Once the lesson officially began, Enid dropped the gentle, big-sister warmth and shifted into a confident, no-nonsense teaching mode.

  "First, I need to make something clear. My class doesn’t require extra textbooks, it doesn’t require special tools, and you don’t need to worry about your talent."

  The four students in front of her visibly straightened up, and Enid continued.

  "I don’t know how this course was taught before, but since I’m the one teaching it now, I can promise you this. You won’t regret choosing my class."

  Then she delivered a statement so heavy the whole room froze.

  "This course will be strict, because I refuse to let anyone I teach be seen as an idiot or some mediocre hack. So."

  Enid cleared her throat the way Antonio did when he was about to say something important.

  "This semester’s goal is this, I’m going to train every one of you into a full-spectrum elemental sensor. In other words, an all-element Nature mage."

  The moment she said it, all four students crashed hard, like their brains had to reboot. As the words finally sank in, Eleanor blurted out.

  "That’s impossible!"

  Everyone turned to her.

  Only after shouting did Eleanor realize she’d lost her composure. She apologized, then raised her hand properly.

  When Enid allowed her to speak, Eleanor fired off her question immediately.

  "An all-element Nature mage? That kind of terrifying talent doesn’t exist. What elements you can use depends on elemental sense. An all-element mage means sensing every single element."

  Enid, privately, thought, yes, that’s literally me, but with my current identity, I’m not saying that out loud. Besides, if things go the way I plan, they’ll all be all-element mages soon enough.

  Enid understood why Eleanor couldn’t accept it. For centuries, the world’s understanding of Nature Magic had been locked into one idea, talent decides everything.

  But Enid hadn’t spent a hundred years sealed in a tower just to keep her curse from flaring up.

  In that time, she had unraveled a huge amount of theory and rebuilt parts of the Nature Magic system from the ground up.

  And she had come to the academy to teach it, no matter how impossible it sounded.

  Just like she once taught short-lived races what magic even was in the first place.

  Only this time, she wasn’t going to repeat the ancient mistakes, or the mistakes she’d made when teaching Antonio.

  "Eleanor, take a breath. Calm down. And listen carefully, all right?"

  Eleanor closed her mouth. As a ducal daughter, the inborn pride in her didn’t love being cut off, but she wasn’t petty about it.

  More importantly, she was genuinely curious what Professor Enis would say next.

  Could this young-looking high elf really shatter what everyone treated as absolute truth, the doctrine of natural talent?

  "I’m sorry. I got a little carried away. Please continue, Professor Enis."

  "Thank you for understanding."

  Enid continued.

  "I know what I just said sounds shocking. You might even think I’m making things up. I get it, changing how people think is never easy, especially when that belief has been treated as truth for hundreds of years."

  She stepped down from the podium and stood in front of their long shared desk, making it harder for anyone to tune her out.

  "If I explain the whole theory from the beginning, we’ll waste time. And honestly, I’m not great at lecturing theory anyway. Theory only matters when practice proves it. So I’ll teach you step by step, and you’ll be the first people to witness a new truth take shape."

  She still didn’t explain the theory in detail. She decided to teach them in the simplest way possible.

  "If you believe I’m nothing but a liar, you can leave right now. Don’t worry about credits. As the professor, I’ll still give you the minimum passing evaluation."

  At that, Wolfgang’s ears flicked. Just like he suspected, this professor really was generous with grades.

  Still, he stayed, along with the others. It wasn’t because leaving alone would be embarrassing, it was because he was curious about Enid’s explosive claim.

  And in truth, his elemental sense was excellent. He’d been born able to sense three rare elements, ice, lightning, and metal. If anyone said he didn’t care about Nature Magic at all, that would be a lie.

  After making sure no one got up to leave, Enid quietly wiped an imaginary bead of sweat from her brow and kept going.

  "Good. That tells me you’re willing to challenge the usual way of thinking. So now, class begins."

  "I said I’m more hands-on than theory, but for the first lesson, you still need some basics. Who wants to give me a quick summary of how the Nature Magic system works?"

  Eleanor raised her hand again.

  "Nature Magic uses the two-stage model. You store power, then you release it. There are ten confirmed elemental attributes in nature, fire, water, wood, earth, wind, lightning, ice, metal, light, and dark."

  Eleanor laid out the Nature Magic Enid remembered from the past, from principles to process, clean and precise.

  The way she explained it, smooth, direct, and organized, made it obvious she had the kind of learning ability and discipline that stood out even among talented peers.

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  Enid had always liked kids like that.

  And kids like that were also the hardest to convince when a new theory shattered the old framework.

  Not because they rejected new ideas out of spite, but because if the theory didn’t fully convince them, they would dig in and argue it to the bitter end.

  They would chase the truth all the way down to the deepest layer, and that was both their strength and their weakness.

  Eleanor was exactly that type.

  So Enid knew she had to break Eleanor’s certainty with something sharp and airtight.

  It might hit Eleanor hard, hard enough to shake her confidence, maybe even crack the foundation she’d built her worldview on.

  But Enid believed she could control the pressure, and she believed Eleanor wasn’t the kind of person who would crumble over something shallow.

  "Eleanor’s right. To draw in a specific element, you need the matching sensing talent. Without that talent, you can’t even activate that element’s power."

  Enid paused, then let the hook sink in.

  "Which is perfect, because your first lesson is learning how to sense all ten known elements."

  "Everyone knows elemental sensing is decided at birth. But doesn’t something about that strike you as strange?"

  "When you draw in power, no matter what kind of element it is, why does it all get pulled in together as one mixed stream?"

  It sounded like a simple question.

  But it was the kind of question no mage had ever bothered to ask, including the students sitting right in front of her.

  Right, why was it that during the storing phase you could absorb every element, but during the release phase you could only use the elements you were born sensing?

  If release was limited by talent, then why couldn’t storing be limited in the same way?

  Why couldn’t a mage choose to pull in only the elements they could sense?

  The four students were stunned.

  They had no answer because, until now, no one had treated this as a problem worth studying.

  At first glance, absorbing all elemental power just felt normal.

  But if you told them sensing only worked for certain elements, then logically they should only be able to absorb those elements too.

  The more they thought about it, the weirder it got.

  They thought until their heads practically burned, and still couldn’t find the key.

  Then, from the corner, a small, hooded Esme raised her hand weakly.

  Enid almost missed it.

  When Enid called her name, Esme forced out her guess.

  "Could it… could it be… that drawing in elemental power… has nothing to do with sensing talent…?"

  As soon as she finished, Esme felt the pressure of everyone’s eyes again and panicked.

  Even with Enid’s earlier encouragement, it was still day one. Speaking up at all was already a huge step for her.

  "I… I was just guessing. Sorry!"

  Before Esme could fold in on herself again and try to disappear under the desk, Enid stopped her.

  "That was good. Not completely right, but it fits the direction of this class. We’re breaking habits and stepping out of the old cage."

  Enid gave Esme a timely nod of approval, then continued.

  "The correct answer is this. Every mage can sense every kind of elemental power."

  Now it was Nino who couldn’t hold back. He raised his left hand slowly.

  "But doesn’t that contradict what you just said? Without sensing ability, you can’t activate that element, right?"

  Enid looked at Nino’s confused face and smiled a little.

  His curiosity, the way he kept pushing for clarity, it reminded her so much of Antonio back then.

  "That’s the problem, Nino. You still haven’t let go of the default assumption."

  "What I’m saying is this. Every mage is born able to sense all elements."

  "It’s just that the strongest bloodline affinity stands out so much that it covers the rest. The other senses get ignored on instinct."

  "It’s like eating. People focus on taste, but sight and smell are still doing a lot of work, even if you don’t notice them."

  "Next, we’ll use practice to see if my hunch is right. Eleanor, cast any beginner-level Nature spell you can use, and hold it steady in your hand."

  Eleanor followed Enid’s instructions. Using the two-stage method, she gathered a small flame and kept it hovering in her palm.

  The fire sat there remarkably stable, proof her fire affinity was strong.

  "Keep it there. And besides fire, do you have any other element you can use?"

  "Yes. Lightning."

  "Good. While you keep the flame unchanged, use your other hand and form a basic lightning spell."

  Eleanor frowned, clearly confused, but she still tried. Maintaining one release while starting another was something only mid-level Nature mages usually managed.

  She tracked the two different flows inside her, forcing them apart, directing them into separate hands. It was hard work, but she held the flame and the crackle of lightning at the same time.

  "Hold it. Now tell me, Eleanor, can you sense any kind of common thread between the elements?"

  She focused as hard as she could.

  But nothing felt different at first, so she answered quickly.

  "Professor Inis, I don’t feel anything unusual. Can I stop now?"

  "No. Keep going until you hit your limit. Don’t focus on how the power moves. Focus on what it feels like when fire and lightning get separated out of the mixed mana."

  Keeping both spells going got heavier by the second.

  But once Eleanor followed that angle, she finally noticed something.

  The moment the two elements were stripped out, she could clearly sense something else inside the mixed mana, something unfamiliar that had always been there.

  As the fire and lightning thinned, that unknown presence became sharper, more obvious, almost like it had been hiding behind them the whole time.

  Finally, the fire and lightning in her reserves ran dry.

  She had to stop.

  The flame and the lightning faded, then vanished completely under everyone’s gaze.

  Eleanor leaned forward, breathing hard, sweat beading at her brow.

  And yet, what shocked her most was this, that unknown presence felt oddly familiar now.

  Almost friendly.

  Like if she practiced a few more times, she could memorize the way it released, the same way she’d memorized fire and lightning.

  After Enid’s explanation, Eleanor was sure of it.

  That unknown presence was other elements she’d never been able to sense before.

  She launched into an excited explanation of everything she’d felt and what she thought it meant.

  And what sent a thrill through the whole room was that Enid agreed with her.

  They were just about to dig deeper when the bell rang, dragging them back to reality.

  The introductions had eaten more time than expected, but Enid had anticipated that.

  "All right. I’d love to keep going, but you need to clear your heads and stay sharp for your other classes."

  "What we didn’t finish today becomes your assignment. Before next week, figure out what that unknown presence really is, then start learning how to release it."

  "If you get stuck or you’ve got questions, come to my office. On weekdays, I’m usually in the main keep building."

  The four students left with obvious reluctance, like they’d just cracked open a door to something huge and didn’t want it to close.

  After Esme said goodbye last, Enid began packing up to head back to her office.

  That was when one of the two people who had been sitting in the back row stood and walked over.

  It was Kasim Sagres.

  The moment he opened his mouth, he started praising her lesson, her teaching, and the way she handled the students.

  "That was outstanding. And the way you treat your students, I’ve honestly never seen anything like it. You don’t look like a new professor at all, Professor Inis."

  Enid smiled politely and answered with practiced humility.

  "You’re too kind. Thank you, Kasim. I just did what a professor is supposed to do."

  Kasim laughed, praised her modesty again, then went on.

  "And I’m not exaggerating. That theory of yours, the one that flips common sense on its head, it’s fascinating. It almost makes me want to sit with the students and learn from you myself."

  "No wonder Antonio handpicked you. His judgment really is as sharp as ever."

  Then Kasim turned to leave.

  Before stepping out, he added one last thing.

  "Also, I’m only a lecturer. I’m below you in rank, so just call me Kasim from now on. A friendly name helps people get closer, right? Anyway, I’ll see myself out."

  He gave her a textbook gentleman’s farewell and left.

  Enid stopped what she was doing and watched him go.

  Then she rested her chin in her hand, thoughts turning cold.

  "Antonio said he never told anyone about how I was appointed. To outsiders, I’m supposed to be a nobody, a blank slate professor dropped from nowhere."

  "But Kasim just said I was personally recommended and appointed by Antonio. How does he know that?"

  "And Kasim’s only a lecturer. Even Antonio wouldn’t casually explain my hiring process to him."

  Kasim looked harmless enough.

  But Enid didn’t buy that for a second.

  "Whether he guessed it or dug it up through other means, he’s not as simple as he looks. And whatever brought him close to me, I don’t know what it is yet."

  "I’ll need to keep an eye on him."

  "Kasim Sagres."