I am Just an Average Tamer

Kai scoffed mid-bite. "Hah. You were just lucky. I couldn't use my beasts."

Corrin leaned forward, elbows on the table, smug as hell. "Same here. I wasn't able to unleash my full strength either."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Sure. Let's call it that."

That lit the spark.

The next few minutes were filled with light jabs.

Corrin poking at Kai's expressionless face. Riven laughing too hard at bad jokes. Kai returning barbed comments with surgical precision, enough to irritate without giving them the satisfaction of a full reaction.

Sevyr just sipped his tea calmly, occasionally raising a brow but otherwise detached. His attention flicked between the three like he was watching a mildly amusing play.

Eventually, Riven stretched, pushing his tray aside. "Alright! There are no lectures till noon, yeah? Let's hit the training field. I need to loosen up before I start rusting."

Corrin smirked. "Finally, something you said that I agree with."

Riven rolled his eyes. "You're always agreeing with me. You just pretend to argue to look cool."

"Oh please," Corrin scoffed, brushing back his bangs. "You need my cool just to balance out your caveman vibes."

Riven threw a grape at him. Corrin dodged it with an exaggerated lean.

Sevyr set his cup down with a soft clink. "You two can go bash heads together. I'll be heading to the library."

Both of them groaned.

"Of course you are," Riven said with mock horror. "Why would the elegant elf dirty his hands with something as barbaric as sweating?"

Corrin chimed in, "Probably gonna flirt with those librarian cuties again, huh?"

Sevyr blinked lazily. "They're more intelligent company than some people here."

Kai smirked at that.

Riven turned toward him. "You coming or what, Kai?"

Kai stood and grabbed his tray. "Nah. Not in the mood to train with idiots."

Corrin raised a brow. "Tch. You saying we're not worth your time?"

Kai didn't respond immediately. He turned to Sevyr and simply said, "Let's go."

Sevyr raised a brow, then nodded, standing with an unhurried grace.

Corrin let out a short laugh. "Oh look, the ice twins are off to freeze the library."

Riven muttered under his breath, "Pfft. Boring."

Kai's jaw flexed, but he kept walking. Sevyr followed beside him, silent for a few steps.

Kai and Sevyr exited the canteen, their steps quiet along the smooth, marble-tiled hallway that stretched between the eastern wing and the central tower of the Azurean Academy.

Morning sunlight poured in through tall glass windows, casting long shadows along the corridor. The occasional student passed by, most chatting idly or walking in groups, but the two moved in calm silence, walking side by side without needing to fill the air with unnecessary talk.

As they approached the grand archway leading into the central library, the nearby noise dulled, like the building itself demanded quiet. The outer walls gave way to a vast atrium, cool and dimly lit compared to the sunlit halls outside.

The Azurean Academy Library stood like a sanctum of knowledge, structured not just in bookshelves, but in power hierarchy.

From the moment one stepped in, the scent of parchment and aged wood greeted them.

The lobby was broad, with stone-carved pillars rising toward the vaulted ceiling.

Glass-encased lamps hung in floating clusters, glowing with gentle, enchanted light.

Enchanters had designed the interior with warded silence spells that dulled voices but kept footsteps and the soft rustle of pages audible, creating a calm but never dead silence.

Directly ahead, a staircase spiraled upward, sectioned off into multiple access checkpoints. A glowing, tiered plaque hung near the staircase entrance.

The library had different floors.

Basic Tier (Ground Floor) – Free access to all students.

Mid-Tier (1st Floor) – Free for Top 10 Rank. Top 200: 15 Credits/hr. Others: 25 Credits/hr.

Elite Tier (2nd Floor) – Free for Aces. Rank 2–10: 100 Credits/hr. Rank 11–50: 200 Credits/hr. Below them don't have any access.

Master Tier (3rd Floor) – Only accessible for the professors and Aces.

A soft bell rang as the barrier rune beside the stairs shimmered, letting a student through after scanning his ID card.

Sevyr stopped beside the staircase and glanced at Kai. "Which floor are you heading to?"

Kai's eyes flicked up toward the Elite Tier floor above.

"2nd floor," he said simply.

Sevyr raised a pale brow, with a faint hum of amusement under his breath. "Didn't take you for the flashy type."

Kai met his gaze. "I'm not."

That was all he said before stepping toward the rune-locked staircase.

Sevyr chuckled lightly and nodded. "Alright then. I'll be in the 1st floor, don't get lost among the elites."

Kai gave him a short nod, not stopping. "See you later."

And with that, the two split.

Kai placed his academy badge against the glowing sigil. The rune pulsed, recognized his credentials, and allowed access with a soft chime.

He ascended, footsteps echoing faintly as he climbed toward the Elite Tier floor, where far fewer footsteps walked.

The moment Kai stepped onto the Elite Tier floor, the difference was palpable.

Gone was the bustling, open-air feel of the ground floor with its dozens of students flipping through general textbooks and basic reference scrolls.

The Elite Tier was quieter, eerily so, not because of a silencing rune, but because there were fewer people… and those who were here, respected the weight of the knowledge stored within these walls.

The architecture itself was elevated. Darker oak shelves towered higher here, carved with delicate arcane runes that shimmered faintly, almost alive.

The books were older, some sealed with magical locks, some housed behind enchanted glass, requiring permission or credentials to even touch.

The air smelled less of dust and more of aged mana, like centuries of spellwork had been soaked into the very wood and stone.

Soft, floating lanterns drifted overhead, their flames a cool, pale blue instead of the warm gold from the lower floors.

A massive circular table sat at the center, made of polished obsidian-like material, with inscription slots where books could be placed to project their contents as holographic pages for silent group reading.

Crystal golems floated between aisles, silent guardians and attendants, unlike the simple wooden catalog stations on the ground floor.

More than anything, what made this place feel different… was the pressure.

Not magical, not physical, but mental. The weight of expectations, the intensity of ambition.

Everyone here was someone, a prodigy, a genius, a future commander, or a rising noble heir. There were no loud conversations, no scribbled notes left on desks.

Every person worked in silence, focused and sharp-eyed, as if one misstep could cost them a future breakthrough.

Kai moved between the towering shelves like a ghost, his steps light but confident, as if he belonged here, well because he did now.

Kai walked past the towering shelves, his eyes trailing over glowing glyphs carved into the edges of every scroll case. Unlike the crowded, softly lit ground floor, this level radiated silence and focus.

Kai's gaze swept past various titles, fingers occasionally brushing against crystal tags that revealed details with a faint flicker of light:

[Phase Sever] — A cutting technique that ignores physical resistance, instead slicing through the opponent's momentum.

[Void Thread Pierce] — Focused energy compressed to a thread, capable of targeting vital points with extreme speed.

[Ripple Cut] — A technique that delayed the impact of a strike by half a second, creating a false sense of safety before damage settled in.

[Disruption Arc] — A slashing motion that left behind a residue of unstable energy, interfering with spells and defenses it grazes.

[Frictionless Step: Split Edge Variant] — Movement-enhancing technique reducing physical drag for a clean, sudden strike.

Kai selected three scrolls, tucking them under one arm and carrying them to an empty blackstone table.

He laid out the scrolls and began reading.

First Scroll: [Phase Sever]

It wasn't just about cutting material. It disrupted the target's kinetic force, halting motion at the moment of impact.

Second Scroll: [Void Thread Pierce]

Energy compressed into a narrow point. Speed and precision were its selling points. But it required stillness before activation.

Third Scroll: [Disruption Arc]

A powerful sweeping motion. The energy it left behind caused interference in mana fields, disrupting ongoing enchantments and channeling.

'That… could be useful.'

Kai tapped the table, closing his eyes for a moment.

He wasn't looking to copy a scroll directly.

What he needed was inspiration, elements he could merge, reshape, and refine into something uniquely his.

From Phase Sever, he took the idea of cutting through more than flesh, through momentum or force.

From Void Thread, he noted the idea of concentration into a narrow, high-speed execution.

And from Disruption Arc, he liked the lingering interference, an aftermath that could weaken or cancel magical effects.

He slowly unrolled the Blank Scroll from his storage bracelet.

It was pure white, yet faintly luminous, etched with threads of dormant mana. With a quiet breath, Kai pressed his palm against the scroll.

By channelizing his essence into it, he began constructing the skill in his mind.

No wasted movements.

No dramatic flare.

Just precision.

"A single strike that erases resistance... a slash that leaves nothing behind…"

His mana flowed into the scroll.

The lines began to glow, swirling, changing, forming sigils and slashes as the scroll resonated with his intent.

The air grew still. The room dimmed slightly.

Then with a soft pulse—

Shhk!

The scroll accepted the imprint.

And.

[<Ding!>]

[<New Skill Acquired: Null Lash>]