"Three, two, one, here I come!" He opened his eyes and turned around, only to find the girl hiding behind a tree. She was barely trying. "Come on, I’m old but I haven’t gone blind yet. You need to try harder!"

"Ah, this is the third day in a row. Do we really have to do this?" She sounded annoyed. The calm demeanor she tried to project was a façade. Zek was happy. He was finally starting to crack the surface and make her reveal her true feelings.

"One more time and then we go back to studying, but you must try harder."

"Fine..." Gina looked around and decided to climb the tree. They were in a private yard in the academy of magic. She could hide there, and no one was around to see her do something so embarrassing. All in the name of going back to studying.

"Three, two, one, here I come! Oh, you finally took this seriously." Zek had no idea where she went. He started walking around, looking inside the bushes.

"Hehe." Gina couldn’t help but give a satisfied smile. She was going to be done with this dumb game and go back to study. She kept her smile until she noticed two wizards watching her from the hallway on the second floor.

Her face turned red and the palms of her hands began to sweat. They probably thought she was messing with the tree on purpose or being a silly child. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so embarrassed. The sweat made her grip loose and she fell on top of a bush.

It wasn’t very high, so she didn’t get hurt, but Zek heard the noise and went to the bush. He pushed the leaves and saw the girl stuck like a stick.

"Oh, there you are. What was that noise? Did you fall from somewhere?" He looked around and saw a couple of apprentices. He gave them a friendly look, and they bowed with respect.

"Uh... can we go back to studying please?" She was still red as a tomato, but she didn’t have more energy to entertain the silly games.

"Very well, this should be enough for today."

Everyday was full of randomness and silly games. Gina tried her best to entertain Zek and go along with the activities. But after two weeks, her spirit was exhausted. Her magic studies began to decline, and during the games she only followed orders like a doll with no will.

I think she has reached her breaking point. He was impressed. He expected her to complain or throw a tantrum like children are supposed to do, but Gina kept it all bottled up. This reaction was more appropriate for an adult being overworked than a child. Still, she refused to say she felt wrong or tired.

"Gina, come here."

"Yes… Master… Sorry, I’m still working on the book of light magic theory…"

"Take the day free. You can go rest for now."

"B-but I feel fine!"

"Let me finish. You’re going to take today and tomorrow to recover and study on your own. Because in two days, I’m going to make a test for you. If you pass it, I’ll grant you any wish."

"A wish?"

"Or a request if that makes it easier to understand. But only if you pass the test. Go to rest, then study hard tomorrow." He could see the sparkle inside her eyes after he made the promise.

Maybe this will keep her motivated. I hope she doesn’t ask for longer lessons or something like that, uf…. Maybe I shouldn’t have said any wish.

After two days, Gina was ready to take the test. Her eyes were filled with determination and anticipation. She answered the questions with ease and moved between the scrolls. The last question was a practical activity where she had to cast all the basic spells of Light magic she could in a row.

Zek was the subject, and he was sitting in the middle of the room while Gina cast spells on him. He could feel the magic as he looked at the answers and put a small circle indicating if they were good.

"Haa.. [Calm]" she was out of mana. six spells in total. It was amazing for a child; it was beyond anything he had seen in his whole life.

Zek's ability to use magic was considered a blessing by the gods. But when compared to someone like Gina, who still wasn’t 10 years old, it was like comparing a tree with a mountain. He knew about elite warriors and magic users in the world. The leaders of the Demi human Council, the elite Black Order of the Nation of Los. If one looks beyond the human-like creatures, the Skulltras, a giant insectoid species in the north with their ice powers and the dragons of the Draconic Empire, there are many other species that hide in the shadows or individuals that live by their own codes, like the assassins of The Hand. This world was full of strong people, and Gina could very well become one of those who reached the peak.

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"100 percent correct. Congratulations Gina. You pass the test."

"Then I can ask for anything?"

"Uh... yes, if you want to stop making you play with me, I understand."

"Can I see Master teach his main class?"

"What?"

"I want to see how Master Zek does a class with the apprentices."

"Is that all? You aren’t going to ask me to stop bothering you?"

"It does bother me a little having to play all the time, but it is really important to you, I can do it occasionally. I'd rather see you in a real magic class. After all, that’s the reason I came here."

My my, this child is too nice… Wait, was she planning this, so I feel bad about having to force her to play? I would feel terrible after making her go through all these loops, only to return to the same routine of forcing her to play. He wasn’t sure, but he was in check. He didn’t know what else to do, and since she was already annoyed with him, it was time to throw in the towel.

"I have some exams tomorrow with my class. You can go there and see the evaluation. Is that good enough?"

"Yes!"

***

Gina came early as she waited with excitement for Zek to arrive. She was finally going to see his serious side. Before coming here, she learned all about the Great wizards of Rabase. They were the pinnacle of magic study, inventors and masters of the arcane. When she heard she was going to learn directly under one of them, she prepared for rigorous and hard training.

Although Zek was knowledgable, he was very relaxed, and the classes weren’t very hard. She was a bit disappointed. He thinks I’m just a child, but now I can see his real methods. Maybe if I show him I’m prepared, he would consider teaching me like a proper disciple.

"Sorry, have you been waiting too much?"

"No, is fine. I’m ready to learn."

She followed him to a classroom on the east side of the building. Once Zek opened the gate, she saw as the nine students present stood from their seats and bowed to him.

"Good morning, Master!" They all salute at the same time.

"Good morning, apprentices. Today we have a guest. This young lady is Gina Adler. She will be watching your performance as you present your achievements from the last eight months. She’s just going to watch and maybe ask questions if she is curious, but I’m still the one that is going to judge your work today."

"Yes!" once again all responded at the same time.

Gina felt like a fish out of water. The way Zek talked to them now was nothing like the way he talked to her. Right now, Zek was focused and commanding. His eyes were patient but also stern. They looked at her for a moment, but she froze like a rabbit facing a predator.

"Where do you want to sit?" Zek's eyes became kinder and his voice went back to the familiar tone he used with her.

"I-I’m fine anywhere."

"Then how about the first-row seat. You can ask me or my students any question."

"O...Understood." She took a seat and watched as the apprentices came one by one.

Unlike her classes, Zek was serious and judged every single aspect of the students. A young man walked forward and began to cast defensive spells on Zek, one after the other. Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen...

"Keep going! You still have mana inside you!"

"Yes, Master!" The man's eyes became bloodshot as he pushed more mana. He was sweating, and his legs shook until they gave up. Even though he was kneeling on the ground, he had his hands forward, attempting to cast more magical spells.

Struggling to breathe, the young man managed to cast spell number twenty and then collapsed. Zek looked at him and gave him two words. "Good work."

Those words were enough to make the man cry, not of despair or sadness. He was ecstatic. Being recognized and passing Zek's test made him cry tears of pure joy.

It was a bizarre and scary situation. Gina could only watch in awe as the man dragged himself to his seat and Zek called for the next apprentice.

Gina was a novice. Any of these apprentices were ahead of her with only half of what Zek was asking them to do.

Through efforts and tears they managed to pass the test and cry of happiness after hearing the words. "Good work."

Only two of the apprentices end up failing. The one that stuck with Gina was the alchemist. A man who presented three potions. Zek walked to the potions, and before even touching the first one, he rejected it.

"You distilled it too much, the color is too light." He moved to the second one and did the same.

He finally took the last potion and opened the cork, smelling the insides before putting it away.

"A greater healing potion is supposed to be used in extreme cases. This one has too many willow tears. If you don’t calculate the dosage well enough, you can end up killing the person instead of saving them. You failed Emur."

The man cried for his failure, but Zek wasn’t done.

"Raise your head, Emur! Success only exists because there is a chance for failure. Don’t throw your talent and experience away because of a single failure. You can become one of the best alchemists in this country."

"Yes... sniff... Master."

The exams were done, and Zek took Gina back to her personal classroom.

"Mmm, I feel like that should be good enough for today, but maybe you want to practice a bit more."

"Master... I’m being a burden to you?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

"The reason you don’t treat me like your other students is because you think I’m a child, isn’t it? You can’t teach me properly. I can’t say I disagree. I got scared when you were evaluating them. I’m sorry for wasting your time."

"Stop Gina. Look at me." She was looking to the side. She felt ashamed of looking him in the eyes.

"There is no shame in being young. The reason I'm giving you special treatment is because I don’t want you to lose your childhood."

"My childhood?"

"I know that I sound like an old man preaching like those on the Faith. But there may be a day when you become a strong person, a lot of people will look up to you, and you’ll oversee many things. Someday your heart will look back into your memories for a time where you could relax and be yourself, no the High Priestess apprentice or other title, just Gina Adler, the person."

Zek walked to the other side of the desk and took a doll. It was handmade and with clothes that looked expensive. Gina could tell that it cost a lot to make.

"I have no children, so I’m sorry if it's not to your liking."

Gina took the doll and started to cry. Why? She tried really hard to think. The last time she got a toy as a present was when she was still living in the orphanage before she got recruited into the Faith. It was so silly and yet she couldn’t hold back her tears.

"Sniff... Thank you, Master."

From that day, Gina was the one to ask to play with Zek.