Emily brings up her system, cheg on her remaining mana and new skill.

  ˉˉˉˉˉ

  [Mana:] 200/345

  -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

  [Basic Gesture Casting (passive)]

  User profitly weave hand signs aures together to form basic magic circles.

  -Grants +10% casting speed when f up to third circle spells with the hands.

  _____

  Her mana doesn’t surprise her, having fallely 15 since she checked it before casting Burning Hands. Over the past few hours, she noticed her mana was increasing slowly whenever she wasn’t actively casting a spell, rec over 30 of the points that she spent.

  However, the skill does surprise her a little.

  Increases casting speed? How’s it going to do that when casting is making the hand signs?

  To test, Emily quickly casts Burning Hands again and this time finds perf the required movements feels slightly more natural and only takes eight seds. Happy with her new skill, Emily checks the time. Upon seeing she still has two hours till Juliana should arrive for dinner, she decides to test maing other elements again.

  Closing her eyes and clearing her mind, she pictures the air around her. Imagining the tiny particles floating everywhere, she applies a small force to one and watches as it moves forward and collides with another particle. Another particle behind it is pulled into the space it left and soon a small rea grows, with more and more particles of air f a wave of motion.

  Slowly she increases the force applied to the particles and grows the light breeze into a gale of eic particles. Pushing mana through the image and out into the spa front of her, Emily opens her eyes and grins at the formless fluctuations she’s created.

  Good, I have one maion more to show already.

  Moving on, she attempts to ma water, earth aal agaiill ’t quite grasp a solid image for them. After failing to ma any other elements, Emily does some exercise and showers while waiting for diime.

  At 8 pm o, she hears a familiar kno her door. Opening the door, she smiles and greets Juliana.

  “Hey, how’s it going?”

  “It would be goier if you didn’t ignore me at lunch. I know you only had one lesson this m, so you were totally in!” Juliana pins while gring at Emily sulkily.

  Giggling at her friend's cute antics, Emily walks past her while saying:

  “Sorry, I got my first spell earlier and was really focused to cast it, so I didn’t even hear you. Is there any way I make it up to you?”

  “Hmm.” Juliana grabs Emily’s arm and hangs off it as she stares at her sceptically. “Well, if you didn’t ignore me on purpose, I guess I’ll five you if you let me pick dinner.”

  “Haha, sure. We have whatever you want,” Emily agrees easily, gd Juliana accepted her lie.

  ***

  A couple of mier, Emily and Juliana are sitting at a small table in the cafeteria with a rge sele of finger foods spread between them. Emily happily digs in, fillie with an assortment of breads, meats, aables, as Juliana asks her about her day.

  “Wait, two full maions?”

  “Yeah, I actually do three now, but it took me a little while to work out the third, so I didn’t show it in css.”

  “Wow, I knew you were going to be talented, but that’s ridiculous.”

  Seeing Juliana’s shock makes Emily grow excited about pleting her quest.

  If three elements are enough to surprise her this much, how will she react to four or five?

  “Oh, by the way, I was talking to some cssmates earlier about mages’ lifespans, and they didn’t know how long fourth circle mages live. you tell me?” Emily asks, drawing Juliana out of her surprised stupor.

  “Hmm? Sure, fourth circle mages normally live about five to six hundred years. They’re lucky, I want to get to a high circle so I age slower! Apparently, higher circle mages stay looking like their prime till they– “ Juliana pauses her excited expnation as two people step into their table’s sound barrier.

  Looking over with an annoyed frown, Emily sees Tom aer smiling at her as they approach.

  “Hey Emily, we join you?” Hester asks before freezing when she looks over at Juliana.

  Emily raises an eyebrow at her rea, then looks to Juliana for a response.

  “Sure! I don’t mind.” Juliana cheerfully agrees.

  But I do…

  Emily grumbles internally as the siblings sit with them.

  “I’m Juliana Madonna, first circle, lovely to meet you.”

  “Hester Valentine of house Dahlia, also first circle, o meet you.”

  “Tom Valentine of house Dahlia, ditto, why are you hanging out with oners?”

  Tom doubles over in pain after asking his question, and Emily looks at Hester to see her gring at her brother.

  He should really look into shin prote.

  “Are you okay?” Juliana asks with .

  “Just ignore him, and sorry about him asking such a rude question,” Hester responds while bowing her head.

  “Oh, it’s fine, and to answer, I hang out with oners because I don’t see a reason not to. We’re all people, right?”

  Juliana’s i smile seems to catch Hester off guard, as she stares bnkly back at her without responding. Seeing their iion, Emily narrows her eyes and es to a quick decision as she goes back to eating.

  I’ve ged my mind; I’m not talking to these two till my final reset.

  Half listening to the versation happening around her, Emily eats in sileil Tom directs a question towards her.

  “How did your spell learning go? Has the great genius already learned a spell?”

  Emily wonders if he meant to insult her, but his expet gaze says otherwise.

  “Yeah, I have,” she answers offhandedly, looking back down at her food.

  The table goes silent, and after a few moments, Emily looks up again. All three of her friends are staring at her with shock.

  “Did you mao cast the spell already? I see?” Juliana asks excitedly.

  “Sure, are we allowed to cast spells in here?”

  “It’s only first circle, so it should be fihere are no explicit rules against casting spells anywhere in The Dome, only a rule not to damage the building or harm es outside of training.”

  Hearing Juliana’s response, Emily nods before pg down the slice of bread with pepperoni and cheese she was eating. Leaning ba her seat, she brings her hands up before her uhree expet gazes and begins casting.

  Weaving together her hand signs, she finishes casting after eight seds and presents her burning palms. Tom aer both look surprised, while Juliana is staring at her with her mouth hanging open.

  “What’s wrong?” Emily asks as she traces shapes in the air with the burning trail left by her hands.

  “That was tless casting! Also, why is your fire so pretty?”

  “My fire’s an odd colour because my mental image was metal-eating fmes. And yeah, using the t made the spell too weak, so I worked out how to draw the circle with hand signs, freeing up my mind for a solid mental image.”

  “Amazing, tless casting of any form is sidered a huge advantage and a difficult skill. you teach me?” Juliana asks while fshing Emily a set of puppy dog eyes.

  “Sure,” Emily smirks in response.

  “ you teach us too? That looked so cool!” Tom eedly.

  “Tsk, how about you ask me again when you’ve learned how to cast a spell normally.”

  Emily goes back to eating and the meal passes quickly. After finishing, Emily and Juliana say goodbye to the siblings, whom Juliana firmed to be twins during their versation, and head baily’s room.

  They pie of the simplest of Juliana’s wind spells and gh the same process of drawing out the spell formu, which Emily quickly memorises, adding it to her Spellbook.

  ˉˉˉˉˉ

  Spell memorised: Air Bst

  -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

  [Air Bst]

  [Circle:] First

  [Cost:] 20 Mana/cast

  [Description:] Fire a bst of wind from the palms.

  _____

  As she looks with satisfa at the new spell, a thought occurs to her and she asks:

  “Is it okay for you to show me this? I was told not to show my spells to other people.”

  “It’s fihis is the free spell they give you for wind, and it’s not like I ever want to fight you, so roblem is there in you knowing how my spell works?” Juliana’s carefree response clears her doubts and brings a small smile to her face.

  They spend the few hours w out which hand signs aures to use. Unfortunately, Juliana fails to memorise them all by the time they finish.

  “This is so much harder than you make it look, my fingers just get tangled,” Juliana grumbles.

  “Haha, you just need practice. Though fun as this was, we may o do something else reset because I’m not sure how many times I teach you the basics before I get bored.”

  “Huh?”

  Emily silently smiles at her fused response and pulls out The Clock. Pressing the button, she sits through the familiar feeling of being pulled through time and finds herself lying in her bed nine hours before her first lesson.

  ***

  Nine hours ter, Emily opens the door and steps into the . This time ign Tom’s attempts to grab her attention, she walks to the third row and sits alone.

  The lessresses the same as the first time, however Emily avoids the gres of Jeremy and Kyle as Tom ughs at them. The first major ge happens after Miss Forsythia asks them to attempt to ma wind. Emily summons a small formless gale which catches Miss Forsythia’s attention.

  “Well done, Emily! A full maion of two different elements is a rarity, especially when this young. Ten points to Emily Coldstone!” Miss Forsythia calls after stepping bad pg a hand on her podium.

  Emily thanks her with a polite smile, while expetly opening her system. However, to her surprise, her mission still sits unpleted.

  ˉˉˉˉˉ

  [True Magical Genius #1]

  [Rank:] D

  [Description:] Living up to your title of teancer, you have maed a using your uanding of physics! But are two maions truly worthy of a magical genius?

  Requirements:

  -Ma 2/3 Elements in your first maion attempt (Not plete)

  Rewards:

  -Meiowledge: Basic Material Sce

  -Meiowledge: Basiematics

  _____

  Why isn’t it finished? Do I have to do all three maions in this reset for it to t?

  Blinking away her system with slight annoyance, she returns to fog on the lesson. As Miss Forsythia finishes going over the os, the seajor ge occurs. The moment she finishes setting the css a challeo ma a higher or exotic element, she directs all her attention towards Emily.

  “With your affinity for fire and wind, you may have a ce with lightning, give it a try,” she advises with a small smile.

  Emily raises an eyebrow, but quickly thanks her and closes her eyes to focus. Following a simir image to st time, except now repg the metal orbs with charged water vapour, Emily once again mas a fizzling bolt of lightning above her hand.

  “Very good! e with me.” Miss Forsythia fshes a gentle smile and motions for Emily to follow her as she walks back to her podium.

  Emily pauses, feeling a familiar rush of information flooding her cortex. After a few seds, her miles, and she blinks the system windoithout looking at them.

  I’ll check ter.

  She catches up and stands to the side of the podium as Miss Forsythia pces her palm against it and says quietly:

  “Twenty points to Emily Coldstone.”

  From up close, Emily sees the detailed runes c the top surface light up and pulse with a soft green hue. As the light fades away, Miss Forsythia looks baily and speaks to her quietly so as not to disturb the rest of the css.

  “Have you received any formal training before ing here?”

  “No.”

  “I see, and has house Mandrago given you any resouraion to help you?”

  Emily notices a slight edge to Miss Forsythia’s voice as she says house Mandrago.

  “No,” Emily says, theing her curiosity get the better of her she tinues. “Why would those scumbags ever help me?”

  A look of shod intrigue spreads aiss Forsythia’s face at Emily’s words and she quickly gnces over at the students still standing in a lih their eyes closed. Seeing they didn’t hear, she calms down a little and looks back at Emily.

  “You shouldn’t be able to insult them…” She curiously taps her fingers on her while sidering Emily. “Stay behind after css and chat with me, it’s not safe with so mara ears.”

  Emily nods and walks back to join the line of students.

  Looks like I’ve found who I talk to about their brainwashing practices.

  She settles bato pce, impatiently waiting for the lesson to end.