Kaiden did not sleep well that night, not because he was anxious in the traditional sense, but because his mind kept replaying the conversation in the administrative tower over and over, looking for details he missed, for the tone of the director’s voice when he said that proximity to power does not mean owning it.
He woke up a full hour before dawn, prepared himself with extra care, and left his room when Lucy was still asleep.
In the corridor, one of the professors intercepted him, a thin man with a trimmed beard named Professor Farin, the same one who criticized his reliance on direct attack days before.
"I heard the news," Farin said, without a prior greeting. "Personal student of the director."
"Yes," Kaiden said, not sure if this was a question or just an observation.
Farin stood in front of him, blocking part of the corridor with his body. "I want to tell you something, and I will not repeat it." He paused, choosing his words. "Do not let being beside him deceive you. His choosing you does not mean you have become strong. It only means he saw in you something that may be worth polishing. The difference is big."
"I understand that," Kaiden said.
"I do not think you understand yet," Farin replied, and a thin smile appeared on his lips, closer to pity than mockery. "You will understand today."
The professor walked away without further explanation, leaving Kaiden standing there, trying to decipher the meaning of the last sentence.
He walked toward the eastern tower, where the director asked him to come, and the cold air before dawn stung his face. There was no one else in the area, a small isolated training arena, surrounded by a low stone wall, and empty seats at the edges.
The director stood in the middle, waiting, his hands behind his back, looking at the sky that began to turn from black to light gray.
"Good, you arrived on time," he said without turning. "Most of those I choose are late on the first day, thinking that such a privilege grants them freedom to be lenient. Glad you are different."
Kaiden approached, and stood a few meters away, trying to appear more confident than he really feels.
"Today we will not talk about spells," the director said finally, turning to face him. "I will show you something, and I want you to watch only. Do not interfere."
Kaiden did not understand his intention, but he nodded.
The director raised his right hand simply, without a declared spell, without words, without even apparent concentration on his face. The air around him changed.
It was not like the usual scattered mana traces Kaiden had seen hundreds of times in this academy. It was something else entirely, an invisible pressure that filled the entire arena, heavier than anything Kaiden had experienced before. He felt his knees bend slightly despite his will, and his breathing became harder suddenly, as if the air itself gained weight.
"This..." Kaiden tried to speak, but the words came out broken.
"This is a very small part of what I have," the director said calmly, and lowered his hand. The pressure disappeared immediately, and Kaiden felt his body relax suddenly, as if a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders.
He stood panting for seconds, his hands on his knees.
"Even if you train hard, you will not catch up to me soon," the director said, watching him without a clear expression. "I wanted you to feel this, not hear it from me."
Kaiden stood up slowly, trying to catch his breath. "Why?"
"Because the most dangerous type of arrogance is to think that proximity to power makes you part of it," the director said, walking toward the edge of the arena.
He sat on one of the stone seats, and signaled for Kaiden to sit opposite him.
"You have real talent," he added. "But talent alone makes nothing. I have seen dozens of talented people wither because they thought talent was enough."
Kaiden sat, still feeling the effect of that pressure in his bones. "What do you want me to do then?"
"Today? Nothing but running," the director said simply, as if suggesting a stroll. "Ten laps around the outer wall of the eastern tower."
Kaiden’s eyes widened. "Ten laps around the outer wall? That is a very long path."
"Yes," the director agreed, without further clarification.
"What does this have to do with magic?"
The director looked at him for a long second. "You are a mage who relies on quick explosion of energy. This wins short matches, and loses you long battles. You must know the limits of your body before you know the limits of your power."
Kaiden did not fully understand yet, but he did not argue. He stood up, and began to run.
By the fifth lap, his legs were trembling, and his lungs were burning with each breath. The director did not watch him the whole time, he was absent twice for administrative matters, but he returned each time, standing at the same place, silent, watching.
In the eighth lap, Kaiden stumbled and fell on his knees, panting with difficulty, his sweat soaking his clothes completely.
"I cannot," he said in a broken voice.
The director approached, and stood over him, without apparent pity in his face. "Is that true? Or do you think that?"
Kaiden looked at him, angry for a moment at the calmness of the man in front of his exhaustion, but something in the tone of the question made him stop being angry.
He stood up slowly, his legs trembling, and resumed running.
He finally completed the ten laps, around midday, the sun high burning above his head. He fell on the grass at the finish line, not caring if he looks weak in front of the director or not.
The director sat beside him without sitting directly on the grass, but on a nearby seat.
"Well done," he said, without exaggeration in praise.
"Is that all?" Kaiden asked between breaths. "I run for hours then you tell me well done?"
"What did you expect?" the director asked, and a look of real interest appeared for the first time on his face. "That I would teach you a secret spell on your first day?"
Kaiden did not answer, because that is exactly what he expected, in some way.
"Tomorrow we will start with control," the director said, standing. "Today was about knowing your limits. You cannot surpass something you do not know where it is."
The director walked away without a formal farewell, leaving Kaiden lying on the grass, his body in pain completely, but something else began to form inside him as well, not exactly pride, closer to a new understanding of the size of the road still ahead of him.
He returned to his room late, limping slightly, and found Lucy waiting for him at the door, her arms folded.
"Where were you? You disappeared all day," she said, then noticed his condition. "What happened to you?"
"Training," Kaiden said, and smiled despite exhaustion. "Real training, for the first time since I arrived here."
He sat on the entrance steps, and told her briefly what happened, the pressure he felt, the ten laps, Farin’s words whose meaning he finally understood.
Lucy listened silently, then said finally: "It seems he is teaching you something no book can teach you."
"I think so," Kaiden said, and looked at his hands, still trembling slightly from exhaustion. "But I do not know yet where it leads me."
Lucy sat beside him, silent for some time, then said something he did not expect. "I heard that a new student will join tomorrow. Daughter of one of the dukes, a swordswoman, coming from the west."
Kaiden raised an eyebrow. "And why does this matter to me?"
Lucy smiled a mysterious smile. "I do not know. I just heard everyone talking about her."
Kaiden did not comment more than that, his body was too heavy to care about passing academy rumors at that moment. He stood up with difficulty, said goodbye to Lucy at her door, then returned to his room, and fell on his bed without even taking off his shoes, and slept quickly he had not been used to for weeks.