Angus continued to speak in front of the classroom.
The mana in the room subtly shifted around him, responding as if it was acknowledging a superior presence.
The faint currents of wind magic that was circulating outside the academy walls seemed to brush against the windows, drawn unconsciously toward him. He stood there with the quiet authority.
The students sat in reverence, thinking about their greatest achievement. To be able to study under such great wizard was one of them.
"Alright, everyone! I will need one volunteer to experiment something…"
The classroom exploded into motion. Many hands shot up instantly even though no one knew what kind of experiment that Angus was going to do.
"Great Wizard Angus, please choose me!"
"My wind affinity is already at the intermediate stage!"
"Sir, I've trained few compression techniques for years!"
Several voices overlapped and even the students who normally remained composed leaned forward eagerly. To assist Angus was more than an honor for their life.
It was validation for their own strength.
At the very back of the classroom, Baston did not raise his hand. He rested his chin lightly on his knuckles, appearing indifferent. Across the room, Alicia noticed the gesture. Her classmates' enthusiasm felt natural but Baston's stillness did not.
Angus swept his gaze across the raised hands. He let the anticipation build, then slowly, he lifted one finger.
"That student over there…"
A noble boy in the back row leapt to his feet immediately, "Yes, sir!"
Angus didn't even look at him, "No… It's not you…"
The single word landed like a dropped stone, extinguishing the flame in the spirit.
"I meant the student at the furthest back."
A ripple of confusion passed through the room.
"I meant the fat one..."
The laughter burst out almost instantly. Some students tried to hide it while the others didn't bother. Baston blinked once as if he was only now realizing that he had been selected. He then stood and walked to the front since he had no choice.
Despite complaining, he couldn't show it. He must accept it like any other student felt, looking elated even though it never happened in the first place.
While he was moving to the front, he could feel it already. It was the envy, jealousy, and curiosity. As he continued, several whispers followed him like the shadows.
"Why him?"
"Is this a joke?"
"He'll embarrass our class..."
A few nobles looked genuinely displeased. It was not only because Baston was incompetent, he also came from the poor background.
Alicia's gaze narrowed. She wasn't surprised of their attitude. She was not truly shocked since it happened too many times.
In the meantime, Angus watched Baston approach. The boy's posture was slightly awkward. His steps were deliberately modest and he surely didn't want to be the center of attention.
"What is your name?" Angus asked formally.
"It's Baston…" he replied while bowing respectfully, "It is an honor to meet you this close."
His tone carried the excitement with the carefully measured words. Angus recognized it instantly since this boy lied smoothly.
He handed Baston a small marble. It looked completely ordinary. The marble had a smooth surface with no inscriptions and no visible runes.
Still, when Baston took it, he felt a dense mana that was compressed within and coiled tightly like the restrained wind.
"Throw it against the magic barrier…"
Several meters away, a translucent wall shimmered faintly with a defensive wind spell. Baston weighed the marble briefly before he threw it with force. The instant it struck, the marble detonated.
A violent gust erupted outward and the desks rattled with the robes snapped sharply in the sudden current.
A few students nearly lost their footing. The barrier trembled intensely and the gasps soon filled the room over.
"That power came from something so small?"
"How much mana was compressed in that?"
Even Baston staggered back several steps from the recoil. Angus raised his hand calmly and the remaining wind dissipated.
"The size does not determine the impact," he said evenly, "In this case, the control does everything."
He paced slowly before the class, "Many of you favor grand spells. It's for the spectacle, noise, and display."
His eyes lingered briefly on several noble students who were known for excessive flourishes, "But if you stand before a single opponent and waste half of your mana to impress them, you will lose."
The students listened intently and no one dared to look distracted.
"When the magic is compact, it is efficient. When it is efficient, it is lethal."
The lesson was simple but coming from Angus, it felt profound. Baston observed the room carefully. Unfortunately, they didn't value the lesson since they valued more about the speaker. Angus then turned slightly.
"For the next demonstration, I will continue with this boy."
A stir moved through the nobles and one noble boy stood abruptly. His face showed displeasure, but in front of such great wizard, he didn't dare to display it. Amidst so, he uttered his displeased moment in another way.
"Sir, perhaps someone with stronger foundation could demonstrate more clearly?"
Another followed, "Yes, sir… It's for accuracy… At least, it's for comparison between two different people."
Their tone was polite yet it consisted the thinly veiled dissatisfaction. Angus looked at them quietly.
"Are you suggesting my choice is inadequate?"
The room was full of silence abruptly. Both of the students sat immediately because they realized they didn't have any right to point their fingers.
Meanwhile, Baston kept his expression neutral. To cope with the situation, Angus then selected two additional assistants which were a noble boy and a noble girl. With such decision, the nobles finally could accept the treatment.
Three students now stood at the front. It was a showdown between the bottom and the upper. It was quite intentional by such formation. Alicia folded her arms slowly since she realized her uncle was making a point.
Angus began explaining the mana stabilization, forming a small rotating sphere within the palm.
The noble girl went first. Her mana condensed neatly and refined, creating an applause softly.
The noble boy soon followed. He had strong rotation and clean structure, resulting more approval.
As for Baston, he lifted his hand and the mana gathered slowly. It flickered and wavered before collapsing. The whispers began almost immediately.
"He can't even stabilize it…"
"This is embarrassing..."
The two nobles beside him exchanged the subtle glances. Baston tried again and the mana formed again but it destabilized more violently this time.
Angus frowned slightly since that reaction was exaggerated.
Before he could comment, the mana sphere suddenly surged erratically. The energy cracked sharply in the air and several students stepped backward instinctively.
"Boy!"
Angus moved immediately, stepping beside Baston and steadying the unstable energy with precise control. The mana calmed down for half a second, but suddenly, it burst out of nowhere.
A sharp concussive wave exploded outward. It was not devastating but it was strong enough to throw Baston backward across the stone floor. He rolled twice before stopping, making the laughter soon erupted.
"He blew himself up!"
"What an idiot!"
The laughter did not stop and it grew continuously. Some students covered their mouths while the others leaned forward openly, savoring the spectacle. A few nobles did not even try to restrain themselves.
"See? I told you."
"He shouldn't have been chosen…"
"Such poor blood can't handle the real magic..."
The noble boy beside Angus shook his head with exaggerated disappointment as if the failure offended him personally.
The noble girl's lips curved faintly upward even though she quickly masked it when she noticed Angus's presence.
On the floor, Baston did not rise immediately.
He lay there with one arm bent awkwardly beneath him while the dust was rising faintly from the impact. His breathing sounded heavier than it should have been.
For a moment, the scene looked genuine, signifying that he was pathetic and small in public. However, Alicia's brows drew together. She believed that he was not that careless.
Angus did not speak and his sharp eyes remained fixed on Baston's unmoving figure. The explosion had not been large enough to cause such injury.
He had already suppressed most of the backlash, yet the boy remained still than necessary. The silence stretched and a few students shifted uncomfortably.
Did he get hurt?
The laughter weakened before slowly, Baston's fingers twitched.
His hand pressed against the floor. His body trembled faintly as he pushed himself up, forcing himself to endure the humiliation before standing.
His head lowered and his shoulders slightly slumped. It was the posture of someone who was defeated. For several heartbeats, even Angus almost believed it.
The two noble assistants stepped back in visible disdain.
His robe was torn at the sleeve and his hair was slightly disheveled while the dust was still clinging to the shoulder. He looked humiliated, but then, something changed inside him.
The cold sensation spread from his palm. It wasn't violent and explosive since it formed quietly. The frost formed along his fingers and the temperature at the front of the classroom dropped further.
The students that were closest to Baston inhaled sharply.
In his right hand, a pale-blue sphere formed. It was stable, clean, and dense. The ice magic soon was revealed to everyone. Such action slowly swallowed the laughter before the silence echoed around.
"What?"
"He has an ice affinity?"
"He becomes a wizard?!"
The noble assistants stared at him in disbelief since the mana fluctuation was not the beginner-level one.
Everyone knew the mana existed and once people could manipulate it outside their body in such greatness, it would mean one thing. That person would be reborn as a wizard.
Every one of them was precious and every one of them was very valuable to the kingdom.
Baston's mana was quickly stabilized and refined.
Alicia's breath slowed down since she understood that was not sudden. Instead, it was likely prepared.
Baston looked at his hands as if he was shocked by himself. Then abruptly, he dropped to his knees before Angus.
"Oh, Great Wizard Angus!" he declared loudly, "Under your guidance, I have finally broken through!"
The room froze and everyone was shocked over the fact.
"I struggled for several weeks with mana instability," Baston continued and his voice was trembling just to be convincing, "Today, with your instruction, something inside me finally aligned."
He lowered his head deeply, showing his perfect humility and gratitude. The story was formed instantly in the students' minds.
What the teacher had taught only resulted into his failure. What Angus had intervened resulted the immediate breakthrough. The explanation was simple, clean, and convincing.
Angus looked down at him, thinking the fat boy had calculated such occurrence.
If he denied it, he would embarrass Baston publicly. If he accepted it, he endorsed him. It was truly a clever positioning. Angus then raised his hand slightly.
"Breakthroughs are unpredictable," he said calmly to the class, "Sometimes, the pressure forces your clarity."
It was neither confirmation nor rejection. He only spoke ambiguity but the students interpreted it as the approval, making several whispers shifted rapidly.
"He became a wizard under Sir Angus…"
"That's incredible…"
"If Sir Angus guided him…"
The resentment became hesitation and the hesitation became caution. Meanwhile, Baston stood slowly and his ice magic dissolved gently.
His appearance was still messy with flushed face. But in his eyes, there was a concealed gratitude there. After all, he was thankful that Angus played along with him.
Alicia also saw it. His eyes didn't show worship. Instead, it was a strategy.
Several noble students exchanged glances. They were not mocking Baston this time but they were calculating their own fate.
A poor boy had awakened as a wizard inside the classroom of Great Wizard Angus. It was not a small matter since the talent could be dismissed and the luck could be mocked, yet the recognition from Angus's supervision was very real.
One of the merchant-background students swallowed nervously.
If Baston truly became a wizard, his status would no longer remain at the bottom. In this kingdom, the strength bent social lines in a way that the birth alone could not fully suppress.
The noble boy who had protested earlier clenched his jaw subtly.
Few moments ago, Baston had been an entertainment. Now, he was an uncertainty and such uncertainty was dangerous.
Even the noble girl beside him avoided speaking further. She could sense the atmosphere had tilted. Ridiculing a newly awakened wizard, especially one from the seemingly acknowledged by Angus, could easily backfire.
The laughter from earlier now felt misplaced. A few students even began replaying the explosion in their minds.
Was it really an accident or was it something else?
No one dared to ask loudly since everything had already happened.
*****
The class eventually ended even though the atmosphere never returned to normal.
The students left in clusters and some of them glanced at Baston differently while some of them avoided him entirely. The noble boy who had protested earlier now watched him in silence. He began his own assessment toward the sudden miracle.
In the meantime, Baston returned to his seat at the back. He could feel the shift because before today, he was easy to mock. After today, the mockery required certain risk.
The old book remained silent within his robe. It had no text and no evaluation because today was just the performance about his own positioning.
Across the room, Alicia approached Angus quietly after most of the students left.
"You allowed him to take advantage of your existence, right?" she said softly, "After all, he staged his own miracle."
A faint smile touched his lips, "Well, it seems I have to look at him more thoroughly then."
Alicia narrowed her eyes, thinking that her uncle was really watching Baston intently from now on.
Eventually, Baston exhaled slowly at the classroom.
The hostility would not disappear at once but it would change shape slowly. Such event would make it predictable then. Behind him, the faint wind stirred briefly almost like the restrained laughter.
He did not look back since his performance was complete for now.