The lecture hall at the Magic Tower University was abuzz with anticipation. Students had arrived early, eager to make the most of their first official class with Professor Draven. The room itself was different from the others—a large, circular space with rows of seats arranged amphitheater-style around a central platform.
On this platform was something that immediately caught everyone's attention: a large, intricately designed crystal sphere floating in mid-air, surrounded by a series of arcane symbols and runes.
Amberine, along with her peers, stood at the entrance, wide-eyed at the sight. The crystal sphere glowed with an ethereal light, shifting colors like a prismatic kaleidoscope. Beneath it, on a raised dais, was a whiteboard with instructions written in Draven's precise, elegant script:
"Group Task: Use the principles of Magic and Mana to activate the crystal sphere together. Each group should consist of five members. You have one hour. Begin."
Amberine raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued. She quickly scanned the room for familiar faces and spotted Harlen, Jorin, and two other students she vaguely recognized—Maris, a girl known for her talent in illusion magic, and Thane, a reserved boy with a gift for transmutation.
"Hey, over here!" Amberine called out, waving them over. The five of them quickly assembled, forming one of the many groups as instructed.
"Alright, team," Harlen said, trying to take charge, "let's figure this out. What do we know about the principles of Magic and Mana?"
As they gathered around a table near the crystal sphere, Amberine glanced at the clock on the wall. The countdown had begun, and they had less than an hour to complete the task. She bit her lip, her mind racing.
"This is a 4-credit class with a full capacity of 100 people," Jorin remarked, breaking the brief silence. "No wonder the room's packed. We can't afford to mess this up."
Amberine nodded. "Yeah, full capacity means there's a lot riding on this. Let's focus."
The task was daunting, but Amberine's eagerness to learn and her innate curiosity fueled her determination. Despite her occasional mutterings about Draven's arrogance, she couldn't deny the thrill of the challenge.
"So, what's our first step?" Maris asked, glancing nervously at the glowing sphere.
"Well," Amberine began, "the instructions say to use the principles of Magic and Mana. We need to break this down. What do we know about Mana?"
"It's the life force of magic," Thane offered quietly. "It flows through everything—us, the environment, even this crystal sphere."
Amberine nodded. "Right. And how do we channel it?"
"We need a focus," Harlen said. "Something to direct the Mana into the crystal."
Jorin tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I think the symbols around the sphere are part of the key. They look like runes, maybe they need to be activated in a specific order?"
Amberine's eyes lit up. "Good thinking, Jorin. Let's examine them closely."
As they huddled around the crystal, discussing their approach, Amberine couldn't help but glance over at the "Genius Child", Elara's group. Elara was a vision of composed beauty—blonde hair flowing like silk, her cold, expressionless face giving nothing away. She was surrounded by other noble students, who seemed more interested in currying her favor than actually working on the task.
Amberine muttered under her breath, "Must be nice to have everyone fawning over you. Not that you're any better than the rest of us, Elara."
She shook her head, refocusing on the task at hand. "Alright, let's try channeling our Mana into the runes. Harlen, you take the left side, Jorin, the right. Thane and Maris, you handle the top and bottom. I'll focus on the center."
They positioned themselves around the crystal sphere, concentrating hard. As they began to channel their Mana, the runes around the sphere started to glow faintly. However, they flickered and dimmed almost immediately.
"This isn't working," Maris said, frustration evident in her voice. "We're missing something."
Amberine frowned, glancing back at the whiteboard for any additional clues. "Maybe we need to synchronize our efforts better. Let's try again, but this time, on my count."
As they prepared to make another attempt, Amberine overheard a conversation from Elara's group. One of the noble students, a pompous boy named Cedric, was trying to impress Elara with his knowledge.
"Elara, you know so much about Mana channels. Could you perhaps demonstrate for us?" Cedric asked, his tone dripping with sycophancy.
Elara's cold eyes barely acknowledged him. "If you can't figure it out, Cedric, then perhaps you're not suited for this class."
Amberine couldn't resist muttering, "Ouch, that had to sting. Serves him right for being such a suck-up."
Harlen gave her a look. "Focus, Amberine. We're running out of time."
"Right, right," Amberine said, shaking off her distraction. "Okay, everyone ready? On my count. One, two, three—now!"
They channeled their Mana simultaneously, and this time the runes glowed brighter, sustaining their light. The crystal sphere began to hum with energy, but it still wasn't fully activated.
"Something's still missing," Thane said, frustration creeping into his voice.
Amberine's mind raced. "What about the elements? Maybe we need to incorporate elemental magic to complete the activation."
Maris nodded. "It's worth a try. Let's each focus on an element we're comfortable with."
Harlen took fire, Jorin chose earth, Maris handled air, Thane focused on water, and Amberine, who was still exploring her elemental affinity, decided to channel a bit of each, hoping it would balance out.
They concentrated again, channeling both their Mana and elemental magic into the runes. This time, the crystal sphere glowed with a brilliant light, the runes shining in harmony. The sphere lifted higher, pulsating with magical energy.
"We're doing it!" Amberine exclaimed, her eyes wide with excitement.
However, their celebration was short-lived. The sphere began to wobble, the light flickering erratically. They were close, but something was still off.
In a last-ditch effort, Amberine reached deep within herself, pulling on every bit of Mana and elemental magic she could muster. With a final, desperate push, she directed it all into the sphere.
The crystal sphere stabilized, glowing steadily now, the runes fully illuminated. They had done it.
Breathless, Amberine turned to her group. "We did it! We actually did it!"
The others grinned, relief and pride evident on their faces.
"Wow... It's so beautiful..." Maris uttered as she stared at the sphere that seemed to combine the colors of their mana together. There are green, red, orange, and blue that continuously revolve inside the crystal sphere, like a paint spilled into water, but seems, more magical.
As they stood back to admire their work, Amberine couldn't resist one last glance at Elara. To her surprise, Elara was looking directly at her, a faint smile playing on her lips. It was a small, almost imperceptible gesture, but it was there.
When she saw Elara's team's crystal sphere, she saw the orb shining brightly with a bright yellow light. Just a single glance is enough for her to know that it's Elara's unique origin attribute that successfully overwhelms and activates the sphere on her own.
"So that was a smug smile, huh," Amberine snorted and mumbled under her breath.
"Time is up. Let's see your results."
The professor strode around the room, inspecting each group's work.
"Fail," He uttered when he went to a group with the dimly lit magic sphere. The class immediately started to become uneasy as they compared the magic sphere of the team with theirs.
"Disappointing, fail," He uttered when he saw a magic sphere slightly brighter than the former group that had a noble student bragging about his talent in magic.
The class immediately gets even noisier, making a frown on the professor's face.
The professor suddenly stops in his tracks. With such a simple move, the class's attention returned to him.
"Silence. I will not tolerate any noise," The irritation inside his voice is clear, making the class that is cold enough become even colder.
When he reached Amberine's group, he paused, examining the glowing sphere with a critical eye.
"Interesting," he said finally, giving a curt nod. "This is acceptable. I guess you're not just a rude child,"
Amberine's heart swelled with pride, but she quickly masked it, not wanting to give Draven the satisfaction of seeing her elation. As he moved on to the next group, she caught Elara's eye again. This time, Elara gave a small nod, as if saying that if Amberine was praised, then she'll definitely get praised as well.
But that is not the fact of what happened.
"Truly disappointing, Fail," Professor Draven's voice hung in the room, making the whole class widen their eyes in the face of his judgment.
Without batting an eye, the professor continued his stride, but stopped because of a voice of objection.
"Which part of it is a failure?"
The professor stays silent for several seconds, before turning his back. His sharp eyes stared straight towards the blonde girl that was hailed as the "Genius Child".
"Are you questioning my judgment, Neophyte Elara," His voice carries an indescribable pressure.
But the girl before him remains unwavering. "Yes. I've completed the task and have the magic sphere shone. Even brighter than that country girl's team. Why do I fail?" She asked as she stared straight towards the Professor.
"How foolish. The fact that you can't even read properly describes how the term 'Genius Child' is an overstatement," The Professor turned his back elegantly once more, and with a wave of his hand, the sound of the chalk hitting the whiteboard sounded, attracting the gaze of all students inside the class.
"T-That's true..." Amberine uttered under her breath.