"Ehhhhh?" Lucius practically screamed, and his voice echoed through the quiet classroom. "Tier 3? Seriously?" He stared at Arlena with wide eyes, with an expression somewhere between disbelief and mild disappointment.
Truthfully, he wasn't sure whether to be impressed or feel let down. On one hand, it sounded decent. On the other, he'd half-expected her to say he was something ridiculously impressive, like Tier 7 or even higher.
Arlena raised a brow, her lips curving into an amused smirk. "What's all the noise about?" she asked, cutting his outburst short with a wave of her hand. "Let me remind you, being a Tier 3 mage at your age is pretty darn impressive. Do you realize how rare that is?"
Lucius blinked, unsure how to respond. She didn't wait for him to.
"Look," she continued, crossing her arms and adopting the tone of a seasoned lecturer. "You've not had any proper training until now. You're not even old enough to attend the academy. And let's not forget—" she gestured at him pointedly "—you come from a family of magic swordsmen, not mages. With myself as the exception, of course," she added, her tone softening for a moment.
"I guess you're probably..." Lucius interjected, curiosity sparked, but Arlena waved him off dismissively.
"Don't interrupt. My point is, children of your age with this much potential are usually born into families of mages—people who've been practicing for generations. You? You're a complete anomaly. A prodigy, plain and simple."
Lucius scratched the back of his head, still trying to process her words. He felt a little better, though he wasn't ready to admit it just yet.
"So," Arlena said, leaning down slightly to look him square in the eye, "chin up, kid. If anything, you should be impressed by how talented you are, not whining about it."
Lucius sighed, a small grin creeping onto his face despite himself. "Alright, fine. I guess Tier 3 isn't so bad."
"Not so bad?" Arlena smirked again. "Keep up this training, and we'll see how far you can climb."
Arlena leaned forward, her smirk fading into a thoughtful look as she tapped her fingers together, almost playfully.
"For the next few months, while you're under my wing, I'm going to make sure you advance—no, I'm going to shape you into the perfect mage," she declared, her voice dripping with confidence.
She ran her hands together, her eyes glinting with something that made Lucius shiver. It wasn't the reassuring sparkle of a kind mentor. No, it was the gleam of someone plotting something hellish.
'Just what does she have in store for me to make her look that way?' Lucius thought, swallowing hard. He could already feel the exhaustion of training before it had even started.
Suddenly, Arlena's expression shifted, and her playful demeanor disappeared entirely. Her gaze was sharp now, and with a steady and firm tone, she began.
"Before we begin, however," she said, her voice carrying a weight he hadn't heard before, "there's something I need to ask you."
Lucius blinked, the sudden change in mood throwing him off. "What's that?" he asked, his voice automatically slipping into a respectful tone, as if sensing the gravity of the moment.
Her eyes locked onto his, unyielding. "Why do you want to be a mage?" she asked firmly, her voice calm but intense.
Lucius froze. This was probably the most serious he'd ever seen her, and the weight of her question caught him off guard. There was no time to carefully consider his words or reflect on what she wanted to hear. He had to answer straight from the heart.
Lucius took a deep breath, steadying himself before he began. "I'm pretty good at swordsmanship," he said, his tone thoughtful. "In fact, I'm so good at it that it's almost... boring for me now. Don't get me wrong, though—it's a fascinating art, and I know there's still so much to learn from it. But I also want to learn about magic." He paused, meeting her gaze. "I don't want to fall behind in any discipline. Since I have the chance to study them all, I think I'd be a fool not to take it."
Arlena raised an eyebrow at his response, then smiled. "Hmm, not exactly the answer I was expecting, but a good one nevertheless." She leaned back in her chair and nodded. "Okay then, Lucius. I'll train you."
Lucius rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath, "Not like you had a choice anyway."
Arlena's ears twitched, and her smile dropped as she shouted, "What did you just say?!"
Startled, Lucius quickly straightened up, waving his hands defensively. "N-Nothing! I said nothing!"
Her piercing gaze narrowed, clearly not convinced. "You'd better watch that smart mouth of yours, Lucius, or your training's about to get a lot more intense."
"Of course, Master Arlena," Lucius replied with mock seriousness, biting back a smirk. "Your wish is my command."
Her eyes twitched, but instead of retorting, she let out an exaggerated sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is going to be a long few months."
Lucius crossed his arms, getting serious, and with a firm expression he spoke. "I want to reach tier 5 before I get to the academy."
Arlena blinked, stunned by his declaration. "That's impossible," she responded flatly. "Do you have any idea what you're saying? Even people from generations of mage families barely make it to tier 2 before entering the academy. At most, in special cases, a prodigy might reach tier 3, and they're hailed as geniuses. A tier 5 mage, though? That's strong enough to be an instructor at the academy!"
Lucius shrugged, unfazed. "I don't care about all that. That's my goal, and I'm going to achieve it."
She stared at him, her initial disbelief giving way to reluctant admiration. Finally, she let out a long sigh and said, "Haaa... you really are a little imp, aren't you?"
"I've been called worse," he replied with a cheeky grin.
She smirked and shook her head. "Fine then. I'll do my best to help you reach that goal. Just don't chicken out when the training gets too tough."
Lucius's face lit up with a genuine smile. "Thank you very much Arlena, really!"
She couldn't help but smile back, her resolve hardening. "Let us begin."