"Since you seem so preoccupied, perhaps you'd like to explain how adrenaline affects mana circulation during combat?"
Sylvie's heart sank as her mind scrambled to pull together anything remotely coherent. The question hung in the air, Eleanor's authority pressing down on her like a physical weight.
'Focus, Sylvie. Think.' She swallowed hard, her cheeks burning as she fumbled for an answer. "Adrenaline... it, um... causes fluctuations in mana circulation because it... increases energy output?"
Eleanor's sharp gaze narrowed slightly. "Not entirely incorrect, but incomplete." She stepped closer, her presence commanding the attention of the entire room. "Adrenaline causes a spike in energy, yes, but it also introduces instability. Mana channels beco more volatile, and the flow is harder to control. This is why balance and control are critical, especially in combat situations."
Sylvie nodded quickly, her face hot with embarrassnt. "I... I understand, Professor."
Eleanor's gaze lingered on her for a mont longer before she nodded. "Good. See that you remain focused. These concepts are foundational, and you will not have the luxury of distraction in the field."
"Yes, Professor," Sylvie murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.
The tension in the room eased slightly as Eleanor returned to the front of the class, resuming her lecture as if nothing had happened. But Sylvie could feel the lingering stares from her classmates, their curiosity and judgnt weighing heavily on her. She forced herself to look down at her tablet, her hands trembling slightly as she tried to steady her breathing.
'Get it together,' she thought, gripping her stylus tightly. 'You can't let this keep happening.' But as she stole another glance at Astron, who hadn't reacted at all during the exchange, her chest tightened again. The gnawing unease refused to leave, the questions swirling in her mind louder than ever.
Sylvie was gripping her stylus so tightly her knuckles turned white, her mind still racing in the aftermath of Eleanor's reprimand. The embarrassnt clung to her like a heavy cloak, weighing her down even as she tried to focus on the lecture.
Just then, she felt a nudge at her side. Jasmine leaned closer, pinching her arm lightly, drawing a startled glance from Sylvie.
"Ow-Jasmine!" Sylvie whispered, her tone sharper than intended.
"What are you doing?" Jasmine hissed back, her expression a mix of concern and
exasperation. "You're completely out of it today. This isn't like you."
Sylvie bit her lip, unable to deny it. Jasmine was right. This wasn't like her. Normally, she prided herself on her focus, and her ability to stay composed even in stressful situations. But today? Today, her thoughts were a ss, and she had no one to bla but herself.
'Right....."
The frustration turned inward, a sharp pang of self-directed anger that only made her cheeks burn hotter. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to glance at her tablet and pretend to take notes. But as much as she tried to push the thoughts away, her gaze drifted again-back to him.
Her chest tightened as her eyes landed on him. He was still seated calmly, his attention focused on the lecture as if nothing in the world could disturb him.
The whispers from earlier had faded, but Sylvie still caught the occasional glance from other students, their curiosity lingering like an unspoken question.
Just as she was about to look away, sothing happened that made her freeze.
Astron turned his head.
His purple eyes locked onto hers, piercing and steady, as though he had been aware of her attention all along. The intensity of his gaze hit her like a jolt of electricity, and for a mont, the world around her seed to blur. It wasn't a look of judgnt or amusent-it was calm, asured, and unsettlingly direct.
Sylvie's heart skipped a beat, her breath catching in her throat. She felt her cheeks flush even hotter, a wave of embarrassnt washing over her. She had no idea why-why his gaze unsettled her so much, why it felt like he could see straight through her.
'Why am I reacting like this?' she thought, her mind spiraling again.
Unable to hold his gaze any longer, she quickly looked down at her tablet, her pulse racing. She could still feel the weight of his eyes, the lingering impact of that brief mont of connection.
Jasmine nudged her again, her voice a hushed whisper. "Are you crazy? Do you want to get marked by Eleanor?"
Sylvie shook her head quickly, forcing herself to refocus as Jasmine's whispered words brought her crashing back to reality. "Getting marked by Eleanor... right at the start of the sester..." she murmured under her breath. The very thought sent a shiver down her spine.
It was one of the worst things that could happen to a student inside the classroom. Eleanor's reputation was ironclad, and once she decided to mark a student, it was like being under constant scrutiny for the rest of the term. Every mistake, every lapse in focus, would be noted, amplified, and rcilessly addressed.
Sylvie's gaze darted back to her tablet, her cheeks still burning from the earlier exchange. She had to get it together. Now wasn't the ti to let her thoughts spiral out of control.
Her mind flickered briefly to the stories she'd heard about Astron last sester. He had been marked by Eleanor early on, and the consequences had been brutal. Everyone in the class had whispered about it-how he'd spent sleepless nights studying, how he'd endured Eleanor's relentless corrections and critiques. It wasn't just about surviving her lessons; it was about proving you could rise above the challenge she threw at you.
And Astron had done exactly that.
Sylvie clenched her stylus tighter, her frustration mounting. 'If he can handle it, why can't I focus right now? This isn't like .'
Jasmine nudged her again, pulling her out of her thoughts. "Seriously, Sylvie, stop spacing out," she whispered urgently. "Do you want Eleanor to notice you again? One more slip, and you're toast."
"I know, I know," Sylvie whispered back, trying to sound calm despite the lingering heat in her cheeks. She took a deep breath, forcing her attention back to the glowing diagrams on her screen. The lesson had shifted to a more detailed analysis of mana interference, but the words blurred together as she struggled to absorb them.
Eleanor's voice rang out again, sharp and precise, commanding the room's full attention. "Rember, disruption in mana flow is not a theoretical problem-it is a practical one. It can an the difference between success and failure in the field, between life and death. If you cannot master control, you have no place calling yourself a hunter."
And just like that, sohow she managed to hold it out.....
*******
RING!
The sharp tone of the bell echoed through the classroom, signaling the end of Eleanor's marathon lecture. A collective sigh of relief swept through the room as students slumped back in their chairs, the tension easing from their shoulders.
"Finally," soone muttered under their breath, earning a few chuckles from the weary
crowd.
Eleanor, however, showed no sign of slowing down as she concluded her lesson with the sa precision she'd maintained throughout. "Review the interference patterns and the first three sections of your syllabus before next class. Be prepared to demonstrate your understanding." Her sharp gaze swept the room, ensuring her words landed with weight. "Dismissed."
The students wasted no ti packing up their things, eager to escape the intensity of the classroom. Many muttered complaints under their breath about the two-block lecture and the grueling pace of Eleanor's teaching. The ten-minute break between blocks had barely been enough to breathe, and even now, as they filed out, the thought of only twenty minutes before the next session wasn't much of a consolation.
Sylvie packed her bag in a daze, her movents slower than usual. The lecture had been overwhelming, but for her, it wasn't Eleanor's teaching that had thrown her off. Her thoughts were still scattered, her focus splintered as her mind replayed the events of the past two
hours.
She let out a slow breath, rubbing her temples as she stood.
Just then, her attention was drawn to a subtle shift in the energy of the room. A group of students had begun to gather near Astron's desk, their movents deliberate and their expressions mixed. Sylvie froze, her curiosity piqued as she observed the scene unfold. Sylvie adjusted her bag over her shoulder, her attention now fully drawn to the growing cluster of students around Astron. Most of them were girls, their lively voices rising in an almost musical chorus as they surrounded his desk. She recognized their faces-students from other classes or acquaintances she had seen in passing-but she wasn't particularly close to any of them.
"Tessa Halloway, Eva Greer, Mira Voland...' Sylvie ticked off their nas in her mind, her sharp mory for academy rosters kicking in. Tessa was the tall one with auburn hair and an easy smile, her confident energy always standing out. Eva, with her short blonde hair and quick wit, had a reputation for being relentless with her questions. And Mira, the quietest of the three, had an intensity about her that made people take notice when she did speak.
But right now, all three seed equally animated as they circled Astron like birds chirping
around a tree.
"Astron, right!" Tessa exclaid, her voice laced with curiosity and excitent. "What happened to you? You look completely different!"
"Seriously," Eva chid in, leaning slightly forward as if to study him more closely. "Did you
take so kind of secret potion over the break? Or is this so advanced mana training thing
we've never heard of?"
Mira, less vocal but no less curious, tilted her head slightly, her sharp eyes fixed on Astron. "It doesn't make sense. Changes like this don't happen overnight. Not even in six weeks."
Their questions ca in rapid-fire succession, barely giving him a mont to respond.
"Co on, spill it," Tessa urged, her tone playful but insistent. "Did you go through so kind of extre training? Is that why you were gone so much last sester?" "You're definitely stronger now," Eva added, her gaze flickering to his hands as though searching for so physical sign of his transformation. "But seriously, how? This isn't
normal."
Astron, for his part, remained seated, his expression calm and composed despite the sudden barrage of questions. He glanced at each of them briefly, his purple eyes steady and
unreadable.
Sylvie couldn't help but feel a pang of discomfort as she watched the scene. The girls' voices
were bright and eager, their curiosity genuine, but sothing about the way they crowded him felt intrusive. She had spent enough ti around both Astron and the girls to know that the way the girls crowded Astron-though outwardly harmless-carried a subtle undercurrent she couldn't ignore.
"There's sothing else here.'
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