A compressed ball of air exploded from Kaiden’s palm, and hit the wind shield his opponent raised at the last moment, so both scattered in a wave of dust that covered half the arena.
"Good," said the other student, a young man taller than Kaiden by at least two years, wearing an "advanced" badge on his shoulder. "But not good enough."
He rushed toward him quickly, his hands weaving a second spell while running, a skill Kaiden had not yet mastered with the same smoothness. But Kaiden did not wait for it to complete. He raised his left hand, whispered a short word, and a wave of air exploded from under the advanced student’s feet lifting him off the ground for a whole second, confusing his balance in the middle of his spell.
This was the chance. Kaiden completed his spell quickly, and launched three consecutive air balls before his opponent landed, so the first hit him in the chest, the second in his shoulder, while he barely dodged the third.
The advanced student fell on one knee, panting.
"Enough," said a voice from the edge, one of the supervisors, an old man watching the match with folded arms. "Kaiden, stop."
Kaiden stopped, lowered his hands, and the blue traces of the remaining mana flowing around him began to fade gradually.
The advanced student stood up, wiping dust off his clothes, and looked at Kaiden with an expression not devoid of annoyance mixed with respect he does not want to show clearly. "Good match," he said it without clear enthusiasm, and walked away.
The supervisor approached Kaiden, examining him with narrowed eyes. "Three consecutive spells with that timing, against an advanced student with two years difference in experience. Not bad."
"Thank you," Kaiden said, trying not to show exhaustion, even though his arms were trembling slightly from depletion.
The supervisor walked away without another word, leaving Kaiden standing alone in the middle of the arena, surrounded by remnants of flying dust.
He sat on a nearby stone bench, drinking from a waterskin he had placed there before the match. He dried his sweat with his shirt sleeve, and looked at his hands, still pulsing with some of the remaining heat from the flow of magic.
Intermediate mage. The new title repeated, one he had not gotten used to yet, even though he heard it from the professors more than once in recent weeks.
Six months had passed since he entered this academy, and he did not expect them to pass this quickly when he stood at its gate the first time, tense, not sure if the academy’s acceptance of him was a correct decision or just a losing bet the administration would later regret.
Six months of daily training, of waking up before dawn, of sitting for hours in the academy library trying to understand spells beyond his level, of many failures before the few successes.
"Kaiden!"
He turned when he heard Lucy’s voice, approaching him across the arena, the water training clothes still slightly wet at the edges, a sign she came directly from the water magic class.
"I saw the last match," she said, sat next to him, and took a sip from his waterskin without asking. "That was impressive."
"It was lucky," Kaiden replied, even though his tone did not completely hide his satisfaction. "If he dodged the third wave I would have lost."
"But he did not dodge it," Lucy said simply, as if this ends the discussion.
They sat silent for a minute, watching other students training at the edges of the arena, some practicing magic, some training with swords, and some just sitting talking in small groups between classes.
The academy was bigger than Kaiden imagined it from outside, a small city standing on its own more than a school, multiple stone towers for each specialization, separate training arenas, and a huge library some say contains copies of books that do not exist anywhere else on the continent.
Lucy found her place here faster than Kaiden expected, her talent in water magic made her among the top of her class since the first weeks, although she remained calmer than Kaiden in dealing with the increasing attention around her.
"I heard that one of the professors complained about you yesterday," Lucy said suddenly, a side glance with a small smile on it.
Kaiden sighed. "Professor Farin. He said that my reliance on direct attack spells instead of learning precise control will become a weakness later."
"Is he right?"
Kaiden thought for a moment before answering. "Maybe," he admitted finally. "But direct spells win matches now, and precise control is something I will learn later when I have more time."
"That sounds like you are postponing a problem," Lucy said, but without insistence, just a passing observation.
Kaiden did not answer, because he was not completely sure if she was right or not, and this type of uncertainty was relatively new to him. In the first month, everything seemed clear: he trains, wins, and advances. Now, as he approaches the edge of what he can do alone, the professors and the harder questions began to appear.
The two continued talking for some time, about an upcoming class, about a student who annoyed Lucy in the library last week, about a letter that arrived from the uncle asking about their conditions with short dry sentences as usual. Neither of them mentioned Loki directly, but when a student passed from afar with a strange way of walking, quick zigzag steps like someone trying to balance on something invisible, Kaiden stopped for a moment looking at him.
"What?" Lucy asked.
"Nothing," Kaiden said, and returned his gaze to the front. "Just... his way of walking reminded me of something."
Lucy did not clarify the question more, and Kaiden did not explain more. They sat silent for seconds, then the conversation moved to a completely different topic.
Later that day, while Kaiden was crossing one of the corridors leading to the next classroom, a student stopped in front of him, a messenger carrying the administration badge on his chest.
"Kaiden?"
"Yes," Kaiden said, and felt a sudden tension creep into his stomach.
"The director wants to see you. Now."
Kaiden’s eyes widened. "The director? Me?"
The messenger did not answer, only pointed his head toward the direction Kaiden is supposed to take, then walked away without further explanation.
Kaiden stood in his place for a moment, trying to remember any mistake he might have made that would require a summons from the highest authority in the entire academy. He found nothing clear. The fight with that advanced student was an official training match, nothing requiring punishment.
He walked toward the administrative tower, the tallest building in the academy, with its white stones shining under the sun, and a long stair leading to its main door.
At the door, a young employee who looks like an administrative assistant stopped him, checked his name in a register, then opened the door for him silently.
"Go up to the last floor," the assistant said. "The director is waiting for you there."
Kaiden climbed a long spiral staircase, each step increasing his tension a little, until he reached a wooden door decorated with precise engravings, different from the simplicity of the rest of the building.
He knocked.
"Enter."
The voice was calm, carrying no sign of the enormous authority the man behind the door is supposed to have, and that alone made Kaiden more tense not less.
He pushed the door.
The office was surprisingly simple, no excess decorations, only a large wooden table, bookshelves reaching the ceiling, and a wide window overlooking the entire academy from above.
Behind the table, sat a man in his middle age approximately, his hair partially white although his face did not carry many wrinkles, his eyes calm in a way hard to read.
"Kaiden," the man said, with a small smile. "Sit, please."
Kaiden sat on the opposite chair, his back straighter than usual.
"Sir, if this is about the match today, I can explain"
"I am not here about the match," the director interrupted him, with a calmness not devoid of hidden amusement. "Although I heard about it, and it was interesting, according to those who watched it."
Kaiden stopped, not sure how to respond.
The director looked at him for a long moment, as if weighing something in his head before speaking again.
"I have watched you since your arrival here," he said finally. "Six months, and you advanced with a speed surpassing most of those your age. You surpassed the first barrier of the low mage with a record speed, and reached the rank of intermediate in a time shorter than any of your professors expected."
"Thank you, sir," Kaiden said, without complete certainty that this is the appropriate response.
"But this is not the real reason behind summoning you," the director added, and leaned slightly forward, his fingers interlocked in front of him on the table. "I noticed something else in your way of fighting. Rush, desire to end the confrontation quickly, even when the need does not require it."
Kaiden did not respond, because he was not sure if this was a positive or negative observation.
"Why do you train this hard?" the director said. "Most students here train because they want status, or money, or recognition. You are different. I see something else in your eyes when you lose a match."
Kaiden thought long before answering, trying to find honest words without revealing more than he wants.
"I have people I want to protect," he said finally. "And I am not strong enough yet."
The director looked at him for a second longer, then smiled a different smile this time, deeper than its predecessor.
"An honest answer," he said. "I appreciate that."
He stood up from behind his table, and walked toward the window, looking at the academy extending beneath them.
"Starting today," he said, without turning. "You will train with me personally."
Kaiden’s eyes widened, and he remained silent for two seconds before finding his voice.
"With you? You personally?"
The director finally turned, his face still calm as it was throughout the conversation. "I will see if this rush in your eyes is worth polishing, or if it is just recklessness that will break at the first outer limit."
Kaiden did not know how to respond to this, his tongue seemed tied suddenly in front of what this matter means, not only for his training, but for everything after it.
"I will start tomorrow morning," the director added, returning to his table. "At dawn, at the gate of the eastern tower. Do not be late."
"Yes, sir," Kaiden said finally, upright, trying to hide the complete turmoil he feels internally.
He left the office with steps somewhat automatic, went down the spiral staircase without noticing exactly how long that took, and went out to the open air where the sun had begun to tilt toward sunset.
He stood there for a minute, looking at the administrative tower behind him, trying to comprehend what just happened.
A personal student of one of the ten strongest people in the entire continent.
He smiled, a smile he could not suppress despite his attempt to seem calm, then began to walk faster than usual toward his room, wanting to tell Lucy what happened before losing the ability to believe it himself.