n

n

n

"Shit...

"

nSo...after I had fallen on Feng Mian's-

n*Ahem*, just Feng Mian, I mean. I had, without a doubt, gotten a horrible beating...that certainly had magic involved. She went on scolding me for what seemed like an eternity before Qing Yue finally cut in and stopped her. So, here I was, sitting on the grassy terrain of the Blessing Element Division, slowly getting healed by Qing Yue's Blessing Magic, worse for wear.

n

"Pervert! Disgusting! Pedophile!

"

nAnnnnd a certain someone was still yelling insults even while I was getting treatment-

n...

n-Wait. Pedophile?

nDid she just call me a pedo?

nAlright...I can't just let that one slip by.

n

"Hey...you can call me whatever you want, but really, a pedophile?

" I murmured just loudly enough for Feng Mian to hear, over the brutally loud voice of her own protests.

n

"Huh? You got a problem with me telling the truth?!

"

nPro tip: when a person is pissed off, they aren't likely to listen to anything you have to say, whether you're in the right or wrong. And in this case, I'm in the right...I think.

nBut I didn't know this at the time, so I went on.

"...By definition, the word pedophile refers to a person who is sexually attracted to children...

"

n

"Yeah, that's right! And it's what you are!

"

nI sighed in despair. Pro tip number two: when a person is pissed off, they can't even think reasonably.

n

"...In what way do you look like a child?

" I said, eyes drifting to her breasts naturally, not of my own volition.

n

"H-hey! What are you looking at?!

" Feng Mian raised her tone even further, which I didn't think was possible.

"J-Just shut up!

"

nPro tip number three: When a person is pissed off but can't win against you in a valid argument, they tend to use the phrase, 'Just shut up'.

nI merely sighed and looked away. I had won the argument, I guess? Although it really isn't anything to be proud of.

n

"Pedophile! Absolute degenerate of a human being! Repulsive!

"

n...Pro tip number four: People who are pissed off have extremely, extremely short-term memory.

n*****

nAfter we were finished healing (which took quite a long time thanks to Feng Mian's add-on 'treatment' plus my already wounded nose), and Feng Mian had more or less calmed down, we began to get back on track...though she still looked at me with these eyes that practically said 'disgusted' on them.

n

"Okay, Big Brother Xuan Kai! So! What was that massive noise from earlier?

"

nRight...I still haven't told them about my journey across dimension-

nNah. That's a bad way to put it...

n

"...The simple explanation would be that I went too fast...

" I said reluctantly.

n

"Then let's hear the complicated version,

" Feng Mian chimed in.

nThus, I recalled my entire 'experience' and relayed it in full to the two girls - one brimming with curiosity, the other with suspicion.

n- About 5 Minutes Later -

n

"So...simply put, you went too fast for you to control,

" Feng Mian summarized.

n

"But...wow! We only heard that noise like four seconds after you had taken off!

" Qing Yue exclaimed.

"We were very confused at the time...the thought crossed my mind that maybe you had crashed into the wall on the other side, or any other things on the way...but I had quickly abolished the thought...I mean, there was no way you could've went that fast!

"

n

"Yet again, you have proven the impossible to me...

" Feng Mian added.

"Why is it always you...?

" she asked, though it sounded more like a question she was asking her own heart...so I decided not to reply. My answer would've been 'I don't know' anyway.

n

"...Did I really go that fast?

" I wanted to clarify.

n

"Well, of course! Our school is HUUUGE, you know!

" Qing Yue said enthusiastically.

"The distance from here to the wall you crashed into...that's about half the long hallways' length! And the extent is about...100 meters at the very least...

"

n

"...Meaning you ran at approximately 25 meters a second,

" Feng Mian finished.

n

"And that's only if evaluated conservatively...

" I quickly ran some mental calculations in my head.

"That's equivalent to...90 kilometres an hour.

"

n

"Yep! You could race with a car!

" Qing Yue exclaimed.

nFeng Mian cleared her throat.

"In any case...that sure is powerful for a mere Level One spell.

"

nHuh. Is it?

nI've never touched magic before, so I wouldn't know what was classified as average and what was powerful. I looked to Qing Yue, expectant for an answer. After all, she was considered quite a talent for being the same age as me (though she looked far younger).

nAt the entrance exam for all magic high schools, they detected if you had mana, and an element awoken. Me? I had gotten in through...the back door, if you will. Qing Yue was a Dual-Element Awakener, meaning she had two innate elements upon birth - Blessing and Psychic. She was generally more proficient in the Blessing Element area, however: the most she could do in terms of the Psychic Element was basic telekinesis - moving small objects with her mind. And even so, it strained her mana a lot.

nHowever, she made up for this with her genius talent in the Blessing Element. She was already able to cast Level Two Blessing Element spells like Major Heal and the Restitutio spell family with ease, mainly used to restore things like strength or mana. This meant she was good to go for high school - at the end of the second year of high school, you were meant to take an exam that gave you a chance to advance to an Intermediate Mage from a Novice.

nIf you failed to complete this test, the next chance would come at the end of your fourth year at the school. This time, it was a necessary requirement to pass - if you didn't, you would be expelled. Similarly, current Intermediate Mages were able to utilize this opportunity to break through into the Advanced Mage stage as well.

nThe final advancement exam in high school took place at the end of the sixth year, in December (school years follow the normal year cycle - beginning in January, ending in December, with a Spring Break, Summer Break, and Winter Break). This advancement exam provided a chance to become an Advanced Mage for those who weren't already by the end of their fourth year.

nBy the same token, select individuals who had already become Advanced Mages by the time the advancement exam rolled around were given this opportunity to get promoted to an Ancestral Mage. Few people actually managed to do this however, since it is said that starting from this rank, a whole new plane of existence opens up - though I have no way of knowing whether this is true or not. However, it is reliable data that not many people have achieved the Ancestral Mage stage as a young adult going into university.

nAs you further study magic, the mana inside of you will grow and grow. Needless to say, the more powerful mage you are, the more mana you have inside your body. This mana can allow humans to live far longer than they are meant to - the more mana you have, the longer you'll live. Apparently, having lots of mana can nurture your Dantian, polishing your body and getting rid of any unhealthy effluvium gathered over the years. Thus, once you reach the pinnacle of magic (the Divine-Tier), it is said that you literally become divine - an immortal god that will never die. Though we have no way to prove this, as no one as ever reached this stage before, it is a logical conjecture based on the information we DO have.

n

"Feng Mian's right,

" Qing Yue said after a while.

"For example, if I were to cast a Potentia spell on myself...I would be able to run only slightly faster than usual. That's about the limit of a Level One spell.

"

nI thought about what she said, and certainly, it did make sense. If a Level One spell was this powerful, then what about Level Two and so on? But even so...

n

"Why was it like this for you then?

" Feng Mian seemed to have read my mind (even if Mind-Reading is a Level Three Psychic Element Spell) and voiced my exact thoughts out loud.

n

"...To be honest, I don't know either,

" I answered truthfully.

"When I cast the Potentia jump boost spell yesterday in order to get both of us to safety on the roof, it was like this as well. I couldn't climb as I was princess carrying you, after all.

"

n

"H-Huh?! Wait, you CARRIED me?!

" Feng Mian, having paid attention to the wrong thing, was oddly surprised, face instantly turning red.

n

"...Uh, yeah...how else do you expect I got you up there?

"

nFeng Mian furrowed her brows and hid her face behind her hands.

"U-Um...I don't know! B-But surely you d-didn't have to c-carry me...a-and especially not l-like a p-princess!

"

n

"Hehe~ Like I said, Big Brother Xuan Kai was so cool, coming rushing in like a hero to save his princess!

" Qing Yue interjected, seemingly satisfied, having justified her point from back in the infirmary room.

n

"A-Ah....

" Feng Mian was still blushing furiously, but had finally calmed down, for the fiftieth time today. She certainly was a very emotional person, which made me, for the first time, doubt my judgement on her being a good assassin, which I had believed to be certain.

nFeng Mian then removed her hands at last, though traces of rose were still on her cheeks.

"A-Anyway! Let's try testing out some other elements...

"

n

"...Right.

" We had strayed completely off-course once more, and now were finally going to continue what we had came here in the first place to do.

n