Elaine stood where she was, voiceless, stunned, staring blankly at the wand flickering with golden energy. Of course, she had indeed witnessed what happened; that wasn't the issue. The Essence inside of her had slipped out of her body and filled the commoner's wand with enough power to cast a spell that...that she hadn't even learned. It was a rush, an electric, benevolent surge of energy.

That spell, it had been Light Magic for certain. When she had shouted those unknown words her wand had spat out of itself a concentrated flame of light shaped like a javelin. Had she ever seen a spell like that before? No, apparently Light Magic was incredibly difficult to cast, and even more so to master.

"Excellent job, Harwood!" 

Elaine jolted out of her momentary stupor. Whirling over to the sidelines, she discerned a grinning Professor Knight at the foot of the bleachers, clapping his pair of giant hands. 

"Now that's what I like to see!" the professor exclaimed. "Let your magic run wild, show me your fullest potential! Who knew you were holding out on me with such a great spell!"

Elaine grinned nervously at him. I actually have no idea what I just did...

An intense heatwave blinded her skin, baking it with enchanted radiation. What followed was a series of consecutive, rapid explosions detonating at various spots on the training grounds. The earth shook underneath her boots, and in the air wafted the faint smell of cooked Essence. From the looks of it, her classmates were making some progress in vanquishing their own homunculus as well. But on the far side of the court Elaine's eyes landed on one person, in particular.

Kliff Dresden upheld a solid stance—his legs were spread apart evenly from one another, and he'd bent his knees ever so slightly—whilst his indifferent expression concentrated on the homunculus blindly charging towards him. When Elaine sharpened her gaze, however, it was then that she took notice of the numerous scorch marks sprayed on the gray-colored creature's hide, like amorphous, black polka dots.

Kliff would only allow for the homunculus to shuffle a handful of steps further as he lifted his red-colored wand and took aim. His wand was a dignified breed, with a straight shaft and a partially bulbous hilt at its end. Closing his eyes, inhaling through his nostrils, Kliff shouted, "Fire Magic: Ignax!"

A subsequent wave of ignited wind poured over the training grounds, crashing into Elaine and scorching her face. She hadn't a clue as to how Kliff himself could withstand the intense warmth as indifferently as he did. And that brilliant, orange-colored light, why, it forced her to look away, even though she didn't want to. But shooting out the tip of his wand was a screeching fireball no bigger than a moderately sized boulder, or the wheel of a carriage.

The sphere of fire hurtled in the direction of the homunculus as an orange comet, and exploded as soon as it made contact with its chest. The homunculus was consumed by a thick, black cloud of smoke that expanded out of the creature's radius and engulfed that section of the training grounds in its darkness.

Not even a second later and the homunculus was sent soaring out of the smoke and across the magic circle, skipping on and off the ground as would a stone hopping over the surface of a lake. Finally, it came to rest a total of fifteen meters from where Kliff was standing. It didn't get up after that, lying face first on the ground with its arms and legs sprawled out.

"Nice performance on your part too, Dresden!" Knight congratulated with a hearty shout. "Though I shouldn't have expected anything less from someone of your caliber."

Kliff spun the wand in his hand, and then blew its tip which still had smoke streaming from it. "What a joke," he sighed, loosening the red tie of his uniform. Placing the wand back in its holster, the boy made for the bleachers, hands shoved in his pocket.

And it wasn't just him either. Close by to where Kliff's smoking husk of a homunculus was resting, Elaine caught Jack relishing in his victory. His chocolate hair was a mess whilst his uniform was covered in patches of what looked to be some kind of slime or muddy water.

His disheveled appearance didn't dampen his delight though. What all that remained of his homunculus was a single, outstretching arm poking out of the ground. The rest of the creature had been buried in its entirety. "Oh, yeah!" Jack laughed, pumping a fist in the air. "That's what happens when you mess with me, sulmo!"

Hmm, interesting, Elaine thought. He must have used an Earth Magic spell. Not an easy magic to learn.

Elaine would have liked to take the time to study how each and every one of the mages completed the assignment, taking special note of how they employed their respective spells in their own unique ways. As she was so hyper-focused on her own battle, she didn't have the opportunity to properly assess what her classmates were capable of.

That is not to say, however, that she hadn't robbed the occasional glance or minute peek whenever she could. From afar, she'd seen Adeline finish what she'd started before her motivational speech. It was quite evident that she favored Ice Magic spells. More than likely, it was how she earned her title of "The Glacial Girl" during the annual Sorcerer's Gauntlet. Adeline had suspended her homunculus off the ground in a chunk of ice, a jagged, blue-colored pillar rising ten feet in the air. She nodded contently at the end result, puffs of icy vapor rolling out of her lips. 

Despite having just cast such an advanced spell, Elaine realized that Adeline hadn't spent much of her Essence. There was confidence and power in her stride, and her face was masked by a firm expression, one unaffected by exhaustion or fatigue. This was a girl who had participated in much deadlier battles than this.

And one after the other, her classmates began making their way over to the bleachers, where their professor was waiting cross-armed, probably preparing to give them all feedback on their performances.

Abigail, or rather, Abby, as she preferred to be called, had crushed her homunculus between two large rocks. Simon had his pinned to the side of the wall with multiple rods of metal piercing its diaphragm, arms, and legs. Even Fearne had subdued hers. Employing her Plant Magic, the girl had trapped the homunculus in place with clusters of vines shooting out of the earth. Vines slithering like snakes wrapped around the flailing homunculus, keeping it restrained in position. The more it thrashed, the tighter the vines compressed. 

Finally, after another minute of pointless resistance, Elaine watched the homunculus fall limp inside the festooning cluster of plant life, looking like a toy long forgotten in a garden left to overgrow. Fearne clapped her hands at the result, giving a cute little giggle as she excitedly hopped in place.

At least her spirits are back up, Elaine thought, smiling.

Yes, her classmates were doing well. On the other hand, Custas—well, she was sure he had tried his best. A homunculus had him hanging by the collar of his uniform as it clumsily stomped off the training grounds.

"So, Mr. Cloude," smirked Professor Knight. "What is it that we learned today?"

Custas shot a glare at him, arms folded. "Couldn't tell you, sir. I was too busy trying not to get crushed by your murder puppet over here. And can you get it to drop me already?! My neck's starting to feel numb."

"I heard your magic is tricky. Had you resorted to it sooner, you wouldn't be in this predicament right now."

"Oh, give me a break. It wasn't my fault! These surgin' things move too fast," Custas grumbled. "Any chance I can get a do-over...?"

"There are no do-overs in a duel concerning life and death. You'd excel in my class if you were to treat each and every one of my exercises in the same fashion as you would a legitimate threat. Show me your fighting spirit, your passion!" the professor exclaimed, clenching a fist in front of him. "I want to see the fire you have for magic!"

Custas rolled his eyes. "Please, the only thing I'm passionate about right now is getting out of this crazy class..."

Elaine chuckled at him. Of course not everyone would have the aptitude, or general interest for combat. Elaine certainly didn't believe that she fit into that highly particular mold. Her victory could be chalked up to dumb luck, as well as that spell she'd suddenly cast. 

It was strange, even now the magic that had left her body made the tips of her fingers tingle, goosebumps tickling her as they sprouted up her arms. Had she always known such powerful spells? And if so, what else was it that she was capable of casting?

No, Elaine refuted, squeezing her eyes closed and shaking her head. This was just...an accident. Nothing more. Although, if I could find a way to replicate this accident...

Someone waved their large hand in front of her, knocking her out of her thoughts. "Are you alright?" asked Mason in a gentle-sounding voice that didn't quite match his firm expression.

Elaine forced herself to smile at him. "Yes!" she exclaimed, a bit louder than she meant to. "I'm fine. Totally, fine."

"I saw what you did," Mason said. "That was some spell you've got there. Light Magic is a rare Gift. You should be glad." 

Once again, Elaine was caught off guard by how kind and well-mannered Mason was. Appearances alone would have her assuming he was the kind of low-life thug her mother warned her to stay away from. The truth was far more pleasing. 

"That said, I'd advise not losing your focus just yet," Mason said.

Elaine frowned at him. "What?"

"Your homunculus, looks like it has unfinished business with you."

Mason motioned to where her homunculus opponent had landed some twenty-five meters away on the opposite end of the training ground. It had climbed to its feet—wobbling and jerking its limbs unnaturally—prior to snapping its neck forward, aiming its emotionless expression straight at her.

"Wh...What!" Elaine shouted. So that spell just now, it wasn't enough to stop it?!

"Good luck, Harwood," Mason said as he trotted for the bleachers.

The homunculus lowered itself into a crouch, then shot at her in a haphazard sprint. She hadn't defeated it, no. But as Elaine squinted her eyes towards it, she realized that she had indeed damaged it in some capacity. Mists like turquoise-colored gas streamed out the cracks and tears riddled on its rocky hide.

For this told her that it wouldn't be as powerful as it had been during their initial engagement. Even still, it was doing a surgin' magnificent job at hiding its fatigue, assuming it even got tired at all.

Elaine gathered her senses and concentrated. In less than a minute she knew it'd be on her tail again, recklessly throwing attacks at her until she either forfeited, or deduced a method of how she could properly utilize that strange light elemental spell.

What was its name again? 

Admittedly, when she had used the spell earlier, she had felt weirdly light-headed, like she was on the cusp of passing out. And everything happened so quickly that she barely had a moment to process it. The name of the spell, in her memories the answer slumbered somewhere.

All of a sudden, a rush electrified Elaine's nerves, and she leaped out of the way of the homunculus' punch. Chips of the earth flung into the air from where the creature's fist landed, shattering chunks of the much grander magic circle's pattern. The homunculus cocked its head, then pounced for Elaine again.

Clenching her jaw, Elaine found herself lunging in a backward trod, desperately trying to avoid the homunculus' strong yet increasingly more repetitive attacks. It was surprisingly easy to move around in her uniform. It didn't limit her movement or reduce her speed in any way. A byproduct of a form-alteration spell, most likely.

All the while, amidst her endless dodging, memories replayed in her head. She remembered the homunculus had punched her, a churning sort of pain that quaked a mage's innards, a strike that was simultaneously excruciating and nauseating. It had made her feel like she was about to retch.

After that, she had experienced an odd sensation deep within her. A spark, one that dulled her pain—if not only for a grasp of fleeting seconds—and what next she knew, Elaine was holding the wand out in front of her after having launched a spell.

Elaine concentrated, struggling to recall that specific name, fighting to catalyze a fossilized voice in her ears. Another stomp, and the homunculus had swung an arm into Elaine's shoulder. It made her spit a pain-induced scream, but she didn't fall. Not like last time.

Instead, she slid over the earth, coming to a stop a short distance from the homunculus itself. The homunculus gave a robotic head tilt before launching at her again. And it was during this interval between Elaine's last breath and the homunculus swinging its fist that familiarity singed her consciousness.

Elaine smirked. There you are. 

Gripping her wand tightly and pointing it directly at the approaching homunculus, Elaine screamed at the top of her lungs, "Light Magic: Icto Lumen!"

Her wand ignited, blasting out of it a javelin composed entirely of condensed light energy. In seconds, it had struck its intended target, and the homunculus was knocked several feet into the air. Soon enough, though, gravity reasserted its effects, tugging it back down to Earth in a violent slam that spiraled a mushroom-shaped plume of dust skyward.

Elaine—exhaling disjointed breaths that tasted of fire—kept her illuminated wand pointed at the homunculus that landed inside of a sizable crater closeby a startled Edgar and Rayla. The artificial monster, with its limbs pulled apart and face planted in the earth, did not get up again. Elaine had won.