"Close your thumb down, leaving only four fingers open, you'll only output half of the power."
Ashrosaliera reminisced about the words of her father
"Then it's in that order… Index, middle, ring, pinky, and finally, close it all down to a fist, for only one sixth output power."
She put her father's word into practice, trying to cause the least damage possible, yet still expressing her frustration, agony, fear, and displeasure by means of magic.
Ashrosaliera threw the unmatched power of a miniature flaming sun towards her schoolmate. It was small, just about the size of a human head. It flew slowly, at the speed of a ball rolling on an even floor, yet no one ran; they could not run.
Everyone had their blood reach a boiling point and could not find the strength to flee. Roshia's water armor evaporated, causing her severe burns. Zofia's glasses' frames began to melt onto her cheeks. They felt their bones were softened, yet they were only exposed to the heat of the [Fireball], not even being in close or direct contact with it.
"GUAHHHH!"
The trees caught on fire, the grasses melting, and they heard the faint sound of glass shattering above.
"Get behind me! Lady Naveria!"
A voice could be heard; it came from the overweight guy in D-Class, whom Ash knocked out, Pusha Varrie. He stood in front of the two girls, challenging the Fireball head-on.
"Earth Magic: Fortitude," Pusha said, slamming his palms into the ground and a giant wall blocking the way, but realizing this probably wasn't enough, he recast the same spell a few more times. "Earth Magic: Fortitude!"
"We're going to die…" Zofia muttered, and she fell to the ground, her eyes fixed in horror on the hellfire.
The walls that were protecting them soon melted into a mere wet pile of bricks and rocks. Yet Pusha's attempt proved futile, but it bought them at least two or three seconds.
Pusha Varrie tried casting another spell, but he burnt up first, his skin starting to char dark, and Roshia Naveria fainted from the [Water Armor] evaporating around her body.
===
Ongoing Quest: Making A Name
Details: Subdue Roshia Naveria and Pusha Varrie
Reward: 0.05 System Points
Status: COMPLETED
Unallocated System Point: 0̶.̶9̶5̶ > 1.00
===
Ash didn't even notice the system's notification that her quest had finished; she froze in terror at what she had done.
"Ashrosaliera! Deactivate your spell! You're going to kill them!" Zofia screamed.
"I-" Ash whispered, which turned into a yell, "I don't remember how! I can't think!"
The fireball loomed over the unconscious bodies of Roshia and Pusha, and their flesh began to crisp up and turn black.
"I thought you'd be stronger… My dad can endure the one-third power [Fireball], so I thought you- I'M SORRY!"
Ashrosaliera started screaming, hands scratching her scalp and pulling her own hair. She tried searching in her memories, but failed. She tried searching deeper, but failed again.
She knew exactly how to deactivate a [Sustain Spell] like Fire Flight and Blazing Blade, because those were the only two spells she was allowed to use. But deactivating a [Instant Spell] like Fireball?! She swore on the Lord that she had once learned about it; it was an advanced technique, but she had to learn it.
"Think… Think, BLOODY HELL!" Ash's voice lowered to a whisper, "I killed them…"
"Ash, it's so hot… Help…!"
Zofia Adinberg was the last to fall, her knees and then her face hitting the ground. No one was there to help Ash think anymore; she was on her own, and for the sake of everyone's life, she couldn't do anything.
"Over here!" A voice could be heard from afar, "Earth Magic: Platform Flight!"
A woman came storming in amongst the pine trees. Ashrosaliera looked over to see a beastman with round horns, with two badges on her blazer, one with [Earth] and the other with a strange, black symbol that Ash couldn't quite make out.
"Tarnisha?" Ash widened her eyes.
Tarnisha Smithdottir cast an Earth spell and raised her palm upwards, causing a piece of earth from beneath Pusha, Roshia, and Zofia to rise up. She then moved all three platforms, flying them through the air with the unconscious students lying on top.
Another figure emerged, jumping through the treelines was a tall man in a faculty suit; he wore a monocle, and his sky-blue hair shone brightly in the floor's artificial sunlight. It was the guidance counselor, Pearl Magmal, and he cast a spell midair.
"Water Magic: Aqua InfinityFirst Form"
An entire lake, enough water to drown the whole academy, appeared on top of the floating [Fireball] and fell down onto the Fireball. Half of the water from [Aqua Infinity] was evaporated before even reaching its surface. Among the other half that was left, two-thirds sizzled away trying to fulfill their duty upon contact with the surface of the flames. At the same time, the rest finished the job, snuffing out the fireball.
Pearl Magmal landed on his feet with one hand touching the ground as support. The man adjusted his glasses and looked back at Tarnisha, who was already running to gather her schoolmates for the infirmary in the second building. Then, he turned back to look at Ashrosaliera, who was kneeling on the grass, motionless, her eyes staring ahead blankly.
"I… I don't mean to… I-" Ash whispered, as a teardrop fell.
"I can't believe I vouched for you." Pearl said, walking over to Ash and holding her shoulder, "We can do this the easy way, stand up and walk with me, but if I sense mana coming from you, we can do this the hard way."
Ashrosaliera started wiping her ever-running tears with her sleeves, as Pearl forced her to stand up and get on with the walk of shame.
"I'm sorry." Ashrosaliera whimpered, "Please don't expel me… I was just trying to scare them, I forgot how to stop it… I- It's not my fault."
"Don't have to tell me all that, kid." Pearl answered, "You are already out of my jurisdiction."