Sudden Call

"E~li~jah~"

BUMP!

Starting the morning with something heavy on your body is not something anyone wants. However, Elijah had to feel it that day. And it was all because the elf Elijah had been looking for last night had returned before Elijah opened his eyes.

"Good morning, Elijah!"

"Get out of my way."

After Elijah felt Damian's silliness again after not feeling it for a few days, Elijah felt that what he felt yesterday was absurd. It seemed impossible for him to miss out on the elf, who could only irritate him in every way possible.

Elijah got up from his sitting position, then looked at Damian, who he had successfully pulled from his bed. Elijah was quite surprised when he saw Damian's tired-looking face behind his usual cheerfulness. Elijah was silent for a while. However, after some thought, Elijah finally asked Damian what was on his mind.

"What happened to you?"

Damian was probably tired, very tired indeed. But after hearing Elijah's question, his face looked even brighter than before.

"Are you worried about me?" he asked excitedly. Elijah snorted audibly. Again, he ended up doing something useless.

"I'm not-"

"Being a prince is exhausting, Elijah. Meeting other people's expectations and constantly being compared to your brother. All of that can consume more energy than a day of training."

Even in his homeworld, Elijah was an only child, so he did not know what it was like to have a sibling. However, he knew how exhausting it was to live while carrying the expectations of others. Elijah looked at Damian's suddenly sad expression before resuming his steps to prepare for class.

"Of course, he won't say anything."

Seeing Elijah just leave without comforting him should have been predictable. But when Elijah did it, Damian couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. The elf let out a long breath. But when Elijah suddenly stopped his steps, Damian almost thought it was because Elijah took offense at his sigh.

"Elijah, I-"

"I don't know what else people want from you. You're already strong and great in your own way."

Damian's gaze lit up as if Elijah's words stirred something in his heart. Damian smiled more sincerely after that. As he had expected, returning to the academy was indeed better than remaining in his kingdom.

CLACK!

Elijah did not turn around or add to his words, as he preferred to continue his journey to the bathroom after that. The teenager missed Damian, who was smiling, seemingly in a much better mood after hearing Elijah's words.

***

"As we discussed earlier, magic went through two evolutions since we started having it. The first evolution happened when we already understood the concept of magic to the point that using it felt like breathing. Meanwhile, the second evolution occurs when the magic has merged with the body and becomes part of our own body."

Currently, Elijah was in class, listening to how the professor explained the concept of magic in their world. Since only Elijah could see the levels of the people in that world, it seemed that the inhabitants of the Rhodes Continent had another method to determine when a person's magic would evolve. Elijah had seen some real examples before. In short, magic would evolve once its user reached a certain level in its use.

Once someone reaches magic level 15 in the use of magic, that magic will undergo evolution so that the user can use magic in a form that is different from its basic form. The same thing will happen again when the user reaches level 30. The magic will take its final form and create powerful magic that is completely different from its basic magic.

The example Elijah had seen was the use of fire magic, the most widely used magic on the Rhodes Continent. Someone who managed to reach level 15 fire magic could turn basic fire magic into firebolt and unleash a wall of fire that could scorch all nearby enemies when they reached level 30. Currently, Elijah's fire magic almost reached level 15. That meant it wouldn't be long before he could use firebolt magic or experience the first evolution, according to the people living on the Rhodes Continent.

All magic undergoes the same evolution with the same concept. Listening to the professor's explanation made Elijah impatient to increase the level of magic he had so that his attacks could be more varied in the future.

KNOCK KNOCK!

"Excuse me, is Princess Sofia in this class?"

Another professor entered the classroom in the middle of the lesson and caught the attention of the students, who were listening to their teacher's explanation.

"I'm here, Professor."

Sofia, who was sitting in the front row, stood up to make her presence known. Then, the professor, who was looking for her, nodded and immediately ordered her to leave the classroom.

"Is there something going on?"

Calling a student in the middle of a lesson was not common in the academy, so the professor, who was teaching could not help but ask the professor, who had just arrived.

The other party glanced at the students, who were looking at him curiously before approaching his coworker. "The head of the academy called Princess Sofia to come to his room. I don't know what happened because I was just carrying out his orders," he said in a low voice.

"There's nothing I can do then. Did the Head of the Academy just call her?" the professor asked again. The one being asked nodded confidently. "In that case, thank you for your time, Professor," he said in a normal voice again.

The professor left, and the lesson resumed after that. Although calling someone in the middle of the lesson was not common, the other students did not make too much noise because the one who was called was Sofia, the strongest student in their class and the princess of the human kingdom. The lesson continued normally after that. But halfway through, someone knocked again on their classroom door.

"Sorry to interrupt your time, Professor. The Head of the Academy asked the student named Elijah to go to his room at this time."

Another professor came, and this time his words caused a commotion in the special class. Unlike Sofia, Elijah was just an ordinary student who shouldn't have caught the attention of the Academy Head, who was known to be very busy. None of the students of the special class knew that the Academy Head had harbored a special interest in Elijah from the start, so various speculations began to arise in their minds.

"Elijah, you can come along with Professor to see the Academy Head."

"Alright."

Elijah got up and walked towards the exit while ignoring the other students' whispers about his relationship with Sofia, who had also been summoned to the same place. Although his expression seemed calm, Elijah wondered why the Head of the Academy suddenly called him at the same time as Sofia. Elijah followed the professor, who called him quietly. In this situation, the only one who could answer the question was the person who called him suddenly.