“Drina! Once you get your wits together, you can tell me how I did that.” Professor Aldric called out.

Nadrina could barely think right now, but she mastered herself just long enough to figure out the answer. “You... you enchanted that mud ball from earlier to heat over time and probably reinforced the outer shell of mud. The moisture in the mud slowly evaporated and expanded until the container burst.” The deceptively simple yet brilliant enchantment floored Nadrina. Sorcerers had more utility for combat than she’d first assumed.

“Got it in one. Summoning your most powerful avatar is a common tactic of summoners who are outnumbered,” Professor Aldric was saying, having to speak louder so the slightly deafened class could hear. “Unfortunately for the summoner, such an incantation takes incredible amounts of mana and focus to maintain the connection to their summon. All it takes is a minor surprise to disrupt the spell and render them helpless. A tired summoner going through magical whiplash isn’t much of a threat. Isn’t that right, Rainer?”

Professor Rainer was stumbling to his feet, obviously still dazed, but glaring daggers at Professor Aldric. “Typical of a sorcerer. Nothing but party favors and cheap tricks.” He again began gathering mana, though Nadrina noticed that this time it was much more subdued. Once again, Professor Aldric allowed him to finish, and as the summoning ritual ended, the ground beneath Professor Rainer shifted unnaturally.

The earth took on a life of its own, shifting and turning until it was vaguely human shaped. The resulting earth golem was at least the height of a one-story building and just as wide. It turned its featureless face towards Professor Aldric, staring blankly while it waited for orders.

“Attack without killing!” Rainer commanded, but before his earth construct could even move, he dug his hand into a coat pocket and brought out a silver amulet. Holding the amulet aloft, he laughed as a transparent barrier rose around him in a hemisphere.

“Poor form!” Codrin cried out from the sidelines. “You hide behind magical tools like a coward!”

“Where in the rules of the bout does it say I cannot?” Rainer sneered back.

“The rules of the bout did not exclude the use of enchanted items,” Professor Glory said. “The bout will continue.” Codrin looked unhappy, but said nothing further.

The golem had still been advancing. It slowly lumbered its way towards Professor Aldric, shaking the earth with each heavy step. The professor only sighed in exasperation.

“Cornered summoners will typically go completely on the defensive, either to buy time for allies to arrive or to tire out the enemy. This still has its weaknesses, however.”

As soon as it was in range, the golem made a surprisingly fast swing at the professor. Nadrina felt her heart stutter in her chest as he barely danced out of the way, hair-raisingly close to the stone fist. Despite the sudden attack, however, he looked completely calm.