At dusk, by Hogwarts' Black Lake, Roy sat alone on the slightly damp grass by the shore, deep in thought. He watched the red lake glitter beneath the setting sun, his expression grave as he wondered about something unknown.
He picked up a pebble embedded in the dirt and tossed it into the calm Black Lake. As ripples spread across the surface, turmoil rose within him as well.
Roy stared blankly at the mirror-like lake, but what flashed before his eyes was the fight in that alley.
"Too underhanded."
Roy threw another stone at the lake. The smooth pebble skipped several times across the water before sinking beneath the surface.
"Not enough. Still not enough."
Roy sat by the shore as if possessed, muttering to himself. He kept babbling meaningless words while continuously throwing all kinds of little stones into the bottomless Black Lake.
Only after Roy had thrown every stone within reach did he stop pelting the placid lake. Still frustrated, he clasped his head with both hands, leaned back, and flopped onto the smooth lawn like he had given up on life.
"Too weak. I'm too weak."
Roy was truly discouraged. If he had lost in a contest of magic, he could have accepted that—after all, he had only been systematically studying magic for a little over a year. But even with his exoskeleton activated, he had only managed an even match in close combat. That result was far too difficult for him to accept.
With his exoskeleton overclocked, his speed had already completely surpassed the limits of what a human body could achieve. If the other side could keep up with him, then either they had tactical equipment that could similarly boost their speed, or they were not human at all.
How could the other side possibly