When Aida entered the dining hall the next morning, there were numerous murmurs and looks that were thrown her way. Glancing around uneasily, she confirmed they were all talking about her.

Levi caught up to her. “I hope whatever you were doing yesterday was worth it,” he said lowly. “You drew a whole bushel’s worth of attention with your stunts.”

“We’ll find out if it was later today,” Aida murmured back. “Have you seen Sue? She didn’t answer her door, so I thought she might have come down already.”

“Ah,” Levi drifted off, concern crossing his face. “She hasn’t come down yet. Perhaps it would be a good idea if we brought her breakfast?”

Looking at him suspiciously, Aida and Levi approached the counter and ordered a variety of dishes. Bearing two trays each, they carefully made their way up two flights of stairs to the third floor. Remembering how Sue did the same for her when she first arrived in this world, Aida blunted her annoyance. Is there an elevator equivalent in this world?

Stopping outside Sue’s door, Aida concentrated. Sure enough, Sue was still in her room. Her mana was dull, a faint pulse of red. “Sue, please open up,” Aida called through the door. “Levi and I brought breakfast.”

The pulse shifted, but no sound came through the door.

“We have a match soon,” Aida tried again. “You need to eat, so you can be at your best.”

After another moment of silence, Aida looked at Levi. He shrugged.

“You know, Lara was saying some pretty unpleasant things about you,” Aida said through the door. “You’re not going to let her just automatically win, are you?”

Sue’s mana flared up, and the door finally opened. Sue looked at Aida with red eyes. “What did she say?” she asked, her voice husky. She was still dressed in her nightgown, a pale pink slip of a dress that made her glow.

“She said I ‘seeped in to you.’”

Sue laughed dryly. “I wish you did. You did great.” Her eyes were gloomy.

“I’m glad you think that way,” Aida said briskly, forcing her way into Sue’s room. “Let’s eat up.”

Sue’s room was the opposite of Aida’s. Where Aida’s room was neat by virtue of having very few belongings, Sue’s room was neat despite all the items inside. Her fire float was tucked neatly on top of her dresser, and her bookshelf was full of books, all the edges perfectly lined up. Her schoolbag was placed perfectly square on her desk, and even the cover on her bed was thrown off in a neat triangle. Aida’s room was bland, but Sue’s room seemed too perfect.

Kneeling down on the carpet to set the trays down, Aida gestured at Sue to join her and Levi on the floor. Hesitantly, Sue sat down on her hip, her legs laying neatly to the side. Aida glared at Levi, and he studiously lowered his eyes, focusing on the food. He began pushing dishes towards Sue, firmly keeping his mouth shut.

“Did you have a good night’s sleep?” Aida asked calmly, ignoring Sue’s appearance.

“…No,” Sue said, subdued.

“Why not?”

“I was…thinking.”

“Thinking about what?”

Sue was silent, glancing at Levi, clearly unwilling to talk about her issues with him around. Aida proffered a rice bowl, and Sue took it, if only to avoid having to answer. Aida proceeded to pile food on her rice, forcing Sue to begin taking reluctant bites in order to prevent the stack from becoming too tall.

They ate in silence, Aida pointedly glancing at Sue whenever she slowed down. Cowed, Sue dutifully continued eating. When it was clear Sue could no longer force any more food down, Aida sent Levi out to the hallway with the breakfast trays, sternly ordering Sue to get dressed.

As Sue silently pulled her tracksuit on, Aida examined her. Her movements were slow, and her eyes were dulled. She had clearly been crying yesterday. Her mana, though brighter than it had been before she and Levi showed up, was still a shadow of the fireball it was before.

“Suelina Heslia,” Aida said quietly as Sue tied her hair up in a long ponytail. “I know you’re confused about your feelings, but you can’t think about those things now. You have to focus on what’s in front of you.”

“But Caleb—“

“I know it’s hard to ignore Caleb. Remember what you said before? There’s no point in worrying about something you have no control over.” Sue nodded, her eyes watering again.

“I don’t know why, but it was so easy to say before, and so hard to do now,” she whispered.

Aida reached out, cupping Sue’s cheeks between her hands. Her cheeks were hot. Pulling Sue’s head down so that they were level, Aida gazed deep into Sue’s wide, innocent eyes. She hasn’t felt pain before.

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Wrapping Sue tightly in her arms, Aida whispered into her ear.

“It’s hard to do, because it’s the first time you’re experiencing all these complicated emotions, during a stressful time in your life.” Sue started shaking, her mana flickering.

“I’ll warn you now, this won’t be the only time you feel this way,” Aida said softly. “But you’ll get used to it. I promise we’ll talk about your feelings later, but right now, you need to just focus on getting through the matches.”

“What if I lose again?” Sue’s voice was muffled.

“Who cares? As long as you do your best, that’s all you should demand from yourself.”

“I don’t want to lose.” Sue’s shaking become more violent.

“You will always lose.” Pulling back from Sue, Aida shook her shoulders. “It’s impossible for someone to never lose in their life. But what’s important is that you keep going. A winner is someone who kept going when everyone else dropped out.”

Sue looked tearfully at Aida, tears silently streaming down her cheeks. Wiping Sue’s tears away with her sleeve, Aida held her hands in both her own. “Remember our plan? We both have to get stronger in order for it to work.”

Sue nodded, sniffling. She choked out a laugh. “We’ve all been underestimating you. When did you become such a philosopher?”

Aida smiled encouragingly. “There are some lessons you can only learn at the bottom.”

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Aida and Sue walked into the combat ring together. Sue headed towards Ring 1 with a straight back, her face clean, though still slightly shaky. Lara was gazing at Sue with a piercing look, clearly evaluating her condition. Biting her lip, Aida sent a burst of mana towards Sue, chucking her in the back to perk her up. Sue’s steps became firmer.

Heading towards Ring 3, Aida approached Natalie Wok. She had flaming orange hair - her orange hair literally looked like flames, as the choppy segments waved gently in the still air. Her narrow dark-gray eyes watched her carefully. Aida returned Natalie’s nod. From what Levi had said, her family was essentially a blacksmith family, using traditional manufacturing techniques to make various household utensils.

“Like woks?” Aida had asked, a smile on her face.

“What are woks?” was Levi’s curious response.

“You know, like a big pan for cooking.”

“Oh, yes of course. Cooking pans, knives, and spoons and chopsticks.”

That conversation had left Aida to wonder how the translation feature worked in this world.

Gripping her wand, Aida prepared her mana, trying to recall the peace and tranquility the Lake had showed her. Everything had seemed so obvious with the Lake guiding her. With all of the other Maglica Academy students and staff in the area, it was hard to find the almost effortless focus and stability she experienced yesterday.

“Begin!” Professor Gemma cried.

Without giving herself a chance to second-guess herself, Aida released her mana.

A swirl of water coalesced around Natalie, rapidly draining Aida’s mana. Natalie froze, uncertainty and confusion making her mana spike and flicker. By the time the girl realized what was happening, it was too late. Ice began crystallizing at her feet, and spreading rapidly upwards. Natalie quickly rallied, directing fire from her wand towards her feet - but the fire was quenched just as quickly by the water still swirling around the ice. Panicking, Natalie aimed her wand at Aida, sending a blast of fire at her.

Aida saw the fireball come at her in slow motion. She had a choice to make. She could break her concentration to defend herself against the fireball, or she could take the hit and continue executing her original plan.

Beyond the fireball, the ice had climbed to Natalie’s hips. The tidal wave around Natalie’s body had reached her armpits - just a second more, and she would lose use of her wand. But in just a second more, the fire would strike Aida.

Closing her eyes, she focused on her mana.

Pouring the rest of her mana into her attack, she deftly hardened the water around Natalie’s torso, and pushed the remaining free water around her shoulders, elbows, hands - through the fingers - and around her wand - she felt the heat of the fire caress her cheeks - Freeze—

Aida’s fleeting triumph was immediately overwhelmed by stinging, unendurable pain. Screaming, she stumbled backwards, her face on fire. In agony, she slammed into the ground, clawing at her face. Heal heal heal HEAL—

After what felt like forever, the blistering pain eased. Pushing herself painfully into a sitting position, she looked around herself. She had thrown herself around so much while in pain that she was now facing Ring 1, and she was horrified to see Sue trapped helplessly in the same Water Cage she had been trapped in her first match.

Sue hadn’t given up though - she still had her wand pointed at Lara, and the force of her Mana Blasts was enough to shoot out of the Water Cage, walloping Lara in the stomach as a trio of strikes, doubling her over.

Reminded of her own match, Aida looked around. Natalie’s face was contorted in frustration as she attempted to break free of the ice. Glancing around at the other rings, it seemed like Aida had timed her combo perfectly.

Professor Gemma jogged over, inspecting Aida’s handiwork.

“Very good,” she said. “You managed to disarm Miss Wok in under five seconds.” She turned to the other professors on the platforms, raising her arm in Aida’s direction to indicate her victory.

“Wait!” Natalie cried. “I can still fight!”

“If you are able to channel enough mana to break out of Miss Loreh’s ice, I will allow the match to continue,” Gemma said calmly. “However, I see that Miss Loreh has caused you to lose your grip on your wand, and you no longer have any contact with it. Would you still like to try?”

Natalie’s face twisted in concentration for half a minute, before she finally surrendered. “Can you please release me?” she asked begrudgingly.

“I would be happy to,” Aida said, exhausted. “But I’m completely out of mana.”

Suppressing her smile, Professor Gemma pointed her wand at Natalie, sending a pulse of mana through the ice and shattering it. Natalie fell out, shivering. She crawled towards her wand, snatching it up and stalking away from the ring without another word.

Gemma turned to Aida, who was still resting on the ground. “Are you all right? Do you require assistance?”

“I’ll be fine, thank you,” Aida said, flopping back onto the ground. “I think I’ll just rest here until the other matches are over.”