In a dimly lit conference room, more than fifty professors sat in silence, their attention fixed on the giant screen dominating the far wall. The display was divided into a hundred panes, each showing a live feed of an individual cadet.
The professors from the Core Magic Department and the Combat Department leaned forward with particular eagerness, their eyes gleaming. This year, it was the Combat Department that had crafted the initiation trial, and they watched with pride as their carefully woven scenario unfolded.
The Department of Elemental Magic was itself vast, consisting of several schools: Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Ice, Lightning, Light, and Shadow. The Combat Department, by contrast, was unified, encompassing every martial path. Whether a cadet chose Weapon Mastery or Unarmed Combat, they would find mentors here, and receive Combat Arts honed through centuries of discipline.
