The Week Before

The weekend passed in a blur as students and faculty helped rebuild the dormitories and resecure the ritualistic wards surrounding Tilanaz. 

After rebuilding and healing all of the students they could, the academy held an academy-wide assembly the night before classes started up again to discuss what transpired.

"Students, please know that we have done our best to resecure our borders, as well we have added a new patrol to the guards' route. We now have guards patrolling the outskirts of the academy at all times to ensure that an attack like this will not come without warning. 

Unfortunately, we have suffered losses. This was unfortunate and our response was not adequate for the situation. We can only assure you that this will not stand. We will strike back, and we will get revenge for the fall of our own.

Now let us please take a moment of silence to appreciate the fallen seven students, 

Geof, Jein, Janin, Henri, Corgin, Slaliania, and Gorge.

..."

The assembly continued to explain that from now on, the curriculum will be moving at an increased pace to get the students to a higher level. Given the recent attacks, there was a decent chance that they would be targeted again.

But the next time it happens, they want their students to be ready.

Kendell, Celia, and Coli started their week in Professor Grent's class on Ritual Seals. The lecture began with a detailed, deep look into advanced sealing methods and their tactical uses.

"Remember, your midterm will test your ability to apply these techniques under pressure," Professor Grent emphasized, her tone serious yet encouraging, "so please remember that the test will include a timed portion, as well as attempting your seals on a live target."

The lecture was dense, covering the intricacies of various sealing techniques and their applications. Professor Grent, always meticulous, displayed three new sealing rituals.

"These rituals," she explained as she drew them, "Are designed for active combat. They will restrain, or if you are strong enough, banish, opposing fey or devils temporarily. These will be the rituals for the midterm.

You have two weeks to prepare, please ensure that you dedicate a large portion of time to learning these since they are simple, yet more difficult to realize than your previous rituals."

She then launched into examples of how to best use these rituals in active combat by creating space and showing tricks to drawing the circles quickly.

During the lunch break, the cafeteria buzzed with talk about the upcoming professors' tournament. Students speculated on potential matchups and strategies. Kendell, Celia, and Coli joined in, discussing how their recent encounter had changed their perspective on combat.

Theories began to develop about the current teams that were planning to fight together, and word was that Leon had gotten a similar team of three whose rituals worked to buff himself.

In the afternoon, Professor Elarion's class on Crafting a Ritual Circle dove deep into the symbology and energy flow within ritual circles.

The professor showcased other ways to fuse rituals to try and combine different rituals into each other and have their effects synergize.

These were called fusion circles and were at the forefront of magical ritual strength.

"Your midterm," she explained, "is going to be finding a ritual to fuse with your current personal ritual. This will not replace your current ritual however for the fusion to work the synergy has to exist and you must get creative with how you combine the circles."

Kendell found himself more engaged than ever, applying what he learned to his evolving strategy for the tournament. After the fight over the weekend, he had started thinking about the weaknesses his Perfect Escape had so this was the perfect solution.

The next day was a mix of excitement and nerves as they attended Professor Varex's Body Enhancement Rituals class.

The professor's imposing presence was a constant reminder of the power they aspired to wield. Varex hinted at the midterms being a test of endurance and adaptability, challenging them to push their limits, but was cryptic about the exact exam.

The class consisted of working on their current body enhancements and increasing their mastery of them. 

The class also shifted to focus on the best way to utilize these rituals in combat, both regarding how to best use the ritual energy flow for maximum time and how to train your body to use these rituals to their fullest. 

The stronger the base body of the user was, the stronger the ritual would be.

History and Languages of Rituals with Professor Grenton followed, where the focus was on the interpretation of ancient texts.

Grenton announced that their midterm would involve translating and applying a historical ritual in a modern context, a task that required both linguistic skill and creative thinking.

Unfortunately, there was not much to be gained from this class, and no way to increase the pace. One can only learn so much history at once, but the topic is crucial for understanding the rituals of the past to make better ones in the future.

Midweek, the trio returned to Professor Grent's class on Ritual Seals, delving into advanced sealing techniques.

The professor's emphasis on precision and control resonated with them, especially after their recent encounter. The class ended with a practical session, where they had to practice executing a seal based on a given scenario.

She brought in live small devils to let the students try their seals on to know where they were before the midterm occurred.

Celia and Kendell struggled to get the seal to work on a moving target, but Coli appeared to be a natural, landing and securing his seal in one try. After promising to help them understand it, the trio went to the cafeteria.

Lunchtime was abuzz with more tournament talk, with some students nervously discussing strategies while others boasted about their preparation.

"Can you believe how intense training has become since that attack?" Coli mused, taking a bite of his sandwich.

The others shook their heads and continued to eat, the week had been grueling and they needed to refuel before getting back to studying.

They were all exhausted but they could steadily feel the growth coming from the enhanced curriculum, progress was slow but they could tell they would become stronger than before.

Around them, students talked about how more teams being solidified, with bets beginning to go around about who was going to take home the prize. Currently, most students thought Leon's team was going to win, his reputation and name led most students to think his skills would be far above the rest.

In the afternoon, Professor Elarion's class continued their session from two days before, with the assistants coming back to let them explain their current thoughts and get some input from their seniors.

"Think outside the box. How can these seals give you an edge?" Elarion challenged them as she walked around pointing out flaws in the synergies students were drafting.

The following day Body Enhancement Rituals with Professor Varex was intense, pushing them to their physical limits. The goal was to complete an obstacle course set up in the center of the classroom within a given time constraints.

Push past your limits. That's how champions are made!" he barked as they practiced.

The practical use of the body enhancements allowed for quicker growth since the students would have to use all of their strength and speed to get through the course as fast as possible.

Kendell, Celia, and Coli used this as an opportunity to fine-tune their teamwork, drawing curious glances from other students.

Professor Grenton's History class was equally challenging, with a surprise quiz on ritual applications in historical conflicts. This only heightened their anticipation for the midterms.

Finally it was time for combat practice, the class Kendell and the rest of the trio had been looking forward to all week.

Combat practice consumed their entire day, and they used every moment to prepare for the tournament. The trio practiced their combination moves, taking advantage of the opportunity to spar with other students.

"That move needs to be tighter," Kendell said, as they reviewed their performance.

"Yeah, let's run it again," Celia agreed, determination in her eyes.

They continued to run drills against other teams of students until the sun began to set, all the students stayed and were intensely focused.

This attack had shaken all of them and they were going to do the most to increase their combat experience.

As the sun set the trio began to get ready to head back to the dormitories.

Kendell grinned, "After today, I know that we are going to win this thing, they won't know what hit them next week."

Celia smiled. "Let's show them what we're made of."

Coli and Kendell nodded, the team's confidence was emboldened after a full day of working on flushing out their current strategy.

The trio left the practice arena, ready to face the challenges of the tournament and prove their worth.