The first term at the academy has begun. My dear Elysia, you have reunited with Maya. You only ever shared a single life together, but the love you built is very strong. I am sorry I did not match you up before now. I wanted to wait until you had a world you could stay in for a long time.

You’ve made some wonderful friends. I’m glad you’ve had a good start. The times to come will be difficult. The demon beasts are but one of many obstacles. How will you handle things once all ten universes are connected?

You are my oldest and greatest soul, my very first creation. I have loved watching you grow time and time again. For every mess Ezra or Azriel has made, you were my first choice to clean it up. My sons are troublemakers. Ezra is mischievous but generally a good boy. Azriel, however, has become quite evil of late. He will need severe discipline once you have completed this assignment.

Azriel has meddled with a world he never should have touched. Elysia, have you realized what world you have entered?

“This is bullshit!” Elizabeth yelled. She was in a private dining room in the academy food court where family and friends staying in different dorms could eat together. Her siblings and cousins tried to consul her. After her fight with Kye, she was upset over her loss - specifically how easily Kye restrained her. “I can’t believe she insta-casted three high-level spells at once! And the way she blocked my strongest attack with just a finger is crazy! She can’t be just a student. She’s got to be an instructor in disguise.”

“Unless she’s a sixteen-year-old instructor, which honestly I could believe at this point, then no,” Doran said. “Lord Drangan was present at her birth party.”

“I wasn’t seriously suggesting... nevermind.”

“You’re not wrong though,” Michelle said. She had been the first to question Kye, but after seeing her in action she no longer had any doubts. “Kye’s power is no joke. I have no doubt that Kye is the other white mana user. Alethea is clearly far more powerful than her scores indicate. She shattered two orbs back-to-back, and I could tell she was holding back with the second.”

Elizabeth experienced some of Kye’s abilities first-hand, and the rest witnessed it. Even with Dragon Force, she was no match.

“What tier were those spells exactly?” Michael asked.

“True Binding and Gravity Well are expert level. Rune of Exhaustion is epic,” Danielle answered. “Her mana control is well beyond that of a normal sixteen-year-old. I don’t think there are many older students capable of insta-casting an epic spell. Doran is especially talented with fire magic and Michelle the same with wind, and you can insta-cast a single expert spell, right?”

Michelle nodded and Doran said, “Right.”

“Basic, Adept, Expert, Epic, and Ultimate... the five tiers,” Michelle said. “I can cast an epic spell with an incantation.”

“I can as well, and Drangan was working with me on learning a newer spell that is Ultimate-tier,” Doran said. “I couldn’t get through the incantation though; it requires more mana than I can use even with Dragon Force.”

“Which one?” Danielle asked.

Doran started waving his hands around in front of him and soon the other four received a message on their NeuraPhones. “I sent you the video. The caster is Astarte Atlantis.”

Each pulled up the video of the green-haired Atlantean. Before casting the spell, she formed four orbs of mana that hovered near her. Once she was finished, she flung her right arm forward and shouted, “Detonation!” The four orbs flew forward and collided far in the distance. The resulting explosion was enormous, enough that Astarte raised a barrier to protect her and the cameraperson.

“Obviously, if I do manage to cast that it won’t be anywhere near as powerful, or as fast, but the spell itself is... well it’s an ultimate spell.”

“““Wow.”””

The group rewatched the video a few times before returning to their discussion. Elizabeth struggled to describe Kye’s swordplay. Anything Elizabeth tried against her fellow blonde was blocked or parried, even countered. She was reluctant to admit it, but she was completely outmatched. The royal quintet agreed that Kye was beyond any of them and that she is the secret white mana user.

“Even if we can prove it, I think we should leave it alone,” Doran said. Michelle confronted Kye right away and Elizabeth joined her in wanting to test Kye, but Doran wanted to respect her wishes. Danielle immediately sided with him, and Michael was indifferent. Elizabeth was still upset about the fight. Michelle agreed to do whatever Doran wanted.

“That settles it,” Danielle said. “I shall invite Kye to tea and offer our apologies, thoughts, and discretion.”

“Before you invite her, I’d like to meet with her in the dorm lobby. Boys are allowed into the lobby with permission, so when you go back, I’ll come along.”

“Okay.”

The dorm supervisor was reluctant to allow Doran in but given his royal status, she approved him for the lobby. The girls went ahead to their room, leaving Doran to wait for Kye. The dorm supervisor told him that she hadn’t yet returned, but he didn’t have to wait long.

Once Kye entered the lobby, she noticed Doran right away. Liliana and Aliana questioned the presence of a boy. Kye and Alethea showed no concern. The dorm supervisor informed Kye that Doran was waiting to visit with her, and Kye approached him with her entourage.

What could he want to talk about? Today was eventful for too many reasons.

“Greetings,” Doran said.

“Greetings,” Kye replied. “To what do I owe this visit?”

“My sister caused you trouble today.”

“It’s alright, I don’t mind.”

“But I do.” Kye was taken aback by Doran’s response. “Michelle is docile enough, but Elizabeth is a little sore about that fight. I can understand why; you were incredible.”

He said I’m incredible!

“Thank you very much,” Kye responded with a smile. Alethea noticed and was glancing back and forth between the two.

“If it’s not too much to ask, may I speak with you privately?” Doran asked.

“I cannot allow a male student to be alone with my lady,” Liliana said quickly before Kye could respond. Aliana nodded and Kye mentally sighed.

“I see.”

“What is it you wish to discuss with me?” Kye asked. “Is it personal or business?”

“Business mostly; a couple of confidential topics specifically.”

“Then don’t worry. Alethea is privileged to secret information, and these two know pretty much everything I do.”

“The first is about you and the second white mana user.”

“Oh? Are you here to follow up on Michelle’s claims?”

“No, no. My group has already agreed that it’s you and I’ve convinced them to leave it at that. They’ll cause you no more trouble with it. I offer my sincerest apologies on behalf of my group.”

“Very well.” Kye saw the honesty on his face and accepted the apology. She was quite happy to receive it from him, especially after he defended her in class earlier. She was also relieved that he wasn’t following up on the claims.

“The rest of my group is convinced, but they don’t have proof. I already knew who the second user is and kept that information to myself.”

“May I ask how you obtained that information?”

“Up until about a month ago, Lord Drangan was working with me on a certain ultimate-tier spell and let it slip. I’ve kept that information to myself. The ultimate-tier spell is the primary topic I wanted to discuss. I specialize in fire magic, and I’ve already learned Pyroclasm. I can’t insta-cast it, but I can still get some pretty good results with it.”

“Which ultimate-tier spell were you working on?”

“One you created.”

One of mine? “I’ve created many spells, but ultimate-tier does narrow that down to but one if we’re talking fire magic. Detonation.”

“Yes.”

“Did you want to ask for advice? Were you having trouble with it, or did you simply not finish training?”

“Trouble. I can initiate the spell, but it fizzles out before I can finish generating the four fireballs. Even when using Dragon Force, I can’t output enough mana to maintain more than three at a time.”

“Then just cast it with three,” Kye said, matter-of-factly. Doran was dumbstruck at her suggestion. “So long as there are at least two, the number of fireballs is not important. I can’t cast it with four either. That spell is very mana intensive. If you don’t maintain a minimum amount of mana in each orb, the explosion won’t happen.”

“I see.”

“If you thought it required four, then I take it you haven’t seen the footage of me casting it which means you would have seen the public video of Astarte Atlantis casting it. Alethea, did she teach you that spell?”

“No. I haven’t learned any ultimate spells, but I’ve created a few.”

Doran went wide-eyed for a moment but reigned himself in, “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since you’re a white mana user.”

Kye formed a few fire balls and left them floating above her. “I can manage three with my current level of mana output.” Doran’s eyes lit up as he watched, and soon Kye’s eyes and body glowed with light aether. “However, with divine mana...” She created several more balls, totaling ten once she was done. “If I let this lose...” she had a hesitant smile on her face, “it’d be pretty bad.” She dispersed them and canceled her aether.

“Wow...”

“That’s just how powerful this spell is, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. The spell theoretically has no upper limit. You can increase the number of fire balls or put more mana into fewer of them to get a bigger result. It’s only limited by the user. And that is why the spell is classified as ultimate-tier. Personally, I find four is the sweet spot.”

“Incredible...” Doran was in awe. “Would you mind working with me sometime on this spell?”

He’s asking for help! Alethea, please be okay with this!

“Sure, I have no plans on any weekend yet, so you may pick whenever you want.”

Alethea was smirking while watching the exchange.

“My schedule is already filled for this weekend, but I’m completely open next weekend. How does next Saturday afternoon sound?”

“Sure. Liliana, please create an itinerary for that day and send the details to Doran. We’ll need to go to the Far Lands to practice Detonation safely, and leaving the academy requires permission.”

“Understood, Princess. I’ll take care of it.”

“Aliana, I leave food plans to you.”

“Yes, Princess.”

“Thank you. Doran, did you have anything else to discuss?”

“No that’s everything. Thank you very much for your help.” He stood up and bowed the same as he would when introducing himself.

“In that case, I need to go ahead to my suite.” Kye stood and curtsied in response before exchanging goodbyes. As they were walking away, Kye turned back to him and said, “Thank you, by the way. When you defended me in class earlier... I appreciated that.”

“You’re quite welcome!” he said. “I’ll try to keep them reigned in, but there shouldn’t be any more problems going forward anyway. Oh, also, Danielle will invite you to tea soon. Heads up!” He turned and headed outside.

“Oh my,” Alethea said, still smirking at Kye.

“You’re coming with me,” Kye said having noticed.

“Shi-chan! I don’t wanna.”

Kye glared at the pink-haired girl, who only smiled in return. Liliana and Aliana shared an exasperated glance.

“So, you like that boy,” Alethea said. “Heh... heh...” Kye froze in her tracks.