Chapter 83: Demonstrating The Gap
Professor Albert made his way into the lecture hall while some of the scholars were still scrambling to cram their comprehension of the Skill.
"Extinguish any burning fireballs at once." His cold voice echoed through the hall as his frowning eyes scanned the scholars one by one.
Some gulped nervously, desperately praying to god as they followed his orders.
"Elizabeth Starlight, step forward."
She wasn’t surprised that she was the first one to be called. During the week that had passed in ordinary lectures, she had become one of the professors’ favorite scholars.
"Please demonstrate the fruits of your efforts." Albert said calmly, bringing everyone’s attention to her.
Elizabeth nodded subtly and extended her hand.
Honestly, fire was her weakest element, as she mostly specialized in Ice Skills. Regardless, she wasn’t about to let a mere Common-Rank Skill trouble her.
"Fireball."
The mana surging through her veins obeyed her command, and a mesmerizing Fireball the size of a fist appeared inside her palm. Its surface swirled with bright flames and emitted a soothing warmth.
"Excellent, as expected." Albert gave her a faint smile of approval before calling the next scholar.
"Princess Arabella, if you would..."
By now, it had become a common occurrence. Elizabeth was always called on first, as she represented the humans, while Arabella represented the elves, with both acting as the strongest in their respective species.
"Fireball."
Arabella didn’t have Elizabeth’s disadvantage, so her spell was far more powerful.
"The flame of her Fireball is bigger! She must have raised the Skill’s level to 4 or beyond!"
During Magic and Mana Fundamentals, Professor Albert had made it clear that there was another way to upgrade a Skill besides using Evolution Points, and that was through extensive use.
Not that this came as a surprise to Leonard. Shortly after he awakened his Primordial Bloodline, his Basic Strike Skill had evolved into Lightning Strike due to its extensive use.
"Marvelous!" Albert praised before calling the other scholars one by one.
Those who had failed to learn the Fireball Skill were not spared, as the professor didn’t hesitate to demote them to the lower grade.
Meanwhile, Leonard was growing bored. He took a peek at his Skill.
[Fireball - Level 2]
[Rank: Common]
[By using weak flames, you conjure a Fireball whose damage scales with your Magic stat at a 0.02x ratio.]
[Usage cost: 5 Mana.]
[Upgrade Fireball to the next level: 10 Evolution Points]
Because he hadn’t been able to do much over the past week other than attend the academy’s lessons, he had even raised the Skill’s level by testing it during his moments of boredom.
He had a few Evolution Points saved up, but he didn’t see any point in raising the Skill’s level further, as there wasn’t much benefit of doing so.
However, that changed when Albert suddenly announced.
"By the way, I forgot to mention, but those who performed the best on the assignment will be rewarded with Merit Points, with first place receiving 500."
Leonard’s eyes sprang open. He no longer felt sleepy.
Thanks to his recent shopping spree, he had discovered just how valuable these points were. Missing out on them would be far too great a loss.
"This is an investment." He mused, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the Skill’s description.
[Upgrading Fireball...]
Evolution Points: 310 → 0
[Fireball - Level 2 → 10 (MAX)]
[Fireball - Level 10 (MAX)]
[Rank: Common]
[By using weak flames, you conjure a Fireball whose damage scales with your Magic stat at a 0.1x ratio.]
[Usage cost: 5 Mana.]
[Evolve Fireball to the next Rank: 1,000 Evolution Points]
This was the only Common Skill Leonard had, and he was surprised to see how cheap it was to max out its level.
He looked up to see that it was Winston’s turn. His face beamed with delight as he conjured a small Fireball, only Level 1.
’Now that I think about it, even Elizabeth and Arabella hadn’t raised their Fireballs past Level 5. I might have overdone it...’ He realized.
Due to the large amount of Evolution Points he had until recently, he had almost forgotten just how rare they were to the average awakener. Not many had the necessary resources to upgrade a Skill to such an extent as he had.
"Scholar Leonard, your turn." Albert announced.
’No use crying over spilled milk.’ He thought with a sigh, stepping over the front of the Elite grade.
"Make sure not to humiliate yourself too badly!" Russell yelled, aiming to disturb his concentration. "Though even dropping to the Advance grade would be too high for Commoner like you!"
A few of the humans giggled, but not one of the elves did, their expressions remaining composed as they found nothing funny in the slightest.
Professor Albert shot Russell a cold glare, sending a shiver down his spine.
"Scholar Russell, I expect you in my office after the lesson." He said coldly.
"I understand." Russell feigned regret while inwardly smug.
He proceeded to throw a glance at Elizabeth’s and Arabella’s reactions, only to realize that their faces were completely focused on Leonard with interest.
’I don’t get it! What’s so special about a bearer of a Common Bloodline? The balance here is seriously wrong! These glances should be directed at me, not him! It’s not fair!’
"Never mind the disturbance. Please proceed." Albert gazed at Leonard.
He nodded calmly and extended his hand like the rest.
The lecture hall held its breath. What could a Common Bloodline possibly show them?
"Fireball."
Whoosh!
Intense flames gathered above his hand and began to contract rapidly, increasing in size. The fire that was supposed to be soothing to the skin now radiated a dangerously scorching heat, ready to burn anyone who found themselves at the end of the Skill’s path.
"Oh my God!"
"Is this even the same Skill?!"
"What Level is this? Eight, nine... maxed?!"
By now, the Fireball had grown to the size of a human head, measuring much larger than any of the ones that had come before it.
Leonard let the fire burn for a few seconds before dispelling it, dimming the lecture hall as a result.
He glanced at Professor Albert, who was still staring in awe at where the spell had been.
"So... Do I get the first-place prize?"
"..."