"By the will of water, flowing through mountains, rivers, and oceans, I command you—Water Blast!"
As Veyra chanted, the mana within her body—already infused with the essence of the water element—began to move.
With a soft blue glow, her mana gathered and formed a large sphere of water. As she finished her incantation, the sphere became the source that launched a concentrated jet of water toward the slimes.
The slimes weren't far from each other; two were directly pierced by the powerful stream, while the other two were pushed back.
But that wasn't all—because of the surrounding magma, the water quickly evaporated, forming a thick mist.
"Tch." Veyra clicked her tongue in frustration. Her class was Water Mage; all she could use were non-attribute spells and water spells.
But she didn't have any strong non-attribute spells.
A Variant Mage was typically stronger than a normal mage, but it also placed certain limits on them. Like Veyra, she couldn't use other elemental spells to their full potential.
Becoming a True Water Mage meant forming a water-element mana core. Although she hadn't reached that point yet, her mana already contained traces of water essence, empowering her spells when she used water-related magic.
It was also why she could fight slimes stronger than her in cultivation.
"Huh?" But as the mist quickly faded, she looked back and saw Old Ray waving his hand.
She gave him a small nod when their eyes met, then turned her attention back to the last two remaining slimes.
'Old bones, my ass. What's with that control? How can someone at Tier 1 manipulate ambient mana like that?' she thought, waving her wrist as she guided her mana to launch another Water Blast.
She didn't need to chant again—she had never deactivated the spell.
"She's really a genius," Jon said as he watched her easily kill the last two slimes, both far stronger than him in power and cultivation.
"Genius, huh?" Old Ray muttered as he rubbed his chin, his white hair blowing back in the strong wind caused by the battle.
"You don't think so, Old Ray?" Jon asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No, she is a genius." As Old Ray looked at Veyra, her back seemed to be replaced by a broader one in his vision. "But she's a fallen one."
"Huh? What does that mean?" Jon blinked in confusion.
Old Ray smiled slightly as he looked at him and said, "Geniuses are those who use every resource at their disposal, no matter how small or worthless."
"Anyone can be a genius, you know, Jon?" His gaze was filled with wisdom.
Jon was taken aback by that statement and immediately shook his head. "How can everyone be a genius? That's not possible, Old Ray."
Old Ray only smiled at his words. Instead of answering, he said, "But not everyone can be a fallen genius."
"They were people born for greatness."
"They're different from birth; they carry burdens that normal people can't. Maybe that's why they're called 'fallen'—because they failed."
Old Ray closed his eyes and spoke in a neutral tone. "Like Veyra, who failed to meet my expectations. But it's not her fault. After all, her talent is something she hates—or more accurately, something she fears."
"What talent? She has a talent?" Jon asked, surprised, though not completely shocked.
"Well, yes."
"What kind of talent does she have? Is it related to water?" Jon asked with curiosity. Her water magic was truly exceptional; he hadn't seen many with such fine control over mana and spells.
"No, it's related to ice," Old Ray replied.
"What? Then shouldn't she be an ice mage—or at least a mix of water and ice?" Jon asked, frowning.
"Her mother froze to death." Old Ray didn't elaborate further.
But that alone was enough for Jon.
He looked at Veyra's back and sighed. He knew she was an orphan, but he had never asked more about it.
It wasn't his place as a teacher.
Still, with a puzzled look, he glanced at Old Ray, wondering how the old man knew so much about her.
After all, she had been in his class in the past, and Old Ray was never one to pry into the personal lives of his students.
BOOOOOOM!
Before Jon could ask about it, a loud, ear-piercing sound echoed, followed by a strong gust of wind that almost made him lose his footing.
Looking ahead, he saw Doran with his greatsword dug slightly into the ground, panting heavily.
--
"Huff~ Damn, why won't this bastard die?" Doran said in irritation.
Not far from him, the Heat Slime regenerated rapidly, releasing waves of scorching heat every few seconds, making it difficult for Doran to breathe.
"When will you be done?" he shouted, looking up.
In the air, Jack's eyes were closed as he rapidly chanted a spell in an unknown language. On the pages of the book floating before him, mysterious text began to etch itself.
"It seems it's still not over." Taking a deep, steadying breath, Doran once again unleashed Wind Breaker.
It was the only ability he had that could actually harm the slime.
After all, the difference in their strength was massive. All he could do was continuously spam his strongest attack — though it drained his stamina and mana at a terrifying rate.
The only good things he could note were that his opponent was a slime, Jack had buffed him well, and his mastery of Wind Breaker was slowly increasing.
WAGSGGS!
Suddenly, through the dust kicked up by Doran's attack, a beam of red light shot toward him.
His eyes widened in horror — he couldn't dodge it; it was too fast.
But before the beam could hit him, a figure appeared.
Jack, his hands coated in mana, blocked the attack while still chanting.
The monster, seeing this, increased its power even more.
A grunt almost escaped Jack's lips as his hands trembled under the might of the beam. He could feel the intense concentration of fire and light elements mixed together.
He also noticed that the space ring he was wearing was gone.
But he didn't dwell on it — even the slightest distraction could cause a catastrophic explosion that would not only kill him but also blow up the entire school.
---
A/N:
Guys I have recieved webnovel Contract. I will lock the chapters after 40.
Thank You for all those who are reading.