Chp.22: We need to talk

"Okay, guys. You know the rules of the test" Maldor said. "I'll just defend myself. You'll have to do your best to hit me!"

As soon as he said that, she magically moved the desk and cleared a large space. Today she would be evaluating some of her students in the area of ​​magical attacks, and to do so she would use herself as bait. The students who had to take the test got up from their desks and walked in front of her. As soon as they were close enough, Maldor summoned a barrier to prevent any spells from affecting the rest of the class and hurting anyone.

Normally, when it came to assessing students for their magical abilities, teachers would simply call them one by one and have them hit a target. However, Maldor had preferred to take a different approach: she had divided the students into various groups and told them that on the day of the test they should all attack her together. Not only did this mean that they would have to work together and strategize, but they could also use whatever magic they had learned; Maldor had made sure that each group had people who were good in one field or another, and therefore could put their talents to use. Basically, what Maldor was asking of them was to be inventive. In her personal experience, this was much more useful than just studying magic. After all, she and her siblings had done their best to make their talents pay off, and that was why they had survived so long despite all the problems.

The six students who had to take the test were four boys and two girls. Their names were Thob, Ebors, Namo, Boma, Dalhila and Scarlet. All of them had determined faces and seemed extremely focused. This pleased Maldor. Of course, she wouldn't have fought: if she had, with her current mana core, she would have crushed them in seconds. She would just block their attacks. "Very good. Get started! You have ten minutes to hit me!" she said, moving her hand and magically turning an hourglass she had set on a counter.

Immediately, one of the students seized the initiative: it was Thod, the largest of them, and he lunged at her, casting a quick fire spell as he ran, and hurling it when he was inches from her. It was a fairly basic spell, easy to cast, whose only effect was to generate a small jet of fire which then exploded on contact with its target. Maldor obviously had no trouble fending off it, but soon after the jet of fire struck her, another student, Ebors, summoned a small gust of wind and blew Thob away, all while Dalhila hurled two small flasks at Maldor. As the flasks crashed to the ground, a great black smoke billowed around her completely obscuring her vision.

'I understand, it was a trick. One of them deliberately distracted me to prevent me from blocking the flasks before they hit the ground and created this pall. And apparently this isn't only smoke, but also poison' Maldor thought as he used his mana to clear his lungs of the toxic vapor. Even though she didn't technically need to since this wasn't her real body, she still wanted to act like she was actually fighting. 'However, this would also slow them down. They should...'

Namo and Boma suddenly appeared from either side of her and punched her with fists wrapped in a huge blade-shaped mass of water. Maldor reflexively raised her hands and blocked both of their blows using a magical barrier. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that there was a strange magical energy that enveloped the eyes and nose of the two boys and that it seemed to come from a pendant that they had hidden inside their uniform. 'Of course... they had prepared a magical object ahead of time, so that they could see and move in the midst of this smoke without being poisoned and without wasting time creating a spell. Very smart…'

The test only required that the students not cast spells on themselves before starting; however, using them on something else was permissible. They could create potions, amulets, and other magical items that could aid them in battle. This because, of course, that was primarily a test of strategy. Reciting a spell to avoid being affected by the potion's vapor would take a long time and give Maldor time to recite it too, so the students had prepared tools to be able to reset that time and act before she could prepare. 'As a result, I guess these two's attack is also a trick. The real attack will come from…'

Behind her and in front of her appeared Ebors and Scarlet, both with their speed increased by wind magic and their hands wrapped in fire magic; Maldor obviously anticipated that twist, and so easily parried their blows without even moving using yet another magical barrier. But suddenly, something changed: Maldor felt her hands become cold and, turning around, she discovered that Boma and Namo had completely wrapped them, transforming the water into ice. 'How? Wait... since they couldn't get past the barrier, did they wrap that up too? But why? So they'll get stuck too..."

Maldor tried to move to throw the two boys away; with her level mithril strength, it would have been easy to get rid of. Yet, she suddenly found that moving had become much more difficult. She looked down and saw that a strange liquid had wrapped around her legs and those of the four students next to her, and it had hardened into a solid patina. 'What!? Wait... was it Dalhila again? Did she spill a blocking potion on the floor while I was distracted? But then she'll also trap her teammates... unless that's... all part of their attack!'

Scarlet and Ebors smiled triumphantly, and instantly two flaming whips formed in their hands and wrapped around Maldor's waist with force. Even if they couldn't get past her barrier, they could still hold her down. Maldor had to channel her energy to various points in her body to free herself, and she began chanting a spell that would wipe out everything from the smoke to her own students… but that would take too long, and they knew it. Thob appeared in the smoke, supported from behind by Dalhila with a wind magic to prevent him from touching the ground contaminated by the blocking potion, and in his hands there was already a magic circle containing a powerful earth magic, which he had prepared while the others distracted Maldor. He ended the spell just as he was in front of her face, and a stone spear exploded from his hands and aimed at her face. Maldor summoned a barrier as quickly as she could, but time and the power of Thob's spell worked against her and even if only a little part of the stone spear grazed her cheek, it was enough to open a slight cut.

Maldor smiled. They were able to trick her. "Very good. The test is over" she declared, to the obvious delight of her students. Maldor calmly recited a spell, and when she was finished her and the students' bodies were lifted by wind magic and carried out of the area tainted by the smoke and the blocking potion. "Great job, you all. Now, the good news is that you're all going to get a good rating"

The six boys smiled happily, but their happiness didn't last long. "The bad news is that now someone has to clean up this mess, and since you did it, you will do it"

"What? But it's not fair!" Scarlet exclaimed.

"You did this, you take responsibility for it. This too is a lesson in the life that awaits you" Maldor replied with a chuckle. "You have until the next lesson to clean... so an hour, more or less. I taught you some cleaning magic, use it"

The other students who had witnessed the scene were clearly giggling. Thob shrugged: "Oh, come on, how difficult could it be? Let's just wash the floor!" he said evoking a water spell.

Dalhila turned pale. "Thob, wait! If you dilute a blocking potion with water magic you generate..."

As the wave from Thob's hands touched the potion on the ground, it boiled and then exploded in all directions, covering most of the class. Due to the fact that it was diluted in water magic, the potion didn't solidify, but it remained in the form of a sticky mixture that was very difficult to remove from skin, clothes or walls. All the students glared at Thob angrily, but he was more intent on staring at Maldor, who was also covered in that filth. "Um... I swear it wasn't intentional, teacher" he tried to say.

Maldor took a deep breath, then she said: "I'm going to change my clothes. In an hour I want to see this place back to its original condition. For the rest..." and she glared at Thob, who cringed under her gaze. "... I'll pretend nothing happened". She walked towards the door, then, noticing that no one had moved yet, she exclaimed: "Not working yet? Get busy!"

And immediately the students rushed to start cleaning up the classroom. Maldor went out and walked along the corridors, trying to ignore the confused and sometimes amused looks of the people she passed. Luckily during that hour most of the students and teachers were teaching, so there weren't many people around. But obviously, by chance, once she reached the tower where her lodgings were, she met a person she knew very well. "Wow! For once, I'm not the one caught in an embarrassing situation!" Isaac exclaimed as soon as he saw her.

Maldor blushed slightly, but she still smiled at the joke. "If you're wondering what happened… a test and a student who apparently doesn't pay much attention in my potion classes" she explained.

"Oh, first time?" Isaac laughed. "You better get used to it. Wait, I'll give you a hand"

Isaac quickly recited a wind spell, and immediately Maldor's body was enveloped in a light breeze; but although it wasn't very strong, one by one the residues of the potion came off. "Uh? How did you do it?"

"It's a spell of my own design" Isaac replied. "You have no idea how many times this situation has happened to me, so I've been looking for a way to solve it. I bet every teacher in this academy has one. My trick is to use wind magic to send out very fast vibrations against the residue of the potions, which thus dry completely and fall off by themselves"

Maldor inspected her clothes carefully. Not a single drop of the potion remained on her teacher's uniform. "Wow! This is not bad!" she exclaimed satisfied. "Would you teach me?"

"Very gladly, but I inform you in advance to never use it with fire potions" Isaac warned her. "I made this mistake once, and almost got burned..."

Maldor shook her head in disappointment. "Of course! Fire is fueled by air! You can't mix wind magic with a fire potion! Even if the effect is different, it still generates a flame!"

Isaac laughed heartily. "Yes... that time I forgot about it. The result was that I had to order a new uniform... and a new wardrobe... and had to renovate my lodging at my own expense... and also listen to Bump who yelled at me for a good quarter of an hour"

Maldor pictured the vice principal's face after seeing the disaster and his reaction. When the image of Bump barely held by two servants as he tried to grab Isaac to change his face with fists appeared in her mind, she couldn't stop herself and burst out laughing heartily, putting a hand over her mouth in an attempt to stop herself, obviously in vain.

"Well, we laugh about it now, but that time I had a really bad time. I almost risked my job. Probably the only reason Bump didn't kick me out of the academy was because he had no one to replace me" Isaac said, laughing softly himself.

"Well, you can't say you didn't deserve it" Maldor replied between laughs.

The two laughed for a few more moments, then Isaac asked: "Do you want me to come to your classroom to clean it?"

Maldor shook his head. "Nah. I let the students take care of it. They have an hour, they'll come up with something" she replied. "But... could you explain that spell to me in detail, so if they don't finish in time I can clean up the classroom enough to teach?"

Isaac smiled. "Very willingly. Why don't we talk about it over a cup of..."

"Maldor"

The two turned and saw that Kotaru had appeared in the corridor nearby, and was looking at Maldor with a strange look. She approached the two and said: "Excuse me, Professor Hugoson, but I have to speak to my mistress in private. It is urgent"

"Uh…of course, I won't keep you then. See you later Maldor" Isaac said as he hurried away.

Maldor looked at Kotaru in concern. "Has something happened? Has the plan suffered a setback?"

"No, don't worry, the plan is ok" Kotaru replied. "Come with me to our lodgings. We need to talk"