The duel between Kagami and Leo had become the talk of Whimwood Preacademy. Whispers followed him through halls like a shadow.

  “Explode kid doesn’t even chant.”

  “He just talks and boom, everything ignites!”

  “Did anyone figure out what nguage he’s speaking?”

  The answer remained the same: no one knew.

  ---

  Elsewhere — Deep Below Whimwood’s Archive Wing

  In a quiet sublevel, beneath the roar of student chatter and the csh of training spells, a hooded man pored over stacks of parchment.

  Professor Aldrin Veiss—an enchanter-archivist of Whimwood and one of the few with unrestricted access to the oldest tomes—had watched Kagami’s duel from the shadows.

  He had seen many magical anomalies in his lifetime. But this... this child was different.

  He waved a detection glyph over a sketchy transcript of Kagami’s chant:

  “Katon: Gōen no Jutsu”

  “Suiton: Suijinheki”

  “Katon: Karyū Endan”

  The glyph flickered, then faded. No magical response.

  He tried again with a transtion enchantment. The paper hissed, bckening at the edges.

  “Nothing,” he muttered. “It’s not spellweave, not a relic chant. Not even cursed tongue.”

  His fingers moved swiftly, pulling out an old map of lost civilizations. “It doesn’t match Old Varyn. Not Noruunian. Not dragon script…”

  He leaned back and whispered to himself, “What in the name of the Tower is this child using?”

  ---

  Morning — Css Aether-3

  Kagami was finishing his breakfast bread when Arven elbowed him.

  “Yo, there’s a notice posted in the atrium. Instructor Lyselle’s not teaching today.”

  “Huh?” Kagami tilted his head.

  “They say we’re getting a special guest.”

  Kagami’s eyes sharpened at those words.

  ---

  Later That Day — Lecture Hall

  Students bustled into their seats, murmuring excitedly. Suddenly, the lights dimmed. A faint shimmer rose from the instructor’s ptform.

  Then a firm but familiar voice echoed through the room:

  “Css Aether-3… stand.”

  Kagami’s heart skipped.

  Descending the steps in long robes and polished boots came Master Rivel—her white hair tied back, her wand held more like a sword than a staff.

  Minna gasped, whispering to Iren, “Isn’t that the battle mage who taught Kagami?”

  “Looks like it,” Iren replied, arms crossed. “She’s got that ‘don’t mess with me’ energy.”

  Rivel smiled thinly. “As of this term, I will oversee your elemental theory and battle applications. Some of you may recognize me. If not, don’t worry… you will.”

  Her eyes swept across the css—then paused on Kagami.

  He straightened without thinking.

  After a long pause, she continued, “Today, we review elemental interpy with practical pair dueling. And yes…” she smirked faintly, “...there will be explosions.”

  ---

  Later — Practice Ground

  Pairs cshed across the field, hurling wind bdes and summoning water whips.

  Rivel circled the arena like a hawk, correcting stances, shouting theory, guiding focus.

  She stopped behind Kagami as he helped Minna rebance a shaky earth ptform.

  “You’ve grown,” she said softly.

  Kagami looked up. “You always said growth needs both roots and fire.”

  “Hm. I did.” She crouched beside him, voice quieter. “Your fire st time… the one you called ‘Karyū Endan.’ Was that your strongest?”

  Kagami hesitated. “…No.”

  Rivel’s eyes narrowed slightly. “How many more can you call?”

  He turned away slightly. “That depends if my body can take it.”

  She didn’t press further. Instead, she stood. “Then let’s keep building a body that can.”

  ---

  Evening — Professor Veiss’s Archive Office

  The professor closed his st book, defeated.

  Despite days of research, no library, magical archive, or ancient ruin contained even a whisper of Kagami’s techniques.

  He stared out the stained-gss window, watching the stars form.

  “A nameless magic with no origin… spoken by a child… mixing with elemental theory…”

  He turned to a bnk scroll.

  And with sharp strokes, he wrote:

  “Subject: Kagami – Codename: The Wild Source”

  “Conclusion: Not born of this world’s mana.”

  ---