Angus continued to speak in front of the classroom. The mana in the room subtly shifted around him, responding as if acknowledging a superior presence. The faint currents of wind magic circulating outside the academy walls seemed to brush against the windows, drawn unconsciously toward him. He stood there with quiet authority. The students sat in reverence,
thinking about their greatest achievement. To be able to study under such great wizard was one of them.
"Alright, everyone! I will need one volunteer to experiment something…"
The classroom exploded into motion. Hands shot up instantly even though no one knew what kind of experiment that Angus was going to do.
"Great Wizard Angus, please choose me!"
"My wind affinity is already intermediate stage!"
"Sir, I've trained compression techniques for years!"
Voices overlapped and even students who normally remained composed leaned forward eagerly. To assist Angus was more than an honor. It was validation for their own strength.
At the very back of the classroom, Baston did not raise his hand. He rested his chin lightly on his knuckles, appearing indifferent. Across the room, Alicia noticed. Her classmates' enthusiasm felt natural but Baston's stillness did not. Angus swept his gaze across the raised hands. He let the
anticipation build then slowly, he lifted one finger.
"That student over there…"
A noble boy in the back row leapt to his feet immediately, "Yes, sir!"
Angus didn't even look at him.
"No… It's not you…"
The single word landed like a dropped stone, extinguishing the flame in student's spirit.
"I meant the student at the furthest back."
A ripple of confusion passed through the room.
"The fat one..."
Laughter burst out almost instantly. Some students tried to hide it but others didn't bother. Baston blinked once as if only now realizing he had been selected. He then stood and walked to the front since he had no choice. Despite complaining, he couldn't show it. He must accept it like any other student felt, looking elated even though it never happened in the first place. While he was moving to the front, he could feel it already. It was envy, jealousy, and curiosity. As he continued, whispers followed him like shadows.
"Why him?"
"Is this a joke?"
"He'll embarrass the class."
A few nobles looked genuinely displeased. Not only because Baston was incompetent, he also was poor. Alicia's gaze narrowed. She wasn't surprised of their attitude. Not truly since it happened too many times. Angus watched Baston approach. The boy's posture was slightly awkward. His steps were deliberately modest. He surely didn't want to be the center of attention.
"What is your name?" Angus asked formally.
"Baston, sir," he replied, bowing respectfully, "It is an honor to meet you this close."
His tone carried excitement with carefully measured words and not excessive. Angus recognized it instantly. This boy lied smoothly. He handed Baston a small marble. It looked completely ordinary. The marble had smooth surface with no inscriptions and no visible runes. But when Baston took it, he
felt dense mana compressed within and coiled tightly like restrained wind.
"Throw it against the magic barrier…"
Several meters away, a translucent wall shimmered faintly with a defensive wind construct. Baston weighed the marble briefly before he threw it with force. The instant it struck, the marble detonated.
A violent gust erupted outward. Desks rattled and robes snapped sharply in the sudden current. A few students nearly lost their footing. The barrier trembled intensely but held. Gasps filled the room over
what had happened.
"That power came from something so small?"
"How much mana was compressed in that?"
Even Baston staggered back several steps from the recoil. Angus raised his hand calmly and the remaining wind dissipated.
"Size does not determine impact," he said evenly, "Control does."
He paced slowly before the class, "Many of you favor grand spells. It's for spectacle, noise, and display."
His eyes lingered briefly on several noble students known for excessive flourishes, "But if you stand before a single opponent and waste half your mana to impress them, you will lose."
The students listened intently. No one dared look distracted.
"When magic is compact, it is efficient. When it is efficient, it is lethal."
The lesson was simple. But coming from Angus, it felt profound. Baston observed the room carefully. Unfortunately, they didn't value the lesson. They valued the speaker. Angus then turned slightly.
"For the next demonstration, I will continue with Baston."
A stir moved through the nobles and one aristocratic boy stood abruptly. His face showed displeasure, but in front of such great wizard, he didn't dare to display it. Amidst so, he uttered his displeased moment in another way.
"Sir, perhaps someone with stronger foundation could demonstrate more clearly?"
Another followed, "Yes, sir. It's for accuracy. At least, it's for comparison between two different people."
Their tone was polite yet it consisted thinly veiled dissatisfaction. Angus looked at them quietly.
"Are you suggesting my choice is inadequate?"
The room was full of silence abruptly. Both of the students sat immediately. They realized they didn't have any right to point their fingers. Meanwhile, Baston kept his expression neutral. To cope with the situation, Angus then selected two additional assistants anyway which were a noble boy and a noble girl. Three students now stood at the front. It was a showdown between the bottom and the upper. It was quite intentional. Alicia folded her arms slowly since she realized her uncle was making a point.
Angus began explaining mana stabilization, forming a small rotating sphere within the palm. The noble girl went first. Her mana condensed neatly, table, and refined, creating an applause softly. The noble boy soon followed. He had strong rotation and clean structure, resulting more approval.
As for Baston, he lifted his hand and the mana gathered slowly. It flickered and wavered before collapsing. Whispers began almost immediately.
"He can't even stabilize it."
"This is embarrassing."
"Luck doesn't equal talent."
The two nobles beside him exchanged subtle glances. Baston tried again. The mana formed then destabilized more violently this time. Angus frowned slightly. That reaction was exaggerated. Before he could comment, the mana sphere suddenly surged erratically. Energy cracked sharply in the air and several students stepped backward instinctively.
"Boy!"
Angus moved immediately, stepping beside Baston and steadying the unstable energy with precise control. The mana calmed down for half a second. But then, it burst. A sharp concussive wave exploded outward. Not devastating but strong enough to throw Baston backward across the stone floor. He rolled twice before stopping. Laughter soon erupted.
"He blew himself up!"
"What an idiot!"
The laughter did not stop immediately, it grew continuously. Some students covered their mouths while others leaned forward openly, savoring the spectacle. A few nobles did not even try to restrain themselves.
"See? I told you."
"He shouldn't have been chosen."
"Poor blood can't handle real mana."
The noble boy beside Angus shook his head with exaggerated disappointment as if the failure offended him personally. The noble girl's lips curved faintly upward though she quickly masked it when she noticed Angus's
presence.
On the floor, Baston did not rise immediately. He lay there with one arm bent awkwardly beneath him, dust rising faintly from the impact. His breathing sounded heavier than it should have been. For a moment, the scene looked genuine. He was pathetic and small in public. Alicia's brows, however, drew together. He was not that careless, she believed.
Angus did not speak. His sharp eyes remained fixed on Baston's unmoving figure. The explosion had not been large enough to cause injury. He had already suppressed most of the backlash yet, the boy remained
still longer than necessary.
The silence stretched. A few students shifted uncomfortably. Did he get hurt? The laughter weakened. Then, slowly, Baston's fingers
twitched. His hand pressed against the floor. His body trembled faintly as he pushed himself up, not in a dramatic motion but gradually, as though forcing himself to endure humiliation before standing. His head lowered. His shoulders slightly slumped. It was the posture of someone defeated. And for several heartbeats, even Angus almost believed it.
The two noble assistants stepped back in visible disdain. Baston lay still. Slowly, he pushed himself up. His robe was torn at the sleeve. Hair slightly disheveled and dust clinging to his shoulder. He looked humiliated but then, something changed. Cold spread from his palm. It wasn't violent and explosive. It was formed quietly.
Frost formed along his fingers. The temperature at the front of the classroom dropped. Students closest to him inhaled sharply. In his right hand, a pale-blue sphere formed. It was stable, controlled, and dense. The ice magic soon was revealed to everyone. Silence quickly swallowed the laughter.
"What?"
"He has ice affinity?"
"He's a wizard?!"
The noble assistants stared at him in disbelief. The mana was not beginner-level fluctuation. Everyone knew mana existed and once people could manipulate it inside their body, it would mean one thing. That person would be reborn as a wizard. Every one of them was precious. Every one of them was very valuable to the kingdom.
Baston's mana was quickly stabilized and refined. Alicia's breath slowed. That was not sudden. Instead, it was prepared. Baston looked at his hand as if he was shocked by himself. Then abruptly, he dropped to one knee before Angus.
"Oh, Great Wizard Angus!" he declared loudly, "Under your guidance, I have finally broken through!"
The room froze.
"I struggled for weeks with instability," Baston continued, voice trembling just enough to be convincing, "Today, with your instruction, something inside me finally aligned."
He lowered his head deeply. Such perfect humility and perfect gratitude. The narrative formed instantly in the students' minds. What teacher had taught only resulted Baston's failure. What Angus had intervened resulted immediate breakthrough.
The explanation was simple, clean, and convincing. Angus looked down at him, thinking the fat boy had calculated such occurrence. If he denied it, he would embarrass Baston publicly. If he accepted it, he endorsed him. Truly, a clever positioning. Angus raised his hand slightly.
"Breakthroughs are unpredictable," he said calmly to the class, "Sometimes, pressure forces clarity."
Neither confirmation nor rejection. It was ambiguity. But students interpreted it as approval, making the whispers shifted rapidly.
"He became a wizard under Sir Angus…"
"That's incredible…"
"If Sir Angus guided him…"
Resentment became hesitation and hesitation became caution. Baston stood slowly and his ice mana dissolved gently. His appearance was still messy with flushed face. But in his eyes, only for a fraction of a second, met Angus's. There was no gratitude there, only awareness left between them. Alicia saw it. That wasn't worship. That was strategy.
The shift was not loud, but it was real. Several noble students exchanged glances, not mocking this time, but calculating. A poor boy had awakened as a wizard inside the classroom of Great Wizard Angus, was not a small matter. Talent could be dismissed and luck could be mocked but official
recognition under Angus's supervision? That was different.
One of the merchant-background students swallowed nervously. If Baston truly became a wizard, his status would no longer remain at the bottom. In this kingdom, strength bent social lines in ways birth alone could not fully suppress. The noble boy who had protested earlier clenched his jaw subtly. Moments ago, Baston had been entertainment. Now, he was uncertainty and uncertainty was dangerous.
Even the noble girl beside him avoided speaking further. She could sense the atmosphere had tilted. Ridiculing a newly awakened wizard, especially one seemingly acknowledged by Angus, could easily backfire. The laughter from earlier now felt misplaced. A few students even began replaying the explosion in their minds. Was it really an accident or was it something else? No one dared ask aloud.
*****
The class eventually ended though the atmosphere never returned to normal. Students left in clusters. Some glanced at Baston differently and some avoided him entirely. The noble boy who had protested
earlier now watched him in silence. It wasn't anger but assessment. Baston returned to his seat at the back.
He could feel the shift. Before today, he was easy to mock. After today, mockery required risk. This manmade farce was enough. The old book remained silent within his robe. It had no text and no evaluation because today
was not about reward. It was about positioning. Across the room, Alicia approached Angus quietly after most students left.
"You allowed it," she said softly.
Angus adjusted his sleeve.
"Allowed what?"
"He staged it."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"Did he?"
Alicia narrowed her eyes, thinking that her uncle was really watching Baston intently too. Outside the classroom, Baston exhaled slowly. Hostility would not disappear at once but it would change shape. And changing shape made it predictable. Behind him, faint wind stirred briefly almost like restrained
laughter. He did not look back. His performance was complete for now.