"Alia, can you please leave alone for today?"
Alia just stood there, her confident facade crumbling into confusion and hurt. The sudden request from Maya had caught her off guard, and she found herself at a loss for words.
'What?' It was the first ti sothing like this happened, and she couldn't help but open her eyes wide.
Maya, sensing her friend's inner turmoil, offered a small, apologetic smile. "I'll catch up with you later, okay?"
"Wa-"
Before Alia could formulate a response, Maya turned and left, hurrying away from the scene. The weight of confusion lingered in the air, and Alia felt a sense of vulnerability she wasn't accustod to.
'What just happened?' She thought, unable to comprehend. It was all too strange for her own good.
Alex and Chris observed the situation with a certain satisfaction, their smirks growing as they saw Alia's haughty deanor unravel.
"Looks like Miss High and Mighty got a reality check," Chris remarked, nudging Alex.
Alex, who had been embarrassed by Maya's rejection, managed a half-smile. "Yeah, maybe we should all rember that not everyone is at our beck and call."
"Humph!"
Of course, Alia wasn't soone to just sit there and take those words. She wanted to hit these guys in the face and show who was the boss. She felt annoyed at the fact that she was left alone like that, and now these guys dared to speak to her like that.
'Let smash you.'
But just as she was about to move, she stopped, seeing the small number on Chris' shirt. There, it read '29.' It was his ranking in his sophomore year.
As that realization hit her, she had no choice but to back down. She couldn't cause a scene as it was against the rules of the academy, and even if she had caused a scene, there weren't many people that she could use to her advantage.
'I need to check it out.'
And most importantly, she needed to check it out. She needed to see what happened to Maya with her own eyes.
Alia swiftly gathered her belongings and followed the path that Maya had taken. The corridor echoed with the sound of her hurried footsteps as she navigated through the halls of Arcadia Hunter Academy. Her mind buzzed with a mix of confusion, hurt, and a burning determination to uncover the reason behind Maya's sudden request for solitude.
As she approached the exit of the academy building, she caught a glimpse of Maya disappearing around a corner.
The purple-pink strands of Maya's hair swayed with each step she took, and Alia quickened her pace to keep up.
The halls were now emptier, with most students heading to their next classes or enjoying the end of their lessons since half of the academy no longer had classes from now on.
'Where is she going?'
She couldn't help but ask herself. Maya's direction seed uncertain, but her steps were fast and hurried, as if she needed to be there as soon as possible.
The sense of mystery only fueled Alia's curiosity. Was Maya upset about sothing? Was there a personal matter troubling her? Alia's thoughts raced, searching for answers to the questions that lingered in the air.
'I need to know.'
She needed to know everything about Maya, what she was doing, where she was going, and who she was eting. After all, it was her Maya.
After walking for a little longer, Maya reached the academy training grounds, which were notably empty around this ti.
It wasn't the training ground she typically frequented for her magical practices, Elental Chamber, but rather the area where students honed their close combat abilities.
'Why is she here?'
She couldn't help but wonder. From what she knew, Maya rarely visited the training rooms outside of the Elental Chamber since she had a special [Passive] that let her increase her physical strength corresponding to her mana stats.
Alia, maintaining a discreet distance, watched as Maya surveyed the sparring areas with a contemplative expression.
The training grounds were bathed in the soft hues of the setting sun, casting long shadows across the open space.
This place would soon be filled with students as many of them would co here after they had their als and other things; however, right now, because it was the mid-day break, not many students were there.
"Did you need sothing student?"
However, her pursuit was disturbed by the personnel at the entrance.
"Ah, please don't mind . I am just looking for a friend."
"Are you re-"
"Please. I don't need anything."
Turning down the friendly personnel, she slowly followed Maya while concealing her presence.
"Tch. Entitled students."
Even though she heard the personnel clicking their tongue, she didn't say anything and just ignored it.
'Where did she go?'
Because she was a little held back by the receptionist, she lost sight of Maya for a second.
'Ah, there she is.'
However, soon, she found Maya again, seeing her on the corner of the training grounds. Maya's eyes were focused on a lone figure at the far end of the training grounds.
A solitary silhouette engaged in a series of precise and calculated movents. As Maya approached, the identity of the solitary figure beca clear – it was her fellow junior, the one who had stayed back with her, Astron Natusalune.
He was seemingly focused on his sparring as the daggers in his hands continuously flew to fight with the dummy around.
'Is he fighting with PhantomGlide Dummy?'
It wasn't your usual scene to see a first-year student fighting with the PhantomGlide Dummy. Even so sophomore or third-year students would mostly have a hard ti sparring against it.
Astron continued his intricate dance with the PhantomGlide Dummy, each movent deliberate and precise. The whirling daggers in his hands painted an elegant picture of controlled chaos as he seamlessly anticipated and countered the dummy's attacks.
Maya and Alia observed in silence, their eyes following him. Though Maya was focused on him, and Alia was focused on Maya.
'Why is she looking for him?' Alia questioned herself as she looked at how Maya was that focused on Astron. Even though she was a little far so that Maya couldn't sense her, she felt like Maya's whole focus was on him, and that feeling bothered her.
After a few more minutes of intense sparring, Astron finally slowed his movents, catching his breath. The PhantomGlide Dummy, seemingly satisfied with the training session, ca to a halt, and the magical daggers vanished into thin air.
And after that, Maya approached him with a beautiful smile that Alia had never seen before. It was sothing that was out of the world and genuine.
'What are they talking about?'
Alia didn't know what they were talking about, but soon Astron stood up, and both of them started walking to deeper academy grounds.
Alia trailed behind them as they entered the deeper grounds of the academy. The special sparring rooms, known for their soundproofing, were located in a secluded area, hidden away from the bustling activities of the main training grounds.
'They entered there?'
As Maya and Astron approached one of the rooms, Alia concealed herself in the shadows, peering cautiously through the slightly ajar door.
She couldn't believe what she had just seen. The sa Maya she had known all this ti entering a sparring room alone with one of the male students?
It was sothing that was impossible. For all this ti, she made sure that Maya never beca close enough with any of the males around her, and her efforts were surely paying off. However, now things were a lot different.
'I need to know what is happening inside.'
She strained her ears, hoping to catch even the faintest whispers of their conversation.
To her dismay, the thick walls seed to absorb any trace of sound, leaving her with nothing but a frustrating silence. Alia pressed her ear against the door, attempting to glean any information about the mysterious discussion happening on the other side.
But it was futile. The room remained impervious to her eavesdropping attempts.
Frustration etched across her face, Alia couldn't help but feel a sense of exclusion. The desire to understand the dynamics between Maya and Astron gnawed at her, intensifying the burning curiosity that had brought her to this point.
After a few more monts of strained listening, Alia reluctantly withdrew from her position. Maya's privacy was evidently well-guarded within the confines of the soundproofed sparring room.
Left with no other choice, Alia retreated from the area, her footsteps echoing softly against the academy's polished floors. The unanswered questions lingered, leaving her in a state of restless contemplation.
'What could be so important that they needed to discuss privately?' she wondered, her thoughts a whirlwind of uncertainty.
For now, the details of Maya's interactions with Astron remained shrouded in mystery, a puzzle that seed to elude Alia's grasp. As she walked away from the sparring rooms, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to Maya's world than t the eye.
Though she didn't know, there was another student who was watching everything from a lot far distance with his monocles.
**********
There are tis when we don't want to hear the words that we need to. Sotis, the truth can hurt a little.
Sotis, we just want to escape. However, for so, there aren't any places to do so.
'Tch.'
You will rember that certain thing wherever you go, whatever you do. And in the end, the only thing you can do is to lose yourself while overextending.
That is sothing I knew quite well.
'Certainly, using weight bracelets seems to be nice.'
After returning from the Western Uxbridge, I adjusted my training regin according to my new skills. I had already been feeling that my training was taking a long ti, and it was not intense enough science from the ti I had acquired Celestalith.
Thus, I needed to increase the intensity, and I ordered so specific weight bracelets all around my body to help with training.
It was a common training thod to increase endurance as well as burst speed, and I knew that would be helpful.
And today, the instructor left us early from the lesson as he finished the class faster than usual. Therefore, I decided to challenge the PhantomGlide Dummy again to see my progress, and things were looking good.
Until I sensed two presences watching . The first one was Senior Maya. She wasn't even trying to conceal herself.
As for the other one, I didn't know her exact identity, as she was quite far away, and her presence-concealing technique was quite proficient.
'At least a sophomore-year student.'
I thought. In any case, aside from the watchers, I just focused on PhantomGlide, though I wasn't able to beat it with my bracelets on.
'That was expected.' However, I could feel the increase in my progress even with the weighed bracelets. I was now entering the range of experts in terms of dagger skills.
"Junior, are you free?"
At that mont, Senior Maya ca. It seed she didn't want to wait any longer. With my eyes, I could see her restlessness, as if she was having a hard ti. Her legs were shaking a little bit, and her mouth was salivating.
"Yes?"
"T-then….Can we talk privately a bit?"
The mont she said that with a face, I knew what she ant. Her gaze was locked on my neck after all, and my shivering skin was the proof of her intent.
"Okay."
And I decided to accept it without thinking, as this secret was sothing that would be revealed if Maya's instincts were known after all.
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