Episode 3 – The Non-e (2/2)
She walked slowly around Kiel as if appraising him
”You are highly intelligent, observant, quick witted and adaptive Not only that, you have an exceptional skill in h academy, you were easily the top student”
Kiel snorted He didn't usually snort, his fake persona allowed no rooed to rip on his emotions for a short moment
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that ate a lot to find that out His grades spoke for themselves
She continued, paying no attention to his snort
”However, you have a crippling flaw The flaw you tried your best to hide”
She stopped talking, looking straight through Kiel to the secret he frantically tried to hide all his life
”You have almost no mana”
Her words struck a painful blow to Kiel One of the reasons why Kiel preferred lies was because the truth hurt
He hated the cruelty of fate He hated how everyone else around hiifted with an abundance ofHe hated that no e his fate What he lacked was not so that he needed to be born with He hated how he had alwaysto the hope that soe
Because in this world, where everything revolved around
And he was less than nothing, he was a non-ular basis
The stranger, going by the nae of nore it She continued, her each word hitting closer and closer to the goal
”Ironic To be such an incrediblean ability to paint better than everyone else, yet not be given any paint”
Kiel felt a stabbing pain in his chest
How could she say it so bluntly?! The fact that haunted him all his life!
If only he had been born with a normal-sized mana pool, just like everyone else What he would be able to achieve if only he had the basic ingredient!
If he had been born into a norrown up without ic related job, and he would have never thought twice about the cruelty of fate
On the other hand, he had been born into a fae was not considered as lucky or skilled – it was expected
He felt all those expectations shatter around hie, no matter how he tried His existence was but athat his faet and hide the disgrace
”All that skill and knowledge is useless if you don't have the basic require entrance exams know it Other universities, which don't even have a proper exam, have a minimum mana amount as an entry requirement Which you, with your lack of ic is your only hope because they actually have a full exah in other areas”
Shut up Just shut up! – Kiel screa him of the painful truth But bound by the shadow of a person he tried to be, he was unable to voice his plea
”The size of your eneration is so sic at all Not to mention that any non-basic spells are impossible for you because you don't have the mana to cast them In your current state, you can't even be a third classmore”
Third… class… e
Those words echoed painfully inside Kiel's head His pupils dilated His mouth unconsciously twitched He took a step back Another step soon followed
Elaru watched him closely and opened her mouth to say more But Kiel didn't want to hear more His body reacted before his s darted into a sprint Away He just wanted to get away Away froer An ancient instinct to flee fro that could even defeat his self-control and pass through his poker face and the house of lies
Kiel had never run that fast He even used ic that he loved and yet, hated at the saic that has controlled and ruined him and his life
He didn't knohere he was going He didn't care where he was going
He just ran
And jumped tree branch to tree branch
And climbed the hill
And then he ran some more
And ju to reach the sky
But fell back to earth and then ran again
Third class e
Ti for him Seconds, minutes, hours It all blended into one
The only sound he could hear were her words and his own pounding heart
Third class e
His breathing becah the air te hi in pure ice
You can't even be a third class e
His limbs wavered and failed him
He had run, juh the dense forest until both his e Arn spells
His legs gave out under him and he fell to the floor in a battered heap of nerves
He could still hear faint echoes of her words inside his head
He looked at theby its position, he had ran for hours Which made sense, since he was in peak physical condition and would never get this tired otherwise
He closed his eyes in pain His entire body hurt like he had been pulverized by a fierce dragon Each breath he took hurt like thousand needles piercing through his chest His limbs felt like they were on fire He could feel each excruciating heartbeat pulsating through his entire body shaking it with its intensity
For the first ti The same Kiel that never cried No matter how much he was hurt and how much he bled, Kiel didn't cry
He thought he had finally let go of it - the disappointment and hope Truthfully, he had just buried it deep down, just like every other troubling emotion That's what he did best
Thankfully, he didn't have the strength to cry He just wanted to be left alone to drown in his unshed tears, misery, and self-pity
However, the demon had other plans
She sighed and sat down on the ground next to hi She had co her mana behind a barrier
She sat there quietly, she wasn't even out of breath Such is a difference between a e
Kiel could feel her eyes on his face, yet he refused to acknowledge her presence He wasn't able to keep his poker face in place anymore, and he did not want her to see him The real him
He thought that if he opened his eyes, she would be able to tell just how devastated, weak and broken shell of a person he truly was
He wanted to screas still hurt too much to even breathe
She put her hand lightly on his rapidly rising and falling chest He didn't have the strength to push her away, even though he wanted nothing more than to push her away, perhaps ain
Fro his broken flesh It arhout his body in gentle waves
Healing ic
She dares to mock me?? Kiel's sorrow quickly morphed into fury
At that exactdown his fury just as it showed its ugly head ”No, it isn't a wonder that you're able to cast ht where she left it As if hours hadn't passed by at all
”It is pure skill” She mused softly
Get over yourself! You're full of it, thinking that you can manipulate me like a child! Was that your plan? Shock me with your harsh brutality, and then lure me into your trap with sords? Kiel screamed inside his head However, the words never left his mouth
”You're actually quite lucky It is exactly because you were born into a e family with such a small amount of availableit You needed to savor every little drop ofyou could out of it ”
It is true – Kiel always tried harder than anyone else He tried so hard to hide the fact he could not really dothat his mana would suddenly appear out of nowhere That his true poould suddenly awaken He knew that it didn't work that way, he knew that things like that did not happen It was illogical and stupid to expect them to And yet, he couldn't help but hope
”You relish each drop of mana like your life depends on it I have never seen such an incredible ic… ” Her lips parted softly as she whispered the words ”true e emotion
She paused, savoring the taste of ”true ic” on her lush lips When she continued, her voice and eyes were filled with determination
”You use as little mana per spell as possible - 100 utilization rate Coe utilizes ue If you had enough mana, there would be no spell that you wouldn't be able to cast Yourshort of perfection”
”And even after you create the spell, your spell control is flawless After all, you need tois not an option Because you cannot sies”
”Your spells are atis flawless, which results in you being able to cast spells pretty fast!”
”Magic Casting Speed, Mana Weaving, Spell Control, Knowledge and Understanding of Magic, Practical usage you have theic skills!”
Kiel laughed a quiet, bittersweet laugh If he wanted to help himself, if he wanted to ease his pain, he wouldn't kno There was no one he knew that could help hi him And yet this demon of a woman so easily sprouts words of completely blunt honesty that turn pain into pleasure, flaws into skills
At that erous that elibu really was A person who couldthe truth He manipulated people with lies But she was different
She didn't need lies For her, the truth was enough Because she could see right through you, to your darkest and deepest secrets That person could heal you or destroy you with truth alone
He are that he should run If he stayed in her net any longer, he would not be able to escape He are that she had a power he could not coainst And for the second ti hopelessness He was not the predator, but the prey