When my mother told me she was hiring a tutor to help me control my magic, I expected someone intimidating, maybe a seasoned war mage with a beard down to his waist, or a tall, broad-shouldered man with fire in his eyes and a voice that could split stone. Instead, what I got was… well, her.
She walked into the estate as if she owned the place. Pale as snow, with white hair reaching her back and sharp green eyes that practically glowed with quiet confidence. She looked young, around 14. No enchanted jewelry, no grand entrance, just a staff and a satchel full of books and a quiet presence that made me feel like I was the one being examined.
I stared. "You're the new maid?"
Her eyebrow twitched. She stepped closer and, without a word, pinched my arm hard enough to make me flinch.
"Ow... what was that for?"
"For being an idiot," she replied coolly. "I'm Liriel. I'm your tutor, you smartass"
I blinked. "You're joking."
She didn't even answer, just turned to my mother and gave a small nod. "I'll start tomorrow. He needs work."
My mother, clearly amused, smiled as she patted my shoulder. "Be kind, Eris. She's here to help."
I wasn't sure whether to laugh or run, but the way Liriel looked at me, like she was already measuring my flaws, she made me feel like this was going to be the longest training of my life.
Three months passed.
At first, I hated her. She woke me up before sunrise, dragged me outside in the cold, and made me read books for hours. I didn't even know what that meant. My eyes always in main. My stomach growled. I cursed her under my breath, more than once.
But slowly, something changed. I felt my strength increasing and I feel stronger every day. It wasn't just air anymore. It had a rhythm, a presence. One random day of training a thin, sharp current gathered at my fingertips and formed a blade, stable and silent. I held it there, trembling, afraid to even breathe. Then it faded.
Liriel didn't smile or clap. She just nodded and handed me a cup of tea like we'd done nothing special. But there was a softness in her expression that I hadn't seen before. Approval. Not praise, just… quiet recognition.
From then on, the lessons became more intense. She taught me to shape the air, to sense mana around me, to regulate the flow instead of forcing it. She drilled the basics into my skull until I could cast three different wind techniques with barely a gesture. We trained on spell theory in the afternoons, pouring over dusty grimoires and elemental charts. I learned that magic wasn't just raw force. It was about clarity, emotion, purpose. Wind responds best to freedom, she told me, but if you're reckless, it'll tear you apart. She also was teaching me about the other 3 main magic attributes. I fell in love with wind, I was a prodigy at it, water I excelled, but for flame and stone I wasn't the very best at it.
And then came the part I didn't expect, history lessons.
One afternoon, while the rain drummed gently against the glass windows, Lirial laid out an old map across the floor. It was hand drawn and fraying at the edges, filled with notes in a language I barely recognized.
She traced a finger across the most northeastern country. "This is Voltaria," she said. "Your home. Wind and lightning. Inventors. Strategists. Often underestimated, but never truly weak."
Her finger moved to the west. "Aerakith. Stone and air. Their magic is defensive, but their politics are sharp. They're the most stable, but also the most rigid."
Then north. "Ignivar. Fire country. Aggressive. Brutal. They believe strength decides everything."
She paused, then slowly circled a shadowed region to the southeast. "Nymbrosa. No dominant magic. No clear ruler. It's chaos, dangerous, unpredictable. Some say they've been cursed. Others say they've been chosen by something darker."
I leaned in. "You've been there?"
Her eyes darkened. "Once. That's all I'll say."
I didn't press further.
She showed me a chart of magical ranks next, E through S. Most people were lucky to hit C. Nobles usually peaked at B. Only a handful in history reached S, and their stories were often so wild you couldn't tell if they were legends or facts. "I bet you that you can count all of the current wind S ranks on a single hand."
"They are rare and for someone with more than 1 S ranked is extremely difficult to find, i never seen one in my 37 years."
"Wait your 37?"
"I know I look young but it is mainly due to my race, an elf."
I was shocked, I never would have expected her age to be that old, I also thought there would be a lot more S ranked people in the world.
"Liriel, what's your ranks?"
"I'm a D in both fire and stone, an B in water, C in wind, B in teleportation and C in crystal."
"Wow your super strong ma'am"
Liriel has been my teacher for a good 6 months now and she has been great; I really didn't like her at first but now she's amazing. It's also my 8th birthday and so now I can get my secondary magic type, there are so many different one I can obtain.