The Extra's Rise

Chapter 157 - 157: Tower of Magic Conference (3)

The Tower of Magic stood as a testament to human ambition, its sleek metallic frame reinforced with layers of intricate mana circuits. It wasn't just old—it was a fusion of centuries of re

Cecilia's smirk widened. "Then I'll be the first to publish a formal analysis."

She snapped her fingers, and an ethereal glow surrounded her hands. Unlike conventional spellcasting, this wasn't mana—at least, not in the way most mages understood it.

"My Gift," Cecilia continued, "is what the scholars have dubbed Witchcraft—a phenomenon that allows me to rewrite the very structure of spells in real time. Unlike traditional magic that requires careful pre-formulation, I can manipulate spells mid-cast, altering their properties on the fly."

She waved her hand, and a small flickering ember appeared in front of her, floating gently in the air.

"A standard fire spell," she said.

Then, before anyone could react, the ember changed.

The air distorted, and suddenly, the flickering flame froze solid, shifting from fire to ice without breaking, without a spell recast, without any transition rune or external influence.

A few researchers leaned forward, now fully invested.

Cecilia smirked, enjoying their attention. "For most mages, a spell is a completed circuit—locked in its nature the moment it's cast. Mine, however…" She clenched her fist.

The frozen ember shattered, dispersing into glowing particles before reforming into a tendril of electricity that crackled along her fingers.

"…is mutable."

A judge actually sat up straight, eyes glinting with pure fascination. "You can overwrite elemental composition mid-cast?"

"Not just elemental composition," Cecilia corrected, clearly savoring the moment. "I can alter casting speed, spell trajectory, and even partially reconstruct the runic matrix—though that part requires extreme precision."

The murmurs exploded across the room.

Spell structures were rigid. A completed spell could not be altered once cast—that was an absolute rule of magic.

And yet, Cecilia had broken that rule.

One of the researchers, an older man with silver-rimmed glasses, stared at her as if she were a living treasure trove. "This is… astonishing. If fully documented, this could redefine how we classify Innate Gifts."

The lead judge, who had been ruthlessly shredding most of the previous research papers, nodded approvingly. "Your research has no practical application for anyone but yourself," she said. "But that's precisely why it's valuable."

Another judge chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. "For years, we've been attempting to understand Gifts, but they refuse to conform to standardized magical theory. What you've done here is… magnificent."

Cecilia tilted her head. "So?"

The lead judge finally gave a pleased nod. "Accepted. Without question."

Cecilia beamed, her crimson eyes glowing with satisfaction. For once, even the researchers who usually dismissed "unique cases" as anomalies were eagerly discussing her work.

She turned back to me with a smirk, as if to say, Top that.

And now, as all eyes landed on me, I finally stepped forward.

The judge's voice rang out.

"Arthur Nightingale. You're next."

The room fell silent.

Now, it was my turn.