Father, I Won’t Do Anything

“Huh?”

When had ‘not disliking’ become ‘liking’…?

Jaina nodded awkwardly.

“Yes… I like you…”

“I like Miss Jaina too!”

Rosian beamed as he spread his arms wide. Jaina instinctively hugged him as he embraced her.

However, it didn’t feel clammy or unpleasant.

Rather than an intimate skinship, it conveyed a refreshing, light hug befitting close friends.

Before Jaina could react with surprise, Rosian swiftly withdrew and spoke.

“From now on, I won’t interfere excessively. If I made you uncomfortable, I apologize. However, as Brother Mikael instructed, I can’t leave you two alone together. So whenever you meet Professor Izren, I’ll join you!”

“What…?”

“That settles it, then!”

Caught off guard, Jaina found herself agreeing to a forced three-way meeting. And Izren was regarding the situation with a peculiar gaze.

Some time later, as Jaina headed back to her dormitory, Izren held Rosian back.

“What are you doing?”

“Jaina is going through a difficult time right now, so refrain from confessing your feelings or anything of that nature for the time being.”

Rosian stared intently at the man before him, seeming to have his pride wounded, as he brushed off Izren’s restraining hand.

“I’m well aware that this is not the time. That’s why I’m merely playing the part of an elder brother for now.”

Rosian let out a wry smile, seemingly displeased with his own emotional volatility before Jaina.

* * *

Having been inadvertently drawn into Rosian and Izren’s conflict, Jaina remained preoccupied with thoughts of the two even as her next class began.

‘Why did their relationship sour so badly?’

Already confused by the matter concerning Diamid, this additional issue only compounded her troubles.

“Lady Jaina is bound to fail too, isn’t she?”

“Of course. No matter how well you perform normally, actual combat is different.”

This class involved outdoor practical training. Lost in contemplation as she blankly stared at the ground, Jaina soon realized it was her turn and raised her head to face forward.

“Huhuhu, huhuuck…”

“It seems I lack the talent to be a magician…”

Before her, other students were crying after failing the practical test.

‘What was the test for today… Dealing with demonic beasts, wasn’t it…?’

As Jaina impassively observed the weeping students, the practical instructor, noticing her demeanor, approached and offered consolation, seemingly assuming she was intimidated.

“Don’t be too disappointed if you don’t pass, Jaina. Many students fail to defeat even the small demonic beasts that appear in the first practical test.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“No matter how weak, demonic beasts are still demonic beasts, on a different level from ordinary monsters.”

“Ah, I see…”

“Since you joined midway through the semester, Lady Jaina, you’ll have to face more formidable demonic beasts from the start, so your score will be adjusted accordingly. Just relax and do your best. I’ll be observing from the back, so don’t worry.”

As if to ease Jaina’s perceived tension, the instructor patted her back for a while before checking his wristwatch and escorted her to the practical training grounds, mentioning it was time.

“What did I emphasize during the written portion?”

“That the opponent possesses various attributes, so magicians, being limited in their attributes, must be equipped with various reagents and magical artifacts.”

“Correct. Since you know this well, you should be able to utilize these properly.”

Jaina looked down at the pouches attached to her waist and nodded.

“As I mentioned earlier, the demonic beast you’ll face will have attributes different from yours, Jaina. Good luck!”

The practical training grounds resembled a square arena, sealed on all sides by barriers.

Students would engage in one-on-one combat against demonic beasts within this space, emerging victorious by utilizing magic, artifacts, reagents, and various methods.

“A flame demonic beast…”

A demonic beast with a size ten times Jaina’s emerged from the opposite iron gate. Its canine form was engulfed in flames like a mane.

“Jaina’s opponent seems to be a flame demonic beast with a fiery mane?”

“Indeed, since Jaina is a sky-attribute mage who primarily uses wind magic, a flame-attribute demonic beast has appeared.”

Using wind magic would only intensify the flames.

After swiftly assessing the situation, Jaina quietly cast a haste spell to prepare for the demonic beast’s attack.

“Grrrooaar!”

Shortly after, having completed its reconnaissance, the flame demonic beast charged fiercely towards Jaina with its jaws agape.

“Uwaaah!”

Screams could be heard from outside, but Jaina paid them no heed, calmly facing forward as usual.

‘Due to its massive size, its movements are linear.’

Baaang!

As the hastened Jaina nimbly evaded, the demonic beast collided with the arena’s protective barrier.

‘If I hadn’t dodged, those fangs would have likely bitten me.’

Though not life-threatening in a test situation, she would have required several days of recovery.

As the threatening situation persisted, screams echoed from beyond the barrier, seemingly agitating the flame demonic beast.

Seizing the momentary distraction, Jaina murmured an incantation, enveloping her body in a magical armor.

A refreshing energy permeated her being.

This would allow her to withstand intense flames for a while.

“Grrrroooar!”

As the demonic beast rose, Jaina regained her footing.

‘Its speed is too fast.’

While the flame demonic beast’s movements were linear, its speed belied its size, making evasion challenging.

Moreover, despite directly colliding with the barrier, it seemed utterly unscathed.

‘Then once more?’

Jaina relocated to another corner, narrowly evading the demonic beast’s attack at the last possible moment.

Baaang!

Due to the arena’s confined space, dodging in the corners proved more difficult than in open areas. However, this also presented an advantage.

Without resorting to offensive magic, she could strike the demonic beast by utilizing the barriers.

‘Though it appears unharmed now, repeated direct collisions are bound to inflict some damage.’

This seemed more effective than using opposing wind magic.

“Grrrrrr…”

However, the demonic beast seemed unwilling to fall for the same tactic thrice.

Halting its charge, the flame demonic beast glared at Jaina with a growl.

Their gazes locked through the flickering flames, Jaina’s slender frame reflected in the demonic beast’s ferocious eyes.

‘Now!’

The instant the flame demonic beast raised its smoldering paw to strike, Jaina swiftly acted with remarkable reflexes.

“Waaack!”

“Fortunately, Lady Jaina evaded it!”

Having dodged the attack, Jaina recast her haste spell. To emerge victorious and leave the training grounds, she couldn’t simply keep evading, as the demonic beast needed to be defeated.

An offensive approach required time. Using wind magic alone against a flame-attribute demonic beast would be futile.

‘I need to utilize the reagents provided.’

Jaina conjured vines with her mana, extending them towards the arena’s sides and clinging to the spectator barrier.

Boong!

Propelled by the vines’ elasticity, Jaina briefly soared into the air, higher than the flame demonic beast’s stature.

She then retrieved a mana-amplifying reagent from her pouch and twisted her body to land near the flame demonic beast.

The intense heat was palpable, but the mana armor would likely provide some protection.

Jaina removed the reagent bottle’s lid and unhesitatingly doused the flame demonic beast with the mana-amplifying reagent.

“Uwaaaaaack!”

“No, what is that!”

Reacting to the mana-amplifying reagent, the flames surged upwards, but Jaina struggled to maintain her position on the demonic beast’s back.

She had to finish this while the demonic beast thrashed in confusion.

‘There’s not enough time to mix reagents…’

Though attributed to the mana-amplifying reagent, the flames erupting from the demonic beast’s body were more intense than expected. The mana armor’s protection seemed insufficient.

Momentarily squinting, Jaina let out a deep sigh and retrieved another reagent from her pouch.

‘It’s a rough method, but… I have no choice.’

Having learned extensively about reagents while living with Hilvenzia, Jaina had a reason for further amplifying the demonic beast’s flames.

‘Now that I’ve applied the mana-amplifying reagent!’

Da-dong!

The flames surging from the flame demonic beast’s back gradually began to freeze. Sensing the chill on its back, the demonic beast let out an agonized roar.

“Grrrrulk!”

As the flame demonic beast thrashed in an attempt to shake her off, Jaina swiftly retreated using her haste spell.

“Phew.”

Observing from a safe distance, the demonic beast seemed to be wildly struggling, utterly bewildered by the changes occurring to its body, paying her no heed.

With the demonic beast’s back exposed and vulnerable, this was her chance.

Wheeeeng-

Jaina gathered her mana to the limit and unleashed a fierce gale towards the demonic beast’s back.

Crack-

The sound of shattering ice accompanied the sharp frozen shards piercing the demonic beast’s body.

“Grrrrrulk!”

And with that, it was over.

The demonic beast could no longer rise from the ground.

“Lady, Lady Jaina passed…”

After catching her breath, Jaina exited the training grounds and asked the awestruck practical instructor.

“What’s my score?”

“A perfect score.”

Receiving the practical grade report, Jaina’s shoulders straightened with pride.

Having worried about facing a demonic beast for the first time, she was relieved to have achieved a perfect score.

“Lady Jaina, you didn’t seem tense at all. Remarkable!”

“I simply didn’t outwardly show it.”

Having battled dragons so recently, she wasn’t about to be intimidated by mere demonic beasts. Moreover, after years of studying magic and reagents under Mikael and Hilvenzia, Jaina had gradually awakened her latent abilities without realizing it.

‘Actual combat is more enjoyable than expected.’

Once all the students had completed their practicals, the instructor opened his mouth with a concerned expression.

“For the next session, you’ll be entering the training grounds in pairs of two against one. Find a suitable partner.”

‘Group combat… That should be interesting.’

Unlike the other screaming students, Jaina nodded lightly without trepidation.

“Your partner doesn’t necessarily have to be a classmate or from the same department. You can team up with seniors or students from other departments, though the difficulty level will be slightly higher in that case.”

Upon the instructor’s words, Jaina thought of Rosian. With his reliable skills and willingness to assist if asked, he seemed an ideal choice.

‘Today wasn’t too challenging, so group combat shouldn’t be much different either.’

However, this was a grave miscalculation.