"To be honest… nothing at all, I think." I replied with a bit of shame. It's not my fault, it's just so big and complicated.

Her face turned stunned again as she heard me. I could clearly see how it disappointed her even though she had given her best.

"You're not a good teacher." 

"Why did you bring her to me then?" She shouted in frustration as she turned to Reada, who had said that.

"Because I'm not one either." He just accepted shamelessly.

"Wait-wait," Reada suddenly said and stopped Ms Flame who was about to turn away after hearing him. "I had read on the internet that good lecturers don't actually end their lecture with 'did you understand everything?', but with something like 'so tell me now, what did you not understand?'" 

"Really??" Miss Flame asked in surprise. 

"Not sure, but you can try. Maybe it'll help."

She then turned to me and asked, "So, what did you not understand?"

Seriously, what kind of stupidity is this?

Just how much of a difference would that one sentence make? Like is it supposed to magically make me understand everything??

"Like I said, nothing at all." I replied as I was thinking.

"Come on, at least tell me what you can remember from my speech?" She said out of hopelessness, at the end.

Now that I think about it, I can actually remember a few of the things from what she said. 

I tried telling every bit that I could recall, "Aa- that the number of things that we can spot at a time with our senses are called linic. And when enough linic in concentrated upon something, our shades work on it —"

"Yes, that much will work. You'll understand it better as your linic will bloom. But with this much understanding you can start working on it." She interrupted in excitement as she saw the glimpse of success in her explanation.

"Yes, but that Linic increasing part, it's still a bit uncanny to me. I mean it's not like we have an infinite amount of neurons in our brains and more linic clearly means more work for the brain, means more neurotransmission. So, do you think increasing Linic to whatever extent we want is really possible?" I asked. "There is Graham's number too, that is said to create a black hole if imagined. So, is it also achievable then?"

"Oh, about that. Actually the increment of linic doesn't affect the neurons, surprisingly. The reason? Don't know. Maybe it also happens because of the shades somehow. It's still undiscovered." She replied, "And about the black hole number, then it's still unachieved. So, I can't say anything about that."

"Also, does that mean, you meant I need to practise linic in order to have better control over my shade, when you said that after you saw that it stopped the whole world?"

"Yes, but that also means that your shade doesn't affect the whole world. It doesn't happen, kid. Stop hallucinating. 9 linic isn't something with which you should say you stop the entire universe. Your shade doesn't even activate properly. What was your name again?... Alvish."

My head dropped down as I heard that. I was disappointed in her again. But this time I didn't complain. I don't know what I should say to a person who just doesn't wanna accept it, even after she accepted seeing it. Just because it doesn't make sense to her she's not accepting a fact. Though a lord, she's just like others —

"Wait- how did you use your Netveldiya on me then?" I asked as I looked up in confusion, as this question suddenly crossed my mind,

"What do you mean, can you be more specific?"

"I mean, as your eye of Netveldiya allows you to not get affected by others' shades and you had said to have witnessed it. It is only possible if my shade had affected the whole universe except you. So, why are you still not believing it?" 

"Huh? Who told you that Netveldiya works like that?" She said in shock. "Also that's not the only way that the world can stop."

"Really??"

"I guess, I'll have to tell you a little better about the relation between Linic and shades. First of all, Netveldiya doesn't give an ability like that. Maybe people just assume it, I think, since the real ability is a bit complicated. The simplest way I can explain it's ability is that it let's us align our Linic with another person's Linic." She said, "Now listen, a shade's effect works on something usually when a pressure of around 12 Linic is applied on it. It takes the same amount of linic to activate or awaken your eye shade but in your case it awakened at around 9 linic somehow. It's not a very big deal since linic counting is never totally accurate, so a little up-down is flexible. But since your control over your linic is still weak, using it is difficult. And so it ended up affecting you instead of anything else. It's just like how flame type shade users at their early stage of awakening sometimes end up burning themselves. 

"Your shade affects your consciousness, not your body. That's why when it affects you, from your point of view, you start seeing everything slow down and become unable to move your body. Since you have a weak linic your shade activates in a semi-activated state. For others it happens for just a moment while you suffer from it in a kind of endless feeling of nothingness in your mind, in only a fraction of a moment relative to reality. Because my Netveldiya allowed me to align my linic with yours I was able to experience everything you did and so I could see it. So, to put it simply, your linic is not so strong that it affects the whole world but it's so weak that it only affects your consciousness. I hope it gives answers to all your questions."

"WHATTT-!!!"

— *The end of Alvish's POV* —

The girl heard through it all while all her fantasies shattered. Her head slowly drowned down in embarrassment as she realised how stupid she had been thinking all this time. It was a mixed feeling of being surprised while she was feeling like such an idiot. But on the plus side she also understood everything she heard, and so now she knew what she had to work on.

She is…

Character info-

Name: Alvish

Usually called: Alvish (doesn't have a nickname)

Sex: Female

Age: 16

Epitome of: Learner.

"Yes, idiot! That's what we've been trying to say." Suddenly Reada said while still being on the chair he was sitting on before.

Alvish looked up, turning her head to the left, to him. It was frustrating that he was commenting but still she decided to not say anything. She thought it was worthless trying to defend her point, especially against a person who did nothing but just stole someone's cup noodles while sitting on a chair this whole time while she was the one wrong here. 

"So, you want to become a lord? Which year are you going to apply for the entrance exams?" Flame asked out of curiosity and broke the moment.

"I'm currently in 9th standard and I'm planning to apply for it after 10th," She stopped for a second, then her determination towards her dream said softly while looking at her, "till then I hope for you to teach me."

"Well figures, I had kind of thought that you would say that. I don't mind giving you some tips so you can learn from me." Flame said while rubbing one of her index fingers on her jawline. 

"So, how much will you charge per month?" 

"Oh, about that. Well, he had already told me about you. You are his friend, right? So, I don't need any fee from you." She said while looking at Reada. 

"What, really?!" Alvish said happily in surprise.

"Yes, I'm very clear with my words!" 

"Thank you very much, ma'am!!" Alvish said with exhilaration. She started looking at her like she was a goddess, also all the excitement about meeting a lord that she had lost because of all that walking returned back. 

"Also don't call me, ma'am or miss. Just Flame is fine. Tomorrow I've work to do. So, you can show up from the day after that in the evening, if you have school." 

At first after hearing that, she thought how she, herself, would feel a bit weird to call her directly by her name but because it was her demand she accepted and then said, "Okay I'll, where is your real academy then? I hope it's not this one or somewhere around here, else I'll have to walk for 2 hours daily, just to reach here."

"Really 2 hours? Where do you live?? Also, didn't you read the notice?"

"I live next to him." Alvish replied while pointing at Reada. "And what notice? The one at the entrance, I missed it if it's that one." 

"But it's just a 10 min walk from his home to here." She took out her smartphone from the back pocket and showed her the map.

Alvish was surprised after seeing that. On the phone, the map was showing only a small distance of 637 metres between those two places and the path was highlighted in blue colour. It was around the same as the distance between her home and her school, Aragona knowledge lake, which she could also see on the map but it was in another direction. 

She furiously looked at Reada and saw him smirking at her. And after that she realised how it was actually his payback for ruining his day. 

"Also I only mentor some kids, there's no academy, it's him who spread this rumour!"

"Whatt- that bastard!!"