That exception was none other than Daedalus.
Among all the students of the very first batch, the most gifted were undoubtedly Daedalus, Sisyphus, and Tiresias.
Although there were other prodigies capable of casting second-circle spells as early as their third year, they were still a tier below these three, after all, the fact that their names were preserved in myth already proved their extraordinary nature.
Yet compared to Sisyphus and Tiresias, Daedalus stood out even further, just as those two far surpassed ordinary prodigies, she surpassed even them.
Her exceptional talent was most clearly shown in the fact that she had mastered a third-circle spell before the end of her third year, and by graduation, she could already manage a sixth-circle spell, essentially advancing a full circle each year.
Such talent allowed her to close the gap with Hermione and the others in a remarkably short time.
Had this been the world of Azeroth, she might well have become another Antonidas, a mighty mage capable of breaking into the ranks of the legendary.
As for the other two geniuses, Tiresias' gifts lay in divination and astronomy, making him a highly specialized prodigy.
With the aid of his innate foresight, he advanced with incredible speed in divination, far outpacing even Daedalus.
But that was his only strength. In every other aspect, he was quite mediocre, perhaps even weaker than an average student.
This severely limited his overall progress, and by the time he graduated, he could only barely cast a fifth-circle divination spell, while his proficiency in other schools of magic rarely exceeded the third circle.
Sisyphus, on the other hand, was different. Whether in theory or practice, his progress placed him at the very top of the academy.
He was the archetype of a well-rounded genius.
In theoretical exams, he was forever "second place" (first always being Daedalus), yet in practical dueling, he even surpassed her.
At graduation, Sisyphus had only mastered fourth-circle spells, seemingly weaker than the other two.
However, his mastery was broad and well-balanced; he was a true polymath of magic, capable of wielding spells from every school.
More importantly, he excelled at combining spells in combat, defeating a wide variety of opponents. Even Daedalus, with her sixth-circle spells, was not his match.
Among this first batch of students, there were very few who could reach the fourth circle by the end. Including these three, there were only a handful, proof of how difficult magic truly was, and how heavily it depended on talent.
But this first generation of students had been carefully selected by Alaric and Pandora from across all of Greece, choosing only the best among children of suitable age.
Since there had never been such a selection before, more prodigies appeared in this first group.
From the second batch onward, Alaric admitted about fifty new students each year.
Yet after that, by the time they graduated, often only one or two, sometimes none, were qualified to remain at the academy for further study.
And among those who could remain, Daedalus, Sisyphus, and Tiresias were always at the forefront.
Daedalus aside, between the polymath Sisyphus and the specialist Tiresias, Alaric actually valued Tiresias more.
To Alaric, magic, like science, was another path toward uncovering the truth of the world.
And in research, unless one was a true chosen of fate like himself, even geniuses were better off specializing in a single field rather than spreading themselves too thin.
That way, they had a greater chance of producing real results.
It was like on Earth: while primary and secondary education demanded excellence in every subject, at university, one could only choose a single major.
At the postgraduate level, specialization narrowed further, down to a single research direction.
This was because human intellect was finite; only by focusing limited energy in one direction could breakthroughs be made.
So it was with magic as well.
In the world of Dungeons & Dragons, wizards even imposed hard rules: in order to specialize in one school of magic, they had to abandon one or two others, for fear that conflicting theories would hinder their progress.
Thus, most wizards studied no more than four schools at most.
Elite circles like the Red Wizards took this to an extreme, devoting themselves entirely to one school while knowing only the basics of others.
The saying "master one spell, master them all" simply did not exist among mages.
In Alaric's eyes, Sisyphus was indeed a genius, but at most, he was a battle mage, adept at using spells to defeat foes.
To achieve real academic accomplishments, however, was impossible for him.
Such people could help expand the influence of wizardry, but were of no direct use to Alaric himself.
After all, one reason he spread the art of magic was to borrow the wisdom of others, to let countless minds contribute and generate diverse ideas.
Put bluntly, though he himself was a scholar who excelled in every field, even he could only focus on artificial intelligence, he had no time to study aerospace, biology, energy, or materials.
His goal was to find "assistants" to pursue research in other directions.
In fact, the academy's very system reflected this philosophy.
Once a student advanced into the first circle, they would be assigned duties as an apprentice, serving as an assistant in their professors' research.
These apprentice tasks were an obligation for every student until graduation.
Those who remained for advanced study after graduation no longer bore these duties.
Though they were said to be "continuing students," they had in truth stepped beyond the student stage.
They were granted private quarters and laboratories, where they could conduct independent research.
In return, however, they had to take on new obligations.
The first of these was teaching.
Based on their own level, these advanced students were given teaching responsibilities, sharing the burden of professors like Hermione, greatly easing their load.
As more and more batches graduated, and more advanced students stayed on, eventually all the basic teaching would be handled by these continuing magi.
Hermione and the others would only need to instruct the advanced scholars themselves. With fewer students and fewer courses, their burden would lighten considerably.
This way, the girls would finally have enough time to pursue the things they truly loved.
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