I read in the Book of Classes that Sorcerers were the most powerful magical Basic Class. Many people considered it as powerful as an Advanced Class, although its growth rates were similar to those of other Basic Classes. Sorcerers even have the disadvantage of not being able to cast elemental spells. However, their raw magic had an innate advantage: exceptional penetration power. That didn't explain why Leonie could use so much mana so early in her levels.

Leonie entered the circle and stretched her arms. Her white hair was tied in a very elaborate braid that had survived the jog around the meadow intact. Despite her rather slimmer build, Leonie had no trouble with the basic training, and mana conditioning came as naturally to her as breathing. As a result, she was the cadet who demanded the least of my attention.

"It's okay for you to be my training partner?" she asked.

"I focus on each of my students in a different manner. I think this will benefit you the most," I replied, rolling my shoulders and getting a feeling of the training sword.

Leonie gave me a curious look. "This?"

"Fighting with someone without fear of hurting them," I replied. "Have you thought about the weakness of your skillset?"

One of the mental exercises Talindra devised to compensate for our lack of variety in training partners was to test the cadets' self-awareness of their Class.

"Upon deep reflection, I've concluded that spellcasters usually have trouble targeting speed-focused Classes. However, my magic is fast compared to elemental spells," Leonie said, her words sounding too formal even for her standards. "I guess the weaknesses of my spells are two-fold. They are extremely mana-intensive, and they are unruly. If I don't hit my attacks, I risk running low on mana faster than other spellcasters."

Her assessment was good, but her tone confused me. It almost reminded me of the little ones back at the orphanage. You could tell they were in the wrong by how stiff and proper they suddenly acted.

"Do you have a solution for that?" I cautiously asked.

"I have ideas," Leonie replied, looking at the tips of her shoes.

I channeled my mana and raised a barrier around my body. "Let's see your ideas. You can go all out."

Lightning crackled around Leonie's hands. [Stormlash]. Despite the level difference, the hairs of my arms stood on end. Common sense told me that standing in the way of the lighting was an awful idea. Still, there were a lot of things in this world that didn't make sense to my past self. Like that lighting was just a spell, and I was very good at protecting myself against them.

Leonie shot a bolt. The arc of lighting bent to the left. [Foresight] slowed down time so I could follow the trajectory of the attack. It seemed like it was going to miss. However, at the last moment, the arc bent to the right, hitting my shoulder. Sparks jumped everywhere from the spot the spell touched the barrier, and I felt a slight tug on my mana pool as the barrier siphoned energy.

"The skill you used against me back then was much stronger, and I was a Lv.1," I pointed out.

"I didn't think you'd tell us to use everything we've got this early in the year," Leonie replied with a suspicious expression.

It sounded more like an excuse than a real reason to hold back.

"Lord Astur has been pushing my hand. You are going to partake in a test designed for someone with twice your training. If it were up to me, I would restrict you to Lv.5 for the rest of the year."

Leonie's gaze felt like someone was scanning through my [Foresight]. At this point in the year, I knew Leonie wasn't the kind of person who believed things at face value. She wasn't quite cynical, just extremely keen. Students like that were everywhere, and could usually see through the personas teachers put on during classes.

I wondered if Leonie suspected I was testing her.

"Let's start, the others have already done so," I said, channeling my mana.

"Yes, sir."

[Aerokinesis] shot me forward, but Leonie reacted instantly. A lighting whip lashed against me. With a second burst of wind, I slipped past the edge of the spell. I felt Leonie's magic like a static nip at my skin. She didn't hesitate and shot a second [Stormlash]. This time, when I tried to change my direction, the lighting bent at a sharp angle, almost grazing my stomach. I raised a barrier to deflect the third bolt, and the spell broke apart into harmless sparks.

[Light-Footed] was the only thing preventing Leonie from hitting me.

I lunged, aiming at the girl's face, but she blocked my strike without panicking. I could have overwhelmed her with strength alone, but I wanted to see what else she had in her bag of tricks. I tested her swordsmanship.

Mana surged to Leonie's hand and gathered in the form of a spear. Lighting crackled as the spell gained strength. Instead of throwing it, Leonie used [Lighting Glaive] as her offhand weapon.

Not wanting to waste my barrier's mana, I dodged the lightning spear instead of parrying it. [Foresight] pinged my brain, urging me to be on guard. The [Lighting Glaive] grew until I had to take a step back to keep enough ground between us for dodging. It was a mistake. Leonie threw the spell at my feet, unleashing an explosion of lightning that hit my barrier like a thousand stingers. A lower-level opponent might have received damage, but not near enough to incapacitate them.

Although flashy, there was no trace of the power Leonie had used during the selection exam.

I pushed forward and tapped the girl's shoulder with the tip of my sword.

"You will fight monsters stronger than you, Leonie. Learning the limits of your skillset is as important as mastering the basics," I said, trying not to sound too harsh. "Try to stop me for real this time."

I returned to my initial position and raised my sword, not expecting to see her troubled expression.

"Are you okay, Leonie?"

"My full power is kinda noisy. I would feel better if you create a [Silence Dome]," she said. "I don't want to startle the others."

[Foresight] pinged my brain. She was lying. However, I summoned the skill. A good teacher couldn't refuse a student who wanted to tell them something, important or not. A bubble appeared around us, leaving the sound of the other combatants outside.

As expected, Leonie didn't raise her guard.

"I… want to discuss an important matter with you. Something has been bothering me for a while, and I haven't found the right moment to ask you about it," Leonie said, suddenly self-conscious. I gave her a moment to collect her thoughts. "If your people were able to come up with this teaching method, they know a lot about the System, right?"

"We know a thing or two," I replied.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Well, I'd like to know if the System is as infallible as the Zealots say."

I froze. Ebrosians didn't see the System's flaws as flaws. They assumed they were features that worked as intended. Could it be that Leonie had experienced a malfunction of the System already? I had been keen to get news from Farcrest and the gossip of the aides, but nothing indicated a suspicious increase in monster activity or a Corruption incident.

"Has the System failed you recently?" I asked back, doing my best to hide my shock.

"It's not like it failed. It's just a quirk, I guess?" Leonie said, unsure of her words. "I have a skill that doesn't work correctly. Well, a title, rather."

Are you listening to this, Avatar?

The System Avatar, if it was out there listening to me, remained silent.

"I know it sounds strange," Leonie said, shuffling uncomfortably at my silence.

"It's okay. No matter what you say, I will believe you," I said, raising my hand to stop her. "You can tell me."

Leonie made her sword spin and closed her eyes. Suddenly, mana manifested around her, crackling and scorching the ground like high-voltage currents. It was definitely too much mana for a Lv.11 Sorcerer. Then, when she opened them, her eyes changed color to a furious electric blue.

"Is that a skill or a passive?" I asked.

Strengthening skills weren't rare among martial Classes, but the jump in mana the girl had just experienced was absurd.

"It's a title, I think," Leonie replied.

"Well, it seems like it's rare for a title to give you an effect like that, but it's not unheard of. I know a woman with the title [Blood of the Giants]. She can literally turn into a giantess; it's quite the sight," I said.

This time it was Leonie who froze.

"You have a title related to your bloodline, don't you?"

The girl nodded, and I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. The System wasn't failing just yet. Then she surprised me by summoning her Character Sheet and turning it around.

Name: Leonie Almedia, Human (Bright).

Class: Sorcerer Lv.11

Titles: Almedia Heir, Gifted, Fae Curse.

Passive: Fencing Lv.2, Spear Mastery Lv.2, Riding Lv.2, Mana Regeneration, Mana Manipulation, Enhanced Vision.

Skills: Stormlash, Lightning Glaive, Fae Stars, Stormveil.

The first thing I noticed was the [Bright] trait. The same as Lyra Jorn. I couldn't say I didn't expect it. It took me a moment to notice [Fae Curse], but it wasn't the only oddity in her Character Sheet. I didn't recall seeing [Mana Regeneration] and [Fae Stars] in the Book of Classes.

"I know what you might be thinking, but it's not the same as a Hex. It doesn't carry a negative status," Leonie quickly said.

I wondered why she hadn't spoken about this with her parents. They should know [Fae Curse] wasn't a malfunctioning title but a bloodline thing, despite the Fae blood being so dissolved that it didn't reflect on the 'race' by her name.

"In that case, [Fae Curse] should be completely harmless. You might have traces of Fae blood in your veins, and the System recognizes those traits. That's all," I said, trying to sound reassuring.

Leonie shifted uncomfortably.

"I know that."

"What's the problem then?"

"Fae don't have Personal Sheets," she said. "Fae can't use the System like orcs, gnomes, or elves, and if you use [Identify] on one of them, the System will give you the same appraisal format it uses for monsters."

The System didn't recognize Fae as people. I wondered what the rules were to be recognized as a potential user. There had to be something. The System didn't recognize the Roc Harpies who lived in the mountains near Farcrest, but it didn't seem to have problems recognizing harpies like Shu or the Imperial Cadet who fought against Firana during the finals of the Stephaniss Cup.

"Can the Fae speak? Are they sapient?" I asked.

The Roc Harpies, despite being humanoid, couldn't speak.

"Yes. Most of them at least…" Leonie replied, leaving the last syllable hanging. "...my mother taught me to read, write, and do math. She also taught me Old Elvish. She's Fae."

I didn't realize her Fae heritage was so close to the family tree. Izabeka's giant ancestry went back many generations before the foundation of Farcrest. Izabeka herself said she would've doubted the historicity of her giant's lineage if not for recent instances of blood mixing.

Suddenly, I understood why Leonie was telling me this.

"The System is jank. Your mother isn't a monster, and neither are you."

I must have sounded mighty confident because Leonie was taken aback.

"Jank?"

"If you ask me, the System has a handful of known flaws and probably a hundred more hidden behind the scenes."

I'd bet my iron mine back at Whiteleaf Manor that the Fae weren't around the civilized areas when the Creator designed the System, so when they appeared, they were just catalogued as another monster.

"But don't tell anyone I said that. I don't want problems with the Zealots. Okay?"

Leonie nodded slowly as she digested the information.

"Animals and monsters can communicate in complex ways and even mimic certain symbols of human languages, but they can't use grammar and syntax, or combine sounds to create new words. Only hu… people can do that," I explained. "Given how you describe your mother, it seems to me she's a person like humans, elves, or orcs."

Leonie looked around, as if searching for a place to sit.

I didn't know what she expected from this conversation, but she seemed moved.

"Are you sure?"

"Like the sky is blue. I assure you, ninety-nine point ninety-nine percent of the people of my homeland would say the same. I'd say a hundred percent, but there are also a few loonies running free. If you can produce articulated language, you are pretty much a person and not an animal."

Leonie gave me a weak smile.

"Thank you."

I smiled, knowing that most of my academic credibility came from the stacks of titles in my Character sheet. I had hundreds of questions about Leonie's mother, but that little Elincia that resided in my mind, filling the hole where my common sense should reside, told me to be tactful.

"Thank you for trusting me," I said. "As a teacher, it means a lot."

Leonie blushed so deeply that [Foresight] worried about her health.

"I know that face. You did something naughty," I said, raising an eyebrow. "Leonie?"

The girl had nowhere to run. She looked around but ultimately decided to bite the bullet. I didn't expect anything less from the daughter of an Imperial Knight.

"I'm very sorry, Mister Clarke. I really am, but I decided to trust you because I did a background check on you. Firana thinks you are the best man to have set foot on Ebros since Runeweaver Baram. Zaon believes you are uncorruptible. And Wolf thinks you are the bravest man alive."

I waited a moment for her to continue, but she didn't.

"What about Ilya?"

Of the four, Ilya's opinion of me was the one I understood the least.

"She… told me not to be nosy, but I really needed to know before asking. I'm sorry."

I dismissed her concerns with a wave of my hand. Someone running a background check would've angered me if I didn't know what was at stake. Being considered a monster by the System was serious business.

"Your background check had a problem, though. My students like me. Their answers might be biased," I pointed out.

Leonie looked away, her face blushing even so slightly.

"Well… that's why I also asked people who don't like you like they do."

Who else at the capital knew me well enough?

"Holst?"

"Kili," Leonie corrected.

"Kili?!"

I looked outside the [Silence Dome]. Kili was sitting on the sidelines listening to Ilya's feedback while trying to put some order to her hair. She wasn't having much success. I tried to force [Foresight] to remind me if I ever asked Kili to keep our little adventure a secret, but Leonie interrupted me.

"Kili told Aeliana about the stolen circlet. She told us about her gang of little thieves and how things work in the Eastern Ward. She told us what happened when you bailed out that day," Leonie said, her eyes fixed on her boots. "And I've concluded you are trustworthy."

A trustworthy murderer. Maybe Leonie wasn't as keen as I initially thought.

"Let's not talk about that… it left a bad taste in my mouth," I whispered, covering my mouth with a hand.

"I think what you did is commendable," Leonie whispered back with utmost seriousness. "I aim to be someone who can act against injustice like you."

A smile appeared on my face. Although the compliment was a bit stiff, I couldn't help but feel happy when a student told me they wanted to be like me. I was about to say something, but I felt someone breaking into the bubble.

"What's taking you two so long? The sparring finished like a minute ago, and Mister Clarke isn't yours to monopolize," Firana said, planting her hands on her hips. "And what's the deal with the whispering? When did you two get so chummy? Huh?!"

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