First Semester, Lesson 28: Strange Magic

Upon closer inspection, the fireball in Kampus's hand was growing larger and larger, far exceeding the size of a typical fireball spell.

"Flame Burst!" Lin Yuan could no longer hold back. He shouted towards the platform, "Feire, dodge now!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the massive fireball in Kampus's hand was launched towards the earth wall.

"Boom——"

The earth wall, which had only shown slight scorch marks when struck by a regular fireball, was instantly reduced to dust under the immense power of the Flame Burst. Although Feire had started to move when Lin Yuan warned him, he still couldn't avoid it completely. He was knocked flying by the shockwave of the explosion, tumbling in the air before landing on the ground.

Lin Yuan and the students from Class 3 rushed over in alarm to check on Feire. They saw him sit up, spit out a few mouthfuls of muddy saliva, and look up at the crowd with an embarrassed expression.

"I'm sorry, I lost," he said.

Relieved to see he was unhurt, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Yuan was puzzled. If he hadn't mistaken, the spell Kampus had used was the Flame Burst, a high-level fire magic that indicated at least a Level 5 fire mage's capability. However, he couldn't sense such powerful magic from Kampus, and the spell's power seemed insufficient. A true Flame Burst would have injured Feire severely.

"Teacher, this is strange," Fasno leaned over. "I saw Kampus dueling with Kastor the day before yesterday, and he was at most a Level 1 fire mage. How could he...?"

Lin Yuan glanced at Tre in the distance. Such a bizarre phenomenon must have something to do with him.

In the second match, Class 3's selected contestant was Zona. Lin Yuan immediately felt relieved and leaned over to give her some instructions.

Zona's duel mirrored Feire's performance. She simply maintained a water shield in front of her, allowing the opponent's wind blades to bounce off harmlessly without retaliating.

Sure enough, after a while, the opponent began to mimic Kampus, unleashing a massive wind blade.

Seeing this wind blade, Lin Yuan suddenly realized something.

Kampus's spell wasn't Flame Burst at all!

To be precise, it was just an oversized fireball, similar to the current wind blade. It seemed the students from Class 6 had mastered a method to compress much larger amounts of elemental magic in their hands than typical Level 1 spells, creating these exaggerated wind blades and fireballs.

Though they looked terrifying, their actual power was far from that of true high-level elemental spells. The fact that Feire hadn't been injured by the direct hit was proof.

Faced with the massive wind blade, Zona cast a fire shield in front of her water shield and flicked her fingers, sending a small fireball and water ball flying towards the opponent.

Zona was a Level 3 water and fire mage, while her opponent appeared to be no more than a Level 2 wind mage. Even though the wind blade was charged with all his magic, it couldn't penetrate the dual shields.

Before he could feel disappointed, a flash of fire and blue collided in front of him. A huge burst of energy exploded between the fireball and water ball, knocking him off the platform with such force that he had no time to react.

Lin Yuan smiled and nodded at Zona, showing his approval. This was essentially the early form of the ice-fire ball he had taught her in his spare time over the past few days. Since Zona couldn't yet use both elemental magics simultaneously, she had spent a lot of time practicing to make the fireball and water ball strike the opponent at the same time. As a result, she didn't have enough time to fully charge her magic, so the fireball and water ball she launched were much smaller. Despite this, the power was still considerable.

Zona's strength was significantly higher, so the loss of Class 6's student didn't disappoint Tre too much. However, the next two matches darkened his mood completely.

He never expected that Lin Yuan's understanding and comprehension of magic would be so high. After just two observations, he had figured out the method they were using.

In the following two matches, the students from Class 3 either launched aggressive attacks to prevent the Class 6 students from charging their magic or defended tenaciously, dodging the powerful spells. After using their big moves, the Class 6 students were left with little magic, making them no match for the Class 3 students.

"Keen," Lin Yuan called out the name, noticing a flicker of joy on Tre's face. He immediately realized that Keen must be one of the stronger students in Class 6.

"Fasno."

Lin Yuan was taken aback. He hadn't expected Tre to draw the ace of Class 3—Fasno—right away.

He chuckled, confident in Fasno's abilities. A Level 5 wind mage was no joke.

Keen's strength was indeed higher than that of the previous students from Class 6. He wielded water magic with great proficiency, using spells up to Level 3 with ease. Judging by his relaxed demeanor, Lin Yuan estimated he was close to being a Level 4 mage.

Of course, these were mere appetizers for Fasno. With the superior speed of a wind mage, he dodged most of Keen's attack spells. The few that did hit his wind shield posed no threat.

After launching a few water projectiles, Keen suddenly stopped.

Fasno's expression grew serious. He thought Keen would unleash a massive water projectile like the previous students. Given Keen's higher magic power, Fasno didn't dare to take it head-on.

Fasno's body spun in mid-air, and he waved his hands continuously, sending countless wind blades towards Keen. These were merely distractions. After the last wind blade, a hurricane spell was charging towards Keen with ferocity.

However, as the wind blades approached Keen, a pale green splash of water suddenly burst around him. In the blink of an eye, the water spread across the entire platform.

Caught off guard, Fasno had nowhere to dodge on the platform and was instantly enveloped by the water.

In a matter of moments, the once-empty platform became a watery world. Keen and Fasno stared at each other through the water, like two hostile fish in an aquarium.

The situation underwater was far from peaceful. Fasno felt countless undercurrents battering him from all directions. If it weren't for his barely maintained wind shield, he would have been knocked unconscious.

But this was not sustainable. With his entire body submerged, Keen could attack him at will. If he couldn't change the situation, even with all his magic power, he would eventually run out.

Fasno steadied himself and glanced at the audience, catching the concerned looks from Lin Yuan and his classmates. He felt a warmth in his heart.

The sense of belonging he had never experienced in his family for over a decade had been felt in just a few months in this class. He couldn't let them down.

With this thought, Fasno's magic surged within him. His water shield expanded slightly, and his right hand lifted slightly, a flash of electric light appearing.

The onlookers saw a sudden bright light, followed by a bolt of lightning shooting from Fasno's hand, piercing through the water and striking Keen in an instant.

Keen's body jolted violently, and the water that had enveloped the platform suddenly dissipated, collapsing noisily. Keen's body tilted and he fell to the ground.

Seeing Fasno walk down safely, Lin Yuan laughed heartily and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Well done, Fasno! I didn't expect you to hold back your strength. If I'm not mistaken, that was a Lightning Flash. It's not easy to master even among lightning spells, yet you used it so effortlessly."

Fasno smiled faintly. The habit of concealing his true abilities, cultivated since childhood in his family, had just been fully exposed. But seeing the delighted faces of Lin Yuan and his classmates, he felt it was worth it.

Lin Yuan, unaware of Fasno's inner thoughts, approached Tre with a serious expression.

"Teacher Tre, what kind of magic did that student use just now?"

Tre was already annoyed by the loss and even more furious when Lin Yuan asked this question.

"That's none of your business, Teacher Lin."

Lin Yuan chuckled, "It may not be my business, but I've noticed that the magic these students are using far exceeds their own magic power and level. Are you perhaps forcing them to use spells beyond their capabilities?"

Learning magic is a gradual process. The use of any spell is based on the magic power within one's body. Forcing oneself to use higher-level spells beyond one's magic power not only has a very low chance of success but also poses significant danger to oneself.

This rule is prominently noted in the regulations of the Mages' Guild and is emphasized in red on the first page of the student handbook in this academy that cultivates students.

The strange behavior of the students from Class 6 couldn't help but raise Lin Yuan's suspicions.

As expected, Tre's face turned pale. "Teacher Lin, that's an insult to me! As a teacher at Finor Academy, do you think I don't know this rule? Look at these students. Are they in any danger?"

Lin Yuan glanced at the four students who had already left the platform. Indeed, there was nothing unusual about them. Even Keen had merely fainted after being struck by Fasno's Lightning Flash; he was not seriously injured.

This only deepened Lin Yuan's confusion. What method could Tre possibly be using to enable these students to cast such strange spells?

However, seeing the look on Tre's face, Lin Yuan knew it was futile to ask him anything further.