“Luo Ye, stand up.” Professor Elmero II’s tone was stern.
“Yes, Professor.”
For a moment, Luo Ye thought the professor was going to say, “Except for Luo Ye, everyone here is trash.”
But then he reminded himself that the professor didn’t come from his original world.
Such a coincidence probably wouldn’t happen.
“And Alicia, you stand up as well.”
After calling out to Luo Ye, Professor Elmero II looked down at Alicia, who was seated in the front row, flanked by Lilith and Anna on either side.
“Yes, Professor.”
Alicia tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and stood up gracefully.
“You two are the most outstanding students of this year’s Magic Department. From now on, I want you to set an example for everyone else.”
With a grand gesture, Professor Elmero II waved his hand, and the air instantly thickened with an icy chill. A massive blue magic circle suddenly unfurled above the tiered lecture hall.
The light solidified, radiating an intense cold.
A gigantic, hollowed-out, sharply edged ice cube appeared out of thin air, hovering several meters above the podium. The chilling aura made the students in the front row instinctively shrink their necks.
“This is the solidified form of the Fourth-Rank Magic: Extreme Ice Realm,” the professor’s voice was cold and metallic, “I personally refined it to remove all offensive runes, retaining only its core feature—‘the unshakable solid ice.’”
“When a second-rank Fire Purge fireball strikes its surface, the effect is no different from boiling water hitting solid ice—that is the essence of today’s demonstration.”
Professor Elmero II’s sharp gaze turned toward the two student leaders standing before him.
“Luo Ye, Alicia, demonstrate the second-rank Fire Purge, targeting the bottom plane of the ‘ice barrier.’”
“No need to aim for instant destruction; maintain steady casting and maximize output. You decide who goes first.”
Alicia gave a slight nod, her cold, flawless face betraying no emotion, as if she were the most exquisite ice sculpture.
She lifted her slender, fair palm, palm facing upward, her amber eyes focused intently ahead.
Magical energy gathered steadily around her. In an instant, a fiery red fireball, roughly the size of a pillow, formed above her palm, radiating intense heat.
She didn’t look at Luo Ye, but he clearly felt an invisible gaze sweep across him.
He returned a faint, nearly imperceptible smile, subtly shifting his body to the side, right hand open toward the ice barrier—ladies first.
Alicia had no time to respond. She held her breath, concentrating all her mental power into the fireball.
With a low, firm shout, the fireball shot forward like an arrow from a bow, slamming hard into the bottom plane of the massive ice block with a resounding “boom!”
A piercing “sizzle” erupted, accompanied by thick white steam billowing upward. Red sparks exploded where fire met ice!
On the ice block’s surface, there was only a shallow dent barely visible to the naked eye and a patch of water vapor that immediately re-froze.
The fireball vanished, and the steam was quickly dispersed by the frigid cold.
The entire ice barrier remained utterly unmoved, not even the slightest tremor.
“Luo Ye.” The professor’s voice was flat, without a trace of emotion.
Luo Ye was already prepared.
Without any flashy movements, a fireball nearly identical in size and power to Alicia’s quickly formed at his fingertip and was immediately launched!
“Boom!”
The impact was the same, the sizzling sound repeated, white steam rose again.
The ice barrier stood tall and unyielding like a towering iceberg.
“Crossfire, three times.” Professor Elmero II’s order was concise.
Under the watchful eyes of all the students in the classroom, Alicia and Luo Ye began taking turns with perfect coordination.
Alicia raised her hand, launching a fireball.
Luo Ye followed suit.
Then Alicia again.
Then Luo Ye.
Three cycles, six full-powered second-rank fireballs struck the exact same spot relentlessly!
Tiny ice shards flew and instantly refroze; white steam churned and quickly solidified.
Each impact was deafening; each collision showed the fierce battle between ice and fire.
Yet, when the final fireball’s glow faded from the ice surface, the huge hollow ice barrier remained exactly as before!
It floated silently, without even a noticeable dent at its base, as if mocking all previous efforts.
Only the small ice shards around, formed by rapid refreezing after melting from the heat, silently bore witness to the clash.
“What’s going on? No effect at all?”
A low whisper from the duke’s son, Schett, broke the tense silence in the classroom.
“Six second-rank spells… not even a dent?”
“Is the gap between fourth-rank and second-rank magic really that huge?”
Many students wore expressions of confusion and frustration.
Those who didn’t understand the professor’s intention glanced toward the serious professor standing on the podium.
Luo Ye lowered his slightly aching arm and habitually glanced at Alicia.
At that moment, he keenly noticed something unusual.
A barely perceptible flush crept up the princess’s flawless, snowy cheeks—so fleeting it was almost an illusion.
At the same time, a fine layer of sweat beads quietly formed on her smooth forehead, glistening faintly under the bright magic crystal lights.
Her breathing seemed slightly more rapid than before.
Alicia immediately realized her lapse and, almost instantly, suppressed the abnormal flush and sweat with formidable willpower.
She even turned her face slightly away from Luo Ye’s probing gaze, restoring her perfect, noble, impeccable composure as if the momentary exhaustion had never occurred.
“Alicia,” Professor Elmero II’s voice rang clearly, his gaze fixed on the princess, “tell me, are you close to exhaustion?”
Alicia took a deep breath and turned to face the professor, not hiding her “weakness.”
“Yes, Professor.”
“In your current state, if I ordered you to immediately cast Fire Purge three more times in a row,” the professor pressed, “could you do it?”
Alicia was silent for a full second, her amber eyes lowered as if rapidly assessing her magic and mental energy reserves.
Finally, she raised her head and answered gracefully, decisively, and honestly:
“No, Professor. Forcing it now would inevitably lead to failure, possibly even a magic backlash or fainting.”
“Good.”
A hint of approval mixed with understanding appeared on Professor Elmero II’s face. He nodded and then sharply turned his gaze to Luo Ye, “Luo Ye, you too—attack once more immediately!”
Without hesitation, Luo Ye raised his hand again, gathering and casting!
“Boom!”
Another fireball struck precisely at the base of the ice barrier, producing familiar steam and barely noticeable ice shards.
This time, he felt his magic flow more smoothly, his breathing even steadier than before.
“Quite the drain, right? Feeling close to your limit?” Professor Elmero II said confidently before the steam dissipated, “Are you almost at your limit? If so…”
His voice suddenly stopped!
Because he saw that Luo Ye, after releasing his fourth attack, showed no signs of fatigue—in fact… he shook his head?!
Luo Ye frowned slightly, looking at the professor with pure confusion and even a bit of bewilderment.
As if asking: Professor, that’s it?
The expression on Professor Elmero II’s face instantly became spectacular.
Surprise, disbelief, scrutiny, then as if witnessing something absurd!
He stared intently into Luo Ye’s eyes, trying to confirm if he was mistaken.
This kid… five consecutive second-rank spells!
Although Fire Purge doesn’t consume much magic, second-rank magic consumes a baseline of 4 units. Five casts equal 20 units. A genius just over 15 years old—like Alicia—with a base magic capacity around 15 units, would struggle to cast even once. How could Luo Ye possibly…
Luo Ye felt the professor’s glare making him uneasy. He indeed felt he still had plenty of magic left.
Could it be because his soul age was 19, and magic capacity was based on soul age?
To test his actual magic capacity, Luo Ye instinctively raised his right hand again, preparing to form a sixth fireball!
“Cough!!!”
Professor Elmero II suddenly let out a heavy cough. Using the cough as cover, he quickly and forcefully shot Luo Ye a sharp glance.
That look was full of warning, command, and a hint of “Idiot, just admit defeat!”
Luo Ye’s soul jolted instantly!
He immediately recalled the magic laws the professor repeatedly emphasized in class—the relationship between base magic capacity and age!
Aside from Alicia entering school a year early, Luo Ye was a second-year student, 16 years old, whose magic capacity theoretically shouldn’t exceed 20 units by much. Being able to cast five second-rank spells should be the pinnacle of genius, close to exhaustion just like Alicia!
If exposed, it would cause a huge scandal!
Cold sweat slid down Luo Ye’s spine!
“Uh… cough cough…”
He quickly lowered his right hand and mimicked the professor’s forceful cough several times.
He forced a “drained” expression on his face and a weak, “barely holding on” tone:
“Pro… Professor, you’re right! I… I am indeed close to my limit! Another cast… would probably fail. I was just trying to keep up appearances in front of everyone!”
As he spoke, he swayed slightly, pretending to be overly exhausted, his steps unsteady.
The surrounding nobles immediately showed disdainful expressions, thinking this kid was just bluffing.
Seeing Luo Ye’s exaggerated “performance,” Professor Elmero II’s eye twitched uncontrollably once more, but inside, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Luckily, the kid was quick on the uptake!
He immediately adopted a stern, authoritative expression:
“Hmph! Pride will be your downfall!”
He swept his gaze across the room, his voice falling like the hammer of judgment: “Everyone see this? This is reality! The ice barrier appears untouched, but it has already drained the magic reserves of our two best students!
“No matter how talented, everyone has their magic limits!
“Overcoming rank barriers by brute force won’t work! Let alone expecting to instantly destroy the target!”
His gaze lingered on Luo Ye for half a second, with a subtle weariness, before continuing:
“Alright, enough daydreaming! Now, everyone will practice shaping Fireball!
“Pair up in twos. Your target is the tiny ice crystal appearing at the upper right corner of your desk! Requirements: stable casting, ten consecutive hits!”
“Before class ends, I want to see improvement in your magic control!”
While the professor spoke, Alicia’s gaze casually flickered toward Luo Ye’s face again. That fleeting flush seemed to flare up once more. Deep in her amber eyes, a sharper, brighter light of “scrutiny” glimmered.
But the next second, a voice broke her concentration.
“Alicia, you’re paired with Luo Ye.”