The days passed quietly.
Too quietly.
At first, Lucien didn't notice, because he expected growth from her....but not this fast.
There were always students lingering near the training grounds, always someone practicing beyond their limits, always noise, mistakes, repetition.
Aria had simply… blended into that pattern.
Or so he thought.
Until the Fifth Day.
Lucien stood at the edge of the training field, arms folded behind his back as usual.
Students moved in scattered groups, practicing elemental control under minimal supervision.
His gaze drifted with the usual calmness and indifference.
Then paused.
Aria.
She stood alone, slightly farther from the others.
No frantic movements.
No wasted motion.
Just stillness.
"Wind."
A blade formed.
Clean.
Stable.
No flicker this time.
Lucien's eyes narrowed slightly.
That wasn't unusual for even average students.
But for her,
It was too clean.
"Water."
A sphere condensed....
Smooth surface.
No trembling.
No collapse.
Maintained for three seconds… four… then gently dispersed.
No backlash.
No spill.
Lucien didn't move, But his attention had fully shifted now.
"Earth."
A pillar rose.
Straight.
Compact.
Core intact.
No cracking.
No structural instability like before.
A brief silence followed.
Aria exhaled softly.
Then,
"Fire."
A flame ignited.
Small.
Controlled.
Steady.
No excess mana like before.
Lucien's expression remained unchanged.
But his thoughts didn't.
…Too fast.
He had expected improvement.
Even significant improvement.
But not this.
Not within five days.
She should still be struggling with stabilization…
At best, she should be midway through understanding flow control.
Not… this.
His gaze lingered on her a moment longer.
Aria didn't notice.
Or pretended not to.
"Continue," Lucien said calmly, as if nothing was unusual.
Aria nodded.
"Yes, Professor."
But that evening....
Lucien returned to his office later than usual.
The door closed quietly behind him.
The room dim.
Silent.
He sat down slowly, fingers tapping lightly against the desk.
"…Five days."
His voice was low.
Measured.
He leaned back slightly.
Eyes half-lidded.
Thinking.
It should have taken two weeks.
That's the minimum time taken when choosing this path in the game.
The book he gave her.
It wasn't just basic material.
It was structured knowledge.
Optimized learning.
The kind most students never receive.
But even then, Understanding required time.
Repetition.
Adjustment.
Failure.
Yet she had skipped phases.
Not entirely.
But noticeably.
The only thing different from the game was.....
Lucien exhaled softly.
"…I didn't expect her to actually follow it."
That was the key.
Most people didn't.
They couldn't.
They would panic.
Doubt the method.
Return to old habits.
Overtrain.
Undersleep.
Force comprehension where none existed.
But Aria,
She had stopped.
Completely.
No reckless mana exhaustion.
No desperate attempts to chase lectures.
No deviation.
That was the only explanation, Because with her talent if she did... it was entirely feasible.
She followed exactly what he said.
Lucien's eyes shifted slightly.
"…So that's the difference."
In the "default route".
She had potential.
He remembered that much.
A slow, struggling growth.
Constant setbacks.
Always behind.
Always exhausted.
Not because she lacked talent.
But because,
She never rested.
Never stopped.
Never understood where to begin.
Never had anyone to guide her.
She burned herself out trying to climb everything at once.
But now,
She wasn't climbing.
She was building.
Step by step.
Correctly.
Lucien closed his eyes briefly.
"…Interesting."
A faint pause.
Then,
"…Very interesting."
But something else lingered in his thoughts.
A small detail.
Subtle.
Easy to miss.
Aria's eyes.
Whenever she looked at him,
There was a thin layer of caution.
Suspicion.
But beneath that,
There was respect.
There was focus.
There was… trust.
Lucien opened his eyes again.
"…She's not fully convinced."
But even that little trust was not within his expectations.
And that.....
Made sense.
From her perspective....
Nothing about him was normal.
A noble.
A duke's son.
A high-grade mage.
Helping her?
Guiding her?
Without reason?
Without benefit?
No one like that existed in her world.
All while somehow being linked with her father's death.
Lucien tapped the desk lightly.
Once.
Twice.
"…Good."
Blind trust was useless.
Dangerous.
Suspicion meant she was thinking.
Observing.
It meant she wasn't dependent.
And more importantly,
It meant she wouldn't break easily.
Otherwise he would have been disappointed with the Protagonist of his favourite game.....No, the Protagonist of this world.
A faint smile appeared.
Small.
Almost imperceptible.
"…Let's see how far you go."
Meanwhile,
Aria sat in the library once again.
Same place.
Same desk.
Same book.
Her fingers rested lightly on the page.
But she wasn't reading.
Not yet.
Her thoughts were elsewhere.
Five days…
She looked at her hand.
A small flame flickered above her palm.
Steady.
Obedient.
Then it vanished.
Her brows furrowed slightly.
"…Too fast."
The words escaped her quietly.
She should have been happy.
Relieved.
Proud.
And she was.
A little.
But something didn't sit right.
Her gaze drifted toward the window.
Night had fallen again.
Why does it feel like… I'm walking a path someone already prepared?.... a path someone had already threaded countless times.
Lucien's voice echoed in her mind.
Clear.
Certain.
Precise.
"Second floor. Right side. Third row."
He didn't hesitate.
Didn't think.
He knew.
Aria's fingers tightened slightly over the book.
How?
Was it coincidence?
Experience?
Observation?
Or....
Something else?
Her chest tightened faintly.
She trusted his guidance.
There was no denying that anymore.
But not him.
Because that trust .....
Was not the same as understanding.
And she didn't understand him.
Not even a little.
Her gaze lowered.
"…Who are you… really, Professor?"
The question lingered in the quiet library.
Unanswered.
After a moment...
She exhaled softly.
Shaking her head.
"…It doesn't matter..... right now."
Her hand moved.
Turning the page.
The familiar diagrams greeted her again.
Flow control.
Structure.
Balance.
Her eyes sharpened.
Focus returning.
Suspicion could wait.
Questions could wait.
For now,
She had something far more important.
A path.
A path to get stronger.
And she wasn't going to waste it.
The lantern light flickered softly as Aria leaned forward once more.
And the quiet sound of pages turning filled the silence again.