The Aqua Tower practice pools gleamed like polished sapphires in the afternoon light. Unlike the communal training grounds, these specialized facilities offered privacy for advanced water manipulation techniques. Alexander arrived precisely at four, finding Claire already there, her blue uniform exchanged for the practical swimwear Academy water users favored during intensive practice.
"You came," she noted, sounding faintly surprised despite having arranged the meeting herself.
"Of course," Alexander replied. In the original novel, no Ignis student would have willingly entered Aqua territory for voluntary practice—especially not the perverted Alexander, who would have been more interested in ogling than learning. How dramatically the story had changed in just four days.
[Ooh, swimwear practice session! I totally approve! Though personally, I'm more interested in what new abilities you might discover while getting all... wet.]
Alexander ignored the system's commentary, maintaining his serious student demeanor. "The Headmaster was quite interested in what happened last night. He's assigned me special lessons with Professor Nightshade."
Claire nodded, seemingly unsurprised. "Cross-elemental sensitivity is rare enough to warrant special attention. What we're attempting today would normally be considered advanced third-year material."
She gestured toward the smallest of three pools, a circular basin perhaps fifteen feet across, its water unnaturally still despite the afternoon breeze.
"This is a control pool," she explained, "treated with stabilizing compounds to make it more responsive to deliberate manipulation and less affected by ambient conditions."
Alexander followed her to the pool's edge, noting the intricate runes carved around its perimeter—details the novel had never bothered to include in its simplified magical descriptions.
"I'll demonstrate first," Claire said, kneeling beside the water. Her emblem began to glow as she extended her hand, palm hovering just above the surface. "When water users manipulate our element, we're not forcing control but establishing a connection—a conversation of intent."
The water beneath her palm rose in a perfect column, then flowed into complex shapes—a spiral, a cube, a miniature replica of the Academy's central tower. Each transformation occurred fluidly, water maintaining impossible forms through Claire's precise control.
"Impressive," Alexander commented genuinely. The novel had described Claire's exceptional talent, but seeing it firsthand was different—her mastery evident in the effortless precision of each movement.
"Now," she said, allowing the water to settle, "I want you to attempt what happened yesterday. Don't try to control the water as a water user would. Instead, approach it from your perspective as a fire user."
Alexander knelt opposite her, considering his approach. Last night's water manipulation had been instinctive, unplanned. Recreating it deliberately required understanding what had actually happened.
He extended his hand, emblem facing the water, and focused on the warmth within his core—the starting point for fire manipulation. Then, rather than pushing that heat outward as he would for flame projection, he imagined it sensing the water, recognizing its opposing nature.
Nothing happened.
"You're trying too hard," Claire observed. "Yesterday, you weren't attempting to control my water—you were responding to it. Let me create the initial movement."
She gestured, drawing a ribbon of water from the pool that hovered between them, gently undulating in the air.
"Now," she instructed, "don't think of commanding it. Think of... suggesting a different pattern."
Alexander studied the water's flow, its rhythm and movement. Using his Elemental Insight ability, he sensed the current of Claire's power guiding it, maintaining its cohesion against gravity's pull.
He raised his hand slowly, not reaching for the water but offering a counterpoint to Claire's influence. His emblem began to glow amber, then flickered with that now-familiar silver sheen.
The water ribbon trembled, caught between opposing influences. Then, gradually, a small portion detached, drifting toward Alexander's extended hand.
"Yes," Claire breathed, her expression intensely focused. "I can feel you at the boundary—not stealing control but establishing a separate dialogue with the element."
Alexander found himself genuinely fascinated by the sensation. The water didn't feel controlled as fire did when he channeled his primary element. Instead, it felt... persuaded, responding to suggestion rather than command.
The small water sphere hovered above his palm, maintaining its shape despite his lack of formal water manipulation training. Claire's eyes widened slightly as he guided it through a simple circular pattern.
"That shouldn't be possible," she murmured. "Water users train for years to achieve basic manipulation. Even with talent, the techniques require specific understanding of water's properties."
"It doesn't feel like control," Alexander explained truthfully. "More like... recognition. As if the water acknowledges something familiar in my emblem's energy."
Claire's analytical expression returned. "The silver fluctuation in your emblem—it must be creating resonance across elemental boundaries. But that would suggest..."
"What?" Alexander prompted when she trailed off.
She seemed to debate whether to continue before finally speaking. "There's a controversial theory about emblems. Some scholars believe they aren't truly separate forces but aspects of a unified magical energy, artificially divided by human perception and training methods."
Another revelation entirely absent from the novel's simplified magical system. Alexander absorbed this information eagerly.
"Under that theory," Claire continued, "someone with sovereign emblem potential might access that original unified state, bypassing the specialized techniques each elemental discipline develops."
She gestured, reclaiming control of the water sphere from Alexander's influence, expanding it into a more complex formation.
"Try again," she suggested. "This time, don't think of it as water at all. Think of it as pure magical energy expressing itself through fluidity."
Alexander adjusted his approach, focusing not on the water's physical properties but on the magical current flowing through it. His emblem's glow intensified, the silver overlay becoming more pronounced.
The water responded more readily this time, a larger portion separating from Claire's control and flowing toward him in a graceful arc. He guided it through increasingly complex patterns, not by imposing shapes but by suggesting possibilities the water might explore.
Claire watched with fascination that gradually transformed into something more complex—professional interest tinged with competitive awareness. In the novel, her water mastery had stood uncontested among students. Now she witnessed a fire user achieving rudimentary water manipulation through entirely different methods.
"Extraordinary," she finally said as Alexander returned the water to the pool. "Your approach bypasses fundamental limitations we've always accepted in elemental training."
Alexander maintained his humble demeanor. "It's limited, though. I doubt I could generate water or manipulate large volumes without exhausting myself."
"For now," Claire acknowledged. "But the implications are significant. If other elements respond similarly..."
She didn't finish the thought, but Alexander understood. If he could influence all five elemental forces through this boundary manipulation technique, it would represent unprecedented magical versatility.
[Your charm score with water-princess just skyrocketed! She's seeing you as an equal now—maybe even competition. Nothing gets the romance flowing like a little magical rivalry!]
"We should continue these sessions," Claire decided, her tone becoming more formal. "For research purposes. With your permission, I'd like to document our findings."
"Of course," Alexander agreed readily. Regular private sessions with the novel's protagonist represented a complete inversion of the original plot, where Claire had actively avoided the perverted Alexander until reporting his inappropriate behavior.
As they gathered their belongings to leave, Alexander sensed someone watching. A quick glance revealed Lucas observing from the path leading to Terra Tower, his expression unreadable at this distance.
In the novel, Lucas and Claire's budding romance had been uncomplicated by outside interests. Now, the earth user witnessed his childhood friend in private practice with a fire user demonstrating inexplicable abilities.
Another ripple in the story's fabric, another deviation from the predetermined path.
Alexander bid Claire a respectful farewell and headed toward Ignis Tower, his mind calculating the implications of today's developments. The magical theory underlying this world was far more complex than the novel had portrayed, offering opportunities the original author had never explored.
With each passing day, his knowledge of the "original" plot became simultaneously more valuable and less reliable. The story was changing, evolving into something far more intricate than a simple tale of heroes triumphing over perverted villains.
And Alexander found himself increasingly eager to discover what this new narrative might become—with himself as the author rather than a disposable character.