Aida had been apprehensive about sparring against Sue, but it turned out she needn’t have worried - Sue was too supportive, leaving several openings for Aida to execute her attacks, and literally leaping into her poorly-aimed mana blasts. Sue would wildly whip her wand about, firing gouts of fire near Aida, but not at her. It was quickly obvious that Aida just had to stand in place, and she could have the relaxed dummy training session she wanted.

“Okay, I need a break for now,” Aida said, thoroughly amused. Sue was rolling on the ground, mimicking drowning in the bit of water Aida had generated for her finale. “I need to recover some mana. Caleb, your turn with Sue?”

“Aww, but you were doing so well!” Sue popped up, pouting.

Caleb was amused, but also slightly exasperated at Sue’s antics. “It’s hard to gauge if she really was doing well, since you were being so lenient with her.”

“I was not!” Sue said indignantly. At Caleb and Aida’s deadpan exchange, she relented. “…Not that much!”

“Anyway, off with you two. I need to do some Mana Cycling.” Aida waved them off, hopping up the ledge of the arena wall and dropping into the bleacher seats.

Sue didn’t give Caleb the heavy handicap she had given Aida; the moment Caleb indicated he was ready, she had turned into the fireball she was during placement matches.

Aida was shocked. She knew Class 1 was getting pushed hard, but the improvement was beyond what she had thought possible. Sue and Caleb were blurs, stalagmites bursting out of the ground and literal explosions sounding as Sue’s fireballs detonated against his shields. She rubbed her eyes; the heat and flashing lights and dust particles made it so that she couldn’t track what was happening between them.

“I thought it was supposed to be a friendly sparring match!” she shouted over the booms. Two more explosions answered her, making her cough.

Two hands clapped over Aida’s shoulders, shaking her roughly. A voice roared in her ear. Blearily, she peered behind her.

“What’s going on?” Levi bellowed. Ezra was behind Levi, squinting into the arena.

“It’s supposed to be a sparring match,” she shouted back. Levi wrinkled his brows, cupping his ear. She shouted louder, just as silence descended upon the arena.

“I was just asking a question. You didn’t have to yell at me,” Levi said conversationally. She smacked his shoulder in retaliation, running a quick Heal through her eardrums.

“I didn’t think they’d go that hard.”

“They’re probably just frustrated from being cooped up in the school for the past two cycles.” Levi leaned over the barricade next to Aida. “Are you two done yet?” he called down.

The dust all condensed into a small ball floating above Caleb’s palm, clearing the air. He waved at them casually. “Yes, I think we’re done for now.” Next to him, Sue was stretching, a content expression on her face. Her eyes brightened as she saw Levi and Ezra.

“Are you guys here to train with us?” Levi and Ezra glanced at each other.

“We weren’t planning on it. We heard a commotion and thought we’d investigate.”

“Well now that you’re here, maybe you want to participate?” Aida offered. She peered beyond the two newcomers. “Now might be a good time to show off to your fan club.”

Blinking, Levi turned around, catching sight of the stragglers who also came to see what the ruckus was. A smile split his face. “Nah, I’ll pass. Now’s as good a time as any to socialize. Ezra, let’s go!”

Ezra dodged Levi’s friendly arm, wrinkling his nose at the idea. “Fine, keep up your mystique. That’s one strategy to maintaining popularity.” Levi headed towards the crowd with a backwards wave.

“Do you want to spar?” Ezra asked softly. He cast a nervous glance behind him. Several girls had said a quick hello to Levi, giggling at some joke he made, before slinking by him and making a beeline towards Ezra. Aida stifled her smile.

“Sure. I’m not at full mana, so I can’t go for very long.”

“That’s all right. I’m curious to see how you’ve improved.”

“Don’t get your hopes up.” Hopping over the wall, Aida and Ezra met Sue and Caleb at the bottom.

“You two are going?” Sue asked. She smiled at Ezra, who nodded to her question.

Stolen novel; please report.

“Have fun,” Caleb said halfheartedly. He and Sue both Surged, jumping onto the arena wall with ease.

“You know, even though you’re the top student at Maglica, it’s odd that you’re so afraid of people,” Aida said lightly as she and Ezra headed to the center of the arena.

“I am not afraid,” Ezra said stiffly. “I just find being around them to be a drain of my mental resources.”

“Oh sorry, I forgot that you don’t enjoy mingling with the peasants.”

“It’s not ‘peasants’ I have an issue with. It’s…” Ezra trailed off as he tried to complete his thought. “…the vapidness of their interests.”

They faced each other in the ring, both raising their wands as they stepped into a ready stance. Ezra stood like a butler, straight-backed with one shoulder forward, his wand arm bent at the elbow like he was holding a fencing sabre instead of a wand. His other arm was tucked politely behind his back, and his feet were neatly squared. He looked utterly pompous - or regal, as the sunlight gleamed off his silver hair and illuminated his fitted white shirt.

“I won’t attack, so do whatever you like.”

Aida pursed her lips. On the one hand, she was certain Ezra’s confidence was real. On the other hand, she had started becoming more sure of herself. Two moon cycles ago, she would have appreciated his mercy. Now…she felt slightly offended.

Without another word, she launched herself towards him - and immediately dodged to the side. She had led with her knee, feinting a kick, but in Professor Gemma’s training sessions she had become adept at using Mana Surge for incremental muscle adjustments, allowing her to alter directions slightly without having to retire a whole movement. Ezra’s eyebrow raised as he witnessed her athletic improvement, but Aida was unnerved at how his eyes easily tracked her.

She tried to send a Mana Blast at him - and blanched. Her wand coughed out a small puff of mana. He interrupted me!

Aida grimaced. Ezra’s mana control was impeccable - she couldn’t feel him around her at all. She only felt him - for one instant - when he pierced her wrist, disrupting the flow of mana that was traveling through her wand.

She flew backwards away from him, trying to muddle his mana senses with distance. It didn’t work. He easily punctured the bubble of mana she had left behind him, leaving her gasping as her mana escaped into the atmosphere. At the same moment, he poked her wand hand again, preventing her mana from flowing through her wand.

Aida was starting to understand Abedi’s frustration in their placement matches. She sprinted towards Ezra, intent on at least hitting him. Ezra stood still as she approached, the corner of his lips lifting in the faintest smirk. She sent a surge through her whole body and spun through the air, collecting momentum for her final heel strike on his head.

As she spun, she caught sight of Ezra’s smirk widening into a grin, and was caught by a flicker of doubt. He’s not even surprised! Stomping away the distracting thought, she focused on straightening herself out in one smooth move, squeezing her core and backside tightly so she could release an explosive kick—

She felt a jolt run through her body, just before she was supposed to uncoil herself for a devastating hammer kick. She fell, helpless, time speeding up around her as she lost her Mana Surge. Scrambling to reorient herself (it was really hard, when she was up in the air and all she could see was the sky), she felt her arms and legs instinctively swim through the air, trying to find purchase. She felt a scream start bubbling through her throat—

And she landed in the most foreign position she’d ever been in.

Ezra was looking down at her, expression serene. His silver eyes sparkled, giving away his good mood, and his hair fluttered about; the breeze made Aida aware she was feeling particularly warm.

“Huh?” Aida inquired intelligently. A smile spread across Ezra’s face, utterly dazzling Aida. She scrambled down - Ezra had been holding her bridal style. He clearly saved her as she fell from the sky.

Aida stomped her foot, unable to contain her frustration. “You sabotaged me!” she accused. “You kept interrupting my mana flow! You’re so annoying!”

“That’s what I’ve been saying!” Sue called faintly from the stands.

“I was just testing your Mana Resistance,” Ezra replied calmly. He had gotten his smile under control, and was now just smirking. “You’ve improved.”

Aida huffed. “Can you do that against—“ she cast an eye towards the stands, where Sue, Caleb, and Levi were watching. Levi was handing Caleb a nutritious pastry from the armful he had received from his fans, and Sue was already happily munching on one “—the four of us?”

Ezra eyed Aida warily, taking in her determined finger as she pointed at the other leads, before he turned to look at them. Sue pointed to herself, tilting her head quizzically, and Caleb turned to look at the crowd behind him. Levi caught on more quickly and began shaking his head violently, clutching the pastry bars in front of him like a shield.

Ezra turned back to her, nodding gravely. “It shouldn’t be difficult.”

Glaring at him with mock severity, Aida marched towards the stands, waving towards the three third-years. Sue grabbed Levi by the collar as he took a step to leave, dragging him down with her as she jumped down into the arena. Caleb followed, bemused.

“No! No! I don’t want to, it’s a rest day!” Levi was whining as Aida approached.

“What are we doing, Aida?” Sue asked brightly, ignoring Levi’s tantrum. She still had his shirt in a tight grip, making him hunch over to match her height.

Aida smiled at the three of them, feeling her adrenaline begin pumping. “What do you say we all team up against Ezra? See if he can take all of us on?”

“No,” Levi moaned. “I don’t want to fight, I just want to relax!”

“It’s just to see how good his mana control really is,” Aida argued, poking Levi in the chest. “Look, with four of us, it should be easier to take him down! Have you ever tried grouping up? It might be great for building synergy!”

“That’s true, it might be a good exercise,” Caleb said hesitantly. “Gemma’s training sessions are all of us against her. Surely that’s a good enough basis for trying it among the students…”

“Say no more! I’m ready,” Sue declared. She began bouncing on her toes, her lilac eyes fiery. “This might be our only chance to surpass Ezra. Just once!”

“Don’t you need to recover your mana?” Levi demanded. He poked Aida back. “I was watching that fight you just had. He totally ruined your mana efficiency.”

Aida opened her mouth to retort, before a calm voice sank down.

“Why don’t I take Aida’s spot?”

All four of them looked back up to the stands. Lara was standing over them, her elbows leaning languidly against the wall, chin resting against her palm. She was smiling benignly down on them.