Time Holders: The World of Balance

Aldrus and Alice were heading back to their room.

The class had finished without any major surprises after Aldrus’s turn. If anything, four other students did about as good as Alice, but nobody was able to match Aiden.

How foolish...

Aldrus mocked himself for thinking he could even have a chance. With the exception of the ones who failed to use [Motion] at all, he was, without a doubt, the worst-performing student in that class.

As he walked, Alice glanced at him several times, as if she expected him to reach her first.

She fidgeted her fingers for a while, and finally spoke,

”Hey, um... are you okay?” Her eyes gleamed with a mix of concern and curiosity.

”Yeah, I don’t feel too bad,” he said flatly.

She kept staring at him, making it obvious she wasn’t buying his bluff.

”Sorry, that’s a lie. Of course I’m frustrated, I really wanted to succeed there. If I can’t even do this much, then how could I ever become a Holder who explores the lands beyond?”

Alice remained silent for a few seconds, thinking to herself. Then, she tilted her head before speaking,

”Look, Aldrus. I’m not really fond of saying empty words, and these will probably be. But I’m also not comfortable seeing you so down for such a thing, so I’ll just say it.”

She cleared her throat,

”I had been wondering for some time, but now I’m certain. Aldrus... you want to get selected, don’t you?”

His face went stiff; she was right.

”...Yes. I’m looking for an answer... Something very important to me.”

He looked into her eyes and added,

”I’m not here just to be someone else’s pet, nor do I intend to graduate just to have that on my resume. I never really saw the appeal of it. It seems like most of these people don’t know just how dangerous it really is out there; how... fascinating.”

”I came here because I had no other choice. This is the only path I can walk.”

Alice looked at him, carefully taking his words into consideration before saying anything. They both went quiet and walked slowly for a minute. Then, she nodded and finally said,

”Well, in that case, these might not just be empty words, after all. Say, remember how Sir Zorum said some people are bad at one thing but good at others?”

”I do.”

”Well, the thing is... that’s not as simple as it sounds,” she began to explain.

”For starters, Sir Zorum didn’t strike me as the type of person to say such a thing merely for encouragement; he meant it literally.”

”I’m from a noble family myself, you see. So I’m naturally more familiar with these concepts, and I’m not lying when I tell you; from the people I’ve seen with my own two eyes, the ones that lack the most in one area are often the ones who excel the most in others... More than you can imagine.”

Aldrus looked at her face through the corner of his eyes, noticing a hint of sadness on it.

”...Are you saying that I might be incredible at one of the other skills, then?”

”I can’t say for sure, but that’s one of the reasons I can think of that makes the most sense.”

”As incredible as Aiden?” he asked with a faint spark in his eyes.

”Uh... Listen, I’m not trying to be rude, but judging from how bad your [Motion] control is, if my theory is correct, I think you might be even better than him at one of the other skills,” she said with a bit of guilt.

Hmmm.

Aldrus reflected on her words. They could merely be an attempt to cheer him up, but he knew she was not that kind of person. Alice was sweet, but pragmatic. She would never tell him something she didn’t mean.

”Let’s talk about it, then. I’ll ask you some questions. Is that okay with you?” she added.

”Are you trying to play that game of yours again...?” He shuddered.

”Hahaha! No, of course not. I’m just trying to help.”

I know.

”Well then, go ahead.”

She smiled and raised a finger to her chin, looking like a little puppy lost in thought.

”Well, since I haven’t seen much of you, let’s start with this: How exactly was your fight against Miss Leona?”

Oh, that’s right. I never told her the details.

Aldrus recalled her looking surprised about his unusual perspective burnout. She had even told him she assumed Leona went easy on him, so she didn’t see the point in asking.

Remaining silent for a moment, he gathered his thoughts. Then, he grimaced and said,

”Well... Let’s just say it wasn’t as easy as it looked. Basically, she sent me a few seconds back in time. Just enough to take me to the beginning of the match, and not so much that I could refuse the spar before it happened.”

He sighed and added,

”Since I thought she was planning to embarrass me in front of everyone, I used perspective to try and bypass her domain, but it was harsh as hell. I had to perceive myself months into the future just to start the loop close enough to her, and even then, she knocked me to the ground in no time.”

Aldrus recounted the whole thing with little interest. He didn’t think he’d done anything particularly impressive; in fact, he had lost. It wasn’t even a draw.

Well, expecting a draw against a Second-Rank is something only an idiot would do. I just learned how wide the gap between us really is, thanks to Sir Zorum.

Alice frowned as she listened to him. She adjusted her hair with one hand and asked in a plain tone,

”You’re kidding, right?”

”Huh...?” Aldrus’s jaw dropped. ”W-What do you mean? I only told you what happened, I’m not trying to mock you or anything.”

She searched his eyes for even the faintest hint of irony, but found none.

As she came to the realization that Aldrus was dead serious, her eyes widened in disbelief.

”T-There’s no way! Aldrus, you’ve got to be kidding me! Are you telling me you used perspective months into the future?!”

The sudden shift in her demeanor shocked him more than any of her words.

”W-What’s with that reaction?!” he said, bewildered.

”A-Aldrus, y-you... How much did you actually jump in time back then?”

”Hmm? Just a few seconds. The situation didn’t require more than that, and I just needed to get close to her, that’s all... but again, what’s wrong with your face?”

She brought a hand to her chin and fell silent for a moment, deep in thought. Then she looked at him with a stern expression, and said,

”Aldrus... First-Ranked Holders cannot perceive themselves further than an hour into the future. At most.”

...eh?