An earth-shattering BOOM, followed shortly by a sound like glass shattering, split the air around the training yard. The golem exploded into chunks as it made impact, dust and debris flying in all directions. Lilianna had to throw up a wind barrier to shield their classmates and the headmaster from the sandstorm that swept through the panicking crowd.

After almost a full minute, the dust settled enough to show Professor Aldric, completely unharmed and with a huge grin on his face, standing over a prone and screaming Rainer. Nadrina’s stomach churned when she saw Rainer’s legs turned in opposing directions to his knees.

While Headmaster Elmaris and Professor Glory dashed forward to attend to Rainer’s injury, Professor Aldric turned to their class again. “Final lesson. Carlisle, what is the gravest mistake one can make on a battlefield?”

Alek was busy looking bug eyed at the scene, at a loss for words. By the time Rainer’s screams had died down into pained moans, Alek found his voice again. “Uh... don’t lose your temper?”

“Exactly. Be you sorcerer, conjurer, enforcer or even healer, losing sight of the battlefield is akin to losing the battle itself.” Their professor walked their way with a carefree gait that was completely unaffected by the surrounding devastation.

Sorcerers did not challenge conjurers to a duel. They certainly did not win said duel. Yet this man had made it seem almost effortless. As far as Nadrina could tell, he’d only used one spell and an enchanted item during the entire fight. To say this was unprecedented was beyond an understatement. One look at the faces of her classmates was enough to confirm their belief of the same.

He stopped just short of the four of them, still grinning boyishly. “So, what have we learned, class?”

“To never underestimate you ever again,” Nadrina thought. They were interrupted before anyone could answer, however.

“YOU!” Rainer screamed, struggling to stand while the headmaster tried to stop him. His robes were a mess, and his face was covered with scratches and blood. “It was all so perfect! Everything was in place! Nothing would have stood in my way! They were going to give me everything! All of it! And now it’s all gone! BECAUSE OF YOU!”

Professor Aldric looked at the man with disdain and pity. “That’s a bit dramatic don’t you—?”

With a look of madness in his eyes, Rainer suddenly reached into his robes and withdrew another amulet. This one was far more intricate, depicting a snake eating its own tail. Nadrina immediately didn’t like the look of it. Professor Aldric was shoving her to the ground before Nadrina could think further.

“All of you, DOWN!”

Nadrina could just barely make out Professor Glory swooping in on wind magic to grab the headmaster before all hell broke loose.