"Magic is just a series of commands given to mana, the simpler the commands given the smaller the mana consumed, but at the same time if it's too simple the mana consumed would increase as the command would be too broad. You must ride the line between simple and complicated to efficiently use magic."

"So we have to speak to the mana?"

Serena asked me.

"Yes but the way we speak to mana isn't with words, it's with magic circles and how they're drawn up."

After I had healed up back then, they had asked me if I wanted a job here but due to my weak physicality I couldn't do much, but after a little thinking I asked them if Serena wanted to learn magic. The vast amount of magic theory I had studied finally came in handy in this situation as I provided lessons for Serena.

"Your homework for today will be the construction of a defense magic circle, any element may be used. It has to be activated in under ten seconds from the ignition phase."

And just like that two years had passed and socially I had caught up to the average level. I was now 15 but I had not gained much height, Miss Serena had grown past me in many aspects. My mana pool was still disappointingly small unfortunately but my library had grown by a good amount.

I was able to find the conditions needed to acquire spells for my library too, I first needed complete understanding of the spell and its effects along with how to construct it. I then needed to ignite the spell, ignition was the 1st step of casting magic, it was the construction of the spell before activation. I didn't need to cast the spell to use it, I only needed to construct the shape of it.  

"That'll be all for today Miss Serena."

I closed my book and waited for Serena to write down what I had written up on the chalk board before erasing it.

"Can you stop the honorific Nathen?" 

"I stop when the lesson is over, the Miss is needed so you will focus."

"Muh..." Serena pouted silently while looking at me.

"Stop pouting Serena."

I poked her cheeks and deflated them. She then grabbed my fingers that poked her cheeks and held my hands.

"Ok only if you come with me today!."

"Your brother called me to his room today saying it was important, I assume it's related to his thesis. It's the last week of summer break so he has to finish it before the academy reopens."

"Muhhhh!" 

She started pouting even more but she looked like she had accepted it and was just playing around. I had to admit though, she was really cute.

"You'll need to attend the academy soon too Serena." 

At those words, Serena seemed both apprehensive and excited. 

"But you won't be coming Nathen." 

"You'll make some more friends there Serena, and maybe even forget about me." I said ending it with a slight joke.

"I won't." She said 

"Hm?"

"I won't forget you." She repeated

"I trust you won't Miss Serena."

"It's Serenaaa!!"

Ignoring her protest I walked out of the room and headed towards Wilhelm's room. After I opened his door a combined smell of sweetness and dust flowed out. In the room was Wilhelm with glasses on and dark circles surrounding his eyes. Even after I had opened the door, he hadn't noticed me. 

Serena's brother Wilhelm was addicted to magic and experimenting, when he had first met me, we talked a lot about my golden eyes but hadn't reached a conclusion on them. After that though our shared interests were revealed to each other, Wilhelm too liked magic theory and he was quite adept at it but he was lacking in a few points from my perspective.

I looked at the room surrounding Wilhelm and grimaced slightly, I urgently wanted to clean up this room. Ever since I had made my way out of the cell I had grown a distaste towards any area like it, dark, dirty and damp areas especially, causing me to develop a compulsive cleaning disorder. This was the only area in this mansion that I still considered messy but I couldn't mess with it, as all around the room were magical objects that could trigger any form of effect.

"Wilhelm. I'm here." 

Wilhelm seemed to finally break out of his stupor and look up at me.

"Oh, why didn't you call out to me earlier?"

"You seemed busy." 

"I just finished up with this experiment, I was just getting extra data recorded." 

Wilhelm took off his glasses and stretched before snapping his finger. With that snap the room brightened up and the whole area was revealed.

"So what did you need help with?"

"Oh right, Give me a second." 

Wilhelm bent down and rummaged through a box of papers and letters before picking one out and handing it to me.

"Serena seems like she'll miss you if she went to the academy alone."

I stared at the letter he gave me and stared back at him.

"Who's it from?"

'It couldn't be the Cruix family right?'

"Just open it, you'll see."

I opened the letter and sighed in relief in the letter he handed me weren't words from the Cruix family,  it wasn't an admission to the academy either but rather words of hire. 

"Huh? A professor?"

"Yeah, you've got enough experience teaching now and you're great at magic theory, why not go to the academy with Serena?" 

'This family really cares too much for each other.' I sighed internally.

"Are you sure?" I asked,

"I'm more than sure Nathen, you need to spread your own wings too. Even if we discount your actual magic, which you say is useless. You're mind is too great for it to rot here until you die."

"What about these eyes then?"

Wilhelm turned around again grabbing something from his workstation. 

"Here, its what I was working on. Contact lenses, they can change color in response to your mana."

He handed me a small box with two lenses in them and told me to try them on.

"Lemme get a mirror." Wilhelm got up from his table and looked around again.

After placing the lenses in I roused up some mana but I couldn't really feel a difference as they were just changing my eye color.

"Hoh, silver eyes. Just like Serena huh."

"It's not like that."

He waved my words away and then handed me the mirror. My eyes had changed to the same platinum hue as Serena or the Schrifts in general.

"So, what do you think? Of the invitation."

I looked back at him and contemplated for a while, if I enrolled my father might find me even from a continent away, but if I didn't Serena might be a little lonely.

"You don't have to answer immediately, we still have a week so make your decision by then."

He then shooed me out of the door and closed it. Looking at the letter I wondered of this was the right choice. I too needed to find my footing in this world without the help of the Schrift family. The academy might be the perfect place to build my influence as a mage and scholar.

I sighed internally again and went to find Serena as the schedule with Wilhelm was short lived. Serena could usually be seen in the kitchen or woods but it seemed today that she just wanted to admire the sunset as I found her outside but still in the estate gazing up at the sky.

I walked up behind her and gently brushed a section of her hair with my fingers waiting for her to react but just like her brother moments ago she barely showed any reaction to my touch. 

"Serena."

At the call of her name her head swiveled like an owls at almost breakneck speeds. 

"Nathen?"

"Yeah it's me."

"Is your business with brother done?"

Serena looked at me closely, with her eyes dilated and shaped into stars. These eyes were the reason that the Schrifts trusted me so easily, she possessed eyes that could rival a dragons in worth. They could see through all of deceit and malicious intent, keeping her safe from any form of trickery or illusion.

"Yeah, he just gave me an invitation."

 Even though it had only been two years, these two years were enough to replace my whole life in that cage. 

"Oh an invitation to where?" 

"To the academy." 

For a second Serena paused before hugging me.

"Yay! that means we can go to the academy together!"

She happily hugged me in her embrace and looked up at me.

"Calm down a little, I'm not going to be a student Serena."

I didn't want to get her hopes up though so I had to tell her.

"Oh yeah, you're still too young."

"There's that too. But I'll be teaching as a professor."

"But won't that mean, you'll be busy?"

"I will, but I'll set aside some time for us Serena."

Serena seemed to still be smiling as she hummed to herself and got up.

"If I end up in your class Nathen, I'll be your best student!" 

I highly doubted that claim but I didn't want to bring down her resolve.

"We'll see."

We sat back down on the bench and I opened a book of mine to read while Serena just got back to gazing into the sky while occasionally glancing at me.

'Serena is now 18 but she's socially underdeveloped for her age since she's been protected in this place for most of her life by her doting parents. I can only hope the academy is accepting of her and her innocent personality.'

I didn't want Serena to be forced into this dirty world but I couldn't see her staying the same after the academy, the only thing protecting her would be her skills and status there. I would need to do my own part too since they've protected and taken me in for so long. Engrossed in my thinking I felt a warm hand on my shoulder and turned my head to see Serena coming to pat my head.

"It's going to be okay, and if it isn't, we'll make it through! Right Nathen?"

She put her thumbs up and smiled at me while saying so.

"Hahaha yes, we'll make it through Miss Serena." A hearty laugh that I wouldn't usually utter came out while I wiped the tears from my eyes.

"Don't laugh! And you said you would only call me Miss in lessons!"

"Haha, sorry." 

Hearing Serena's words brought my own confidence up and put be at ease.

'It seems we'll be fine after all.'

There's nothing wrong with getting stronger though. And there's no reason to be unprepared in this world. I closed my eyes again and looked into my library.

[1st class]: [Ice Generation], [Water Generation], [Fire Generation], [Wind Generation], [Earth Generation] 

[2nd class]: [Hide Presence], [Smoke], [Life Detection], [Light Generation]

[3rd class]: [Body Strengthening], [Flame Arrow], [Barrier], [Wind Wall], [Earth Wall], [Earth Shard], [Blinding Light]

[4th class]: [Mind Acceleration]

[5th class]: [Telekinesis] 

[6th class]: None

[7th class]: [Teleport]

[8th class]: None

[9th class]: None

[10th class]: None

I still needed to obtain more offensive spells and utility spells, although I could use the basic generation spells for utility it would be more effective to just create specific spells as they would have more power and be able to do what they're specifically made for. My defenses are enough to protect me from at least a 6th class mage since it's not drawing from my own pitiful mana pool and is working at max power.

"I'll need to do some self study and preparing before the academy starts Serena, so I might not be able to hang out for a little."

"That's ok! You can spend time with me when we get to the academy!"

"Alrighty, I'll get going then. See you later Serena."

"Bye bye!"

"Look after yourself okay?"

"Yes sir!" She saluted me jokingly.

I walked away and she seemed to be ready to go inside too.

"I hope I don't have any troublemakers."