Shattered Sanity

(That same day, Late Afternoon, Spell Training Class)

When Riven finally demonstrated his improved [Lightning Step] during Spell Training that day, Professor Jean was perhaps the most surprised to witness the sudden progress he had made.

She had been walking between the practicing students when Riven began another attempt, circulating Storm Aether through his legs before exploding forward with three consecutive movements that carried him more than ten meters in barely a second.

”Dawnriver, the last time I checked on your progress, you could hardly complete the first step, yet now you’re managing three,” Jean said encouragingly, as she approached him with an approving expression. ”That’s already halfway through the technique.”

”Yes, Professor,” Riven replied, as he respectfully bowed his head. ”I trained throughout the night to improve my technique, and by the end I was finally able to master the first three steps, although the fourth one is still troubling me.”

”You trained throughout the entire night?”

Jean’s eyes widened slightly as Riven nodded, while the conversation she had shared with Professor Jude inside the staff room a couple days ago suddenly returned to her mind.

Jude had already warned her that Riven’s greatest advantage might have little to do with the extraordinary affinity recorded during his appraisal, as although his practical understanding remained considerably behind Gary’s, the boy possessed a desperation for improvement that was unlike other noble borns.

’I think he could catch up to Gary by the end of the academic year because he’s that desperate to improve.’

Jude had claimed, and at that time, Jean had considered the prediction to be somewhat optimistic.

However, after watching Riven progress this much in a single night, she found herself reconsidering that judgment.

”Training all night...”

Jean repeated, as her gaze briefly travelled towards the dark circles beneath Riven’s exhausted eyes before she gave him an approving nod.

”Good progress, Dawnriver. Keep working on maintaining the circulation when transitioning into your fourth step, the key is to take in more Aether at the start, so you don’t exhaust it all by the third step.”

She advised before continuing towards the next group of students while Riven returned to his practice, although she was far from the only person across the training grounds who had noticed his sudden improvement.

Several students had already begun paying attention whenever Riven practiced [Lightning Step], especially after word spread that the supposedly monstrous Storm genius had spent his first week struggling to perform even the opening portion of a Tier Two spell.

However, now that perception was beginning to change once again.

While three steps was only half the technique, they still allowed Riven to cover more than ten meters in under a second, giving him enough explosive mobility to close considerable distances before most opponents could properly react.

So, for his enemies who constantly fantasized about fighting him, it appeared threatening enough to scare them to their bones.

More importantly, he had progressed from barely managing the first step to reliably performing three within roughly ten days of beginning his training, placing his rate of improvement comfortably beyond what was expected from an ordinary talented student.

”I fucking knew it!

All the talk about Dawnriver not being talented in spell-craft was nothing but a steaming pile of monkey crap.

At the rate he’s going.... He’s going to master a tier2 spell in under a month.”

”Shit! I really wanted him to keep sucking at that spell.

It gave me something to laugh about everyday.”

”There goes my reason to come to spell class everyday.

My daily hate-watch is ruined.”

The whispers that had recently begun dismissing his Perfect Storm Affinity gradually quietened as students watched him repeatedly cross the training grounds, with the same people who had started viewing Riven as an overrated appraisal result now reconsidering whether they had judged him too quickly.

’I always knew Dawnriver was not an untalented fool....’

Gary thought, as he too took note of Riven’s progress from another corner of the training field, as he watched Riven train with a side eye.

’Looks like whatever bottleneck he was struggling with, he’s finally broken through it.’

Gary concluded, before returning his attention towards his own spell training with renewed focus, as he still had plenty of progress left to make himself.

Raising his right hand towards one of the reinforced training targets, Gary circulated Flame Aether through his arm before gathering it within his palm.

”[Flame Burst].”

BOOM!

A concentrated ball of fire shot across the training field and exploded against the target, engulfing its upper half in flames before gradually disappearing.

By now, Gary could successfully cast the Tier Two spell on nearly every attempt, with only minor inconsistencies in its power and casting speed preventing Professor Jean from considering it completely mastered.

His progress with Light was slightly further behind, although it had improved considerably over the past ten days as well.

Switching elements, Gary circulated Light Aether through his arm before extending his palm.

”[Radiant Shield].”

A translucent barrier of pale light formed before him, covering most of his upper body as Gary maintained the spell for several seconds before its edges began flickering and the entire construct eventually collapsed.

Gary showed little frustration as the scattered Light Aether disappeared, knowing that maintaining the shield for several seconds was already considerably better than what he had managed when first attempting the spell.

His [Flame Burst] was nearly mastered, while [Radiant Shield] was steadily approaching the same point.

Glancing towards Riven one final time, Gary watched him disappear through another three-step [Lightning Step] before returning his attention towards his own training.

’Keep improving, Dawnriver.’

Gary raised his palm once again.

’I have no intention of going easy on you in our rematch, and people will scream massacre unless you can at least block a couple of blows.’

He thought as he felt the desire for revenge bubble up inside him once more, the emotions mixing with the Flame Aether flowing through his veins, as he unleashed another powerful [Flame Burst].