Gift: "Ancient... darkness... terror... when... the stars... He... awakens..."
In the somewhat dim room, Claire sat at her desk, concentrating intently on the object before her.
It was an Ancient Stone Slab Fragment carved with strange raised characters. Its material was a grayish-black rock with a slightly greasy metallic sheen, making it quite unusual.
By the pale white glow of a mana candle, the girl's sapphire-like eyes were filled with seriousness as she studied every tiny line on the slab with utmost focus.
From time to time, she flipped through several thick tomes at hand, comparing their heavily yellowed pages as she tried bit by bit to decipher the strange characters on the slab.
Under the candlelight, the girl's brilliant golden hair gleamed. Her pair of fair, adorable pointed ears swayed faintly without her noticing, reflecting a tempting crystalline luster.
After parting ways with Anvis, the girl had neither attended classes in other schools nor, like some noble children, gone to places of entertainment and social gatherings to try making more friends and expanding her connections.
Instead, she devoted all her time to studying all manner of mysterious knowledge.
During the entrance examination, the girl's talent as a Professional had only been somewhat above average. Strangely, however, she possessed an almost inconceivable talent for Occultism.
When she was young, the Old Mage who had raised her had noticed this talent.
Out of a desire to study it, the Old Mage opened the various books in his private Library to the girl. He wanted to see just how much she could ultimately learn.
With the mage's support, the girl mastered a great deal of knowledge concerning ancient history, magical languages, ancient creatures, and more over the course of several years.
She had read every relevant tome in the Library several times.