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She felt whole again! As she walked from training towards the cafeteria, several large stones spun around her in complex patterns. What a wonderful difference a simple word made. The difference between [Telekinesis] and [Advanced Telekinesis] was enormous. In hindsight, the first one was a toy. The latter one could be used as a real weapon. She hadn’t even realized how much she had been struggling with simple things like this, trying to just brute-force them with enough Power and Control, when in reality what had been necessary was for the Skill to evolve. She’d been fooled by the fact that some of her Skills already functioned well as is, but Telekinesis just wasn’t one of them.
[Energy Control] was another such Skill. Electrokinesis had been somewhat useful and had allowed her to control lightning to a certain extent, but the undeniable fact was that the Skill had mostly been used to boost her [Destructor] to become more powerful. Now she could achieve the effect of [Destructor] with just [Energy Control], though in return [Destructor] had evolved into a wide area Skill called [Psionic Storm]. That was the difference between general Skills and specific abilities like [Destructor]. The Specific abilities achieved the power of an evolved Skill but were narrowly tailored.
She also got a stark reminder of why evolving Classes was so important to people. Her two Classes being so strong from the very beginning had hidden that point to some extent as many of her Skills were already so strong, but now she had been reminded. That and the double stats of course.
Her self-reflection was cut short as another student approached her. “Student Seraphia?” The older student asked politely but curtly.
“I am, yes. What’s this about?” She replied.
“I have been given a message to pass on to you.” The older female student pulled out a small magical token, which she proffered to Seraphiel.
“From whom?” Seraphiel asked a bit surprised while taking the token.
“One of the teachers. That’s all I know.” The girl gave a polite nod and suddenly ran off to continue whatever she was doing.
The small badge on the girl’s uniform had signified her as a part of a club that carried messages. Everyone was supposed to be part of a club, though in the case of new students like Seraphiel that restriction was somewhat loosened. And in her case, she was part of Mahora’s team, so she was covered.
The Messenger Club wasn’t just for fun and exercise, as it was preparation for the future. The members all had thoughts of becoming messengers in the future, and the club helped prepare them with ways to get and train Skills related to the work. One might think that with access to so much magic and technology, old-fashioned messengers would become obsolete, but it was the opposite. With so many ways to intercept any and all messages, messengers were perhaps old-fashioned, but they were reliable. And with the right Skills, very fast.
The Messenger Club wasn't the only one of its like. There were many clubs focused on gaining and training certain Skills in preparation for the future. Some were combat-focused, like several dedicated dueling clubs, but since they all saw quite a bit of combat training already, the clubs focused on more niche Skills and professions. There were clubs for almost everything, ranging from cooking clubs to political clubs, and all the way to clubs that used their Charisma stat in rather illicit ways.
She squeezed the token enough to break it and heard the message recorded within. A simple invitation from her mother to join her for dinner in one of the diners outside the academy grounds. The invitation was quite timely, likely on purpose, and she had no reason to refuse, so she made a small adjustment to the direction she was walking and arrived at the diner a few minutes later. Her mother was already present, selecting her dish from the menu presented.
“Sephy.” Her mother greeted her happily. The two hadn’t seen each other all that often since starting at Mahora.
She gave a small snort. “Not you too, Ophelia.” She emphasized her mother’s chosen name here at the academy. “I get quite enough of that from my brother, thank you very much.”
“Can’t just let your mother indulge once in a while?” Her mother asked playfully. A little too playfully.
"I believe indulging is all you're doing." Seraphiel retorted, gesturing towards the huge ice cream dish that coincidentally was placed in front of the older woman.
"Hey, you need to indulge once in a while," Ophiel stated shamelessly. "Something you'd do well to remember. I know you've been training even harder here at the academy than back home, and that's an achievement, mind you." She gestured towards Seraphiel with her spoon.
"I was…recently reminded of that fact, yes," Seraphiel admitted reluctantly.
“I can imagine. Our guides can vary wildly, but from the very little I gathered of yours, he’s not above pushing you to relax and have a little fun. And remember, the guides are the representation of the System, so they know best.” Odd that she should know about that.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Seraphiel’s eyes narrowed a bit. “Luci put you up to this, didn’t he?”
Ophiel averted her gaze a little too quickly. “I have no idea what you might be referring to. Anyway, remember to have some indulgence as well. I realize that I might not be the best role model in that regard with everything that happened with your brother, but…”
“I believe we’ve been over this. I don’t blame you for such things, and I’ve not heard Raziel say a word in that direction either.” She shot that topic down really quickly.
“You’re right. It’s far too nice a day for a pity party.” Her mother seemed to perk up and take another bite of her luxurious treat. “Do order something nice, it’s on me.”
“I would expect so, since you’re the one who invited me.” And she did order something nice. “That does bring us to the why, of course.” She also realized that she still hadn’t been paid by the Academy for services rendered. She’d have to contact Chachamaru for that.
Ophiel was quiet for a moment, considering her words carefully. “My family has heard word of your recent success at the events between academies. Congratulations on said success by the way. And congratulations on your Class evolution. I trust you got something nice. Anyway, your recent success should be enough for my family to overlook the fact that you’re essentially the Angelic equivalent of a bastard, as well as my practical exile from the family. They’re going to try to make contact in the near future.”
The very deliberate way Ophiel emphasized ‘her family’ implied heavily that Seraphiel should not consider them as such. “I’m going to take a wild guess. You don’t think it a good idea to accept their overtures?”
“Depends. Do you have political ambitions? Because if you do, then making contact with the family would certainly be a great idea. They can also offer resources and connections. But they aren’t the type to offer such things for free. You would have to earn your place. In most situations that would be fair enough, but in a family?” Ophiel just shook her head with clear disappointment. “I’m not telling you not to meet with them. Just to be careful. They’ll have some demand, likely about choosing some specific second Class.”
Seraphiel frowned a bit. “That seems a little odd. The second Class is really important for someone’s development.”
"Oh, I'm not saying they'd have you choose a bad Class. In fact, they'll likely offer to help you fulfill the conditions for a really good and rare one. Good and rare for someone else. In your case, though…" She shrugged. Seraphiel had access to very different Classes from a normal Angel thanks to her past. "It's meant to be an enticement, not a burden. They think they can buy you by offering power. And in return, they purchase conformity and a hand in your development, while also having you owe them. That's how their games are played. Favors for future favors and loyalty. Of course, the Class wouldn’t be quite as good as whatever the heirs of the family have.”
“Theoretically giving them a leg up over me in power.” She realized immediately.
"Obviously won't apply in your case, but that's the idea. Besides, they're not really against someone from a branch family proving themselves worthy and gaining a prestigious position. If that member works for it and can achieve it, they’ve proven their worth. The family aren’t fools, and merit always trumps direct relations. That’s why they’re showing interest in you after all. That said, the heirs will have the best opportunities, training, and resources to excel.” Ophiel explained.
“Humm. I might meet them out of curiosity, but I don’t really have much interest in playing Angel politics. I have bigger fish to fry.” She stated non-committaly.
“And from what you’ve told me, you also have other connections. On that note, I have some other news as well. Us teachers hear things. The headmaster has managed to wrangle a really large tournament to take place at the end of the academic year. I think some of your old allies might be in attendance.” Ophiel suddenly got a somewhat sneaky look.
Seraphiel’s eyes narrowed. “And what would you know?”
“Hey, we’ve lived together for two decades. You’re not as subtle as you seem to think. You’ve dropped several hints. Besides, once you told me about your Draenei life, I might have done some research of my own. Wasn’t too difficult to find some similar stories.” Ophiel grinned.
“Uh-huh. And who exactly is coming to that tournament that you think I know?” She asked suspiciously.
“Would I really spoil the surprise now?” Ophiel asked innocently.
“Ah-hah! Lucifer is feeding you information, isn’t he?” Seraphiel recognized the teasing of the System disguised as her brother.
“I can’t confirm or deny.” Ophiel shamelessly stated.
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As she attended lessons, Seraphiel quickly realized just how badly she was outpacing her classmates. Not only was she training harder, but she was also benefitting from visits to Eva's resort and the experience from the tournaments. Not only was she the only freshman student that had gotten their first Class evolution, but the closest one to it still had over ten levels to go. And that was without considering the difference in stats. The teachers had also noted the difference, as with her skill with weapons she might as well be one of the teachers when it came to the other students. The teachers of course were grossly stronger than her still, but to the other students that didn’t matter.
"And that's why there's really no point in keeping you in class with the others," Kaede explained as she'd taken her and Raziel to the resort again.
"You're certainly outpacing me as well." Raziel pointed out as well. "It took me a little over a year to get my first Class evolution, and I was in the relatively fast group."
"In fairness, you were level 2 when you came to Mahora, while many other students were already in the double digits when they started." Kaede patted him on the shoulder, showing that she remembered him. "You've done well in your time here, and I'm quite certain that you'll be able to reach the rank of 4th-level student at the end of the year.”
“Oh, I’m not feeling bad about that. I’m already outpacing my friends thanks to this training. Sephy’s just Sephy.” Raziel replied cheerily. He’d gotten used to being outpaced by his sister.
“A healthy attitude.” Kaede looked at her again. “Usually when someone reaches their Class evolution, we arrange for them to get some real-life training against real monsters. On the other hand, we don’t allow such training for 1st-level students, so you’re a bit of a conundrum. The headmaster also doesn’t want to give any reason for the other academies to protest and have you moved up into the next category of competitors.”
Seraphiel chuckled. “Eva’s being Eva again.”
“Indeed. Evangeline-dono is having one of those days again.” Kaede allowed a small smile as well. “So, along those lines, I suggest we focus on training on the Skills you’ve mostly neglected so far, or Skills that you’ve picked up after the evolution. Did you gain any new Skill slots by combining Skills?”
“I did. One Class Skill that’s already filled, and one General Skill slot. I also still have some Social Skill slots free from before.
Raziel snorted. “Of course you do.”
“Is the Class Skill something you can train here?” Kaede questioned.
“It’s the time-equivalent of [Electrokinesis], [Chronomancy].” She grinned a bit, causing both her brother and Kaede to whistle a bit.
"This is a very early level to have any Skills to do with time. Though, I suppose it makes sense with your Class. Seers are intrinsically tied to time after all." The teacher thought for a moment. "I've never dealt with the psionic version of time control. How does it differ from time magic?"
That was a good question. "Less casting time and the effects tend to be more localized and shorter in effect. A lot of slowing down your enemy and speeding up yourself, as opposed to large rituals that affect an entire area."
“Hmm, so more combat application and less general purpose. I assume it’s going to be heavy on power usage?” Kaede questioned.
“Very. I’ve tested it a couple of times, and it’s my largest Psi point hog by a long shot. Drives my Tolerance to the limits as well. I assume the costs will go down as the Skill level increases though.” She explained.
“Ok. Then I think I’ll be tossing a lot of small objects at you that you’re going to be trying to slow down.” Seraphiel wasn’t sure she liked the look on the instructor’s face at that.