"Does anyone have any questions?" Lance asked. Not one student raised their hand. They either didn't know where to begin or were too busy jotting down Lance's every word. The Head Mage had correctly predicted the nobles' reaction. The entire first-year curriculum had been accelerated no, thrust into compound magic, obliterating Lance's finely tuned lessons. The poor students barely knew the basics. How were they supposed to handle something even more complex than that?
"Do your best," the Head Mage had said to every single instructor in an emergency meeting. "I've done all I can to buy us time."