With that thought, Jody finally took a careful look at the young woman before him. Beyond her hair and attire, even her pupils were a vivid shade of violet. Her brows arched delicately, framing a fair, collagen-rich complexion.
It had to be said. She embodied an uncanny fusion of allure and innocence.
Jody found himself intrigued. Calmly, he said,"If you tell me the incantation your lightning class learned today, I'll spar with you."
This left the girl momentarily stunned. She had meant to brush off an annoying flirt, yet somehow his words made it sound as though she were the one begging for a fight. Besides, a basic incantation was hardly a secret. Was it really worth stepping into the arena over something so trivial?
Still, her expression remained unchanged. With effortless nonchalance, she recited the incantation for him.
Jody's eyes lit up. As expected, the lightning incantation shared overlapping segments with the others, identical in parts across multiple elements.
He repeated only the overlapping portion. Sure enough, the surrounding elements grew lively, exactly as they had when he had chanted the fire incantation earlier that morning.
Heh, Jody mused inwardly. These so-called magic incantations are probably just another language. Their meaning is likely something along the lines of "Fire, heed my command" or "Wind, heed my command." Since I'm not sensing their specific elements, all I need is the equivalent of "Elements, obey," and the effect is the same. That means my incantations can even be shorter than everyone else's.
Seeing the boy lost in his own thoughts, the purple-haired girl grew curious and asked,"Hey. You don't know who I am?"
Jody was in a good mood and did not mind her bluntness. He dipped his head slightly and replied,"Oh? I haven't had the pleasure. May I ask who you are?"
The girl thought to herself that this was absurd. He had come over to strike up a conversation, yet somehow she was the one introducing herself. The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became. In the end, she puffed out her cheeks and snapped,"Zi Ling!"
With that, she strode off, leaving Jody standing there, helplessly thinking, Looks like I really need to learn more about the royal capital.
"Zi Ling. The magical prodigy of the Purple General's estate. She awakened her talent at sixteen. Before entering the academy, she was personally tutored by a royal mage for a full year. She's already a third-rank mage. Among the freshmen, she truly has the strength to do as she pleases."
A short-haired girl spoke as she walked toward Jody. She stood around one meter sixty, her black hair cropped short with a streak of pale blue highlights. Though she looked lively and energetic, her voice was warm and gentle.
Before Jody could speak, she added,"My name is Elinor, but you can call me Senior Elinor."
"S-Senior?"Including his previous life, Jody had not been approached by a girl in decades. Being addressed while he was lost in thought left him momentarily tongue-tied.
"I heard you're a fire-element freshman?" Elinor asked softly.
"Uh… you could say that."
Elinor raised an eyebrow but did not pursue what he meant by "you could say that."
"Come with me."
She turned and walked off with her hands clasped behind her back. Jody still had a head full of questions he had not yet asked, but without overthinking it, he hurried after her.
They arrived at an open clearing. Elinor stopped, turned around, and smiled faintly."Do you know where this is?"
Jody shook his head.
Elinor had no intention of explaining and instead asked,"You just arrived. You haven't learned defensive magic yet, have you?"
This time, Jody seized the opportunity."There's defensive magic too? How does that work?"
Elinor's smile brightened."Defensive magic is simple. It's… take this!"
As she spoke, a basketball-sized fireball instantly condensed in her hand and shot straight toward Jody.
Jody's eyes widened. She's attacking just like that?!
But he did not panic. Back in the village, while playing with fire, he had dealt with countless cases of fireballs spiraling out of control or outright exploding.
Though Jody knew nothing about defensive magic, fire, in any world, depended on three fundamentals: fuel, oxidizer, and temperature. Fire mages in this world could sense fire elements as fuel, but combustion still required oxygen. So…
Jody focused and separated the oxygen from the air in front of him, replacing it with nitrogen.
There was no explosion, no spray of sparks. When the fireball reached him, it simply went out, leaving not even a cinder behind.
This time, it was Elinor whose eyes widened. Defensive magic was typically a barrier formed from condensed mental energy, capable of blocking most elemental attacks. She had only been testing him lightly, yet the fireball had vanished soundlessly. And more astonishingly… he hadn't even chanted an incantation.
Elinor quickly composed herself, clasped her hands behind her back, and walked up to Jody with an awkward smile."Oh dear, junior, are you alright?"
Jody waved his hand."I'm fine, I'm fine. Senior, since you tried me… now it's my turn!"
A fireball of identical size erupted in Jody's hand and shot straight toward Elinor's head, moving far faster than the one she had launched.
Trying to test me? I'll singe that blue streak of yours yellow!Jody could tell she meant no harm, but he was not the type to take hits without returning them.
They were close. Elinor's expression grew serious. She chose not to chant a defensive spell. Instead, she shifted slightly, rode the wind beneath her feet, and darted diagonally upward, narrowly evading the fireball.
Jody was surprised but unwilling to back down. The fireball he had launched suddenly curved midair and flew back toward Elinor.
This time, Elinor was genuinely shocked. Fire mages ignited nearby fire elements and hurled them with mental force. Accuracy and speed depended on one's cultivation, but she had never seen a fireball change direction mid-flight, let alone track a target.
As for how Jody did it, the principle was not complex. Instead of throwing the fireball with mental force, he carved a negative-pressure channel in the intended direction. The pressure difference launched the fireball at greater speed, and by altering the channel's shape, he could redirect and guide it in pursuit.
Only then did Elinor chant a defensive spell. The fireball collided with what seemed like an invisible shield and dispersed instantly, losing all power.
"How did you do that?!""Aren't you a fire mage?!"
They spoke at the same time.
Elinor soon returned to her playful demeanor, landing lightly in front of Jody with her hands behind her back.
"As for me, I'm attuned to all elements."
Someone with affinity to all elements.
This time, Jody was truly taken aback. It seemed that geniuses were everywhere. Perhaps keeping a low profile really was the wiser choice.