Olivia leaned her body a little closer to the worn wooden table, her index finger pointing at a complicated formula in the textbook open between us. The faint floral scent of her cheap perfume mixed with the old aroma of parchment and accumulated dust from the wide, silent library, her brown eyes shining with genuine curiosity of the kind that makes you feel stupid just by looking straight at it.
"What do you think about this part here, Shade? The official theory says the mana flow has to be linear for total stability, but in practice in the dungeon yesterday, I saw you channel something curved and explosive against the queen. It doesn't really match what the book says, it feels wrong."
Fuck, too direct a question for my current state. Cold sweat running down my back again, despite the fresh, dry air in the library coming from the tall windows open to the distant courtyard. Knowledge from my previous life helped me cover big holes in the explanation, but she was smart as hell, noticing flaws that the female instructors ignored or hid so rich nobles could learn with paid private tutors.
I explained in a vague but logical and convincing way, mixing Awakened intuition with what I had recently read in the academy books here, working around the lack of deep knowledge with cynical, practical real-combat logic.
"The basics are linear so safe novices don't blow up their own mana during early training and die like idiots, but high rank curves the flow for extra power in real combat. The book oversimplifies too much so it doesn't kill stupid students or poor ones without private tutors, keeps the hierarchy intact."
She nodded quickly and excitedly, brown eyes shining even brighter with pure, genuine enthusiasm.
"Exactly! My intuition has been telling me that for weeks without stopping. The book is badly wrong in advanced points, like it hides real tricks for rich nobles to learn with private masters. You explain better than all the instructors combined, seriously."
I laughed bitterly and sweaty inside — she was like a protagonist rising fast in the original script I knew from my previous life, smart as hell pointing out flaws that I was miraculously working around without exposing everything. Studying alone with a girl should have been a bittersweet teenage dream experience from my previous life, but cold sweat ran down my entire back now, her closeness making desire grow subtly but constantly and treacherously, discreet curves brushing the old wooden table when she leaned closer to see the page better, her arm subtly brushing mine making heat rise in my veins slowly but steadily.
But the news from the guild and the entire capital echoed loudly in my mind the whole time without stopping — rumors about the main world system tower showing a strange anomaly never seen in recorded history, pink rays covering the entire area after the great ceremony of the whole kingdom, tremendous magical energy processed causing small controlled explosions around, powerful mages from all countries and races urgently sent to investigate the sacred and protected site.
My SIS — the defective Aspect awakened in the First Nightmare — pink/blue lines pulsing in the dark stone whenever I looked inward or felt the rich ambient mana of the capital, the strange pink ray coinciding exactly with the time of the general ceremony that every Awakened in the kingdom felt as a subtle vibration in the deep soul.
Pure coincidence or the Nightmare Spell directly connected to the world's greatest tower, the anomaly of my reincarnated soul triggering something global, bigger and dangerous for everyone?
Olivia pointed to another page of the thick book with growing excitement and a low animated voice so as not to draw attention from the distant librarian.
"And here in this complicated formula? It says spiritual affinity is fixed at birth and never changes at all, but I feel mine changing slowly with daily training and real dungeon mana exposure. Is the book wrong again or hiding something important?"
I explained, working around it calmly once more, cold sweat increasing at the nape of my neck — she impressed by every vague answer of mine, leaning too close for my current control, her arm subtly brushing mine making my cock throb discreetly under the simple gray uniform.
"Base affinity is fixed at birth, yes, for most common people, but heavy training and high-risk exposure like dungeons bend it slowly for the better. The book hides it so poor nobles don't rise too fast threatening the old and rigid matriarchal hierarchy."
Her brown eyes widened, nodding hard and fast with a grateful smile.
"Fuck, that makes total sense now! I always felt that but the instructors denied it coldly. You're too good at this, Shade. Same time tomorrow here in the library?"
I nodded hoarsely inside, mind completely divided and confused — desire growing strong from her body's proximity, floral scent subtly but constantly intoxicating, the interface flashing an insistent and dirty tease: [Study task elevated: Intimate touch library empty corner — 500 points. (Dark and isolated shelf behind, take her quickly books mana muffling loud moans.)]
Heat rising partially out of control in my veins, control fighting fiercely against the residual poison throbbing strongly. Second Nightmare tease growing strong and inevitable at night — cold mechanical voice whispering deep in the dark mind repeating, strong creature low chances waiting on the other side, cynical humor laughing bitterly inside: already fucked either way, worse turning into a daily normal routine?
The empty library corner calling loudly and dangerously, high risk of expulsion if caught with a plebeian scholarship girl.
Olivia smiled gratefully and too close, her hand subtly brushing mine over the thick open book.
"Thank you, really, Shade. You're saving my whole study here. The dungeon rumors are true — you're strong as hell."
Mind distant, completely split between desire / global anomaly / Nightmare coming fast.
Absolute precise control now, or I lose everything for good with no return.