Roselle inhaled deeply, feeling the electric surge within her veins. "Keep it steady...," she whispered to herself.The yellow lightning around her crackled and flared brighter with streaks of red now weaving through the arcs of electricity.

  "One hundred and twenty-five percent," Roselle muttered under her breath. The strain began to mount. "One-fifty…!"

  Her eyes snapped open as a bolt of red surged outward which nearly broke her concentration. Her heart raced. "No! I can’t lose control again… I have to keep it here!”

  Runebelle watched intently from a distance. Her face still carried sadness but her eyes reflected curiosity of Roselle's growing power.

  "I’ve got this…" Roselle growled. She thrust her arms outward, unleashing a powerful wave of yellow and red lightning.

  The fan of lightning expanded rapidly, slamming into the pillars surrounding her. The fire hissed and extinguished, the ice cracked and splintered and the earth pillar groaned. The force of Roselle’s magic sent the remnants of the pillars flying across the room into the reinforced walls with deafening impacts.

  Shards of ice scattered, embers smoldered and chunks of earth tumbled to the ground before all three shattered into nothingness.

  Roselle stood in the aftermath breathing heavy. Her lightning began to settle. Her legs wobbled slightly, but she steadied herself and held a look of amazement. “I…did it!”

  Runebelle tilted her head slightly with her mouth only opening a smidge. “That was… amazing.”

  Roselle managed a smirk. "Yeah… well… you’re not so bad yourself." She lowered her hands and glanced over at Dr. Kintovar, whose grin had only widened. The Doctor shouted, “Marvelous! Absolutely marvelous! The two of you are exceeding all expectations!"

  Roselle took a deep breath. She turned to Runebelle and brushed a hand through her hair. "Three elements," she said softly. "Runebelle… you’re really something special."

  The sadness that had clouded Runebelle’s face didn’t vanish completely, but her eyes lit up ever so slightly. Her lips parted just a fraction.

  Roselle noticed the change and tilted her head. "What? Did I say something weird?"

  Runebelle shook her head slowly. "No… it’s just… I….didn’t think I was….I mean…"

  Roselle’s brow furrowed. "Seriously? But you are. I mean, three elements, and you’ve just started using your magic. That’s not just impressive—it’s incredible."

  Runebelle glanced away for a moment. When she looked back at Roselle, her lips had curved into the faintest hint of a smile.

  "Thank you," she said softly.

  Roselle grinned. "Well, don’t let it go to your head. We’ve still got work to do with your powers, so let’s keep this training going!”

  Runebelle nodded. She gripped her cannon more tightly and straightened her posture.

  Runebelle extended her hands, summoning the pillars of ice, earth and fire once more. This time, however, only the fire pillar moved. It surged forward at Roselle like a living inferno.

  Roselle's eyes widened. She reached for her massive cannon, which lay discarded nearby. Grabbing it in one swift motion, she leaped to the side and avoided the fiery onslaught.

  “Close call!” she muttered while firing off a powerful shot directly at Runebelle.

  Runebelle raised her hand slightly. The ice pillar moved to intercept the attack, shattering partway but absorbing the brunt of the blast.

  Before Roselle could reposition, the fire pillar which had missed her earlier, curved unnaturally and streaked toward her again.

  Roselle darted behind a nearby square platform for cover, but the sight of the fiery pillar’s pursuit made her jaw tighten. “She can move them like that too?!”

  Roselle peeked out from behind the platform. She watched the fire pillar adjust its trajectory. Her gaze shifted to the platform itself, and a plan began to form in her head.

  "Alright, let’s see if this works," she murmured to herself.

  Roselle unleashed a barrage of shots from her cannon. As expected, the ice pillar moved in to block the attacks. Meanwhile, the relentless fire pillar twisted itself to home in towards Roselle.

  "Persistent, aren’t you?" Roselle muttered under her breath.

  Lightning began to crackle around her, forming a sphere of yellow energy that encased her completely. She focused on controlling its intensity and preparing her ‘plan’.

  The fire pillar closed the distance rapidly. Roselle maneuvered herself in front of a nearby square platform and allowed it to chase her. At the last moment, she zipped out of the way with the sphere of lightning boosting her movement. The fire pillar collided with the square platform, erupting in a blaze that sent sparks and debris flying.

  Using the momentum of her lightning sphere, Roselle rocketed toward Runebelle. The sheer speed of her approach started both Runebelle and Kintovar.

  Runebelle’s eyes widened. "What—?!"

  "Surprise!" Roselle shouted while closing the gap and leveled her cannon directly at Runebelle. At point-blank range, she fired a powerful blast.

  The ice pillar surged forward instinctively, intercepting the shot just in time. The impact sent cracks spider webbing across its surface.

  Runebelle quickly summoned the earth pillar, positioning it in front of her alongside the ice for maximum defense.

  Roselle stopped firing and discarded her massive cannon, letting it fall to the ground with a metallic thud. She surged forward with her body encased in the crackling energy sphere.

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  Runebelle’s eyes widened. “She’s… not stopping?!”

  Roselle collided with the ice pillar first. Shards of ice flew in all directions as the pillar shattered into pieces, unable to withstand the raw force of Roselle’s attack.

  The earth pillar was next, or so she thought. The momentum came to an abrupt halt upon meeting the earth pillar, which held up like an immovable wall. “What the—?!” Roselle exclaimed.

  Runebelle’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not breaking this one.”

  Runebelle commanded the earth pillar forward. It surged ahead, slamming into Roselle and drove her backward with unrelenting power.

  “Whoa—!” Roselle barely had time to react before her back hit a nearby square platform. The impact was brutal, and chunks of earth from the shattered pillar rained down on her. She slumped to the ground.

  Her system chimed with the glowing display appearing in her vision:

  [[System Message]]

  Lifeforce: 40%.

  Roselle groaned. She lifted herself slightly off the ground as yellow sparks danced faintly around her. “That… was not supposed to happen…”

  Dr. Kintovar rang out from the sidelines loudly. “Roselle, what you just experienced is one of the core principles of magical interaction. Earth is a natural counter to Lightning.”

  Roselle winced and glanced at Kintovar. “Wait, what? Why? How does that even work?”

  Kintovar adjusted her sunglasses and began to explain. “Earth is solid and stable, the very opposite of Lightning. Lightning thrives when it can arc, spread, and leap through space. Dense earth disrupts that process, trapping or deflecting the energy before it can do much damage.”

  Roselle frowned. “But that didn’t happen earlier. I smashed right through her ice and earth pillars before!”

  Kintovar grinned. “Ah, that’s because Runebelle didn’t realize how much she could reinforce her pillars. This is her first real combat session, after all. She’s still learning to draw out her potential.”

  Kintovar continued with a more analytical edge. “The stronger the Earth magic, the more effectively it counters Lightning. That’s not to say Lightning can’t break through. It just requires significantly more power to do so. Runebelle’s pillars weren’t at full strength earlier, but now? She’s figuring it out.”

  Roselle brushed some dirt off her shoulder and stood up fully. “Great. So I’m learning magical physics and getting my butt kicked…”

  Kintovar chuckled. “Consider it a valuable lesson in elemental dynamics.”

  Roselle cracked her neck and smirked. “Alright, so Earth can block Lightning. Guess I’ll just have to come at her harder.”

  Runebelle’s earth pillar, which had held steady and strong against Roselle’s attack moments before suddenly began to dissolve into thin air. Roselle blinked in surprise. “What the—?”

  Before she could fully process what happened, Runebelle fired rapidly from her small cannon and unleashed a barrage of green energy bolts like a Gatling gun in overdrive.

  “What?” Roselle yelped and darted out of the way. Her body twisted and weaved to narrowly avoid each bolt as it slammed into the ground behind her.

  “What is she trying to do? Get me to move?” Roselle muttered under her breath. She continued to zigzag across the platform. “Or maybe… she thinks she can take me out quickly if she just keeps up the pressure…”

  Roselle’s eyes flicked back to Runebelle. She was sending shots in every direction to force Roselle into a corner.

  “Wait. Roselle froze in mid-step. Her gaze snapped back to her discarded cannon. Her hand hovered over the ground. She considered grabbing it again for another shot; however, she heard an echo in her mind. ‘You can’t just use your Cannon for every situation.’

  Roselle blinked. “It’s not just about firepower; it’s about using your environment and understanding your opponent.” Risebelle's voice rang in her ears while she continued to dodge Runebelle’s relentless barrage.

  “Yeah, yeah, Risebelle, I get it...Thanks a lot Risebelle.” Roselle responded to the voice in her head with a smile.

  There was a pause. Then the voice in her head came again. “Don’t thank me. If you weren’t such an idiot, you would’ve remembered those words on your own and not have to make me up in your head like some personal motivational speaker.”

  Roselle’s face flushed. “I’m not that bad!” she shot back aloud, slightly louder than she intended.

  Runebelle remained firing but furrowed her brow in confusion.

  ‘This is going to burn through my magic...’ Roselle thought to herself while grinning. ‘But iv’e got to catch her off guard’.

  Roselle sent a surge of lightning straight to her legs. The shock of energy coursed through her, sending her speed into overdrive. The world around her blurred and before she even knew it, she had already appeared behind Runebelle.

  Runebelle's eyes went wide in shock. She spun around, but Roselle was already throwing her first punch with the force of a lightning strike. She then followed up with a swift kick to Runebelle’s midsection. The barrage of punches and kicks came so rapidly that Runebelle couldn’t summon any pillars in time to defend herself.

  Runebelle tried to raise her arms, but they were slow and uncoordinated against Roselle’s fast strikes. Finally, Roselle landed a powerful right hook that sent Runebelle crashing to the ground; however, as soon as her body hit the floor, she raised one hand to the sky.

  Before Roselle could react, three massive earth pillars erupted from the ground around her. They quickly trapped her in a tight cage of stone. The air pressed in on her from all sides as Runebelle pushed herself to a kneeling position.

  "Three earth pillars…" Roselle muttered under her breath. "I didn't expect her to be able to…"

  Roselle’s breath hitched. She felt the pressure of the stone pillars closing in on her. ‘I have to do something to get out of this,’ she thought.

  Just then, Kintovar’s words echoed in her mind: ‘The stronger the Earth magic, the more effectively it cancels Lightning. . That’s not to say Lightning can’t break through. ‘

  Roselle clenched her fists. She could feel the crackling energy building up inside of her, but this time, she pushed the energy to its absolute limit.

  “Time to go all in!”

  Her lightning surged upward. The yellow energy crackled wildly before it suddenly shifted to a dangerous red hue.

  With a cry, the red lightning arced across the platform, swirling violently around her. The shockwave hit the earth pillars with such force that they shattered like glass. The square platforms disintegrated, leaving nothing but dust in their wake.

  Runebelle, already staggering from the force of Roselle’s attack was blown backward. Her body slammed against the hard floor.

  A system message appeared in Runebelle’s vision:

  [Lifeforce: 15%]

  Runebelle’s body trembled on the ground with steam beginning to come from it.

  Roselle glanced down at her own system message:

  [Lifeforce: 35%]

  "Runebelle," Roselle said softly, "can you still move? Are you okay?"

  Runebelle's response was a weak nod, although her sad face remained unchanged.

  Dr. Kintovar stepped forward. "You both did exceptionally well," Dr. Kintovar commended. "You've shown great potential and adaptability. I have no doubt that you'll excel on our next mission."

  At that moment, the door to the training room opened, and in walked Risebelle.

  "What's our next mission?" Risebelle asked.

  Dr. Kintovar turned her attention to Risebelle with excitement. “Oh, if it isn’t Risebelle! How did it go? Did you gather the essential data we needed?"

  Risebelle turned somber. "Unfortunately, I had to abort the mission, Kintovar. The Magic Academy is using their mana extractors on the forest."

  "I see," Dr. Kintovar responded with one hand raised to the side of her face. "We can't allow the Magic Academy to interfere with our plans. We'll need to find a way to neutralize those extractors and secure the forest. Risebelle, I'll need you to lead the next mission to deal with this situation, but before that…"

  Dr. Kintovar’s eyes flicked briefly over Risebelle, taking in the steam rising from her body, the scorched fabric of her uniform and the faint burns on her face.

  "Risebelle," Dr. Kintovar said flat but edged with concern. "Your lifeforce is at 5%. What happened?"

  "It’s nothing," Risebelle said through gritted teeth. "Just some self-righteous humans who think they can walk around throwing their magic everywhere..."

  Dr. Kintovar took a slow step forward. "A 'mage,' you say? Hmm." She crossed her arms and began speaking in a dangerous pitch. "You expect me to believe that 'some mage' did this to you? Not to my creations. Not without a name, a title, something more than a vague description. I know you, Risebelle. You don’t get this beaten up from some random mage. You would retreat as soon as your lifeforce was close to 25%”

  Dr. Kintovar's eyes locked onto Risebelle’s, unblinking. Her tone grew sharper with every word. ”WHO. WAS IT."

  The silence that followed stretched painfully long. Finally, after a minute went by, Risebelle muttered,"It was...”