Elias sat in the campus library, looking at his notebook.
University was very different from high school.
He was learning a lot of new things every day.
But there was something else he noticed. The technology in this world was weird.
It was much more advanced than he thought it would be.
Back in Ohio, phones and computers were normal. But here, some of the machines looked like they were from the future.
Baraqiel had told him once that supernatural beings secretly shared some of their magic technology with humans. It made sense, but it was still strange to see.
Elias closed his notebook and put it into his backpack.
His classes were done for the day.
He was ready to go home.
He wanted to see Dee, and he knew Akeno would be waiting for him with snacks at the shrine.
He slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked out of the library.
But before he could leave the building, someone blocked his path.
It was a girl around his age. She had long black hair tied into twin tails with black ribbons.
She was wearing a bright red sweater, a black skirt, and tall black socks.
She stood with her arms crossed, looking at him with very sharp, serious blue eyes.
"Excuse me,"
The girl said. Her voice was confident and a little bossy.
"I need to ask you a question."
Elias blinked in surprise. He didn't know her.
"Sure,"
He answered politely.
"What is it?"
The girl looked around to make sure no one was listening. Then, she stepped a little closer.
"Your magic power is incredibly dense, but it feels completely wild,"
She whispered sharply.
"Which family do you come from?"
Elias stared at her.
'Which family?'
Elias thought to himself.
Should he say the Thorne family?
That was his last name back in Ohio. But he knew she wasn't asking about normal human families.
She was talking about magic clans, like the Himejima or the Gremory.
He looked at the girl's face again.
Her red sweater, her twin tails, her bossy attitude.
He felt like he had seen her from somewhere before. But he couldn't catch the memory.
Wait. His friends back in Ohio used to watch a lot of anime. They had posters of different characters in their bedrooms.
They always talked about a specific show with a girl who looked exactly like this.
'What was her name again?'
Elias thought, scratching the back of his head.
'Was it from that show about people fighting over a magic cup?'
"Well?"
The girl demanded, tapping her foot impatiently.
"I am waiting for an answer. I am Tohsaka Rin. And who are you?"
Elias sighed softly.
It seemed like this world had even more surprises waiting for him.
"My name is Elias,"
He said softly, keeping his voice calm and polite.
"Elias Thorne. And I don't come from any magic family. I am an orphan. I think you have the wrong person."
Rin narrowed her blue eyes. She didn't look convinced at all. She crossed her arms tighter.
"Do you think I am stupid?"
She asked, her voice sharp.
"A normal orphan does not walk around with that much heavy power hiding inside them. You are terrible at lying. You are coming with me. We need to talk."
Elias felt a small headache starting behind his eyes.
He just wanted to go home.
He really didn't have the energy to deal with a bossy, stubborn girl today.
"No, thank you,"
Elias said, keeping his face perfectly blank.
"I have to go home."
He stepped around her and started walking toward the library doors.
"Hey! I didn't say you could leave!"
Rin shouted, her face turning a little red from anger.
Elias ignored her. He reached out to push the heavy glass doors open.
Suddenly, Rin raised her hand. She pointed her finger at his back. She spoke a strange, fast word in a language Elias didn't understand.
A bright red flash of light shot from her finger. It hit the floor right in front of Elias's shoes.
Instantly, a heavy, invisible weight clamped down on his legs. It felt like his feet were suddenly glued to the concrete. He couldn't lift his boots. It was a binding spell.
Rin walked up behind him. She had a confident, proud smirk on her face.
"Magecraft,"
Rin said, crossing her arms again.
"I told you. You are not running away from me until I get some real answers."
Elias let out a long, tired sigh.
He looked down at his feet. The magic wasn't hurting him at all.
Because of his Adaptivity, his body was already reading the spell.
He could feel the invisible chains, and he knew exactly how to break them.
He could snap her magic in half in one second if he wanted to.
But Elias was smart. If he broke the spell and used his own wild magic right here in front of the library, other people might see.
It would cause a huge scene, and he wanted to keep his peaceful life a secret.
Still, he was starting to feel very annoyed.
"Look, Tohsaka-san,"
Elias said, turning his head to look at her over his shoulder. His voice was completely serious now.
"I am not your enemy. But I really don't like being trapped. Please undo the spell."
Rin felt the sudden shift in the air.
The quiet, polite boy was gone. His eyes were now cold and serious, holding a heavy pressure.
A normal person would have backed away.
But Rin was a proud mage from the Tohsaka family.
She was too stubborn and too proud to listen to a warning.
"I am not undoing anything until you talk,"
Rin said, lifting her chin.
"You are stuck there."
Elias didn't have a choice. He didn't want to make a scene, but he also wasn't going to stand here all day.
"Okay,"
Elias said softly.
He simply lifted his foot and took a normal step forward.
CRACK!
The sound wasn't loud, but Rin felt it in her magic circuits. The invisible, heavy chains around his legs shattered like cheap glass. He didn't struggle.
He didn't push. He just walked right through her spell like it was nothing.
Rin gasped. Her blue eyes widened in pure shock.
"How did you do that?!"
She stepped back, her confidence slipping for a second.
"You didn't chant! You didn't even use a magic circle to break it!"
Elias just kept walking toward the door.
Rin gritted her teeth. She wasn't going to let him escape so easily.
She quickly reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a small, glowing red jewel.
She opened her mouth to chant a much stronger, faster spell to knock him out.
But Elias was faster. And he was about to do something completely outside of her mind.
His Adaptivity didn't just break her magic; it learned it instantly.
He felt the way her energy moved.
He understood the rules of her magecraft perfectly just by letting it touch him.
Elias turned around and pointed his index finger right at her.
He didn't speak a single word of a chant.
He didn't hold any expensive magic jewels in his hand.
A bright red flash of light shot from his finger—the exact same light she had just used.
It hit the floor right in front of Rin's shoes.
Instantly, a massive, invisible weight clamped down on Rin's legs.
Her feet were glued to the concrete.
She tried to step forward, but she couldn't move an inch.
She was trapped by her own binding spell.
Rin dropped her red jewel. Her mouth fell open in total disbelief.
"W-What?"
She stuttered, looking from her trapped feet up to Elias. Her brain couldn't process what she was seeing.
"That's my family's magecraft. You need years of practice and jewels to do that! How are you doing it with just your bare hands?!"
Elias pushed the heavy glass door open.
He looked back at her one last time with a calm expression.
"Why should I tell you? Rude bitch…"
Rin was speechless. Did he just call her bitch!