It's Different

Aena's thoughts raced as she faced Cassidy's question. To answer or not to answer…

"Ah, Yes," Aena replied. She had already acquired notes from Emmy, and there was a good chance that Cassidy had some semblance of what she was asking about. If Aena said no, it would be rude to decline if Cassidy was just offering her help.

"I, um, missed the previous few days so I need some notes," Aena said, making eye contact. Cassidy already knew what had transpired—she was there at the occurrence after all.

"I see." Cassidy nodded and instantly tapped on her tablet to send her notes over.

Aena was surprised at how easy it was. Did she really not care? Usually, competition was fierce among the students, with even less leeway for commoners.

'I'll just gratefully accept it then," Aena thought.

"Thank you," Aena said, her face full of genuine gratitude.

Cassidy turned her eyes to the side and just made a small noise in acknowledgment.

"Mmmm."

Aena smiled. Was this girl embarrassed? It certainly was a new reaction for her. Usually, if she interacted with someone—which was not often—she wasn't exactly treated kindly.

The better ones preferred to avoid her; the worse jealous girls made underhanded remarks and spread malicious rumors about her behind her back.

Most boys simply chose to either stay away in order to not earn the wrath of those girls or were simply too intimidated by her reputation or status to approach her.

It was actually a miracle that Emmy had even willingly befriended her despite Aena's background, which she most definitely knew. Aena would be sure to treasure her, the first friend she had in a while.

Aena spent the rest of their free time completing her work. Emmy left her alone, probably conscious of the fact that she was quite busy. Aena was luckily able to concentrate on her work in peace, although the grace period would only last until she was done. When that happened, who knew what kind of assault Emmy would onslaught Aena with?

Aena had to admit that Cassidy's notes were worthy of being named one of the top students. They were exquisitely detailed and clearly explained every concept. They even included additional notes—maybe even more useful than the instructor's notes themselves.

Her handwriting was also impeccably graceful, the paragon of expert penmanship. It was simply a pleasure to read the flowing words and behold the delicate strokes. Although typing and speech-to-text options were available and more efficient in comparison, the habit had still not been lost in the new era.

"Beautiful," Aena whispered audibly, marveling at Cassidy's notes.

Unbeknownst to her, the girl next to her had been secretly paying attention to Aena and overhead what she said. Her expression remained immovable, but what thoughts surged into her head at those words was a mystery.

Time passed in a blur, and after a grueling training outdoors she could already feel the soreness building. Her muscles were tight since she missed the last training, so Spiritual Attunement afterward was a nice relaxing wind-down. The class was very laid-back in general as there weren't any mandatory readings, and she quite liked Instructor Willowsage as well. Not all her instructors treated paid special attention to each pupil as she did.

"Alright class, we'll start off with the same exercise as last time," Instructor Willowsage said, a broad smile decorating her face.

Everyone swiftly grabbed each other's hands with familiar ease and closed their eyes. Spotting Aena, Instructor Willowsage walked over.

"Aena, you were absent last time, but we did mostly the same thing," Instructor Willowsage said warmly.

"I'm sure Cassidy can fill you in on the rest," Instructor Willowsage said, giving Cassidy a look.

Cassidy nodded her head solemnly. Aena just looked at the interaction with confusion—had something happened between them when she wasn't there?

The instructor then moved to advise another group, leaving Aena and Cassidy alone.

Aena looked to the other girl expectantly, waiting compliantly for a recount of the last class.

"Later," Cassidy said brusquely and held out her hand.

Aena looked down at the hand and took it in her own. She shook it.

Cassidy's eyes flashed in amusement, and the corners of her mouth tugged upwards.

"Cassidy Livingstar," she said.

"Eh?" Aena couldn't help but be puzzled. She had shaken the hand out of reflex, but that clearly couldn't be the reason right? Now that she was thinking about it, the girl was probably stretching her hand out to perform mana circulation, the activity they had done last time.

She suddenly felt embarrassed at the action. But Cassidy's teasing was just so unexpected that she couldn't help but be flustered. The gap moe was too much for her.

"Ahem," Aena coughed into her fist and reached out with her other hand, and casually grabbed Cassidys.

"L-Let's just get started,"

Faintly smirking, Cassidy closed her eyes and Aena did the same. In order to get the best results when circulating mana, closing off other senses was necessary in order to direct concentration toward mana sensing.

They could technically keep their eyes open, but it was less productive. Moreover, when anyone fell into deep concentration, their gaze would unfocus. It would be quite creepy if that happened since they would have something akin to dead fish eyes.

This was only Aena's second time trying it since she didn't have a formal education, but she easily grasped the feeling she got the first time and tried directing it into her palms.

For some reason, this time it felt much smoother and easier than the first. 'Maybe the practice is already showing positive effects?' Instructor Willowsage did mention it could improve the quality of mana. Aena continued the activity, motivated by the benefits.

A force suddenly pulled at her hands, and she jolted upright. Aena's head snapped up at the movement, and she tried to shake off the muddling from getting ejected from the tranquil state. Her eyes focusing, she saw that Cassidy was looking at her with astonishment.

Her eyebrows were scrunched up as if she was trying to peer into Aena's very soul.

Cassidy's black eyes roamed over Aena's face, and the sharp gaze made Aena flustered. Aena unconsciously held her breath as Cassidy's gaze remained affixed on her.

"What's wrong?" Aena breathed tentatively. Cassidy finally dragged her gaze upwards to look into her eyes.

"It's different," Cassidy said.

'What's godamn different?!?!? Just say everything at once dammit!!' Aena wanted to scream, but she restrained herself.

"What is this thing… that is different?" Aena said politely.

"Your mana," Cassidy said, still in shock.

"It's different."