Even the students who had originally excelled in magic studies, topping the class, found their voices trailing off unconsciously.

  At first, they’d been impressed by how Hulim and the other two mastered magic ahead of the curve. But once they learned to cast spells themselves, their egos got the better of them. I can use First-Rank Magic too, they’d thought. Am I really that far behind those three? Maybe I’ll surpass them before long.

  Now, though, the side-by-side comparison had snuffed out all their arrogance completely.

  They knew full well how vast the gap was between Second-Rank Magic and First-Rank Magic.

  To put it simply: if a student spent six months just getting the hang of basic First-Rank Magic, even if they kept up that pace, it would take them another four or five years to master Second-Rank Magic—and that was only if they had the natural talent and the luxury of uninterrupted study.

  To be brutally honest, by graduation, the only students in this class who stood a chance of reaching Second-Rank were Hulim, Fran, and Ander. A chance—nothing more.

  This was an unspoken consensus shared by Colette and all the other teachers at the academy.

  ......

  “【????????????????????????????????????】”

  “Flame Barrier!”

  BOOM!

  A wall of roaring flames erupted out of thin air, separating Hulim from the rest of the students on the training ground.

  “That’s insane!”

  “So this is Second-Rank Magic?!”

  “It’s a million times stronger than my lousy fire-starting spell!”

  Every student on the field craned their necks, their eyes glued to Hulim’s magic, unable to look away.

  WHOOSH——!

  The flames died down as quickly as they had appeared.

  “Alright, alright, everyone, quiet down!”

  Colette called out to hush the noisy crowd, then turned to Hulim and said,

  “Thank you for the demonstration, Hulim. You may return to your spot now.”

  As Hulim rejoined the group, the students’ gazes still drifted to her from time to time, accompanied by soft whispers.

  “How did Hulim pull this off? She’s actually able to use Second-Rank Magic already! I’ve barely even gotten the hang of First-Rank!”

  “Count yourself lucky—I still can’t cast a single First-Rank spell properly......”

  Hulim paid no heed to the waves of admiration and envy directed her way, but Fran lifted her chin proudly, her chest puffing out with pride.

  “Hmph! You guys have no clue how truly awesome Hulim is!”

  “......Seriously? Hulim’s the one who’s impressive—what do you have to be so smug about? Don’t make me laugh.”

  “What did you say?!”

  Fran rounded on the student who’d spoken, her face twisted with anger.

  “Fran—” Colette’s voice cut through the tension, “do you have something you’d like to share with the class?”

  “A-Ah...... I’m sorry, Ms. Colette.”

  Her outburst had been loud enough for everyone to hear. Fran hung her head in shame, then shot a venomous glare at the student in the crowd.

  Once the students had settled down, Colette addressed them in a warm, encouraging tone.

  “Everyone, what you just witnessed was Flame Barrier—a Second-Rank fire spell. It can defend against attacks and burn your enemies at the same time. Even though it’s only Second-Rank, it’s incredibly practical—so much so that many Third-Rank Mages still use it regularly. But most importantly, this spell was cast by someone right here in our class!”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “This proves that those powerful, seemingly unattainable spells aren’t as far away as you think. In fact, they’re within your grasp—if you’re willing to work hard. With enough dedication, you could all cast magic this amazing one day! So tell me—do you want to wield magic this cool and powerful?”

  “Yes!!!”

  The students shouted in unison, their voices echoing across the training ground.

  What had started as envy and inferiority had been turned into motivation by Colette’s few simple words.

  “Great! Your enthusiasm makes me so happy! Then without further ado—let’s kick off our new semester of learning!”

  The practical magic sessions for the new semester didn’t change much, but the amount of magic theory they had to study increased dramatically—and the depth of the material skyrocketed as well.

  This made perfect sense. After all, expecting students at a preparatory academy to master advanced, destructive magic was asking too much. But knowledge was a different story—there were no limits to how much one could learn, even for a young child.

  That said, this shift in focus would leave many students tearing their hair out in frustration in the days to come.

  ......

  “Well, Ms. Colette? How was that?”

  After casting her spell, Hulim looked up and asked.

  Because Hulim’s magic was leagues ahead of the other students, she received one-on-one guidance from Colette.

  “Hmmm......”

  Colette fell into deep thought, then said, “Hulim, does your family hire a private magic tutor? To be honest, your mastery of magic astounds me. You don’t make a single mistake that’s common among new mages. It’s unimaginable that someone could reach your level without guidance from an extremely skilled teacher.”

  “......”

  Hulim fell silent, scrambling for an answer—only to be saved by Colette’s own train of thought.

  “Of course! After all, you’re a descendant of the great Heyerar family. It’s only natural that you’d have access to such a top-tier tutor!”

  While Colette’s assumption had gotten her out of a tight spot, Hulim couldn’t help but feel a little awkward about how much trust the teacher placed in her family’s reputation.

  “Ah, but—”

  Colette suddenly changed the subject, her tone turning more serious.

  “While your tutor is clearly a master of magic, it seems they aren’t very good at understanding the needs of the mage themselves. Did they never receive proper training as an instructor, I wonder?”

  “......?”

  Hulim blinked in confusion.

  “What do you mean, Ms. Colette?”

  “It’s about your incantation pronunciation. When you cast spells, your tone and rhythm sound like you’re copying someone else’s style exactly.”

  “Pronunciation? But my incantations work just fine—I can cast the spells without any problems.”

  Colette shook her head gently.

  “You’re misunderstanding, Hulim. Minor differences in pronunciation won’t stop a spell from working, but they will affect how quickly you can cast it. They can even lower your mana efficiency and weaken the spell’s overall power.”

  “Every person has their own unique way of speaking—an instinctive rhythm that syncs perfectly with their body and magic circuits. That’s why mages’ spell power can vary so much from day to day—it all comes down to how well their body and magic are aligned.”

  “If you don’t find the pronunciation that feels natural to you, it will always hold your magic back.”

  “Think of it like a pair of shoes. Everyone has a size that fits perfectly. You can wear shoes that are too big or too small, and you can walk in them—but they’ll never be as comfortable as the right fit. You’ll never be able to run as fast or as easily. Pronunciation is just like that. You’ve been wearing someone else’s shoes this whole time—and they don’t fit you.”

  So that’s it......

  After hearing Colette’s explanation, Hulim finally understood the crux of the problem. She also realized why she’d never noticed it before.

  After all, Semiris didn’t need to recite incantations at all to cast magic. Hulim had only started using incantations because she needed them to channel her magic—and she’d copied Semiris’s style exactly.

  Since the spells had worked, she’d never stopped to think that the pronunciation she was using belonged to Semiris, not to herself.

  “Um...... What should I do, Ms. Colette?”

  “Don’t worry about it, Hulim!” Colette said with a reassuring smile. “This is something that’s easy to fix! Your natural pronunciation is already engraved in your body—it just needs a little coaxing to come out. I’ll help you find it.”

  And so, with Colette’s guidance, Hulim began practicing to correct her incantation habits.

  “Hmm, that doesn’t feel right. The spell is taking longer to cast now.”

  “Did I just slip back into my old way of speaking?”

  “......Don’t overthink it. Relax, and let your instincts guide you.”

  “The spell’s power feels a little stronger now! You’re getting closer—keep going!”

  With Colette’s help, Hulim didn’t take long to adjust her spellcasting habits and find her own natural rhythm.

  This experience taught Hulim an important lesson: everyone had their own blind spots, and everyone had something valuable to teach.

  From that day on, in addition to her daily training sessions with Semiris, Hulim gained one more person to turn to for magic advice.

  Even though Hulim and Colette were both Third-Rank Mages, Colette had received formal education at a prestigious magic academy. Her understanding of magic theory and practical application was far deeper than Hulim’s at that time. There were countless small, everyday details about magic that Hulim had never considered—and that Semiris had never bothered to mention. For a mage living among humans, those details were anything but trivial—and Colette was more than happy to teach Hulim everything she knew.