After finalizing their plans for the coming year, Aestra and Elera headed to the palace's private training hall. The door opened onto a vast chamber that gleamed with gold and polished wood, shelves lined with weapons of every conceivable shape and size, and racks of sorcerers' tomes filled with spells, some mundane, some exotic.
Aestra's eyes immediately fell on a familiar book sitting on one of the shelves.
"Fireball?" he muttered, reaching out. His fingers hovered above the cover. "Hey… that wouldn't be the first skill of the protagonist, would it? I wonder how he's doing now…"
Elera's gaze flicked toward him, a hint of mischief in her golden eyes. "Speaking of the protagonist, Michael—the one I met a month ago—I think he's fallen for me."
Aestra's jaw dropped. "Seriously? And what did you say?" he asked, his voice incredulous.
She tilted her head, almost amused. "No thanks."
Aestra blinked, completely stunned. "What?"
"I wasn't going to accept him," she said plainly.
"Yes, I know—but he's the protagonist. Don't you… don't you want to be with him?"
Elera shook her head, her expression calm and unyielding. "Of course not. He's just like… Louis. A magnet for trouble, if anything even worse. Being with him would be one of my worst mistakes."
Aestra exhaled, still processing. "And he said he would try to prove himself so you'd accept him… at the academy, huh?"
She nodded. "Exactly. You'll see him there. But don't worry; we won't be distracted. Our priority is strength."
He frowned, realizing just how different she was from anyone he'd met. She's on the same level as the heroines in the novels… and maybe even smarter.
After a brief silence, their attention shifted to their powers. Aestra raised his hand, and the faint purple glow of his void element shimmered at his fingertips.
"My soul element," Elera began, "allows me to take the soul of a living being I've defeated and transform it into different forms of energy. Fire, for instance—I can convert the soul's energy into flames. But to do it safely, I have to understand the nature of that energy, like how fire requires fuel, oxygen, and a source of heat. Only then can I manipulate the soul as fire."
Aestra's eyes widened. "So, theoretically… if you could convert souls into magic on a field of straw, you could have almost infinite magic?"
"In theory," she replied. "But it's far too complex for my current level. I need time and practice."
"And your void element?" she asked curiously.
Aestra flexed his fingers, feeling the strange energy that seemed to bend space around him. "From what I understand, it's extremely versatile. I can destroy, fuse, manipulate… magic, sword techniques, aura, illusions… practically anything, but I can't use the special elements you have. I need to master the basics first, but the potential is limitless."
Elera tilted her head, studying him. "Your element and mine are surprisingly similar, especially in the transformation aspect. But… you also have space, right? And I have heal. That's completely different."
"System, explain the difference between void and soul versus space and heal."
[Host, the difference is significant. Your space element can exist in this world but no one in history has been able to wield it; the heal element works with life itself. Void and soul are beyond any world. Not even the goddess could give these elements. Consider them anomalies outside normal existence.]
Aestra's mouth went dry. "Wait… what? You mean even a god couldn't wield these?"
[Correct. The goddess only gave you the space element and heal element, but your void and soul elements are… unique. Beyond gods.]
Both of them stared at the interface, lost for words.
"A bug? Another observer of transmigrators? Why should we trust this?" Aestra thought. But he quickly pushed the doubts aside. Right now, he was weak, and worrying about cosmic conspiracies wasn't going to help him survive.
"Anyway," he said aloud, shaking his head, "let's exchange some blows first. And tomorrow… the hunt, right?"
"Of course," Elera said with a small smirk. "We'll start tomorrow."
They moved to opposite ends of the hall, each taking a sword from the racks. The weight felt strange in their hands. Neither of them had wielded swords in their past lives—Aestra had been an assassin, Elera a mage—but as Magicswordsmen, they now needed to combine magic with physical combat.
"I've always wanted to try a sword," Aestra admitted, adjusting his grip. "But now… it's different. I have to understand magic and blade at the same time. And you… you need to adapt to close combat."
Elera nodded, her stance perfect and poised. "Exactly. We'll learn together. For now, just focus on understanding your blade, your magic, and me. I'll do the same."
They readied themselves, feet planted, hands tight on the hilts.
"One… two… three…"
"GO!"