Chapter 4

Silas stared at the muddy puddle on the desk. His chest rose and fell in sharp, angry jerks.

"What kind of joke is this, Seraphina?" Silas's voice was dangerously low. It carried across the room like a physical threat.

Seraphina held her hands up in surrender. She widened her eyes, making them look as vacant as possible. "No joke, Professor. My mana is just really messy right now. That was my best effort."

Elara saw her opening. She stood up, her chair scraping loudly against the floor.

"Professor," Elara said softly, pressing her hands to her chest. "Please don't be angry with her. I can help her. Let me try to guide her mana flow."

Silas didn't say no. He crossed his arms, waiting to see how this played out.

Elara walked up the stairs to the back row. She stood in front of Seraphina's desk, looking down at her with a sickeningly sweet expression.

"Senior," Elara whispered, just loud enough for the class to hear. "I know you're struggling because of the jealousy in your heart. You resent me. But if you just let go of your dark feelings, the water will become clear again."

The first-years murmured in agreement. They looked at Elara like she was a saint.

Seraphina looked at Elara's perfectly curled hair and her smug, glowing system panel. A dark, chaotic thrill buzzed under Seraphina's skin.

You want water? Seraphina thought. I'll give you water.

Seraphina tapped into her Chaos Mana. She disguised it perfectly, wrapping it in the signature of unstable, low-tier water magic. She pushed the energy straight up into her tear ducts.

Seraphina let out a sudden, ear-piercing wail.

She slammed both hands over her eyes and stumbled backward, kicking her chair away.

"You're right!" Seraphina screamed. "I can't let it go! I'm a jealous, useless failure!"

The moment she screamed, two massive, high-pressure jets of water exploded from her eyes, blasting through the gaps between her fingers.

It wasn't a stream of tears. It was like a fire hydrant had burst open inside her skull.

The water blasted straight forward. It hit Elara square in the face with the force of a physical punch.

Elara shrieked. The blast knocked her backward. Her pristine uniform was instantly soaked. Her perfect curls plastered to her skull like wet seaweed.

Seraphina kept crying, thrashing her head from side to side. The twin jets of water swept across the room like a rogue sprinkler system.

"I'm so sorry!" Seraphina bellowed over the sound of rushing water. "My emotions are tied to my magic! I can't stop crying!"

First-years scrambled under their desks. Textbooks and parchment floated down the aisles as the stepped floor of the lecture hall turned into a rushing river.

Elara tried to stand up, her shoes slipping on the wet wood. She flailed her arms, lost her footing, and slammed hard onto her back, sliding three feet down the aisle.

The back row erupted into muffled laughter.

Elara's system panel screamed in red text. Charm Level dropping! Public humiliation detected!

Silas stood frozen at the podium. He had been teaching for thirty years. He had never seen a student weaponize their own tear ducts.

"Enough!" Silas roared.

He slashed his wand through the air. A wave of intense, dry heat blasted through the room. The water evaporated instantly, leaving behind a thick cloud of steam and the smell of damp wood.

Seraphina dropped her hands. The water stopped. Her face was completely dry. Not a single real tear stained her cheeks.

She let out a loud, wet hiccup. She looked down at Elara, who was shivering on the floor, looking like a drowned rat.

"Oops," Seraphina said, her voice completely flat. "My bad."

Elara's face contorted with pure rage. She pointed a shaking finger at Seraphina, opening her mouth to scream.

"Sit down, Elara," Silas snapped. His voice left no room for argument.

Silas marched up the stairs. He stopped inches from Seraphina. He stared down at her, his flinty eyes searching her face.

He was a master of magic. He had felt the sheer, terrifying density of the power that drove that water. It wasn't unstable. It was absolute. But looking at Seraphina's blank, stupid expression, he couldn't prove it.

Silas decided to bypass the physical magic. He would test her mind.

He turned around and walked back to the blackboard. He tapped it with his wand.

"Since your practical magic is currently... compromised," Silas said, his voice echoing in the dry room. "Let us test your theoretical understanding. A question for the Assistant."

The room went dead silent.

Silas locked eyes with Seraphina. "What is the ultimate responsibility, and the highest truth, of a Mage?"