The line kept moving as everyone gave it their best shot. Unlike the first class, Lily was excited to see such a wide variety of spells on display, likely due to the warning beforehand to prepare.

Shields of wind, barriers of ice, walls of rock, and other magical phenomena were on display, and it really tickled her enthusiasm. Of course, some students couldn't meet the small deadline and failed to defend against the first spell.

Some of the kids who couldn't defend themselves had thought they'd be excused from the demonstration. Still, Professor Elius made it a point to have them experience their Ward being triggered in a controlled environment. So they had to suck it up and deal with the embarrassment.

Lily thought it might bring some relief to her friend that she wasn't alone, but if anything, it seemed to further fuel her growing unease. Lotte was twitching and fidgeting with her fingers as she watched the line grow smaller and smaller.

"Want me to go first this time?" Lily asked her.

"N—yes?" she eventually replied.

Lily tilted her head curiously at the non-answer.

"On the one hand, if you go first, then maybe people might be too distracted to notice mine. On the other hand, if I go first, then you might make them forget about my performance."

"I really think you're overthinking this," Lily replied, patting her gently on the back.

Lotte sighed. "I just don't want to embarrass myself."

"You basically melted the training dummy in the first class."

"Yeah, but you knocked it over."

"And then I couldn't dodge more than two bees."

"Yeah, but—"

"No more buts. Stop worrying, you don't see the other kids talking about the ones who failed."

Lotte sighed again. "I guess you're right… Thanks for the pep-talk."

"I'd hardly call it a pep-talk," Lily said, brushing it off.

Then it was their turn. Lotte didn't move, so Lily went up first and hoped for the best. Just like last time, there was some buzz about the "magical bunny" about to do a demonstration.

And you were worried about the attention… look at the position I'm in.

Lily was still feeling conflicted about the attention. She liked proving herself and wouldn't change her current position even if she could, but she wished it wasn't such a spectacle for others.

The professor checked her Ward, and when he confirmed it was in top condition, he wished her luck and instructed her to take her position. Lily calmly walked up to the spot, despite her hands feeling a little clammy, and stared at the professor.

"Ready?" Elius asked when Lily hadn't prepared her spell ahead of time.

"Ready!" Lily replied.

Some of the students had already been whispering, and her lack of action had led them to assume she had nothing and was going to fail confidently. Lily's sensitive ears unfortunately meant she caught a lot of their gossip, but she was determined to not let it get to her.

Professor Elius cast the firebolt spell, and Lily instantly began channeling her Mana Core. Her mental image was crystal clear; the incantation burned into her subconscious, along with the Mana flow and construction.

Her Nebula Veil apparated in an instant, the cloak billowing out before wrapping itself around her in a protective shroud. The whispers ceased and were replaced by gasps or cries of astonishment at the strange apparition.

The firebolt struck the cloak and was snuffed out like a weak candle, leaving Lily and her starry veil entirely unscathed.

"Impressive. I was wondering how you would defend yourself," the professor said, stroking his chin.

"Isn't using magic items cheating?" one boy cried out.

Lily was so dumbfounded by the accusations that she couldn't help but stare and blink silently.

"If I had known we could use items, I would have bought one," a girl replied.

Do I look like I have the money to buy magic items? I had to scrounge, save, and brew so many potions for Miss Camilla!

"Oh, please, since when did a magic item ever look like that?" Arthur replied, his snappy and sarcastic tone coming to her defense.

"And where would she even have kept it? She wasn't wearing it before it was magically created," Hana added.

"It's probably invisible when it's not being used. Miss Alice probably found it and gave it to her. She's a four-star adventurer, so I bet she has dozens of similar items," the boy replied again.

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"Enough!" the professor's voice boomed. "I can confidently say that there is no magic item. Or do you not trust my judgement?"

"Then why did she not even chant?" the girl quickly chimed in.

"It's her bloodline! Or have you forgotten your basic studies?" Thomas shouted.

"Quite correct," Elius agreed with a stern nod. "Powerful connections to one's bloodline, a dedicated mental mindset, and enough practice can all result in lowering the need to chant. Add them all together, and you can create spells instantly depending on their complexity. Or are you going to accuse me of cheating to create my firebolt and fireballs?"

The students who had spoken up began to shrink back in the crowd. Lily had predicted some unwanted attention, both negative and positive, but she hadn't expected it so soon. She really hoped it would be some initial teething issues that would fade as people got used to the spectacle that she was.

Having regained control of the class, Professor Elius asked Lily if she was ready to continue. She bobbed her head in agreement, and he moved on to the next step.

During the entire event, she hadn't bothered dismissing her cloak, allowing it to flow in the breeze. It was also a bit of physical reassurance to her, as she always felt calmer when surrounded by the starscape that would protect her.

Professor Elius cast his fireball spell. It wasn't enough that she felt the need to intercept it, so she just let her cloak billow out a bit more. Once again, when it struck the cloak, it was promptly snuffed out, even losing out on its iconic explosion.

"I dare say I don't think I've ever encountered a magical defense like this before," the professor admitted. "It's almost as if it's being swallowed up by the sea of stars, even going as far as dampening the explosion. With the way your cloak moves, I'd almost suggest it was some type of shadow magic, but the stars counter that thought."

I don't think I should explain anything… no way I could feign ignorance and give a satisfactory explanation.

Rather than attempting to skirt around the truth, Lily simply shrugged and played dumb. It was her bloodline doing the talking and manifesting the magic, not her. Or at least that was the cover story they were going with.

The flaming javelin was next, and Lily could see the expectation on the professor's face. He was definitely putting effort into this and hoping to elicit some form of reaction from Lily's unknown defense.

When the spear was launched, Lily raised her hand and had the Nebula Veil intercept it as she had many times when "sparring" with Theo's boulders. It formed a makeshift hand and grasped at it when Lily made a crushing gesture with her own hand.

The spell was effortlessly destroyed, a bit too quickly for her liking, and she wondered if she'd shown off a bit too much. The professor and students seemed equally stunned by what had happened.

Arakil had mentioned it was penetrating… so I thought I needed to be extra careful around it. But it looks like penetrating power doesn't make much of a difference compared to physical weight for my Nebula Veil.

"Very interesting… I didn't expect you to be able to control it in such a manner. But considering I've seen other bloodlines do similarly with fire or water, perhaps I should have thought of it. I feel obliged to also point out that the way it moves reminds me of eerily shadow magic."

"A combination between light and shadow?" Thomas asked curiously. "Since the stars are so similar to light magic."

"No way. Trying to mix light and shadow would never work," Hana quickly interjected. "Just my presence has ruined some shadow magic when I was being tutored."

Oh! Note to self: avoid using shadow glyphs around Hana.

"I'm afraid I genuinely have no idea. A rather poor showing for a professor, I must admit… but we do have some teachers and students versed in shadow magic, perhaps you can try picking their brain?" Elius suggested.

Lily nodded along, hoping to move on.

Lily had made it to the same round as Arthur and Hana, although due to the nature of her cloak, she'd done it with considerably less effort than the two of them. The expression Elius made seemed to suggest he was predicting Lily would pass the next round, too.

"Right, let's move on…" he said and began his incantation.

Once again, the glowing, cracked ball of liquid flame was created, and Lily found herself nervously wiping her hands against her shirt. It looked far more intimidating having it directly in front of her.

The spell was flung at Lily, and she once again had her cloak reach ahead to intercept it. This time, however, was different, as when the cloak caught the spell, it recoiled backwards and began to scrunch up as it was propelled somewhat backwards.

What? A fire spell that has weight behind it!?

Lily was dumbfounded, having never seen something like this before, even from the self-proclaimed master of flames, Rose. However, thanks to her careful preparation, she'd managed to stop it in its tracks and was holding onto the remains of the cracked sphere in her cloak.

What had the professor done to give a fire spell weight? She was desperate to ask him, but she didn't do so, fearing she would have to reveal the drawback of her cloak to the rest of the students. It was going to be her signature spell, and telling the secret to potential rivals was not on her agenda.

I'm sure Arakil has the answer… or I can ask Professor Elius privately.

"I'm astounded. It's not often a first year gets through all the rounds, well done!" Elius said, giving a wide grin. "I'm glad it gave you a little bit of trouble for my own ego, but it looks like you really specialize in defensive magic by my estimation."

Um… not really…

Of course, Lily didn't say that out loud. Still, she was curious about the remains of the spell still grasped in her cloak. She dropped it as she retracted her cloak, revealing a grayish-black rocky sphere that shattered when it hit the ground.

Lily was staring at it with such intent and curiosity that she almost didn't hear the professor speak up.

"Well, that's embarrassing. How about we move on to the next student?" he said, scratching his chin while looking a little awkward.

Lily nodded and was about to leave the stage when the professor called out to her.

"Ah, wait! We need to set off your Ward so you can at least experience it. Can you please remove the cloak, and I'll just shoot a firebolt to trigger it?" he asked.

"Oh, okay," Lily agreed and dismissed her cloak, the shadowy starscape disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.

The teacher thanked her and flung a quick firebolt her way. It triggered her Ward, and then she finally vacated the stage, joining Hana, Arthur, and Thomas. The students were once again gossiping, with some clearly still believing her cloak was a legendary magic item.

"Damn, I can't believe I got beaten by a bunny," Arthur whined, although his tone was clearly in jest.

"Looks like Zephyrix is going to have a tough time…" Hana added.

"I'm glad I'm in Maranix," Thomas chuckled. "I don't think I'd like to go against you or Lotte."

"At least she's not in the duels, I'd hate to get melted," Arthur said. "Although judging by her performance up there, she's a bit of a glass cannon."

Lily quickly looked up at the stage, having forgotten that Lotte was supposed to go straight after her. Judging by the fireball the teacher was casting, she had made it through the first round, but the grim expression plastered on her gave a clear indicator of the next round.

The fireball went off, and Lotte chanted, the mud and soil at her feet rising into a makeshift pillar. But when the fireball struck it and exploded, a familiar whistle was heard as her Ward absorbed the blast and protected her.

The teacher congratulated her for her effort, but Lotte was clearly disgruntled as she stomped off the platform.

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