..
..
..
"Oh! Looking for me?"
A calm, melodic voice drifted from behind us — a voice that had no business sounding that gentle when the owner clearly enjoyed watching people panic.
Elvie and I turned in perfect unison, like two puppets yanked by the same string.
There she stood.
The blue-haired, red-eyed woman from earlier. Who we thought was still sleeping was suddenly behind us.
Her hair swayed softly, catching the sunlight like strands of sapphire silk. Her eyes — crimson, playful, curious — flickered between us as if she already knew our next ten actions.
She wore a relaxed smile, one that felt both welcoming and extremely dangerous.
The moment Kanessa's eyes locked onto mine—
My brain blue-screened.
"Ah! Name's Kanessa. What's your na—"
She didn't even get to breathe the last syllable.
Because I grabbed Elvie's wrist and bolted.
We sprinted.
No — I sprinted.
Elvie got dragged like a ragdoll in a hurricane.
"KRISH?! KRISH, WHAT ARE YOU DOING—?!"
I didn't stop.
We burst through the door so hard it almost ricocheted off the wall, making Mira and my mother jump like startled birds.
I didn't care.
I ran straight toward my father's room.
"Ah! Krish, perfect timing—" he began, cheerful as always.
Then he paused.
Because I looked like I had just seen a ghost.
"Son… what happened? Why do you look like—"
He didn't finish.
Because I had frozen.
Utterly.
Completely.
Sitting calmly — sipping tea like this was an afternoon picnic — was her.
The same demon woman from before.
Her red eyes sparkled as she looked at me.
"Oh! The energetic little boy from earlier."
I did not say that.
I simply screamed,
I looked at her, thinking, "WHY THE HELL IS SHE HERE?"
Father blinked. "Why are you staring at her like you two… know each other?"
"No, we don't!" I shouted.
"Yes, we do!" she said at the same time.
"You do?" my father looked at her as I glared at her.
We glared at each other.
My father, oblivious to the chaos he was enabling, cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Anyway… Krish, this is—"
Oh no.
No no no no—
"Meet your new mentor. Lady Kanessa."
My confidence left my body.
Floated above me.
I stared at Father.
Then at her.
Then at Father again.
the cause? she smiled like a cat who found a new toy.
"Fate moves fast, doesn't it?"
FAST?! This is a head-on collision with fate at 300 km/h—
Again, I did not say that.
I simply gulped.
She stood, stepping closer, extending her hand.
"I didn't expect you to be the one."
The… one?
What does that even mean?
"I'll be… in your care? Haha…?" I said weakly.
And that's how I met my first mentor in this world.
KANESSA LOKI.
The Morning After: A Peaceful Sleep (Before The Storm)
Or so I thought.
I woke up late because Mira didn't come to shake me up like normal.
So there I was, sleeping blissfully—
Until something cold brushed my cheek.
"Still sleeping, huh?"
Her voice.
Right beside my ear.
I jolted so violently I almost launched myself off the bed.
"ms.kanessa?!"
She crouched on the windowsill like a smug cat who's been living here for years.
For others, her question might've seemed harmless.But in my half-awake brain, it translated to:
"Oh? you are'nt awake? Time to die."
Before I could react—
She whipped my blanket, rolled me in it like a sushi roll, tied the end somehow, and hoisted me over her shoulder.
"AHHHH—?!"
Then she jumped out the window.
WITHOUT WARNING.
"UMPH!? MMPH!?"
My words became muffled death cries.
She sprinted through the air — yes, literally — using bricks made of mana projections as stepping stones.
HOW?!
I tried to fight back.I summoned a water ball inside the bedsheet.
And fired.
It popped like a bubble.
{jeff} Magic Detected From Individual
She didn't even look back.
"Adorable," she said, amused."But it lacks control."
ADORA—?! I WAS TRYING TO ESCAPE, YOU MONSTER!
A few minutes later, we arrived at a huge empty field past the mountains.Only one tree stood in the center — tall, lonely, majestic.
She unrolled me like unwanted laundry.
I stood up, dizzy.
"Why did you do that?! You almost suffocated me—"
Flick.
A gentle pulse of mana tapped my forehead.
I stumbled backward—Then suddenly felt… fresh?
Clean.
My teeth felt like theywere brushed.My hair seemed washed anew.My body felt like it had bathed in holy water.
"Did you just—"
"Yes. Purification magic."
Casually.
Like she didn't just hijack my entire morning routine.
Her eyes sharpened, crimson narrowing on me.
"What did you use against me earlier?"
"Uhh… just a water ball?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"If it were normal, I wouldn't have used a king-rank disturb spell."
…KING RANK?!
I swallowed.
"It was {Water Jet}…"
"Explain."
"It's… a spell that compresses water with mana until it becomes fast enough to slice or pierce."
"Show me."
I conjured the water ball, compressed it, aimed—
FWOOOSH—!
A jet of water blasted through the tree like butter.
Kanessa nodded.
"Hmm. A strong spell. Low king rank, maybe."
I blinked.
Low? That's the weakest spell I have…
"But," she said, flicking my forehead again,
"Your mana control is atrocious."
"OW—?!"
She lifted her hand.
"Watch."
She created a water ball.
Compressed it.
More.
More.
copying my spell exactly.making me wonder who is the teacher here.
Until it became mirror-clear, glossy like polished glass.(T.S:under extremely high pressure, water can become clearer and more transparent,)
"This is your water jet."
Then she fired.
The water moved behind the tree something i cant do — controlled, sharp, precise.
It sliced a branch.Then carved a perfect brown line through the grass.
Like a blade tracing a path.
"This," she said, standing elegantly,
"is control."
She pointed at me.
"Now conjure multiple water balls and rotate them around you."
"H-Huh?!"
"You have a problem?" she said with a smile that was not a smile.
And that was how it started.
The training.
If hell had a physical form, it would be shaped like my master, saying:
"Again. You call that balance? Don't make me laugh."
thats how my tutoring with my first mentor started.
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🔸END OF CHAPTER 17
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have a nice day ;)