“Something feels off,” Gaius thought.

  Gaius couldn’t explain that feeling, but while they didn’t have restrictions on what they could study, he could tell that some unseen restrictions existed in the library. Since he walked in that place for quite a while and he had a good memory thanks to his wisdom, Gaius soon realized what was happening.

  The library was immense, so it was hard to believe that some selves looked identical to others on the other side of the room… they even had dozens of identical books and scrolls, all added in the same order.

  “It must be some sort of illusion,” Gaius thought. “For some reason, I don’t feel compelled to grab some books in some areas. They must be the books that are put under illusory spells.”

  Gaius used his willpower to bypass that weird feeling, but even when he grabbed the books and opened them, their contents were the same as others… that should be a second-level lock for the people in the library making students not touch the materials that were above them.

  “Now what?” Gaius thought and then sighed.

  It seemed that Gaius only option was to take things the normal way and study one year each topic before moving on. That would be a massive waste of time… still, thanks to his lack of talent, there wasn’t much that he could do. Trying to show that his skill was above others to skip a semester or something would be too hard.

  The kids in the magic academy looked to be doing fine, and so was Aisha. Perhaps something like their bloodline granted them a certain ease in learning magic. As usual, Gaius crossed his arms and then closed his eyes to think about the issue… he had to find a solution to that problem in one way or the other.

  “... I guess I am out of options,” Gaius thought after a long sigh. “I trained my creativity while dealing with the problems of the village, but when it comes to this kind of stuff, I don’t have much experience. Let’s just study hard and then try to get ahead of others to be promoted faster while I think of another solution.”

  Gaius, though frustrated with the slow pace of his progress, had secretly been hoping for some sort of inspiration or miraculous solution to fall into his lap. Deep down, he was waiting for a breakthrough that would bypass all the hard work, but he couldn’t bring himself to admit it. However, since no such shortcut presented itself, he resolved to buckle down and study seriously.

  Over the next month, Gaius committed himself fully to his studies, diving into his lessons with a focus he hadn’t shown before. There were times when he felt so overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information that it felt like steam was coming out of his head. Despite the mental strain, his determination paid off, and he managed to learn two new spells: one to stop bleeding and another to heal burn injuries.

  After weeks of intense effort, Gaius finally reached a significant milestone. He achieved level one hundred. Though the progress was hard-earned and far from the quick solution he had initially hoped for, it marked a critical step forward in his journey, proving that persistence and hard work were essential to his growth as a mage.

  “Having a hard time?” Angela asked when Gaius showed up at her domain.

  “Something like that,” Gaius replied. “Enjoying yourself watching how school life actually works?”

  “As I said, I can’t watch that much, only certain moments,” Angela explained.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  “If you say so.” Gaius tried to shrug. “Anyway, what that guy said was true? About talent and things like that?”

  “I am not certain about what you are talking about.” Angela tilted her head. “What I do know is that people obtain some affinities according to their lifestyle. For example, you can use basic magic and can fight as well too, because you have been doing that for many years. Thanks to that, your affinity for other fields is a bit lopsided. Think like this: as you grow older, you obtain more knowledge and skills granted by experiences, so eventually, you tend to move to fields related to those because it feels more comfortable. The older you get, the more skills you can develop, but it gets harder after focusing too much on a single thing.”

  “I guess you can say that it is like a skill tree of a game… the older you get, you get some skill points to invest in some skills, but you can’t max out everything,” Gaius said while nodding. “Well, I do want to max out everything.”

  “Hahaha, I figured as much,” Angela said. “Well, eventually, you will obtain more knowledge and experience to make some skills easier for you. You have probably noticed that already.”

  Gaius nodded… he wanted the system to help him with that, but he wasn’t shameless enough to ask it or say it out loud.

  A few more days passed and Gaius also noticed that in the library, the shelves that had books of the courses that he had taken yet felt like repelling him as well. At that point in time, he began to realize that the magic academy had studied a bunch of methods and applications for mana. He got really curious about it, but thanks to his lack of talent, it felt like he would never master all that.

  “It isn’t like I have to, but I have the foundation about everything and then go from there myself would be the best option,” Gaius thought.

  While Gaius was thinking along those lines, he was also meditating in the training fields. He had a crazy mana regeneration, but more was always welcome. Besides, absorbing the energy of the sun was truly relaxing.

  Still, it looked like his time at peace was about to end and soon he heard some explosions in the distance… when he looked to the side, he saw some students practicing their elemental spells. Among them, he saw Aisha.

  At first, Gaius tried to focus on his own thing, but soon a consecutive number of explosions got his interest.

  “They are going at it more than usual…” Gaius opened his right eye and raised his eyebrow.

  In the next moment, Gaius saw fireballs hitting each other in the air and the shockwave expanding through the area. That happened several times in a few seconds. Aisha was sparring with another girl and they were starting to get tired. While Fireball was an easy spell, it consumed ten points of mana. Kids around that age shouldn’t be able to use it that often.

  Gaius could see the annoyed expression of Aisha while breathing roughly, but he couldn’t see the other girl since she had her back toward him. She was probably angry as well, for whatever reason.

  “Well, girls their age fight pretty often,” Gaius thought. “They probably will hate each other guts for a while, though.”

  Fights between teenagers, whether between girls and girls or boys and boys, often have distinct dynamics influenced by a variety of factors such as social expectations, emotional responses, and individual personalities. Gaius knew that well.

  Conflicts between girls tend to be more emotionally charged. They often revolve around personal issues, such as friendship, loyalty, social status, or perceived betrayals.

  Girls are more likely to engage in verbal sparring or passive-aggressive behaviors, such as gossip, exclusion, or indirect insults (relational aggression). Fights between girls often involve their wider social circles, creating a ripple effect. Friends can take sides, and conflicts may become prolonged as others get involved.

  Boys are more likely to engage in physical altercations or direct confrontations. These fights often stem from challenges to dominance, competitiveness, or teasing.

  While boys’ fights may seem intense, they are generally less emotionally complex. The issues at play tend to be more straightforward, and they often center on disagreements or status rather than emotional betrayal. Boys tend to resolve conflicts faster, even if they initially involve physical aggression. Fights are often followed by quick resolutions, and there is usually less long-term resentment.

  That made Gaius recall a time when one of his friends pestered him for a while about a girl when he was in middle school. He ended up punching the guy in the gut and they didn’t talk that day after trading a few more punches, but the next day, it felt like nothing had happened.