By the time the sun began to set over Grimveil Academy, most students had left the training yard. All except me. And maybe a few unfortunate dummies still floating in mid-air.
Perfect. Alone time. Finally.
I dusted myself off, inspected my wooden sword, and muttered, "Alright, genius brain, time to show you can actually do something without everyone noticing."
Carefully, I set up a dummy, pretending to practice, all while keeping my movements "sloppy enough" so if anyone looked, I'd appear weak.
Step one: trip occasionally. Step two: grunt like I'm exhausted. Step three: secretly hit every weak point.
Strike after strike, dodge after dodge, I moved with precision born from my past life. The dummies didn't stand a chance. I even managed a small trick I had never tried before: redirecting a dummy's energy blast back at it mid-air.
Yes. Perfect. Hilarious if anyone sees it. Invisible genius intact.
Just then, a voice called from the yard entrance.
"Practicing already, Ashcroft?"
I froze. Syria Valcor, hands on her hips, leaning casually against the gateframe. "You always make training… interesting, don't you?"
I bowed hastily. "Just… trying to survive, Princess Syria."
She laughed, bouncing on her heels. "You're ridiculous! But also… kind of impressive. Keep it up!"
She actually thinks I'm ridiculous and impressive at the same time? I… I'll take it.
From the shadows, I felt eyes. Selene. Calm, quiet, watching. Her expression was unreadable, but her gaze followed my every move.
Oh no. She's judging technique now. Focus, Riven. Focus… casually, clumsily, casually… yes.
And then… Charlotte appeared, stepping from behind a training dummy with her arms crossed. "Ashcroft," she said coldly, "don't think you can hide your skill forever. I've already noticed inconsistencies in your technique. Interesting… but sloppy. Keep up."
Noticed? Already? Fantastic. The one person I can't mess up in front of… is already analyzing me.
I wiped sweat from my brow and staggered backward dramatically, pretending to collapse from exhaustion. "Yes… yes, tiring work. Very weak. Very… normal."
Kaelen, of course, chose this moment to stroll in with a smirk. "Practicing alone, Ashcroft? Afraid of being humiliated in front of everyone again?"
I straightened, arms flailing slightly, and muttered, "No… just… enjoying the scenery… of my own mediocrity."
Syria burst out laughing. Selene tilted her head slightly, intrigued. Charlotte just watched, expression unreadable, probably calculating how long until I inevitably fail.
Step one: survive training. Step two: survive attention. Step three: remain secretly dangerous. Progress: 33%.
I collapsed dramatically onto the grass, grinning faintly to myself. If anyone knew what I could actually do…
…well, that would be a problem for another day.