Episode 10.1

Raven gestured that he couldn't help me and that I was on my own. In response, I just nodded at him and placed the wooden sword on the ground. Observing my classmates, I wondered how they are able to use their hands to cast such a heavy sword in the air. Two of their fingers are raised while holding the sword. After some seconds, the weapon flies in the open air. I tried looking around to see what others were doing and saw that they were creating different spells and gestures to fly the weapon.

I darted my eyes in Raven's direction and saw that he confidently cast a spell using the a-hole spell gesture. He aimed in the direction of his wooden sword and lightning suddenly surrounded it. Raven also concentrated to try and control his inner power to achieve a proper balance. He grinned victoriously when it finally flew. He excitingly jumped on the sword while holding on to it dearly. While flying, he is still trying to balance himself and the weapon.

I took a deep breath and looked down at the floor where my sword is. As I muttered weakly and frowned, I said, "I wish I could fly like them, but I can't even carry it."

“Aiyyaa~ Mother, you can do it! Fighting!” Snow White cheered for me. Her small chiming voice made my hopes get high up. I smiled and started composing myself.

Alright. Let’s do it. I let out a deep breath and I rolled up the sleeves of my uniform. I also mimicked how they cast a spell using a hand gesture. I concentrated and put all of my energy on it.

"Ahh..." I growled while my face was crumbling. I am forcing the sword to fly high up in the air but it’s so exhausting. I’m also losing all of my energy by just trying to push myself on trying to cast a spell. My knees trembled and I fell on the floor. I ended up sitting down and ruffling my hair. “I can’t do this anymore! I am losing my strength!” I said while giving up. This does not make sense. Why can they do it so effortlessly, but for me it is so difficult?

I ruffled my hair once again and scowled. Why is it so difficult for me to cast a spell? Why am I so untalented at this? I can’t even learn how to cast just a single spell! I badly wanted to cry!

“All of you will only be given a week to learn how to control your swords and fly.” I am distracted when Professor Duke speaks. I sniffed and tried to stop the tears from falling. He continued, "Those who fail will not move on to the next stage," and my eyes watered even more. Wahhh¬. I need to learn all this in just a week!

After the tiring series of classes, we are now in our room. My entire body is tired, but I am still wide awake while pretending to be asleep. I am waiting for Raven to be deep in slumber so that I can sneak out of the academy. I haven’t had the chance to do it earlier. All day long, I was trying to control and make my sword fly. I am also certain that I am of the lowest rank in our class. Not only because I don’t know how to use magic, but also because I always get scolded by the professors. I don’t know anything about our lessons and I surely look stupid.

I got out of my blanket and spared Raven a glance. As I look at him from the other side, I see that he is deeply asleep and snugly wrapped in his thick blanket. I slowly leave my bed and make sure not to make any sound. I grab my shoulder bag under my pillow and tiptoe silently out of the room. I grin widely when I am outside. Finally!

I pull the map out of my bag. I drew it before and honestly, it looks ridiculous. But despite that, I understand it quite well. “Eh, what’s the meaning of this baby wolf— is this a wolf or a cat?” I scratched the back of my head. “Where is the back and the front yard?” I asked while observing the map. Ah! Never mind! I will just climb the wall. Right. That’s better. Plus, there’s a lesser chance of anyone catching me if I do that option.

I put the map back in my bag and look at both sides to see if there was someone roaming around. I smiled widely when I discovered there weren't any— I immediately ran to hide at the back of a huge cherry blossom tree when I spotted a group of students checking. Goodness! I hope they won't see me.

I hold my chest and feel my heart beating so fast. I am so nervous! When they were nowhere to be found, I exhaled and let go of the breath I'd been holding for minutes. “That’s so scary. "I almost got caught," I said while struggling to breathe. I looked in the direction of where they were heading and didn’t see a single trace of them. They disappeared. Thank goodness!

Then I started roaming my eyes and looking for a place where I could climb. I see that the tree has vines and rush towards it. I grabbed onto the vines and started climbing. Unfortunately, after several seconds of trying, I fell to the ground. I hissed when my butt hit the ground. I also growled because of the pain.

But this won’t stop me. I immediately stand up and fix myself. No. This won’t do. I can do this. In Raevisia, I always climbed different trees and I never fell. This tree is trying me. I rolled up my sleeves and tried again to climb up. I’m hugging the tree and at the same time, I am pulling myself up. With the help of the vine, I am able to raise my body. Am— almost there. Gotcha! I held on to the length of the stem and pulled myself up to successfully climb on top. The tree is also located near the wall, and it walks through the branches to get to it. I balanced myself until I reached the wall. I stretch my legs to reach it and let go of the branch as I jump.

I managed to sneak in after passing. While I was on my way to find my savior, I saw four maidens that were wearing the same blue hanfu dresses. They are having a conversation about someone. My eyes widened when I heard that it was about a white-haired man they are gossiping about. I tried to listen closely and focus on their conversation.

Have you really seen the white long-haired man who went to the Astraea Heavenly Palace? Didn’t Emperor Alois live there?—”

I didn’t listen to their story anymore and immediately went to the place they said. According to them, he is a very handsome man with long white hair. My eyes sparkled with joy. He is definitely my savior! Finally, after several weeks of searching! I found him!

I can now repay him!