Lydia Ainsworth.
She began to stand out at a very young age. Though the Ainsworths were a family of sorcerers, they were neither nobility nor a house of high standing.
Within the lineages of sorcerers, it would be accurate to describe them as ordinary.
In that context, Lydia’s existence was something that could only be called a mutation.
"Wahahaha! Ahahahaha!"
From the time she was small, she loved to move, and she would run around absolutely everywhere. To her, life consisted of only two states: running or stopping. That was it.
Her parents were often at their wits' end with her, but part of them was simply happy that she was so energetic.
One day, while Lydia was running around the garden as usual, her parents noticed she was creating ice pillars.
"Lydia. How did you do that?"
"I just put a lot of strength into it, and there it was!!"
"Magic...? At this age?"
"Dear, perhaps Lydia is a genius!"
Lydia had an older sister, but her sister did not possess such overwhelming talent; she was a standard member of House Ainsworth. Lydia, however, had been able to manifest magic since she was a toddler.
Under normal circumstances, even for those with an aptitude for magic, it would take far longer to reach that stage. Furthermore, creating such intricate ice pillars should have been an impossible feat. The glimpses of her true potential had already begun to show back then.
"Mumu... Mumumu!"
Lydia spent her days playing by creating ice in the garden, but it reached a point where one could hardly call it "play" anymore.
She possessed an incredibly high affinity for ice magic, and day after day, she would manifest ice and mold it into shapes.
Her latest obsession was crafting ice in the shape of animals. Before long, the garden was filled with them. At a glance, one might have thought the estate was hosting a grand exhibition.
"Gunu... nunu!"
Raising both hands, she extended the ice with a sharp cracking sound. She was currently working on a unicorn she had read about in a book the day before.
The horn was particularly difficult to shape. She groaned as she focused her magic, but dozens of minutes later, she finally finished a piece that satisfied her. She immediately ran to find her mother.
"Mommy!! Look, look at this!"
"My... did you do all of this, Lydia?"
"Yep!"
Her mother could not hide her shock at the sight—it was a scene far removed from reality. She stood there in a daze, eyes wide and hand pressed to her mouth.
It was only natural. The entire garden had been transformed into a gallery of ice art.
That night, her parents began to seriously discuss her future.
Lydia’s talent was undoubtedly exceptional. It was possible she might reach the level of a Platinum Rank or even a Grand Rank sorcerer. Perhaps she might even have a chance at becoming one of the Seven Grand Sorcerers...
The years passed, and Lydia turned eleven.
"Lydia. You're grade-skipping, but will you be able to make friends properly?"
"Hahaha! I'll be fine! Mother, you worry far too much."
"...Hmm. To think you would enter the prestigious Arnold Magic Academy at this age. Lydia, you really are amazing."
"Hehehe. Father, you're exaggerating... though I am a Genius Sorcerer! It’s only natural!"
Having grown up with a boyish personality, she used the grade-skipping system to enroll in the Arnold Magic Academy, the most prestigious institution in the world.
Of course, she only gained entry after passing the rigorous official entrance exams.
While Arnold Magic Academy allowed for grade-skipping, those who actually did so were few and far between. Since almost no one from the Three Great Noble Families even utilized the system, it was practically a myth.
However, in this particular year, there were three students grade-skipping, including Lydia. she was looking forward to seeing what kind of people the other two were.
"Are you grade-skipping too!"
"Yeah. That’s right."
Lydia and Abby met during the entrance ceremony. The two had polar opposite personalities, but they were surprisingly compatible and quickly became friends. Soon, they were joined by another—an incredibly flamboyant girl.
Her hair was tied in a high ponytail and adorned with an excessive number of ornaments. The two were taken aback by her striking appearance, but that was simply who Carol was.
"Yippee~☆ I'm Carol Caroline! Feel free to call me Caro-caro! Kyapi ☆"
Though their first encounter was chaotic, the three of them began to spend all their time together as friends.
Being grade-skippers brought many challenges, but Lydia kicked every obstacle out of their way.
Once, an upperclassman challenged her to a duel. When he told her, "This isn't a place for a brat like you," her rage reached its boiling point.
She crushed him without mercy, and her reputation quickly became legendary within the Academy.
Whether it was classroom lectures or practical magic, she consistently held the top grades in her year. However, to her, it never felt like she was pushing herself.
"Lydia. Are you still awake?"
"Yeah. Just a bit more..."
Even after reaching her final year, she never changed. She spent every night poring over books. Her sheer volume of reading was something even Abby, a devoted bibliophile, felt she could never match.
She was an existence who put in effort as naturally as she breathed. She was a genius, yet she worked harder than anyone—and she didn't even view that work as "effort." In those moments, Abby truly understood that Lydia was a genius in the purest sense.
"Mmm... munya munya... I can't eat another bite... ehehe."
As for Carol, she was usually off in a world of happy dreams.
"I'm going to sleep first."
"Yeah. I'll keep the light on just for myself. Sorry as always."
"No, I don't mind. I respect that part of you, Lydia."
Lydia didn't offer a reply.
She was simply too immersed. Diving deep into the world of books, she was busy creating new magic. Lydia was no longer in a position of merely learning magic; she had reached the stage of pioneering it.
Specifically, she pondered what it meant to be "skilled" in ice magic.
She had scrutinized that question since the day she entered the Academy. The answer she eventually arrived at involved the codes of [Deceleration] and [Lock]. It began when she tried to understand the magic she had been using intuitively through the lens of deeper, more fundamental codes.
She realized she wasn't particularly "gifted" at ice magic itself, but rather possessed a high affinity for the two specific concepts: [Deceleration] and [Lock].
From then on, she stopped focusing on ice magic and instead narrowed her research to [Deceleration] and [Lock] to birth entirely new spells.
However, she was unable to produce a result that satisfied her before graduating.
Afterward, the paths of the three girls led them into the Kingdom Army.
"Lydia. Are you at it again?"
"Hm? Ah, sorry. Did I wake you?"
Even though Field Training was set to begin in earnest the next day, Lydia was in their tent conducting magical experiments.
What she sought was the Ice Sword. She had been brooding over how to mold its form for a long time.
"I heard a bit of noise."
"I seem to have been immersed. I didn't notice. Sorry."
"Well, you’ve been like that since our student days. So, have you grasped anything?"
"No. It looks like it will still take time. The code itself should be running perfectly. I’m certain there must be a flaw in the logic somewhere... or so I think."
She looked unusually serious. Seeing her like that, Abby cracked a small smile.
"What is it? Laughing all of a sudden."
"No. I just thought you really haven't changed since the old days."
"Is that so? As for me, I think I've grown quite a bit!"
Lydia boastfully puffed out her chest, but Abby simply went back to bed without pointing out that her reaction was exactly what hadn't changed.
"Just don't stay up so late that you're exhausted tomorrow, alright?"
"Yeah. I'll do that."
And so, Lydia set out once more to challenge the creation of a new form of magic.