Mila crouched at the edge of the forest, brushing a few leaves off her makeshift pants. "Alright… two days in an E-rank dungeon," she muttered, squinting at the dark entrance ahead. "Let's see if you can handle this, Mila."
Her own voice sounded strange to her ears, a reminder that she was pretending to be someone else. But the disguise wasn't just for the world it was for her own sanity.
She glanced around. A few students low-ranked, scrappy, and nervous fidgeted at the edge of the clearing. One of them tripped over a root and yelped, sending the others into a fit of laughter.
"Focus, everyone!" Mila called, raising her arms. "The forest doesn't care about your rank! If you freeze, you won't survive!"
A wiry boy with a crooked bow muttered under his breath, "She sounds scary when she's serious…"
Mila tilted her head, a smirk tugging at her lips. "I am serious. Don't test me, or I'll make sure you remember why your rank is F."
The students shuffled nervously toward the dungeon's mouth, unsure whether to run or argue. Mila's blue eyes her human disguise for now watched them carefully. They remind me of me… she thought. Clumsy, stubborn, but willing to try.
One of the students paused and glanced back at her. "Miss… uh… Mila? What if we get lost?"
"Then you get really lost," she said, voice calm but firm. "And then you figure it out. Survival isn't about comfort it's about learning to move forward when everything's against you."
She sank onto a nearby rock, letting her legs dangle as she observed. "Two days," she whispered. "Two days to survive… and maybe, just maybe, I'll learn something too."
A sudden rustle in the bushes made her sit up, alert. A small boar had wandered too close, sniffing the students' packs. She chuckled softly. "Perfect timing. Practice on the wild, not just monsters."
Her lips curved into a small, secretive smile. Maybe this life isn't so bad… yet.
Milly stepped outside the academy grounds, the crisp wind brushing against her face. She had watched her students for a while, observing their progress in the forest survival test, and felt a strange mix of pride and restlessness. The drills, the laughter, the chaos it all reminded her of a life she used to know.
"This isn't enough…" she muttered under her breath, her eyes scanning a quiet patch of land behind the academy. "I need to push myself… test my limits again."
No one was around to witness her departure, and she relished the solitude. Here, away from the classrooms and the students' chatter, she could focus entirely on controlling her abilities without worry.
"Alright, Milly… or Mila, whichever you prefer today," she whispered to herself, clenching her fists. A faint shimmer of energy danced around her palms. "Let's see what I can do now."
With careful concentration, she let the black-and-red aura pulse from her core, shaping it into small bursts, then larger arcs, testing precision, control, and strength. Sparks flickered through the air, and the ground beneath her cracked slightly under the power she was unleashing.
"Focus… just focus…" she muttered, brow furrowed, each attempt a battle between restraint and instinct. Her lips twitched in a half-smile as she managed to hold the energy steady for a full ten seconds without losing control.
"This… is better," she whispered to herself, feeling a small surge of pride. "But I'm nowhere near where I need to be."
For a moment, she paused, leaning against a tree, catching her breath. The quiet of the academy grounds at night, broken only by the rustle of leaves, reminded her of why she left in the first place. Freedom. Privacy. A chance to rebuild herself without anyone's eyes watching.
"Tomorrow… tomorrow, I'll try something bigger," she said, determination hardening in her voice. "I can't afford to stay stagnant not now."
And with that, she continued her private training, the faint glow of her aura lighting the darkness around her