Her main field was water, and sub fields were wind, enhancement, and energy. Torrential Blizzard used to be her large-scale tactical spell before Ten Dawn Tengon passed away. Aside from that, she did not have a signature spell, or even a unique fighting style. The truth was that she had very shallow battle experience. The last battle she fought in was with Lord Korogin and Emperor Lianghu. That was two years ago, and it was unpleasant to think about. So, she did not have many places to draw inspiration from. She recalled her brother's explanation of a complete combat system. She needed a suitable offensive, defensive, movement, sensory, and recovery method. These five aspects should compliment and reinforce each other perfectly. The result was that her combat ability would soar many times over! Sadly, she was far from such a result. Nassandra did not have a suitable spell for anything!
The girl sighed. This was what she deserved after neglecting her training for so long. In truth, if she were not a symbol for the Ten Dawns, she would have lost her position already. Her combat ability was that appalling. She hated fighting too. The mere thought of hurting or killing someone made her stomach turn. It was not something she wanted to do ever again. However, she did not want to become a burden for her brother. She would stand on her own two feet! She needed to do this.
Resolved, she was about to reorganize her spells when a massive tremor rocked her office violently. Nassandra was startled. Was it an earthquake? It felt awfully close though… A heartbeat later, she had her answer, because a powerful wave of Magic Energy followed. Like Martial Perception, a Magic Perception could be active or passive, and unless she consciously controlled it, she could not project her senses outward. That was why she did not sense her brother's presence until now. Nassandra jumped to her feet and charged out her office. Why was her brother here? And what happened? Using magic, she flew down the stairs.
She arrived with her heart pounding. The entire training hall was ruined. The doors were ajar, the floors were burnt, the ceiling was crumbling, and there was a large hole in one of the walls leading outside. Nassandra immediately ruled out the possibility of a spell backlash. There was obviously a clash or a battle here. A blond man was lying on the ground, injured from the explosion. He groaned in agony. Nassandra recognized him as the supervisor for the Ten Dawn exams. She saw three more people. Lord Kel, Lady Vivian, and Lady Solis, these three prodigies from the Engelsheft Families. They were mostly unharmed. Disregarding them, she eventually found Freon, coughing and patting his clothes. Nassandra sprinted over in a hurry.
"Are you alright, brother?"
"Nassandra? I'm fine. Why are you here?"
The girl heaved a sigh of relief. "Do you really need to ask that? I was sitting in my office when I felt a tremor and your Magic Energy, so I rushed over. What happened? Who were you fighting?"
Freon felt a headache. Memories came flooding back. He agreed to the mock battle with Lord Kel and Lady Vivian. The rules were simple. They would have one battle, two versus two. The winners would become Ten Dawns, and the losers would need to retry next year. Killing spells were strictly prohibited, or any spells that could cause permanent harm or damage to the building. This meant they had to use spells around the Low or Medium Gaseous Fog level. Yes, the rules were supposed to be simple. At least, that was what Freon believed, but very quickly, he realized the error of his ways. He and Lady Solis faced Lord Kel and Lady Vivian. The examiner declared the start. Immediately, Lady Vivian used a spell to plunge the entire room into darkness. Nobody could see anything! This took Freon by surprise. He was expecting a fierce clash of spells, judging by their previous tone.
Since this was a smokescreen created through magic, it could be blown away like real smoke. Lady Solis tried to do that by casting a wind-type spell. Although Freon could not see it, he sensed it with his Magic Perception. His eyes snapped open. If he could sense it, then their opponents could sense it too! Lady Solis was practically shouting her position out! Freon noticed a beat too late. Lord Kel flashed through the smoke with a movement-type spell. He was just as fast as people with Martial Energy! His spell-casting speed was equally as fast. Before Freon knew it, Lord Kel unleashed a blinding burst of light. The abrupt switch from black to white amplified the effect, dazing Freon and Lady Solis. It was arguably enough to cause permanent damage. This made Lady Solis backlash her spell, putting her into a dangerous spot. Freon felt killing intent coming from Lord Kel. Was he planning on killing her when nobody could see? He was mad!
There was not enough time. Freon brandished his wand and casted a fire-type spell. Fight offense with offense! A powerful torrent of flames tore through the darkness between Lord Kel and Lady Solis. It successfully divided them! The flames continued to slam into the opposite wall with thunderous force. Boom! The entire wall was blown apart, revealing the sunny sky beyond. This was the cause of the tremor that Nassandra would feel later. Because Freon did not have the chance to control his strength, he inadvertently casted a High Gaseous Fog spell. Furthermore, his spell absolutely had the potential to kill! Lord Kel and Lady Solis were lucky that he missed them. Flames covered the wall, floor, and ceiling. He deactivated his spell, causing most of the flames to disappear. The smokescreen created by Lady Vivian was beginning to dissipate too. They were starting to see again.
The examiner screamed at that moment. His clothes had caught fire somehow! He rolled on the ground, but to no avail. Lady Vivian hurriedly used a water-type spell to douse the flames. That signalled the end of the test. Lord Kel shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and walked back. Freon kept his wand trained on the boy. He would respond on the slightest sign of danger. However, Lord Kel ignored Freon and chatted to his cousin. It was like his previous killing intent was an illusion. Freon squinted his eyes. Something was wrong. He could feel it. Lady Solis fell to the floor, wincing from her backlash. Her clothes were covered in a layer of soot. Aside from the examiner, she was the only injured person present. She was in a miserable state. Freon felt sorry for involving the girl in his mess. This was when Nassandra showed up.
"We were doing a mock battle when things got out of hand…" Freon explained. He offered his hand to Lady Solis and pulled her up. "Are you okay?"
"I am. Thank you."
"But why were you fighting? The Ten Dawn exam doesn't have a combat portion. It should be a few simple tests." Nassandra was baffled.
"They suggested it and almost killed us in the process."
"Don't twist the facts." Lord Kel sneered. "We were having a friendly battle when you decided to go crazy and attack us. It was your spell that did this. Three of us nearly died! Am I wrong?"
Freon's face darkened. He realized this was their scheme all along. They never wanted a fair fight. They orchestrated this situation to accuse him of murder. Since when? When did they start this plan? He looked at the examiner. The man was nowhere near the spell when it detonated. Theoretically, there was little chance that his clothes could have caught fire. Then did he do it to himself? Nobody was looking at the time. It was possible that he planned this with Lord Kel and Lady Vivian. No… It could have been earlier than that. Freon turned to Lady Solis. Earlier, she was standing outside the Imperial Court, waiting for something or someone. It could have been him. After all, she was strangely insistent on joining him. This behavior was very suspicious. Had everyone schemed against him from the beginning? He chuckled coldly. The thought was frightening!
Although he wanted to leave and explain his suspicions to Nassandra, he was stopped. The Arcane Knights came swiftly to secure the scene. They interrogated everyone about what had happened. Of course, they placed greater importance on Lord Kel and Lady Vivian's word, since they came from the top Engelsheft Families. They spoke in depth about how Freon almost killed them. It was not necessarily a lie, because his spell did carry that much lethality, except they skirted around the reason why he did it. He did explain his side, though nobody seemed to believe him. Even the examiner accused him of murder. It was such a big deal that the Ten Auroras and the Three Sages showed up. Since the two sages were related to Lord Kel and Lady Vivian, Freon figured this was it. His life was over! Mercifully, Elizabeth, Benedict, and Shirley appeared.