Stepping into ay train booth, Emily pces her barrel on the floor in front of her ales into her seat, finally rexing her guard a little.

  That was close, they almost caught up to me before I got the door open. Luckily my new spell worked wonders.

  She grins slightly as she pulls up the spell in the system and the notes from when she made it.

  ˉˉˉˉˉ

  [Thermal Shock]

  [Circle:] First

  [Cost:] 40 Mana/cast

  [Description:] Quickly ge the temperature of an obje tact with the caster’s haweereme heat and cold.

  _____

  New spell, base: burning hands and fsh freeze.

  -Take tact target runes from fsh freeze, and blend effects. Alternate effects.

  Thermal shock: extreme ges in thermal stresses causes meical failure.

  -ge to el instant of instance cast?

  Shattered a heavy meical lock.

  Little to no visual damage on the door.

  Hot then cold was better (door cool to touch afterwards).

  Shorteing cycle slightly (reached temp 0.14s before cooling started).

  Finished adding to her notes about the spell, Emily sits ba her seat. Her smile vanishes as she ptes the table of crests and what they mean.

  What did she mean by ‘trophies’? Are they killing The ant’s mages? It must’ve been going on for a while. Why haven’t they warned us about danger iy? And why did that prick arms dealer tell me to go to that tent? Is he w with them, or was he trying to war’s got to be a pretty big operation if they removed the guards from all the market’s exits just to get me, so maybe they are all in on it?

  With a frustrated sigh, Emily reaches up and rubs her brow.

  Whatever, I’d better ask around in The Dome and I’ll be extra careful ime I go back there. Worst case, I just kill them all or reset and avoid them if that’s not possible. Should I reset so they don’t realise I know about them? I still he bck powder, so I’d have to go bayway. Is it worth repeatierday’s css for? It was really b. I don’t really care that they know. If they attack me again I’ll just kill them.

  ***

  That afternoon, Emily heads to a new css with her friends. They arrive at the familiar training hall, except this time ‘Basic Magibat’ is written on the open door. They enter and find groups of first circle mages gathered, but no teacher.

  Walking to a free spot, Emily, Juliana, Tom, aer tinue chatting as they wait for the teacher to show up.

  “Is it okay for you to be in this css? Shouldn’t you be going to intermediate instead?” Tom voices the question on everyone’s mind to Emily.

  “I’m going to ask if I be moved up a css as soon as possible,” Emily responds casually, not seeming worried about her ces. “It’s up to the teacher whether I or not though, sieically o pass this to joiermediate css.”

  “Good luck, Emi. I think that may be harder than you think,” Juliana says gloomily.

  “Why? Is the teacher strict?”

  “It’s not that Mr Campanu’s strict, but he is a nobility purist,” Hester answers for her with obvious disdain.

  “Oh great.” Emily’s heart drops just as the doors to the hall sm shut.

  Looking over, she sees a tall man with short blonde hair and a well-groomed beard proudly walking into the tre of the hall. The room falls silent as he slowly casts his gaze around, looking for something in the crowd. The moment he makes eye tact with Emily, he calls out with a clear baritone voice.

  “Well, if it isn’t the oner prodigy herself. Finally deigning to grace us with her presence.”

  She hears a few chuckles and gowards them, seeing Jeremy and Kyle standing with a small group. However, they quickly avert their eyes the moment she looks at them.

  Cowards.

  “I apologise, Mr Campanu, I simply got too ied in my other studies and actally ed your css,” Emily quickly tries to feign humility, unwilling to be stu this css due to the teacher’s wounded pride.

  He scoffs at her half-hearted excuse.

  “At least you know your pce. I assume you would like to be moved up to Intermediate Magibat as fast as possible?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “In that case let me give you a little test. e stand in front of the css.”

  He gestures for her to approach, and all the mages slowly form a circle around him. Emily obliges and walks into the tre, ign the gazes following her.

  “Let’s start with the basics. In a duel between mages, what are the two most important aspects that will decide victory or defeat?”

  “Casting speed and elemental patibility,” Emily quickly answers without pause.

  “Yes.” Mr Campanu nods with slight disappoi.

  Did he really think I wouldn’t prepare for a quiz?

  “Why is that so?”

  Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Emily expins clearly.

  “The differen casting speed will dictate who finishes a spell first ao go on the offensive. If the mage with a slower casting speed chooses to cast an attack spell, they will be at an immediate disadvantage for the rest of the fight, so it’s sensible to first start with a defensive spell if you believe your oppo is faster than you. As for the mage’s elements, there are naturally good and bad matchups. A water mage will struggle to break past ah mage’s defences but will find it easier to smother a fire mage’s fmes. This means that before the fight even starts one of the mages will already be at an advantage.”

  Though that won’t mean much if you just approaeone and use physical attacks to interrupt their casting.

  “Exactly! You seem to have at least read the textbooks for this css. Now, why don’t we test your casting speed? Piy spell of your choid start casting on my mark. Ready? Now!” he calls abruptly, barely giving her any time to prepare.

  Ign his obvious attempts to show her up, Emily raises her hands and quickly weaves together a set of hand signs. A glowiric blue magic circle forms around her hands and begins rotating within three seds.

  “Done,” she says casually, raising one of her hands and tapping the air before her, sending small arcs of lightning out a few timetres.

  It is a rick she has worked out by targeting the air molecules around her with the tact-based stunning touch. A few murmurs break out in the crowd around her. Mr Campanu raises a brow for a sed before schooling his expression.

  “Silehe murmurs in the crowd die out almost instantly.

  “Very good, I will admit you’ve done enough to pass to the intermediate css. However, before you move up, we should see how you handle yourself in a duel,” he says with a sly smirk. “Since you are already at the sed circle, it would be unfair to make any of your cssmates duel you. So instead, I will have to test you myself.”

  Emily clicks her to his obviously unfair treatment. She hears a familiar voice muttering about it and gnces behio see Juliana watg her with . She fshes her a reassuring smile before turning back to her teacher turned oppo.

  “Sure, that seems fair. What are the rules?”

  “First! We start teres apart,” he says turning around and gaining distance from her.

  “Sed!” He spins back to face her while raising his hand to reveal a single copper . “We begin casting the moment this hits the ground.”

  “And finally, third!” He uhe into the air between them while bringing his hands together. “The first person to nd a magical strike oher's body wins. I’ll only use sed circle spells.”

  The moment he finishes speaking, Emily brings her focus wholly to the spinning quickly towards the floor. Bringing her hands together, she sends a mental and while formuting a battle pn.

  Set core two to assistive processing.

  The slows its rotation in her perception till she read the face each time it turns.

  I don’t want to reveal double casti: it’s better to keep a few cards hidden for now. Silent casting alone should be enough to catch him off guard.

  The lowers, only a few timetres off the ground as Emily sends a small spark of mana into a crystal within her robes.

  He saw my casting speed before and was still fident in starting this fight so he’s probably able to cast faster than me. Defe is!

  The hits the floor and Emily’s hands instantly burst into motion. Her fingers glide over each other, f a plicated dance of light as pale green lines and runes fly into p front of her. She stares straight ahead at her oppo as a solid mental picture of a protective gust takes shape.

  Mr Campanu sms his hands together the moment the falls, a prideful grin pstered on his face as he moves his hands in an exaggerated motion. He curls his fiogether in a twisted rotating motion, then gathers them together into one ball before throwing his hands towards Emily with fingers spyed.

  A glowing red orb of fire forms between his hands, r loudly as it flies out. Emily’s casting finishes just in time, her arms sweeping wide, spreading the formed runic ttice before her to surround her body and shift into a twisting orb of safety. The fireball sms into her barrier, bursting apart as its fmes are carried away by the wind, spreading to joiation until the individual strands of fire are snuffed out.

  “Tsk,” Mr Campanu clicks his tongue in irritation. “Impressive to be able to put up a barrier fast enough to block my fireball. Let’s see how durable it is!”

  This time as he begins his gestures, Emily has her focus split on maintaining her barrier and watg him.

  Weird, where are the runes of his spell? He doesn’t seem to be f any.

  With her brow furrowed, she watches as a new fireball forms between his hands and flies at her barrier. The fireball explodes against the wind again, blog her vision for a moment before being ripped apart.

  Disable assistive processing. Core two, maintain the wind barrier.

  With her main sciousness freed up, Emily focuses pletely on watg Mr Campanu cast another fireball. She sends a small flow of mana to her eyes, slightly enhang her ability to see the flow of mana around him. A faint shimmer appears in the tre of his chest as he gestures, before flowing down his arms and out of his palms the moment the fireball forms.

  Satisfied she has gathered enough data on his castihod, Emily stops fog on him the moment the third fireball hits her barrier. The orb of wind holds strong. However, as she looks at her mana, she notices it decreasing slightly each time the barrier is hit.

  Damn! I ’t keep this up forever. I o go on the offensive.

  Moving on to the sed stage of her quickly f pn, she breaks out into a sprint, running forward to close the distaweehe barrier follows her, draining her mana slightly faster but never lettiray from the tre. A fourth fireball hits the in-motion barrier just as Emily steps within four metres of Mr Campanu.

  Realising that Emily’s barrier is about to hit him, Mr Campanu starts bag off while twisting his fingers around and waving his hands in wide motions. Emily is two metres away, with her barrier only a metre from hitting her oppo, as a short, metre-wide wall of fire rises in her path.

  Grinning, Emily instantly drops her barrier and silently casts iron bde, f a mental image of a short, thihe small metal object drops into her hand and she raises her arm behind her, arg her bad building up as much tension through her body as possible.

  Firmly pnting her front foot, her arm violently snaps forward, sending the bde ripping through the barrier of fire as easily as air. The small bde flies straight towards Mr Campanu’s face. His eyes widen in surprise, ailts his head to the side in the nick of time as the bde sails past, slig his cheek on the way.

  He looks at Emily in rage. However, it quickly ges to fusion when he sees her standing rexed, as if the fight is over already. Some of the students begin g, and the appuse spreads until most of the css is gratuting Emily.

  “That was a jured bde,” Emily states smugly, clearing the fusion from Mr Campanu’s gaze.

  “I see,” he says unfortably before stepping forward with his hand outstretched. “Well done, you pass this css. That was a fine dispy.”

  Deg not to embarrass him further, in case he ges his mind, Emily quickly shakes his hand while lightly bowing her head.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  As the css begins to quiet down, Mr Campanu tinues calmly.

  “You are dismissed now. I shall see you in the m intermediate css starti week.”

  Emily bows before turning to leave, walking past her friends and giving them a smug wink as she goes. The moment she passes them, her grin falls away to reveal a grim scowl.

  Now it's time to ask about missing mages.