10:32 a.m.
It was Monday, and the sun was shining brightly over the open field of Veyhart Academy.
The scent of fresh grass mixed with the gentle breeze sweeping across the area, carrying the distant sounds of crackling magic.
Kaen loved outdoor activities. They reminded him of his childhood... more specifically, that one time he tried to camp in the backyard and ended up being chased by an angry skunk. A tragic memory? Maybe. But nowadays, it was just something to laugh about.
But what he enjoyed the most was lying on the grass, taking in the scent, watching the clouds, and listening to the sound...
BOOM.....!
Birds?
CRACK! THOOM!
...actually, magical explosions.
"Tsk... Can a man not even have the right to sleep anymore?"
"Dude... this is Professor Aeryn's class. You want the right to sleep now?"
All the first-year students from Class S were gathered outside the academy, taking part in a practical outdoor activity.
Marco, sitting beside Kaen, couldn't believe how carefree he could be.
Everyone was watching Professor Aeryn — or rather, watching her evaluate the students in her not-so-gentle way.
"That's your best? How can you call that a defense?"
"I'm sorry!!"
"Next..."
Just as promised, Aeryn was testing each student's defense personally.
The more average students felt anxious and shivered at the idea of being tested by a mage at the peak of Class 7 — naturally so.
The crazier ones, though, felt ecstatic and thrilled. After all, it was the infamous and wonderful Professor Aeryn! What seventeen-year-old boy wouldn't love to get hit by one of her lightning blasts?
At least that was Kaen's conclusion, seeing the dumb smiles on their faces after almost being wiped out by some strange spell.
'How much mana does she even have to cast so many spells like that?'
In Chronos Realms' story mode, Aeryn only showed up during the first arc. Kaen remembered that after that period, she transferred to another magic academy. So even though he knew the game by heart, he didn't have much solid info about her.
"~Hmmm... You're next? You're the daughter of Arthen Elrien, right?"
Elena just nodded firmly.
"Planning to use your lineage's fire for defense? They say it can burn anything if it's strong enough."
Elena simply took a deep breath, summoning her flames to the palms of her hands.
"...Sorry, I still can't reach that kind of flame."
The scarlet fire flowed, dancing as if it were alive.
Murmurs echoed among the students.
"Incredible..."
"Is that Elrien fire?"
"Those scarlet flames really match her beauty..."
Elena's red hair swayed gently along with her scarlet flames, as if the fire was woven into her strands.
It was a hard sight to ignore, like she had been shaped from the very fire she controlled so naturally.
Elena heard the murmurs around her.
'Annoying... this is kind of embarrassing.'
Aeryn, seeing the awe on the students' faces, let out a subtle, almost amused smile, like someone silently enjoying the effect she had caused.
'Such a shame... if she could go all out, that would be fun. But just seeing those flames is enough for me.'
With a simple gesture, the professor summoned a large amount of water into the air, manipulating it with ease. The water spun above them, gaining form and weight.
Kaen, now fully awake, watched the scene with excitement.
On one side, the intense scarlet of Elena's flames showed the power of her lineage. On the other, the shining blue water conjured by Aeryn sparkled under the sun.
"When RGB... a fire and water fight. I always thought they were on the same team."
'RGB? Team? What is this guy talking about?'
Marco looked at Kaen like he had lost his mind.
Elena's control over fire was impressive.
The flames flowed around her like extensions of her own body, ready to attack or defend at will.
"Alright then, let's begin."
Aeryn gathered all the water into a single point, forming a dense and compact water spear.
The spear hovered above her head as if it were alive, just waiting for a command.
Elena, seeing that, changed her stance. Her aura subtly shifted, and the flames gathered into a concentrated sphere in front of her.
'Is she planning to hit me with a focused spell because she knows blocking it at the last second would be suicide...? But it's still fire against water.'
If it had just been rain or a wide-area spell, Elena could've evaporated it easily. But a condensed spear? That was a different story.
And Elena knew that. She couldn't wait for the spear to reach her. She slid her hands through the air in circular motions, guiding the flow of mana as if focusing it all into a single point.
In a real fight, this would've been impossible. But Aeryn had said she would give the students time to prepare. And Elena wasn't the type to ignore that courtesy.
Warm energy flowed through her arms, condensing in front of her. Little by little, a dense and vibrant fireball began to take shape, pulsing in shades of scarlet. The heat it radiated was so intense it made the air shimmer, like invisible waves dancing under the sun.
More murmurs spread.
"She's going to attack with a fireball..? Isn't this supposed to be a defense test?"
"Looks like an offensive spell..."
Some whispered nervously.
Defending against a water-element spell with fire? Normally, that only worked against basic spells — and this clearly wasn't one of them.
Aeryn watched the scene, unable to hold back a proud smile.
"..."
"She's clever."
Kaen, watching in awe, couldn't help but admire Elena.
'Saying that the best defense is a good offense has never made more sense.'
"Young lady... shall we begin?"
'Young lady??? Who does she think I am?'
Seeing Elena was ready, Aeryn gently raised her hand over the spear. With a quick motion, she launched the spell in a straight line.
FWOOOSH!
The cutting sound of the water tore through the air like a liquid spear flying at high speed.
To someone who wasn't a mage, it might have looked like Aeryn was trying to kill Elena. A water spear against a student? What if it hit?
Kaen still wasn't sure what would happen if someone took a direct hit from a high-level water spell — he'd never been through something like that.
But he knew Aeryn understood the risks.
From the start, anyone paying attention would've noticed that Aeryn's spells were connected to her mana.
Regular spells, cast just to be thrown, used less mana but couldn't be canceled once released. A spell connected directly to the caster's mana, though, could be undone mid-flight — in milliseconds — if something went wrong.
Elena, without hesitation, focused her accumulated power.
"Wait... isn't it getting bigger? Where's the huge fireball?"
"That doesn't look like a defensive spell... Wait... is she using fire as fuel?"
The fire had appeared as a dense sphere in her hand, but instead of just pouring mana into it to make it grow, Elena compressed it even more, turning it into something like pure fuel.
With a precise motion, she shaped the flames into a concentrated line — an intense beam that shot from her hands.
....FWAAASH!
"Whoa... that's like a kamehameha with no style."
"Kaen, what are you even talking about??"
Marco still had no idea what Kaen meant.
"..."
The beam of fire clashed with the spear of water mid-air. Because the water was dense and concentrated, it didn't vanish right away. It kept pushing forward, even after the hit.
But just as Elena expected, the power of the spear started to fade. Parts of the water evaporated into the air as the fire made contact.
Aeryn's water spear kept losing strength, bit by bit, until finally, with one last surge of mana, Elena's fire pierced through what was left of the spell.
FWOOSH!
A small burst of steam rose into the air, marking the end of the clash.
Aeryn's attack had been completely evaporated.
The field went silent for a few seconds, until a few surprised voices broke the stillness.
"Her fire... managed to evaporate the professor's magic?"
"How ridiculous..."
"Agh!... shit."
A slight expression of discomfort appeared on Elena's face. She felt a subtle burning sensation run through her arm.
'I still need to understand better how mana flows in this body...'
If she were in her old body, in her past life, casting fire magic would have been second nature. Her control was absolute back then. But now, even with years of experience, her young body still wasn't fully adapted to the intensity of her flames. Her mana veins were struggling with the pressure.
She took a deep breath, keeping control.
'With time... I'll get used to it.'
She looked at Professor Aeryn, as if expecting something else from her.
"~Ah, don't worry, Elena Elrien. That was your whole test."
Her idea of "just that" would be enough to make some students cry. But luckily, just like with the others, Aeryn hadn't pushed her to the limit.
Elena nodded and began walking back toward the shaded grass where the other students were gathered. There, they were watching each of the professor's evaluations like it was a real combat performance.
Sitting back down on the grass, Elena stayed quiet, her eyes distant, silently watching the next tests.
After her, Aeryn kept testing the students, one after another, without rest.
When it was Rayden's turn, the field seemed to shape itself around him. With perfect posture, he combined refined swordsmanship with precise mana flow in each strike. His attacks traced paths of energy in the air, as if every thrust left behind a trail of light.
It wasn't exactly a defense like a shield or a solid magic barrier.
He simply cut through almost everything Aeryn threw at him. And what he couldn't cut, he dodged with ease....
Then came Iris Vaellen. Aeryn launched a rain of compressed stone spears at her. Sharp and fast. But Iris, with a fluid gesture, created a curved wall of pure water around herself. The surface of the barrier spun slowly like a spiral, and as each spear hit, it was absorbed and dissolved into harmless particles.
Her demonstration was elegant, precise, and flawless. A clear contrast to the raw power the professor had used when testing Elena.
Iris looked at Elena with a smug smile. The kind of look someone gives after a perfect performance, making sure their rival notices.
But to her complete disappointment, Elena was lying in the grass, arms behind her head, eyes lost in the clouds.
Beside her, Lyra kept talking nonstop about something random. Probably some pointless gossip about a cute student....
Elena just murmured an occasional "mmhm...", completely detached from everything.
Iris narrowed her eyes. The mocking look she had prepared died right there, crushed by genuine, lazy indifference.
And so time passed..... until finally, every student had been tested.
For a single professor to test all the students' defenses in one class, without a break, was something very few could pull off.
She definitely lived up to her role as a magical combat instructor.
"Haaah... I'm dead..."
Marco was sitting beside Kaen, panting. He looked truly exhausted after almost being killed by the professor. Or at least that's what he believed.
"I'm telling you, man, she really tried to kill me."
"Dude, she only used a water ball spell on you."
Marco shrank a little.
"IT HURT, I'M SERIOUS! That thing went straight through me!"
Kaen started stretching, getting ready to head back to the academy.
"Nghhh... let's go back, I'm starving."
"Back?"
Marco, still panting, asked.
"..."
Something felt off...
Unlike what he expected, the students weren't standing up or leaving. In fact, they were really focused. Like class wasn't over yet.
He looked to one side. A few students were staring at him. He looked to the other. That's where the professor stood.
She was staring right at him, a wide smile on her face, like she'd been waiting for this moment for ages.
'Haaah... come on... is this serious?'
"Looks like you're the last one after all."
'...She really wants to humiliate me in front of everyone....'