It was a far cry from the white flames Codrin had declared as his goal, but it was an overwhelming and impressive show of force, regardless. To immolate a target in a matter of seconds would take a massive amount of mana to pull off. The judges all looked rather impressed, but Professor Glory looked dumbfounded. Her shocked look shifted between the dummy and Professor Aldric, who seemed to be purposely not looking her way.

“Very well done, Mr. Caffaret,” the headmaster said. “Judges, you may take a moment to confer.”

Codrin limped back to the sidelines, Alek meeting him halfway to help. “Ha! How about that? Like I said, this whole thing’s no big deal.” His brilliant smile beat out the exhaustion in his voice.

Nadrina and Alek both congratulated Codrin, who seemed to absorb the praise like a sponge, even as he kept his hands on his hips and took heaving breaths. The only one who wasn’t excited was Cira, who just glared menacingly at Codrin with her arms crossed. Nadrina looked at Professor Aldric, only to find him looking rather irritated as he glanced over at the judge’s table.

The headmaster walked back to the center of the field, calling for everyone’s attention. “After conferring with the judges, they have decided the winner of the first round...is Cira Barclay.”

Professor Rainer’s class cheered while Nadrina, Alek, and especially Codrin, looked on in stunned shock.

“What the hell is this?” Codrin shouted, clearly furious. “I’ll admit a water whip might be impressive, but my target disappeared in an instant! This is ridic—!”

“They’re right,” Professor Aldric said simply, cutting off Codrin’s tirade. “I told you at the beginning of this, Caffaret. This is a competition of skill, not raw talent. That Cira girl showed fine mana control over a higher-level spell. All you did was pump an absurd amount of mana into a basic incinerate spell for the sake of showing off. I’ll concede the blue flames weren’t bad, but it only showed what an oversized mana pool you have, not your skill as a mage.”

Codrin’s mouth moved rapidly, but nothing comprehensible came out. “That’s not... I wasn’t... but she...!”

Professor Aldric reached out and pushed on Codrin’s shoulder with a single finger. Despite the weak effort, Codrin toppled over onto the ground like the professor had punched him. He glared daggers at the professor, but didn’t seem able to get back up.

“You even exhausted yourself finishing a single enemy. You do that in real life, you deserve to get killed. Just lay there and rest. Ked—the headmaster can fix you up later.” He sent an ominous look towards Codrin. “And expect remedial lessons in your future.”