Release — Lightning Seal

*All right, all right — fall in, sound off!*

Mo Fan stilled his mind and threw his full concentration into one more attempt at controlling all seven Star Motes at once.

The first Star Mote was the most obedient of the lot — he'd spent every single day coaxing it into shape, after all. At the very first nudge of his will, the lively little mote went instantly still, hovering in place at the center of the Stardust.

The second mote was a bit stubborn. It followed reluctantly, falling into line beside the first.

Then the third, the fourth, the fifth...

The sixth practically ran to join the formation, scampering up with eager, wagging energy.

*Yes! Just one left!*

Mo Fan's focus narrowed to a razor edge, every drop of his mental energy trained on the seventh Star Mote.

The seventh mote careened wildly through the Stardust, hurtling at full speed. Then — slowly — as if it had finally heard his mental summons — it began to decelerate. Reluctant. Impatient. But gradually, grudgingly, it drifted toward the Star Trail and fell into line with the others...

*Yes! YES!!*

The moment Mo Fan saw the seventh mote showing signs of compliance, a surge of barely-contained excitement rushed through him.

If the first six Star Motes were loyal dogs — the kind that sat perfectly still the moment you called them — then the seventh was an aloof and imperious cat. Every inch of it radiated that feline *don't-touch-me* energy, as though yielding to him was a favor it was granting out of pure condescension.

*Fine. If you want me to stop, I'll stop. But only because I feel like it.*

Slowly, slowly...

The seventh Star Mote finally stilled, falling into position alongside the other six.

In an instant, a breathtaking Star Trail blazed to life within the dazzling void of the Stardust. The trail shimmered with the violet radiance of Lightning Element — sparked from the first Star Mote like a meteor trailing a long, gorgeous purple tail, streaking past each of the other six in swift succession.

The Star Trail was complete.

Magic had awakened.

On the back seat of the public bus, Mo Fan — dressed in a black shirt — suddenly had a faint, arcing trace of light curl around him. The violet Stardust trail flickered past in an instant, flooding his body with a power he had no words for.

*Lightning Seal!!!*

*It's Lightning Seal!!*

Pure elation detonated inside him. He nearly threw his head back and laughed out loud.

***Bzzzzzzt——***

On his right hand, coiling up his arm like a great serpent, the violet force of the Lightning Seal gathered in his palm. One swing of that hand, and it would explode outward as a thundering arc of crackling light, crashing straight into the middle of the bus.

"Oh my god—!"

"A mage — it's a mage!!"

"And a *Lightning Element* mage — God, why do I feel numb all over?"

A ripple of startled cries swept through the bus. The old woman who'd just finished grocery shopping. The old man heading home after his morning exercise. The teenage girl with her head buried in her phone. And the creep who'd been using one hand to grope said teenage girl. Every single one of them gaped at Mo Fan in the back seat.

"G-great mage, I — I'll never do it again, I swear I won't, please spare me — I had eyes but failed to recognize you—!" Without warning, the skinny middle-aged man who'd been molesting the girl crumpled to his knees, tears and snot streaming down his face as he dissolved into begging.

The pervert had convinced himself that this young mage had witnessed his disgusting behavior and summoned the lightning in fury.

He wasn't wrong to be afraid. The force of the Lightning Seal was staggering — every person in the vehicle felt it roll through their bodies in a wave of tingling numbness. The creep himself had it worst: the hand he'd been using had gone nearly dead.

"I'll spare your worthless life — this once." Mo Fan rose to his feet, looming over the cowering man with cold authority. "Next time I see you pull that, I'll make sure you lose that hand."

"Yes — yes — absolutely never again, I swear—"

The driver had pulled over. Before Mo Fan finished speaking, the pervert was already scrambling over himself to flee the bus.

The older passengers broke into immediate, approving murmurs. A cluster of what looked like middle schoolers stared up at Mo Fan with open, wide-eyed admiration.

"Mommy, that big brother is *so* cool!" A child of seven or eight tugged at his mother's skirt, voice small and earnest. "Can I be that cool when I grow up?"

"Not everyone can be a mage," his mother said quietly. "Especially not a Lightning Element mage."

Mo Fan realized his display had thrown the entire bus into chaos. To avoid further trouble, he hurried off at the next stop.

Out on the roadside, his heart still hadn't settled.

*Holy hell. That was the most incredible thing I've ever done.*

He replayed it — the lightning coiling up his arm, the absolute certainty that one flick of his wrist could have obliterated someone. Nothing in his life had ever felt like that. It was like a dream that had reached through and become real.

*So that's magic?*

*That's MAGIC!!!!!*

Mo Fan's heart hammered in his chest. Even though he hadn't actually released the Lightning Seal — hadn't thrown it — he'd felt the power of it. Felt it surge up from inside him. Felt it answer to his will. Felt it promise him a kind of strength he'd never even let himself dare to imagine.

The respect he'd seen in every face on that bus. The pervert on his knees, practically dissolving with terror. And the lightning — coiling up his arm like it belonged there.

This was something else entirely. Something he had never experienced before.

"Ha! Lightning Seal — mastered in a single semester. Let's see who tries to stop me now. Mu Bai? Zhaoting? Both of you can get on your knees and bow!"

One semester. Mo Fan had mastered Lightning Seal in one semester, when the school's standard timeline allotted a full year.

From the first day of school to now, at semester's end — five months in total. If that speed ever got out, every student and teacher in his class, maybe every student and teacher in the entire school, would probably be left speechless.

Hadn't Zhang Jianguo just been bragging recently about how his prized student Huang Mingkai had managed to Control four Star Motes? Mu Bai was also sitting at four.

*Ha. I've already released Lightning Seal, and you're still at four. How exactly are you planning to compete with me, Mu Bai, you two-faced little snake?*

He'd only been holding the Lightning Seal — just holding it, not even releasing it — and already the lightning had been straining to fly free. He could only imagine what it would look like when he finally unleashed the full thing. Just the thought of it set something in his chest blazing.

*Deep breath. Deep breath. Don't stand here grinning like an idiot on a public street. Stay composed. You're a proper mage now.*

The truth was, Mo Fan desperately wanted to cast Lightning Seal again. But the moment it had formed, he'd felt an emptiness settle through his body — a hollow, swimming sensation.

"That must be what the teachers meant by mental energy consumption," he muttered to himself.

Under normal circumstances, Mo Fan could sustain Control practice for two full hours before his mind began to flag. He'd been practicing on that bus for maybe twenty minutes at most — and yet the instant the Lightning Seal completed, he'd felt his brimming reserves drain away in one fell swoop.

He could work it out, though. During Control practice, as long as the Star Trail never fully formed, you didn't burn through much mana. But the moment the trail connected — the moment the stellar energy flowed into your body and manifested as tangible, real magic — you'd blow through roughly half your mana pool in one go.

Sure, he'd never been a mage before — but he'd sunk enough hours into Legend of Mir and League of Legends to understand the concept. Same principle, same principle.