The girl gave us an amused, mildly threatening look.

≪ But promise to not get scared, alright? ≫

I gulped nervously.

She closed her eyes again and raised her arms again, focusing.

≪ Step back a bit ≫

Mark and I slid backwards, tense.

What is she…

… gonna do now?

Mark was also busy thinking super hard trying to remember something – I could see it in the frown between his eyebrows.

The En sphere that the girl was creating was much bigger then before.

Her face was red from the effort, and the veins on her neck were popping out.

J- just how strong is she…! I thought, surprised.

Gathering En is one of the main parts of our training – we spend hours and hours under the scorching sun trying to make those damn spheres and it’s sooo difficult, but somehow she was making it look easy.

Who even is this girl…

Suddenly the sphere started turning black and changing shape, and then the illusion of an animal appeared in the air.

Instead of disappearing an instant later like earlier, though, this one remained – the girl dropped down her arms, visibly more relaxed, and the illusion floated down to the ground.

It looked like a cat, slightly bigger than normal – even bigger than Gigi, the orange cat that’s always going around campus, who is a pretty big guy.

The cat’s fur was completely black except for the ears, that were purple.

The ears were super long and sharp, standing straight on the cat’s head like knives.

The creature had a long, lean torso and long legs, with the muscles well visible. The tail was almost as long as the rest of the body.

It had three eyes – they were completely black, except for the irises that were also purple.

The cat hissed, showing the fangs, but it didn’t make a sound.

I shivered slightly.

That cat looked creepy af.

It started walking on the pebble without them moving, like a ghost sliding on ice, and I felt Mark tensing up too next to me.

≪ Don’t move ≫ the girl said.

The illusion walked between us without touching us – somehow, it felt as if it could see us.

≪ W- what’s going on…? ≫ Mark asked, keeping his voice low.

≪ I’ve been working on this illusion ever since I started learning En, back on Andromeda ≫ the girl explained.

≪ After it’s created, if the En can… relate, kinda automatically, to the image in my head well enough, it can sustain itself for longer. Luckily, the mental image that I have of this guy is pretty clear, because I’ve seen him ever since I was little ≫

≪ Was it… like, your pet? ≫ I asked.

The girl chuckled.

≪ Oh, not at all. This is a Lycorinx, a protected species from Andromeda. There’s only a few thousands on the entire planet, and they live in the wild ≫

She smirked fiercely.

≪ They could never be anyone’s pet, they’re waaay to aggressive and violent to be held in any type of captivity ≫

Both Mark and I shivered.

≪ It sure looks mean… ≫ I murmured at him, staring warily at the cat’s ghostly three eyes.

He gulped loudly, and nodded in agreement.

With a smile, the girl leaned forward and touched the tail of the cat.

Her finger went right through it.

≪ But an illusion this detailed is hard to make it, that’s for sure. I don’t know how long it will last ≫

The cat really did look aware of its surroundings like it was alive – it avoided a boulder on the shore, then, suddenly, jumped up on another one, disappearing behind it.

≪ Let’s follow him! ≫ the girl exclaimed, getting up.

The cat was running down the shore along one of the small canals that exited the Carpa Pond.

It was swiftly avoiding rocks, shrubs and bushes on its way, while also never getting too close to the water.

≪ Is it running after something?! ≫ Mark exclaimed.

≪ Don’t know! ≫ the girl said, short of breath.

While we were running, Mark finally remembered. His eyes widened, and he tapped me frantically on the shoulder.

≪ What! ≫ I whispered.

≪ Marta! Her name is Marta and last month, at the end of month evaluations, she had the third highest score on En control in the entire school! Now I remember! ≫

My eyes widened.

The end of month evaluations are monthly tests that every student at the Academy does.

We do the tests for our Martial Arts classes here at the Ido Academy, then, for the normal classes, we do the same tests that the Lochwood Academy students do, with them.

It’s the only time that we are ever allowed to cross the fence and enter the Lochwood Academy campus, and basically, or at least that’s what everyone says, it’s just a way to humiliate us in front of the Lochwood students.

I’ve been here less than a month, and I haven’t done the evaluations yet.

≪ So, basically, she’s super strong? ≫ I asked.

≪ Exactly! ≫

≪ Darn… ≫

She was strong, and she was also smart. And she had a dream, a dream to help and protect other living creatures.

I smiled, feeling strangely proud but, also, somewhat sad.

I had already realized it meeting other students, but I was more and more convinced that, despite what their parents, their teachers or anyone else thought about them, many of the students at Ido Academy were incredible people.

And now, I’m here too.

Suddenly the cat stopped and looked down right inside the water, leaning towards the canal bed.

We also stopped, curious and surprised.

≪ What’s he doing…? ≫

A bump appeared on the surface of the water a couple of meters behind us – something was swimming towards us.

I felt scared for a moment, realizing that I had never actually gotten that far away from the Pond before.

There was no one around us.

I nervously tapped Mark on the shoulder.

≪ W- what if it’s a wild animal- ≫

The water surface broke like a bubble, and a girl appeared from under it.

I knew immediately who she was.

Long, dark-blonde hair, usually slightly wavy; super tan, almost reddish complexion, big, dark-green eyes.

It was Jia, one of the most popular students of Ido Academy.

She was insanely pretty.

Only half of her came out of the water – with her eyes closed, she fixed her hair behind her head.

I was already blushing.

The girl opened her eyes and stared right at the cat, only a few centimeters away from her face.

Marta and Mark were also pretty flustered.

Marta stepped forward, waving her hand.

≪ S- Sorry, that’s not- ≫

The Lycorinx tilted its head to the side, wagging the long and elegant tail and staring at Jia with its three eerie eyes, but the girl simply stared back expressionless.

She turned towards us and said, flat.

≪ Is this supposed to scare me? ≫

Us three looked at each other, not sure of how to reply.

A second later the Lycorinx illusion finally disappeared, and Jia made a surprised face.

≪ Oh! ≫

She jumped out of the water.

≪ It disappeared! ≫ she exclaimed, looking at us amazed.

≪ What was it? Did you guys make it? ≫

Jia… that Jia is talking to us?