He simply accepted a strange red-eyed girl being in his field of vision sotis. Rhamn's presence didn't turn out as hard to endure as he originally thought.
Perhaps due to her ability to read his mind, she was rather proficient in reading the room and didn't interrupt him when he least wanted it. That didn't an she was entirely quiet, as speaking seed to bring her a sense of joy.
She greeted him in the morning, discussed the weather, helped with self-study, and gleefully comnted on whatever it was that caught her fancy.
Nevertheless, the pressure of having a being of incomparable beauty constantly nearby still proved sowhat challenging. Cyril had never been interested in relationships and never imagined he would feel pressured in such a situation, but Rhamn's entire being seed to cater to preferences he himself did not even know he had.
…Do you look like this because of ? Is your form just aligning itself with my definition of beauty?
Cyril contemplated as he walked to the castle, going for the Spellmaking class. No matter how he thought about it, her appearance's appeal didn't seem natural.
Rhamn walked at his side, humming. Hearing his ntal question, she tilted her head, staring at him with smugness.
"Or, maybe your definition of beauty is like this because of ? My looks have simply stunned your preferences into what they are now."
He reacted with a blank, helpless gaze.
…Mind control then.
"That's not what I ant!"
Ignoring her teary eyes, he stepped onto one of the fields near the main castle. They were especially prepared areas for the students to practice their spells with targets and various tools to help with the process.
This didn't stop so of the students from using them for regular training. Although the training hall of the castle was big, so people still preferred fresh air.
He walked to an already gathered group, where other students from his class were waiting for the beginning of their practical Spellmaking lesson.
So it happened that just as he approached, the professor clapped his hand, gathering everyone's attention.
"Let's begin now."
Looks like he arrived just in ti. Cyril ignored the occasional stare he was getting and focused on the professor as he began explaining so things before the practice.
It was a decently sized lecture delivered with the enthusiasm of soone filing their taxes. It was mostly sothing he had already heard before, the usual precautions about magic. Perhaps that's why the professor was so bored with it.
"...you must be careful when gathering mana from the outside. Ultimately, it's different from the mana naturally being stored within you. It hasn't gone through your body's 'filter' and might beco harmful in unskilled hands."
"Now, I will call you one by one, and you will cast your first spell using the Maze's pattern."
Finally done with the required speech, the professor noticeably brightened. Not only him, the students have all co alive, staring at him with excitent.
"Finally, I was beginning to fall asleep. I learned this all back ho already."
"I guess they specifically prepared it for the commoners in our class. Poor souls probably didn't study a thing about magic before enrolling."
"Are you sure? They did get in class I…"
The students whispered as they waited for their nas to be called. None seed that nervous.
Soon, the professor called the first na from his list.
The lucky student ca from the crowd, so people encouraging him on the way.
His back stiff from performance anxiety, he walked in front of them all, standing as a prisoner on the gallows.
"…You don't have to wait for my signal. Just cast the spell as soon as you walk in front of ," the professor impatiently said as the student kept standing still.
"Sorry!"
The student hastily stretched out his hand forward and closed his eyes. He remained still, his breathing sowhat uneven.
Starting from his palm, a circle of blue light gradually appeared that was soon filled with a specific pattern, the one they'd been learning just before.
In a second the circle began shining brighter, having gathered enough mana. It disappeared, and in its stead appeared a spark of pure white light.
It persisted for a short while, illuminating a bit of the palm, and snuffed out by itself as the student lost focus.
"Not bad. morize how it felt and keep working hard. Next..." The professor nodded, writing sothing down in a notebook he carried.
The student breathed a sigh of relief, then went back to the crowd of his friends. They imdiately congratulated him and loudly asked about how it felt, earning them a glare from the professor.
Cyril stared at the friendly bunch, his face cold as always. He stood alone, the surrounding students sowhat reluctant to approach him.
"You are not alone. I am here, and I am much better than so foolish friend."
Right.
He was about to move his gaze away, but then he noticed sothing peculiar. From the other end of the crowd soone was purposefully heading in his direction.
It was easy to tell because she was parting all the students in her way, staring at him unflinchingly, as if a hound going through tall grass in pursuit of a rabbit.
Myra soon quietly walked in front of him, her face gaining a sheepish smile.
"Hey, Cyril, do you mind if I stand here?" she whispered, as if they t among the crowd by pure coincidence.
"The hell?! What does she want from you?!"
"Sure," Cyril replied, glaring at a certain soone with complaint.
"I am just being cautious!" No, you are being unreasonable.
Myra happily smiled and made a step forward, standing by his side as if it was how they were supposed to be from the beginning.
They stood like this in silence, observing the students casting their spell one after another. Though instead of staring at the action, Myra frequently glanced at him to the side, her black eyes sparkling as if making sure he was really here.
"…"
Having gained more experience in being under a woman's admiring gaze, Cyril endured hers with ease. Besides, her beauty was really not worth talking about in comparison to Rhamn.
"That's right!"
"Hey, can I ask you sothing?" Myra whispered, her face lit up as if suddenly thinking of so great idea.
Cyril silently nodded, getting a bit curious.
Myra smiled and unnoticeably pointed sowhere else within the crowd. Following her direction, he noticed a girl with brown hair and blue eyes boredly staring at the people casting spells.
Alright?
He looked back at Myra with confusion.
"That's Rose Briar, a genius mage. I feel it would be worthwhile to befriend her. What do you think?" she imdiately said, her face as if a gang mber reporting a potential target to their boss.
"…"
"Just go and talk to her if you want to." He calmly answered after taking a mont to recover.
Myra nodded, her face lit up with the satisfaction of a mission well done.
Before he could ask her a question, his na was called out by the professor. Imdiately, the eyes of the crowd settled on him, staring with caution.
His blue eyes regained their coldness as he walked forward to stand in front of everyone.
As he walked away, he noticed Myra half-raise her fist and shake it at him, whispering, "Good luck!"
Feeling sowhat novel, he nodded to her and finally stepped in front of the professor.
...This shouldn't be too hard.
Standing in front of everyone, he raised his hand and calmly guided the mana within his body, combined it with the one gathered from the air, and constructed the magic circle.
It ford much quicker than the attempts he had seen so far. As the circle disappeared, the resulting light was strong, comparable to a magic lamp, illuminating the streets at night. It didn't seem like it was his first attempt at all.
"Very good, you can stop. It looks like you have so talent. Next..." The professor nodded, not too much excitent on his face, though his voice was tinged with a bit of satisfaction.
Cyril returned to his place within the crowd, where Myra greeted him with a thumbs up.
"Nice! Your talent is really legendary! Your results are far above anyone else's!" she whispered, her face showing pure joy as if it was her own achievent.
"…Flattery won't work." Rhamn mumbled, trying to fight a smile that wanted to erge on her face. She truly treated his success as if it were hers.
"Thank you," Cyril calmly replied, moving his eyes away from her face.
Her star-filled eyes seed to hold nothing but sincerity, though he couldn't quite figure out its source.
She is a weird one.
...
More and more people cast their first spell.
Sowhat exciting at the beginning, the process soon turned boring. Almost everyone had had their shot already, and none had failed so far.
The light spell proved itself quite easy, making the students slowly beco impatient. The whispers among them intensified, becoming louder.
After silencing them a few tis to no avail, the professor couldn't be bothered anymore and passively allowed their discussions.
With that sa face he had at the beginning of the lesson, the professor read aloud a particular na.
"Leo Arken."
At this mont, Myra lightly nudged Cyril with an elbow.
"…?" He glanced at the elbow that touched him, then stared in confusion at Myra's face. Though she didn't notice, she was pointing towards the student that walked towards the professor.
"Look, it's his turn."
So what?
Not voicing his confusion, Cyril focused on Leo Arken, who soon stood in front of them all. It was a na he recognized. They were a famous family of mages, whose mbers frequently were able to get a position in the Tower.
He vaguely heard about so controversy about them in the past, but he didn't rember it.
"The Thornes don't care about so small-fry family like that!"
Ignoring Rhamn's proud exclamation, Cyril paid closer attention to the student about to cast his first spell.
Leo Arken had blond hair, a common sign of nobility, and black eyes, which weren't too common among the nobility. He was wearing a deep frown on his face, like soone owed him money.
In a slightly dramatic fashion, he raised his hand and made a provocative smile directed at sowhere specific within the crowd of students.
"I'll show you what real talent looks like!" He exclaid under the confused eyes of the professor.
Cyril followed his passionate stare and found Cedric on the other end of it. This harmless-looking student with black hair and black eyes wore a strained smile, enduring the gazes from all around.
"So dramatic, what a fool."
…Reminds of you.
"…"
"Leo, focus." The professor urged, bringing the student's attention back to the lesson.
Leo Arken energetically raised his hand, constructing a magic circle with surprising speed. However, it was noticeably different from the ones the other students cast.
"Oi! What are you doing?" The professor yelled in a strict voice and attempted to interrupt the spell, but it was too late.
The circle quickly disappeared as Leo's confident smirk was replaced by panic. A small explosion erupted, enveloping his hand with smoke.
Leo fell to the ground, screaming.
Their professor urgently put out the fire enveloping him and cast a few healing spells, but his weren't as good as a healer's.
The students watched what was happening with shock, rooted to the ground.
Soon, staff mbers arrived with a stretcher. They placed the student with a charred hand on it and carried him away. The other students observed with bated breath.
"Class is dismissed." The professor coldly announced before going after the staff mbers.
As everyone recovered, they quickly erupted into conversations. So had pale faces, so were uncaring, and so were excited at an interesting conclusion.
Most ca to the conclusion that Leo attempted to cast a different spell and got hurt for it.
"Hahaha! What an idiot! He really wanted to cast a spell beyond his ager ability!" Rhamn said, openly laughing.
Arrogance is indeed a poison that makes you stupid.
Cyril made his own verdict, causing Rhamn's face to freeze. He then turned to Myra, who had been watching the event as if it were a spectacle.
"What about Leo?" he finally asked.
She tilted her head in confusion, as if not understanding what he was asking. Then, realization dawned on her face.
"He- Doesn't he seem like trouble?"
"Not really." Cyril shook his head.
"Oh. Well, never mind then."
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