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    [Volume 3 - Liberation]


    [A/N: Huge thank you to Ramattra for supporting my work by donating gifts. I truly appreciate it. Thank you.]


    The sound of footsteps echoed throughout the hallways. Two teenage girls could be seen walking through it while conversing with one another.


    They were both wearing their academy''s uniform with pride.


    Their uniforms were standard. Actually, if Ss were there to see it, he would havemented on how it looked very simr to the uniforms they used to make girls wear in schools back on Earth.


    They wore a grey and white uniform. Their skirts were grey with white outlines, and the case was the same with their uniform jackets. However, in this situation, it looked like only one of them was wearing a coat, as the other walked around with only her shirt and tie.


    "He... I don''t think I''m ready for the tournament. I''ve been training so muchtely, but I can''t break out of the amethyst core." A girl with blonde hair and silver eyes sulked.


    She was holding onto staff with a precious-looking gem embroidered into it. She was clearly a mage, and anyone who saw her would most likelye to the same conclusion.


    "Girl, you are one of the only people in the school with a staff that has a real sapphire core embedded into it. Wait for no... Let me reiterate. You not only have an overpowered weapon, but you also have the backing of your family to get you the best armor, and you even have one of the strongest cores in our year." Heughed in a half-mocking and half-joking manner.


    "Let''s not talk about your blessing." He stoppedughing while suddenly shuddering.


    "Still... The other academies might have people much stronger than me... Hell, I''m not even in the special ss. I''m sure there''s people stronger than me." The blonde-haired girl sulked even more.


    He sighed when she saw her friend''s low self-confidence. Despite how strong she was, her friend didn''t seem to understand that. It was one of the things that drew He in the first time they met. The girl beside her was exceptionally talented, yet despite knowing that she could destroy everyone in their ss with a single spell, even if they charged her simultaneously, she always looked at the negatives.


    She was a very pessimistic person.


    Sure, there were people in their year group with 2 or 3 elements, but they never came close to being as strong as He''s blonde-haired friend because no matter what they did, they could note close to her control over her element.


    "Girl, have some confidence." He drew her hair behind her ear and smiled at her friend.


    "I''m sure you''re going to be fine. What''s the worst that can happen? You''re already in the top 10 strongest people in the entire school, with even the toki users included. What else can you ask for?"


    "I... I need to be the strongest..." The blonde-haired girl''s eyes flickered, suddenly bing empty as she tightened her grip around her staff.


    Her eyes quickly returned to normal when she shook her head and let out a defeated sigh.


    "You will, but sometimes you can''tpete with these monsters. Some of them are being pumped with drugs and will probably die in their 30s, while others are given so many resources that they eventually don''t earn anything on their own. We both know how that ends." He shrugged before her eyes turned in a certain direction.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "We''re here." He sighed with a little bit of annoyance.


    "Yeah, we are..." The blond-haired girl sighed as well, but not for the same reason. The stress had been getting to her for a few months now, and when she saw the door to their ssroom, she could not help but let out a shaky breath.


    She was on the edge and was about to burn out any day now. However, she knew that if she did burn out, she wouldn''t be able to train for a couple of days... It happened before, and the consequences were severe.


    She wasn''t technically behind, but that''s what they had drilled into her mind... That she was never good enough. That her brother would always be better...


    And the only thing she could think about was...


    Was that they were right?


    If only she had been stronger, she could have saved him too.


    *Click*


    The door handle lowered slightly before the two entered a full lecture hall. Everyone suddenly turned back to see who was entering the ssroom, and while He didn''t seem to care, the blonde-haired girl went red with embarrassment.


    "Syra! He! What have I said aboutingte to my ss? That''s 25 points deducted from your ounts." The lecturer at the front of the hall crossed her arms with a little bit of anger in her voice. Of course, she wasn''t actually angry, but she had to make it seem that way; otherwise, other students would call her out for favoritism.


    He threw her hair back and walked toward her seat with her head held high.


    On the other hand, Syra lowered her head and apologized to the lecturer several times before eventually getting to her seat.


    Usually, people of their status within the school would sit at the back of the ssroom, and that was actually the case with He for a couple of weeks before going to where Syra sat, which was within the frontal, middle rows.


    She picked that seat because listening to the lecturer from that distance was much easier. At the same time, she didn''t like the people who sat at the back. They all hadrge, fragile egos, which was something that didn''t sit well with her.


    They didn''t bother her as long as she didn''t bother them. They would have tormented her if she was weaker or from a lower family, but since that wasn''t the case, they didn''t care.


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