With her chin resting on top of her hand, Reyna scowled at the screen. I tried to see what was going on, but couldn't figure out what was the problem.

I stood by her, unable to help in any way as the elevator continued to descend below ground level. When things got awkward, Connor was the one to smooth things over. Now that our interpreter was gone, neither of us knew what to say. Or perhaps I was overthinking everything, as I often do.

"Is there something wrong?" I questioned, which surprised her. I assumed so since her shoulders flinched.

"It's just... I'm not sure how to express it," Reyna shook her head, looking for an explanation. My question took her completely out of the game. "This spell is supposed to do this... and it does... but the biggest issue is that it doesn't distinguish between targets! A car, for example, transports you from point A to point B or C, right? In this situation, even though the car is functional, you have no idea where you're headed. It takes you from point A, but whether you arrive at point B or C is up to chance. Does any of that make sense to you, Gray? I'm not good at explaining things to others..."

I remember Connor saying something about her working on a spell, but I never paid much attention to it. I hated to admit it, but his irritating laughter diverted my attention away from that critical detail.

And just what are you working on, teleportation? I almost blurted out but refrained from doing so. Let's slow down a bit before jumping to conclusions. It was astounding in and of itself that Reyna was encoding a spell all by herself.

Overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught of emotions, I rose my hands as I said, "Okay... How about you start by telling me what you meant by saying: 'This spell's supposed to do this.'"

Although encoding a spell was completely outside my expertise, I was certain Reyna might be able to pull it off if she put her mind to it.

She sighed as she closed her eyes for a moment. "...How could I have forgotten to mention the most important part...?"

"What was that?" I leaned in, unable to hear the whisper.

"Nothing," she muttered, barely audible enough for me to catch. "Why don't I just show it to you? Only if you want to see it, of course."

Our competition would have to wait until Connor returned... There was no reason for me to turn down her offer, I thought.

"As long as you don't burn my eyebrows or anything like that."

It felt frightening just imagining it.

"Don't worry," Reyna replied meekly as she stepped out of the elevator and into the corridor. The clanks of her shoes echoed off the metal below. There was no reception, just a corridor that stretched so far I couldn't see the end of it. "The spell I'm about to show you isn't related in any way to fire. Your hair's safe."

"Thanks for the reassurance," I spat out, not feeling so in the slightest while brushing my finger along one of the wall's horizontal, azure lines. "But why would you even require a spell that isn't related to fire, Reyna?"

She had everything. Adding another spell on top of everything else seemed excessive.

"Aiming is a difficult task in and of itself, without taking into account the quantity of mana required, how will my opponent react, or whether the spell might deal too much damage to the nearby structures because I didn't regulate my power."

So using magic was a lot more difficult than some may believe, huh?

"I'll ignore the way you're boasting about yourself and cut straight to the chase," I told her, finally averting my eyes from the cerulean glow. "What's the purpose of this spell?"

Using an SCO could provide certain benefits, none of which couldn't really apply to Reyna. In fact, using that kind of operator requires a lot more mana than the spells she can cast without the aid of such a device.

Due to their incapacity to cast any spells, most hunters are compelled to rely on them, despite the risks that came along with wasting significant amounts of mana. Without an affinity, they could only channel the mana within their bodies to enhance their physical abilities (which was impressive enough compared to the average person).

"Well, since aiming is difficult, I wondered what if I make it so my target doesn't move at all? Wouldn't aiming then become much easier?"

"So the spell you're encoding is designed to bind others?"

She pressed her hand against a dark panel, which opened the door to the lab, then turned to face me with a faint smile. "Bingo. I had a feeling you'd get it."

I'd rather not mention that the first notion that came to mind was teleportation. Or so I thought as I pursued after Reyna, throwing a skeptical glance around the entire area.

Despite my initial expectations, the laboratory had a gun-metallic hue to it that I found slightly disturbing. I wasn't a fan of facilities that resembled hospitals, but at least there wasn't that distinct odor of medicine seeping everywhere.

All of that aside, the artifacts lying on top of the bench spreading in the center of the laboratory were what captivated my attention. Among the many pieces of equipment that could be used for experiments, few weapons appeared to be identical to the dull ones I and many others wielded during the exam. I assumed I'd be able to pick one of them during my spar with Connor.

"You looked so astonished when you saw the restaurant," she said, tossing her camel coat onto the chair. "But the first thing you're staring at when you walk into my laboratory are those toys? Really?"

"What else am I supposed to be staring at?"

"My fault for asking." Reyna shrugged just as she was about to take a seat, sighed, then pointed toward the white coat dangling from the hanger. "Could you please bring it to me? The coat over there."

I had already grabbed it by the time I mumbled, "You could've done it yourself."

"But it's too far away..."

It was obnoxiously clean and large enough to fit loosely even on me. You were bound to trip on if you weren't paying attention. Only Reyna could wear something like this around.

"If you're wondering why I want the lab coat instead of the other one, think of it like changing into your pajamas after coming home from a long day at work. It's comfy."

I came to a complete halt in the middle of the laboratory, then gave her an odd look as I said, "Are you some kind of telepath?"

"You have no idea how cozy that thing is, Gray," she replied seriously. "Don't criticize me, but I do sleep in it on occasion."

I held my breath as I drew closer, my line of sight falling toward to the observatory window, or to be more exact, the large area visible through it a few meters below.

"That's where you and that my brother will be competing," Reyna affirmed my suspicions.

Yeah, I'll spar with him soon, yet—

"What about us, Reyna?" I couldn't help but ask. "I'll deal with Connor later, but—"

I paused as Reyna's lips twisted into a smile. One that didn't quite make it to the eye. "Are you interested in me, Gray?"

"Is there something wrong with that?"

If she was able to get 15 points on her additional exam, that suggests her original score, without the usage of mana, was much lower. I'd like to figure out whether that was the best she could've done or not.

"No, I get it," Reyna muttered as she shook her head slightly. "You've always been competitive, despite your unwillingness to admit it..."

I almost rolled my eyes. I was the furthest thing away from competitive. I had to swallow my pride several times to deal with difficult consumers. My sense of self-worth was non-existent.

"That's beside the point," I shot back.

She took a large stride toward me as she asked, "Is it?"

Without responding, I merely gripped the coat tighter in my fingers. We were quite close to each other; just another step and she'd bump into me. Although I was convinced I had the upper hand even against someone as talented as her at this distance, the tiniest quiver of her shoulder was still enough to stiffen all of my muscles.

"Let's dance, then."