It was late afternoon, and I lay exhausted on the training grounds.
The reason? I had just finished sparring with one of the training dummies.
It seemed I had gone a little overboard—my mana was almost depleted.
"But something feels… different. I don't know why, but it feels like my magic's gotten stronger."
Maybe it's because I've been using it frequently these past few days.
It seems my capacity has expanded slightly. I hadn't noticed it before—this sort of mechanic was never explained in the game.
I heard the sound of the door creaking open, and when I turned to see who had entered—
"Huh, it's you…" said a woman.
She had white hair and eyes as cold as ice. Cynthia.
She was known as the close friend of Iris, one of the heroines.
"Training?" she asked.
"Yeah… You?"
"Same."
She walked to the other side of the field. Cynthia placed her hand on the magic crystal, and a dummy appeared.
The dummy charged at her with its massive sword. Cynthia dodged it with ease.
Then, an ice spear began to form along her arm.
The two clashed—Cynthia's movements were sharp and fluid.
It was clear she had the upper hand.
But suddenly, the dummy stomped the ground, causing a tremor.
Cynthia lost her footing, and the dummy swung its sword at her.
Just in time, a thick wall of ice formed between them, blocking the strike.
She then pierced her spear straight into the dummy's chest. The construct shattered and slowly dissolved into light.
"W-whoa…" I could only gape.
That dummy was no joke. Its defense was tough, and I had lost to it before.
But Cynthia… she made it look easy.
Despite that, she wore a dissatisfied expression.
And I knew why—Cynthia was the final boss of Chapter 1.
She and Iris came from the same village. They had always been together, pursuing the same dream: enrolling in the Academy to improve themselves.
Iris was a prodigy. She could use intermediate magic at just five years old.
Cynthia, on the other hand, couldn't even control her mana at that age.
Even though they trained together, the difference between them was stark.
Cynthia became jealous. She trained harder than anyone else—but no matter how hard she worked, she could never catch up to Iris.
When they were of age, they left their village together and enrolled in the Academy, placed into the same class: Class B.
Later, during an inter-class sparring event, Iris faced off against Caine in a spectacular duel.
Cynthia, watching from the sidelines, could only stand still.
That night, when she returned to the dorm, she found a letter waiting for her.
Inside was an offer: power.
Along with the letter was a demonic artifact.
Blinded by frustration and envy, Cynthia used it. Her strength grew immensely—but she began to lose control. She nearly froze the entire Academy.
She never felt satisfied with her own accomplishments, always comparing herself to Iris.
Even though, to others, she was already someone remarkable.
"That was an amazing fight," I said.
"Thanks," she replied, glancing back slightly.
Then she left the training field.
---
After leaving the field, I made my way back to the dorm.
"Hey, Tia!"
A cheerful voice called out to me.
When I turned around, it was Iris.
"What's up, Iris?" I asked.
"Nothing really. You're heading to the dorm, right? Let's walk together."
"Sure."
We walked side by side, chatting casually. Then Iris asked,
"Where were you just now?"
"I was at the training field. Decided to take on the dummy for a bit."
"Instead of a dummy, you should try sparring with someone else. I'm sure you've already outgrown it."
But that's still not enough.
I want to be far stronger than you!
That's what I wanted to say—but I swallowed it down.
"Oh, by the way, I saw Derrick Leighton at the training grounds too. Looked like he just finished training."
"Derrick? That loudmouth who keeps ranting about nobles being superior?"
"Yeah, that guy. But he seemed... different today. When we crossed paths, he was calm. He even complimented my fight."
"Hmm... Maybe people were wrong about him, or maybe... he's actually trying to change," Iris mused while rubbing her chin.
We eventually reached the dorm and went our separate ways.