Talia placed her hands on the disc and felt the Mana inside surge against her palms. She closed her eyes, activated [Eyes of the Abyss], and concentrated. The paths inside the disc were indeed very thin, thinner than she had expected.

She pushed her Mana into the disc, trying to create suction. Nothing happened at first. She frowned and pushed harder. A trickle of Mana leaked through, barely enough to form a drop of water. This wasn't going to work.

"You're being too gentle," Keahi's voice came from beside her. He had moved closer to her for some reason.

Talia opened her eyes and glared at him.

"I didn't ask."

"You need to be more aggressive," he continued, ignoring her annoyance. "Think of it like blood pumping through constricted veins. You need pressure."

She wanted to tell him to mind his own business, but he had already extracted Mana from his disc. Maybe he did know what he was talking about. Talia closed her eyes again and imagined her blood flowing through narrowed vessels. She pushed her Mana harder, creating pressure against the disc's pathways.

Pain shot through her arms. The sensation was like needles being driven into her flesh. But this time, Mana flowed. She managed to draw out enough to form a small sphere of water above her palm.

"Better," Professor Iakopo said as he passed by. "But you're still holding back. All of you are."

The professor stopped in the middle of the group. "Think about how it feels when you're desperate for air. When your lungs are burning, you will do anything to breathe. That's how much you need to want this Mana. Your body has to crave it."

Talia thought about being underwater, about the burning in her chest before she'd learned to breathe water. She channeled that desperate need into her Mana and also activated [Blood Confluence] to help her with the pain—the Skill helped her make use of her vitality, which in turn dampened the hurt.

But even with [Blood Confluence] active, as she increased the pressure, she felt a terrifying burning shoot through her palms, her wrists, her arms, and reaching her core.

However, now more Mana flowed, and the sphere of water grew.

"Interesting approach," Keahi said. He had moved closer again, studying her results. "You're using Blood Confluence to enhance the flow."

"Stop bothering me," Talia snapped. His constant attention was making it hard to concentrate.

"Just making conversation," he said with a grin. "Though I have to admit, watching you work is fascinating."

Before Talia could respond, Professor Iakopo called out.

"Enough chatter. Focus on your own training."

“Remember,” Keahi said before moving away, “Blood Water users have more vitality than normal. That means we can push more Mana at once because even if we get damaged, we can heal faster.”

Talia opened her mouth to berate him but then just considered his words.

He’s not saying anything that I didn’t know, but I hadn’t considered that.

Talia had been partially holding back because of the pain. The pain was a natural reaction of the body that simply signaled to someone how close they were to their actual breaking point. No one should have pushed much further than their own body felt comfortable.

Well, no one but Talia.

She glanced in the direction of Keahi, who was extracting Mana at a scary pace. However, his arms, neck, and even the skin on his chest, which she could see from his semi-open vest, were all red. His veins pulsed, purplish, enlarged, and angry.

Talia looked at her own slender arms and smirked.

He’s good. But watch this.

This time, Talia started pushing beyond the pain, beyond what any sane person, including a Blood Water practitioner, should have.

Talia pushed harder. The pain exploded through her arms like liquid fire. She gritted her teeth and kept going.

The sphere of water above her palm swelled rapidly. It grew larger than Keahi's. Her veins bulged grotesquely under her skin, turning a deep purple-black. The burning sensation spread from her arms to her chest.

Blood trickled from her nose, then her ears. The other students had stopped to watch. Even Keahi's constant smirk had faded as he observed her with those piercing blue eyes.

Talia’s own eyes, shining and magnetic, seemed to shine brighter.

The pain intensified. Talia's vision blurred. The sphere of water wobbled dangerously as her control slipped. But she refused to stop. Her skin cracked, and a few veins ruptured, creating hematomas below the skin.

But she could feel that the thick disk, too, was at the end of its rope. She couldn’t stop now.

The sphere grew larger, now beyond the size of her head, approaching the length of a watermelon.

She felt even the gums in her mouth hurt and blood trickling from her mouth and nose now as if it was an open faucet.

But right when she felt the pressure starting to get to her—

The disk exploded with a loud bang.

Talia’s body was pierced in several spots, and only Professor Iakopo’s insanely fast reactions allowed him to erect a Mana barrier in the millisecond it took for the shrapnel to travel toward the other students, confining the damage to Talia.

Talia gurgled blood but smiled like a madman when she saw the consternated expression on Keahi’s face, going as far as winking at him as she slowly pulled out the pieces of the disk from her abdomen and chest.

A sharp piece of shrapnel had even pierced her cheek, and it looked quite gory when she removed it, leaving a small hole in its place.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

However, her vitality was soon at work, her wounds slowly knitting themselves back together.

Two notifications rang in her head.

[Your training has paid off!]

[+2 to your Charisma]

"Interesting approach," Keahi said, suddenly beside her.

Keanu, who had been watching her and Keahi exchange quips during Iakopo’s lesson, frowned.

He had come later than usual, not accompanying Talia since he had to communicate with his people back home and make arrangements for their trip. He had also not followed Talia when she had said she would have gone explore on her own in the Siren’s Passages, despite his protests.

After overhearing what Talia and Kehai had said to each other, Keanu had finally pieced together that she had met this guy while exploring the sirens’ passages. There was something sly about Kehai, or at least so it seemed to him. Plus, Keanu wasn’t comfortable letting this guy come out of nowhere and get so close to Talia when he, more than anyone else, knew how valuable Talia’s friendship and alliance were. He suspected that the young man was there just to curry favor with her.

However, knowing that Talia didn’t like when Keanu got overly worried about her, he simply gritted his teeth and focused on his own disk. If he had gone over and asked how she was doing or if everything was alright, she would have taken it the wrong way. So Keanu just steamed up his own worries and observed the two.

Talia, completely oblivious to Keanu’s preoccupation, turned to Professor Iakopo, who had just dropped the shield made of mana, and checked on her.

“Impressive,” the man said with a raised eyebrow and a poorly disguised smile. “Very impressive, but that was the best disc I had. So, it will take a couple of days to craft a better device. I suspect we’ll have to go with something more stationary. Disks are convenient, but if you plan on using oil power, considering your recent increase in charisma, you will need something sturdier.”

Talia nodded and gave one last glance to Kehai before telling the professor that she was going to get changed. Everyone stared in awe at the Kraken-slayer’s daughter, who had just destroyed a disc much more powerful and resilient than their own.

The next day, Talia found Keanu waiting for her outside her door with his arms crossed and a sulkier expression than usual. They were bound for the only other class she was taking for the year: World History. And her companion seemed weirdly upset at her.

“What’s wrong?” Talia asked. They had spent enough time together that she knew something was up.

“I don’t like that guy,” Keanu said. “A lot of people will look forward to exploiting your position. You shouldn’t trust him, especially because he comes from a noble family.”

“He does?” Talia said, raising an eyebrow. She had spent most of the previous day alone, recuperating from the injuries she had caused herself, so she hadn’t had time to ask who Kehai was.

“I’ve gathered information,” Keanu stated with a straight face. “The Kahulu family is a great family who fell apart about fifteen years ago. Their latest chosen uncle caused a blood feud in their ranks, and they haven’t recovered since. The city they live in is still mostly in shambles. Think of Placid City right after the catastrophe without Professor Iakopo there to prop it up.”

Talia raised an eyebrow. “This Kehai,” she said with disdain, “was a potential chosen. However, he didn’t have the resources to nurture him and allow him to grow stronger. He might be interested in swaying you his way, Talia, to get a shot at reclaiming his position and restoring the glory of his family.”

Talia listened to the information and nodded along. “Do you think I’m stupid?” she asked.

The young man was stumped by the question. “What? No, of course not,” he replied. “Why would you even ask?”

“You think I would let this guy take advantage of me just because he is, what, handsome?” Talia asked with a wrinkled forehead.

Keanu stuttered. “Well...”

“Well, what?” Talia said. “I have not revealed anything to him. I have barely talked to him. I understand that Nami and Fiora like to joke and that the Water Ball might make this a good occasion for people to start speculating, but I have other priorities. I don’t care about them, and neither should you. But thanks for gathering this information. At least now I know to keep my guard up.”

Keanu nodded, relieved that Talia had had a very rational response and that she trusted him. As they started walking out of Professor Iakopo’s school and took one of the small boats to reach another part of the lagoon where the lesson would be held, Talia couldn’t help but ask, “Have you thought about who you’re going to ask for the Water Ball?”

Keanu, who had been steering the vessel, almost dropped the long wooden paddle. He looked embarrassed.

“Nami said that if she was a man, her family would have forced her to ask me out,” Talia said. “Would your family do the same with you?”

“They might have mentioned that a romantic union would cement my position at your side. But I am not just the tool of my family, Talia.”

“I know, I know,” Talia said, raising her hands. “And no offense, I’m not interested in going to the Water Ball with my shield anyway.”

“Yeah, I know,” Keanu said stiffly. “So, did you have anyone else in mind other than me?”

Talia knew that Keanu was very sincere when it came to their partnership. He had come to the academy for her, which wasn’t much different from the other nobles, and even Nami and Lilo tried to approach her for status. But Keanu demonstrated a loyalty to her that went beyond what his family had asked of him. Plus, they were united in sharing secrets about Keanu’s heritage and Talia’s own powers that no one else in their circle aside from Professor Iakopo knew.

“I don’t know,” Keanu said defensively.

“You don’t?” Talia said, seeing that Keanu was clearly getting embarrassed. “You look like you gave it some thought. Who is it? Fiora? Nami?”

Keanu frowned when Talia mentioned those names. “Nami is a noble, Talia,” Keanu said matter-of-factly. “I don’t mingle with nobles unless it’s required of me. I know you trust them. I know you trust the Moana sisters, but I trust no noble, not after what they did to my people.”

Talia grimaced. Whenever nobles came up, Keanu’s reaction would always be the same. “Alright, alright. What about Fiora?”

“Fiora’s character is a little...” Keanu’s voice trailed off.

“I guess you and her have very different characters,” Talia nodded with a frown. Wait,” she said, her eyes widening. “Could it be Agale?”

This time, Keanu didn’t say anything. He averted his gaze, and his lips became a thin line.

“It is Agale!” Talia smiled widely. “By the Deep, that’s a good match, actually. So , do you plan on asking her out?”

Keanu rubbed his face and shook his head. “Apparently, the tradition for the Water Ball is to ask the girl directly at the ball. Men lay a blue rose in front of the person they’re interested in. And if the girl is interested, they pick up the rose of the person they want to dance with, leaving the others on the ground to be trampled by the rest of the people there.”

“Oh wow, I didn’t know that,” Talia said.

“I just found out yesterday myself,” Keanu shrugged.

“Interesting tradition. Very noble-like,” Talia said.

“They do like trampling on people,” Keanu commented dryly.

“Well, I think Agalei is a good match for you. You should ask her out.” Agaleiand Keanu had the same calm, reserved energy, and she was a very sweet girl. Talia could have never seen Fiora, with her fiery character, working out alongside Keanu.

Soon, they arrived at the island where the World History lesson would be held. They tied the small boat at the docks and made their way to a peculiar building. Most buildings in the academy were large and quite majestic. This one, however, was a single house. It wasn’t a complex. It wasn’t a real building. It was just a house.

Talia looked around and saw no student in sight. Usually, the popular courses would be followed by hundreds of students. Hell, if Professor Iakopo had allowed school members to attend his lessons, his own class might have swelled to north of 300 students. She saw a wisp of smoke coming out of the chimney of the house and wondered if maybe there were students already inside.

As Talia and Keanu approached the house, the door swung open before they could knock. A man with wild gray hair and a long, unkempt beard emerged, wearing what appeared to be a robe made of different colored fabrics.

"Ah! The Kraken Slayer's daughter and her shield!" the man exclaimed, his eyes twinkling behind round spectacles. "Right on time! Or perhaps early? Or late? Time is such a peculiar thing, wouldn't you agree?"

Talia was extremely weirded out by the man, but his next words shocked them both.

“A Kaimoro and a half-blood,” he smiled as Mana pooled around his eyes, so dense it was visible to the two students. “This is going to be a very interesting lesson.”