Professor Martelgia ordered everyone to form groups of four and sit at each table.At her command, the students began murmuring as they moved around, pairing off and gathering in clusters to form their groups."Hey, want to team up?""Sure. Jessie, come over here too.""We’ll stick together."In an instant, everyone gathered and formed groups of their own.I frowned as I watched the entire scene unfold.'…Group work is the worst.'There probably aren’t many people who like team projects, but I especially can’t stand this kind of multiplayer setup. Even back when I was active as a top-ranker in several games, I avoided joining clans or guilds unless it was absolutely necessary.If you have friends or acquaintances, it’s tolerable. But things rarely go that smoothly.I was scanning the room with a face like I’d just bitten into something rotten when—"Ah. Loen, here you are. Let’s team up."Through the market-like noise, a girl pushed through the crowd of students and came toward me.A girl who somehow resembled a rabbit—Bell Rudwig.Her taking the trouble to find me and invite me herself was touching enough to bring tears to my eyes.I gladly accepted her offer."Sounds good. But we’re short two people.""I already brought them. Impressed?"Behind Bell’s bashful smile appeared two familiar faces.Naturally, those two were Beatrice and Yulina.However, their expressions at being grouped with me were less than pleasant.Beatrice glared at me briefly, then pointed toward a front table as if to say, let’s just sit down first."Alright."And so, this strange combination of four took seats at a front table near Professor Martelgia, facing one another.It wasn’t as comfortable as the seats I’d been using in the back, but I wasn’t about to complain.Not only had I managed to form a group successfully, I’d done it with some serious firepower.With three top-scoring teammates, even if I just coasted along, I’d end up with at least an average grade. No assignment or practicum could scare me now."Now then, I’ll announce the results of your last pop quiz~"Click-When Professor Martelgia snapped her fingers, the screen at the front of the lab displayed a ranked list of more than a hundred students’ names and scores.At the top left—first place, of course, was Beatrice.Judging from the perfect score, she hadn’t missed a single question.Beatrice glanced at the board, then turned her gaze away as if it were only natural.Yulina was fifth.Considering that this lecture had over a hundred students, it was an exceptionally high rank. Even if you set the grade ratio to the minimum, that was well within the A range.Bell ranked right after Yulina, in sixth place.As expected of a scholarship student admitted to the Union—her written exam results were excellent.After checking the rankings of my three teammates, I scanned downward from the top, searching for my own name.Then Yulina made a snide /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ remark beside me."Hmph, wouldn’t it be faster to start from the bottom?""…"I ignored her and continued scrolling through the list until I found my name.“35th place. Loen de Valis. 79 points.”Seventy-nine. Not bad at all.In fact, considering Loen’s original grades, it was quite a high score.Most of his scores had been single digits.Yulina, sitting across from me, glanced at my result and stiffened, as if surprised."…Your score really went up. That test was insanely hard. Did you cheat behind my back?""If I were going to, I’d have just used the cheat sheet you gave me.""!?"At the mention of the note, Yulina jumped, covering her mouth with both hands and widening her eyes."Shh!""Shh? Please. I should probably tell Beatrice about your crime."That the Eredor chief secretary had encouraged a student to cheat—what a scandal."What are you two discussing?"Beatrice’s interest was piqued, and Yulina frantically waved her hands."A-Ah, it’s nothing, Your Highness!""Nothing? Hardly. In fact, the truth is, during the last quiz, Yulina tried to help me che—""Aaagh!"Yulina shot to her feet and screamed loudly enough to drown out my voice.The sudden outburst silenced the entire lecture hall.Professor Martelgia looked at her with concern."Miss Yulina? Are you feeling unwell~?""N-No, I’m fine, Professor.""Then please try to stay quiet during class~""Y-Yes, ma’am…"Flushing bright red, Yulina sat back down.She’d gone that far just to shut me up.Her courage was admirable enough that I decided not to mention the cheating incident again.'With that much effort, I’ll let it slide.'Of course, that didn’t spare me from Yulina’s burning glare of resentment."Damn…"The way she growled at me reminded me of an angry cat.Once the score review ended, Professor Martelgia began giving instructions for the actual magic experiment."Now~ since the quiz is over, let’s relax a little and proceed with a simple experiment for today’s lecture~"'A ‘break,’ huh? And yet it’s group work.'She might look like a kind grandmother, but she was a devil inside."Miss Wayne, please come forward~"At her words, Teaching Assistant Wayne came up, carrying a crystal sphere, and placed it on the table."Miss Wayne will explain the details~ Everyone, pay attention!""Nice to meet you. I’m Wayne Eris, TA for Introduction to Intermediate Magic."With her cool expression, she introduced herself and immediately began explaining."As you all know, every act of magic requires precise calculation, appropriate mana implementation, and fine control over the release and modulation process. The faster and more accurately one executes these steps, the greater a magician they are considered to be."Chrrr—Wayne closed her eyes briefly, then drew a magic circle in the air, casting Chain Lightning, a spell of the lightning element.A moment later, wild arcs of electricity danced above her hand.Crackle—I could almost feel the tremor of mana traveling through the air and brushing against my skin.Any low-tier monster touched by that lightning chain would be charred black in an instant.Pop—Wayne withdrew her mana, canceling the spell she had cast."However, performing this entire process each time is inefficient. If you’re in combat or need to cast quickly, using such precise magic becomes far more difficult. Therefore, most magicians ‘memorize’ spells in advance through Memorize, allowing them to cast whenever necessary."Pang—This time, without any preparation, she extended her hand and instantly invoked Lightning Sword, a higher-tier spell than Chain Lightning.A sword of crackling electricity formed in her grasp.Bzzzzzt—It radiated a fiercer charge than before, making the fine hairs on my body stand on end.Her explanation drew nods from the students, who clearly already knew this.Memorized spells could be used instantly with nothing but mana consumption, without any prior calculation or setup.After finishing the demonstration, she continued."Of course, memorized spells usually reset after deep sleep, meaning they must be re-memorized daily. That’s the main drawback. To compensate for that weakness, we use this—magic crystal spheres."The glowing crystal sphere beneath her hand shimmered with light.It was similar to the type I’d used before, though the ones for class were much lower in grade."By using these external storage mediums, you can adjust the number, grade, and duration of stored spells depending on the quality of the crystal sphere."The one I’d used before had already been broken, and the pair of Milia’s Mana Gloves I currently owned could store up to five low-grade spells.If I remembered correctly, their storage duration was one year."The grade of a crystal sphere depends on the grade of the mana-stone ore used in its crafting. Naturally, the more expensive and refined it is, the more powerful and long-lasting spells it can hold. Artifacts capable of storing intermediate-level spells or higher cost astronomical sums. Now, here comes your question."Float—At Wayne’s words, Professor Martelgia sent a batch of crystal spheres hovering toward each table where groups were gathered.Controlled by telekinesis, each sphere gently settled onto a table."The crystal spheres distributed to you are raw mana-stone models with no special refinement. The group that processes its sphere into the most efficient storage form will receive bonus points."One student raised a hand."Um, Assistant Wayne. We don’t know how to process crystal spheres…"Others looked just as confused, glancing anxiously between Wayne and Professor Martelgia.Indeed.Unless they were students from Meister Academy—specialized in magical engineering and artifact crafting—it would be impossible for ordinary Eredor students studying pure magic.It was like asking a pure mathematician to suddenly write complex code.Wayne simply shrugged."Don’t worry. All the necessary auxiliary tools are provided. Please open the drawer under your table."Creak—When we opened it, we found a collection of colorful gemstones inside.Each practice gem was engraved with words symbolizing various elements required for crystal sphere processing.[Enhance] [Increase] [Ascend][Harmony] [Imbue] [Amplify][Chaos] [Descend] [Reduce][Remove]Wayne continued."All you need to do is combine and arrange the concepts contained in these gems properly, then embed them into your sphere. Of course, if you have the ability, you may skip the gems entirely and use processing magic directly."'I see.'From her explanation and the elements laid out before us, I immediately grasped the true nature of this exercise.This Introduction to Intermediate Magic class was theoretical, not practical.Despite being called crystal-sphere processing, we didn’t actually have to perform any real crafting magic.The term “processing” was just a façade.The essence of this practicum was to test whether we could use magical reasoning within the given constraints to produce the optimal result.Professor Martelgia added cheerfully,"You don’t have to worry about explosions or magic runaways during processing~ The spheres distributed to each table aren’t physical matter but holographic models made of mana~ If they’re overloaded, they’ll simply turn into sand and disappear~"She looked at the clock on the lab wall and smiled."You’ll need a bit of creativity to achieve the best result~ The time limit is one hour. The team that produces the highest efficiency will earn the most points~ Now, begin~!"

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