Classes D, E, and F were held in the old brick building of the east wing, which smelled of musty old paper and rotting wood; a place of exile for weaker students.
Maria sat at the back of the class as usual to stay away from the heavy atmosphere and staring eyes. But the whispers about her morning masterpiece were unending.
Brook sat a few rows ahead. His face was still bruised and swollen. He didn't turn around to look, but his tensed shoulders showed how uncomfortable Maria's presence made him. Every now and then, he whispered with his henchmen, clicking his tongue loudly in annoyance to repair his crushed pride.
The door opened with the creak of hinges, and Master Albert entered.
Unlike the starched Master Allen, Albert had messy hair, crooked glasses, and a simple robe stained with ink. He was a man who loved "Magic," not "Politics."
"Good day. I am Albert. Today we review the first lesson of 'Magic Fundamentals'."
He picked up the chalk and wrote on the board: "Visualization".
Then he faced the class and asked:
"Who can tell me the stages of casting magic?"
A clever girl in the front row raised her hand.
"Yes, Elina?"
In a textbook-perfect tone, the girl answered:
"Three stages, Master."
As she spoke, Master Albert stepped toward the class and raised his right hand.
"First: gathering mana from the core."
A soft orange glow began to shine in his palm.
"Second: shaping it through mental visualization."
A small flame slowly appeared in his hand, then took the form of a tiny fiery bird. Its dancing orange light illuminated the students' faces.
"Third: directing and releasing it through mana control."
The fiery bird then flew toward the high ceiling of the classroom and burst with a faint sound, like a small firework. Fine particles of mana drifted down before fading into the air.
"Well done, Elina. Exactly right."
The students sat in stunned silence, staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Even Maria was impressed.
Pure power… without effort.
Albert began pacing as he continued his explanation with growing enthusiasm:
"Mana is like shapeless water. It's your mind that commands it to become fire or ice. Words and incantations merely help guide your thoughts."
He stopped at the front of the class.
"For example, when using the fire element, we must imagine scorching heat, light, and fury."
He turned to the board and began writing a spell:
"O ember sleeping within existence… hear my call… gather in my hands and burn away the darkness… Fireball."
Then he faced the students again.
"With enough practice, once you grow accustomed to casting a spell, you'll be able to visualize it clearly without speaking the words at all."
The students listened eagerly, their faces filled with excitement as Master Albert continued his lecture.
Albert paused slightly and looked at the eager faces with a smile.
"Any volunteers to come to the board and try?"
A few talented kids wanted to raise their hands, but suddenly Brook's rough voice broke the silence:
"Master! Maria wants to try!"
Brook turned and stared at Maria with a malicious smirk, and Albert looked to the back of the class too.
Brook continued:
"She claimed a lot in the fight, but because she's shy, she won't raise her hand. Let her come show that it's not just brute strength!"
All eyes turned to Maria. Snickers started. Everyone remembered the result of the Crystal Orb test: the weak light of a firefly.
Master Albert, unaware of the hostility between them, said kindly:
"Really? Great, Maria. Come to the board. Don't be afraid, it's just an exercise."
Maria grit her teeth.
She had fallen into a trap. If she didn't go, she would be called a "coward." If she went and failed, she would be "incompetent."
She left her bag and stood up.
She had learned the theory of magic creation from Simon; she had memorized the words. But the problem was that due to her low mana capacity, she had spent all those 6 months on "Mana Edge" (Aura) and mana control, not "Mana Projection" (Magic).
Maria went to the board. Her gaze locked with Brook's waiting look.
Want to break me? Fine. I'll show you that even with an empty tank, I can play with fire.
She brought her right hand forward. She opened her palm.
She closed her eyes.
Mana... gather.
She opened the valve of her small mana tank all the way. To make a real fireball, she had to pump everything she had at once.
She whispered under her breath:
"O sleeping ember... gather in my hands..."
She felt the heat. The veins in her hand grew hot, as if her blood was boiling.
An orange light shone in the class.
The whispers cut off. Brook's smile froze on his face. His eyes widened. She... is she doing it?
"Fireball!"
Whoosh!
A real fireball, not a lighter flame, but a sphere the size of a large, burning apple, appeared on Maria's hand. The fire licked the air, and its heat was real.
Maria shouted in her heart: Hurray! See? I can do it too!
But this joy lasted only a second.
Suddenly, the world spun around her head. A continuous ringing sound echoed in her ear, like the whistle after an explosion. Her eyes blurred like felt fabric. As if everything was distancing itself from her.
Creating this small sphere was like squeezing the last drop of water from a dry sponge. All the mana in her body had been drained in an instant.
The phenomenon of "Mana Depletion Shock."
The fireball trembled and... Poof! It went out.
Maria's knees went weak. The color drained from her face, and her body turned ice cold.
"Ugh..."
She couldn't keep her balance. Her eyes went black, and she fell like a dry leaf onto the stone floor of the classroom.
Thump.
The sound of her body hitting the floor echoed in the absolute silence of the class.
After a few moments of pause, Brook half-rose. For a moment, the bully mask fell from his face, and his smirk vanished. His eyes rounded, and he unconsciously reached out his hand, as if wanting to help. He went pale.
Did she die? I just wanted to mock her, not kill her...
But immediately, he saw the expectant looks of his henchmen and the cold sneers of the students in the back rows.
He remembered who he was; "Powerful Brook" who had been humiliated in the morning. If he showed pity now, he would become the laughingstock himself.
He hurriedly pulled his hand back. He swallowed his saliva and tried to hide his fear behind a loud laugh.
His laughter rang out, but it was hollow and had a nervous tremor:
"Ha! See? She fainted with a half-assed spell!"
The rest of the class found the courage to laugh too, unaware that their leader was trembling with fear.
"How weak! Her brain just shut down!"
Sarah, sitting in the front row, let out a short scream and ran frantically toward Maria.
"Maria!"
Master Albert frowned and came forward quickly. He checked Maria's pulse.
"Quiet! No one has the right to laugh! She's suffering from mana shock."
Albert lifted Maria, whose body had gone completely limp and was breathing with difficulty, into his arms.
"Class dismissed."
Maria still had a shred of consciousness. As she was being carried to the infirmary in Albert's arms, the images before her eyes became blurry and stretched. The sound of Sarah's worry and Brook's distant laughter were heard like sounds from underwater, gradually fading into the absolute darkness of her mind.