TBATE: PRIMORDIAL ASCENSION

Chapter 41: Beast Will-(III)

THIRD PERSON'S POV:

Kathyln walked through the academy halls, her mind wandering as the morning's classes played out in her memory. Today had been rather dull, filled with lectures on casting without incantation and basics of conjuring. Though she understood the importance, it had left her feeling uninspired. 

The announcement that there wouldn't be Arthur's class today because of dungeon exploration only added to her disappointment. She had grown to appreciate Arthur's lessons more than she cared to admit—not because of him, but because of the intriguing concepts he introduced.

The Divergent Mana Training he had taught had paid off. She could now augment herself with mana, a feat she had never thought possible as a conjurer at the solid oragne stage. And being the first student to succeed filled her with quiet pride, though she kept it hidden from everyone, even from Curtis.

Today, however, she was focused on another challenge: Efficient Mana Utilization. Some of the concepts still eluded her, but she had managed to grasp one key idea—creating ice in a new way. Instead of just summoning water and freezing it, she had learned to conjure hot water first, then rapidly drop the temperature to form ice. The method produced stronger ice, and she was eager to test it.

Inside the Disciplinary Committee's training room, she stood poised, concentrating on her mana flow. Nehir, her bond, was curled up on a bench nearby, watching with interest. Summoning the hot water, she focused on the next step, freezing it into five small, sharp icicles. With a flick of her wrist, she launched them at the test dummy.

The dummy, reinforced with varying levels of mana, had always stopped her previous attempts at level 5. But today, the icicles sliced through it effortlessly, piercing through the higher levels of reinforcement without shattering.

"I did it, Nehir!" Kathyln's quiet voice carried a hint of excitement, a smile tugging at her lips as she watched the ice shards pass themselves in the dummy.

Nehir let out a small, triumphant howl, clearly sharing in her bond's success. The sound echoed softly in the training room, a moment of celebration between them.

"Whoa! Is that really the 'Ice Princess' smiling just now?" A teasing voice broke the silence, startling Kathyln. She turned to see Director Goodsky standing at the entrance, watching her with a playful smile.

The feeling of pride was quickly replaced by embarrassment, and Kathyln's face flushed a light shade of red. She averted her eyes, trying to regain her composure, but the rare slip of emotion had already been noticed.

Hiding her embarrassment, Kathyln greeted the director with a small, "Good morning."

"Good morning to you too, Ice Princess," Director Goodsky replied with a warm smile.

Kathyln's cheeks flushed slightly again. "Please don't embarrass me by calling me that," she murmured, though she knew the nickname had become quite popular. Her female friends had already teased her about it more than once.

The director chuckled softly. "You've become quite famous with that name, you know."

Kathyln nodded, aware of the moniker but eager to change the subject. "What brings you to the training room, Director?"

"It's my duty to watch over the academy," Director Goodsky replied, her tone light. "I was just passing by when I noticed the mana fluctuation in here, so I came to check."

Kathyln nodded, feeling a bit more at ease. "I was just testing a theory I learned a few days ago."

"Oh?" The director's curiosity was piqued. "What theory would that be?"