Weeks passed in which I tried to teach magic to a varied bunch of young adults. It wasn't going so well. Most of them just weren't suitable. But I tried my best, and when I looked towards my disciple I had hope that at least some of them would end up with an advantage. Unfortunately I seemed to have been frustrating students to the point that some of them weren't coming anymore.

"Let me reiterate why we're doing this. If you all end up as 4th step casters having learned the spells your affinity and class suggest, this school will have failed as an institution." Murmuring went through the class, but I didn't let that deter me. "Those 'spells' you all like to show off are a gift. There is some debate about the origin of the system, but most scholars, mages and priests think Nous himself made all the skills, at least the magical ones.

"You saying the word and using his gift is not talent. It doesn't make you great. It barely makes you adequate. We're aiming a little higher than that."

One of the more frustrated students seemingly had enough, raising his hand.

"How? You keep telling us we have to cast a spell without casting a spell with different words. I just don't understand. How do you cast magic without casting magic? It doesn't make any sense!"

"Well, I shall demonstrate." I turned towards the obelisk in the corner.

"Fireball"

A bog standard fireball flew into the obelisk, causing the whole room to rumble from the ensuing explosion and charring the stone around the impact.

"This is what you are doing."

I pointed towards the obelisk and a small ball of fire streaked towards the obelisk. Instead of impacting the stone and exploding it just stuck to it, then flared up as I fed it more and more mana. Some of the students raised their arms to protect their face from the radiant heat and I dismissed the flames. Despite the spell having ended, a red hot glowing spot could be seen for minutes after.

"This is what I want you to do. Or something similar. To show your mastery over your elements, to control the magic flowing through you, to become something greater."

Another hand raised hesitatingly.

"But ... wasn't the first fireball better?"

I nodded at that. "Indeed it was. It had more impact, it moved faster, it was faster to cast and, what you may not have been able to detect, it cost me a lot less mana. Fourth step or not, I cannot beat Nous in spell creation."

I raised my hand to stop all the 'Gotcha' and 'Why do it then?' comments.

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"But, I have an unfair advantage compared to Nous. I'm modifying the spell as I go, tailoring it to the specific situation I'm in. You saw that the heat output was greater in my spell than in the standard fireball. You saw that it caused the stone to glow without causing an explosion. And, most importantly, I made it.

"That might not be particularly relevant to you, who cares who made the spell, but it has consequences. I can do more than a [Fire Sorceress] is supposed to. I can do more than Nous saw fit to gift me. This allows me to apply my magic to more fields, such as alchemy, where a standard fireball is useless.

"Also, since at least some of you are aiming to become warcasters, there are standard counters to the standard fireball. There are no standard counters to my fireball. This edge, being able to do more, is what this class is all about. If you're happy with the spells you've learned and skills you've been given, this class is not for you."

Looking around, I saw some of the students with thoughtful faced, but also some downcast expressions. Nobody left the lecture in the middle of class, but I expected some more students to not return. But that was a price that just had to be paid for the good of the rest.

"I'm not asking you to do the impossible." There were doubtful looks all around. "Alliya, your turn. Show me your fireball, and I don't mean the standard one. Make one yourself." It was a bit mean to put her on the spot like that, but it wasn't like she could complain and her discomfort was less of a problem than demotivating the entire class.

"I... uh... I'm not sure I can...," she trailed off.

"Nonsense. I don't expect you to make the obelisk explode or glow. Just show us some moving flame. I know you can do it."

With a defeated look Alliya stepped in front of the class and produced a flame in her palm. The same flame she showed at the audition. It seemed to be the only real trick she had, but I was hopeful she'd expand on it in time. With another hesitant look she concentrated and the flame started to grow taller, thinner, and started to bend towards the obelisk.

Unfortunately you could only bend a flame so much with so little control and it was far from reaching. Also it was more of an elongated flame than a ball. Realizing her mistake she dismissed the flame, stepped a little closer and raised here hands high, cupping another flame with both hands. I could feel how she was feeding the flame her mana, while at the same time suppressing it. This is not how you condense a flame into a ball, but before I could correct her, she released it.

A flame burned in the air, not tethered to anything, maybe the size of a fist. It leisurely floated forwards and down, the rising air from the heat not quite enough to keep it afloat. A breeze made it veer off course and threatened to land on a desk. I didn't mean to cheat, but I had an obligation towards keeping my students safe and motivated, so I gently took control of the completely uncontested flame and guided it towards the obelisk, where it burned itself out.

"Alright! Alliya, second step, able to do this on her first try," I said with forced cheer.

"And no, I didn't practice this with her before class. In hindsight I should have. Still!"

I looked towards the class that was still looking at where the flame disappeared.

"She made something fireball-adjacent. Is it as good? No. Can it beat a fireball in the general case? Not even close. Does it have a niche application? Absolutely. Who can tell me what this floaty flame could be used for?"

After a short, awkward pause students gave suggestions.

"Set a barn on fire!"

"Distract guards?"

"Help pass Magic Control class!"

There were some chuckles at that. Maybe, just maybe, I would retain most of my students and lead them to greatness in magic after all.