[Elena's POV]
It's been a few hours since Lady Seraphina has arrived and I'm not sure why, but as I look at her teaching Jake about Magic, Affinities and the like… I can't help myself but feel this burning desire to be the one in her place.
I didn't want to admit it.
But I was getting jealous of her.
I wanted to be the one to teach him, get closer to him, have fun with him. Even if this marriage is a ploy to have him as my guard inside of the Royal Academy, I could feel myself slowly falling for him. It was just a thought of mine that was very well hidden, or at least, I thought it was.
Nevertheless, I knew there was something wrong with me when I felt a little bit of anger as I saw Seraphina touch him. It wasn't anything sexual. She had just touched him and I found myself frowning as if she had just something absolutely insane.
I shook my head, trying to get my mind off from him, but all I got was memories of the two of us flirting late at night inside my bed.
'Ugh… this has never happened to me before… Why am I falling for a man like him?'
***
Things were going well. Very well.
I wasn't sure yet. But it felt like Seraphina had begun to understand that I could copy her and the way she casted her spells.
For the past minutes, she had been using Blink over and over again before me, telling me to pay attention. She didn't say anything in between of the use, she only briefly glanced at me before doing it again and again.
After a few minutes, she had cast the spell over one hundred times and my Comprehension of the Spell had definitely increased by a large margin. However, for the past 50 times, the percentage had completely stopped increasing.
[Theorical Comprehension of the Blink Spell: 4% -> 20%]
It had been completely stuck there for the past minute, which is why I knew I had to do something. We needed to change training method, only observing her wouldn't work.
"Can I try using it?" I asked as Seraphina immediately stopped what she was doing and headed in my direction.
She nodded with clear anticipation in her eyes. "Yes, show me what you can do."
Seraphina stared me down as if expecting me to perform [Blink] to its absolute perfection.
I gulped, nervous.
I placed myself in a running position just like she had done before, slightly leaned forward, my chest facing the ground. I then calmed myself down just like before until the world around me began to slow down and only then did I began sending out my Mana through my Mana Circuits, using the exact same Mana Path as her.
Seraphina was no longer surprised by that fact as she continued to stare me down.
I took a step forward, and the very next moment I found myself face first on the ground, two meters before me.
I had failed.
I hadn't been able to use it.
My Comprehension of the Skill was definitely too low. I needed to get it up. But that required a lot of time which was the last thing I had.
[Theorical Comprehension of the Blink Spell: 20% -> 21%]
Though, the percentage had finally gone up by one after practicing the spell. It was now time to go practice mode until I would get it down.
And with a talented mage like Seraphina next to me, it was only a question of time before I grasped it.
"It's not bad. However, you need to be in control of your balance. That's why you fell on the ground. Anticipate the trajectory you want to take. You need to imagine the path in your mind, only then will you be precise about the location you will appear next."
I listened carefully to every word coming out of her mouth. I knew that she was the one with all the knowledge and immediately [Arcane Assimilation] reacted.
[Theorical Comprehension of the Blink Spell: 21% -> 26%]
A 5% jump.
That was not something that I could deny. It was huge in the grand schemes of things. For the past twenty minutes, the percentage had not even gone up. We were definitely doing the right thing right now. It was only a question of time before I mastered [Blink].
***
Three hours later, the sun had already gone down.
It was close to midnight and I was still at it.
I had hit a plateau.
And the worst about it all was that I had not succeeded even once in using [Blink]. I would always fall, unable to recover after moving through Space.
My theorical comprehension had increased by another 14%, which gave me a 40% Comprehension in a few hours.
Seraphina seemed to think that it was good in a single day to have understood so much about a rare spell like that. However, I wasn't of the same opinion. I knew I could do better. I knew I had to better.
"Go sleep. There's no point in continuing. Let's start again tomorrow."
It was the fifth time she had said this very sentence. But I wasn't about to give up this close to my goal.
I placed myself in the same position as before as I transformed my Neutral Mana into Space Mana, something that I was now able to do with my eyes closed.
I then placed myself in the position and began sending out Mana through my Mana Circuits.
The use of [Blink] was now very costly in term of Mana. It was just very hard to use because of how precise one had to be.
However, I had a feeling deep down that I would be able to do it.
I opened my eyes and watched Seraphina's arm movements slow down.
It was time for me to take a step forward.
I visualized my trajectory inside of my mind, seeing myself five meters before me and only then did I take a step forward.
I felt the space around me warp and the very next moment, I was standing five meters in front of me.
"I did it!" I shouted out loud, managing to land correctly on my own two feet.
I looked over to Seraphina who was absolutely mindblown.