Lina had one spell, and everyone knew it was weak.

At Brightfall Academy, final exams were held in the sky arena, where students fought crystal monsters in front of the entire school. Some students could summon fire lions. Others could create shields as large as houses.

Lina could make a small blue light.

That was all.

When her name appeared on the floating board, someone in the audience laughed.

"Maybe the monster will feel sorry for her," a boy said.

Lina tightened her grip on her wand and walked into the arena.

The examiner raised his hand. "Final trial. One student. One crystal guardian. Begin."

The floor shook.

A huge crystal wolf rose from the center of the arena. Its body was transparent, but its teeth looked very real. It opened its mouth and released a roar that pushed Lina backward.

Her classmates expected her to run.

She did not.

Lina lifted her wand. A small blue light appeared at the tip.

The wolf jumped.

Lina rolled under it and touched the ground with her free hand. The arena floor was warm. Too warm.

She remembered a sentence from an old textbook: Crystal guardians follow the strongest source of magical energy.

Everyone used powerful attacks against them.

So the monsters always charged straight forward.

Lina smiled.

"You don't need a stronger spell," she whispered. "You need a better target."

She ran toward the edge of the arena.

The wolf chased her. Its claws struck the floor, breaking pieces of stone into the air. The audience shouted. The examiner stepped forward, ready to stop the trial.

Then Lina threw her blue light.

Not at the wolf.

At the sun mirror above the arena.

The mirror caught the tiny spell and reflected it again and again. One blue light became ten. Ten became a hundred. The arena filled with glittering blue sparks.

The crystal wolf stopped.

It could not choose a target.

Lina ran beneath it and struck the small crystal mark on its chest.

The wolf froze.

Then it shattered into harmless light.

For one second, the whole academy was silent.

Then the audience exploded.

The boy who had laughed stared with his mouth open.

The examiner looked at the sun mirror, then at Lina. "You used the environment."

Lina lowered her wand. Her hands were shaking, but her voice was steady.

"The rule said we had to defeat the guardian. It did not say we had to overpower it."

The examiner smiled. "Correct."

Her score appeared above the arena.

PASS.

Lina looked at the word until it blurred.

For years, she had believed that her magic was too small. Too simple. Too embarrassing.

Now the same little light was floating around the arena like stars.

As she walked out, a younger student ran up to her.

"Can you teach me that spell?" the girl asked.

Lina almost laughed.

"It is not a strong spell," she said.

The girl shook her head. "That is why I want to learn it."

Lina looked back at the shining arena.

For the first time, her small magic felt enormous.