Vera.
"Start." Her clear voice rang throughout the field and immediately the familiar pressure from yesterday filled the air.
Professor Ilmarë looked at the cool straggler and said, "I'll go to you later." She only received a nod in reply.
She approached me and Vera. Making sure her face was hidden from the view of the others, she smiled at the both of us.
"I intentionally set the both of you aside in order to teach you how to use your mana personally. Keep it a secret. Don't let the others know that you don't know how."
We nodded.
"Can the both of you feel my mana in the air?"
"Only as a pressure."
"...No."
"Okay, Vera, hold this and just try to feel it out." She handed Vera a mana stone enclosed in some kind of material.
"As for you, can you feel your mana?"
"Not really... maybe? I think as long as my mana gets activated, I think I can do it."
She raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Awfully confident, aren't you?"
I grinned. "Confident enough to bet on it."
Professor Ilmarë matched my grin. "Alright then. What's the terms?"
"A favor if you would."
"Okay. If you win, I'll do a favor that's within my power. If you lose, you have to always treat me with respect and tell Arty good things about me."
This was a completely lopsided bet, completely different in weights of the wager. I'm pretty sure it's because she thinks I've got no shot on winning.
"Deal. Petra, you caught all that, right?"
Petra nodded on her chair.
Professor Ilmarë cracked her knuckles. "Do you want it slow or fast?"
"What's the difference?"
"If I do it slowly, it's seamless and painless. If it's fast, it's painful."
"How long does it take?"
"Slow would take the whole day. Fast can be as fast as a minute. It would all depend on you."
I gulped. "Okay. Hit me with the fast one."
Her grin widened. She chanted under her breath before placing her hand on my chest, right below my sternum. She looked at me, her shit-eating grin ever-present. "On the count of three, ready?"
"Three."
"Two."
An immense sudden pain surged through my body. There was no ramp up, no warning, nothing. It was a hot flash of pain that brought tears out my eyes. My body instinctively curled up in pain. I fell to the ground as my knees touched my chest. I tensed my legs, thighs, arms, every single muscle I could in an effort to mitigate the pain or to even just distract me from it. Everything faded into darkness.
Mana.
My mana.
I — I need to release it.
I need to get rid of it.
A soundless scream left my mouth. As I tried to recall all of my memories of using my mana.
How? How did I use my mana? I need to use it up. I need to get it out of my body.
I... I need to get through this. I need to withstand this. This pain is nothing — no. That's not it. This pain hurts so much, but I can do this. I will do this.
I could feel... I could feel the pain diminishing. It was getting weaker and weaker by the second. Instead, it started feeling hot. Unnaturally hot in the middle of the cool March air. Unbearably so.
"—na! D—"
I could hear something fading in and out in the distance.
"—ina!"
It was getting closer and closer and closer and clo—
"DINA!"
I shot up from the ground with a startle and stumbled into someone. The tears I shed earlier mixed with the rest of my sweat dripping everywhere.
Vera was right in front of me. She had caught me when I suddenly sprang up. I tried to calm my heavy breathing. Petra and the professor was also right by, with the latter looking extremely apologetic.
"Are you okay, Dina?!"
I raised a hand and waved off her concern. "Yeah... It was just... it just caught me by surprise. That's all."
"It's not that simple! You passed out and started sweating! And then you started burning up!"
I could feel everything calming down. The refreshing prevernal air quickly cooling my heated body back to normal.
Ah. Right. That was all to awaken my mana. Maybe I really shouldn't have been that hasty and cocky. I guess I should check if it was worth it.
I took a deep breath and searched deep inside me. I narrowed my senses to the area below my sternum, where the mana source mainly pooled. I could make out a thick viscous feeling within me. I tried to urge it to move, but it didn't budge. Or if there was, then I couldn't notice it.
"Dina!"
Oh right. I didn't respond to her. "Yeah, I'm alright Ver. I was just checking if my mana activated."
"How can you?! Why are you thinking about that right away?! You should be resting!"
I hugged her. "I'm sorry for worrying you. I'm fine. I'm all fine, you see?"
She begrudgingly returned my embrace. "Fine."