Thanks to Beatrice’s antics early that morning, Aurora ended up being over twenty minutes late for class.
By the time she finally arrived at the classroom, she could clearly sense the unspoken resentment in the way others looked at Beatrice—though none of them dared to actually voice it.
“Over here! Miss Aurora!”
A somewhat familiar voice called out to her. She turned her head toward the back of the classroom and spotted a golden-haired figure waving at her—Avila.
Before she could walk over, Aurora noticed a few witches hovering in midair on their brooms near the ceiling, shooting disapproving glances at Avila… and at the broom she had placed on the empty seat next to her.
“Hehe, I saved you a seat.”
Avila picked up the broom from the chair and patted the spot, motioning for Aurora to sit.
“Thanks.”
“But next time, maybe don’t do that. It might upset the others.”
“Got it, got it—hehe.”
She offered an awkward smile to the floating witches. When they finally sighed and gave up their complaints, she quickly took her seat.
Since last week, Beatrice had allowed Aurora to sit in the back during her lectures—on the condition that she refrained from interacting too much with others.
Physical contact was strictly forbidden. If Beatrice ever caught her getting close to someone, she would definitely fly into a rage.
“Today we’ll be reviewing the concept of Innate Magic that we covered last time.”
As soon as Aurora sat down, Beatrice’s clear voice rang out from the front of the classroom.
She lifted the instructional wand and pointed to a student in the crowd.
“You, explain the concept of Innate Magic.”
The student stood up and responded fluently, “Innate Magic refers to magic that one is born with and can only be used by the individual. People with this ability typically have relics or holy artifacts embedded within them, which they use to activate their magic.”
Beatrice nodded in acknowledgment, allowing the student to sit down.
Then she pointed her wand toward the blackboard. Instantly, glowing purple text began to materialize across the once-empty board.
“Innate Magic requires a significant amount of mana to activate…”
Meanwhile, in the audience—
Aurora, who was listening attentively, suddenly felt someone poke her finger.
“Sss~ Miss Aurora…”
Aurora turned her head in confusion to look at Avila.
“Is something the matter, Miss Avila?”
Avila lowered her head slightly, sneaking a glance toward the front of the classroom.
Seeing that Beatrice hadn’t noticed them, she whispered, “Miss Aurora, do you have Innate Magic too?”
“I think I saw you use a golden longbow once… I’ve never heard of a magical bow like that before!”
“I suppose I do.”
“Wahh! Can I see it later? Miss Aurora, you’re so smart, you look so mature and beautiful, and you have such a big chest! And on top of that, you can use Innate Magic—you’re seriously too enviable!”
“Thanks for the compliments, hehe.”
Aurora couldn’t help but smile. It felt nice to be praised for being smart and mature—especially since Beatrice was always calling her clumsy. Hearing someone appreciate her like this warmed her heart.
“Avila, in the back row.”
A bone-chilling voice rang out from the front. At some point, Beatrice had turned her gaze toward them, her eyes smoldering with barely restrained fury, as if she were about to devour Aurora on the spot.
“P-present!”
Avila instantly straightened up and stood, her eyes darting everywhere, avoiding Beatrice’s terrifying stare.
“Avila, repeat what I just said.”
“Wh-what you just said…”
She fumbled her words, eyes shifty, unable to get out a coherent sentence.
“Hmph. Go stand in the back.”
“O-okay…”
Head hanging, she shuffled to the back of the classroom in defeat.
“And you—Aurora.”
“Eh? Me?”
Aurora stood up from her seat, tilting her head in confusion. “But I’m not even a student here?”
“But you’re sitting in a student’s seat, aren’t you? Now answer me—what are the categories of magic?”
“Categories of magic…”
Aurora’s eyes shifted downward in thought. After a brief pause, she looked back up into Beatrice’s eyes and answered,
“There are classifications based on the method of inscription: instant-draw magic circles, short-duration drawn circles, and long-term engraved circles.”
“Based on level, there are: basic-tier, intermediate-tier, advanced-tier, and final-tier magic.”
“Based on type, there are: primitive type, reconstructive type, and innate type.”
“Hmph. So you have at least learned something. Sit down.”
“As for you—stand right there, Avila.”
“Yes, ma’am…”
Beatrice tapped on the blackboard and continued, “You already know the methods of drawing magic circles. After concentrating and refining your mana into magic essence, you can draw it around your body—like this.”
As she spoke, Beatrice tapped the blackboard again.
A trail of purple patterns slowly began to appear on it, sketching themselves out into a complex magical array.
“I don’t expect you to master something this complex, but at the very least, you should be able to draw a basic-tier magic circle.”
Transforming mana into magic essence was already a difficult task.
To then use that essence to draw a functioning magic circle was even harder. Not only did it require perfect control over concentration, but also a precise understanding of the essence’s direction of flow.
Most students couldn’t even manage the first step. When they used magic, they typically relied on engraved magic, which meant the magic circle had already been drawn in advance.
All they had to do was inject mana into it. For example, the flight circles engraved on their brooms.
“I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself, Avila.”
She pointed her wand at Avila, who stood at the back of the classroom.
“Come up here and demonstrate an instant-draw flight spell.”
“Alright, I’ll give it a try.”
Avila jogged up to the front of the class. Beatrice handed her a broom and said,
“Use this. It doesn’t have a flight spell engraved on it.”
Avila took the broom and mounted it, beginning to concentrate her magic.
The next moment, a golden magical pattern began to appear on the broom, lines connecting and forming what looked like an oval, though the internal patterns were jumbled and chaotic.
“Stop.”
A cold voice interrupted her.
Beatrice had seen enough to know the magic circle was already a failure. If it were activated by force, it could be dangerous.
“Wait, teacher—I think I’m almost there!”
“Stop, now!”
Beatrice reached out to grab her—but in that very moment, Avila shot upward into the air.
“I did it, teacher! I—waaAAHHH!!”
Suddenly, the broom went berserk, jerking and zipping around the classroom like a wild beast. It zipped up and down, smashing into desks and ceilings.
“Help! Somebody help me!!”
Just as the broom was about to crash into a fellow student, Aurora stepped in. With one hand, she yanked the student away by the back of her collar.
At the same time, as Avila flew past, she reached out with the other hand and caught Avila by the arm, yanking her clean off the broom.
Thud.
Avila tumbled straight into Aurora’s arms.
The broom, now without magic essence, immediately plummeted from the air and crashed to the ground with a clatter.
“Are you okay, Miss Aurora!?”
She scrambled up from the floor and looked anxiously at Aurora.
At that moment, a golden clock was turning within Aurora’s eyes—the hour and minute hands had just passed a quarter mark.
Avila froze for a second, but then her gaze caught a splash of red—blood.
Drop by drop, blood was trickling down from Aurora’s forearm. When it landed against the white hem of her dress, it stood out sharply, glaringly.
“You’re hurt!”
“I’m fine.”
Aurora rose to her feet, pressing her hand against the wound. After a quick glance at it, she said calmly, “It just needs a little attention.”
“But…”
Smack!
Just as Avila began to speak, a loud slap rang out across her cheek. A searing pain bloomed on the left side of her face.
Beatrice lowered her hand, her eyes icy cold as she stared at her.
“I’m sorry, Teacher, I—”
“Avila, you are unbelievably stupid.”
Her voice trembled with restrained fury. When she saw the wound on Aurora’s forearm, her grip on the magic wand tightened even further.
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