The training chamber was quiet again, the remnants of frost and shadow slowly fading into the stone. Noel sheathed Revenant Fang with a slow rasp, the sound echoing in the silence. Selene stood a few paces away, her breathing steady but her expression unreadable—save for the faintest crease at her brow that Noel had already learned to notice.

He hesitated for a moment, then reached into his pouch. His fingers brushed past other items until they closed around the worn leather of the manual. He pulled it free, weighing it in his hands.

Selene's eyes immediately fixed on it, sharp and questioning. "What is that?"

Noel flipped the book open, feigning casualness. "Something I've been studying." He let the pages fall open to a section covered in looping glyphs and diagrams that twisted into near nonsense. "But I can't make full sense of it."

Selene took a step closer, the faint chill in the air following her. "Where did you get it?"

Noel didn't blink. "Nicolas gave it to me. Said it might help with my training." He closed the book halfway, lowering his voice. "But honestly… it's harder than I thought."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, the smallest flicker of doubt flashing across them before she schooled her features. She didn't question him further, though. Instead, she tilted her head, studying the book from where she stood.

Noel turned another page, letting the strange glyphs catch the glow of the runes on the wall. "I can use some basics, like Shadow Step. But the rest…" He exhaled. "They feel incomplete. I was hoping you might help me understand."

For a long moment, Selene said nothing, her gaze unreadable. But Noel caught the faintest shift in her eyes—the flicker of curiosity she tried, unsuccessfully, to hide.

Noel let the manual rest across his lap, the runes on the page glowing faintly under the mana-light. He ran a thumb along the edge, exhaling. "I've tried. Over and over. The glyphs twist into riddles the more I look at them. I can manage Shadow Step because I brute-forced it, but the others…" He shook his head. "They're incomplete to me."

Selene stood with her arms folded, her wand still in hand as if she hadn't quite left the spar behind. Her expression was cool, but her silence pressed heavier than the runes on the walls.

Noel glanced up at her, meeting her cyan eyes. "I thought… maybe you could help. You read things I can't. You understand structures. Symbols. And if anyone could make sense of this, it would be you."

For a heartbeat, she didn't move. Then, slowly, Selene approached, her boots crunching softly on faint shards of ice still scattered across the floor. She stopped in front of him, her gaze lowering to the book.

"These aren't standard glyphs," she said finally, her voice even but quiet. "They're layered. The strokes interlock like gravity wells—spiraling in on themselves."

Noel arched an eyebrow at her analysis. 'Just like I thought. She sees through it faster than I ever could, a true genius.'

Selene's brows drew together slightly as she traced a symbol with her finger without touching the page. "They aren't broken. They're… rearranged. That's why it feels wrong when you try to copy them."

Noel leaned back, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "So you'll help?"

Selene's eyes flicked to his for a moment before darting back to the book. Her lips pressed into a thin line, as if weighing the decision. Then, with a short nod, she said, "Show me."

Noel let out a quiet breath of relief.

Selene knelt down in front of the manual, her wand resting across her knees. Her eyes scanned the glyphs carefully, the faint glow reflecting in her cyan irises.

"These aren't random," she said after only a few moments. Her finger traced the air just above the page. "The core symbol here—" she pointed to a jagged spiral— "isn't meant to be read left to right. It rotates inward. That changes the entire structure."

Noel crouched beside her, brow furrowing. "Rotate it? You mean like… upside down?"

Selene gave him a brief look, one that wasn't cold but carried a subtle, silent seriously? Then she shook her head. "Not upside down. You follow the curve, like gravity pulling everything inward. That's why your cast collapses—you're forcing mana in the wrong direction."

Noel scratched the back of his neck, clearly unconvinced. "If you say so. I just… shove mana into it until something happens."

Her lips twitched, the faintest sign of amusement before she suppressed it. "Brute-forcing works for basic steps. But if you keep doing that with these, you'll tear your mana pathways apart."

Noel exhaled through his nose. "Alright, fine. Show me."

Selene extended her wand, drawing the glyph into the floor with a thread of pale mana. The lines twisted into a spiraling claw, the runes locking together seamlessly. As the last stroke connected, a shadowed hand burst from the ground, gripping one of the training dummies by the leg. It held firm for several seconds before dispersing.

Selene lowered her wand, calm as ever. "That's how it should look."

Noel whistled softly, then stepped forward, rolling his shoulders. "My turn." He mimicked the pattern from memory, his mana flaring rougher, less elegant—but the glyph still formed. The shadow-hand emerged, unstable and trembling, but it caught the dummy for a heartbeat longer than his last attempt.

He grinned. "See? Practice over theory."

Noel wiped sweat from his brow, keeping his focus on the trembling glyph at his feet. He adjusted his stance, recalling Selene's instructions. "Pull inward… not across." He let the mana spiral instead of forcing it straight.

The lines stabilized for a second. The shadow-hand rose, gripping the dummy by both legs this time, holding it in place longer before dissolving into smoke.

He exhaled, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "Better."

Selene nodded once, precise and approving. "Closer. You'll need more control to hold it, but the structure is correct now."

Noel looked at her sideways. "You understood that in minutes. I've been staring at it for days."

She tilted her head, her expression cool but not dismissive. "Theory is… easier for me." She hesitated, then added, "But I couldn't brute-force my way through the instability the way you did. You have an instinct I don't."

Noel chuckled softly, resting Revenant Fang on his shoulder. "So I'm the brawler and you're the genius. Guess that makes us even."

Selene's lips pressed together, as if fighting back a retort. For a moment, the corner of her mouth almost curved—but she caught herself, turning back to the manual.

"You'll ruin the book if you keep handling it like that," she said, flipping a page with deliberate care.

Noel raised an eyebrow. "You sound like you plan to keep helping."

Selene closed the book and handed it back to him, her touch careful. "Don't waste what I showed you."

Her tone was clipped, but Noel noticed the faintest flicker in her eyes—satisfaction, quickly hidden beneath her usual calm.

He slid the manual back into his pouch, watching as she stood and walked toward the exit.

As the door closed behind her, Noel muttered under his breath, "She really is a genius."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.