The academy bell rang loudly across the campus.
Roy sat at his desk, staring at the clock.
Five minutes.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
The moment the bell rang, Roy closed his notebook.
"Finally."
Leo looked at him.
"You really hate classes that much?"
"No."
"You closed your book before the bell even finished."
"I was ready."
Leo laughed.
The instructor at the front of the room shook his head.
"Since everyone appears to be finished with today's lesson, you may leave."
The classroom immediately became noisy.
Students began packing their bags.
Roy stood.
Leo grabbed his shoulder.
"Wait."
Roy looked at him.
"What?"
"We've got another class."
Roy's face dropped.
"What class?"
"Elemental Theory."
Roy stared at him.
"You could've told me that before I celebrated."
Leo laughed.
"Come on."
---
Elemental Theory was one of the subjects Roy had expected to be boring.
Instead, it turned out to be one of the more interesting classes.
The instructor walked into the classroom carrying several books.
"Good afternoon."
"Good afternoon, sir."
He placed the books on the desk.
"Today we're going to discuss elemental specialization."
Roy leaned back in his chair.
The instructor wrote several words on the board.
FIRE
WATER
EARTH
LIGHTNING
WIND
ICE
SPACE
TIME
Several students immediately became interested.
"Every Nexis user possesses an elemental affinity."
The instructor turned toward the class.
"However, possessing an element does not mean you have mastered it."
He pointed toward Fire.
"Two Fire users can have completely different fighting styles."
Then toward Lightning.
"The same applies to Lightning."
Roy looked at the board.
The instructor continued.
"Some users specialize in offense."
He wrote:
ATTACK
"Some specialize in defense."
He wrote:
DEFENSE
"And the strongest users learn to combine both."
He drew a line connecting the two.
"Balance."
A student raised his hand.
"Sir, can someone specialize in both?"
"Of course."
The instructor smiled.
"But doing so requires exceptional control."
Roy listened carefully.
"Remember this."
The instructor looked across the classroom.
"Your element is not your fighting style."
Roy's eyes narrowed slightly.
That sentence reminded him of the Combat Club.
The instructor continued.
"Your element gives you possibilities. Your choices determine how you use them."
---
The lesson continued for another hour.
Roy actually took notes.
Leo noticed.
"You?"
Roy looked at him.
"What?"
"Taking notes?"
"Yes."
"You actually care about this?"
Roy shrugged.
"It's useful."
Leo smiled.
"You're becoming a serious student."
Roy ignored him.
At the end of the lesson, the instructor handed everyone an assignment.
"Tomorrow, I want each of you to submit a report on your elemental affinity."
A collective groan filled the room.
Roy looked at the paper.
ELEMENTAL AFFINITY REPORT
1. Primary Element
2. Strengths
3. Weaknesses
4. Preferred Combat Range
5. Defensive Applications
6. Offensive Applications
7. Potential Development
Roy stared at the last question.
"Potential development?"
He didn't know what to write.
He knew he could use Lightning.
He knew it was his strongest ability.
But he had barely begun understanding it.
Roy looked toward Leo.
"What are you writing?"
"Fire."
"Obviously."
Leo laughed.
"What about you?"
"Lightning."
Leo nodded.
"Easy."
Roy frowned.
"Not really."
---
After classes ended, Roy headed toward the academy library.
He needed somewhere quiet.
The library was enormous.
Several floors were connected by spiral staircases, and thousands of books filled the shelves.
Roy walked between them.
He found a table near a window and sat down.
He opened his assignment.
Primary Element: Lightning
He wrote it.
Then stopped.
Strengths:
Roy tapped his pen against the table.
"Speed?"
He wrote it down.
Speed
"Offensive power?"
He added it.
Offensive power
Then came:
Weaknesses
Roy stared at the page.
He didn't like this part.
After thinking for a while, he wrote:
Control
Then:
Endurance
He paused.
He remembered the fight with Lee.
The fight with Marcus.
He remembered how much Nexis he had used.
Roy added:
Close-range defense
He leaned back.
"That's probably enough."
"Is it?"
Roy immediately looked up.
Someone was standing across the table.
A girl with long dark hair was holding several books.
Roy frowned.
"How long have you been there?"
"Long enough."
She sat down opposite him.
Roy looked at her.
"Do I know you?"
"No."
"Then why are you sitting here?"
She pointed around the library.
"Because it's a library."
Roy looked around.
There were plenty of empty tables.
"There's an entire library."
"And?"
Roy sighed.
"Never mind."
She smiled.
"My name is Mira."
"Roy."
"I know."
Roy raised an eyebrow.
"Of course."
Mira glanced at his paper.
"Lightning?"
"Yeah."
She looked at his answers.
"Your weakness is control?"
Roy nodded.
"That's what I'm working on."
She looked at him for a moment.
"Then you're approaching it wrong."
Roy frowned.
"What?"
"You wrote control as a weakness."
"Because it is."
"No."
Mira pointed toward the paper.
"Control isn't a weakness. Your understanding of your element is."
Roy stared at her.
"What's the difference?"
"If you had poor control, you wouldn't be able to use Lightning accurately."
She tapped the page.
"You're probably trying to force your Lightning into doing things it isn't ready to do."
Roy became quiet.
That sounded familiar.
He remembered the Weapon Club.
Every time he tried to force Lightning through the sword, it failed.
Mira stood.
"Try understanding it instead."
Roy looked up.
"Who are you?"
She smiled.
"Someone who reads too much."
She picked up her books.
"Good luck with your assignment."
Then she walked away.
Roy watched her leave.
"Strange girl."
He looked back at his paper.
Then crossed out Control.
He wrote:
Understanding
---
Roy spent the next hour researching Lightning.
He found books describing different Lightning techniques.
Some focused on speed.
Others focused on destructive power.
Some used Lightning as a defensive barrier.
Others used it to enhance physical movement.
Roy became increasingly interested.
He had always thought Lightning was mostly about speed and attacks.
But there was much more to it.
He found a section about Lightning-based weapons.
His eyes widened.
"Interesting."
The book explained that Lightning users could synchronize their Nexis with weapons, but successful synchronization depended on the user's control and compatibility.
Roy immediately remembered his ninety-one percent compatibility.
He continued reading.
Then he found something unexpected.
A small paragraph near the bottom of the page.
> Lightning is considered one of the most difficult elements to control because of its unstable flow.
Roy smiled.
"So that's why."
He closed the book.
He had finally found something he could work on.
---
By the time Roy left the library, the sun was already beginning to set.
He walked across the courtyard alone.
Students were leaving their clubs.
Some were heading toward the dormitories.
Others were still training.
Roy stopped.
He looked toward the Combat Club.
Then toward the Weapon Club.
He thought about what Mira had said.
"Understand it."
Roy raised his hand.
A tiny spark appeared between his fingers.
Crack.
He watched it carefully.
Instead of forcing more Nexis into it, he simply observed.
The spark moved across his fingers.
Then disappeared.
Roy smiled.
"Again."
He tried.
The spark appeared.
This time, it lasted longer.
Roy didn't increase the power.
He focused on maintaining it.
Five seconds.
Ten.
Fifteen.
The spark suddenly became unstable.
Roy immediately stopped.
He stared at his hand.
"That's better."
A voice came from behind him.
"You've been practicing alone again."
Roy turned.
Leo stood there.
"How long have you been watching?"
"Long enough."
Roy sighed.
"Everyone keeps doing that."
Leo laughed.
"What are you doing?"
"Learning."
"Lightning?"
"Yeah."
Leo looked at the spark.
"Looks different."
Roy nodded.
"I stopped forcing it."
Leo looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
"I think I was trying to control Lightning instead of understanding it."
Leo smiled.
"That sounds complicated."
"It is."
"Can you explain it?"
"No."
Leo laughed.
"Fair enough."
---
They headed toward the dormitories together.
As they walked, Leo suddenly stopped.
"Wait."
Roy turned.
"What?"
Leo pointed toward the training grounds.
"Look."
A group of students were gathered around the arena.
Roy narrowed his eyes.
"What happened?"
"I don't know."
They walked closer.
A second-year student stood in the center of the arena.
He was surrounded by several other students.
One of them was talking loudly.
"Come on! Show us that technique again!"
The second-year sighed.
"I already did."
"One more time!"
The student finally raised his hand.
Nexis began gathering around him.
Roy immediately recognized the sensation.
"Wind."
A powerful gust exploded across the arena.
Students cheered.
Roy watched carefully.
The technique wasn't particularly destructive.
Instead, it focused on movement.
The student disappeared into the wind.
He reappeared several meters away.
Roy's eyes widened.
"Movement technique."
Leo looked at him.
"You like it?"
"Yeah."
Roy watched the student perform another technique.
He suddenly realized something.
There were countless ways to use Nexis.
He had only seen a fraction of them.
And that meant...
There were countless ways for him to grow.
---
That night, Roy returned to his room.
He placed his assignment on his desk.
He had rewritten almost everything.
Lightning
Strengths: Speed, offensive power, reaction enhancement.
Weaknesses: Unstable flow, high energy consumption, difficult control.
Combat Range: Short to medium range.
Defensive Applications: Lightning armor, barriers, enhanced movement.
Offensive Applications: Lightning strikes, concentrated attacks, weapon synchronization.
Potential Development: Unknown.
Roy stared at the final answer.
He smiled.
"Unknown."
He wasn't going to pretend he knew his limits.
He hadn't even begun discovering them.
Roy closed the notebook.
Then he noticed something on his desk.
A small piece of paper.
He picked it up.
There was only one sentence written on it.
"Don't rely too much on what the academy teaches you."
Roy frowned.
He looked around his room.
Nobody was there.
He turned the paper over.
Nothing.
Roy stared at it.
"Who left this?"
He couldn't remember anyone entering his room.
He folded the paper and placed it inside his notebook.
For now, he decided not to tell anyone.
Whatever it meant...
He would find out eventually.
Roy lay down on his bed.
The academy had only been part of his life for a few days.
Already, he had learned about combat, weapons, Nexis theory and his own weaknesses.
And somehow, he felt that his real journey hadn't even started yet.
His eyes slowly closed.
Tomorrow would be another day.
And Roy had no idea what would be waiting for him when he woke up.