"Argh! I can't stand this any longer! This is a load of crap!" Abby complained loudly from where she crouched to her knees on the grassy forest floor. The brown-skinned girl could make a scowl so fierce it'd probably intimidate a land dragon, assuming she wasn't angry enough to toss one of the large beasts herself. "That surgin' Adeline knew exactly what she was doing, keeping us back here while she and that brown-nosing Simon get to have all the fun."

Kliff's frown sat on his face; there was no use in entering an argument with someone as stubborn as her, but that didn't stop poor Mason from trying. The taller student cocked his head at her from where he stood, only a few paces away from the girl, his muscular arms crossed over his bulky chest and his curly hair dancing in the breeze. "We've been over this already, Abigail. There's no changing the plan now. My advice: sit quietly until—"

"Sit quietly?! That's all we've been doing! For hours now!" Abby grunted, tossing a stone so forcefully it collided with the trunk of a tree some several meters ahead. For some reason, Mason was one of the few people who could call Abby by her actual name without getting their heads torn off the very next second. "I'm sick of all this waiting. This is supposed to be a combat drill, ain't it?"

"Not necessarily," Mason replied softly. "In this exam, why, I believe Professor Knight will be assessing how well we adapt to new situations. Being tossed into an unknown territory with only a single objective sounds like bubbling chaos in a pot. Depending on how well we perform at tackling this new scenario, that'd distinguish who gets a higher grade and who doesn't."

"So, what? Are you tellin' me that...just staying here talking to you dorks for the next hour or so will be enough to score me a good grade?"

Mason shrugged. "In theory."

"Adeline surmised as much as well," Kliff added from behind them. "It's why she ordered us to stay put."

Abby sharpened a glare back at him from over her shoulder. "Yeah? Well, I don't care much for her reasoning. Doesn't change the fact that this job is surgin' boring!"

Kliff smirked to himself—careful not to let his amusement show to an already frustrated Abby—and tilted his head back, both eyes closed. If he concentrated well enough, he could detect them, the pulses of magic. His classmates' Essence Signatures. A few he recognized, such as their teammates Adeline and Simon, who were currently engaged with...Fearne, of all people.

That should be interesting, Kliff thought, smiling. I'm curious to see how that duel concludes. Although, something's...different about Fearne's Essence Signature. I wonder what that's about?

Kliff's Magic Sense detected a group of four students further ahead, walking in the opposite direction. Sparrows, most likely. Sensing the upcoming duel, they probably deemed it unwise to engage in a direct confrontation. However, if they aimed to succeed in the exam, they would have to use their wands eventually.

As part of the Griffin team, Adeline devised a simple yet effective plan. She and a small group of fellow team members would disperse across the surrounding area, vigilant for any intruding Sparrows encroaching on their territory. The Sparrows, bold enough to venture through, would inevitably make their way towards them. For any crafty Sparrows who managed to evade their patrols, Abby, Mason, and he would be ready to spring into action.

Adeline had placed great trust in them as the team's final line of defense, and her decision was quite understandable. Despite all her eccentricities and unconventional behavior, Abby was an exceptionally talented mage with a specialization in Earth Magic. Through numerous training sessions and practice battles, Kilff observed her transformation into a relentless force when engaged in magical combat. In essence, she seemed to embody the ideal guard dog.

Mason, a gentle giant, never boasted about his strength, but his Barrier Magic proved invaluable for fending off multiple adversaries. Teamed up with his Fire Magic, the trio formed an unusual yet effective group for vanquishing their enemies. Kliff dug his foot into the ground, unwavering in his determination, but as he glanced behind him, he beheld the immense formation erecting before his eyes.

The massive boulder stood twice as tall as a typical countryside cottage, reaching over twenty feet in height. And, to Professor Knight's benefit, when viewed from a certain angle, the shape of the rock bore an uncanny resemblance to that of a human's rear end. Constructed from rough, gray stone, the boulder extended from its wide, cylindrical base to form a pair of interconnected, round protrusions at the top, where a cascade of green foliage was gradually enveloping it.

It looks more like a heart to me than some sulmo's ass, but I can't speak for that lunatic's imagination, Kliff thought, smirking again.

"All right, I'm done!" Abby hopped off the ground and shot to her full height in one swift motion. "I've waited around long enough. I'm going to duel something if it kills me."

Mason breathed out of his nostrils tiredly. "Where do you think you're going?"

"There's gotta be some sulmo out here willing to challenge me!" she shouted back as she marched for the tree line ahead, a wand grasped inside her fist.

"Aren't you in the Dueling Club?" Kliff said curiously. "I figured you'd already have your fill of duels."

"There can never be too much dueling! I need to get as strong as I can if I ever want to kill that guy."

"Adeline will be most displeased if she learns of this," Mason said, shaking his head. "She gave us precise instructions to hold our position."

"Like I give a damn what that redhead told us! It's dueling time!"

Sighing again, Mason took his disappointed glance off of Abby—who had already started pushing through the foliage, cursing as she did—and looked back at Kliff. "I'll go and fetch her, then. You stay here. We can't afford to leave the Butt Rock vulnerable."

Kliff nodded at him. "Right."

"Don't worry," he said as he marched across the clearing, waving a hand at him. "I won't take long."

Take all the time you need, buddy. Kliff desperately longed for a reprieve from Abby's constant cursing and shouting. Being raised in the opulent estate, he seldom had the opportunity to venture beyond the familiar boundaries of his home, let alone depart from Aerlion altogether. Over time, that confinement became stifling, but the occasional visits to their rural estate offered a fleeting sense of liberation, especially when his mother treated him to picnics in the tranquil woods.

For once, he could elude the intricate and troublesome aspects of noble life, and he yearned to savor the pure joys of existence with someone he cherished above all else: his mother. It had been ages since their last conversation, and Kliff struggled to recall the sound of her voice. How much time would pass before his memories of her became less significant, overshadowed by more pressing matters?

Sometimes, hope can be stronger than magic, Elaine's voice reminded him. It gets us through even the darkest times.

That's right. Whether it be his concerns for his mother or his ambitions for the future, he had to remain hopeful that everything he was doing would be worth it in the end, no matter how heinous. Glancing over to the edge of the clearing, he couldn't stop himself from pondering how Elaine was fairing on the exam.

He was fully aware that dueling wasn't her forte, and she wasn't particularly enthusiastic about it. However, her mastery of Light Magic surpassed that of more than half of their peers. Given sufficient time and training, perhaps even he might not stand a chance against her if she decided to fight seriously. Nonetheless, the vast gulf between the distant future and the fleeting present seemed insurmountable, stretching far beyond Incante or even Althea. A mage hesitant to use magic for harm would not endure in an all-out battle, so where did that leave Elaine?

Focus, a little voice sternly instructed him. Never lose your focus.

Kliff filled his lungs with air and breathed out of his mouth, slowly. I'm not a child anymore. I haven't been one for a while. Swiping his wand from his side, Kliff lashed it across himself and to the far left side of the clearing, its tip already igniting from flares of orange-colored energy. "Fire Magic: Ignax!"

The blazing sphere surged from his outstretched hand, arcing precisely to its intended destination: the space between two towering galbora trees. There, a mysterious figure stood, skillfully melding into the darkness with an innate ability for concealment. Despite this, Kliff keenly detected the subtle aura of magic emanating from the cloaked individual.

The forest was enveloped in darkness, but amidst it, a brilliant light blazed. The shimmer of Essence. In an instant, the energy vanished, consumed by the flames that cast fiery images on the trunks of trees. Kliff exhaled slowly, realizing the need for extreme caution in controlling this powerful Essence. This was no ordinary skirmish; a single stray spark could unleash a catastrophic forest fire, a scenario he desperately sought to avoid.

Lowering his wand, Kliff held his breath, straining to hear any sign of the student he was certain he'd struck with his spell. Silence engulfed the clearing, and a sense of unease crept over him as he wondered if he had knocked the poor lad unconscious. An impatient frown twisted into a look of deep concern as he cautiously made his way toward the perimeter of the clearing. Just as he took the next step, a sudden flurry of motion caught his eye, causing him to freeze in place.

Kliff spun around to confront the figure, but before he could react, a blast of vibrant turquoise energy struck him squarely in the chest. The force of the impact knocked the breath out of him and sent him stumbling backward until he finally steadied himself in the dirt. Gasping for air, he looked down at the target on his chest; the red light it emitted flickered before returning to its steady glow. 

"That's one down!" a voice announced wildly.

Kliff gazed around with a tense expression, trying to pinpoint the source of the voice that had just spoken. The forest clearing stretched out before him, around fifty feet wide and twice as long. Apart from the Butt Rock and himself, the clearing was empty except for swaying grass and colorful flowers. Despite scanning the area rapidly, Kliff couldn't spot the person who had attacked him until the voice spoke once more. 

"According to Professor Knight, three blows to a Griffin's weak point will be enough to eliminate them from the game. You're down to two, Dresden. Better be careful."

About thirty meters away, Kliff noticed the ground rising into a steady heap, completely drenched and resembling thick sludge. Suddenly, an arm emerged from the muddy heap, its fingers tightly grasping the ground as if desperately trying to escape the mire, dragging along a human-sized frame. Kliff took a worrying step back from the unsettling sight. "What the hell?"

"Yeah, people tell me my magic's unsightly. Bunch of weirdos." Beneath the layers of the mud that tapered over the figure, two darkish eyes peered out, and a wide smirk peeled to either side of the boy's face. "But this magic's always suited me best. It's why I chose to specialize in it, much to the disappointment of my folks. What can I say? I like to get messy."

Kliff clenched his jaw as he narrowed his stare. "Jack?"

"That's me!" he answered happily. Now that the muddy layer had begun pouring off of him, Kliff could better recognize his classmate, covered in splotches and moist dirt. Everything below his torso was still submerged under the muddy puddle that had expanded from where he'd breached, making it look like he was treading water in the world's smallest pool. "I thought Mason and Abby would never leave. I bet none of you even noticed I was here."

"You're stealthy, Jack. I'll give you that," Kliff replied half-heartedly. "So the Essence Signature I detected just now, that was—"

"One of my decoys! Brilliant, isn't it? Though I didn't think it'd be enough to fool you." Grinning, Jack tugged his dominant arm out of the mud puddle, revealing the beaming wand in his hand. "Now that it's just the two of us, we can get down to business."

Kliff frowned. "I don't understand. The goal was within your reach. You could have continued Suppressing your Essence and snuck right past me, and I would have been none the wiser. Why expose yourself like this?" Unless...is there a larger strategy at play here? Without looking away from Jack, he concentrated on the surrounding vicinity, hoping to detect another's Essence Signature. He could be collaborating with other Sparrows. Could this be some elaborate diversion?! Maybe he's smarter than I gave him credit for.

Jack leaned forward as he chuckled, his mud-slicked hair tangled with strands of grass sticking to his forehead. "Why, you ask? Well, it's simple, really: I just want to have a duel with ya!"

Kliff hesitated a step. "You...want to duel me?"

"That's right!" Jack exclaimed. "You're practically the strongest student in our class! So, if I defeat you in a proper duel, then it would mean I'm the strongest! I'll beat ya fair and square, no strings attached! Oh! I've been waiting a long time for this!"

Never mind. Kliff sighed. This guy's just a moron...

"Besides, I'm above cheap tricks like that. Sneakin' behind ya instead of facing you head on ain't manly at all!" Jack said with a disgusted frown. "My goal is to ultimately join the ranks of the Incantian Military as a State Sorcerer, and those guys only accept real men! So, I'll become as strong as possible during my time in Glyph!"

"Ambitions aside," Kliff replied slowly, "it sounds like what you really want is to prove your strength against me, yeah? Then, why not challenge me to a duel after class? Passing this exam is a bit more important, don't you think?"

Jack shook his head, clods of damp dirt flying off of him as he did. "Nah! I live in the moment! When I heard you challenged Lukas Kane to a duel and survived, it got me even more pumped to battle you! I wanted to see how powerful you were with my own eyes."

Kliff glared. That crazy bastard was the one who challenged me. This damn academy and its rumors.

"I've been studying you like a hawk these past few weeks, Dresden. During our practice matches and exercises in Spellcasting Class. You're Fire Magic is no joke, but, of course, any sulmo can see that." Tilting his head to the side until his neck gave a crack, Jack raised his Advanced Wand in the air, intense magical light shooting from it in yellow beams. "You probably think a guy like me stands no chance against you, right? Well, I urge you not to underestimate me. Give me everything you've got! No holding back!"

Kliff felt a surge of tension as he sensed Jack's magical energy building up within him, coursing through his Core and taking shape at the tip of his wand. It was clear that he was preparing to unleash a perilous spell. In the depths of Kliff's mind, the name of another equally dangerous spell echoed with a resounding intensity.

"Get ready, Dresden! I'll show you what I'm made of!" Jack said excitedly. "Mud Magic: Luto Homin!"

One after another, they rose from columns of churning, muddy water that burst from the earth, soaring into the sky like grimy geysers. These beings stood as tall as Jack, but their wiry frames boasted elongated limbs that defied natural proportions. Not a single one possessed discernible facial features, as they were devoid of proper faces.

Kliff grimaced in disgust as each geyser of mud summoned another of the hideous-looking monsters; despite not having a mouth, they released a sickly groan as they stepped out of their water pillars. The creatures were composed of mud segmented by folds and creases, making them appear to be melting from the heat. Kliff even watched with repulsion as portions of their body plopped off and splattered at their feet as brownish lumps, though the missing chunks were replaced as mud slid down to replace what had been lost.

Kliff's gaze flicked from one target to the next, swiftly tallying a total of twenty-three looming figures, with more emerging from a muddy column with each passing moment. Strangely, these earthy apparitions possessed their own unique Essence Signatures. Though faint and easily mistaken for an insect or small woodland creature, Kliff could discern their presence, a hidden orb of magic nestled within the mire.

"Behold, my proud army of Mud Men!" Jack exclaimed, raising his arms at the mindless horde surrounding him, standing idly or clumsily swaying from side to side. "The look on your face says it all. Did I surprise you?"

Kliff smirked. "I've never seen anything like this before. How long have you had this up your sleeve?"

"A smart mage never gives away all his secrets," Jack laughed, wagging a finger. "And against someone like you, I can't afford to be patient! I'm going all out from the very start! Your magic's strong, but you're only one person. I'm curious: How will you fare against fifty enraged Mud Men at once?!"

Kliff exhaled sharply as the horde of featureless figures surged toward him in unison. Some stumbled and fell, causing their companions to trip over them, while others shed chunks of mud as they jostled past each other in their haste. Though chaotic and disorganized, six of the "Mud Men" soon closed in on him, their elongated arms reaching out as an eerie groan emanated from mouths they did not possess.

Loosening the flapping tie around his neck, Kliff clenched his dominant hand into a tight fist and positioned one foot behind the other. He unleashed a powerful incantation, crying out, "Fire Magic: Ignaxius!" In response, a barrage of fireballs erupted from his wand with remarkable speed, each finding its mark on the advancing Mud Men. 

Their bodies disintegrated upon impact, leaving behind a grim trail of sludge that marred the once-vibrant grass. Although he swiftly dispatched the six assailants, a new group of seven immediately surged towards him with unrestrained ferocity.

"Fire Magic: Ignaxius!" Kliff shouted again, whipping his arm forward, tossing more howling fireballs at his enemies. The head of the Mud Man closest to him exploded as the darting sphere of flame shot straight through it. Meanwhile, the one beside it collapsed to the ground, having lost a leg, flailing pathetically where it landed until it dissolved into a heap of mud.

But these Mud Men, they displayed varying levels of agility, and as three of them dodged his fireball attacks and swiftly pounced for him, Kliff readied his wand. As he was about to launch a subsequent wave of fire, movement to his right caught his attention. Leaping backward, Kliff narrowly evaded the grasp of a Mud Man who had stealthily attempted to capture him with his guard lowered.

A fireball was enough to deal with it, and the intense heat of an internal flame surged through Kliff's body as he inhaled deeply and pivoted to take aim at the trio of Mud Men that had narrowly dodged his earlier attack. With a fierce cry, he shouted, "Fire Magic: Drakorus!" 

The air reverberated with the deafening roar of the inferno as a concentrated blast of fire erupted from his wand, engulfing the Mud Men in its searing embrace. The spell's fiery fangs consumed the Mud Men, reducing them to nothing more than ash and dispersing their pitiful Essence into the ether.

Movement in the distance signaled the approach of four Mud Men charging towards him like a wild, flailing herd. Just as he was preparing to unleash another fire blast at them, he felt something grasp onto his calf with melting hands. With a sense of revulsion, Kliff looked down to see a Mud Man emerging from the swampy grass below. Although its fingers appeared unstable, once they locked onto him, Kliff realized that it would take more than a mere tug or kick to free himself.

Grunting a curse, Kliff fell forward, ramming his knee halfway into the Mud Man's cranium. At the same time, he pointed his wand at the oncoming Mud Men squad and shouted, "Fire Magic: Drakorus!" as another current of flames rampaged from him. Humanoid mud turned to crumbling shadows as the fire sundered them alive.

As the wind carried swirling ash around him, Kliff raised his crimson-colored wand and unleashed a searing fireball at his captor's chest, freeing himself with a burst of intense heat. As he stumbled forward, anxiety gripped him, making his mouth feel parched as he struggled to draw in hot, heavy breaths. His eyes darted in all directions as a group of figures closed in on him, encircling him from both sides. Twenty-five Mud Men, moving slowly and deliberately, advanced toward him, leaving a trail of damp, oozing mud with each step.

Kliff cringed as he felt something inside bellowing, churning, burning, clawing at its confines in a feral attempt to escape. Kliff embraced that feeling openly, pointed fangs forming the scowl stretching across his face. "Bastards," he muttered. "I'll erase you all! Drakorus!"

Kliff unleashed his fury, conjuring towering walls of flames that seemed to stretch endlessly into the sky. The Mud Men, despite their valiant efforts, could not come close to reaching him. With their unnaturally long arms outstretched, they darted and leaped in desperation, only to be engulfed by the unrelenting inferno and cast down into the depths of the Shadow.

Kliff summoned the power within him, creating intense bursts of orange fire that engulfed his targets, leaving nothing but smoldering remnants in their wake. As he extended his arm, he felt the searing heat creeping up his skin, forcing him to squint against the intense flare. With a stifled groan, he swiftly pivoted on his heel and unleashed another concentrated stream of fire, piercing through the chest of the Mud Man standing merely seven feet away.

He...he was winning, but unfolding before him was a sight all too familiar. Mud Men. Innocent lives. Nobles pursuing their own agendas and street urchins driven to theft by a desperation to survive. Proud military officers working to maintain order and curious travelers having flocked to the capital in search of a good time. Foolish young boys making asses of themselves because they didn't know any better and a young girl who deserved nothing but happiness.

Kliff had cremated them all.

He latched a hand over his heart, thundering in his chest, and took a step back as his vision blurred. With every blink, a piece of Glyph Forest would disappear, replaced by remnants of a charred town square. The grass under his boots turned into the red and blue bricks of an expanding street. 

The galbora trees slimmed into streetlight poles. The afternoon sky above darkened to the pitch of a late night. What only remained unchanged was the hungry inferno dancing around him, its fierce flames casting eerie shadows on the surroundings. Amidst the crackling of the fire, the haunting groans of the Mud Men trapped within the inferno seemed to echo, resembling desperate cries of burning humans.

"What's happening?!"

"Mother, I'm scared!"

"It's burning me! Help! I'm dying!"

"That monster! He did this to us!"

Falling back a step, Kliff clapped his free hand atop his head. Stop, you sulmo! Don't think about it! More Mud Men turned to nothingness, and through his strained eyes, Kliff could have sworn he saw the helpless expressions of a mother holding her child, an elderly man rolling on the ground writhing in fiery pain and outreaching hands turning to bone. None of this is real! NONE! No matter how much time passed, those memories never let him be.

Fire was a dangerous element, perhaps the most dangerous element ever to exist. Humans, animals, every living creature possessed a primal fear of fire, and so many would commend Kliff over his decision to practice such a risky form of magic, but all of them were missing the point. He could summon fire with his magic, but he wasn't its master. Fire was a hostile beast that could betray him in a second.

He hated fire.

He feared fire.

But fire was his greatest weapon.

Kliff swiftly sidestepped an attacking Mud Man, its arm a whirl of color as it aimed for his shoulder blade. In response, he raised his wand and incanted, "Ignax!" The creature exploded in a burst of fried mud and sparks, igniting the remaining Mud Men in a spreading blaze. 

I won't get far like this, Kliff thought, frustrated. His eyes returned to where he'd last seen Jack, who had since fully crawled out of his mud puddle and stood on his two feet. Around him, mud geysers spawned more Mud Men that needn't wait for his order, blindly making for him in a frenzied rush. I can take out as many of these things as I want to, but it won't matter if he keeps creating them. So, there's only one way for this to end.

"Looking tired over there, Dresden!" Jack called mockingly, hands cupped around his mouth. "Is my magic too much for you?!"

Kliff scowled as he wiped freckles of mud painted over his cheek with the back of his hand. "No, it's just really annoying."

"I'll take that as a compliment, then," Jack snickered. "After all, not just anyone can bring someone like you to their knees."

"Last I checked, I'm still standing." Orange light consumed his wrist as magic spiraled out of his wand. "Drakorus!"

The terrifying blaze erupted with an earth-shattering roar. The four Mud Men stood directly in its path, easy prey to be consumed by the flames, yet the fiery blast surged past them. A single column of fire barreled into the onrushing crowd of Mud Men, paying no heed to any of them. Kliff observed with grim satisfaction as Jack's eyes widened in astonishment, finally realizing what was unfolding, but, by then, it was already too late.

The fiery beam slammed into his chest, precisely where Kliff discerned the boy's weak point. Kliff carefully controlled the flow of his magical energy, knowing that it could determine whether his opponent survived or added to the list of unintended casualties. However, as the moments passed, his sense of victory was overshadowed by a creeping feeling of dread.

With a withdrawn, partially concerned look, Jack lowered his head at the sizable hole cleaved on his torso. Globs of brownish vicious sagged from the upper half of his diagram past where his intestines and lungs would have been, fabric, muscle, and bone having disintegrated into atoms. It was a clear gap, as in, Kliff could distinctly see the grassy floor and galbora trees behind him—through him.

Kliff swallowed a ball of saliva and felt the insides of his stomach churn. "Im...Impossible..." he uttered lifelessly as the world keeping him went still. "...It wasn't supposed to...my output wasn't..."

Jack looked up from his wound and at him with distant eyes. More than pain, more than anguish, he appeared...happy, or, Kliff surmised, as a sunny smile dawned on him, causing his cheeks to dimple. "Wow, you really are strong," he said with a chuckle. "Looks like I made the right call choosing you as my opponent."

Kliff nearly let out a horrified gasp when Jack fell backward, bursting into a person-sized mound of mud as he made contact with the earth. "...He...was fake?" Kliff said out loud. "It was just another clone?"

In truth, Kliff didn't know whether to be irritated at himself for falling for such an obvious trick or thankful that he hadn't claimed another life. However, there was still a mystery: If that "Jack" was only a diversion, then where was the real one?

At that moment, a geyser of billowing sludge emerged only a few feet next to him. Jumping out of it was none other than Jack himself. Kliff barely had the time to absorb his muck-stained sneer as he felt the impact of a kick ram into his stomach, air piping out of him concurrently with a strained groan.

Stumbling back on uprooted feet, a hand over the tender pain radiating from his new bruise, Kliff glared at a sniggering Jack utterly soaked in mud and earthy chunks, though it didn't seem to bother him. Spiraling his Advanced Wand around his fingers, Jack shot the enchanted instrument forward, shouting, "Mud Magic: Ectus Torentum!"

Yellow light eating him in bright flashes, a swift whooshing! sound rattled Kliff's eardrums as a massive torrent of muddy water rushed out the tip of Jack's wand. Moving as quickly as a griffin in pursuit of a meal and as forceful as a charging bull, the tarnished stream shot at Kliff with determination, but Kliff himself already had a wand thrust before him and a spell brandished on the tip of his tongue. "Fire Magic: Drakorus!"

Like a dragon's breath, the fire came streaming out of Kliff's wand, soaring over mud-stained grass and clashing with the beam of water. Kliff grunted as he lowered on bent knees, placing a hand underneath his dominant arm to support the strain as a cramping ache struck his core.

The study of mud magic proved to be quite perplexing due to its unique composition. Scholars and practitioners debated whether it belonged to the water element, the earth element, or if it was a blend of both. Some even considered it to be a hybrid form of magic. Despite the ongoing debate, Kliff experienced a concerning sensation as his own essence seemed to diminish. He watched in dismay as the powerful ray of fire he had conjured began to lose its shape, gradually being consumed by the mud torrent.

"Dammit," Kliff muttered, falling to a knee. "You're stronger than this, Kliff! I can't lose!"

In an instant, a dazzling bolt of white light, twisting and turning, collapsed into existence amidst the tumultuous clash of fire and water. It was swiftly accompanied by a fierce, bellowing smog, billowing out and engulfing everything in its path like a raging hurricane, causing him to lose his balance and flung off his feet. As he was thrown backward, his abrupt flight came to an end when he collided with the rough surface of the But Rock behind him, rebounding with a resilient force before finally coming to rest on the ground.

His eyes struggled to focus as Kliff discerned a silhouette approaching him. Despite the blurriness of his vision, he recognized Jack's unmistakable proud smile. Even as Jack laughed, the loud buzzing in Kliff's ears made it difficult for him to fully perceive it. His Salamander Wand had landed on the grass, just out of his reach. Kliff extended a wobbling hand to grab it, but before he could, a gasp escaped his lips.

As he lay there, something heavy collapsed on top of him, intensifying the pain from his earlier collision with the rock. Opening his eyes, Kliff found himself pinned down by a Mud Man, its watery form seeping into his uniform. At first, he thought he could easily push it off, but then another Mud Man descended upon him, followed by yet another, and another, and another.

At that moment, it seemed as though a car had been parked on top of him. Or perhaps it felt like a very overweight pegasus. Kliff didn't even want to fathom the number of Mud Men that had stacked on him, but it was sufficient to pin him down, with mud cascading onto his hair and trickling over his face. If only I could reach...my surging wand!

"What a sorry sight," Jack said mockingly, crouching to his knees a short distance from Kliff, his wand still emitting yellow-colored light. "I would have preferred it if our duel had a more...definitive ending. Looks like this will have to do. You've barely got any magic left, and there's no escaping my Mud Men." Jack rose to his feet with a sigh, his footsteps in the grass softening as he disappeared out of Kliff's field of vision. "If we can't duel anymore, then I guess I've got nothing better to do than pass this exam. Professor Knight said I just had to touch this rock, didn't he?"

Is that it? Kliff asked himself, humiliated, powerless, feeling like the gravity of his expectations had finally crushed him. After all of my training, is this really all I have to offer?! Dammit! I won't accept this! I refuse to!

Emotions are dangerous, Kliff, a voice reminded him. Then again, so is magic. The mishandling of either could lead to a mage's demise, but what do you suppose might happen if they're adequately controlled?

Kliff closed his outstretched hand into a strengthened fist, gripping soil and grass between his fingers. "...A perfect legacy...can't be built on a foundation...of failures," he grunted bitterly. "May it be this duel...or the next...I will never...lie down and accept defeat. I am my mother's son!"

Just then, something flickered deep within Kliff's heart—an Ember.