"Flirting?!" Callista sputtered, clutching her chest. "I’m fully capable of having normal, wholesome female friendships, thank you very much!"
"You mean capable of developing unrequited attachment within forty-eight hours?" Livia muttered under her breath.
Ouch.
Alright, so maybe she had folded instantly for a terrifying villainess after a single day, but that was beside the point!
Just because she possessed the mental fortitude of wet tissue paper around stunning women didn’t mean she was going to sabotage a perfectly good friendship.
Besides, her soul carried enough lingering trauma from confessing to girl best friends in her past life.
She was not eager for a repeat performance in this world.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: OPTIONAL SUB-QUEST] ╔════════════════════════════════════════════╗
[SUB-QUEST: Remedial Lore & Mana Control] ────────────────────────────────────────────
Scenario: Your total ignorance of high-society magic and world history is an embarrassment. Learn the fundamentals before classes begin.
Objective: Receive a crash-course lecture from your personal maid, Livia.
Note: [SKIPPABLE] - Skipping yields zero EXP.
Rewards:
- +100 EXP
- +5 Mana Capacity
- Unlocks Affection Meter
Livia’s Favorability: +10 (She respects effort) ╚════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Optional?
Perfect.
It was already humiliating enough that this maid harbored zero respect for her, delivered with the casual, rehearsed ease of someone who did it every day.
’I’ll just decl - ’ Callista paused, her inner monologue screeching to a halt.
She recalled the system profile: Hidden Prodigy. She had never actually played the game herself, only watched her sister stream it, so she had no real clue what Livia was truly capable of. But her instincts warned her that spurning a hidden powerhouse’s tutorial was a fast track to a tragic game-over.
Besides, Livia hadn’t even offered. Callista would have to swallow her pride and request it herself.
Unfortunately, survival in this absurd world required enduring a few indignities.
’Fine,’ she groaned internally.
Callista cleared her throat, striking what she hoped was a dignified pose. "Livia... would you be my tutor?"
Livia paused, staring at her with deadpan violet eyes. "...Is this some manner of student-teacher roleplay fetish?"
"Why is that where your mind immediately goes?!"
"Am I wrong?"
"Have you always addressed me with such blatant disrespect?" Callista leaned in, narrowing her eyes to project a look of stern, noble authority.
"You explicitly instructed me last month to speak without filter, my lady," Livia replied, meeting her gaze without so much as a flinch. "Are you taking your own order back now?"
The original Callista said that?!
Still, as she stared into Livia’s unflinching violet eyes, a quiet realization settled over her.
Trapped in a suffocating, performative high society where every compliment was wrapped in hidden venom, having a maid who casually threw unfiltered truths at her face was surprisingly refreshing.
"I will double your salary," Callista declared.
Livia didn’t hesitate for a single second. "Deal."
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: QUEST ACCEPTED] ╔════════════════════════════════════════════╗
[SUB-QUEST: Remedial Lore & Mana Control] ────────────────────────────────────────────
Progress: 5%
Current Focus:
• World History & Faction Dynamics: 0%
• Fundamental Mana Circulation: 10%
• Nobility Etiquette & Survival: 5%
Tutor Status: • Livia Vane
Estimated Time to Completion: 3 Days ╚════════════════════════════════════════════╝
***
A millennium ago, humanity inherited magic through divine grand theft.
The demi-god Great Pertion siphoned the condensed aether directly from the Upperial realm, the sacred domain of the gods, and dispersed it across Zideus.
In this terrestrial atmosphere, the divine energy settled into a refined, breathable form: mana.
Intelligent life rapidly evolved to absorb it, developing intricate biological nodes and pathways to channel the invisible current.
Initially, early humans used mana for basic survival; sparking fires, warding off frost, and lighting the dark.
It was, for all intents and purposes, their earliest technology.
As civilization flourished, so did the sophistication of the craft.
But its peaceful evolution shattered when Emperor Tirdus found his empire backed into a corner by invading hordes, prompting him to summon his Chief Archmage.
"I need a weapon that can turn armies to ash," Tirdus demanded, slamming a fist onto the war table. "Synthesize the mana into pure offensive force."
"Your Majesty, that is madness!" the Archmage protested, wringing his hands. "Pressing mana beyond its natural limit risks compressing it back into raw aether. Mortal bodies cannot process divine fuel, it is unstable, unrefined, and utterly toxic to this world!"
"If we do not deploy it tomorrow, there will be no world left for us to poison," Tirdus snapped back, his eyes dark with desperation. "Make the weapon."
Over the centuries, magic became as routine as breathing, weaponized for endless territorial wars and exploited for everyday convenience.
It was an endless consumer of power, but energy never simply vanishes; it accumulates.
Now, the mortal realm was groaning under the weight of an oversaturated atmosphere, choking on centuries of stale mana.
It was a slow-burning divine curse, the gods turning their backs on a greedy world that stole power that was never created for them.
"So..." Callista said, leaning back as she pieced it together. "Is that why magic is restricted to isolated grounds, and everyone casts so discreetly now?"
"Yes. Did you skip every basic history lesson as a child?"
"I was an impoverished orphan with zero access to formal education," Callista replied smoothly, pulling her best tragic face.
"My lady, that is a classic bedtime story told to toddlers across the continent."
Callista’s smile froze. "..."