It was a jumbled mess of flying colors and exploding magic; feet scampering in a frenzy as shouts sprouted loudly around her. It was an eyesore of discharging Essence transfigured into unstable and ill-performed spells. Chaos with electricity that zapped at the skin of anyone close by.

Elaine had experience in surviving cluttered environments. Why, whenever the Sycamore Festival came around every year in Page, she along with the rest of her family had to fight a rather discordant battle themselves. The streets would be flooded with people—an audience composed of Page residents as well visitors from neighboring towns and villages—and so it made it quite difficult for one to navigate their way through the elaborate cacophony of chaos. That is, without being shoved to the ground first.

However, at least during the Sycamore Festival, she didn't have to account for nearly getting struck in the face by an exploding ball of magic. She crouched to her knees as emerald lightning flew through the air. At the same time, she discerned a nearby homunculus stomp its feet into the dirt as it chased after another student.

Once the professor had started the exercise the artificial men hadn't hesitated. They pounced on them without delay, eagerly searching for the student they had been assigned to. As Elaine scrambled to her feet, she realized that one of the homunculus, in particular, had fixated its attention on her specifically.

Well, then. I reckon you're my opponent, Elaine thought, grinning nervously.

Confirming her suspicions, the homunculus lowered itself into a crouch, then lunged at her in an elastic display of agility. It smudged into a blur, and fostered no sympathy for those—may they be human or homunculus—who it had rammed out of the way along its aggressive charge.

It was coming for her. Surges, it was coming for her!

Elaine hesitated as she watched the creature swing back one of its skeletal limbs—forming bony fingers into a tight fist—and hopped several meters into the air, its shadow grazing across the cracked pavement like a formless, black-colored ghost.

Reacting in a hurry, Elaine jumped out back, her boots grazing to a stop from where she slid over the amethyst magic circle. A second later and the homunculus landed in a loud vibration of dust and stone. As the sheet of grime filtered out of existence, Elaine was surprised—and suitably terrified—that a sizable crater had been formed from where the homunculus' fist had plowed into the dirt.

Merciful Aeris, these creatures could kill someone. And she had a feeling their professor was aware of that fact. Yet he authorized the exercise regardless? Out of the corner of her glance, Elaine spotted the bald man seating himself on the bleachers.

Was he grading them? Examining how they perform? Elaine couldn't find him holding any papers; the man didn't even have a pen. So what was he doing? Those glistening eyes and entertained smile of his translated to Elaine that he was merely enjoying the disorganized sight unfolding before him. At least someone was having fun. Aeris knew she wasn't.

Her homunculus made for her again. This time, it swiped an arm over the ground as it sprung, leaving a rolling trail of dust with every leaping stomp. In a few more seconds, Elaine figured it'd infiltrate her proximity. So why wasn't she doing anything? She had a wand, she was a sorcerer.

Elaine shot a glance at the wand gripped in her hand. Yes, she couldn't just stand around looking helpless. Setting her jaw, she pointed the tip of the wand at the approaching homunculus. But only then did a horrifying realization strike her like a bolt of lightning to a tree.

She guessed that Custas was probably just buying himself some time, or maybe there was indeed an aspect of truth attached to the words flung off the tongue of the liar. Whatever the answer may be, what was perfectly apparent to her now was that she only really had ever mastered one spell. One. Single. Spell. And unfortunately for her, it wasn't a combat spell.

Elaine ducked out of the way of the arm that swept over her. Now that she was this close to it, she could identify just how short she was in comparison to the homunculus. She felt like an ant eyeing a titan.

The expression on its round head was vacant, but there was a fire lit behind its eyes that spread like scratches. A light of turquoise pulsed in accompaniment with the charge core lodged in its chest.

It flashed in a wild distortion as it made its next move, swiftly rising its three-toed foot off the floor. Elaine accidentally let a gasp escape her as she jumped out of the way, dodging the attack before the creature could crush her underneath the weight that made fissures zig-zag through the pavement like the crooked legs of a spider.

Elaine leaped backward, and the sudden jolt of someone ramming into a shoulder zapped her with a crunch. Flesh and bone, a human.

"Hey!" Abby hissed, sparing over her shoulder an annoyed scowl. "Watch where you're going, Alaina!"

"Err...it's Elaine actually..." she frowned in response. But she wasn't sure if the girl had heard her or not as Abby was quick to dodge a punch as it soared for her.

The girl pivoted to her left and then struck the creature with a blast of turquoise magic. It was enough to stun the homunculus momentarily, but not enough to down it.

The most her attack garnered from it was a brief shiver sparking from its calves all the way to the top of its head—it reminded Elaine of how Milo shook himself dry whenever he got wet—and then it was back into action. Abby cursed and retreated in a hopping, backward trot.

Rapid footsteps advancing towards her summoned Elaine's attention elsewhere. She spotted it, her homunculus, rushing at her in a sprint that made its diaphragm bend over. It looked so awkward she was surprised the monster hadn't tripped or fallen over itself.

Elaine hesitated, once again confronted with the familiar revelation that she hadn't a spell that could deal any significant damage to her opponent. Before the homunculus could reach her, however, another of its clones stumbled into it, and the two spiraled elsewhere, collapsing in a tangled heap of flailing grey limbs.

Gasping, Elaine side-glanced to see that one of her classmates—a boy that had his dark hair cut in a bowl named Cael—pointing a wand in the direction where the pair of homunculus landed. A minute leer was all he offered her, and perhaps also a dissatisfied whisper.

There was a palish, blue-colored gaseous mist swarming around his ankles, entirely swallowing his boots. Is that his magic? Elaine wondered. What effect does it have? Maybe it increases his magical power, a special kind of enhancement?

Elaine violently shook her head from side to side. Now wasn't the time to be getting distracted, not at all! She had to focus. Cael's magic, while undoubtedly impressive, wasn't enough to keep the homunculus immobilized forever.

A distance away and Elaine discerned the homunculi scrambling to stand, disregarding the damage they had just taken. Then again, most homunculi weren't manufactured to feel pain. To them, accomplishing their directive was really all that mattered.

Elaine receded in a trembling stride, her fingers tightening around her wand. Another step and someone—another of her students—accidentally ran straight into her diaphragm. Had her stance been unstable she might very well have fallen. Grimacing, it was then that Elaine took a swift yet intense sweep of her surroundings.

Her classmates weren't doing much better than she was. Most were just struggling to stay outside of the attack range of their respective homunculus. But she noticed that they weren't using their wands either. Were they out of Essence or...no, it was that they were simply in too close proximity to another student.

It required a lot to take these homunculi down; an advanced-leveled spell would probably do the trick. The cost of doing so, however, might be that of catching a fellow classmate in the crossfire. She imagined those present with her, those fighting alongside her, possessed pretty powerful magic. What would happen to her if they decided to abandon their sympathies and concerns to focus solely on passing Knight's insane test?

All of a sudden, a bright flash of turquoise energy forced Elaine to shield her stare. She felt the chill of an icy wind as it glossed over her skin, causing colonies of goosebumps to sprout. The spell originated near the center of the magic circle arena, where a girl with billowing auburn-colored hair and frigid blueish eyes raised her gleaming wand over her head.

"Be still, all of you!" she shouted, strong, unwavering. "Open your eyes! Can't you see what's happening here? None of us will pass this assignment if we continue running around recklessly casting our magic! No! Everyone, distance yourself from one another if you can! Make enough space to confront your homunculus proficiently while also affording your neighbors the opportunity to do the same!"

Elaine nodded. That was the exact same conclusion she had come to. Although, never would she have enough courage to actually announce it so boldly like that. Her voice wouldn't even be loud enough, she reckoned.

"I understand that you're frightened; your emotions are aflutter," she said. "But if we are to succeed as a class, then you must learn to get a hold of yourselves. Right here, right now! Trust in your magic, and use it to strike back!"

Adeline Griffith, daughter of famous yet austere Keith Griffith, the current general of the Incante Military. Discounting her status as a noble of second cule, her fame also came in that she was the three-time reigning champion of the Sorcerer's Gauntlet, annually held in the Capital, one of the most competitive and dangerous dueling tournaments in the country.

Certainly, it was expected that someone of her high caliber would be attending Glyph Academy, but to have that very same girl as a classmate almost felt unreal. She most definitely lived up to her reputation.

Cocking her head, Elaine noticed that the girl had partially immobilized her homunculus. Half of its body had been covered in a layer of steaming ice. All it could do was flail its only free arm and flash its eyes in what appeared to be a display of rage. Did homunculus even get angry? Considering how it had yet to stop moving, however, meant that Adeline herself hadn't fulfilled the requirements for the assignment either.

So, had she really prioritized the rest of the class over herself? Well, she did come from a militaristic family. She must have been nourished with altruism and honor in place of milk as a child. Nevertheless, nothing she had said was intrinsically false, and their classmates realized that as well.

The ensuing chaos died as each sorcerer student parted ways with one another. The defensive crowd some of them had formed had dispersed, and they each guided their own homunculus off into secluded areas. This provided them with more space to operate, yes, but the same could be said for the homunculus themselves.

She'd had plenty of time to see them in action thus far; they were speedy little demons. Elaine's homunculus had long since recovered—having used Adeline's speech to gather its bearings—and had now entered a furious charge towards her, running in that odd-looking posture where it unnaturally leaned its torso forward.

A line of sweat rippled down Elaine's forehead and dripped off the bottom of her chin. This was it. Unless she did something quickly, the homunculus would defeat her. She'd lose. A mere human couldn't compete with the physical strength of one of these creatures.

Shivering, she directed her wand at the homunculus only to have her breath forcefully knocked out of her as the homunculus crashed its punch straight inside of her gut.

She was met with a spiraling vision of bruised earth, followed by a brief glimpse of the brick walls of the training grounds, and finally, the ceiling up above, encompassing torches causing her cracked stare to shimmer.

Honestly, Elaine was more so grateful that the blow hadn't killed her. The pain only stung as she took a staggered breath. Perhaps they had been enchanted to where their attacks on students would be nullified. That would make the most sense as to—

You sulmo! Elaine screamed in her mind. I'll figure out how the magic works later...I have to focus now...

Groaning, Elaine somehow managed to muster the momentum to climb to a wobbly crouch. The world around her had devolved into an alien blend of blinding colors contrasting wildly with one another. It was sickening. But she could still decipher shadows and shapes if she concentrated hard enough. As she made it off the floor—clumsily trading her weight from side to side—she noticed one shadow, in particular.

It was stomping towards her, the homunculus. Elaine frowned, did she even have enough strength to dodge? She clutched the spot on her waist where the pain was the most intense, a sensation that scorched like wildfire. It didn't feel like anything was broken, nor did her touch dampen from any leaking blood. More or less, she was okay. But she wouldn't be if she idled any longer.

The homunculus towered over her like a dragon made of rocks, an arm raised. Clenching her jaw, Elaine waited for it to swing; only then did she leap out of the way. A gust of wind slapped her in the face, and she nearly tripped over something upon her floundering retreat. The homunculus cocked its head, then bolted after her again.

Fritz! These things are persistent!

Rekindling a strategy, Elaine soon found out that her commoner's wand was still in her hand. Had she seriously not let go of the thing, even after getting flung around like a ragdoll?

The homunculus had closed in on her again. This time, it settled for a nasty kick to the side of her waist. It wasn't as powerful as its previous punch, but it was still enough to make Elaine cry out in pain. She dropped to her knees, surrendering to the agony rattling her bones, tears bubbling in the girl's eyes.

She wanted it to stop. She wanted to give up, to put an end to all of this pain and humiliation. Wincing, she ventured to stare up at the homunculus slowly approaching. It knew, more than likely, that this sorry excuse for a duel was over.

No, the wand, it was still in her hand. There was still a chance, wasn't there? Grunting, Elaine gripped ahold of it tightly. She couldn't so easily give up, not like this. She was a mage, and she wanted to be a Professional Sorcerer.

She repeated that desire over and over and over in her brain, like a relentless, repetitive song that never ended. It encouraged her to rise, to discount that feeling of hopelessness. That cold, unforgiving emotion. It made her want to fight. It was a—

Something deep down chimed like the bells of the old church tower in Page. The one that creaked and moaned if you got too close to it. And Elaine could have sworn, for maybe the briefest of seconds, that she heard the sound of something flickering, like countless pages billowing from one cover of a book to the next.

Wh...What's happening...? A new sensation washed over her, filling her with confidence. With strength. The homunculus disjointed its neck in an abnormal manner only a puppet could make, and then sprung off of its position, arms extended forward. At the same instance, Elaine swung her wand at it, not entirely sure of what she was doing. It was as if her body was moving on its own.

The homunculus took another step—reaching its long arm for her with its bony fingers—and Elaine shouted at it, "Icto Lumen!" A bright light radiated from the tip of her wand that was aimed at the homunculus' chest, and Elaine's magic awakened with a roar.