The class was over.
Ann hurriedly grabbed her bag and ran to the door.
“Ah!”
“Kuak!”
But she collided with someone running from the other side.
Ann bounced back and rubbed her left arm as her forearm hurt quite a bit.
It wasn’t just that, but the right shoulder which had collided with the other one also throbbed.
Ann identified who she collided with.
Lennon.
Being hit, he squinted his one eye and stood up.
And when their eyes met, sparks flew.
“Can’t you see where you are going?”
“I need to ask you that!”
Both growled like animals and stared at each other.
And then, came a sudden crash of students who came to check up on them.
“Are you alright, Ann?”
“Lennon, you? The sound was pretty loud?”
Hearing words of concern, yet the two didn’t stop staring at each other.
One student suggested that they stop, but at least there was no fight between them.
They just stared and then ran out the door as if competing with each other.
The students watching those two disappear mumbled.
“What is with them? Did they fight?”
“They don’t even talk, what is there to fight about?”
“Right. I don’t think I saw them talk at all… are they close?”
“Don’t know. Let’s head home.”
The students went back to packing their bags and started leaving.
Ann glanced to the side.
Lennon was walking next to her, one step ahead of her.
The situation was quite uncomfortable for her. She didn’t like how they bumped into each other and didn’t like him learning from Jamie.
Perhaps Lennon felt the same way. If only she had known where Jamie stayed, she would have chosen a different direction.
‘How did Lennon know where he stayed?’
Was he taught in advance?
As soon as she thought that, jealousy rose again.
Ann sighed. Lately she began to feel more of this emotion.
She would remember the time when her father and mother would quarrel. And wondered why they fought when they were a couple and adults, but emotions were so hard to control.
And she constantly thought ‘this shouldn’t be it’.
In the future, if they were going to learn under the same teacher, and they continued like this, it would have a negative impact on both of them.
‘Right. I need to act calm.’
Jealousy. Inferiority.
Jamie said that all humans feel that but to not get too caught up in the emotions and use them as a driving force.
Which meant that there should be a fair competition.
Lennon was superior as a magician, but he was going to be her peer if they were going to learn under the same teacher.
And if the test failed, then it would be a different story, it was now her duty to reach out to him as an elder in learning.
‘Right. I am more like a sister.’
Lennon was 9 and she was 10.
Which meant she was older than him by 1 year.
Ann coughed to get Lennon’s attention.
“Ahem!”
“… what?”
Lennon, who walked in front, looked back at the coughing sound.
Ann stared at the ground with an awkward expression.
“Do you have something to say?”
“That…”
“Don’t drag this. If you are going to say something, say it. Stop wasting my time.”
“… I am trying to make you feel good, why say such nasty things?”
She wanted to improve the relationship between them, but Lennon seemed so unwilling.
“Feel good? We will compete in the future? Why would you try to make me feel good?”
Although Lennon had changed, he was still a twisted boy.
In particular, he had no intention of having fun or being close to someone he felt jealous of.
Although he didn’t show it, Lennon was envious of Ann’s brain. And he was angry with Ann who didn’t even know the best feature about her and kept going after magic.
But Lennon wasn’t too great. Although he had talent superior to Ann in magic, Ann was a genius when it came to mind stuff.
Envy and jealousy. It was impossible to treat her kindly when he had such feelings.
“I have no intention of playing house with you. I never did that before.”
Ann couldn’t understand it. At the end of the day, she was talking to a 9 year old who acted like he had been through all the troubles in the world.
She sighed.
Well, they both were water and oil. Both could never be mixed. She knew it from the beginning.
‘As long as these feelings don’t go, Lennon is right.’
Feeling inferior, getting along was impossible.
For that to happen, one of the two had to be excellent than their current level.
Ann clenched her fist and started running.
“What? Where are you going?”
When Ann rushed ahead, Lennon, who was shocked, followed her.
And now it was a running competition.
And there was no turning back for Lennon. The one year difference was large and girls grew faster than boys at a young age.
It was the same in running.
The problem was that both kids weren’t normal.
“Fly!”
Wings of mana spread behind Lennon, who flew.
It was the basic Fly magic.
Lennon flew up in an instant and passed by Ann.
“Uh???”
Ann was in shock as she looked at Lennon pass her. And Lennon laughed.
“Huh, catch up if you can.”
Fly was 3rd class magic. Something Ann couldn’t do when she was still in 2nd class.
However, flying wasn’t the only magic which helped pick the pace.
“Haste!”
Ann’s legs moved rapidly.
The buff magic to increase the body speed. Haste gave her small legs wings.
Lennon clicked his tongue as he saw that.
On the academy road, two elementary level students started a running competition.
Phoenix Academy back gate.
Finn was with other students.
They were all from Alpha class, but they all looked three to four years younger than Finn.
“Finn. You must be really lucky. I usually don’t do this, but I decided to help.”
“Uh, Ivan, thank you.”
The boy named Ivan nodded with a smile and told everyone.
“Normally, Mr. Silver guided us, but it was said that he is absent from work today, so I will guide you today, follow me.”
Finn looked at Ivan with a curious look.
Ivan the hard worker.
That was Ivan’s nickname. Student who worked hard but didn’t get any results.
A timid boy who always lacked confidence to talk to people.
Such a boy was now acting like a leader of this group.
‘In the beta class, there was a talk about friends dropping out…’
Beta’s oldest.
Like Finn, Ivan was a little older.
“Anyway, today I will be the VIP so everyone can look forward to this.”
The place they were going to was the Trinity lab where the Apophis X was being developed.
This time an invitation only to the VIPs was sent saying that a new drug had been developed.
Finn was surprised that Ivan was a VIP. He too started drinking Apophis X because of Ivan, but the VIP position wasn’t something that could be achieved by simply buying and drinking a nutritional supplement.
‘I am fine. Because Apophis X really works. There are some side effects though.’
He felt like he was losing it, and the body aches died down after he drank Apophis X.
It increases mana and concentration, but aches and hurting in the body was a risk.
The students arrived at Trinity lab.
The lab existed outside the magic world, and wasn’t as wide as they thought it would be.
Ivan approached a guard in black suit and showed a card and the door opened.
“Everyone follow me.”
As Ivan gestured, the students gulped and entered.
Space expansion was applied so the inside was quite spacious compared to the outside.
As they entered, a silver-haired, brown-skinned man greeted them.
“Young guests. Welcome. I am Ashtar, the manager of this place.”
“It’s been a while, Mr. Ashtar.”
At Ivan’s greeting the man smiled.
“It’s been two months.”
Red eyes which looked like they were studded with rubies.
“Gasp! Gasp!”
Ann looked at Lennon gasping for breath by leaning against the wall.
It was a disappointing one. But the result was expected. Ann barely managed to use Haste and Lennon used Fly.
Fly had an advantage and it was impossible for Ann, who was using a 2nd class skill, to win.
Still, she followed, wanting to win.
‘That monstrous child.’
Lennon thought, looking at Ann with bitter eyes.
At first he thought she was stupid. Why bother running when he was flying? The correct answer would be to give up, but Ann ran till the end.
And she not just used Haste, but other boost magic too.
This wasn’t something others would do. This was possible only for Ann who had a great understanding of magic.
Ann looked like a monster to Lennon.
“But I won.”
“…”
Ann couldn’t even raise her head in anger.
What was this feeling of resentment when she knew she was going to lose?
Lennon said, with his back to the wall.
“Get up. The teacher is waiting.”
“Yes.”
Ann got up. And the two went to Jamie’s place without a word.
And Jamie, who saw Ann and Lennon looking like a mess, asked,
“You people? What did you do while coming here?”
The two were silent as they couldn’t tell that they ran here.
‘Something seems wrong.’
He didn’t know what it was but from Ann’s expression it seems like Ann lost. And with her current skills that was bound to happen if what they did was related to magic.
The difference between the two was heaven and earth.
“Come in.”
Jamie told them and gave them chairs and handed two spellbooks he prepared all night.
“Take this.”
“This is?”
“Whole body… breathing?”
“This is a breathing method that you are so curious about. The one who did it was Marquis Linmel, so next time you meet, make sure to thank him. Without his permission I wouldn’t have been able to teach you this.”
“… Marquis Linmel’s mana breathing technique.”
The two silently looked at the book.
Even though it was covered, the book seemed thick and there was nothing else than— [How to breathe].
“It doesn’t matter what you did on the way here. It doesn’t matter if you two did your best or not. Or if you have a good relationship or not.”
Ann and Lennon glared at each other.
Jamie slapped both of them on the head.
“Ack!”
“Ouch!”
“But it isn’t okay for you to act like brats in front of the teacher, right?”
“S-sorry.”
“Sorry.”
Both rubbed their foreheads.
Jamie shook his head and began to explain.
“Anyway, the reason I’m saying this is because if you don’t pass the test after this, it is all pointless.”
“Test?”
“Not a difficult one.”
Jamie took the spellbook in Lennon’s hand and shook it.
“Learn this within today. That is all.”
Jamie smiled adding,
“Really easy, right?”
The two students were unable to answer the question.
Honestly, they wanted to cry.
