Chapter 2017: Red Sun (Part 2)

'If a good diagnostician takes a look at us, they might discover my existence. It's the reason I wanted you to keep a low profile and rank no higher than A.' The Red Sun couldn't help but worry.

All the all-nighters in the world couldn't help Kelia's core refinement. She was now on the verge of green, but even to achieve the deep cyan it would take her at least a year and that without considering the many impurities that were still left.

She had barely survived the transition to the green core and needed time to strengthen her body enough to withstand the next breakthrough. To make matters worse, even if Dusk helped her to reach quickly the deep cyan, her physical strength wouldn't change much.

A hit to the head, a well-placed spell, or even a powerful poison would have been more than she could handle, forcing the Horseman to reveal his presence to save her life. Yet what worried him the most wasn't to blow his cover, but imprisonment.

If their bond was discovered and Keila captured, they would live the rest of her life in captivity.

Best case scenario, people would force her to become their puppet. Worst case scenario, they would extort the secret of Awakening from her with any means necessary.

The regenerative abilities that Dusk bestowed upon Kelia would turn from a blessing into a curse, allowing her captors to be as creative as they could in their interrogation methods.

'Stop being a sourpuss.' Kelia inwardly laughed at his worries. 'I crawled in the dirt all my life. Now that I have power, real power, I can't stand hiding in the shadows like a rat.

'On top of that, once I skip to the second year, my rank will become official and the Empire will take good care of me. You know the law, harming an S rank mage in any way is high treason.

'We just need to study a bit more and then I can have those stuck-up brats flogged whenever I feel like it.' Keila could already picture herself being crowned as the Red Emperor of the first year, the Empire's equivalent of the pins that Lith had received as a student of the White Griffon.

The title would not only grant her the highest honors, but also turn her into a living national treasure that would be treated no different from a princess.

'A bit of study my ass.' Dusk replied. 'You are overworking yourself. You are progressing too fast and with the little rest that you allow yourself, your body is always bordering on exhaustion.

'You don't have the energy to fight in the case something happens.'

'Nothing will happen. This is an academy, one of the safest places in the Empire.' Kelia said. 'As for my body, I promise to take a nap from time to time. You do the rest.'

They spent the rest of the evening and night studying. Kelia took breaks solely to eat, bathe, and use the bathroom. After suffering from malnutrition for most of her life, she treated the academy's canteen like a temple.

She always ate slowly, savoring every single mouthful, and trying all kinds of food. If she liked one, she asked for seconds, otherwise she tried another, but only after cleaning her plate.

Even if it didn't suit her taste, the academy's food was still a bliss compared to the scraps she was used to collecting from the dumpsters. The idea of wasting a hot meal was unbearable to her, even now that Kelia could eat to her heart's content.

Sometimes she even cried when finding a particularly tasty dish. It garnered endless mockery from her peers and compassion from the kitchen staff. They would take note of her liking and make sure to prepare those dishes during the weekend.

Most of the students left the academy to return to their families, but Kelia had none. With the canteen almost empty, the cooks made sure to take care of her the only way they could.

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Kelia had also discovered her love for cleanliness and hot water. She was too proud to admit it, but for someone who had grown alone, a bath was the closest thing to a warm embrace that she had ever received.

During those times, she allowed herself to dream about being the heir of a powerful magical bloodline who had been kidnapped as a child. That somewhere, her parents were still looking out for her, never giving up on their beloved daughter.

In those dreams, one day her parents would hear about her achievements and she would finally be reunited with them. Then, the bath ended and Kelia shrugged it off as a childish delusion.

The next morning, after racking 100 points in a single lesson, Kelia was summoned to the Headmaster's office.

'I wonder what Pylika wants.' Kelia thought. 'I already told her that I'm willing to skip a year and I've been in no fights this week. We have nothing to talk about.'

'Maybe you should have kept your mouth shut and been content with 50 points.' Dusk scolded her. 'The greater expectations people have on you, the greater your burden. They think you are a genius when you are anything but.

'If they pressure you into taking the exam for the second year now, you are done for. If you pass it, to catch up with your new classes you won't have the time to practice Accumulation and your core will stagnate.

'With a deep green core, not only is tier three magic your limit, but you are also much weaker than the other students of the first year, let alone the second. With so little magical power, even if you use Invigoration, you'll barely reach the B rank.

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'If you don't pass the exam, instead, your S rank will be reevaluated. Either way, everything you have worked hard on until now will be lost. Swallow your pride for once and bide your time, kid.'

Kelia usually ignored the Red Sun's unsolicited advice and mocked him for his paranoia, but this time there was no quip or bravado that made his points any less accurate.

Her throat was parched and her back covered in a cold sweat when she knocked on the Headmaster's door.

"Come on in." For the first time since Kelia had enrolled in the Red Emperor academy, the friendly voice of Pylika Ashrein didn't bring her any joy.

She walked through the door, her feet as heavy as her heart, reaching the Headmaster's desk that was covered with orderly piles of paperwork as usual.

"Good morning, miss Sunbry." Ashrein gave the youth a warm smile that brought out the green of her eyes and the dimples on her cheeks. "Once again you've made our academy proud."

It was unusual for an Archmage to greet a student first, but being an S rank, Kelia enjoyed a special treatment.

"Thanks, Headmaster, but please, call me Kelia." She replied while giving the older woman a deep bow.

"Only if you call me Pylika." Ashrein stood up and shook Kelia's hand.

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The young girl forgot all about her worries and returned the smile from the bottom of her heart. The red-haired Archmage had been in Kelia's corner since the admission test and was the closest thing to a motherly figure she had ever had.

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