There was no point dwelling on negative thoughts. Lucian shook his head. "Let's start with the basics. Focus on this whole playground—imagine wrapping everything here inside your control."
"Yes, Mr. Lucian!"
Angelina closed her eyes, her expression sharpening as she activated her Originium Arts.
As her Originium energy surged, the staff resonating with her glowed a deep red.
Lucian immediately felt a faint buoyancy under his feet—like he was submerged in water, gently floating upward.
Altering the weight of surrounding objects—that was the most direct manifestation of Angelina's Originium Arts.
Thanks to this ability, she could navigate between buildings with heavy cargo in tow, slipping through tight spaces and evading pursuers—an ideal power for a courier.
But from Lucian's perspective, her ability was far more special than it looked.
Changing weight seemed, on the surface, like making objects heavier or lighter. But Angelina's Arts clearly weren't limited to that.
After all, even if you turned a shot put into a feather, it should still fall.
But Angelina—despite being inexperienced—could make objects hover. That went beyond simple weight manipulation.
Analyzing Originium Arts was complicated work. Lucian wasn't sure of the exact mechanics behind hers, but it had incredible potential.
Once her field covered the entire playground, Lucian grabbed a much-lighter-than-before tire. "Focus on this one. Go!"
With a flick of his arm, the tire—something from a large transport truck—shot into the sky at an absurd speed, soaring over ten meters high.
Angelina tightened her grip on her staff. "Mmmh… hyah!"
She stared hard at the rising tire.
It kept climbing—almost as if gravity had stopped working—floating up several more meters.
When it finally began to fall, Angelina tensed, concentrating even harder, slowing its descent as much as she could.
Lucian tossed up several more. "Come on, Angelina. Keep going."
"Wah! Wah—wahhhh!"
She barked like a startled puppy.
The moment her attention split, the first tire plummeted several meters in an instant.
Lucian called out, "Spread your awareness! Don't rely on your eyes—picture everything inside your head. And keep the energy cycle steady. Don't let it break!"
"Yes, Teacher!"
Whenever she trained, Angelina naturally slipped back into student mode, following Lucian's instructions without hesitation.
She never questioned why Lucian could speak so confidently about her ability or guide her like an expert.
Anyone else might have rebelled, but Angelina trusted Lucian deeply. If he said something, then it must be correct—she never doubted him.
And Lucian's guidance really worked.
As Originium energy flowed through her, her red-brown eyes grew brighter and brighter.
The tires floating in the air grew lighter than feathers, wobbling about under her Originium Arts.
Given time, she might one day be able to move controlled objects freely—or even make them fly—but that was for much later.
In Lucian's eyes, the most impressive thing about her ability was its range.
She could already cover the entire playground. Very few Originium Arts could affect such a wide area—especially ones involving gravity control.
Lucian muttered inwardly: Using this for deliveries is kind of wasting it…
With her ability, she'd shine in combat, research, or practically anything.
If people knew what she could do, countless organizations would fight over her—for better or worse.
But Angelina just wanted to be a courier, and Lucian thought that was perfectly fine.
Having a powerful ability didn't mean you had to shoulder a heavy burden.
What you wanted to do—how you wanted to use your talents—that was Angelina's choice alone.
Lucian sighed to himself. "Is this what empathy feels like?"
He knew he was projecting a bit. He saw a younger version of himself in her.
He wanted her to use her potential—but also to follow her own path. Was this… what being a dad felt like?
Lucian drifted off a moment.
And at that exact moment, a delighted shout came from the edge of the playground:
"Wow! So many things are flying!"
Lucian turned immediately.
Xiaoling—who knew him well—was staring up at the floating tires, clapping excitedly and shouting at the top of her lungs.
Angelina jolted violently, her focus snapping to the suddenly-appearing Xiaoling.
The direct result: every floating tire drifted toward Xiaoling's position.
Angelina's face went pale. "Oh no! Danger!"
Acting on pure instinct, she poured all her awareness into Xiaoling—completely wrapping her in the field.
"Wah—wha!" Xiaoling blinked wide-eyed, her long rabbit ears shooting straight up. "My body feels so light! So fast! Oooh—ooohhh!"
With reflexes faster than thought, she kicked off the ground—
And jumped two stories high.
Already agile, Xiaoling now moved like a circus acrobat, stepping across the falling tires without fear—laughing in sheer exhilaration:
"So cool so cool! I'm sooo light! I can jump so far! Big brother! Yahoooo!" she cheered joyfully.
Using the falling tires as springboards, she launched herself over ten meters into the air—
And dove straight at Lucian.
Lucian had no choice but to catch her and spin a few times to bleed off momentum.
He pinched her cheek. "Don't yell out of nowhere. You scared Angelina. And quit jumping around like that—it's dangerous."
"It's fine. I'm super strong! Six or seven stories is nothing! "
The bunny girl boasted proudly, rubbing her head against his chest, her mouth scrunching into a bunny shape.
Lucian never knew how to handle kids with too much energy. All he could do was spoil her.
But when he turned back toward Angelina, his expression changed sharply.
"Angelina! Above you!"
Angelina lifted her head blankly. "Huh…?"
Seeing that Xiaoling was unharmed, her tension evaporated. She plopped straight onto the ground, dropping her staff completely.
Her gravity field collapsed instantly.
Every floating tire dropped.
And one of them hung directly above her head.
Angelina sat there dazed, limbs limp, unable to dodge—
…until she suddenly soared upward.
Her eyes blinked in shock as the ground shrank beneath her, Xiaoling waving from below.
Lucian's voice came from beside her ear. "This one's on me. Next time I'll keep people back. Sorry for scaring you."
Angelina shook her head frantically. "N-no! I get distracted too easily, it's not your fault! …Wait—why are we in the sky!?"
Only now did it click. She panicked and grabbed onto Lucian.
Lucian was holding her around the waist, flying far beyond the limits of her ability—and still going higher.
Once they reached nearly a hundred meters, with the city skyline looming beneath them, Lucian said awkwardly, "Didn't I mention it before? I can fly too."
He gestured to the Light Wings behind him.
"I can manipulate gravity—or rather, attraction. But unlike you, I can only affect myself."
His Wings flared with light, and he carried Angelina through the air, stopping and turning with physics-breaking precision—making her scream nonstop.
This was one of Lucian's abilities.
If Sankta had Wings, it made sense they should fly. So Lucian studied his own ability until he figured it out.
But unlike birds that flew by flapping, Lucian generated directional gravitational forces from his Wings, letting him perform impossible aerial maneuvers.
Angelina clung tightly to his neck. Once she adapted a little, her eyes sparkled like stars.
"Amazing…! Lucian, you're incredible! I've never seen Originium Arts like this!"
"Mm… it's nothing special." Lucian gave a half-hearted smile.
He honestly didn't know if this even counted as Originium Arts.
Lucian wasn't Infected. He didn't have a speck of Originium in his body. And he didn't need a staff to use this kind of power—it defied the world's logic.
Fortunately, Angelina wasn't knowledgeable enough to question it.
To avoid being seen, Lucian descended quickly, setting the still-thrilled girl on her feet.
Xiaoling ran over immediately, cheeks puffed in indignation. "Big brother, you're so mean! You didn't take me flying! I wanna fly with Angelina too! The two of us together! We can both ride you at—!"
"Don't finish that sentence!" Lucian flicked her on the head.
Xiaoling covered her head dramatically, clinging to him and whining. The two tussled for a while.
Then she suddenly remembered something. "Oh! Big brother, a super pretty lady came looking for you! She said she's from something called Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals, and she's looking for Penguin Logistics!"