"Arabella..."
It felt like a long dream, sweet yet chaotic, her soul almost drained, her body feeling as if it were crushed, only wanting to keep sleeping.
"Arabella..."
Someone was calling to her from deep within her consciousness, gently shaking her body in an attempt to wake her.
"Please let me be, Dorian..." The girl pleaded with her eyes closed, wanting to sleep a little longer.
"Arabella, wake up!" Nina's voice rose several notes higher as she pushed her vigorously to wake her up.
In an instant of clarity, Arabella suddenly sat up, taking a sharp breath.
Over twenty classmates turned to look at her in unison, some already showing smiles of amusement. The teacher of the Magic Theory Class, Ms. Rowlin, stood with her arms crossed, looking at her expressionlessly: "Why don't you answer, how many fixed forms are there in the Magic Circle for the Tracking spell?"
...
In a side room of the Sis Holy Court library, Arabella lay on the table, painfully drawing magical arrays all over the paper.
"Can't tell, Dorian Priest looks cold and indifferent usually, but has quite a strong demand." Nina wore an ambiguous smile at the corner of her mouth while jotting something down in her little notebook.
No! It's not what you think! Arabella roared in her heart, but when the words reached her lips, she weakly swallowed them back, letting out a long sigh of exhaustion.
The midterm grades came out, and she unsurprisingly landed at the bottom. Aside from a few theoretical courses that were somewhat acceptable, other subjects were a dismal sight. After more than a month in the Holy See, aside from attending classes during the day, Arabella had to endure ruthless special training with Dorian at night, leaving her feeling like her body was falling apart each evening. Yet no matter how hard she worked, her Dark Power showed no signs of improvement.
The label of being worthless was firmly established. Arabella did not want to face the gazes that were either mocking or sympathetic; she could only find a moment of peace in this seldom-visited library.
"Sigh..." This was the fiftieth time she sighed today.
"You put too much pressure on yourself," the second worthless one next to her was quite easy-going about grades.
Nina's Dark Power was also pitifully weak, but thanks to her remarkable memory and fervent love for books, she had secured a job in the Holy See library. Living with the Priest who managed the Holy See's supplies, she was actually enjoying a comfortable life.
"I wish I could have your mindset," Arabella slumped over her desk, looking like a dead weight. "Dorian must be very disappointed in me."
"Don't take it too hard; some people just bloom late. You might discover your abilities once you're truly on the battlefield," Nina said without lying. Many Witches exhibit abilities far beyond their usual selves in actual combat. "You know Alicia, right?"
Arabella nodded. The renowned chief Witch of the Sis Holy Court, Timothy Bishop's Demon Attendant, was extremely powerful and was said to have never been defeated.
"Her grades were even worse than yours when she was in school. Thanks to her, people like us at the bottom aren't bullied too badly; after all, there's a precedent, and one must leave some room for others—what if another chief Witch emerges?"
So this legendary Witch also had such a dark history; Arabella felt a little better. But she did not dare to think about those chief Witches, as hoping for a miracle was just too far-fetched.
She continued to draw those complex Magical Arrays, even though she had no Dark Power to utilize. Witch Combat mainly relied on fusion with Demons, and few were willing to study those tedious Magical Arrays and Incantations, which were mainly used by Priests. Yet, she had no room to be picky; this was already a meager score that she could manage to obtain.
Dorian sat in his chair, his calm face showing no expression.
"That's pretty much the situation," Sister Vivienne said as she reviewed the report card in her hands. "Aside from barely keeping up with the theoretical courses, all the classes that require Dark Power have her at the bottom, nearly breaking Alicia's record for lowest score. From every angle, aside from her strong healing ability, she's basically just an ordinary girl, lacking the capabilities that a Witch should have."
The silver-haired Priest remained silent, knowing Arabella's Dark Power was weak, but he hadn't expected it to be this weak. The special training over this period had finally made him realize that there truly existed a gap in talent in this world.
Arabella's theory grades were not bad; having enrolled late and memorized half a semester's worth of material in just over a month was commendable. But matters of Dark Power were not something that could be resolved merely through effort.
"How did Alicia become stronger later?" He grasped at the last shred of hope.
"She was extraordinarily strong from the day she became a Witch," Vivienne coldly shattered his fantasy. "Her poor grades were due to years of skipping classes, which led to her disqualification from exams."
Dorian's expression darkened further.
Sister Vivienne looked at her distressed friend with sympathy, unable to resist reminding him: "While no one dares to easily judge a Witch's capabilities based on in-school grades because of exceptions like Alicia, you are someone the Sis Holy Court has high hopes for. If Arabella cannot demonstrate strength to match you..." Vivienne paused, lowering her voice a few degrees, "Timothy Bishop probably won't stand by forever."
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