Strangely, Tiara took far longer than Mor had expected to channel her energy, giving him just enough time to get ready and reinforce himself with body enhancement magic.

"Kneel!" The girl shouted, and Mor was surprised at the force pushing down on him.

Not because it was crushing but because it wasn't. For him, it felt like a toddler trying to push down on him. Also, it was no continuous pressure. It felt more like the "toddler" was jumping up and down on his shoulders.

°Uhm… Did we become that strong? Or is this really weak?° The human asked.

°How would I know?° Mor answered.

Beads of sweat appeared on Tiara's head, apparently from the strain of concentrating on her magic. Then she suddenly let out a frustrated groan and almost surprised Mor with the quickly strengthening pressure.

Mor was now almost pushed to his knees because he had relaxed at the first sad attempt, but his reflexes were fast enough to keep him upright. With a grunt of effort, Mor pumped more juice into his spell, his knees shaking from the effort, making this a contest of endurance. Tiara might have more magic, but he has more willpower.

Tiara started panting at the effort, not understanding how this boy could stay on his feet. She saw her brother using this magic often to force others to their knees if they had displeased him, but why wasn't it working for her?

°That looks like she's reaching her limit? How are we?° The human asked.

°Still fine. I don't get it, but after that first scare, our magic demand is stable. Though it is very exhausting, I rely more on my muscles.° Mor answered.

°Just see it as training.° The human offered.

Mor felt the magic of the girl flickering, returning to that uneven pushing, like someone trying to batter him into the ground. However, it also seemed to peter out like Tiara was running out of magic.

"Why won't you kneel?" the girl shouted, and with a last-ditch effort, she increased the pressure again.

Mor almost got pushed down again, but he still had reserves, so he was spared this fate, even though his thighs were about to burst from the strain and his legs were starting to feel like jelly.

°Ok, now it is starting to hurt. I can't keep this up for much longer.° Mor said, straining.

°Don't lose! Look at her. She's a head smaller than you!° The human chided his friend.

°Half-a-head!° Mor retorted. °Also, height has nothing to do with magic capacity!°

Luckily for him, just before he couldn't hold on anymore, Tiara's endurance ran out, and she had to end her spell to catch her breath.

"How…?" She wheezed, and Mor crossed his arms.

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"Because I don't want to follow stupid orders. Come to me when you're in trouble, but I'm not your goofer." He said, walking away.

Mor made it around the next corner just as his legs gave out. He slumped against a wall and slid down to sit on the ground. Mor took steady, deep breaths and tried to stop his legs from shaking. Also, because of the pressure, his foot soles felt like a thousand needles were pushing into them.

°Think she used all her magic?° The human asked, but Mor shook his head.

°No. I think her magic is more demanding in concentration.°

°But good call, with the enhancement magic.° The human complimented.

°Well, it is my biggest advantage, and as far as we know, nobles are one trick ponies, only using their affinity. Still, if she had used anything else, I would have had enough power prepared to simply dodge.° Mor explained.

Tiara looked after the boy, chosen as her guard, as he walked away from her without any sign of discomfort, annoyed that she was mentally exhausted and he didn't seem bothered at all. She hadn't exhausted all her magic, but this was the first time she had to really dig deep into her reservoir and wield more power than ever before, and this revelation forced her to give that boy a smidge of respect.

"I need to ask my brother about that boy again," she mumbled to herself, slowly regaining her breathing.

With the boy gone, she had no choice but to return to her room and take care of her own luggage or find someone else to do it for her. After a luckless search for a servant, that was indeed the case. All the while, the strange boy wouldn't leave her thoughts, and the annoyance slowly transformed into morbid curiosity.

Mor still sat on the floor when his friends found him again, with a teacher in tow.

"Mor!" Orth was the first to call out, but Clare rushed to the prone boy, trying to start a healing spell, but Mor waved her away.

"I'm fine. I'm just a bit exhausted, and my legs need to regain their stability," he said, chuckling.

"What happened?" The teacher asked.

"I had a slight disagreement with Miss Diamond," Mor answered truthfully. "But we put our differences aside."

"Did she use magic on you?" Saphine asked, but Mor stayed quiet.

"Please answer the question, Mr. Agaton." The teacher asked.

"I don't want to. We had a disagreement, and it's over now," he said, slowly getting back to his feet, using the wall as support.

"You're an idiot!" Saphine scolded him while closing the distance to Mor and glowering at him up close.

"I know." He answered, wondering when he had grown so much to be able to almost look down on the girl.

°Wasn't she as big as I was last year?° He asked the human.

°Well, you're at the age when boys overtake the girls in growth. At least if you're strange species doesn't work differently than humans. Also, you didn't see her often during the break, so you probably didn't notice.° The human answered and Mor had to accept that explanation. °Also, it's not that much, maybe half a centimeter?°

"Well, from what I can see, she did use magic." The teacher interrupted the musing. "But I guess you don't want her to be punished?"

"She did nothing." Mor stood by his decision.

"I understand your point. Still, we can't condone this behavior at our school, so at least I will talk to her sternly," the teacher decided, and Mor shrugged.

As the teacher walked off, Mor made some wobbly steps. To his surprise, Saphine was the first to support him, but Orth quickly helped, too.

"I'm fine, but thank you," Mor said.

"Shut up," Saphine answered, while Orth simply smiled.

The friends returned Mor to his room, and after passing on Clare's second offer to heal him, he slumped on his bed and reflected on everything.

°Yay for another exciting year!° The human teased, drawing another sigh from Mor.