The Spectra corridor seemed busier than usual that morning.
Students carried books and chatted in groups, their footsteps echoing on the polished floor as the sound of laughter and academic discussions filled the space.
Evan walked amidst the flow, keeping his head down.
He had no interest in engaging with the contagious energy that seemed to dominate the academy on this Wednesday morning.
Two days had passed since his last conversation with Seraphina, and the tension from that exchange still lingered in his mind.
'She's probably still suspicious...'
He couldn't deny that the situation worried him, but there was something else beginning to occupy his thoughts.
The previous night, as he mentally reviewed the events of the story, he remembered something important. They were entering one of the central arcs of the story, and with it, a crucial figure would make her debut.
'Elis.'
The name echoed in his mind, accompanied by memories of how he had created her.
In the story, she was a complex figure: talented but surrounded by doubts that were ultimately exploited by the antagonists. He knew what was coming, and if he wasn't careful, things could spiral completely out of control.
'I need to stop her from going down the same path.'
Not completely avoiding the main characters or disrupting the story by altering key events wasn't an issue for Evan, as long as it helped him in his future.
And for him, now inhabiting the body of a potential villain rather than a mere extra in his story, Elis would be better as an ally.
"One headache after another."
He sighed, running a hand through his dark hair while adjusting the strap of his backpack.
"Ugh..."
The short sound escaped almost involuntarily, reflecting the discomfort he felt.
'I still can't get used to having to carry a backpack again. My back is already sweaty.'
He adjusted his shoulders, trying to ease the sensation of the damp fabric against his skin, but the discomfort only grew.
Then, as if his mind sought relief, a smile formed on his lips. He remembered what he had recently agreed to with Maya.
'1,000 zens a week... I'll finally be able to buy a decent laptop and phone.'
"Heh..."
A low chuckle escaped as he glanced at the notebooks and books in his backpack.
"Goodbye, notebooks. Goodbye, books."
"..."
"...."
As he walked, his eyes scanned the corridors, alert for any sign of Elis.
He knew that a direct approach at the start would be a mistake. Gaining her trust would take time, and he'd need to be subtle.
"Hey, Evan!"
His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.
Evan stopped and turned, seeing two people approaching him.
Jenna had a warm smile on her face, while Alex maintained his relaxed posture, holding a bow—he looked like he had just come from a training session.
"~Ah... Hello, Jenna, Alex. What's up?"
Alex smirked slightly, crossing his arms casually.
"Haha, you're still as direct as ever. We just wanted to check on you—it's been a while since the practical exam."
"True, you disappeared! Honestly, my heart broke a little!"
Before Evan could respond, Jenna continued.
She placed a hand on her chest as if acting out a theatrical drama.
"We went through so much together that day; I thought we were already friends, Evan!"
Evan couldn't help himself—a smile appeared on his face at Jenna's dramatization, which seemed to satisfy her.
But the smile disappeared as quickly as it had come.
Suddenly, his mind was pulled back to the conversation two days ago.
He remembered Seraphina, her piercing gaze, asking what she meant to him.
"You're... an acquaintance from Spectra."
The response echoed in his head, followed by her fleeting expression of hesitation.
'Why did I think about that now?'
He averted his gaze, trying to push the memory away.
"Evan?"
He blinked, snapping back to the present.
"Sorry, I was distracted. I'm fine."
Jenna narrowed her eyes for a moment but then shrugged, returning to her cheerful tone.
"Great! Just don't disappear again—we were really worried about you."
Alex nodded, crossing his arms as he looked at Evan.
"Yeah, we need you in one piece to lead us in Spectra's first mission," Alex joked, smirking.
Jenna shot Alex a look, shaking her head.
"Don't listen to him, Evan. We still have some time before that mission."
Evan heard their words, but his mind began to drift.
Alex's voice sounded distant, almost muffled, as the phrase "Spectra's first mission" echoed in his mind.
'Spectra's first mission. So much that defines the story's trajectory will happen during that mission.'
He knew it would be a milestone, a crucial starting point for various bonds and connections among the students.
For many, it would mark the beginning of friendships, rivalries, and partnerships that would shape their journeys as heroes. But for Elis, it would be much more than that.
'This will be the turning point... the moment she starts leaving Spectra and takes her first steps toward becoming a villain.'
Alex and Jenna's words had become indistinct noise.
The image of Elis formed in his mind, and he barely noticed when Alex protested.
"Hey, I was just trying to say how good Evan was at leading us!"
Alex's words almost faded into Evan's thoughts, but something brought him back to reality.
A movement in the distance, at the edge of his peripheral vision.
Bright blue hair and a firm posture.
Elis.
He blinked, as if waking from a dream, and the surrounding sounds gradually returned. Jenna turned to follow Evan's gaze, but Elis had already rounded the corner and disappeared.
Evan shook his head slightly, adjusting his posture to appear focused again.
"Evan?"
Jenna called his attention again, looking confused.
"Sorry, I have to go. I've got a few things to take care of before classes start."
Jenna looked surprised for a moment but quickly nodded with a smile.
"Alright, but don't disappear again, okay?"
Alex raised a hand in a casual gesture.
"See you later, man."
Evan gave a slight nod and began walking down the corridor, but his mind was already elsewhere.
He was focused on Elis but knew everything had to happen naturally.
So, being who he was, Evan decided to prioritize collecting the 1,000 zens Maya had promised him.
—————————————————————————————————
Spectra – Individual Training Room
The isolated practice room was exactly how I remembered it from the novel.
Reinforced walls that absorbed any stray magical energy, designed to contain even the most disastrous mistakes.
An ideal place for Maya to train... and, undoubtedly, make a few errors.
I glanced around, looking for her.
She was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, her gaze lowered, clutching a notebook to her chest as if it were some kind of armor.
I was a few minutes late. Knowing her personality, it was likely she had been waiting for quite some time.
'Does she think I gave up?'
The thought crossed my mind before I could stop it.
Even from a distance, her nervousness was evident.
She was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, holding her legs.
"Author's Note: Image"
I knew her too well to ignore these things—or rather, I knew who she was in the story I had created.
When I finally arrived and tossed my backpack into the corner, she immediately looked up to see who it was.
"Ahh, Evan! You came!"
She quickly stood up, still holding the notebook against her chest, her face lighting up with a discreet but genuine happiness.
"Of course. A deal is a deal."
"Yes... well, thank you for this. I really need to improve."
She glanced away, adjusting the notebook in her hands.
Maya was taking this very seriously, and it made me question whether I was the right person to teach her anything.
But it wasn't like I was a complete fraud.
I'd spent too much time writing about magical power and control in my novel, and I also knew all of Maya's struggles.
Because of that, I had agreed to help her.
"...."
I crossed my arms and observed her for a moment before speaking.
"Alright, let's get straight to the point. Do you know what your weaknesses are, Maya?"
She blinked, surprised by the question, and then hesitated.
"Uh... my magical power control is weak? I... can't stabilize the elements for very long."
I nodded slowly.
That was true, but it was only the surface of the real problem.
Maya's difficulty went far beyond technique or skill.
It was something deeper, something I had written into her story without imagining I would have to deal with it personally.
She tried too hard to be what others expected of her.
Maya was a rarity.
A mage with an affinity for multiple elements—something many mages considered impossible or, at the very least, incredibly rare. But instead of being a blessing, this ability had condemned her. Growing up under the pressure to be perfect, to meet her family's expectations, had planted seeds of doubt within her.
"Alright, you know that. But have you ever thought about why?"
She bit her lip, her discomfort obvious.
"I've thought about it... but I don't know where I'm going wrong. I already know how to use different types of elements, but I don't understand why my control over them isn't good."
I sighed, crossing my arms as I observed her.
It was exactly what I expected to hear.
Maya was a brilliance left incomplete.
As powerful as she was, no one had taught her the foundations.
"Your control isn't good because you're trying to do something impossible the wrong way."
She frowned, looking confused.
"What do you mean?"
I raised my hand, conjuring a sphere of shadows. The dark tendrils moved smoothly, as if they were an extension of my body.
"Magical power isn't just a tool you use. It's a part of who you are. The problem is that you're treating it as if it's something separate from you, something that needs to be forcibly controlled."
Maya stared at the sphere in silence, her eyes following the fluid movements of the shadows.
"But how do I do that? How do I... integrate magic into myself?"
I knew I couldn't dump everything on her all at once. Maya needed to start from scratch, to rebuild what others had neglected to teach her.
"The problem isn't your magic, Maya. It's what you seem to have never learned. They gave you all the tools, but no one showed you how to use them properly. Before you run, you need to learn how to walk."
She blinked, surprised, absorbing my words.
"So... I need to go back to basics?"
I nodded slowly.
"Exactly. Choose one element, just one. Focus on it, not as something to control but as something that flows naturally from you. Forget about your family, your teachers, even Spectra. Focus on how you connect with magic, and the rest will come later."
She looked away for a moment, clearly pondering what I had said.
"..."
For a moment, I watched Maya in silence.
It was clear she was digesting my words, struggling against the weight of everything she had believed to be true until now.
'Admitting you've been wrong... This must be hard for her.'
I knew that feeling well.
It was the difficulty of convincing yourself to start over, to accept that the path you'd followed until now wasn't the right one.
Something that, for many, seemed humiliating but was, in fact, the first step toward true growth.
'Reassessing and restarting doesn't mean failure, Maya. It means you're finally heading in the right direction.'
Personally, I'd always enjoyed discovering I was wrong.
When I was younger and spent hours playing RPGs, I remembered the sense of wonder I felt when realizing I was making mistakes that hindered my progress in the game.
It was almost like finding a missing piece of a puzzle. Knowing where I was failing gave me the chance to correct it, improve, and finally overcome challenges that once seemed impossible.
Of course, I didn't say that out loud.
Comparing magic to RPGs probably wouldn't help Maya at that moment.
It was something she would have to discover for herself.
She finally nodded slowly.
"Alright... I'll give it a try."
"Good. Let's see what you can do."
She took a deep breath, raised her hand, and began channeling magic. A small flame appeared, glowing steadily for a few seconds before it started to waver.
Maya frowned, biting her lip as she tried to stabilize it, but the flame fizzled out with a faint sound.
"Puff."
"See? No matter what I do, I always fail."
I shook my head, keeping my voice calm.
"No. You're just starting. That wasn't a failure; it was progress. Now try again, but this time, stop thinking about what could go wrong. Just feel."
She took another deep breath. When she raised her hand again, the flame reappeared—small but more stable this time. Maya held it for a few seconds before deliberately letting it extinguish.
A faint smile appeared on my face.
"Better. Keep it up."
As she took a deep breath and prepared to try again, I crossed my arms and observed her.
Maya had the potential to become something extraordinary, but not without effort. She needed to understand that her brilliance wasn't enough without a solid foundation.
'This is going to be frustrating, but she'll get there.'
—————————————————————————————————
Spectra – Library, 8:35 PM
The Spectra library was a refuge of silence, far removed from the daily chaos of the academy.
The air was filled with the aroma of old books and the runes etched onto their covers.
For Elis, it was a place to hide—or at least try to.
She was seated at one of the farthest tables, surrounded by books she had no intention of reading.
Her blue hair shimmered under the soft glow of the magical lamps, while her amber eyes stared blankly at the table's surface, lost in thought.
A grimoire lay open before her, its pages filled with diagrams and detailed explanations of magical manipulation.
But her mind was elsewhere.
She sighed, resting her head on one hand while her fingers on the other hand tapped softly against the wooden table.
It was hard to explain how she felt—a constant discomfort, like something inside her was out of place.
'Everyone thinks I'm special. That I'm even better than he was.'
That comparison followed her like a shadow.
Her brother had been a hero to everyone.
Strong, dedicated, a paragon of virtue.
And also... dead.
Closing the grimoire with a dry thud, she raised her gaze to the nearby window.
The full moon shone brightly, casting its pale light over the empty corridors outside.
She had the same power as him. The same rare and destructive ability. Some even said she was more talented.
But for what?
That question was etched in her mind like a knife.
Her brother had given his life fighting for Spectra, to save people he didn't even know.
He was celebrated as a martyr, but Elis saw no glory in it.
All she saw was an irreparable void.
'He died to be called a hero. And then what? What's left of it? A gravestone with his name and expectations thrown onto me.'
She ran a hand through her hair, brushing it away from her face.
Being a hero. Protecting people. That was Spectra's ideal. But to Elis, it all seemed like a lie.
She stood slowly, adjusting her uniform.
She knew what people said.
She knew what they expected of her. But the more she thought about it, the less sense it all made.
'So that's it? People are just tools... And I'm just the next in line after him?'
To Elis, no one at Spectra understood what she felt. Everyone was so obsessed with the concept of being a hero that they never stopped to ask what it truly meant.
She picked up the grimoire and placed it back on the shelf, running her fingers along its spine for a moment before pulling away.
As she walked toward the exit, the library seemed even quieter than before. The moonlight illuminated the empty corridor ahead, but Elis found no comfort in its glow.
What was the point of all this?
Why did he have to die?
And why did she keep trying?
These questions echoed in Elis's mind, but the answers never came.
As she stepped out of the library, the cold night wind brushed against her face. Her amber eyes gleamed under the moonlight as she glanced up at the sky for a moment.
"Brother... I can't... I don't see any meaning in this life you chose."
With those words, she continued walking back to the dormitory.