Ch 30: Broader borders [pt1]

"Lea, you missed the class the past few days and are now trying to sleep in class? Come recite the formulas for basic spells and how to perform them."

The children snickered as they watched their teacher picking on Lea.

The spell their teacher had asked Lea to do was universal, but it was not taught until the next year. Anyone who had glanced through the book knew that, but no one spoke up.

They did not want to get on their teacher's wrong side. They all aimed to make it high, and the teachers could help them greatly.

From writing recommendations to internships, the teachers had a lot of approaches. So, the class agreed to ignore Lea's condition.

Not that Lea minded. She walked toward the head of the class and stood there. These spells were child's play for her, but she acted as a kid who did not know much. She needed to play that part right.

"Here, try this spell out. Since you missed so much of my class, I am sure you did some studying on your own."

The teacher held out a medium-level spell for Lea to perform. And Lea instantly knew what she had to do.

"Teacher, I don't know how to perform magic and harness energy. I met Magic for the first time last week, making me sick. That was why I was absent for a week."

Lea had prepared an excuse to give to her teacher beforehand. She had run it through Sara as well before using it.

The teacher looked gleeful when he realised that Lea didn't know magic and she was not a hidden genius either. His confidence sky-rocketed once he realised that Lea did not even know magic.

"You idiot! You don't even know how to do something this basic? You would know how to do this spell if you attended my class the whole week. Young people like you are the worst. You think you can do what you want, but you have no idea what the real world holds for you."

The teacher continued to speak. Lea had tuned him a while back, and she did not even care. Thankfully, the teacher did not notice it, but the students did.

"Teacher, if you are done, then can I head back to my seat? My feet hurt from standing for so long."

Lea complained, and the teacher allowed it. He felt safe knowing he was still the authority in the room.

"So, class, what I was talking about yesterday, we shall-"

The teacher never finished speaking. A small flame appeared on his head and started rapidly spreading around. It was not hot, and it did not harm him.

But the teacher panicked and did not notice it. He screamed, startled, and tried to get the flame out of his hair.

"Someone, save me. What is going on? Is this a curse? Did someone curse me because of my dashing, handsome looks and charming personality? There is no way! My hair. My beautiful hair will be gone at this rate. Hurry! Someone goes and brings me water! The fire alarms! What about the fire alarm!"

This teacher could have been better as well. He panicked too quickly and lost his cool. Having him as a teacher would only make these kids a coward.

"Hey, is there no water user here? I am sure I saw one on the class list. Lea! Aren't you a water user? Hurry up and help our teacher out."

Lea looked around as her classmates shot her desperate looks. She had never been the dependable one in a classroom.

She was too lazy and unforgiving. And this was the case for now as well.

"Ehh, do I have to help? I do not know how to use magic well, and you all know it. What if I slip up and make the situation worse?"

Lea asked, and her classmates looked nervous. This possibility had not crossed their minds, but they were determined to do something about it.

"Look, things can get bad, but please help us. Our teacher might die-"

Sara acted before Lea needed to do anything. Sheran went toward the side room and brought out a fire extinguisher. She looked sternly at Lea before she aimed the fire extinguisher toward their teacher and fired it off.

It was impossible to put out the rift fire. Only the caster could put it out. The only other way was to kill the castor. 

But Lea had taken care not to make these flames hurt their teacher. She only wanted to scare him a little bit.

Lea regretfully brought the flames under control, and Sara looked satisfied. The teacher looked at Sara with grateful eyes. His life had not been in danger. But the teacher felt as if Sara had saved his life.

"T-Thank you for your help. Now, someone helped me to the nurse's office. I want to get myself checked out."

The teacher yelled, and a few boys instantly helped him out. The teacher would sue the school for this accidental harm that had been caused to him.

But once he reached the nurse, she told him he had no ailment or burn. The fire had left no trace on his body.

"B-But how is this possible? I was on fire, and it felt as if I would die if I did not put it out. How did I survive all that?"

The teacher asked while looking around. His students had no answer to this question. They had seen what happened to him, but they did not want to say that they had hallucinated as well.

"M-Maybe that fire was something else? An error in spell or something? Or maybe it was your innate ability, teacher?"

The student asked, and the teacher suddenly looked rejuvenated. He had been trying to get a strong ability forever.

But your ability was something you were born with. And in most cases, it did not change and evolve.

The sudden burst of fire meant that the teacher had evolved. He would need to head back and get his abilities rechecked and remeasured. He was sure that this was a turning point for him.

......

"Lea, I remember telling you to be careful. Why the hell would you give that idiot an opportunity to report you? What if you were caught casting that spell?"

Sara knew the castor had been Lea because of all her years with Lea. An average person would not have noticed.

But Sara could not help but worry about Lea and her circumstances. That was what her life had become at this point.

"Hmm, what do you mean? Do you know who attacked our teacher? Are you saying that it was…me? How could you, Sara? I trusted you. I am a feeble student who does not even know how to do magic."

Lea pretended to be sad and regretful. She looked at Sara with her large eyes. But Sara did not fall for her trap. She was going to hold her ground and fight against Lea's injustice.

That determination only lasted a few seconds. Just looking at Lea was enough to exhaust her.

"You know what, never mind. You were too clean to get caught this time. But I will not help you out next time."

Sara sighed and resigned to her fate. Lea was not going to change or feel regretful for what she did. The determined smile on Lea's face was proof enough that this was not sufficient for her. 

Thankfully, there were no more accidents that happened during the class time. Lea managed to control herself, and her teachers gave up on her.

They had lazy students like Lea in the past, so they knew that Lea would not budge from her place. They had to be the ones who gave up on her.

The day ended, and Lea forced herself to wake up. She popped her joints and felt them snap in place.

"Finally, this long school day is over now. For a second, I thought that I might end up dying due to the stress of the day. Now, it's time to head out."

Lea looked happy and determined. Sara did not want to ask her what she was planning, but her consciousness pricked her.

"Lea, what are you planning, and how is your victim this time? Somehow, I refuse to believe you have good intentions this time."

Sara reminded Lea, and she pouted. She did have good intentions - to help that elf feel better.

"Lalala, I cannot her you Sara. I will do what I must, and you cannot stop me."

Sara sighed as she watched Lea walk faster. This was how she knew that she would not be able to get Lea to cooperate with her.

But at least Lea looked satisfied. That likely meant that she would not cause another disaster soon…right?

"Somehow, even I do not believe my words and thoughts. I knew that Lea was waiting to burst, and she would cause a disaster soon."