Respect Gained

An hour and 19 minutes felt excessive for drawing such a huge runic circle with the mana powder he'd collected from the runes. He was free to choose any spell he liked, yet Damian opted for the one given as an example. 

It was air-element based, though its exact function remained unknown to him. Still, after looking at it for over an hour, he'd memorized it perfectly. The laughter had died down; the three judges sat riveted, their gazes fixed on his every move. He caught bits of their whispered remarks, revealing that even they didn't understand the runic language as he did. What he was doing was entirely new to them, and Damian took pleasure in their confused, frustrated comments as they tried to understand doing their best.