Melia was almost offended by his statement.
Was he saying that she was a bad human being?
She frowned as she caught up to him. "What do you mean by 'pattern recognition?' That would imply you have met many killers—"
"I have."
His tone left no room for doubt.
He turned around, gazing sharply into her eyes. "I don't know if it is your nature or if this is simply a consequence of your childhood, but take my word for it. You have what it takes to become a killer. A degree of composure. A degree of detachment and dissociation. A degree of grit. You have what it takes, whether you want to believe it or not."
She stared at him with a stunned expression. "You can just decide that by looking at me."
Cæ regarded her with a knowing expression. "It's not as though this is the first time I'm looking at you. I have not missed your strange behavior from when we first met. I did not miss the glint of cold determination in your eyes when you chose to break free from your shackles. And now that I have known you, I feel confident in my intuition. If you don't believe me…"
Cæ shrugged.
"Why don't you try it and find out?"
"Wha—" She grew bewildered by his callous invitation to kill a human being to confirm whether or not he was correct. "You can't just kill a person for such a light reason."
Cæ huffed, shaking his head lightly. "There are plenty of ways to kill legally. Especially as a mage. Just use your imagination. Hell, you could do it today, just go to the slums and you'll see that a cute girl will attract plenty of men who give you a reason to kill them in self-defense."
She blushed even as she gazed at him with a stunned expression. "You actually think I have an affinity for murder? You… truly think so little of me?"
The air grew a little heavy as her tone contained a hint of reproach as she gazed at him with hurt eyes.
The mood darkened despite the bright light of the morning Sun.
Cæ shook his head.
"Little? No, I think highly of you. The capacity to kill is a compliment and a credit to who you are. Melia…"
His stormy gray eyes bore deep into her dark eyes with a calm intensity.
"…do not mistake weakness for kindness, nor strength of heart for evil."
His tone was sharp.
"To be able to kill is a fortitude that everybody should strive for. We may live in what seems like a civilized society, but in reality, we simply exist in a more sophisticated jungle with greater complexity than any jungle that came before it, but a jungle is a jungle."
His perilous gaze continued to bear deep into her eyes.
"This is especially true for us mages. Especially so for those of us with elite talent. If you want to survive and thrive, you will need to have the capacity to kill when needed," Cæ continued with a certain tone. "In that regard, you are perfect. I believe that you will be fine even after you graduate because of this very quality. Now, if you were like some of my other friends, for example…"
He thought of Sorenon and Seliphaz.
They were soft.
Especially the latter, she didn't have it in her to harm a fly.
That didn't mean she was a weak person, but it also meant that she lacked the ferocity and fortitude to ensure that she didn't get disenfranchised. Seliphaz, in particular, had been treated unfairly for choosing an unpopular specialization, but she didn't push back and fight for what she deserved because she lacked precisely what Cæ saw as an abundance of within Melia.
Melia grew a little consoled when Cæ clarified, but her dark eyes glinted with a hint of fear towards Cæ.
"Have you ever killed somebody?"
The air grew electric with peril as Cæ's unnerving eyes bore deep into hers.
His right eye, in particular, looked like an unholy curse, where his iris blended into the white sclera in his eye, creating a chilling visage.
The scars that ran across his face and neck only made her feel even more unsafe in his presence.
"Would you believe me if I said I haven't?"
His tone was calm.
And yet, she felt goosebumps run across her skin.
She couldn't bring herself to say yes.
He huffed lightly, defusing the tense atmosphere. "You place too much weight on life. You were given an affinity for the death element for a reason. Think about it. The death element exists for one and only one reason. And it isn't to play nice and cuddle with everybody."
Her expression grew conflicted at those words.
Indeed, she wasn't sure what to do with the death element.
There was only one thing that could be done with the death element.
That was a fact that she would have to confront, one way or another.
"…A covert assassin," she murmured to herself. "That's like the opposite of what Headmistress Lenolia."
Cæ snorted. "If you want to be like her, then follow your own path and make the best of yourself. That is the best thing you can do for your mentor."
She stirred at those, following after Cæ, before gazing at him with a knowing expression. "You are a rare polyelemental, which means that you have an affinity for the death element as well, right? Do you intend to become a covert assassin?"
Cæ shook his head. "Not exclusively, although I do intend to gain some proficiency in killing techniques and in stealth magic, among many other fields of magic."
She frowned. "Many other fields of magic? What are you specializing in?"
"Nothing."
"What?! But if you don't specialize, then you—"
"—won't get a good job. Yes, I know," Cæ heaved a tired sigh.
He was already exhausted from explaining his decision to everybody.
"Don't worry about me," he shook his head. "I have my path figured out. You need to figure out what path you will choose when you graduate from the Apprentice Program."
"…I know," she murmured. "I will consider your advice. I do agree that I shouldn't waste my talent."
Cæ glanced at her knowingly. "Do you intend to partake in the Magic Contest?"
Her eyes lit up at those words. "Yes! I don't know if I will qualify, however. But I have looked forward to participating in the Magic Contest for a long, long time!"
It appeared that not even Melia was immune to the infectious excitement of the Elendir Institute of Magic. There was simply too much enthusiasm and hype surrounding it among the freshmen of the Elendir Institute of Magic for her to remain immune to it.
"What about you?" she raised an eyebrow. "Do you have any intention of participating? You must participate! After all, your combat prowess is truly remarkable."
"…I am strongly considering it," Cæ replied with a thoughtful tone. "However, I believe I will have stiff competition for the senior division. After all, I have only studied magic for a year while many of my competitors are apprentice mages who have specialized in combat magic for quite some time now."
There was also the formidable vice president, as well as the student council president herself. Cæ had grown stronger in the combat thanks to the field experience that he gained when participating in the security teams of the task force, but it remained to be seen whether it would be enough.
"HELP!"
Cæ's awareness returned to the world around him as Melia jolted where he stood.
"HELP! Somebody hel—Ahhh!"
They heard the desperate screams of a girl around the corner of a building.
Cæ and Melia immediately set into motion as Cæ took to the air, accelerating with magic as he waved his wand, with several magic circles appearing before him.
WHOOSH!
He shot off, taking a sharp turn around the corner of the building.
His eyes sharpened as he spotted four girls.
Three of them were on the ground with bruises on their faces as they gazed at none other than Vloria Milnir, the honors student, mounting atop a girl while ruthlessly pummeling her face with a fierce expression.
"That's enough."
Cæ's tone was icy.
His voice was unyielding.
Vloria froze, paralyzed as Cæ cast a simple first-circle spell that used the Fundamental Form of Manipulation to freeze her body where it was. Because she hadn't mastered any magic yet, obviously, she didn't have an interference field to stop his magic from affecting her.
Cæ waved his wand as he flicked her off the girl's body.
THUD
She rolled off the ground, smoothly cushioning her fall as she glared at Cæ with a fierce expression.
Cæ's attention, however, was fixed on the girl she had brutally pummeled.
She sobbed uncontrollably as tears gushed from her eyes while blood trickled down her deformed nose.
The other two girls only had a few bruises on their faces.
Cæ even spotted their wands on the ground.
It meant that she was quick enough to take them down before they could even hope to cast a single spell.
It reminded Cæ of himself when he had done the same thing with Silian.
WHOOSH
The very next moment, one of the security guards of the Elendir Institute of Magic arrived at the scene with an emergency healing nurse who tended to the bleeding girl, as well as the other three girls with bruises, while the security guard turned towards Vloria with a glare.
"Oh my god…!" Melia's eyes widened with shock. "What happened?!"
Cæ heaved a sigh, walking over to Vloria, who threw a dirty glare at Cæ.
"Why did you stop me?"
Cæ simply gazed at her with a serious expression. "…what happened?"
"Why did you stop me?" Her tone grew even more demanding as she glared at him with a fierce expression. "I thought we were supposed to be on the same side."
"That's not how it works," Cæ's tone was unyielding as his stormy gray eyes bore deep into hers. "You need to understand that you can't just attack people unless in self-defense. So I will ask you again…"
His sharp, gray eyes pierced into hers.
"What happened?"
"SHE HIT ME IS WHAT HAPPENED!" the girl, having had her bleeding contained, shrieked with a visceral tone. "I DID NOT EVEN DO ANYTHING!"
Cæ turned towards Vloria with an eying gaze.
"Is that true?"
"She insulted my mother! She called her a filthy whore!" Vloria snarled. "She deserved it! Tsk, I really should…"
She stormed towards the girl with balled fists, causing the girl to shriek with fear.
CLASP
Cæ caught her shoulder.
"That's enough."
Her eyes flickered with peril as she turned around and launched a fierce haymaker at his jaw, threatening to knock him out then and there.
CLASP
Her eyes widened as he simply caught her fist inches away from her face.
"I said…" he growled. "That's enough. Otherwise, I will take you in by force."
His wand was pointed at her.
Her sharp eyes bore deep into his for a moment before she huffed, breaking off his grip and folding her arms.
"…You aren't supposed to engage in conflict," Cæ's tone was sharp. "You cannot attack people for words."
"They insulted my mother! I can't let her walk away with that!" she barked back.
"This isn't the slums," Cæ reminded. "There are rules. You have to follow them. That is the condition. Or do you want to go back to the slums?"
She stiffened.
The threat killed her resistance in her throat.
Whatever complaint she had about the students was not worth losing the luxurious lifestyle she had experienced over the past day. Although the sheer culture shock and difference in the world around them was so stark that it truly beggared the mind, she could not afford to let go of this one and only opportunity to permanently move out of the slums.