The third night of training.
Elle's efficiency had risen to 15%.
Mana Ledger: Active
Elle Alshera: Magic Efficiency Progress
Day 1: 0.004% Day 2: 3.2% Day 3: 15.1%
Fifteen percent in three days.
Phenomenal growth.
But—she'd hit a wall.
"Fire Ball!"
Mana Ledger: Active
Consumption: 42 MP Efficiency: 14.8% Ash Output: 35.7 kg
"Ugh... it dropped again..."
Elle bites her lip in frustration.
These past three days, she's cut into her sleep, begrudged even mealtimes, and trained relentlessly.
Faint burn marks from overusing magic dot her fingertips. Dark circles ring her eyes.
Still, she can't break through the 15% barrier.
"Elle. Take a break."
"But I still—"
"Pushing yourself won't raise your efficiency. It'll drop it."
I add wood to the fire.
The flames crackle and sway.
Elle sinks her exhausted body down beside me.
"...Mr. Kai."
"What."
"Maybe I really don't have any talent..."
"Why do you think that?"
"Because... I've been practicing for three whole days and I'm still only at 15%... and you're at 98%..."
"How many years do you think it took me to reach 98%?"
Elle looks up.
"...How many?"
"Twelve."
"Tw-twelve years...!"
"You're at 15% in three days. When I was on day three, I was still at 2%."
Elle's eyes go wide with surprise.
"Even you... started low, Mr. Kai?"
"Obviously. Nobody starts at 98%."
I stare into the fire.
The flames dance. Orange light illuminates the gray forest.
—Twelve years ago.
There was a girl with hair the same color as these flames.
"...I started working on efficiency when I was twelve."
"Twelve..."
"The year my sister died."
Elle catches her breath.
"Your... sister?"
"Her name was Lina."
I begin to speak quietly.
Things I haven't told anyone in twelve years.
Lina was born with a weak constitution.
A defect in her mana circuits made her unable to use magic.
Born into a noble house, she was called "defective goods."
Father was ashamed of Lina and confined her to the back of the estate.
Mother said nothing and obeyed Father.
The servants pretended not to see her.
I was the only one who kept visiting Lina's room.
"Big brother, you came again today?"
Lina always smiled.
Her orange hair glowed in the light streaming through the window.
Her room had no heating. Father said there was "no need to waste mana on defective goods."
So I used my own mana to warm her room.
"Big brother, your magic is so warm."
"Of course it is. I'm using it for you."
"Thank you, big brother."
Lina always smiled at me.
That smile was my entire world.
The winter I was twelve.
Lina caught pneumonia.
Ash Lung.
She had unknowingly inhaled ash that seeped through gaps in the estate.
The mana needed for treatment was 500 MP.
I begged Father.
"Please, Father. Please treat Lina."
Father replied coldly.
"We don't waste mana on defective goods."
"But Lina will die!"
"Then let her die. She should never have been born."
I tried to use all my savings to hire a healer.
But 500 MP—for a twelve-year-old, it was an impossible sum.
Lina died three days later.
In my arms.
"Big brother... I'm cold..."
"It's okay, Lina. I'll warm you up."
"Big brother's magic... it's warm..."
Lina smiled until the very end.
"Thank you... big brother..."
As her body grew cold—all I could do was hold her.
That year.
Father spent 45,000 MP on decorative magic.
Just to make jewels sparkle.
Just to make clothes look lavish.
Enough to save Lina ninety times over.
"...After that, I started seeing numbers."
I speak while staring into the fire.
"Who uses how much mana on what. How many lives are lost to 'waste.'"
Tears stream down Elle's cheeks.
"Mr. Kai..."
"Talent doesn't matter. The only reason I made it this far—is because I didn't want to forget Lina."
I look up at the sky.
Ash is falling.
The ash that killed Lina.
"In this world, tens of thousands of people die every year because of 'waste.' People who freeze because there's not enough heating. People who suffocate from Ash Lung. People who die of illness because they can't get treatment."
"..."
"I want to save them all."
Elle slowly rises to her feet.
She wipes her tears and looks straight at me.
"...Me too."
"What?"
"I want to save them too. I don't want anyone to die because of my waste—not anymore."
Elle extends both hands forward.
"Please teach me again. How to break through the 15% wall."
I look up at her.
Silver hair lit by moonlight. Emerald eyes wet with tears, yet burning with fierce determination.
—She looked a little like Lina.
"...Very well."
I stand.
"To break the 15% wall, you need to stop seeing 'form.'"