Mikael nodded, already pnning as much. “To be ho, I’m more of a warrior than a mage. Do you have any advice for a beginner mage like me?”

  Emily paused for a moment, thinking. “I’d say there are two important things. First, work on your mana trol. Not only will it make your rank-ups more effective, as you learned in the Ranker Path course, but it will also help you learn new spells more quickly. Sed, don’t rush to learn higher-circle magic. Foastering the spells you’ve already learned before moving on.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind! But I have one more question: how do you silent-cast?”

  Emily chuckled. “You’re certainly curious, aren’t you?”

  Mikael grinned. “I’m just making effit use of my resources by asking questions!”

  Emily gave him an approving look. “Well said. At the Academy, you o use every resource avaible to stay ahead. That’s especially true for oners like us.”

  Mikael raised an eyebrow. “You’re a oner?”

  Emily seemed slightly surprised by the question. “Yes, of course. My family name is Auror—it’s not a noble name.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know that. But you ’t expect me to memorize every noble family name, you?”

  Emily chuckled. “Fair enough. There are far too many to keep track of.”

  “But back to your question about silent casting,” she tinued. “To silent-cast, you o be highly profit with magi general and even more so with the specific spell you’re using. To uand silent casting, you first need a good grasp of ting. I don’t know if aeacher has expihis yet, but I’ll share my uanding.”

  “When you cast a spell, you manipute your mana—giving it form, properties, and so on. A t simplifies this process. For example, when you say, ‘Gale winds, heed my call, sweep forth and appear before me!’ for the Gale spell, you don’t o think about every detail of what the spell does—the t hahat for you. All you o do is trol your mana.”

  “When you’re skilled enough, you cast the spell by reg the t in your head, which is harder but still provides some guidance. With enough proficy, you gradually shorten the t until you no longer at all. At that point, you’re doing all the manipution yourself.”

  “Do you have any questions?”

  “No, that retty clear. Thanks!” Mikael said as he stood, ready to leave.

  Emily walked with him to the door, log it behind them after they exited.

  Mikael gave her a polite nod of farewell aed.

  He made his way through the Academy until he reached the library designated for first-year students. As he stepped inside, he was greeted by the grandeur of the spad the seremosphere. Only a handful of students were scattered quietly among the aisles and study tables. Despite the impressive sight, Mikael showed little rea, already aced to suviros.

  At the entrance of the library, a board dispyed a list of rules:

  Library Rules:

  Do not speak loudly.You may read books for free as long as you remain in the library.You rent books for credits, with payments due weekly. A person may rent a maximum of five books.He took note of the rules before stepping further into the building and approag the ter. Behind it sat a beautiful girl with purple hair streaked with red and striking violet eyes. She had a petite frame and appeared drowsy, with a half-closed book resting on the ter in front of her.

  “Excuse me, miss,” Mikael said as he reached the ter.

  The girl lifted her head, letting out a small, sleepy “Yes? I help you?”

  Mikael offered her a charming smile, which, coupled with his handsome features, caught her attention and seemed to wake her up slightly. “Sorry to bother you, but are you a librarian?” he asked.

  “Kinda… I’m a third-year student w part-time as an assistant librarian. If you have questions, feel free to ask,” she replied, patting her small chest with a fident expression. However, her sleepy demeanor undermined her attempt at looking self-assured.

  “Thanks. Actually, I’m looking for some books you’d reend for a beginner mage,” Mikael expined.

  The girl thought for a moment before responding, “Books that might help? Hmm… Mage Theory, Spellcasting finners, and a easy spellbook that matches your affinity. That way, you practice applying what you’ve learned instead of just fog on theory.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll follow ygestions,” Mikael said gratefully before heading off.

  The assistant librarian replied with a sleepy “Hmm,” resting her head ba the ter but keeping an eye on Mikael from the er of her eyes as he browsed.

  Mikael wahrough the aisles of bookshelves and, after a short search, found the two books she reehen, he located the se for wind spells and picked up the 1st circle spellbook, Gale.

  Once he had gathered the books, he returo the ter. Seeing him approach, the girl sluggishly raised her head and gave him a questioning look.

  He answered her unspoken query by pg the three books on the ter. Uanding his i, she asked just to firm, in her usual sleepy voice, “You want to rent these?”

  “Yeah,” Mikael replied.

  She nodded and began sing the books. When she reached the Gale spellbook, she hesitated. “You’re taking the Gale spellbook? It’s one of the simplest and weakest spells out there. Why would you want to learn it?” she asked, curious.

  “It’s simple,” Mikael replied. “I’m a plete beginner when it es to magic, so I want to start with something easy to learn before moving on to more challenging spells.”

  She seemed mildly vinced by his expnation. “I guess that makes sense… but to be such a beginner? You shouldn’t have been able to pass the entrance exam if that’s the case. Or is it because you’re extremely talehat your pratical results don’t matter?” she asked. Realizione souoo inquisitive, she quickly added, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. I was just curious.”

  He waved away her s. “Don’t worry; it’s always a pleasure to talk to a beautiful dy.”

  A faint blush spread across her face at his words. She wasn’t used to people daring to flirt with her, especially not someone as handsome as Mikael.

  “A-A-Anyway, you wao rent these books, right? Oh, I’ll need your ister the rental,” she stammered, half-embarrassed and half-surprised by the sudden flirt.

  “I’m Mikael Angelini.”

  “Mikael Angelini, huh...” she repeated his name as if itting it to memory before introdug herself. “I’m Lyra Mystoria. o meet you!” she decred, her sleepy demeanor repced by a more awake expression.

  “Mystoria? Like the royal family?” Mikael asked, raising an eyebrow.

  Lyra gave a small, affirmative nod, watg him curiously, as if gauging his rea.

  “Damn,” he muttered under his breath, surprised, before brushing it off and tinuing, “So, Miss Lyra, if you’re part of the royal family, why are you w as an assistant librarian?”

  Her expression tightened slightly, aone cooled. “That’s personal, and I’d rather not talk about it. It’s intrusive.”

  Realizing his mistake, Mikael quickly corrected himself. “If you found that question intrusive, how about I bahe scales? I’ll answer your earlier unasked question about why I’m a beginner in magic despite passing the entrance exam. That way, it’s one invasive question each.”

  Lyra’s frowed into a small, intrigued smile. Now fully engaged, she leaned forward. “Fair enough, but you go first.”

  “Sure. The reason I’m such a newbie in magic is that I’m a dual-talent type. My awakening wasn’t long ago, so I only had time to train as a warrior before the entrance exam. Now, I want to focus on learning magic—after all, not doing so would mean wasting half of my potential.”

  She nodded in uanding. “That makes sense. Being both a warrior and a mage is incredibly powerful, but it requires hard work and smart training.” She seemed genuinely excited as she rummaged uhe ter, pulling out a book.

  “This book is about bining the warrior and mage paths to beore powerful. It might help you.” Her enthusiasm alpable, her love for books shining through.

  Seeing her like this, Mikael couldn’t help but find this ‘princess’ rather endearing. “Thanks for the suggestion, but could you hold onto it for now? I’m still a total beginner mage—probably one of the worst first-years. I’m not ready to bihs yet.”

  Lyra’s excitement dimmed slightly, but she nodded aurhe book uhe ter. “Alright. My turn, then. The reason I work as an assistant librarian, even though I’m part of the royal family, is simple—I love books. W here lets me read as much as I want.”

  “Oh, so you’re the go-to person for any library-reted questions. You probably know this pce like the back of your hand,” Mikael said with a grin.

  “Yeah, but don’t tell your friends,” Lyra replied with mock seriousness. “I don’t want to be disturbed all the time. I like my pead quiet... and the occasional nap.”

  Mikael raised an eyebrow at her words, giving her a pyful look. Realizing how her statement might sound, Lyra quickly crified, “I don’t mean you! I just don’t want to be overwhelmed by people stantly b me.”

  “Got it. Now, I rent these books?”

  Seeing that he was ging the subjed preparing to leave, Lyra felt a twinge of disappoi but didn’t let it show. She nodded and sed the three books, allowing Mikael to use his bracelet to pay for the rentals.

  “Thanks for your help,” Mikael said before turning to leave.

  Lyra watched him go, her mood s as she rested her head on the ter. Internally, she berated herself, ‘I was finally talking to someone, and I made him leave... I’m not used to this. I prefer books, but I wish I could have friends too... and I rui.’

  A nearby student, who had withe versation and found the princess approachable, mustered his ce and approached her. “Excuse me, could you help me find a book?”

  Still grumpy, Lyra didn’t even look up. A being disturbed, she replied sharply, “No, I’m not in the mood.”

  The boy froze, fused by her abruptness. Not daring to press further the princess, he quietly left.

  Meanwhile, Mikael, carrying the three books, reflected oera. ‘Flirting is harder than I thought. I’ve never really do before, but I figured it would be easier... And what are the odds? The cute librarian I was flirting with turns out to be from the royal family. Although, she didn’t actually say she’s a princess...’

  He let out a quiet chuckle. ‘This feels like something straight out of a story. Holy, I’m tempted to go bad flirt with her again—it was surprisingly enjoyable.’ He shook his head, brushing the thought aside. ‘No, I o foy training. Priorities first.’

  After a short walk, during which he was lost in thought, Mikael arrived at his dormitory. Unlog the door, he stepped into his room.

  He settled onto the coud began reading the Mage Theory book.

  “Fwoosh.”

  He flipped through the pages at a faster-than-expected pace, quickly abs the information. He couldn’t help but marvel, ‘I really feel the differen my brain pared to before the Records. Not only am I reading faster, but I’m also uanding the text more deeply, and my memorization has improved signifitly!’

  Enced by this realization, he tinued his reading. Throughout the night, he alternated between Mage Theory and Spellcasting finners. The process was lengthy, but it solidified his foundational knowledge of magisuring he would have an easier time learning spells iure.

  After a sleepless and foodless night, Mikael prepared himself a hearty breakfast. Feeling refreshed, he left his dormitory room, ready to face the day.