Elementalization

"Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi... Mida!" the startled Anana let out a series of strange cries.

Below, the academy's magnificent buildings had shrunk into blurry blocks, and the ground a hundred meters down looked like a sandbox. With every jolt of the air currents, Anana felt her heart slamming fiercely against her ribs.

"My name is Mida, not Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi... Mida," Mida corrected her very seriously.

Mida had said that in private, Anana could just call her by her name and didn't need to be so formal.

"It's... it's so high! Fly slower, Mida, fly slower!" Anana's voice carried a hint of a sob. Looking at the ground nearly a hundred meters below, fear made her almost unable to breathe.

Only then did Mida realize that this was her first time taking Anana up into the sky.

This was probably also Anana's first time ever being in the sky.

What was as natural as breathing to her was likely a terrifying, first-in-a-lifetime experience for Anana.

"Ah, sorry." Mida, carrying Anana, drifted down like two light autumn leaves, slowly landing beside a tranquil lake within the academy.

The clear lake water reflected the blue sky and white clouds, and the lakeside was lush with green grass, forming a sharp contrast to the high-altitude thrills from just moments ago.

Anana sat on a bench by the lake, patting her chest to soothe her wildly thumping little heart. She had truly been terrified.

Mida sat quietly beside her, dangling her two short little legs that could not reach the ground, looking completely innocent and harmless.

"Mida... can you take me back?" Anana's voice was still trembling a bit as she asked tentatively. "I still have to continue my classes."

Mida tilted her head. "Why do you have to take classes?"

"Because I want to gain knowledge and learn magic." Anana also tilted her head, looking at Mida.

"I can protect you," Mida said after thinking for a moment. "Because you are my friend... so it's okay even if you don't learn magic."

"No, Mida, even if we are friends, I can't rely on you for everything." Anana shook her head. "I need to learn to be independent and strong... so can you take me back now?"

"No." Mida decisively rejected Anana's request. "I already brought you out, so you have to play with me first."

Anana puffed out her cheeks, looking a little angry. The sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on her face.

"After you play with me, I can make you stronger. It's much more useful than going to class," Mida said very seriously.

"Eh? Really?" Anana was slightly taken aback, blinking her big eyes.

"Yes, I can share a little bit of the ice crystal my mother gave me with you... You'll become stronger after eating it." A hint of reluctance appeared on Mida's face; to her, the ice crystal was also a very precious item.

"I can become stronger just by eating it... Is there really such a good thing?" Anana's curiosity was piqued.

"Of course," Mida said with absolute certainty.

Without warning, a blazing golden flame ignited out of thin air behind the two, distorting the air. The flames rapidly condensed and took shape, and then Wolund's figure emerged from within.

"Mida, you can't just give your things to others to eat carelessly," Wolund said in a steady voice.

Seeing the newcomer, Anana instantly stood up straight, excited yet awestruck. "Principal Wolund!"

"Ah, you are... that little girl from the snowfield." Wolund still had some impression of Anana, especially after seeing the animal skin clothes she was wearing, which immediately brought back his memories.

"Thank you so much for back then, Principal Wolund, for saving my father from the blizzard."

"It was no trouble at all." Wolund looked at the large and small pair in front of him.

Anana had gradually grown up and was now a bit taller than Mida, already a vibrant young girl. Mida's appearance, however, remained eternally unchanged, as if she would never grow up.

So that was it; these two had known each other since their time in the snowfield.

"Mida, only you can eat the things your mother gives you. If others eat them, something bad will happen," Wolund advised Mida.

"Oh, alright." Mida simply replied, dismissing the idea of sharing her food.

Wolund continued, his tone a bit heavier, "Also, student Anana was in the middle of a class just now. The academy has its rules; you cannot just take her away casually. This disrupts the teaching order."

Mida's brows immediately furrowed, her small face filled with impatience. "Wolund, you are so annoying."

As a Demon Lord, she was actually expected to care about these rules and regulations?

"Your mother has already returned," Wolund reminded her.

Mida's little face instantly changed color. The bit of impatience and wilfulness from just a moment ago vanished like a popped bubble, replaced by a trace of imperceptible nervousness.

"I can keep today's matter from your mother, but you must promise not to casually interrupt student Anana's classes anymore." Wolund offered a timely way out, though his tone brokered no argument.

"Ugh—fine, I understand." Mida looked at Anana, then at Wolund, and finally let out a reluctant sigh.

"Mida, you can still come play with me when I'm not in class." Anana stepped forward and gently tugged on Mida's sleeve to comfort her.

Wolund's tone softened again. "Student Anana, since you have already been brought out today, you should accompany Mida for a stroll. I will help you make up for the classes you missed today later."

"Yes, Principal Wolund!" Anana answered loudly, appearing a bit nervous in front of the principal.

Having finished giving his instructions, Wolund's figure stepped into the twisted light and heat, disappearing from sight.

"Principal Wolund is so amazing." Anana looked at Wolund's magic, a hint of envy revealing itself in her eyes.

"It's just elementalizing the body, it's not some incredible magic..." Mida pursed her lips. "But Wolund is indeed very talented in this aspect."

"Can you do it too?" Anana asked curiously.

"I can't." Mida shook her head. "I don't need to."

"Why?"

"Because my true form is very large, so elementalization would consume too much mana. Besides, I can directly shatter space, so I don't need to use such a troublesome method to travel," Mida said proudly.

"Oh." Anana didn't quite understand, but she felt that Mida must be pretty amazing.

"Wolund just likes to do these flashy things, but he can't beat me," Mida said to Anana again. "Even if he elementalizes, I can swat his whole body into the ground with a single claw."

Flashy.

If anyone knew that the Principal of Olifendo, the Mage of Purifying Flames, was described with such a word, their jaws would probably drop in shock.

But as it happened, Mida was truly one of the very few people qualified to say such a thing.