"...what's the test gonna be about?", asked a weary student. Nero still hadn't had the time to ask for his name.

"Very simple.", said professor Yuni.

She pointed her finger at a mannequin that stood nearby and zapped it with the lightning strike, making a loud cracking noise and releasing a flash of near-blinding light.

"You have to try your hardest to evade this attack."

"What...!?", asked Silvy in shock.

"Isn't that kinda dangerous...?", asked Elanee.

"Hm? What's that? Getting cold feet, now? Don't wanna be a mage anymore?", asked Yuni, teasingly.

"No, of course we want to, but... how are we supposed to do that!?", said Silvy,

"Dunno. You show me. Didn't you pass a whole bunch of tests to get here? Hm? Were those flukes?"

Everyone went silent.

Yuni raised a finger and started forming another lightning.

"Now, any volunteers?"

"You go, kid.", said Sharmon.

Nero turned to him. In fact, everyone did.

"...you sure?"

The sorcerer nodded.

"Alright, then. I guess I'm first, professor..."

Nero took a step forward.

"Good! Very good. Now, stand over there."

The boy obeyed, placing himself at about seven meters, or twenty feet, from her.

"Are you ready?", she asked him.

"Ready when you are, professor.", said Nero, focusing his eyes on her finger.

"Alrighty, then.... ZAP!"

Professor Yuni lowered her arm and fired the lightning straight at Nero, however...

CRASH.

"Yikes...!", everyone recoiled back a little bit.

"Oooh. Impressive.", she said.

Her spell had crashed against a light barrier that Nero was projecting with both hands in front of him.

"You cast your barrier in the time it took for me to lower my arm and point my finger at you, since the lightning is near-instant. Very good."

Nero dropped the barrier.

"Thank you, professor."

"Thank you, professor.", said a falsetto voice.

Everyone near Owen giggled.

"Oh, nice! A second volunteer!", said Yuni, her eyes sparkling maliciously.

Again, she started to cast her spell with a single finger.

"Nero, go back to your place. You. Step forward.", she beckoned Owen.

The boy tried to maintain his smile, but it soon died out as he stood in the same place Nero had been a few seconds ago.

"So, before we start. Do you know any defensive maneuvers?", she asked him.

"No, professor.", said Owen in a much more respectful tone.

"Well, that's too bad for you.", said Yuni in an eerily calm tone.

CRACK.

She immediately zapped him, launching him backwards and making his body drop and roll a few feet over the clean, wooden floor.

Damn! Nero would have suffered that same fate had he missed the timing on his shield.

"Ugh...", he complained.

Professor Yuni turned and faced the other students.

"Do any of you, other than Nero, know how to block, deflect, or avoid a lightning strike attack?", she asked.

Silence.

"What about you?", she asked Sharmon, who was leaning patiently against the wall behind the students.

"Of course I do. It was I who taught the boy how to cast that barrier.", he replied.

Professor Yuni smiled.

"And that's a good thing. Do you all know why? Do you know why he taught Nero that one spell?"

Again, silence.

"It's to avoid this.", she pointed her finger at Owen, who was struggling to get back up, "Nero, assist me here: what is the first rule of war?"

The rest of the class turned to him. He gulped, and tried to remember Sharmon's very first lesson.

"The first rule of combat is to never fight when you are vulnerable.", he finally said, "you must be able to keep yourself safe, and only when you're safe should you consider how to attack."

The professor snapped her fingers.

"Exactly. First and foremost, you have to make sure you can't lose. Offense should never come before this unless you're flat-out desperate. Any attack done in disregard for one's own safety can, and will be defined exclusively as reckless. Remember this."

Yuni turned to Owen, who was standing up.

"You're still there? Get back in line already, geez."

He glared at her.

"What? Got a problem with me?", she asked, walking up to him with her hands on her waist.

He said nothing.

"I asked you a question."

"...no, professor."

"Then don't give me that look. You're here to learn, not to show off. Now, fall. In. Line."

She stared down at him with a frowned burrow as he returned to his original place among the others.

"We are always watching you children. Carla tells us which among you pay attention to the lecture. Morty tells us who has the best mindset. And as for myself, I separate those who can fight from the loudmouths.", she pierced him with her eyes, "regardless of whether you'll join the army or lead a life of scholarship, the College prepares you all for war, since you will be called upon to join the battlefield if the need arises, regardless of your career paths. It is my job to make sure you kids don't get butchered by an enemy phalanx formation, impaled against a tree by a horse archer, or cooked alive by an enemy wizard."

Some students gulped.

"Look, you all gotta stop behaving like godsdamned idiots and take this seriously, or you'll really die out there. You. Your name is Araven, right?.", she then said, looking at the blonde.

"Yes.", he said calmly.

"I read the reports. You're a combat medic, aren't you?"

"That's what I was studying for back in Platea, before I came here.", he nodded.

"Good."

BZZZZT!

"What the...!"

She immediately cast another lightning and everyone that was adjacent to him barely had time to move aside before he was zapped.

However, instead of deflecting it like Nero, or being completely thrown back against the wall by it like it had happened to Owen, Araven had crossed both arms in front of his chest and had blocked it with his own flesh, ripping some of his clothes.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Tch...!", he recoiled, taking one step back, but otherwise managing to hold his ground.

Yuni's lips curved into a cute half smile.

"You used your arcana to reinforce your own muscles and bones instead of projecting your shield outwards, huh? I'll admit, I'm impressed."

Araven, despite the flattering remark, was clenching his teeth in pain.

"Do you see, everyone? It's not as effective as Nero's barrier, but blocking is much better than being straight-up hit. By the way, I wanna see you heal yourself. Do it now."

The blonde took a deep breath, then used his right hand to heal his left forearm, and vice-versa. This whole thing took him about fifteen seconds.

"If you can't avoid, deflect or block, then you'll at the very least be expected to heal. Otherwise you'll just be asking to get killed by the enemy. Well done, by the way. You and Nero passed my test. Now, back to the rest of you, if none of you can avoid my lightning strike, I'll consider you to have failed this test, like Owen. So, what will it be? Has any of you gotten the confidence to do something about my spell?"

The rest of the class looked at one another and shook their heads.

"...I can't.", said Silvy, looking away.

"Me neither.", said Elanee.

"Let me try.", said a firm, confident voice.

Everyone looked at Rina.

"But I'll need a weapon.", she added.

"Oh?", asked Yuni, amused, "what kind of weapon?"

"I'm used to the naginata, but any pole-arm will do. A staff, too."

"Hmm..."

The professor walked to a nearby weapon rack and threw a wooden staff at Rina, who catched it in the air with one hand.

"Step forward. Ready?", she asked, raising her finger once more.

"Yes."

"Then, here goes... ZAP!"

CRASH.

Just before Yuni pointed her finger, Rina had started to spin the staff in front of her, and when the lightning hit it, she swung it to her right, deflecting the spell along with it, forcing it past her and into a wall.

"Woah...!", said Nero.

"Good! Very good! That was an excellent deflection.", said Yuni.

"Thank you."

"That didn't look like a western technique. Where'd you learn that?"

"Um. Edea."

"Huh. Makes sense. Anyway, who's next? Any other volunteers?"

To everyone's surprise, Luna raised her hand.

"...I'll go."

Rina pridefully walked back to her spot, staff in hand, and glanced at Araven.

She found him looking at her with a half-smile. She took at deep breath and stood firm next to him, reminding Nero of a soldier.

Luna placed herself in the same spot as the others, and stood there very still.

"So... ya ready? Do you need a weapon, or something?", Yuni asked her.

"No."

"...ya sure? I'm not holding back, you know?"

"Mm-hm.", Luna nodded.

"Alright then. Here goes... ZAP!"

No one, not even Nero, was ready for what would happen next.

Professor Yuni's lightning traveled unimpeded from her finger straight towards and against Luna's chest, causing a direct hit...

...or did it?

"Huh...?"

"What in the hells..."

Luna was standing in front of Yuni as if absolutely nothing had happened. Not even her clothes appeared to have been affected.

Yuni blinked.

"Huh? That's weird, I'm fairly sure I shot straight at you."

"You did.", said Luna, "did I pass?"

"Wait. Can I try that again."

The red-haired girl shrugged.

"Sure."

"Alright, here goes..."

Professor Yuni charged up another beam, this time one that was noticeably stronger.

"And... ZAP!"

The lightning didn't even make a cracking, or crashing sound. It just disappeared as soon as it made contact with Luna.

Nero couldn't believe his eyes.

Luna blinked at Yuni, as if still waiting for something.

"Hmm..."

The professor approached Luna, grabbing her own chin with her index and thumb, and walked in circles around her for a moment.

"...do you have a natural resistance to magic'"

Luna nodded.

"Ah, then that explains it. Back you go."

"Wait, what!? That's it!?", asked a guy.

"Huh? What do you mean?", Yuni asked him, "she confirmed it, so she passes."

"No, but... what's that mean? Natural resistance? That's impossible! She got hit by lightning, twice!"

"Well, yeah, and she resisted it. There's techniques for that, like Araven's arcana or Nero's barrier, or you can just have a natural defense against it; it's kinda like having a thick skin."

"Pe-People like that exist...?"

"Well..."

Yuni turned to Luna, who was staring at her expressionless.

"They're certainly uncommon."

The tone in her voice did not escape Nero; that little demi-human was clearly more than what she appeared to be.

"Anyway, who's next? What about you? You're also a weapons user, right?", she said, addressing Khina.

"Huh? Me?"

"Yeah. Do you wanna try doing what Rina did?"

"Um... okay... can I have a sword?"

"Yup."

Yuni handed her a wooden sword out of the rack and charged up her lightning.

"Ready?"

"Ju-Just a second..."

Khina focused her arcana, and soon the wooden sword began to glow in a cyan tone. She raised it in a defensive position in front of her.

"Ready...!"

"Alright, ZAP...!"

CRASH.

Yuni's lightning strike hit the blade straight up, forcing Khina to back out a step or two, her teeth clenched as she withstood the attack.

"Hm, not bad. I'll consider that good enough. Hey, you alright?"

Khina dropped the sword and knelt, grabbing her left arm with her right hand.

"Ye-Yeah... it's just my shoulder.", Khina panted.

Yuni snapped her fingers twice.

"Medic!"

"Yes."

Araven rushed ahead, knelt next to Khina, and started healing her wound. After a few seconds, Khina stood up and gave the blond a quick smile.

"Thank you."

"Yeah, no problem.", he nodded.

"Hey, you're pretty handy to have around; I can go all-out since you'll be here to mend the class.", said Yuni with a hint of malice in her tone.

Nero felt a shiver go down his spine.

"Haha, I'm just a student. I'm not sure I could keep up if you pushed me a little.", said Araven, purposefully downplaying his own abilities.

Was he being humble? Or maybe he was just hiding his powers? Perhaps he didn't want Yuni to give him extra work? Nero pondered these options as he watched Yuni raise an eyebrow and look at Araven going back to the line, probably having the same thoughts.

"Anyone else?", she said, addressing the rest of the class, "what about you, Elanee? You can cast a wind wall, right?"

"Ye-Yes... but my wind is ineffective against lightning...", she hurried to clarify.

"Hm... true. Does anybody know why?"

Silence. Nero didn't know this one, either.

"Elanee?"

"Yes. My wind wall is ineffective against lightning because a pressure differential cannot intervene in an electric discharge."

"Correct. Just for the record, air can hold electrically charged particles, but once the charge is built up enough, the air barrier simply gives in and the charged particles are released immediately and abruptly as lightning. Meaning, by the time the lightning is formed, air is no longer useful. This is why lightning strikes are considered to belong to the aerial discipline of magic. But you'll study that with Morty first, we'll get to practice the different disciplines, or schools, later down the line. For now, if there aren't any other volunteers... how about you?"

Again, she addressed the sorcerer in black.

He stared at her.

"You said you taught Nero how to block my spell. Will you show us what you can do?"

"I see no reason to. The boy already passed your test.", he simply said.

"Hmm... then, how about this? I was hoping everyone could pass my test, but it seems like over half the class will fail... I'll consider rendering this test null if you pass it."

Everyone looked at him.

"Their failure is not my concern.", said Sharmon, "nor my responsibility."

"Wow, so heartless.", Yuni smiled maliciously.

The sorcerer did not answer.

"Then, I'll fail your summoner if you don't cooperate."

"What!?", shouted Nero.

"He's your familiar, meaning that you're a summoner. If I test your pet and he fails, then it's only natural that you fail too, right?"

The boy looked at her in flat-out disbelief.

"So, what will it be, hatted mystery man?"

Sharmon stared at her for a second before walking away from the wall and stepping in front of Yuni.

"That's more like it!", she said, raising her finger and charging up a rather large lightning strike.

Sharmon placed one hand in front of his mask, with two fingers up.

"What's he doing...?"

"Praying?", laughed someone.

"Now, are you ready?"

The sorcerer said nothing.

"Well, I'll take that as a yes... here goes, ZAP...!"

Boooounce....

Yuni's lightning got caught in a dark purple and black barrier that materialized in front of Sharmon and fused with it before being immediately shot back at her.

"She's gonna...!"

But she was faster.

CRASH.

Yuni slapped Sharmon's counterspell with one hand, deflecting it against another wall, everyone crouched to avoid being hit.

"Holy shit...!", shouted a student.

"Getting funky with me, aren't ya...?", she asked him in a serious tone.

"Attacking recklessly is the first mistake of combat.", said Sharmon, his eyes glowing with malice.

Everyone looked at him speechless. Not only he had cast a counterspell, but he was also talking back at her.

"Heh... hahaha...!"

Yuni's expression changed completely. Her pupils grew smaller and vertical, like a cat's, her laughter revealing four, small but sharp fangs among an otherwise normal denture, if only strikingly white.

The students took a step back. She was looking... feral.

"Interesting...! It's been a while since I was challenged like this...!"

The sorcerer squinted at her.

"You will find more than a challenge if you press me, professor.", he said in a defiant tone.

"Ha! Those are big words...!", she charged up an enormous lightning ball, this time with her entire palm open, "can you back them up with big actions?"

The sorcerer did not respond.

"Well, time to find out...!!"

CRASH!

She fired an enormous lightning beam towards him, however, Sharmon had already started to dodge as soon as she moved her arm, causing the entire spell to miss him entirely. The opposite wall took the blow and it almost caused it to break.

"Hm. Folly.", he said.

"Don't gift yourself roses yet!"

Yuni extended her left palm forward, projecting a strong wind strike before following up with another lightning attack.

Her attempt at destabilizing Sharmon failed, however, as he absorbed not only the wind strike but also the lightning with his dark shield. This time, however, he left the charged spell in front of him in suspense.

"What's... going on?", said Silvy.

Yuni looked at him in disbelief, her features quickly returning to normal.

"Sharmon absorbed the professor's lightning and is keeping it hostage. He's essentially got an extremely powerful counterspell charged up and ready to go.", said Nero.

"But, why?", asked Elanee.

"Alright, that's enough. Cancel that spell.", said Yuni.

The sorcerer squinted at her.

"You failed to keep your word, instructor. You pressed the attack even after I avoided the first lightning bolt.", said Sharmon.

"Put that thing down. Now.", she warned him, raising her hand again, though not casting anything this time.

Anything Nero could see, anyway. He could feel an eerie fluctuation of arcana around him, however.

There was a moment of silence before Sharmon began to open his fingers, dissolving the spell in the air slowly. It was gone after some rather long five seconds, and only then the professor lowered her own arm, causing the strange arcana distortion to dissipate. Had anyone else noticed it...?

Nero took a deep breath and sighed.

That had been way too tense.

Yuni placed her hands on her hips and examined Sharmon, looking at him from head to toes, then turned to Nero.

"You know, you have a pretty good pet.", she said.

"Ye-Yeah... I know.", said the boy, scratching the back of his head.

"You can rest easy, I wasn't actually going to fail you even if he got hit. Regardless, he's passed my test, for now."

"Thank you, professor."

For now, huh? Damn.

Yuni turned to the rest of the class while Sharmon walked back to his favorite spot against the wall behind Nero. The sorcerer did not address or even so much as looked at anybody as he did so.

"Alright. I want everyone to pair up with a classmate. We'll be practicing some basic defensive spells. Those who passed my test are not allowed to pair among yourselves, I want you to grab a wooden weapon and pair with someone who doesn't know how to deflect an attack."

Nero walked to the center of the gymnasium and waited for someone. After a few seconds, Silvy stopped in front of him and looked at him with a displeased expression.

"I'll be teaching you a basic defensive maneuver, the ones who passed the test will attempt a simple, token attack with the wooden weapon and the others will have to practice the deflection."

"Make sure to pay attention, children. Some need this more than others.", said Sharmon.

Silvy clenched her teeth and stared at him in outrage, only to find him staring back from the wall.

Araven, Rina and Luna smiled in amusement.

Nero did a small spin of his wooden sword to attract Silvy's attention.

"If you don't like him saying stuff like that, then keep those kinds of comments to yourself next time.", he told her, "Sharmon doesn't let anything go."

"Oh, excuse me, mister powerful summoner.", she did an exaggerated apology.

Nero frowned.

"I'm not being cocky; you talked shit about me all morning and now you're pissed that he's actually strong."

Silvy examined her nails, pretending not to listen.

Luna, who was nearby, blocked her nose with her two fingers.

"Reeks of envy here."

Araven smiled, Rina laughed loudly. Selene, who was in front of Rina and always keeping a low profile, played with her hair and hid her grin.

"That's enough, all of you. Nobody's here to show off.", said Yuni, "now listen well. This is how you perform a basic deflection..."

With that, the second half of the practice lessons began.