?”Amelia, can you please leave me alone for today?”
Amelia 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 time something 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 Amelia could formulate a response, Maya turned and left, hurrying away from the scene. The weight of confusion lingered in the air, and Amelia felt a sense of vulnerability she wasn’t accustomed 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 Amelia’s haughty demeanor 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 remember that not everyone is at our beck and call.”
“Humph!”
Of course, Amelia wasn’t someone 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 me 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. ʀᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛʀs ᴀᴛ NovlFir(.)nt
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.
Amelia 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 Amelia 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 seemed 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 Amelia’s curiosity. Was Maya upset about something? Was there a personal matter troubling her? Amelia’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 meeting. After all, it was her Maya.
After walking for a little longer, Maya reached the academy training grounds, which were notably empty around this time.
It wasn’t the training ground she typically frequented for her magical practices, Elemental 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 Elemental Chamber since she had a special [Passive] that let her increase her physical strength corresponding to her mana stats.
Amelia, 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 come here after they had their meals and other things; however, right now, because it was the mid-day break, not many students were there.
“Did you need something student?”
However, her pursuit was disturbed by the personnel at the entrance.
“Ah, please don’t mind me. 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 movements. As Maya approached, the identity of the solitary figure became 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 some sophomore or third-year students would mostly have a hard time sparring against it.
Astron continued his intricate dance with the PhantomGlide Dummy, each movement 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 Amelia observed in silence, their eyes following him. Though Maya was focused on him, and Amelia was focused on Maya.
‘Why is she looking for him?’ Amelia 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 movements, catching his breath. The PhantomGlide Dummy, seemingly satisfied with the training session, came to a halt, and the magical daggers vanished into thin air.
And after that, Maya approached him with a beautiful smile that Amelia had never seen before. It was something that was out of the world and genuine.
‘What are they talking about?’
Amelia didn’t know what they were talking about, but soon Astron stood up, and both of them started walking to deeper academy grounds.
Amelia 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, Amelia concealed herself in the shadows, peering cautiously through the slightly ajar door.
She couldn’t believe what she had just seen. The same Maya she had known all this time entering a sparring room alone with one of the male students?
It was something that was impossible. For all this time, she made sure that Maya never became 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 seemed to absorb any trace of sound, leaving her with nothing but a frustrating silence. Amelia 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, Amelia 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 moments of strained listening, Amelia 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, Amelia 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 seemed to elude Amelia’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 met 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 times when we don’t want to hear the words that we need to. Sometimes, the truth can hurt a little.
Sometimes, we just want to escape. However, for some, there aren’t any places to do so.
‘Tch.’
You will remember 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 something I knew quite well.
‘Certainly, using weight bracelets seems to be nice.’
After returning from the Western Uxbridge, I adjusted my training regimen according to my new skills. I had already been feeling that my training was taking a long time, and it was not intense enough science from the time I had acquired Celestalith.
Thus, I needed to increase the intensity, and I ordered some specific weight bracelets all around my body to help me with training.
It was a common training method 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 me. 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 moment, Senior Maya came. It seemed she didn’t want to wait any longer. With my eyes, I could see her restlessness, as if she was having a hard time. Her legs were shaking a little bit, and her mouth was salivating.
“Yes?”
“T-then….Can we talk privately a bit?”
The moment she said that with a face, I knew what she meant. 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 something that would be revealed if Maya’s instincts were known after all.