The first weeks of the Academy didn't pass like lightning; rather, they were slow and painful, like dragging a body over jagged rocks.
Maria's schedule had become a repetitive and grueling cycle: waking up early before Sarah, exhausting classes where she was ignored, physical training that stretched her childish muscles to the tearing point, and long nights awake in the library to find a crack in the high wall of mana weakness.
The hot summer gave way to autumn. The green leaves of the ancient trees on the Academy grounds turned gold and red one by one, scattering across the white cobblestones like drops of blood with every gust of cold autumn wind. The rustling of leaves under students' feet replaced the sound of birds.
Maria hugged heavy books on "Mana Flow Theory" and pulled up the collar of her uniform coat to protect herself from the biting wind. Her path went by the Memorial Garden; the quietest spot in the Academy.
A long wall of black granite existed, stretching like a dark scar amidst the beauty of the garden. On the stone, thousands of names were delicately engraved. The names of those who, in past centuries, had sacrificed their lives to defend the Kingdom of Alverin.
Her steps slowed.
Someone was there.
A boy with silver hair that shone like metal in the sunset light.
Damian Von Taurus.
He stood alone. Unlike usual, where a ring of henchmen and disciples surrounded him, he was now in absolute silence.
Damian had taken off his black leather glove. He ran his index finger slowly and respectfully over one of the engraved names. As if trying to brushing the dust of time from the name of that unknown soldier would shine again.
There was no grief in the gesture. No pity either.
Only calculation.
The wind carried his whisper to her:
"A necessary cost."
She remained beneath the willow's shadow, watching.
This sentence... this logic... was familiar yet alien to Maria.
She answered in her mind: You say cost is necessary... I say cost means people. It means mothers, it means friends, it means lives that won't return. Our difference isn't in the numbers… it's in what we count as valuable.
Suddenly, Damian's hand movement stopped. Without turning his head, he put his glove back on.
"Is hiding behind trees your habit? Or do you just enjoy watching me?"
Maria stepped out of the shadow. Her face was expressionless as always.
"The path to the library is through here. I didn't intend to disturb your... spiritual solitude."
Damian turned slowly. His emerald eyes flashed in the twilight. A crooked, uninterpretable smile settled on his lips.
"Disturb? No. Spiritual solitude belongs to the monks of Solareth, Maria. I was just... calculating."
Damian turned back and walked slowly toward Maria. Dry leaves crushed under his polished boots, but he walked as if he didn't want to break the silence of the fallen.
His gaze pressed on her; not like Brook's mocking look, nor like Arthur's kind look. His look was like a jeweler judging the worth of gold.
"Did you read the names on the stone?"
"A few of them."
"Most of them were nobles. Strong, wealthy, talented. But now they are just a bunch of lines on stone."
Damian adjusted his cufflink and continued in a cold tone:
"Everyone thinks 'becoming a hero' is the ultimate goal. But this wall tells me that heroes are just the ones who died sooner so the rest could live."
He fixed his sharp gaze on Maria's eyes.
"You don't look like someone seeking heroics and medals. Your eyes... are like the eyes of someone who knows the end of these epic stories."
Maria felt Damian was getting too close to the truth. She kept her guard up and held her books tighter.
"I'm just seeking my duty. Not heroism."
Damian sneered.
"'Duty'... is a dangerous word. Especially when you're next to someone like Arthur Valerion."
Maria frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Damian took a step closer, his shadow falling over Maria. His tone shifted from philosophical to warning:
"Arthur is like that sun on our flag; warm and bright, and everyone loves him. But remember, Maria... get too close to the sun, and you burn."
Damian nodded toward the wall behind him.
"Edward sent you here to be a new piece in the game. But on the chessboard, 'pawns' are the first ones sacrificed so the 'King' can survive. Try not to have your name written on this wall."
She met his emerald gaze without flinching. She swallowed her fear and answered with a firm voice:
"Maybe I am a pawn. But if a pawn reaches the end of the line, it becomes a Queen."
Damian's smile deepened. A glint of admiration mixed with rivalry shone in his eyes.
"Then you have a long road ahead, little soldier. A very long road."
Damian finished his sentence and, without waiting for an answer, passed by Maria. His long coat swayed in the wind.
Maria stood and watched him recede along the path covered with autumn leaves.
A cold wind blew and messed up her hair.
His presence lingered even after he passed; heavier than the stone statues and more pressuring than the disdainful looks of others. He was an enemy who "understood." And that was the most dangerous kind of enemy.
Maria let out her held breath.
You're right, Damian... I have a long road ahead...
She hugged her books tight and set off toward the library building, her only sanctuary in this strange world.
***
She entered the library, thoughts knotted tight. The smell of parchment and the dust of centuries-old knowledge was the only thing that could calm the storm in her mind.
The library was massive; thousands of shelves rising to the domed ceiling. But Maria didn't go to the general section. She went toward the darker corners, the "Fundamental Theories" section.
She opened the thick book "Advanced Mana Theory".
Hours passed.
The more she read, the deeper her frown became. All the books said one thing: "Mana capacity is congenital and unchangeable."
Thud!
Maria closed the book angrily. The book snapped shut, the echo cutting through the silence.
So this is it.
Born small. Stay small.
She remembered Damian's words: "Weakness is the only unforgivable sin."
Maria stood up and went to the "Natural Sciences and Magic Alchemy" shelves. A place no one went to because nobles considered it beneath them.
If Magic doesn't work... I have to go to Science. If I can't produce mana, I have to learn how to steal, divert, or neutralize others' mana.
She gathered a stack of books on the properties of plants, magical equipment, and the physical properties of crystals.
This is the start. My path goes through here.