December arrived, the Silver Bell Festival was approaching, and the end-of-term exams were about to begin. The instructors gathered together to chat about the recent freshn.
"This batch of freshn is very diligent. I feel they have more enthusiasm and dedication than the previous batches," one instructor remarked.
"It's probably because of Hedra."
"Because of her appearance, the freshn have clearly split into two factions—'Gemor' and 'Ximilye.' In previous years, the division of Chiefs was never this distinct."
"The students from the Ximilye District believe that, given their background and education, they should naturally be the best and top the rankings as a matter of course. But because of Hedra's presence, the students from the Gemor District have received a certain boost, making them chase each other in terms of grades and strength, making it hard to clearly distinguish who's superior."
"This has spurred on the students from the Ximilye District and given hope to those from the Gemor District, so both sides are highly motivated."
"One must admit, the Professor's idea back then was indeed brilliant—directly appointing Hedra as Chief and selecting a student from a prestigious Ximilye family as her opponent."
"Healthy competition is beneficial."
After finishing up on the freshn's grades, the conversation shifted back to Hedra.
"How did she manage to erge unscathed from Spencer's 'Black Declaration,' even rebounding it and knocking him unconscious?"
"No idea, but the Professor later comnted that Hedra has exceptionally strong ntal Power and a very tenacious will. Spencer falls quite short in that regard," one instructor speculated.
"But just how strong would she have to be for that single clash to knock Spencer out? That remains unknown. Perhaps she also possesses so thod to temporarily boost her ntal willpower."
As the end of the term approached, many students were preparing for their exams. To motivate the freshn, the college generously laid out rewards—students ranking at the top would receive resources far beyond their peers, which held imnse appeal for the newcors.
During lunch, the freshn sat together, also discussing this matter.
"Ti really flies. This sester," soone sighed, reflecting on how three months had passed in the blink of an eye.
"I wonder who'll take first place in the grade this ti?"
"It'll probably be Chief Hedra, but Spencer is also very strong. Those two haven't crossed paths since their match at the opening ceremony. I wonder if he's caught up."
"If you get first place in the finals, you get to appear as the freshman representative at the Silver Bell Festival. That's an honor you can't overlook."
"Not just our school—many bigwigs from other schools in the Mage Alliance will co to watch. After all, the Silver Bell Festival originated from us and is a grand annual event for the Alliance."
"Spencer will probably do everything he can to claim that honor. His family, the Panders, has high expectations for him. If he performs well, his family will gain attention and prestige within the Mage Alliance." Although the Pander family was prestigious, there was still a considerable gap between them and the true top tier of the Mage Alliance.
The students' conversation inadvertently reached Spencer's ears. His deanor as he ate beca even more silent.
What they were discussing was indeed true. A few days ago, his family had sent word, telling him they expected him to get first place and appear as the freshman representative. They told him that if he lacked anything during this ti, he could bring it up with the family.
Who wouldn't want that honor? Especially at the top school in the Mage Alliance. Spencer craved it desperately. But over the past month, both openly and covertly, his confrontations with Hedra had never given him the upper hand. Instead, they had made him more keenly aware of the gap between them.
Before eting this girl, he had never doubted that he was a genius. That confidence was forged through repeated contests and comparisons with his peers—it was genuine, and he took pride in it, developing a calm and composed attitude toward everything.
But that calm composure had dissipated quickly after entering Tetis College.
A competitor of unprecedented strength had appeared, and she had crushed him with overwhelming force.
Over the past three months, he had tried to outshine Hedra in every course, showing more wisdom, intelligence, and excellence, but the results were far from satisfactory.
At first, because he had so prior knowledge of certain subjects, he might have held a slight advantage. But as ti passed and the curriculum deepened, the girl would gradually surpass him in understanding the depth of knowledge and its application. It was only because she had little motivation to flaunt these advantages that people got the false impression that the two weren't far apart.
So, just give up and let Hedra take first place? He still couldn't accept it. This reluctance stemd from his pride—he didn't want to admit that he was inferior to anyone else.
On the other hand, he had been the object of his family's expectations and praise since childhood. This ti, he couldn't maintain that image. Showing his incompetence and vulnerability was an outco he couldn't even imagine—it was almost instinctive for him to avoid that scenario.
Taking a deep breath, Spencer set down his utensils. He stared at the table in front of him for a mont before lifting his head and fixing his gaze on the girl sitting quietly in a corner of the restaurant, also eating.
What was on her mind now? Was she feeling smug, or was she just waiting to see him make a fool of himself?
At that mont, Sylutia wasn't concerned about the final exams. She was thinking about other things.
The more she learned at Tetis College, the more she realized how shallow her grasp of many subjects was. For instance, many of the combat techniques and abilities used by the freshn were things she was seeing for the first ti.
"Red Stone Orb," "Construct Spell," "Salt Solution Enhancent," "Spellbook," "Sovereign Spell"... Each of these represented an entire system, and beneath each system lay nurous techniques and secret arts.
She wasn't particularly interested in money or power, but she had a great fascination for these unfamiliar and fresh knowledge systems. If she could collect, study, and understand all of them, how wonderful would that be?
Unfortunately, her ti and energy were limited. For now, she couldn't afford to focus on so many things.
It seed she would have to speed up the pace. She suddenly glanced at the clock hanging in the restaurant and made a decision.
This month—before the Silver Bell Festival—she would advance to Mage Third Tier. With the core ability of the Spell Frontispiece, she could easily use and experint with various spells without having to hide anything.
Moreover, with a pace ahead of her classmates, she could use her free ti to study other things that interested her. What others saw as obscure and difficult knowledge, she saw as sparkling mines, each containing many novel and unfamiliar gems waiting to be unearthed. Every ti she entered one, she always found new discoveries.
Although her mission was to steer the Mage Alliance's future direction and prevent conflicts and wars, her current task was simply to study well and accumulate strength for future actions. During this ti, her thirst for new knowledge had co to outweigh everything else.
She had to go ask the Professor. Choosing which core secret art advancent—the "Spell Frontispiece"—was the key. Such core abilities were further subdivided within each school, each with its own distinctive secret arts.
For example, the Puppetry School's "Curse Frontispiece" allowed the user to inscribe runes as curses to afflict enemies. The "Golem Frontispiece" enabled convenient imprinting of rune patterns onto golems, granting them easy enhancents, and so on.
The core advancent secret arts of the Mithril Clock school also had different branches and inclinations.
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