I thought he'd give me something practical.
You know, actual advice.
Something useful that anyone would expect from a genius like him. Instead...
"You don't have kinetic energy, so you wouldn't really understand on a physical or mental level," he sighed out a chuckle, "but your motivation is also an important factor."
…Wow, such a groundbreaking concept.
"Try to motivate yourself."
"Okay… okay…" I dragged a hand down my face. "But how, exactly? It's not like I lack confidence or anything."
"You say that," he hummed lightly, "but you don't really trust it either, do you?"
…
Well, he wasn't completely wrong, I guess. But it's just that this was a novel world.
A literal fictional setting.
It was hard to take anything seriously when, logically speaking, none of this should even exist.
Maybe that hesitation showed on my face, either way, he took it as an answer.
"Mm," he hummed. "Thought so."
I clicked my tongue.
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
"Do not train with other people," he said easily. "It's useless for you anyway. Professor Sylsima probably told you something similar."
'…You say that, but you still attacked me five minutes ago, fucking piece of trash.'
"Ah… then how am I supposed to test myself?" I asked, already feeling the headache coming.
He laughed rather loudly.
Then raised a brow at me like I had just asked the most ridiculous question.
"I can't go any further. That was my advice."
…
I stared at him.
"No, I don't understand this useless advice," I said flatly, then paused. I really should watch my mouth. "…No offense, of course."
"None taken," he replied immediately. "But I also couldn't care less if you don't understand it."
He said that with a bright smile.
A bright smile.
I knew it, I should've never agreed to his terms.
I exhaled slowly.
"…So," I said, resigned, "what do you want, Lord Elinor?"
"Mhhh…"
He leaned closer, then bent slightly, his voice lowering near my ear, "How about… you call me by name from now on?"
…Oh? That's it? That was the request? Out of everything he could've asked for, that?
I guess I expected an extremely unreasonable request, like me becoming a lab rat or something.
I straightened slightly, frowning.
So yeah, that wasn't difficult but, at the same time, it also wasn't simple.
Calling him by name meant that we were getting closer.
So no, I wasn't exactly thrilled.
I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out for just for a second.
It was really a brief hesitation.
Barely noticeable.
…Or so I thought?
Because the moment that pause stretched, something changed about his smile. It was still there but it wasn't the same.
The warmth disappeared.
The lightness vanished.
It turned cold.
The air around him shifted, almost imperceptibly, but enough to make my skin prickle.
"…What?" he asked softly. "Do you not want to?"
My brain immediately kicked back into place.
Right, dangerous. He was dangerous.
Just because he smiled and joked didn't mean anything.
He wasn't harmless, not even a little.
And I definitely shouldn't be testing his patience over something this small.
"…No," I said quickly. "It's not that."
The pressure didn't ease yet.
"I'll do it."
There was a pause.
Then, ust like that, the atmosphere lightened. His smile returned to its usual bright, easygoing form.
Like nothing happened.
"Good," he said cheerfully. "Then try it."
I froze.
"…Now?"
"Now."
I cleared my throat.
'This is so stupid. It's just a name. Why do we need to test this?'
It felt unnecessarily embarrassing.
I glanced away.
Then back at him.
Then away again.
"…Why are you hesitating?" he asked, clearly amused.
"I'm not."
"You are."
Fine, if I had to do it, I was at least going to do it properly. None of that quiet, awkward mumbling nonsense. Because I already knew what would happen.
'I didn't hear you, say it again. Or stuff like that, ugh, I'd rather not.'
Absolutely not.
"Elinor."
It came out louder than expected, how nice, at least there was no room for misinterpretation.
I resisted the urge to look away.
But he was smiling, looking satisfied.
"See?" he said lightly. "Not that hard."
Whatever.
If that was enough to keep him from asking for something worse, I'd take it.
He glanced past me.
Towards the others.
And only then did I remember about them.
I turned slightly.
And, yeah, they were all there, watching us
All three of them, no joke.
Like they hadn't missed a single second of that interaction.
…
Nope.
Absolutely not.
I turned back immediately.
"Well," I said quickly, "thanks for the... advice. Bye, Elinor."
He grinned.
I didn't wait for a response.
I turned on my heel and walked away.
***
Esso was exactly where I left him.
And the moment he saw me, he looked amused.
"…What?" I asked flatly.
He tilted his head, clearly entertained.
"Nothing," he said. "I was just wondering something."
"That already sounds annoying, Lord Esso."
"Why are you always at the center of their attention?"
I stared at him.
"Excuse me?"
"They keep looking at you," he continued casually. "Talking to you. Coming up to you."
He shrugged.
"They must like you a lot, why not take advantage of it?"
Ah, he is totally misunderstanding this.
"Yeah, right."
Like, that was funny. Did he think we were all friends or something.
"They're suspicious," I corrected. "That's what they are."
I could still remember the other day.
The way they treated me and the way the atmosphere shifted.
It was terrifying.
"I'm rather uncomfortable around them, to be honest."
Esso snorted. "That bad? You're way too sensitive, in my opinion. They are intimidating, but they never caused problems."
I smacked his shoulder.
"Stop being nosy, Lord Esso."
He barely reacted, just laughed it off.
"Alright, alright."
We started walking.
"Come on," he added. "Next class."
***
Conjuring class, finally a class I actually liked.
Not because I was good at it or anything, but because it didn't rely on kinetic energy.
Which meant I wasn't immediately at a disadvantage.
Professor Alinstor stood at the front, as composed as ever.
"Today," he said, "you will attempt to extend your reach."
Easy for you to say.
"Remember," he continued, "conjuring is not about force. It is about connection."
He clapped his hands.
"Close your eyes," he instructed.
I did.
"Focus your consciousness."
Easier said than done.
"Reach beyond."
That part always sounded as vague as always, but I tried anyway.
Last time, if you could even call it that, I ended up… communicating with ghosts.
Or at least attempting to? It wasn't exactly successful.
I couldn't understand a single thing they were saying.
It was just noise. Distorted, incomprehensible noise.
But apparently, that was normal.
So, here we go again.
I exhaled slowly.
And focused.
Darkness.
Then something, a presence appeared.
Faint at first, then clearer.
I frowned slightly, concentrating.
'A ghost? Again?'
This one felt different, slightly heavier, if you could say that.
It was watching, I could feel it.
And then, it appeared.
A tall figure with dark eyes, staring straight at me.
…
Nope.
Nope.
Nope.
I did not like this.
At all.
The thing about conjuring was that you had to keep your eyes closed.
You couldn't break the connection abruptly.
You had to sever it slowly, carefully and with respect, otherwise...
I didn't actually know what would happen, but I sure as hell wasn't about to find out.
The entity tilted its head, still staring.
"Atlas."
The professor spoke, his hand warm, resting gently over my head, and the tension in my body eased instantly.
Like something had just smoothed everything down.
I blinked, still keeping my eyes closed.
Professor Alinstor, how was he able to do that?
"Steady," he said calmly.
Right! Keep it steady.
And slowly, carefully, I pulled back, connection thinning.
The entity didn't really move or react to it, just watched.
Until, right before it disappeared, its mouth moved.
Like it was trying to say something.
But, it was too late, the connection snapped.
I opened my eyes.
"…Ugh."
I exhaled, rubbing my temple.
That was unsettling, but at least I wasn't the only one in this situation.
Around me, everyone else looked just as confused over something.
We're all still stuck with ghosts, no one had progressed, which, apparently, was normal.
Or so the professor said.
I stretched slightly, then glanced at Esso.
"So," I asked, "what did you get this time?"
He grinned.
"A granny."
"What?"
"A maid from my house," he said casually. "From centuries ago."
I blinked.
"…What a small world, huh."
"She was nice."
"Good for you."
I pushed myself up, only for my arm to be grabbed.
It was Rowan, this time.
"What did you talk about with Elinor?" he asked.
Woah, straight to the point with no greeting and absolutely no hesitation.
…How shameless!
"Advice," I said shortly.
"What kind?"
I yanked my arm back, smacking his hand away.
"You should apologize before bombarding people with questions."
There was a pause, his expression shifting just slightly.
'Ah, right, that might've been a little bit too blunt? Please no more death flags.'
I didn't wait for another response, I grabbed Esso's arm instead.
"Come on."
And dragged him away before this turned into something worse.