“Carlisle!” Professor Aldric abruptly called out, getting the young man’s attention. “If you win this round for us, I’ll let you skip tomorrow’s class!”

Alek’s expression went through a variety of changes, from surprise, to excitement, to determination. There was clearly a fire in his eyes that hadn’t been there before as he sized up the boulder again.

Nadrina mused if motivating students by excusing them from class was ethical or not. She could have sworn she heard Headmaster Elmaris and Professor Glory sigh in unison.

Alek nodded to himself, seeming to have come to some sort of conclusion, before he placed both hands flat against the boulder. He braced his feet behind him as he leaned into the boulder, but nothing seemed to happen.

His time had already started. Surely, he wasn’t planning on just shoving it all the way there? There was no way that would beat Volmar’s score.

Nadrina was only half right.

Alek’s body lit up just like Volmar’s had, but instead of a universal glow, only his arms and legs seemed to be powered up. His muscles tensed suddenly, before everything happened at once.

Soil and debris flew out from behind Alek, creating two small craters below both of his feet. The boulder dimpled ever so slightly before being launched forward at an alarming speed, careening towards the finish line while it whistled through the air. Alek’s boulder came in contact with Volmar’s, and both shattered in a shower of rocks and dirt.

When the dust had finally settled, Nadrina dimly noticed that everyone in the practice field was dead silent. All, save for Professor Aldric, who just chuckled quietly to himself.

“I swear, if that kid actually applied himself, he’d be one of the most talented enforcers in the world,” he mumbled.

Alek was dusting his hands off as he exited the field, his direction taking him in the direction of the school dorms. Apparently, he was done for today.

“Carlisle, I said you could skip tomorrow, not today! Get your butt to the bleachers!”

Grumbling, Alek turned to the bleachers, obviously taking his sweet time to do so.

“Well... I suppose that’s time,” the headmaster said, being the first to recover. “Judges, please just note that the time was faster than Mr. Merton’s. I admit, I wasn’t quite able to time that one...”

“He should be disqualified!” Professor Rainer shouted. “He destroyed his boulder in the process. Surely that shows poor mana control?”

“Oh, shut up,” Professor Aldric argued back. The rest of the staff gave off scandalized gasps at his word choice and tone. “If your student’s boulder hadn’t been there, it would have been fine. I didn’t start complaining when my student lost, and you shouldn’t either.”